Michaël Attias - Sunday Interview ~ The Free Jazz Collective

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Michaël Attias - Sunday Interview

Sunday, May 05, 2024 Sunday Interview No comments

(photo Russ Rowland)

1. What is your greatest joy in improvised music?

When the unknown provinces of each person involved, musician and listener included, communicate and make a world/form that unfolds with a life of its own.

2. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?

Song—because it fuses every other quality within itself and is the ability to listen fearlessly in the full command and ease of time.

3. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?

So many ... This very second: Elvin Jones.

4. If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?

So many ... This very second: Billy Higgins

5. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?

Song. (See #2)

6. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?

Yes! Prince, Webern, Ornette Coleman, Mozart, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Cannonball Adderley.

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

More patience, less fear, better flow between listening and playing. These are all aspects of the One Thing.

8. Which of your albums are you most proud of?

Given all of my human flaws, I'm proud any of them got made at all. I'm very happy with the new ones coming out this year on Out of Your Head, Quartet Music: Vols I & II.

9. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?

I do, very very rarely, but it's always worthwhile: messages from the past to the future and vice-versa.

10. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?

Either Bitches Brew or Michelangeli's recording of Debussy's Books of Preludes, or Bird at St Nick's, or Horenstein conducting Mahler's 4th or the Burundi Music album on Ocora. 5-way tie.

11. What are you listening to at the moment?