Although you’re best known as a trumpet player, you’ve also played the upright bass in the past. What, apart from the fact that you’ve been playing it since childhood, is it about the trumpet that appeals to you above other instruments?

The main reason is that the trumpet is the instrument through which I can best express myself and my emotions. I can play loud and happy, or soft and sad or romantic – any kind of mood I’m in, I can use the trumpet – it’s my best voice.

Where did the ‘Lady Miles Davis of Europe’ reference originate from? Does it put you under any pressure to live up to expectations?

Miles Davis was actually one of the first people I checked out. I hadn’t heard about jazz until I was 16, when a friend of my father gave me a cassette of jazz trumpeters and one of the tracks was Davis playing Some Day My Prince Will Come.

It was so beautiful; I listened to it over and over and tried to imitate it. I think that, and later LPs of his that I studied and listened to, influenced me a lot; it’s how I got my style.

I also listened to a lot of other great jazz trumpet players like Clifford Brown, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Lee Morgan and Wynton Marsalis.

When I was in the US in 1998 playing with the late, great Teddy Edwards people commented that I sounded like Davis, some even said that Miles had come back in the form of a white woman’.

Newspaper reviewers also referenced Davis when describing my style, and some people who heard my recordings said they thought it was undiscovered music by Miles.

Naturally, it was a huge honour for me and I did feel I had a responsibility to live up to those comparisons, but not pressured because after all I’m not Davis, I’m Saskia Laroo.

Nowadays I notice that people tend to forget some of the people who passed away, so in a way, I feel proud I can keep the spirit of Davis’ playing alive. I wrote a song about John Coltrane, honouring him and mentioning other jazz legends, because the new generations of jazz musicians need to remember the artists who paved the way.

Although you come from the jazz world, you’re quite liberal in the way you embrace other genres and explore new combinations. What drew you to this open-min­ded approach to making music?

It all comes from the fact that I like all these styles. I came to Amsterdam and discovered music there. I went to a pub and they were playing salsa, which I liked a lot and wanted to learn it, so I joined a salsa band, but at the same time I was also playing in a blues band, and I thought all these genres… blues, rock and funk were all cool.

Then I started to study jazz, and I noticed some audiences couldn’t mix with each other. But I liked all these genres, so I had to find a way to combine them in my band and find musicians with the same open mind. I succeeded and I’m sure the musicians I’m playing with in Malta are also open-minded and versatile.

Are there any styles you won’t venture into?

I can’t think of any, but there may be styles I don’t know that much about or that I’m not capable of playing at a high level, such as classical music. I can go as far as heavy metal, because I use effects and that helps to boost the trumpet’s sound to match the heavy guitars. That’s why I started to use effects.

You’ve practically performed all over the world during your extensive career. Are there any favourite places you’ve performed in and which place, of the ones you haven’t been to, do you most wish to perform in?

I’ve always wanted to travel, so I’m very lucky to be able to visit so many countries and perform there – it’s a dream come true. The places I have been to last tend to always be my current favourites, for example my last gig was in the Netherlands and it was great fun.

Before that we were in Mexico and Guatemala. On the last night we performed in front of 11,000 people in Mexico City, which was an incredible feeling, and in Guatemala we had a beautiful experience performing at a concert to honour Regina Galindo, wone of thaat country’s avant-garde performance artists.

Any thoughts ahead of your upcoming performances in Malta?

I’ve actually been to Malta three or four times, back in the mid-1990s. The first time I was there for a month, performing in a big hotel by the sea, and then I came back with my seven-piece band.

I’ve also come over with a quintet to play in the Beerfest. I’m very happy to be coming back as I recall the music scene there was very dedicated and I’m eager to see what it’s like now.

This time I’ll be accompanied by pianist and vocalist Warren Byrd, with whom I’ve written several songs and released the album Two Of A Kind. We’ll be playing with a Maltese rhythm section and we’re really looking forward to coming to Malta.

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