Jazz interview with jazz guitarist Paulo Morello. 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.
Paulo Morello: – I grew up in Southern Germany close to Munich. I started with flute then switched to violin at age 6 and then finally to guitar with 12. Hearing Jimi Hendrix’s music was call to pick up guitar.
JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?
PM: – As mentioned I come from a first classical and then on guitar a rock background. I started to play in school bands and local groups early on. At around age 16 I discovered jazz guitar for me – the record Wes Montgomery plays the Blues was my door opener here. Then I studied Jazz guitar in Germany and at the New School in NYC.
Nowadays I love to use different sounds: straight ahead archtop sound, nylon or gypsy acoustic guitar or also bluesy sounds on my tele.
JBN: – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?
PM: – By playing as much as possible, also teaching on University level helps to stay fit.
JBN: – How do you keep stray, or random, musical influences from diverting you from what you’re doing?
PM: – I often get diverted by different musical influences – I think of this as a positive thing – often I get ideas out of these so called distractions.
There could be talk or advertising about your CD
JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?
PM: – I`m more on the soulful side – but intellectual and compositorial aspects are very important, too.
JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?
PM: – Of course! I want to bring good vibes with my music.
JBN: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of standard tunes are half a century old?
PM: – By writing new stuff, and use interesting orchestrations or fusions of styles.
JBN: – John Coltrane once said that music was his spirit. How do you perceive the spirit and the meaning of life?
PM: – I free on what maestro Coltrane said. I keep the spirit by going forward and finding joy in playing music with people. Of course family and friends are also very important.
JBN: – If you could change one single thing in the musical world and that would become reality, what would that be?
PM: – The music market is really ruined by the streaming platforms – in the jazz world musicians earn far less money with recordings today because everybody is listening for free. I would like to change that: musicians should get paid for their music.
JBN: – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?
PM: – I was listening to a lot of Django Reinhardt lately.
JBN: – What is the message you choose to bring through your music?
PM: – I don´t want to bring a message: I want to make the best music possible and that the audience has a good time listening.
JBN: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine: where and why would you really want to go?
PM: – Back to the 60s: meeting Coltrane, Wes…
Interview by Simon Sargsyan
P.S. – 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/
