ONE OF THE FRESHEST SAX SOUNDS COMES FROM THE CHILEAN MELISSA ALDANA. DISCOVERED BY DANILO PEREZ, ALDANA HAS SINCE MOSTLY ESCHEWED THE ROLE OF SIDEMAN AND SHE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AS A LEADER.
HER FIRST ALBUMS SHOWED MUCH PROMISE, WHILE HER CRASH TRIO RAISED A LOT OF EYEBROWS, WITH ITS MIX OF SOUTH AMERICAN HARMONIES AND POST BOP JAZZ.
AS WITH ALL JAZZ ARTISTS LOOK FOR INSPIRATIONS FOR MUSIC. THIS YEAR SHE FOUND ONE IN FAMED SURREALIST MEXICAN PAINTER FRIDA KAHLO. FEELING A KINDRED SPIRIT WITH HER, ALDANA HAS NOT ONLY COMPOSED MUSIC WITH FRIDA IN MIND ON HER MOST RECENT ALBUM VISIONS, BUT SHE HAS CREATED A MULTI-MEDIA SHOW THAT WAS DISPLAYED ON HER TOUR THAT WAS SUDDENLY SUSPENDED DUE TO THE COVID LOCKDOWN.
WE HAD A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH ALDANA, NOW LIVING IN NEW YORK, AND SEE HER MOTIVATIONS AND INSPIRATIONS THROUGHOUT HER LIFE AND CAREER.
YOU WERE RECENTLY ON TOUR WITH THE MONTEREY JAZZ ALL STARS, WHICH INCLUDED JAMISON ROSS, CHRISTIAN SANDS, CECILE MCLOREN SALVANT AND BRIA SKONBERG. WHAT DID YOU GLEAN FROM THAT TOUR, WITH ALL OF YOU BEING OF SIMILAR AGE?
I think Bria is a little bit older than the rest of us; the rest of us are in our early 30s.
It was a good experience. For me, Cecil is one of my closest friends, so it was a privilege to play at her side for a month and just talk about music, and we did some duo things. That was the highlight of the tour itself because we’re very close.
It’s always a learning experience when I’m a sideman, because I’ve always been a leader. It’s always interesting to see how other people work, how they present themselves and how they give and take in various situations. It was very inspiring for me the whole month.
YOU NEVER STARTED AS A SIDEMAN IN A SMALL OR BIG BAND?
I’ve only been a bandleader. I didn’t get that many gigs in New York.
That’s one thing about my generation. Our generation never had the privilege to be hired by our elders like its happened before. Those guys that would be in their 50s. It’s a bit of a different learning situation for younger musicians.
It was just a natural situation for me to be a band leader. It’s also the best way in order to learn about myself, what I like, what kind of musicians I like to play with. There’s a lot of work you have to put into, so it’s different than being a sideman.
YOUR FATHER IS ALSO A SAXOPHONE PLAYER. DID HE EMPHASIZE ANYTHING TO YOU CONCERNING MUSIC OR CAREER THAT HE PASSED ON TO YOU?
He was the main one that taught me to play the saxophone. The most important thing that I got out of him was the love of the process for learning and understanding at a very early age what it takes to achieve something, what it means to practice in order to be the best that you could ever be.
Those tools helped me when I moved to New York, it was important that I always practice and try to be the best.
WHAT TEACHER HELPED YOU THE MOST AT BERKLEE?
George Garzone . To this day I’m trying to understand a lot of his concepts. He gave me so much information for my life. I always admired him because he was a teacher who was in class at 6 am, blowing long tones and trying to get better and get gigs. Seeing him working to get better every day and always working on playing was inspiring to me. That was the most beautiful thing I got from him.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM DANILO PEREZ?
Danilo is the one who told me to move to the US; I owe him so much.
I admire how much he cares for his culture, and how much he helps Latin American musicians in terms of a commitment to bring everyone into this music and make it a universal language.
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“The thing that scares me is that you get to a point where you are strongly influenced by someone, you got what you wanted from that person, and you think “Now what?” What do I do with it?”
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THE TENOR SAXOPHONE HAS A LONG HISTORY. DO YOU EVER FEEL INTIMIDATED BY ALL OF THE PLAYERS LIKE SONNY ROLLINS AND JOHN COLTRANE THAT HAVE COME BEFORE YOU?
Of course! (laughs)
But that can be a good thing. I transcribe a lot of people, and that imitation is an important part of the process in learning about sound, time-feel and ideas. It’s all part of the concept in order to get familiar with somebody to understand what you like and then create a vision of where you want to go.
The thing that scares me is that you get to a point where you are strongly influenced by someone, you got what you wanted from that person, and you think “Now what?” What do I do with it? How do I detach from it, because I’m never going to be Sonny Rollins, and I DON’T want to. I want to be strongly influenced by him and the people that came before.
So, it’s important to do some imitation in order to understand the tradition and how this music is supposed to be played, but then move on.
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“get familiar with somebody to understand what you like and then create a vision of where you want to go.”
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DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU’VE ACHIEVED GETTING YOUR OWN SOUND AND STYLE YET?
I’m working on it.
