It’s the melody, not the words

Jazz pianist/composer Caili O’Doherty’s debut album, “Padme,” reflects her globe-trotting ways. “The Song of Old Panama City,” for instance,came from O’Doherty’s trip there with Global Jazz Institute.

“I was inspired by watching all these students, who didn’t have a lot of resources,” says O’Doherty, who is 23. “A lot of them were living in houses that they were afraid might fall apart on them while they were sleeping. They didn’t have adequate food or water. When we came and played music, it was like none of that mattered, for that time. Music is very powerful in that way.”

A few years ago, O’Doherty went on a U.S. State Department tour to Benin in West Africa. There she heard the story of “Tree of Return.” Her CD includes a song of that name.

“The Africans would circle this tree three times before they were forced onto the ship to be taken away into slavery. They were binding their spirit to their homeland, so if they died, their spirits would come back to live in this tree with their families. I found that very touching.”

O’Doherty wrote “Ode to St. Johns” for a neighborhood in her hometown of Portland, Ore. There her first music teacher, Janice Scroggins, took her to a gospel church.

“She would have me set up my keyboard next to her and try to learn by ear, see if I could pick up anything they were playing. She passed away last year, so that’s kind of an homage to her.”

Growing up in Portland, there was always a piano in O’Doherty’s house. Her parents played and would show her and her sister little pieces. At 5, O’Doherty began classical piano lessons.

At 11, she switched to an arts-oriented school in a neighboring town. That’s when jazz became her focus.

“I felt frustrated, studying classical music. I was always going to competitions and recitals. I felt that it was very limited for me. We always had to have these pieces memorized and, if you make a mistake, that’s a big thing. It’s nerve-wracking. Then when I started playing jazz, it was so freeing. If I make a mistake, I can just fix it and turn it into something that sounds good. There’s much more flexibility for me.”

At her new school, trumpeter/music educator Thara Memory (who won a Grammy for his collaboration with former student Esperanza Spaulding) nurtured O’Doherty’s talents.

“He inspired me. We did a lot of out-of-the-box exercises. He had us take salsa classes as a group and do African drum routines with Obo Addy, a Ghanaian drummer, so we could learn how to move and feel the rhythm as a collective unit.”

O’Doherty graduated a year early from high school and earned a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. She studied there with Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez and became involved in the college’s Global Jazz Institute, traveling to such places as Colombia, Africa and France.

“We had an opportunity to do cultural exchanges, to learn about different backgrounds, as well as different musical styles. Music crosses cultural and language barriers.

“We also had opportunities to play music in non-traditional settings — the local prison in Boston, children’s hospitals, retirement centers — and we saw how music could affect people.”

The title “Padme,” referring to a lotus flower, holds significance for O’Doherty. “From a muddy swamp, it grows up to be this beautiful, colorful flower. It shows how it doesn’t really matter where you start from, it’s about the journey and where we end up.”

O’Doherty has received awards for jazz piano performance and composition from Downbeat Magazine, as well as an ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer award. “Padme” was the first song she ever wrote. She was in eighth grade at the time. After that piece, she began exploring a new approach.

For most of the songs on the album, O’Doherty wrote lyrics exploring her subject matter. Then, when she finished composing, she would discard the lyrics. It gives her songs a distinctive, engaging flow.

“I write the lyrics so the melody is more similar to the way we speak. I was writing too many notes, not leaving enough space for breaths. So I started thinking about how I could change that and make the music feel more natural to the way we would talk. I discard the lyrics, because I feel that you can portray them, without actually having them said. I feel more attached to instrumental music at this point.

“When we’re studying jazz, we’re learning repertoire and history. We need that knowledge. But sometimes all we’re doing is imitating people from the past. Everybody speaks with different inflections. So everybody shouldn’t play the same. Though they’re educated by the vocabulary of jazz tradition, everybody should play with their own unique voices, ultimately.”

O’Doherty, who plays acoustic and electric piano, is touring in support of “Padme.” Joining her at her Stanford Jazz Festival performance on July 21 will be drummer Michael Mitchell, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom, woodwind player Steven Lugerner and tenor saxophonist Ben Flocks. She met them all through Stanford Jazz Workshop several years ago. She continues to teach at the workshops.

Based in New York, she has beginning piano students. Passionate about music education, O’Doherty is also involved with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s early childhood program WeBop, which introduces tots to jazz, rather than classical music. She says, “We’re building a jazz audience. Kids are the future.”

As for her own future, she says, “I just want to continue to grow, to travel and connect with different people around the world. I’d like to do more music outreach. For me, music has always been about more than just performing. I want it to mean something. I really believe in using music as a vehicle for social change. That would be the ultimate goal for me.”

Email Paul Freeman at paul@popcultureclassics.com.