TANIA GIANNOULI DISCUSSES HER 2015 RATTLE RELEASE, TRANSCENDENCE
From the moment she sets foot on the New Zealand coast in Jane Campion's "The Piano", we don’t hear a word come from Ada’s mouth. She finds her voice only through the piano she brought with her from Europe.
The piano also serves as a voice for Tania Giannouli, a voice that comes to us via New Zealand even though she has never set foot there. In 2012, she sent a set of improvised recordings she had made with Portuguese wind player Paulo Chagas to Rattle Records, an Auckland indie label moving just as she does, between the genres. From that moment, Tania found the vehicle that would transfer her music to the world.
That album, "Forest Stories", made clear that her music couldn't be tagged as “jazz” or any other genre. While her musical education was classical, she sought her own melodies through improvisation, not with standard jazz phrasing (which she never studied), but by exploring her personal artistic and cultural sensibilities.
Three years after her debut, she released "Transcendence", this time with a larger ensemble and more overtly structured material. The Tania Giannouli Ensemble performed as a quartet of piano and saxophone with cello and percussion instead of bass and drums, which combined to create a sound that reflected her classical, jazz and improv instincts.
The cinematic melodicity of “The Sea” evokes calm waters, successively expressed by the cello of Alexandros Botinis and the soprano saxophone of Guido de Flaviis with Tania's piano arpeggios providing the underlying framework to conjure images that etch deep into one's memory. Likewise, the theme of “Sun Dance” firmly captures and compels one's attention, simmering with an underlying tension that seeks liberation and final resolution in a collective crescendo.
Tania's love of the romantics is evident in the melancholy "The Time Will Come" as well as the meticulous “From Foreign Lands” until the forceful percussion of Solis Barki introduces Guido's edgy soprano saxophone and the long bows from Alexandros's cello. The tempo is also edgy in “Faster than Wear”, with Guido's saxophone evoking a characteristic Nordic sound. The slow, subtractive movement of “Obsession” suggests the world of Erik Satie, and with “Mad World”, the most abstract and improvisational piece, the album hits its most Avant-garde note in a piece that recalls Charlie Haden's “Songs of the Whales”.
I had the opportunity to meet Tania Giannouli at the first presentation of the album at Apollon Theatre on Syros Island. She struck me as a composed personality with deep faith in her artistic choices and where she is going with them. The transcendence of “Transcendence” is a portentous indication of the path Tania Giannouli has mapped for herself.
Q: Artists are often asked why they chose their particular discipline. Were you ever tempted to do something else?
A: From a very young age, I knew that I would only be truly happy by making music. Even though some of my studies had nothing to do with music (I graduated from the Agricultural University of Athens), it was very clear that it was going to be music for me.
Q: In everyone's life, “randomness” plays a significant role, but the choices we make are equally important, the things we say “no” to, for example. How important is it for an artist to say “no”?
A: I believe that what we say “no” to is more important than what we say “yes” to. Wrong choices, wrong collaborations, reductions, concessions -- such things can lead you astray. Looking back, I can see that saying no has been more important for me than saying yes. It’s not easy, especially when you are younger, but being an artist is never easy.
Q: People sometimes compliment a musician by saying, “they can play anything”, but can someone be equally good in several styles? Is it possible or useful, or even necessary for an artist to aspire to this?
A: In some exceptional cases, yes, it is possible. Keith Jarrett, for example, is as much a master of solo jazz improvisation and ensemble collaborations as he is playing preludes by Shostakovich. I don’t know if it’s useful or necessary because that’s not the main thing. Virtuosity isn't the main thing, either. True music is beyond notes. Finding your own voice, your own sound, what makes you unique -- these are the main preoccupations for an artist, I think, and it's a pursuit that takes years to develop.
Q: So, what does it mean to build a personal sound? Surely there is no prescribed procedure, but how does one reach this goal?
A: As I said, it takes years and will only happen if the artist is truly committed to their discipline. Many don't deviate from a particular style, comfortable within a framework where they don't have to push themselves and are happy to keep repeating themselves, but that is not what being an artist is, in my view. A staid lack of momentum is my biggest fear. I don’t want to stay stationary within a set style or with one group. I look for diverse projects and collaborations, and I recognise the importance of self-criticism, of having clear intentions and intuitions, but mainly being prepared to work hard.
Q: Out of necessity, musicians are often divided between pursuing their own work, working in collaboration on projects for others, and (more often than not) teaching. How does one find a good work/life balance and remain creative?
A: Time is limited, so if one doesn’t set priorities, then nothing will bloom. One must make decisions, and, as we mentioned earlier, one must be prepared to say no.
Q: Playing jazz requires a degree of sophistication, seeking to play something unpredictable, unexpected, and difficult. Your music falls between various styles and genres, so would you say that your music is more focused on feelings, colours, and creating images?
A: I am not interested in sophistication or creating impressions. Extraordinary virtuosity can be wonderful but doesn’t offer more if the musician is merely content with that. For me, emotion is much more important. That's the deeper truth transferred through music, the magic moment that makes time stop. It has nothing to do with how fast one can play or the acrobatics one achieves on the keys. It might be exciting at first, but after a while, it gets boring.
Q: Even though you've pursued new directions with different collaborators on each of your projects, there is noticeable cohesion. What influences your choice of collaborators?
A: Every collaboration has been different, but the consistent link is my musical core. There are many things that one can develop through the years with work and experience, but the music we write (and I consider myself a composer first, then a performer) is essentially who we are. One's own life, idiosyncrasies, memories and sensibilities make an artist's work unique.
Q: What is the differentiator that makes an artist break through the borders of his country?
A: I don’t have an answer to that. It may seem that some have the magic recipe, but really, all artists work hard every day to achieve that. I believe that if you are compelled to create, you will find ways to do it.
Q: I felt an emotional connection with Transcendence when it premiered in Syros. You once said that you would like to record another album with the Tania Giannouli Ensemble. Will you?
A: I also have very good memories of that first concert in the beautiful Apollon Theatre, and I would like to explore a similar framework, but maybe with different orchestration. That could be fun.