IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC – A CONVERSATION WITH MACIEJ OBARA QUARTET - Festival Jazzkaar

ADDRESS: Pärnu maantee 30-5, Tallinn 10141

PHONE: +372 666 0030

EMAIL: info(ät)jazzkaar.ee

29/04/2022 IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC – A CONVERSATION WITH MACIEJ OBARA QUARTET

Interviews Raija Heikkilä

On April 26th, Maciej Obara Quartet performed at Jazzkaar (and in Estonia) for the first time. Volunteer reporter Raija Heikkilä sat down with three of the members before the show.

You are a Polish and a Scandinavian group. Maciej and Dominik, you have known each other for over a decade, but how did you meet Ole Morten and Jon?

M: I was a participant in the Take Five: Europe project. It was a program dedicated to young musicians from five partner countries. It was led by the London Jazz Festival and Serious. They were the organizers and producers who prepared the whole project. It was mostly about the business side of music, and how to establish a career in the long term. Ole Morten and Jon, but actually Gard (Nilssen) as an original member, were also participants in this project. We started by playing in a big tentet with two musicians from each of the five countries. After this audition I decided to start playing with a quartet. Dominik and I know each other for a long time. We met during a cooperation with Tomasz Stańko, the Polish trumpeter. I decided to invite him, Ole Morten and Gard to start a musical journey together. It was exactly ten years ago. This year is very special because it is our ten-year anniversary.

What is the secret to your successful collaboration? What makes the magic happen?

M: I would say it is trust.

D: For me the crucial thing is the music – the composer – who is Maciej. Without his music we could not be ourselves in this band.

So Maciej is the magic?

M: I am a kind of magic… because I try to write as little as possible and offer possibilities to express different points of view. I bring the music to my colleagues and then they decide what they want to do. That is probably the secret recipe for the successful existence of this group.

How long have you been involved in music? Do you have family members who play music, or did you learn it in school? And when did you discover jazz?

D: I have been playing music for around 36 years, starting in school at the age of four. My father used to be an amateur drummer and musician. He does not play anymore, but he is still a fan of jazz and music. Music was always around somehow… My background is in classical music, and it is still part of the language I use. Actually, as a pianist I cannot imagine being an improviser, a jazz musician, without having a classical background.

M: My father was a clarinet player and my mother played the accordion. We played a bit of music, but mostly without my father because he was travelling a lot. When I was seven or eight, my father brought a saxophone to the house for the first time. I heard the instrument, saw its shape, and realized how beautiful it is. I decided to start learning when I was 14–15. It has now been 25 years. I have a bit of a classical background, but I would not say it is a super important thing for jazz musicians or improvisers. It might be useful… some parts of the language from classical music. But I mostly focus on my own work, and get inspiration from colleagues and other musicians, especially from Scandinavian countries.

You have also performed in Norway and Sweden. Have you noticed any differences with Poland regarding the jazz scene?

M: The approach to improvisation in Norway is very special in terms of education. It is very advanced and there is a lot of freedom, which I think is very important. You cannot find it in Poland. Professionalization needs to develop in Poland. It is just a question of time.

The last years have been very challenging to everyone, but the pandemic has disproportionately affected the performing arts. How have you as a group managed in these difficult times and what kind of lessons have you learned?

M: I think Dominik is the luckiest because he released his solo album.

D: Even though there were not many concerts or almost no concerts with an audience, I could still play some online events. I was able to perform and promote my record. But of course, nothing can replace a real audience. Being here at this festival is very special for us.

M: It is also a nice reunion. We are preparing new music for the next recording session, which is happening in the beginning of June. It will be our third record.

I think that is also when you end your current European tour.

M: Yes, we start recording on June 6th–8th.

Where will you be recording?

D: The Rainbow Studio in Oslo.

M: And it will also be released by ECM.

You are performing at Jazzkaar for the first time thanks in part to a collaboration between Jazzkaar and the Katowice JazzArt Festival. What do you find are the strengths and benefits of such partnerships?

M: This exchange is great, even for us… we have been travelling a lot to different countries. This is the first time that I am in Estonia, in Tallinn, and at this festival. I am grateful to Martyna (Markowska), the artistic director of JazzArt, for deciding to start this collaboration with you and for keeping it alive. It is an important opportunity for musicians: to visit you, to show what they do and what they sound like, to see your festival, and to check out other artists. It is something different.

Both Tallinn and Katowice are UNESCO cities of music. Considering this honorable title, what are your expectations for the concert? What would you like for the audience to take away?

OM: We are checking out some new material. We are going to try out some new music which is always very exciting. We are hoping to get through the tunes. It might be the first time that we play the tunes that we are going to record some weeks from now.

Oh, so it might be the first time the audience hears them.

OM: Yes, we made some of them last year, but some are also new.

M: So, it will be like a tiny gift from us… to present what is in the future for the group.

 

Maciej Obara Quartet (Poland-Norway-Sweden)

April 26th at 9 PM, Vaba Lava

Line-up:

Maciej Obara – saxophone

Dominik Wania – piano

Ole Morten Vågan – bass

Jon Fält – drums

 

Check the photos of the concert here.