Interview: Eric Truffaz
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND
Jazz trumpeter Eric Truffaz sits down for a conversation and begins with a deep intake of breath – literally.
FEB 18, 2007 - IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT I’VE FOUND MYSELF perched on a parapet wall alongside a world-renowned jazz trumpeter – but there I am with Eric Truffaz, outside the auditorium at Chennai’s beautiful Museum Theatre. Truffaz’s bandmates are rehearsing inside for their performance that evening, hence this weird encampment. But the afternoon is about to get a lot weirder. I begin to ask Truffaz why he likes to be called a cross-genre trumpeter when I notice his hands. Could that be…? Surely it couldn’t be…! And I have to find out. “Is that thing in your hand a bidi?‿ Yes, it is. “I bought it in Calcutta,‿ he says. “I love bidi. I smoke bidi for over thirty years now, since I am 14.‿ But doesn’t he know there’s no filter in this thing, that it’s a direct hit of nicotine or whatever? He gives me that most Clintonian of defenses – “I don’t inhale‿ – and his face tilts upwards, eyes closed, as a cloud of smoke that he did not inhale makes its way to the skies.
Later that evening, I see that that gesture may be a Truffaz signature. The bidi in his hands may have been replaced by a trumpet, but his face still tilts upwards, eyes closed – as if seeking divine inspiration. He clearly gets some. The first piece – with contributions from Malcolm Braff’s piano and Christophe Chambet’s bass – kicks off with a heavy, lively sound; it’s a shot of pure adrenalin that somehow manages to work in a nod to the dreamy cadences of Ravel’s Bolero. The item that follows is a mournful trumpet solo, a lounge-bar ode to the blue state in the mode of the Gershwins’ Someone To Watch Over Me. And I get the answer to my question that remained unasked earlier that day. This is a cross-genre performance, all right – a mix of African rhythms and European melody, all shrouded in the classic-jazz ambience. There’s even a tabla on stage, overseen by KV Balakrishnan, one that we sense but do particularly hear because Marc Erbetta on the drums has decided to play percussional big bully.
“When I was a teenager,‿ says Truffaz, “I was listening to rock like what Jimi Hendrix did. And then I discovered jazz. And then I discovered hip-hop. So my music is a mix of all these influences.‿ That’s a long journey for someone who began tooting his trumpet in the marching band in his village in Switzerland. Truffaz’s father played the saxophone, and he thought it would be a good idea to get young Eric trained on the trumpet, so they could perform together. “This was French music, European music. It was not jazz. It was more pop – not pop music – but popular music, like Joe Dassin.‿ Afterwards, Truffaz formed his own band and has been making his own music. “My melody comes from French tradition. My rhythms come from pop and hip-hop. And the jazz comes from the improvisation.‿ And all this music comes from the collaboration with the bands Truffaz alternates between, Quartet (who pioneered the development of the jazz-fusion drum and bass) and Ladyland (a congregation of a few free spirits of the French jazz scene).
Now that Truffaz is in India, he is looking to add another sound to his mix. “I think I’ll record something with Indian people – because I love tabla and I really love the Indian voice culture. I listen to a lot of Hari Prasad Chaurasia – on the flute. It’s one of my big influences. But I mainly want to integrate the tabla and the voice.‿ So how would he do this? Would he simply lock himself in a recording room with a singer and a tabla exponent and throw away the key? Or would he write something first, something with specific Indian musical motifs? “My first idea is to come back to India to study, and afterwards I will write something for me and my music.‿ And then Truffaz says something very curious for a practitioner of an art form as all-appropriating as jazz. “My wish is to integrate the Indian mood, but I cannot play Indian classical music. I’m not born here. I cannot lie with my roots.‿
Copyright ©2007 The New Sunday Express
Mr.B,
“Clintonian defenses”
Is this your little invention?
I wonder what kind of interest you have in music? Are you learning music, in any of its forms?
It is my belief that an inspired creator, coupled with an objective (”nettrikan thirapinum … “style)is a potent force of creation. And a critique should have the temperament of an artist and should be able to look at art from the ‘other’ side. It’s not the trivial personal ego, (either with a creator, or with the ‘autobiographical’ self traveling with an art) that matters; it is the ego with the art itself that should matter.
And in that light, (my humble two cents), I believe there’s a lot more that you could and (may i add, should) be doing to the ‘art’ of cinema.
Please keep writing.
G: Thank you for those nice words. Just to clarify, do you feel I should be writing more than just reviews? Because that, in itself, is a very time consuming occupation — though I’m sure my editor would agree with you
Ahhh no reviews? My weekend is not made! I was about to ask if you were joining the writer’s strike as well
but I shall not make demands - anything you write, when you write it, is such a pleasure to read.
I really enjoy lietening to jazz on the radio, but never caught a live band playing. Interesting read, this one. I particularly enjoyed the transition from your parapet perch to Truffaz’s beedi to baritone (sax) transformation.
