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| Sirabhorn Muntarbhorn |
A Dr ka-TI or Sirabhorn Muntarbhorn in the longer version of her Thai name has been a ‘Porta Bandeira’ a solo flag bearer of Bossa Nova in Thailand. She is the only ‘known’lady jazz musician in a country aptly named ‘The land of Smiles’. I also smiled after I had followed ‘TI’ to a number of her performances of the Brasilian music she so adores. I caught up with the devoted and diminutive artist in her apartment in Bangkok, a shrine to music and modern art. ‘TI’ has strong and dedicated views on art, music, and politics, which you will discover from the following interview as we sat amongst original Andy Warhol, Miles Davis works of art and even a textile concrete block from a Frank Lloyd Wright home!
RR: Dr ka-TI – what are the origins of that name?
TI: The ‘doctor’ comes from my Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree (University of La Verne, California) and ka-TI comes from my parents. It means coconut milk in Thai but ‘Kati’ is also short for Katherine. My friends just call me ‘TI’, that is why I drink tea and not coffee I suppose!
RR: There is a track on Pat Metheny’s album ‘Bright Size Life’ called ‘Sirabhorn’. Is there any connection?
TI: I met Pat Metheny when I studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He wrote the song for me. We have been friends ever since.
RR: How did you get from law to music?
TI: I first studied contemporary music at Berklee majoring in jazz guitar and was also accepted in the college’s most sought after courses, ‘Line Writing’ and ‘Writing in the style of Duke Ellington’. There was quite a bit of family opposition to my music studies, as they believed nice girls didn’t sing and dance. My late father was a heart surgeon, eldest brother an ENT (ear, nose & throat) specialist and middle brother an Oxford educated professor of law and respected human rights advocate. I studied law in California and that gave me good jobs with entertainment companies in Hollywood. I had somewhere lovely to live and a Mercedes to drive. Yet, I was totally miserable! Then life gave me a wake-up call. In 1994 I was in a devastating Californian earthquake. It not only shook up California but made me realise that life is too short to be doing something one doesn’t like even if the money is good, so I returned to my greatest love, music, principally Brasilian Bossa Nova.
RR: How does a Thai lady get involved with Bossa Nova?
TI: In my teens I was sent to Heathfield (Boarding) School in Ascot, England. A girlfriend from São Paulo introduced me to the Bossa Nova sound. I began with the guitar when I was about 13-14 years old. I liked its versatility although I had a very basic knowledge of music then but I was hooked.
RR: Are there any influences?
TI: Pat Metheny of course, he was my guitar teacher. Milton Nascimento, I love the way he uses his voice like an instrument. I loved The Beatles but also jazz, Miles Davis etc, quite eclectic. These days I also listen to Radiohead.
RR: What is the reaction to your Bossa Nova in Thailand?
TI: I am not sure it is appreciated. There is a Thai saying, “Be good but don’t be excellent, as it can be harmful!” Thailand is a land of mediocrity. The Thais seem to have misinterpreted the Buddhist ‘way’. The ‘Middle Path’ does not mean… mediocrity! People here find excellence threatening and offensive. I want to be the ‘First Woman of Jazz for Excellence’ for Thailand’. I sing but I am really a guitar player first and foremost. I believe I am the only lady jazz musician who is a Thai. Few Thais have climbed stairs on their merit and I strive for perfection. I don’t think it’s liked.
RR: Do you think Westerners in Thailand understand this?
TI: Not unless one can speak the language and really get to know the Thais, to the core that is. You will rarely see a starving Thai since everything grows so abundantly here. The country is blessed with certain fertility. Unfortunately laziness is endemic, it’s a Karma, “if it is meant to, it will happen,” so the Thais just sit around and wait for things to happen! Even so it is a wonderful land.
RR: I have noticed that sleeping is a favourite hobby among the Thais, would you like to change things here.
TI: I believe I have already to some degree, certainly the music scene! Thai musicians are hardly ever seen performing in 5 Star hotels until now. Guess who re-drafted those 5 Star Hotel’s contracts; demanded that the musicians get to eat well and at a table that is set for them, instead of having to hide in the back of the kitchen? I want Thai musicians to be presentable, reliable and responsible towards being their absolute best (i.e. “give it all”) at all times. I give my all at every performance.
RR: I saw you at ‘Trader Vics’ in the Marriott on the other side of the Chao Praya river have you played other hotels?
TI: Yes, the Dusit Thani and the Hilton, in Thailand. The most prestigious jazz gigs are five-star hotels. Several years ago, I managed Diana’s Club at the Oriental, but during those days I lacked confidence and had locked my guitar away in the closet. Then the Californian earthquake set me back on course. I have to thank an Act of God (i.e. an earthquake in the San Fernando Valley) to get me where I am today!
RR: What is your style?
TI: I don’t like to follow convention. I have done the Bossa Nova as a professional for about the past 6 years. I’d be aghast with horror if someone thought I was a Filipina hotel-lounge ‘easy listening Bossa player'. That is no disrespect to the many excellent Filipino musicians, but it is not my style.
RR: You make it look easy?
TI: If Art looks easy you can bet your last Thai Baht that it is not so! I practice daily and there is not a day that I don’t think about music. Music is my life. I live, eat and breathe music.
RR: What are your musical influences now?