I’m not that old, but something that comes with age and experience is that I feel more comfortable in my own skin.
I remember just a few years ago before a concert, I was trying to think like Sonny or Don Byas, but now, I’m just playing. I’m embracing who I am, taking the bad things (as I’m very judgmental with myself) but I don’t care as much (in a positive way).
YOUR VISIONS ALBUM DISPLAYS A MATURE SOUND WITH SOME PERSONAL SUB-TONES
We were playing as a band for a year and a half, which is why it sounds so well developed. We’ve been playing the whole album. Now that I’m 31 I feel like “this is the music that I write and that I like. I don’t want a producer. I want the ideas to be all my own”. I like the way that we present it.
IS THERE MUCH OF A JAZZ SCENE IN CHILE?
We’re very spoiled living in New York. Here, it’s the best of the best. There are a lot of good musicians there, but not on the same level. New York brings the best, or the worst, out of you. (laughs)
You can be around any kind of genius musician here. I can play with the greatest drummers here and that brings up a certain kind of musicianship in yourself.
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“New York brings the best, or the worst, out of you”
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WHAT INSPIRED YOUR MULTI-MEDIA PROJECT ON FRIDA KAHLO?
This project was born three years ago, at the Jazz Gallery. I saw Joel Ross do a project there
I wanted to find a source of inspiration, and something to identify with what it means to be a Latina. Who am I? What do I want to say?
I’ve always been In love with visual arts, so the idea of doing something with Frida Kahlo was very natural. I didn’t even think about gender, which is funny as I didn’t actually think of her as another Latina. I just thought of her because she was amazing. I have been into her since I was very young.
At first I just wanted to investigate about her and write some music about her character and make up her narrative from stories. For example there is one song about ghosts that visited her when she was about to die. Then, there’s a song about (husband) Diego (Rivera) as well.
While I was writing the music I was doing psychotherapy on my own. I was dealing with a lot of family issues that I had since I was very young and hadn’t dealt with. I started seeing a parallel between the way Frida expressed herself and embraced who she was and the way that I felt.
IN WHAT WAY?
I had been playing the saxophone since I was six, practicing ten to twelve hours a day,being very disciplined with the music. I saw how she reflected herself in her art and how she was so sincere about her relationships with her family and I started to gravitate to her, trying to find my own identity in a parallel way.
HOW IS IT REFLECTED IN THE MUSIC?
The suite is divided into two parts. The first part has more of a narrative to it. A lot of the images were recorded in the desert in Chile. There are a lot of similarities with Frida’s environment in Mexico. The first song means “Open Your Eyes” which has a little image of a girl in the desert opening her eyes in the desert before she disappears. The next piece, called “Frida” is a girl like myself and it includes a vision of how I see myself, just as Frida would look and see herself.
There are a lot of symbols during the first four movements. The last part is about topics like relationships and acceptance. It talks about my own family situation, how you are attached to your ancestors and become your own persona trying to find your own identity.
It’s a story about the relationship between who I am and who is Frida Kahlo. Hopefully it is something that opens your eyes.
HAD YOU BEEN TOURING AROUND WITH IT?
We’ve been working on it with the people from Chile. I feel pretty confident about it. It’s very natural; nothing is forced.
When I was looking at the images while playing the music it all fit pretty well. There are set images, but it’s more like a narrative. The images are improvised along with our music. The video is actually following us!
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” I see the connection between knowing and understanding your needs, being balanced as a human being and how that translates into music. My goal is to find that balance.”
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WHAT DOES YOUR BAND THINK OF THE MUSIC AND CONCEPT?
We’ve been playing the music for awhile, so it’s internalized. I’ve also included some things that are not on the album. I feel very lucky to have the nicest people and musicians in the band
ARE THERE ANY BOOKS THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU AT THIS STAGE OF YOUR LIFE?
There’s a book by Twila Tharp called The Creative Habit. It is about how your creative process has to be a habit and something that you work towards. It talks about how you find an idea and make a narrative through it. That book helped me put this whole thing together.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES THAT HELP YOU TAP INTO OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE?
Not really, because I mostly just practice (laughs).
I like cooking, but I’ve always been an isolated person. The last few years I’ve been learning about the importance of having caring friendships. I’m getting better at relating to people; it’s not a hobby, but it’s becoming a big part of my life to be surrounded by good friends and talking about life. I have friends that are not only musicians, but in other styles of art.
There is drawing from a well known Chilean illustrator in the second part. I will be talking during the second part and explain each of the movements.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?
I’m not that ambitious. I just want to try to get to know myself and understand myself better as a person. I see the connection between knowing and understanding your needs, being balanced as a human being and how that translates into music. My goal is to find that balance.
IN THIS TIME OF LOCKDOWN, IT’S DIFFICULT TO FIND INSPIRATIONS AND MOTIVATIONS. MELISSA ALDANA HAS FOUND ONE IN A LADY THAT ALSO DEFIED THE NORMS OF THE TIME. MS ALDANA IS ON A PATH AND PROJECTION, ONE THAT IS MIXING ARTS TO CREATE A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT, AND LISTENING TO MUSIC. STAY TUNED!