Interview with Paolo Fresu: Music enriched my whole life: Video

Jazz interview with jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist Paolo Fresu. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.com: – Before we jump into anything historical, can you tell us about what we can expect musically this evening?

Paolo Fresu: – Actually I have many concerts to do with different projects. As usually I prefere to tour with a changing attitude that I like very much.

JBN: – Are there sub-genres within the jazz field that you tend to stay away from or focus on?

PF: – Nothing to stay away, in my opinion. I want to be far from people that try to divide human beings. I like the music well played and I like to approach everything that attracts me with the listening.

JBN: – When your first desire to become involved in the music was & what do you learn about yourself from music?

PF: – My dream as a child was to play music. First of all in my hometown marching band and then in a dance ensemble. Now I understand how music gave me and how it’s important for me. Because with this language I knew the world and I can see myself in a new way. Music enriched my whole life.

JBN: – How do you prepare before your performances to help you maintain both spiritual and musical stamina?

PF: – I like to travel and observe people. Because traveling is part of the concert that is one of the most important moment of the day.

That’s why I like to save energies until the moment I go on stage.

To preserve myself and making a good concert … Before the concert I find concentration eating something with my crew and drinking a bottle of wine. What’s better than this?

JBN: – What do you love most about your new album 2021: <Heroes Expanded>, how it was formed and what you are working on today.

PF: – I’m working to different thing. My historical groups (Paolo Fresu Quintet and Devil Quartet), special ensembles as “Heroes” but also the duo with Daniele di Bonaventura -actually it’s a trio with Jaques Morelenbaum but he won’t be touring in Italy at the moment. But also the orchestra projects and some other duos.
In “Heroes” I like the idea of a sound between pop, jazz and the Bowie’s world that fascinates me and I found out thanks to this project and the wonderful musicians involved. “Heroes expanded” it’s the long version of a CD included in my triple cd box “PAOLO FRESU” that came out in February for my 60^th birthday. Now we are also publishing a triple and limited vinyl for Amazon.it with all the music recorded, with also two remixes and a live track.

JBN: – Ism is culled from a variety of lives dates with various performers over the course of a few years. Did your sound evolve during that time? And how did you select the musicians who play on the album?

PF: – Our sound evolve as we evolve. The sound is our ID card, and a picture that changes year by year. I choose my musicians with much attention. I choose their human side, as the artistic one. This it the reason you find the voice of Petra Magoni, the trombone and the pads by Gianluca Petrella, the guitars by Francesco Diodati, the doublebass by Francesco Diodati, and the drums by Christian Meyer.

JBN: – What happened when you first heard Bird? Did it make an immediate impact on you?

PF: – I flew with him asking myself how and how much a human can fly with music

JBN: – With such an illustrious career, what has given you the most satisfaction musically?

PF: – To go on with music with the same passion after 40 years and thousands of concerts and recordings.

JBN: – From the musical and feeling point of view is there any difference between a old and great jazzmans and young?

PF: – I have to ask this to myself, but I have to wait…

JBN: – What advice would you give to aspiring musicians thinking of pursuing a career?

PF: – Not to give up, trying to do always the best for obtaining good results. If success don’t come…it’s ok: in that way the frustration of not having done your best will not remain.

Interview by Simon Sargsyan