Chopin Society of Atlanta

Interview with Grazyna Auguscik, before her American tour “Chopin Goes Jazz” with the Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio

By Bozena U. Zaremba

You started your collaboration with Andrzej Jagodzinski many years ago.

Yes, and I think that Andrzej’s interpretations of Chopin’s music are unique, authentic, wise, and very emotional, as well as faithful to himself and to Chopin’s music.

Your main inspiration is folk music. What fascinates you most in this music?

Its genuineness. It’s also a part of our identity. Chopin is the best example of how folk music can be raised to a different level. Folk music has recently invaded pop music quite aggressively because that is the new trend. Fashion dictates what we are supposed to listen to, how we look. But in my case, the magnetism of the folk music is in my genes. My grandparents and my parents played instruments and sang. I can feel this folk ‘tune’ and it can be heard in my singing, I think, whether I want it or not.

What about other inspirations?

I draw on world’s ethnic music – Brazilian, Arabic, African, Balkan – and I sing what is close to my style, to my feeling.

Where is the place for jazz in all that?

Music has no boundaries. Folk music is in my roots, it’s part of Nature, and I feel part of it. What we do with this music, or how we classify it, is irrelevant. These are labels only. I use a lot of scat singing, without words, to improvise on a particular theme. I like this aspect of improvisation, which is the most essential element of jazz.

Can drawing on Polish folk music help Polish musicians gain stature in the world’s jazz market?

I believe that originality and uniqueness always have a better chance to be noticed. The music world is enormous, and competition tougher and tougher. The flow of information is rapid and boundless. In this immense crowd it’s easier to notice something different. So why not try making use of something that is closest to our soul? But I don’t really know if it’s a guarantee for success.

Did that uniqueness help you find your place in the American music market?

Maybe. I have created my own style, my own language. I do it my way.

Howard Reich from the Chicago Tribune wrote, “Grazyna Auguscik is not merely a vocalist but, rather, a musician who has a purpose for every note she sings.” When we say ‘musician’ we mean ‘instrumentalist’ – at best, ‘conductor’ – but we don’t say it about a vocalist, unless he is an instrumentalist as well. What is the difference between ‘just a vocalist’ and a ‘musician’? Where is the borderline?

The voice is the most perfect instrument in its own right and has great possibilities. The difficulty lies in bringing these possibilities up. I use my voice not only to interpret lyrics, but also, through scat singing, to improvise; I use my voice like as instrument. It’s a great pleasure to tell a story with your own language.

Besides the vocal “equilibristics,” there is a lot of lyricism in your improvisations, especially at slow tempos. You also use uncommon syllables in your scat singing, which often sounds like some exotic dialect.

Listening to other instruments certainly influences the way you create your own ways of expression, your own sound. In my scat singing I use a lot of syllables that are not understood by anybody. But I don’t know how I do it, it happens so spontaneously. Improvisation is based on emotions carried by music. With that in mind, it’s easier to create something that sounds out of the ordinary, exotic, or even mysterious.

In your scat improvisations you often abandon the idea of a solo, but “play” together with the accompanying instrument, such as with an accordion. I get an impression that you are “chasing” each other.

Yes, I like that, too. These are partially arranged sections, in which we create new colors, making the most of how the voice and the instrument sound together. Music is very colorful thanks to the vast array of sound qualities, both inherent in an instrument and generated by instruments playing together.

Do you make the arrangements yourself?

Most of the time these are my ideas. But I like “open” playing. That is, I give the musicians a lot of freedom, and a lot of arrangement ideas are born while working with them. Every concert is different. And that is my goal. I choose instrumentalists very carefully.

Sound is very important to you. Tomasz Stanko* once said that sound is the reflection of our life. Do you agree with that?

Absolutely. We are constantly telling the story of our life with our music, and good sound helps us tell that story in such a way that the audience is waiting for more.

You have chosen Chicago as your hometown. Did the music traditions associated with that city have anything to do with your decision?

After I finished Berklee College of Music in Boston, many of my colleagues went to New York City, the capital of art and inspiration, but also a place of hard life for an artist. I imagined that at the beginning of my life in New York, I would probably have to do some odd jobs outside of music. I did not want to waste my time, so I decided to move to Chicago, which I had known from my previous visits. Chicago is a huge city, where lots of wonderful musicians live; it also has great musical traditions, in blues and jazz; finally, it’s a multi-ethnic city, and that creates a great opportunity to collaborate with musicians who come from all over the world. But if you know what you want to do, you can live anywhere.

You collaborate with the Green Mill jazz club, considered to be one of the best in the world.

Yes, and it has an almost one-hundred-year musical tradition that goes back to the era of silent movies. It has a spectacular history associated with (among other stories) its co-owner, Al Capone. The club has still the same decor, has beautiful sound, has its stars (like Patricia Barber, or Kurt Elling, who perform here regularly), has a great audience and a fantastic owner, David Jemilo. Since my first concert 16 years ago, I have become a part of the Green Mill family.

Could you tell us something about your record company?

I started my independent recording business ten years ago. I am a producer and marketing director myself. This is very time-consuming and therefore a cause of my constant frustration, because there is little time left for music. I carry out my projects with the music that is close to my heart, and I cherish my complete artistic freedom; it gives me the impulse and ‘fuel’ to live. I do not accept compromise in art, though it’s difficult and risky. But it pays off. It takes a lot of courage to do what I am doing. Let’s face it – I am a Pole living in the United States; I sing, which means I need to be in forefront; I need to give everybody work; I need to give it all some structure and sell it. Actually, I don’t like interviews (laughs), because they ask me personal questions about my private life.

I am not (laughs).

We are talking about nice things. But in fact, it is music that fills my whole life, and music is the most intimate part of it.

Conducted and translated by Bozena U. Zaremba

*World-renowned Polish jazz trumpeter