The Dominican Republic’s finest musical export is back at the Malta Jazz Festival. Michel Camilo discusses his musical journey with David Schembri.

Michel CamiloMichel Camilo

There are Christmas trees which are less decorated than Michel Camilo. With no fewer than three honorary doctorates from three universities in his native Dominican Republic, an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, two Latin Grammy awards and a Grammy award, this pianist and composer has a mantelpiece which is rather full. He has also been awarded the Silver Cross of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella, the highest civilian award the Dominican Republic confers.

Much unlike a Christmas tree, these decorations are in recognition of Camilo’s long and tireless career, which has its roots in his upbringing, immersed in music.

“I was very fortunate to grow up in a family of musicians and composers. I had an uncle who played popular piano music and an aunt who was a classical pianist,” Camilo says.

There are only two types of music: the ‘good’ and the ‘not so good’, like Duke Ellington used to say

“Every Sunday, the family would gather at my grandparents’ house for lunch. They had a piano and, at the end of meals, my uncle and aunt took turns on the instrument. I believe my love for the instrument comes from watching them and wanting to imitate them.”

This childhood wonder at the magic of music doesn’t seem to have left him over the years of hard graft spent at the National Conservatory in the Dominican Republic, which led him to join the National Symphony Orchestra at the age of 16, and Mannes and Julliard in the US, where he moved in 1979.

The hardest time in this journey, the 59-year-old recalls, was learning the Vengerova piano technique in the early 1980s from Jacob Lateiner, his piano teacher, while performing Chopin’s Etudes and Scherzi.

“For me, music is the universal language of the soul. It brings me a lot of joy you are able to communicate with your audience and music touches each person differently. Music can bring happiness or tears to your eyes; it can make your heart race, and give you goosebumps. It frees our spirits and lets our imagination fly.”

In fact, Camilo is comfortable working both in the classical and jazz paradigms, a balancing act not many professional musicians choose to enter into. He doesn’t seem too concerned with labels, however.

“For me there was never: ‘This is classical’ or ‘This is jazz’ or ‘This is popular’; there are only two types of music: the ‘good’ and the ‘not so good’, like Duke Ellington used to say,” Camilo explains.

“I feel at home playing jazz, as well as classical music, since I don’t really differentiate between the two. They are both close to my heart since I first started with classical and then, at the age of 14, I heard the great jazz pianist Art Tatum playing Tea for Two on the radio. I instantly fell in love with jazz,” the pianist says.

This fateful broadcast is what ultimately led to his presence at the Malta Jazz Festival, as opposed to a classical music festival elsewhere, and Camilo is eagerly looking forward to it.

“I have great memories from my previous visits to the festival since the audience was always warm and receptive, so I am excited to come back with my trio and will play a combination of songs from my albums.”

In the time between this interview and his trio’s performance at the Jazz Festival, Camilo will have played in five countries in two different ensembles – his trio, with Cliff Almond and Lincoln Goines and his duo with flamenco guitarist Tomatito. A couple of days later, he will be giving a solo piano performance.

If this varied schedule says one thing, this is that Camilo enjoys playing in all of these settings: “It’s not possible for me to choose, since each has its enjoyments and difficulties.”

He explains that with the trio, the interplay and communication is amazing. So, as a composer and arranger, he tries to write music that poses a challenge to both – as performers and improvisers. “The solo piano gives me absolute freedom and makes me feel at one with the instrument, but the challenge here is to keep the audience interested and focused through your musical journey.”

Camilo feels that within each project he grows more and more, and expands his musical horizons: “I feel great in all of them, from the solo to the duo with Tomatito, to the trio, to my big band (lots of fun!), to my appearances as guest soloist/composer with symphony orchestras. I feel blessed to be doing all these many things I love so much.”

Apart from his eclectic performing roster, Camilo also finds time to compose, with his 2013 album What’s Up? including seven of his own jazzier compositions.

A highlight of his composing career was the recent premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 2 – Tenerife, which was greeted by a long-standing ovation.

Asked if he’d choose performance or composition, Camilo is magnanimous in his ambivalence: “As both a composer and a performer, I enjoy both. Composing is a more lonely introspective aspect of music; you have to create the time to compose and this requires isolation and time; it is a one-to-one experience with your own self.

“Performing, on the other hand, is like a two-way street, where you and your band members are sharing all these emotions with the audience; you can express yourself and at the same time communicate without words with the audience. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

Asked which composition he wishes he’d written himself, he whittles down the choice to two pieces: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

The minor disappointment of not having written these masterpieces isn’t stalling him from writing any music, however.

“I want to keep on contributing to the rich heritage of jazz styles and I’m always searching for new open possibilities in a piece. The world is like an open canvas of orchestral textures, and travelling as much as I do lets you experience the different cultures and their music. All of this stays with you when you compose and perform, so it kind of becomes a part of you.”

The Michel Camilo trio will be performing at the Malta Jazz Festival on Saturday.

www.maltajazzfestival.org

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