At 31 the saxophonist nubia garcia is one of the new stars of British and world jazz. He plays tenor sax with an intense and fast-paced style which made it stand out almost from its beginnings.
Now will come to Argentina for the first time, within the south london festival which will take place at the Niceto Club on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17.
He will play on the second date, with Fernández 4 as a guest artist, while the group Dry wash will be at the opening and its guest artist will be Richard Coleman.
The jazz scene in London
-Have you imagined a tour in South America?
-Going to play in South America is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.
I made a wish and maybe it will come true.
-Work hard and maybe it will come true! (laughs)
-Is there a big jazz scene in South London?
-To begin with, I’m from North London and not the South. But many of us lived in the South when we were just starting out. That’s where the shows were, and there was a good scene at places like Tomorrow’s Warriors and Trinity, in New Cross, southeast of the city. These days I think there are things happening all over London, which has so many great places.
-How was the jazz scene when you started?
-The first concert I held as a band leader was at my house, where I had participated in several jam sessions. There were a lot of proposals around at the time, and the challenge was for people to get into jazz and not fall into the prejudice that it was music for very rich and very white people.
I played standards, started making my own songs and a lot of people were very receptive. Gradually a community formed that went to wherever we played. The great thing about London is that there are so many opportunities.
disc recording
-You have several EPs but only one album. Is it difficult to record jazz nowadays?
-I like to make records and I also like to go on tour. And making records and touring takes a lot of time. I think I enjoy taking the time to compose calmly and take pride in what I release. I don’t want to release recordings just for the sake of releasing them.
Today’s world moves too fast and new singles come out every week. On the other hand, an album contains 10-12 compositions that I make by myself, without the help of other composers, as is done in pop, and this requires a lot of work. If you have a community of fans following you, time is irrelevant and you can release a record whenever you want.
-And you wouldn’t release a live album, or are you too perfectionist and find mistakes in it?
-Insects are beautiful! And they’re not mistakes, because it’s something unique that won’t happen again. That’s why I make this kind of music, because every time we play we do something different. I would love to release a live record in the future as there is a real beauty in capturing something that is happening in that moment.
-You have received high praise from the press. Were you surprised to be compared to idols like Sonny Rollins?
– One hundred percent surprised. You start listening to geniuses like Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, wishing I was just a shred of who I am. I listened to them so much that they molded my ears, so I was honored to be mentioned in the same sentence with them.
Source: Clarin
