Interview with Filippo BIanchini: By studying you learn to study! Video

Interview with saxophonist Filippo BIanchini. An interview by email in writing.

JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music.  How exactly did your adventure take off? 

Filippo BIanchini: – I was born in Orvieto a little town not far away from Rome, and i actually grow up in Rome till 8 years hold. After i went back to Orvieto till i was 18th. I started to play sax when i had 10. I moved to Perugia when I was 18 to study at Conservatory with a nice teacher, Mario Raja, that helped me a lot to improve a saxophonist and musician. After my graduation, when I was 24th I moved to Netherlands to study at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Here I had the opportunity to study with one of the best musician and teacher that lives in Europe: the American saxophone and clarinet player John Ruocco. I will be always thankful to him.

JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?

FB: – I am always give a lot of importance to the sound. It is the 1st thing that i get from a musician, does not matter which instrument he plays. I guess we developed the sound that we like more in relation also to our heroes, which doesn’t necessarily mean coming only from saxophonists! Off course there are some sound from a tenor sax like Coltrane, Rollins, Bob Berg, Massimo Urbani, Larry Nocella, Gato Barbieri and others that i love, but i think i gets inspired also from others… I love Jeff Buckley, Eddy Vedder, Freddie Hubbard, Monk, Brownie for example … also in terms of sound!

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JBN: – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?

JBN: – SS: – He probably don’t know what harmony is to answer, if he knew, he would have answered.

JBN: – Have you changed through the years? Any charges or overall evolution? And if so why?

FB: – I love to practice and i try to do it as much as i can. There are many exercise that i do to develop my technical-musically skills. Let’s say, that i changed a lot my practice routine in the years. I try to do everything in most musical way possible. Even a scale, i try to play it with a musical attitude, as a melody, and i try to make it as the best melody in world. There is an aspect linked to the study of the instrument and of music, which is linked to a study of oneself.
By studying you learn to study! I believe it is related to any activity we do when we question ourselves. And I find it a very stimulating research … as well as beautiful!

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JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

FB: – 50% and 50%!

JBN: – SS: – Ha, ha, ha … !!!! It was not possible to give a more stupid answer, it’s the first time I’ve come across such an answer, the poor guy should at least look at the other interviews on the website and he might understand that jazz is not arithmetic.

JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?

FB: – In a Jazz Music, for me it is fundamental the relation that you get between the Musicians and the audience. I can feel a lot when i play the feeling of the audience. I am quite sure that there is a interchange of energy between people and it happens a lot during the concert. A lot of time I thank the public for the feeling that he gave to me, and i am serious on it. When you feel a bed energy from the public, it is difficult to play ..!

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

FB: – There are tunes that are just great tune. Melodic, Rhythmically and harmonically well made. If you can share and spread the taste for beautiful things, for things done well, even the passages will be better understood. Often there are contemporary musicians who re-propose old standards making them back in fashion! It also happens for pop music. The important thing is to do it well, with musical wisdom.

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

FB: – Music for me is life. It helps me feel good, it helps me feel closer to myself and it helps me be a better person. Music is beauty – we constantly need beautiful things that make us reflect on ourselves and make us understand how to improve and appease ourselves with our doubts and fears.

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

FB: – Better convey the message that music is not just entertainment (it is!), but it is also an opportunity to grow and feel good.

JBN: – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?

FB: – Some classical Music. Symphony of Mahler n5 from Berliners direct by Claudio Abbado and some compositions of Ravel, Beethoven an Mozart played by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli; Charlie Parker,; the album ”Mating Call” by John Coltrane and Tad Dameron; ”Miles Smiles” from the 2nd 5et of Miles … some Radio Head..

JBN: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine: where and why would you really want to go?

FB: – In the 50th .. I wanna see Charlie Parker and John Coltrane live!!!

Interview by Simon Sargsyan

Note: You can express your consent and join our association, which will give you the opportunity to perform at our Jazz and Blues festivals in Europe and Boston, naturally receiving an appropriate royalty. We cover all expenses. The objectives of the interview are: How to introduce yourself, your activities, thoughts and intellect, and make new discoveries for our US/EU Jazz & Blues Association, which organizes festivals, concerts and meetings in Boston and various European countries, why not for you too!! You can read more about the association here. https://jazzbluesnews.com/2022/11/19/us-eu-jba/