TI: I have several, mostly Brasilian musicians and Bossa Nova albums. I like Leila Pinheiro, Rosa Passos (who currently tours with Yo Yo Ma). Brazilian sounds have also dug deeply into jazz.
RR: Your legal experiences, what are they?
TI: Law school taught me to be totally thorough because nothing is ever only ‘black & white’, there are also many shades of grey. Persuasion is an important factor and to use reason and not emotion when thinking. It also prepared me for the job in the Business and Legal Affairs department of an entertainment company on Sunset Boulevard. These legal eagles would love to test you out just to see what you’re made of!
RR: How do you want to see yourself as an individual?
TI: I believe being a good person is the way to be. I have had a wonderful life and don’t wish bad or ill towards anybody. I am definitely not greedy and can never be bought out. Perhaps that makes me a strange bird in Thailand.
RR: How are you mapping out your future?
TI: I moved to the USA this summer to study Tibetan Buddhism although my family are not keen. I was lucky enough to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama when I was a teenager in school in England. My roommate at the time is the sister of the current King of Bhutan, a Buddhist Kingdom. I recently spent close to two weeks in His Holiness’ presence. He even squeezed my hands! I feel truly blessed.
RR: Are you anti-Thai?
TI: No ! I am not anti anything, but at the moment I am not proud to be Thai.
RR: You seem to have strong views about your country?
TI: There is no true democracy here, no freedom of speech. The system would not pass any democratic tests.
RR: Do you feel you can influence things?
TI: I want my job on the planet to be someone who makes a difference. I want to do this for the future of our children. I want them to believe in themselves. You are not going to starve to death by doing what you believe. For instance, who in the all male-oriented music community of Thailand would want to play with a lady jazz/Bossa Nova player ? I was shunned for years and started in a small way. Then things grew. I learnt to write scores. I love to arrange, the music degree helps here. I love to create my own sound, my own imprint.
RR: Would you like to try politics?
TI: I will run for office when Thailand has a taste for true democracy but that will not happen in my lifetime unless there is a major change. Aung San Suu Kyi is my role model and I feel compared to hers’ my life is insignificant. That brings me back to Thailand and standing on my soapbox again! There is so much talk about Thai-ness and yet one can live like a farang (Westerner) for 24 hours ! There is a crony system here and it is as if one is not welcomed to use one’s brains whereas in the U.S. for instance, people are taught to be adversarial – creatively think for oneself. That is discouraged here, it seems as if it is important to keep the people uneducated ! I once played for Prime Minister Thaksin at my old school’s fundraiser. I felt like throwing the microphone at him as he spent the entire time on his mobile ! How rude is that? People think I have had it easy but when I was young I did not even have enough money for music lessons! I have had to fight and worked hard for what I want.
RR: Do you dislike Thailand?
TI: I get upset not because of hatred, I hate no one, but for the love of truth. People don’t want to hear the truth. We are a country of hypocrisy, archaic with censorship laws !
RR: You feel strongly and yet still have no wish to enter politics?
TI: I want to talk through my art. First I want to prove that Thais can be ‘ World class’ artists. I don’t want to compromise, which has to happen in politics.
RR: Dr ka-TI, is there a lucky Mr TI ?
TI: I shall quote Duke Ellington, “Music is my mistress.” If I appear selfish by being on my own, then so be it! I feel totally fulfilled and do not suffer loneliness. With a family one needs to compromise – that word again. One cannot have it all. I find it difficult to fit the traditional mould and I believe there is more to come in my life. I am very involved with Tibetan Buddhism and am also involved in several animal charities. I held a small concert recently and the audience donated 20,000Baht(about £308 Sterling – and by the way, that’s a lot of money for Thais) towards handicapped animals. We need to share this planet with God’s creatures. What I consider “Friends of the Earth.”
RR: How would you like to be remembered?
TI: That I have left several positive marks as an example to others. To dream and make my dreams come true, e.g. one day I would like be the first Thai lady to play Carnegie Hall.
RR: Why have you returned to the USA?
TI: To return to the reality of Hollywood ! Perhaps the comparison may surprise you But Bangkok is a 'façade of pretend and don’t admit'. The Thais spend their lives overly concerned about how others think of them so they daren’t be true to themselves. They’re living a lie. I am being harsh but that is how I see it. Hollywood is known for what it is and one just accepts it for what it is, i.e., take it or leave it. Bangkok pretends to be real, a fantasy for the people and the tourists.
RR: Asia’s own La-La land? Are you sure you still don’t want to be a politician?
TI: No! Because there is no translation in Thai for ‘common-sense’, no word for passion in a positive way, only negativity. Thai-style is inertia and complacency. The democracy I want will not happen in my lifetime but I can speak on a stage through my art which I hope will have a stronger effect.
RR: You had rather a nice birthday present last year?
TI: On June 20th I was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) – the organisers of the Grammy Awards. In the same year I had a one month invitation from the ‘Fundaçao Orient’ (Foundation Orient) of Portugal to stay and compose as Artist-in-Residence at the 16th Century Arrabida Monastery, South of Lisbon, Portugal. Quite an honour !
RR: There is a nice picture of you and Janet Jackson at NARAS, any other musical influences?
TI: Andres Segovia and I still adore the Beatles.
RR: “Dear Juris-Prudence won’t you come out to play?”
TI: Only on stage!