Jazz interview with jazz guitarist, producer and engineer Gabi Martinez. An interview by email in writing.
JazzBluesNews.Space: – First let’s start with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music?
Gabi Martinez: – I grow up in Spain, in a city called Zaragoza. I had always music at home. I remember listening to my mom’s albums from Beatles, Santana, Pink Floyd,… since I was really young and I totally felt in love with music. Those bands leaded me to others, and I never stopped.
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?
GM: – My grandpa was folk guitarist and I have no memory in my live without a guitar. Since I was a kid, when I saw a band, I always felt the connection with the guitar. I think guitar is one of the of the most versatile instrument you can find. You are able to play a huge variety of sounds and it fits in all the music genres.
And about the teachers, all of them. I would need a book to say thanks to everyone. When you are sharing something as music, each small tip can open you a new world. Really, thanks a lot all of them for sharing their time and knowledge with me.
JBN.S: – How did your sound evolve over time? What did you do to find and develop your sound?
GM: – Well, I bought my first electric guitar in the ’90 when all the virtuoso style was the tendency. A lot of effects and drive, pedals and wet sounds. But I felt more comfortable with old school sounds. For me, the tone of the instrument is really really important, it should inspire you. I think even now every month I reduce the drive and I concentrate myself in trying to have better tone with my hands. This sounds like kind of cliche, but everything is in your hands.
I think for developing you sound, you should be an educated listener. And it is only one way to do it, listening to a lot of music. To improve it, in my opinion, record yourself as much as you can, and after you’ll be able to compare your sound from the players you like.
JBN.S: – What practice routine or exercise have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical ability especially pertaining to rhythm?
GM: – I warm my hands and do stretches always before to play. It’s only five minutes, but this prevents you to have tendonitis. I begin with scales, chords and rhythm patters trying to cover a little of everything. After, I like play with a backing track or with a looper trying to be melodic and applying the music theory I studied before.
In my particular case, I am always with the guitar even if I’m watching TV. I use that time to practice the boring exercises that keep you fit and after I concentrate into create music, into be musical. To improve your playing as for improve your sound, record yourself and listen to it. The best musicians I met in my live are the best listeners.
JBN.S: – Which harmonies and harmonic patterns do you prefer now?
GM: – I have not really a strong preference. I think in scales as colors, it depends of your state of mind and what you want to express in each song or improvisation. Being from Spain I have influence in Harmonic minor and Phrygian dominant sonorities by our folk music, but I have a strong blues influence, rock influence, jazz influences and Afro-Cuban too. Then it depends a lot. I always like put the knowledge serving to the song.
JBN.S: – Which are the best jazz albums for you of 2017 year?
GM: – Keeping it as eclectic as I am, the last albums I’m listening are the Kamasi Washington “Harmony of Difference”, Arturo O’Farrill and Chucho Valdes “Familia”, Avishai Cohen “1970”, Gregory Porter “Nat King Cole & me”, Steve Gadd Band “Steve Gadd Band” and a lot more than now don’t come my mind. Hahaha
JBN.S: – What’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?
GM: – For me, and it’s a personal opinion, as much knowledge as you can acquire better for you in all the aspects in your live. The knowledge gives you freedom even if you never use it, but you have it.
In music, the reason a note sounds good or bad over a chord is mathematic. Why that note moves your soul, that is art. The expression and how the musician brings the note is art. And as an art expression is not received for all the audience in the same way.
For my particular taste I hate cold players. I always will prefer somebody is trying to express and communicate and he made a mistake, than a guy that is playing perfect with no expression at all. As a player, I try to have all the knowledge and internalize it, to feel myself as free as I can, to be able not thinking too much on it when I’m playing.
JBN.S: – Please any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?
GM: – Uff a lot of it!!! I always remember with a lot of love the people from Klaipeda Jazz Fest, they were so on the music. I love The Baked Potato Jazz Club, still I feel the fizz when I’m in the stage about of all the people I love that played there. I remember how nervous I was in my first session in LA… A lot of things!!!
And I’m kind of pragmatic here. I like to remember the good ones and the bad ones, to learn from them and improve. I have a lot of memories and I want to be able to have much more.
JBN.S: – Which collaboration have been the most important experiences for you?
