Jason Ajemian is a jazz improv young master who also spends some time in the freak folk/rock world. The tireless collaborator plays with dozens in various formats, and will bring one to Bernheim Arboretum’s “Connect” festival on Saturday.

LEO: How did a kid from the Blue Ridge Mountains become an ichthyologist? How did that ichthyologist become an improvisational musician?
Jason Ajemian: Well, you know, swimming in that amniotic fluid for awhile and digging it. Then I hit the ground and wanted to jump back in. I knew I could never do it full time, but why not investigate those that do? Walleye sandwiches mean more to me than a lot of things and all. As for becoming an improviser: it seemed a natural progression. I had spent a lot of time with certain benthic species, so with the bass I felt I should incorporate some freestyle deep diving.

LEO: How many groups do you work with? Do you lose track of who’s doing what and when?
JA: I work with the entire population of the world on one level or the other. But with players, I don’t have to keep track — it’s a matter of trust. It’s why I choose to work with professionals. It’s symbiotic.

LEO: How would you describe the balance between musical blueprints and improvisation in your projects with HiLife?
JA: It’s like this — there is more than one way to get to Sylcauga, Alabama. For the players — here are the blueprints, we are here now. I’ll see you in the Marble City. Detours and site seeing is allowed and encouraged.

LEO: You create the scores for HiLife’s songs on AutoCAD, an architectural drafting program. Why did you choose this (non-musical) program? How do the blueprints and floor plans on AutoCAD translate into a musical framework?
JA: I had access to it via a work environment and, to me, it seemed a logical way to avoid standard charts rather well. Come feel for yourself.

LEO: Your website describes HiLife’s influences as “consisting of (your) orchestrated poems, American folk forms, Native American chants, Canadian sea shanties, Orbison, jazz expressive motion and balladry.” How do these diverse influences converge and shape your music?
JA: l like Christmas eve at the mall in Waynesboro. We got something for everyone on your list, and if that don’t work, you can always turn your cousin onto that weird guy that hangs out by the food court men’s room.

LEO: How is HiLife different from some of your other groups or collaborations?
JA: In this group I’m the Kenny Stabler. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t pitch it to Owen and let him go long to Ms Branch. Ask me what I am. Got to have quarterback vision in the HiLife game.

LEO: Do you and Nels Cline or other like-minded folks ever discuss working in jazz and rock settings?
JA: Definitely. He can get the Arab money for one and get much less for the other.

“Connect Festival”
Bernheim