Interview with jazz violinist Elia Bastida. 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 of? When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?

Elia Bastida: – When I was 4 years old, I started asking to my parents to play violin, I felt in love with the sound of this amazing instrument and I wanted to play it, I didn’t want to do other activities, and my parents finnaly bought me a violin and I started taking violin lessons in Barcelona, with a very good violin teacher: Pablo Cortés (he has his own method to starting playing violin and I know he’s the best violin teacher I could have had. Later, when I was 12 years old, I was already clear that I wanted to dedicate myself to music and I went to study in an integrated center where music was very important.

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JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound? What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?

EB: – I have always been told about understanding sound as an extension of your voice, both my violin teacher Pablo Cortés, and later Joan Chamorro during, have made me understand that the music is just that, a language, a means of expression, so for me sound was a very important treasure to which I have dedicated many hours, to make it more and more pure and honest.

A very important part of my daily study is bow work, as if you were juggling it, keeping in mind the function of each finger on the bow and then applying that to the step of the bow on the strings. Obviously, the technical work of the left hand is very important, because in the violin there are an infinite number of exercises, of combinations, which make it more and more agile.

I think creativity is very important in the studio as well, whether you play jazz or not, for classical musicians it should also be very important. As musicians, artists, we need to feel capable, free and with our own language, to be able to create, play without sheet music, improvise, beyond the style of music you play.

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

EB: – I think you have to find the balance in which each musician is most comfortable, this will be one of the things that will characterize them. But, yes, never lose expression, and never stop knowing that music if you don’t make it from the soul, if it only stays in the intellect, you lose a very important part of what it means, because we are talking about ART and ARTISTS.

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

EB: – I am very happy on stage, I love knowing that there are people listening to my music and that they interact with us, that they get excited and that they travel with Jazz music. I’m very aware of the importance of the audience in my work, without them, without the people who listen to me, who like my music, it would not be the same

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

EB: – Jazz is a very experiential music, I think it’s one of the types of music that children can enjoy the most, but I think children can enjoy at least all types of music. In addition, it gives place to improvisation, where they feel creative, interact, etc.

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

EB: – I think there should be less negative competition, sometimes there is a lot of jealousy, and I think that music should be above all that. It’s very idyllic, but it could be so much better. This doesn’t mean that you don’t want to overcome yourself, that you want to go further, you want to be very good, since overcoming is necessary.

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

EB: – I’m listening Samara Joy, I listened her in live in Barcelona a few weeks ago and this girl is a really really amazing singer and musician! I love her singing! Also to my favorite violinist, Hilary Hahn, that I never will stop listening her, she inspires me a lot. And also a trumpet player that I didn’t know and that has been a great discovery: Jason Palmer.

JBN: – Do You like our questions? So far, it’s been me asking you questions, now may I have a question from yourself…

EB: – Yeah of course! There are original and not ordinary questions!

Interview by Simon Sarg

Note: https://jazzbluesnews.com/2023/03/19/useu-jazz-blues-association-festivals/ You can express your consent and join our association, which will give you the opportunity to perform at our Jazz and Blues festivals, 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/useujba/