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

Eva Slongo։ – I grew up in Switzerland in a family of professional classical musicians. I studied classical violin and was planning to be professional in classical when I was a teenager, but then I discovered jazz when I was 20. I began to study jazz language, it was not easy because I had to study simple things that I couldn’t do… as I was playing very complex things in classical.

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But I enjoyed so much the freedom of improvisation than gradually it became more present… And when I finished my classical studies I stopped totally classical to study only jazz.

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

ES: – I studied with jazz violin players, but also tried to transcribe other instruments: for example Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Chet baker… And to play these solos make me find other language too, and not only violinistic things.

But I think the scat with the voice made me find my own sound and way to play. I also sing a lot and integrated my voice together with the violin as a central element in my expression.

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

ES: – Scales, rhythm exercises, solo transcriptions, sing the solos above the chords. And now I am learning guitar that still make me improve in harmony.

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

ES: – For me, intellect is for home practice… And after that, on the scene, let the soul speak with what you have practiced and that comes out… the elements you have practiced serve the soul at the moment of sharing music with the public and the musicians, and if you can let everything go this is the best… Practice at home, and play on the scene.

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

ES: – For me this is the most beautiful sharing. This is the essence of the music : sharing emotions. And more the audience can represent itself in my emotions, and more this sharing can happen.

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

ES: – I think that actual jazz also mix pop music /it’s disgusting – JBN/ and world music, so that maybe would make a link between the youngest generation and the oldest… In New York there is a lot of that kind of mix.

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

ES: – That this world of men became a world of women…. That would have helped me a lot. Or change myself into a man and keep the world of jazz as it is …

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

ES: – I put Christmas classics and Brandebourg concertos for a Christmas atmosphere for my kids!

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Interview by Simon Sarg