Interview with harmonica player Tim Gartland. 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?
Tim Gartland։ – I grew up in the mid-west, in Ohio with a musical family. From money made as a paper boy, I bought my first harmonica at age 13 and been playing ever since. My route to being able to play my own original music, involved working a day job until I was secure enough to make the leasp to music full time.
JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?
TG: – All through my teens I listened only to blues music. Beginning with my twenties I fell in love with soul, roots and country.
JBN: – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?
TG: – I practice play multiple scales per day which helps train your ears to melodic and harmonic possibilities. Not to mention the technical proficiency on your instrument to be able to play what you hear. Rhythm development for me simply come from listening and by playing.
JBN: – Have you changed through the years? Any charges or overall evolution? And if so why?
TG: – For me, it is simply putting in the work, the practice and to be smart about what your objectives are/what you want to do. The 10,000 hours to become an expert thing rings true to me.
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JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?
TG: – Fascinating question to ponder. I guess there is an emotional side to having soul. To be kind, to be real, to be empathic, to be soulful.
JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?
TG: – If I stay true to who I am as a person, the songs are my stories, then you have me in full, all aspects.
JBN: – How can we get young people interested in blues when most of standard tunes are half a century old?
TG: – Well, the blues is alive and will never die. Because it is the root of all popular music. When I play, the young people get it because it comes from the heart.
JBN: – John Coltrane once said that music was his spirit. How do you perceive the spirit and the meaning of life?
TG: – All I know is life is better with music.
JBN: – If you could change one single thing in the musical world and that would become reality, what would that be?
TG: – More compensation for writers and musicians. The current situation is cruelly out of balance.
JBN: – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?
TG: – Lou Donaldson, soul jazz artist, soul standards and old time country music. Pop songs than are well written.
JBN: – What is the message you choose to bring through your music?
TG: – Oh it depends on the song. Some themes include the joy of living simply, the importance of doing right, and pursuing your dreams.
JBN: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine: where and why would you really want to go?
TG: – 1956 Chicago. I would want to be in the front row of a Muddy Waters show and a Little Walter show. I would also like to see Charlie Parker.
JBN: – So far, it’s been me asking you questions, now may I have a question from yourself…
TG: – How do you see yourself and your role in the art of making music?
JBN: – I am Jazz critic․ 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://jazzblues.eu/2022/11/19/us-eu-jba/
JBN: – At the bottom line, what are your expectations from our interview?
TG: – I guess insight into one artist mind. It is always nice to understand where they are coming from.
Interview by Simon Sargsyan
