Interview with Monika Ryan: Music for me is the voice of the intangible. It is the voice of the heart … Video

Jazz interview with jazz singer Monika Ryan. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.Space: – First let’s start with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music?

Monika Ryan: – I was born in New York City. My parents were both visual artists and wanted to be in the heart of the New York art world so they moved into a loft in Greenwich Village 2 years before my birth.

I was born interested in music, so my mother reports. She tells stories of how I would use crayons and paper to drum or crumple by my ear as a baby. She describes me as a crawling baby, bothering my older sister and my mother attracting me away from my older sister by putting a favorite record on the stereo (for me it was Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) and I would crawl to the speaker and bounce by it until the record was over.

When I was 7 my parents granted my earnest requests to study the violin, which I did for several years.

As a small child, I developed an affinity for classic movies of the 1930’s and 1940’s. That was my first real exposure to jazz. I loved the movies and the music in them.

JBN.S: – What got you interested in picking up your musical instrument? What teacher or teachers helped you progress to the level of playing you have today? What made you choose your musical instrument?

MR: – I was always a natural singer. I have always loved words, singing was a natural blend of my love or music and my love of words.

When I found Jazz as a Freshman in High School, I had already had the jazz harmonies in my subconscious from the old movies I watched as a young child.As a freshman, I joined the high school jazz band under the Director, Bob Rosen, who is still at the school, and who told me to go out and buy a record by Ella Fitzgerald. That is when I bought my first Ella Fitzgerald record, “Ella Fitzgerald’s Greatest Hits Vol II,” a double LP, which I memorized. I went down to Tower Records which was right around the corner from our Loft and picked it out. I still really love that album.

Bob recommended that I start taking private vocal lessons, and he referred me to his friend who was a wonderful singer and teacher. I started taking private lessons with a Brooklyn based teacher named Carolyn Sloan, who gave me a really strong foundation in vocal technique.  By 15 years old I had my first paying gig and I recorded my first professional demo. By 16 I had management and had gotten accepted into The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Houston Person had recommended to me that I apply there, so I did, and by 17 I was enrolled in the New School where I studied with Sheila Jordan, Jackie Paris, Anne Marie Moss, Buster Williams, Reggie Workman, Chico Hamilton, Junior Mance, Arnie Lawrence and more, and met some of my best friends and professional colleagues.

JBN.S: – How did your sound evolve over time? What did you do to find and develop your sound?

MR: – I listened a lot. I studied the craft of artists who came before me, at a granular level. I loved it so much that it was fun for me and I dedicated hours upon hours learning music. I sang a lot. I sang every chance that I got. I went to jam sessions and stayed out all night. I was committed and focused. At some point, I had become fluid and fluent enough in my skills to assemble my own ideas and sounds and go off into my own sounds and combinations. Once I had the skill and knowledge toolkit in my possession, all that I had to do was be myself with them, and I would have a new sound and it would be uniquely mine.

JBN.S: – What practice routine or exercise have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical ability especially pertaining to rhythm?

MR: – Sometimes when I am singing with a band I will sit down in front of the double bass on the ground. If the drums are next to the bass I can feel the vibrations of the bass in my back and the drums to my side. I internally feel the rhythm.

I love to dance. I dance to allow the music to permeate me deep inside my body. Once I feel the grooves I can communicate them and work with them and play with them.

I’m always practicing but never practicing. Music is both prayer and play for me. I am a playful person. Every time I play with music I am practicing. I like to do things different ways each time, there is something natural, alive and organic about that. So I play with things. Sometimes I’m stretching a phrase out until you think it won’t fit and then I catch up, sometimes I front-load the phrase and the band has all of this room in which to add or leave open. It’s unpredictable and fun and exciting, and never pre-planned. Jazz is so fluid. The most important thing is to make sure that the communication of the musical approach is consistent with the song’s meaning. Words can also be broken up to fit rhythms. This is another form of play. I listen to a lot of very rhythmic music from around the world and am always learning. It all works it’s way into my toolkit.

JBN.S: – Which harmonies and harmonic patterns do you prefer now?

MR: – I write simply. From a simple place, you can always get more complex, but I start with very simple. Whatever I am working on I strive for a harmony reflects the communication or balances it.

