Interview with Ark Ovrutski: The intellect in practice room and use your soul on stage: Video

Jazz interview with jazz bassist Ark Ovrutski. An interview by email in writing. 

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

Ark Ovrutski: – My father was a big fan of Jazz. I grew up listening Ella and Lois. At the age of 8^th I started music school as a violinist.

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

AO: – Since the age of 20 when I started to play bass I was listening Ray, Ron and Jaco. Those three influenced me a lot to create my own sound.

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

AO: – I play a lot of classical etudes and Bach cello suites.

JBN.S: – Which harmonies and harmonic patterns do you prefer now? You’re playing is very sensitive, deft, it’s smooth, and I’d say you drift more toward harmony than dissonance. There is some dissonance there, but you use it judiciously. Is that a conscious decision or again, is it just an output of what goes in?

AO: – Harmony is the reflection of melody. Harmony is consonant by nature. Dissonance is only color. Melody is source. Voice movement is the method. Always is important where you start and where to go.

JBN.S: – How to prevent disparate influences from coloring what you’re doing?

AO: – In music everything is connected. It calls traditions. Nothing bad to know traditions. Tradition is a language. Let say words. Every musician as a writer create their own sentences and stories.

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

AO: – You use your intellect in your practice room and use your soul on stage.

JBN.S: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; you’re okay with giving the people what they want?

AO: – Every musician should give people what they want. This is why they attending our concerts.

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

AO: – So many … Every gig is unique … Jams? … sometime it is really surprising … Studio sessions? … I really like when studio recording is made by one shot with no editing no overdubs …This is how we made Journey Moments.

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

AO: – Stadartd tunes are beautiful melodies. I think kids should sing those songs in the elementary music schools. Style is not important …. Pop, r&b, even hip hop is cool…

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

AO: – Spirit is meaning of life.

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

AO: – I wish music become such important as language. I wish music truly becomes a universal language for all people around the world.

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

AO: – Shorter and Stravinsky.

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

AO: – Future.

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

AO: – When’s music become the first priority for people?

JBN.S: – Thank you for answers. And whether it has become, unfortunately …

JBN.S: – So putting that all together, how are you able to harness that now?

AO: – Think about the future.

Interview by Simon Sargsyan