GM: – All of them!! We are creating art, then is not right or wrong. Your taste could go in a totally different way than mine and both could have sense. I try never doing premeditations. When your creating or playing it’s a compromise that means each one of us is giving his best, then even the smallest input could put you in a creativity place that you weren’t before. I think we never should subestimate nobody.
Sometimes you share experiences or concerns with somebody that you admire, and he has been in the same place you and sometimes he hasn’t. It’s good sharing with people you have something in common, for not feeling yourself alone in the loneliness. But if they not, don’t worry. Each career, each live, each creative process is different.
JBN.S: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of the standard tunes are half a century old?
GM: – I think now people are creating the next generations of standards, only it passed not enough time. The jazz and the fusion musicians are doing now is awesome. And now we have so much information in our hands. Time will put everything place, jazz standards will be forever as classical music. And in fifty years we will see which ones of the actual music will become classics.
Now if you want to search you can find excellent music, but you should be hungry of music for doing that. As everything in life, I think education is the answer for the next generations. You need to plant the seed to see how the tree grows.
JBN.S: – John Coltrane said that music was his spirit. How do you understand the spirit and the meaning of life?
GM: – For me the meaning of live is be as happy as I can with the people I love. I try as hard as I can every day be better player, be able to express myself better through my music, be better producer, be better person. And when I’m working on music I’m the happiest guy in the world. I play music not because it is the only thing I know how to do, it’s my choice. I play and work in music because it is a true passion, true love. I totally agree with Coltrane, when I’m playing, creating music and expressing my feelings is when my soul is full open.
JBN.S: – What are your expectations of the future? What brings you fear or anxiety?
GM: – My expectations are being able to keep doing it. I feel so grateful to people for keep calling me to play and record to them with all the awesome people is out there. Sometimes is not about to be the best one, is about to be the right one. I’m repeating myself but this is art, each one of us have different taste. I work to be the best, but the best in music is not an absolute state.
Then I haven’t really feel fear or anxiety, because I am always do my best. If something goes right or wrong I want to be sure I did it best I could. It’s funny though, when you search in YouTube or internet about yourself or somebody, always you will see some people don’t like it. And some people have verbal wars about it, and they take it personal because a guy from Indonesia in underwear in his bedroom press “I don’t like it” in a music video. Sometimes some people misunderstand “I don’t like it” with “it’s no good”.
JBN.S: – If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?
GM: – This one is tricky one. I don’t know!! I want that all the musicians in the world will be billionaires. Hahaha!! I think that the best thing for us in this moment that once and for all, the legislations about the streaming music and royalties be able to goes into an international compendium. Because the music business is changing a lot and very quick. I have no problem is somebody is doing business with my music, I only want to be able to take the part corresponds to me.
JBN.S: – What’s the next musical frontier for you?
GM: – I don’t know but I hope to have a lot!!! It will mean I’m doing it good. It will mean I will be going into new places, with new music, with new people, with new experiences, with new projects, with new barriers. And I will need to figured out how to do it, whatever it will be. Then I will must improve, I will must learn and I will be closer of the kind of human been, professional and musician that I want to be.
JBN.S: – Are there any similarities between jazz and world music, including folk music?
GM: – I think all music began as world music in some part of the world. After it became folk music because it is related with all the indigenous folklore from somewhere. After it became pop because it was popular and a lot of people listened to it. And finally, somebody put labels. Jazz was Pop and Classical music was pop in certain time. And now you have people defines his music as Neo-Soul-Jazz-Trap-Symphonic-Epic. For me it’s only two kinds of music, the one that I like it and the one I don’t. And I never won’t say “this is good or bad” only if I like it.
JBN.S: – Who do you find yourself listening to these days?
GM: – Kamasi Washington, Steve Gadd band, Michael Landau, Scott Henderson, Robert Glasper, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Karizma, Toto, Jay-Z, Alejandro Sanz, Queen, Pink Floyd, Sting, John Mayer, … it could take forever!!!
Even my iTunes account is a little crazy!! I love so many different music styles.
JBN.S: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go?
GM: – Always to the future, to see how far we are going to go.
JBN.S: – I have been asking you so far, now may I have a question from yourself …
GM: – Did I write too much? Hahahah 🙂
JBN.S: – All OK. Thanks very much for answers!!!
GM: – Thank you very much Simon for this beautiful interview and for letting me be here in your awesome space. And to you, thank you very much for loving music and musicians and for the time you spent reading this. See you on the road!!!
Interview by Simon Sargsyan
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