JBN.S: – What do you love most about your new album 2018: <Now>, how it was formed and what you are working on today.

MR: – Now was written very quickly, almost intuitively. There was no time for a rehearsal before going into the studio. It was recorded entirely in one day. None of the band could be there for the whole day because everyone had other gigs before or after. So we had about three and a half hours all together in the studio. Only the engineer and I were in the studio the whole day. Half the band was there in the morning and half the band was there in the late afternoon. Everyone was there from about 12:00 to 3:30. This band is so great to work with and everyone came into the studio with high energy, focus and ready to dive right into the music and we recorded Now in that one day.

I really enjoy the openness of the album. I am working on a project about Myths. I’m in the writing process of the songs now. I hope to record it in the late Spring or Mid Summer.

JBN.S: – Which are the best jazz albums for you of 2017 year?

MR: – There were a few albums that I really enjoyed in 2017.
One of my favorites was Amed Torrecilla & Mixturing Project’s “Joining World”.

Amed and I met through our mutual appreciation of each other’s releases in 2017 and now we’re working on a project together. The Myth project that I had mentioned. We were both on the Grammy Ballot in 2017 and we discovered each other through the listening and voting process.

My album in 2017 was “Windmills” a collection of songs by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

JBN.S: – What’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

MR: – Music for me is the voice of the intangible. It is the voice of the heart so it must not get tangled in the brain on it’s way to the heart. The heart is where the music should resonate first. So I would say that Soul should be much heavier in the balance, but if the Soul is strong, a nice intellectual component can be sweet too. I like it when the intellectual components are subtle and smoothly integrated, even when complex. I don’t want to be straining to listen to music. I want to enjoy and savor it even when being challenged by it.

JBN.S: – Please any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

MR: – I have many memories of working with incredible and legendary musicians, locally and touring. I have had jazz luminaries in the audience at my shows and also invite me on to the stage to perform with them at their shows, those are wonderful memories for sure, but my favorite memories are of fans who were moved by my work. I love knowing that my work is bringing joy to others. When my work is adding something to someone else’s life, I feel like I have done something right. The best memories are from when people have expressed to me their connection to the music.

I was on tour in Dublin in June of 2017 and a couple came and sat in the front row of my show and were visibly enjoying the show. At the first break they approached me, they knew my entire catalog and the details of all of the releases. They requested a song from my album “Love” released in 2000 called “Hold Me Tonight” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFHBuSW49ws Their love for my work showed me some of the impacts of my work. It brought me tremendous joy.

I love jam sessions and go out to them wherever I am.  I love meeting local musicians and making music with people when I travel.

JBN.S: – Many aspiring musicians are always looking for advice when navigating thru the music business. Is there any piece of advice you can offer to aspiring students or even your peers that you believe will help them succeed and stay positive in this business? 

MR: – The music business is not always about the music. The musician is always about the music. Sometimes the music business overlooks great music and promotes music that is less deserving. This may be frustrating but it ultimately does not affect the music itself. It is a business issue, not a music issue.Stoic Philosophy can be a helpful lens. Stay authentic and professional and know that it’s a process.

Find a good network of really good musicians who you like and admire and can form a resource sharing community with. Build bridges and remember that music is about service.

Progress is made by a series of steps not one giant leap. A mountain is climbed one step at a time. If you parse out 5 tasks a day to do, by the end of the year you will have accomplished 1,825 tasks/steps. That is how sustainable progress is made. If others have done it, you can too. Study how they did it. Analyze if that would work for you or not. There are often lots of ways to accomplish things.

The only way to get better at anything is to do it a lot. Be it getting better at one’s instrument, or getting better at booking shows. And failure is always an important part of the process. Failure is the biggest teacher. That’s where the best learning happens.

Be kind. Be Respectful of others and yourself. Be you. Only you have your voice.

JBN.S: – Аnd furthermore, can jazz be a business today or someday?

MR: – I believe that jazz is a business now. There are a lot of variables here. Expectations and types of jazz and contexts are all among the variables. I know many people making a living at Jazz but I also know many people not making a living at Jazz. What kind of living are we talking about? And working how? And where? — There were times when Duke Ellington was paying the bills by playing for high school dances after World War II. Sometimes a great artist has to do a high paying private party or to teach in order to make ends meet. Can it be done? Yes! Is it being done? Yes! Is it easy? No! But doing what you don’t love isn’t easy either. There are many factors.

