Interview with jazz guitarist Micaela Martini. An interview by email in writing.

Jazz Blues News: – Please explain your creative process … What are your main impulses to write music?

Micaela Martini: – I think it’s a natural process. I spend a lot of time transcribing the music of the great jazz musicians, listening to it and they become a source of inspiration. Sometimes I wake up with a theme in mind and try to translate it on the instrument, other times I sit on the piano looking for an interesting chord progression. Sometimes I try to translate emotions, an atmosfere or something that I feel in the air…It’s not easy to define the process. There is no how to do it, but it’s a continuous process. The deeper you get into the music, the more natural it becomes.

JBN: – What do you personally consider to be the incisive moments and pieces in your work and/or career?

MM: – The most important moment of my career was when I realized that I could do what I wanted: make music. I remember I was in Berlin together with other musicians who had the same aspirations as me and in that stimulating and creative environment I understood that I would start from there, from that feeling.

Only much later I composed a song to which I am very attached: “Aleida” contained in my new album “Just two for tea”. “Aleida” represents the dream, the utopia, the possibility. The song features a guest Alessio Menconi, a very good guitarist who immediately understood the mood of the song and made it fantastic.

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

MM: – An attempt to search my musical identity. Did I succeed? I don’t know, but certainly the journey to know who we really are is very long and not simple, sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s full of second thoughts and changes of direction.

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

MM: – I would say no. I’m very curious and I try to listen to a bit of everything. I’m very attached to bebop, but that doesn’t keep me distant from Ornette Coleman. I believe it’s very important to have an open mind to any type of listening, to be curious and not have prejudices.

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

MM: – I was very little and I looked at the guitar that was in my house: I looked at it with so much curiosity. Everyday music teaches me that you have to listen a lot: to truly understand a song you have to listen it a lot of times, go deeper and deeper, master it…a little metaphor for life: we need to delve deeply into what we do and fight against the current of superficiality.

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

MM: – I can only say that I practice a lot on the instrument and do a lot of meditation. It helps me trust myself and know where my limits are: always trying to improve, but keeping in mind where they are.

JBN: – What do you love most about your new album 2024: Just Two For Tea, how it was formed and what you are working on today.

MM: – “Just two for tea” was born as a work dedicated to small groups: it’s a context that opens up many expressive possibilities. Sometimes I worked by subtraction as in “Moody’s Mood”, other times taking space to dialogue with myself as in “Have you met Miss Jones”. Other times I was looking for an original voice as in “Aleida”. In “Alone together” I looked for a particular lunar atmosphere, “Jakarè” is one of my songs dedicated to nature, to the animals that I love very much. In “Stars fell on Alabama” I wanted to mix the old and the new,”The peacocks”, strongly inspired by Bille Evans’ version, has a very particular and different colours. Finally “Be blues be bop” is my homage to bebop, my truly only love…

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I really loved challenging myself in a different way in each song. I think my career will continue with a solo guitar album, but I don’t rule out a trio work with double bass and drums. At the moment I only have some ideas.

JBN: – Did your sound evolve during that time? And how did you select the musicians who play on the album?

MM: – The sound has changed compared to the previous work. Perhaps more authentic. I chose the musicians who collaborated with me for their fantastic way of playing, each with a different peculiarity. Alessio Menconi, Fabio Giachino, Annamaria Musajo, Luca Pasqua, Edoardo Bolamperti, Giovanni Crescenzi, Johnny Lapio, Giuseppe Blanco are all excellent musicians with a lot to express with their skills and their depth souls.

JBN: – How would you describe and rate the music scene you are currently living?

MM: – Difficult question. Sometimes I’m a little nostalgic for the jazz of the sixties and seventies, sometimes I think that currently there are very skill musicians. Often I miss the feeling of certain records from the past that are a great reference for me. Today there is a lot of precision but a bit of truth is missed in the way of playing. Maybe these are just my impressions…or maybe not.

JBN: – When you improvise, you know where you’re going. It’s a matter of taking certain paths and certain directions?

MM: – You must always know where you are going, but first of all you must know where you come from. Sometimes, however, I let the music goes.

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JBN: – Do you ever get the feeling that music majors, and particularly people who are going into jazz, are being cranked out much like business majors?

MM: – Yes there is that feeling. Now everything is business.

JBN: – That they are not really able to express themselves as jazz musicians? With such an illustrious career, what has given you the most satisfaction musically?

MM: – It’s difficult to express yourself when there are so much pressures or expectations, but jazz can not be emptied of its cultural enviroments. We remember records like: “We insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite” and the scope of their message. Artists should not forget about this important component of this music.

The greatest gratification of my career? Certainly the interest of many people in my records is very gratifying, but also seeing my students grow. Music, in its every aspect, is always gratification.

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

MM: – Yes, there are many differences in style, sound and feeling, but we live here and now and we are influenced by the world around us, its speed and many other aspects. You can regret a certain past, but you can’t go back.

JBN: – What advice would you give to aspiring musicians thinking of pursuing a career? Do You like our questions?

MM: – I like questions, they are a way to listen to each other and be listened to, to be understood.

To those who want to become a professional musician, I would only say to do it only if they really have a lot of passion, only if a song keeps them up at night, if they study until everything works. Passion can lead you to overcome the difficulties, keep the way and don’t loose yourself. You need to have perseverance, be curious and above all you have to believe it.

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

MM: – Which song did you like the most from my work “Just two for tea” and why? Or what aspect of the whole album did you appreciate?

JBN: – The album is good, more details in the review, which will be published in a few days.

JBN: – Have you ever given a free concert during your entire concert career? At the bottom line, what are your expectations from our interview?

MM: – I’ve only done free concerts for friends or charity situations. In professional situations it hasn’t happened: I think it’s not fair.

The interview was very nice, I had fun and I reflected on many issues. Thanks for the opportunity and sincerly I don’t expect anything in particular: it was a pleasure to talk about my last job. I would be very happy if someone could know my music better.

Interview by Simon Sarg

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