John Greaves, sort of an enigma by Claudio Bonomi

Going back a bit. How do you look now at your career with Henry Cow. Why did you leave the group in early 1976? Perhaps you were not happy about Henry Cow’s new leftward-moving ideologism…
It’s a long time ago. It was a hugely inspiring and formative period. Probably like being in the Marines. Something you never quite get over. Yes I began to find the dogmatism stifling so I moved on.
 
When you returned from States, after finishing Kew.Rhone., you joined National Health: a different musical context if compared with Henry Cow and new colleagues! How did you manage with this change?
In some ways, as a bass player, I found National Health more demanding. Less iconoclastic certainly, but formally more of a challenge. 
 
Regarding National Health period is there anything unreleased in the archive?
Not as far as I know.
 
Any recordings of John Greaves Band with Elton Dean, J. F. Pauvros and Pip Pyle?
Not unless there’s a bootleg out there. 
 
Are you a self-taught bassist? I mean did you get a formal training when you were young? Can you speak about your musical education?
Yes. I learned to play bass in my father’s dance-band when I was thirteen. Probably the “Henry Cow” period was responsible for any progress I may have made as a composer.

 
What was the first record you bought? And what kind of music did you use to listen to when you started your career? 
Mel Tormé’s Mountain Greenery when I was eight. Then in the early sixties it was a heady mix of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis The Big Three and The Beatles.
 
In your long career you have played with a lot of musicians but…who would you like to play with now?
The great thing about this business is that there are always new, wonderful and exciting people who appear out of nowhere. I look forward to meeting  lots of them.
 
What about the future? Any new projects? Any chance to come to Italy?
I’d like to do more live things. Tour the “Verlaine”, Kew.Rhone. too maybe. I’m about to embark on another record in French. That’s about as far into the future as I’m able to see. I’ll come to Italy whenever I get an invitation.