JBN.S: – Which collaboration have been the most important experiences for you?

MR: – Every collaboration teaches us. I am always learning. I couldn’t single one out as the best or most important. There are musicians who I adore working with. Every collaboration and lesson that I have ever had has left its mark on my conscience. I reference all of them.

JBN.S: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of the standard tunes are half a century old?

MR: – We can write new music and reinterpret the older music in a new and relatable way. Jazz takes patience. Sometimes young people are ready for it and sometimes they need to grow into an appreciation for it. I think that whenever jazz gets a placement in a popular movie or television show or if there is exposure to it in popular culture it gains a few new fans. We need to celebrate the new artists that are coming up. This will also help. Jazz has many great musicians who are unsung heroes with new voices and perspectives and we need to support them and an industry. It will be both better for the art itself and for the business.

JBN.S: – John Coltrane said that music was his spirit. How do you understand the spirit and the meaning of life?

MR: – I do feel that music is very very spiritual. It is the voice of the heart. Music is communication with all living beings. Music is a meditation. The meaning of life for me is to give. The best way that I can give is through music. It is the medium of my greatest possible giving. Music for me is service. Music helps people feel when they were holding back. Music helps people celebrate and mourn and relax and keep going. Music is a support structure and a beautifier. Music is primal. Music is soothing. Music is a vehicle for change and a connection to tradition. Music is vibration. All living things vibrate. Music is energy in a world made up of and held together by energy.

JBN.S: – What are your expectations of the future? What brings you fear or anxiety?

MR: – I try not to have expectations of the future. I try not to focus on fear or anxiety. I could dive into that thinking but I usually don’t gratify it. I would rather spend the same energy that it would take to indulge those emotions and that thinking, and build something or create something or help someone.

JBN.S: – If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

MR: – I would like to see art be valued more by the world. Many people have no idea how important art is to any and all cultures. Art is the identity of a culture and a snapshot of the time. Art defines us. When we look back at civilizations that came before us, what do we look to, to understand the culture? The art. I would like to change the reality that musicians and artists, in general, are undervalued.

JBN.S: – What’s the next musical frontier for you?

MR: – I have a notebook full of ideas and my list of future project ideas is always growing. I can’t say what is next beyond the project that I am currently working on. I have a new video that is coming out very soon, it is in editing and I expect to release it within the month. That will be my first cinematic music video. I filmed that last weekend.

I would like to place my music in the movies. Creatively, I would like to explore many different styles of folk music and build hybrids. I am working on a hybrid piece right now with an Indian artist.

JBN.S: – Are there any similarities between jazz and world music, including folk music?

MR: – Yes! I believe that there are! Jazz has roots in spirituals, and work songs. Jazz is a kind of American folk music/classical music hybrid. Throughout the years, different jazz artists have been incorporating world music elements into the jazz idiom. The flexibility of jazz allows for greater exploration of these hybrids.

JBN.S: – Who do you find yourself listening to these days?

MR: – I listen to a lot of different styles of music. I am listening to a lot of Renaissance music these days. I have also been listening to a lot of Ravi Shankar. With jazz, I’m all over the map. One day, I’m listening to Herbie Hancock, The next day I’m listening to Charles Mingus, the next day I’m listening to Dizzy Gillespie. If I’m looking to hear vocals I might go for a Carmen McRae album or an Abbey Lincoln album.

JBN.S: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really wanna go?

MR: – This is an interesting question for sure, but I think I would stay put in the present. No time is without turbulence or opportunity. I have the most experience with the time that I have been in all of these years, therefore, I can do the most good in the environment that I understand the best.

JBN.S: – I have been asking you so far, now may I have a question from yourself …

MR: – How do you know that you love a piece of music? What happens within you? Do you visualize anything? Do the hairs stand on the back of your neck? How do you know you’ve heard something impactful to you? When was the last time that happened?

JBN.S: – Thanks so much for answers. You have purely women’s questions, fine. I every month travels a lot of Jazz and Blues festivals and concerts and just live with Jazz and Blues.

Interview by Simon Sargsyan