Regarding “..his face still tilts upwards, eyes closed – as if seeking divine inspiration,” I guess some of us in the creative arts are clearly luckier to have “divine inspiration” come our way with far too little effort expended. Speaking for myself, there’s no upward flexing of neck muscles involved nor the requirement to close shut my eyes…I simply stare blankly at these pages (of yours) and “divine inspiration” simply walks in my direction.
Mr. B,
I am sure your ‘job’ requires you to ‘function’ or ‘write reviews’ within a possibly self-restrictive manner. I have no doubts that what you’re doing currently also takes quite a bit of your time.
However, if you consider the art of cinema - which we all love, i’m sure - then the words in quotes above are so meaningless. (Forgive me if my opinions or thoughts sound pedagogic, for that is surely not what i intend to convey here.)
Your knowledge about the art of cinema is for everybody to see and praise. However, it is the art’s boundaries that we ultimately love pushing. (I might be mistaken here - for you could be inspired by the art of writing, too - Please correct me if i’m wrong) I love your work because I trust you to be a better critic and thinker of cinema than what little this commercially viable space shows to us. And like i told you earlier, i believe a good critic (very very hard to come by) is as much a creative force as the artist.
I am sure you’d be the first person to agree if i state one lifetime is not sufficient to be truly at the service of even one art. To be in one moment of brilliance of creation- Ah!
And to clarify, I’m not sure if i felt that way you had mentioned. Hell, i’m not even sure what i felt when i wrote the earlier comment - except for this - please keep on learning the art (and spreading it through your words free of cost to us :D).
Please, for the love of cinema, do not stop for nothing - NOTHING.
G
PS: I wonder what kind of interest you have in music? Are you learning music, in any of its forms?
lurker: Thanks. And no - no writer’s strike in these parts. But that would be nice, wouldn’t it? A long, enforced break from writing?
Sagarika: Awww. Thank you so much
G: 1. As much as I love film/music, I love writing too - which is why I do what i do. I don’t know how long I’ll do this before, say, I get tired of it (or) I get repetitive and have nothing new to say (or) I feel like exploring other writing venues. I think I see myself as a writer first, a critic only later. The way I see it, being a critic is a subset of being a writer, for the important thing is to not just to dump on page your thoughts about a film, but to try to form a “story” around them - so that even someone not interested in the film would want to read the piece. (Of course, with time constraints and all, this is not always possible, but this is the ideal.)
2. I get very nervous with terms like “knowledge about the art of cinema”, for I think when you try to grapple with any art for a layperson readership, what’s important is not the “knowledge” (how presumptuously concrete and absolute that word sounds, as if one can “know” everything about something as vague as art) but the willingness to engage with it, meet it halfway, so that what you write is ultimately a result of both the creator’s vision and your own interpretation. This, to me, is the most exciting part about reading other critics. Anyone can say, for instance, that Deepika Padukone looks beautiful in OSO, but if I can see this beauty in context of something else — even if this “interpretation” exists ONLY IN MY HEAD — that would mean I’ve done my job.
3. I’m not sure we’re talking about the same things, but I’m finding this exchange interesting. How strange that a post on Eric Truffaz — of all people — should result in this! And I’ve learnt music while young, and I’ve taken some odd classes in music. But like film — which I’ve not formally studied, but done a ton of watching — my music “knowledge” too is mainly from a ton of listening. Also everyone in the family is quite music and movie mad
From the layperson:
Yours the only website that I can’t keep my hands off even during the precious indian vacation. Though, I must admit I am not at all the reader you would like as I have very few things to say about what you write. I like to read inspite of my dislike for slb(still find it regressive), 70’s cinema…
If it is not too much, can you suggest few carnatic music related books.
I recently bought the “The Madras Quartet” by Indira menon. Simply because it was the only book available. But the history buff in me ended up liking it since it does offer quite bit of history. Something along those lines?
Hmm, that G obviously reads differently than me, no?
Stephen King put it well - writers and readers are in telepathic communication - over distance AND time. What can be more magical than that?
S: I’m no authority on music books, but V Sriram’s Carnatic Summer is quite popular. It gives a crash course on musicians. And if you read me despite everything you said, that’s really nice to know. Thank you.
G: You’re another G now? How very confounding!
Mr. B,
And thanks especially for those eloquent expressions on what ever you think of art. Hats off to you for such clarity and choice of words.
“How strange that a post on Eric Truffaz — of all people — should result in this” - First off, hehe :D. Secondly, it’s just my supersensitivity towards anything called “jazz” these days. A lot of fusion music is being thrown under the label of “jazz”. And these ideas or rather the imaginations of all these “fusion” musicians rather turns me off. Why call an exhibition of two forms that you know (or even like) a jazz performance or even “fusion” performance?! (Mahaganapathim on an electric guitar and the likes!)
That turned out to be a general rant towards these fusion musicians, i guess.
Anyways, thanks a bunch for sharing your thoughts. It has been a pleasant experience, picking whatever little i could of your mind.
G