Hi folks, after the nice interview with Jonathan Kreisberg by Gianni Salinetti, published in July, here is another episode of “Jazz On” dedicated to the great Reinier Baas, one of the most influential guitarist in the northern european jazz scene; saxophonist Benjamin Herman considers him among the most important figures for the future of the genre and many influential magazines have not failed to praise him in recent years.MusicOff: Please tell us your story: your musical growth and how you met jazz and experimental music.Reinier Baas: I grew up in Holland, Hilversum, close to Amsterdam. My father is a classical bass player, he introduced me to the music of Coltrane, Zappa, Steely Dan. Also. I used to go see him playing live and this had a strong influence on me. As a kid, I began to playi piano but I wasn’t that good so I bought my first guitar at eleven and since then I never stopped. My first heroes were Jimi Hendrix and obviously Django Reinhardt.The music scene in Amsterdam has always been very active, and when I was a teen I started travelling from my city to play at jam sessions and eventually I moved there when I was 18. I joined the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and graduated in 2010 and then I studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, for a semester. After that I just kept on studying and working.MO: Have you always been composing music?RB: I used to write stuff before going to school. I tried to find ideas on piano but I didn’t have so many songs. I’m no “Mozart” you know… (he laughs NdR). I began to compose seriously in Amsterdam, when I started my own groups. The songs I recorded are compositions written since 2008, so I always recorded new music. Now I’m writing a lot.MO: You published three records in a row indeed, one every year.RB: Yeah, I try to be as productive as I can. I schedule the recording dates even before I put all the music together. It can be very stressful but this gets you working… Once I decided the band’s line up, I know who I’m writing for and this helps me a lot.MO: Talking about the “music learning environment”, what do you think about attending a school, and them about finding yourself practicing something that maybe has been imposed to you? Schools can teach you a lot of different things, but is this what really matters in your opinion? How can you develop your own style?RB: Many musicians can’t earn enough money by playing only their music so it’s very helpful to have a solid background and being able to play in many styles. Talking about me, if I didn’t go to school, I wouldn’t have done all I did. You can meet many new people, absorb their influence. It’s important! Nowadays, I think this is the best thing to do to become a Jazz musician. On the other hand, you always have to walk you own path, even if you teacher says you must play “that way” before if you want to reach high musical levels.MO: And what do you thing about the innovation/imitation relationship? Listening to your music I notice it is played with traditional instruments, it’s acoustic in most cases, but I also feel a strong desire of emancipation from the Afro-American tradition that your clearly master.RB: Well, thanks! I try to develop both things at the same time, studying traditional material, making my roots stronger, always trying to keep in mind who I am and my artistic aims. You must be a complete, professional musician, being able to play many things but in the end there is something that makes you different from other musicians and when you understand what it is, you must chase and go in depth with it. It’s very important to me to try to express myself, to make real what is in my mind.Something I learned in these years is that I don’t care if people has to take an effort to get into my music. They may need three or four listenings, not necessary a first sight love, but I don’t fell like I NEED to play “easy” for them. I try to write something that unveils new elements during every listening.MO: Ben Street once gave a life changing advice, a simple but effective concept: “You don’t have to listen all the jazz albums you think you need to know. Just listen to what makes you thrill and follows your preferences, do what you really like.” What do you think about it?RB: Totally agree, he’s a giant, a guru! You obviusly have to master your instrument, scales, sound, bla bla bla, but the hardest part is what you want to express.
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I apply this on standards and other stuff, trying to be as free as I can, both technically and visually.MO: Do you have a study routine?RB: Yes. When I was going to school I used to pick up my guitar and play anything that came to my mind, focusing on what I couldn’t play well. But now I have a little study plan that works for me: mainly technique and fingerboard visualization. I have different exercises that help me to play more freely, to move chords over scales as we told before, different voicings, scales and keys. I move them diatonically, then I change string set, on and on. Sometimes you find excessively wide open positions, but you can arpeggiate it, play it melodically.When I practice I try to relate every note with the root, modally. I often try to sing the combinations before playing them, then I check on the guitar. Besides this I work a lot on 4 notes chords created over scales, trying to play them in every drop position I know. I practice a lot on scales too, very slowly, legato and dynamically even. I try to put accents every 3 or 4 notes too… I work on all positions, with alternate picking. Really basic stuff, indeed…I also work a lot on my sound; I think that the heart of the sound of a guitar player is in his right hand. I practice not to press too hard with the left hand, sure, but most of my exercises are about pick control, angle, strength and velocity. I just want sound the same on every guitar. I use to practice this stuff every day, along with some reading exercises. I’m not a good reader, but it’s getting better all the time.
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