SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
SUMMER, 2021
VOLUME TEN NUMBER TWO
Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of:
JUNIUS PAUL
(July 10-16)
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS
(July 17-23)
MAZZ SWIFT
(July 24-30)
WARREN WOLF
(July 31-August 6)
VICTOR GOULD
(August 7-13)
DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN
(August 14-20)
JESSE MONTGOMERY
(August 21-27
CHANDA DANCY
(August 28-September 3)
KAMASI WASHINGTON
(September 4-10)
FLORENCE PRICE
(September 11-17)
SEAN JONES
(September 18-24)
ALFA MIST
(September 25-October 1)
https://www.silkroad.org/artists-mazz-swift
MAZZ SWIFT
Violin, Voice, Composer
Improvisation is a throughline in Swift’s practice across genres and instrumental configurations, and as such, can be found in most of her works. She is a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, continually creating orchestral compositions that involve Conduction, and solo works that are centered around protest and freedom songs, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward. In February 2020, Swift was named a United States Artist Fellow.
Mazz Swift
Mazz Swift, a native New Yorker, began playing the violin at age 6, studying with Elisabeth Small, Shirley Givens and Timothy Baker. She graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts, during which time she made her solo public performance debut on the stage of New York’s Alice Tully Hall, performing alongside members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She later attended The Juilliard School of Music, studying under Stephen Clapp, but left in the middle of her 3rd year in order to pursue a more organic approach to music making.
Mazz’s diverse musical interests have led her in many directions; from classical to rock to traditional folk music from around the world (specializing in Irish music) to hip hop and most recently jazz (free and composed). Consequently, she has recorded and performed with a wide variety of artists including Whitney Houston, Perry Farrell, Dee Snider, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid and DJ Logic (The Yohimbe Brothers), William Parker, Butch Morris, many artists from the Black Rock Coalition, Kanye West, Common and Jay-Z.
Mazz’s current projects include solo performances under the name of MazzMuse and writing music for and playing in the string trio Hear in Now. She also spends much of her time in Budapest, making music with some of Hungary’s finest musicians in two projects: Budapest Bar and Fire + Fire (Gypsy Meets Black). She sits on the artistic board of Con Vivo (the Jersey City-based Chamber Music Society) and is also a proud performing member for that same organization. For more information on her whereabouts and goings on, please follow Mazz at www.MazzMuzik.com
https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/mazz-swift-violinist
Mazz Swift, Violinist
Mazz Swift has been playing the violin since age 7. She is the electric violinist and singer for the Irish-folk-rock band Trigger, and one half of the world-music fusion duo Brazz Tree.
The basics:
Age, occupation, where are you from, where do you live now?
I'm 30, violinist and singer. I'm from Queens, born and raised. (Born in
Long Island City and moved to Hollis.) I live in Jersey City now. It's
still hard for me to spit it out.
A few for you:
How would you describe Trigger's sound?
Definitely Irish-folk-influenced fun party music.
How did Trigger come to be?
This is the third or fourth configuration since I've been in it. There
was just a guitarist and a singer when I joined. First it was a band
called Raglan Road -- this is Dave's gig, he's been doing this for like 8
yeas -- then Alternatrad showed up, and that was the group I joined,
maybe three years ago. Sue Windelkin, the singer, Dave Barkow on the
drums, Daryl Conlan on guitar and siging, Ed Kollar on guitar, and Matt
Mancuso, an amazing, amazing fiddle player. Then he got a gig with Lord
of the Dance, so I came in to fill in for him.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Classical music is my first love. A lot of the Romantic composers. And
then Itzhak Perlman was the first guy who made me think, "I want to be a
violinist." I went to Julliard and dropped out. Socially it was very
awkward and competitive. Just not my scene. But I also discovered jazz
violin at that time. I didn't know there was such a thing, all the way
up until Julliard, and I heard Stephan Propelli the first time. He was
an inspiration. John Luponte is another. Playing Irish music, Tony
DiMarco is here in New York now. Kevin Burke. Patrick Street.
Does the drum-guitar-fiddle combo ever get you comparisons to Dave Matthews Band?
I get it all the time, but I think it's more because I'm black! The
sound, especially since I started playing the electric violin, I think
probably reminds people of them. I kind of resent that because I don't
feel like he's a good violinist at all, and I will go on the record
saying this. Partially, I think he's not allowed to do very much n the
band -- he's not the star. But also, I don't think he would know what to
do with it if he had more freedom. I think he's terrible. I feel
offended by comparisons. And the band is so great. I love the band.
What are you doing playing in Queens? Isn't the music scene somewhere between Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan?
They pay us in Queens! This is a living for us. And that's how it
started out -- we'd been musicians, we liked playing together, and it
sounded good. We should make it a band! And it's been a bit of trying to
balance it out between paying gigs and trying to get ourselves out
there.
Where's Trigger a few years from now?
I think we have a lot of short-term goals and no long-term goals. We want to get around the country doing a college circuit.
Do you and Dave Barstow fight over who gets to sing lead vocals?
Hell no. We only fight because he wants to make me sing more.
What are some of the best new bands out there?
I don't know. I don't listen to the radio. I get turned on to it by friends. There's a great new band called The Citizens,
who I played with for about a minute but it was too crazy for me – I
couldn't do all these gigs and rehearsals so I had to quit. There's
another band I was playing with around that same time called Solar Face, which I ended up quitting too. I haven't counted how many bands I've played in.
What's on your iPod?
I just got into the Brian Jonestown Massacre because I saw that movie Dig. And a lot of Irish fiddle.
Who's the best Irish fiddle player?
My favorites are Tony DiMarco, Kevin Burke. I've been listening to Liz Carroll a lot lately. I like her playing with John Doyle, the guitarist.
What's your take on downloadable music? Will it be the death of album sales?
I have this strange faith that it won't be, but I don't know why. Maybe.
Must a band "sell out" to commercials and soundtracks to get heard?
Definitely do a commercial. You'll make money. I didn't really think so, and then in Dig
they were talking about how the Dandy Warhols did a cellphone
commercial overseas and just blew up from that. Soundtracks I think are a
little cooler than car commercials, but as far as money? Commercials,
commercials, commercials.
Why don't more rock bands use violinists?
Violinists are always trying to be classical musicians. I discovered
that they didn't have to be when I was 19 or 20. I really didn't know
the violin was for anything else.
I'm also in a band called Brazz Tree. This is a project I write music for and sing--and I've got a partner, Brad Hammonds on guitar. It's all of my influences, a lot of middle eastern-sounding stuff, classical, a little bit of jazz, rock, and Celtic-influenced stuff.
How do you divide your energy and creativity for so many different bands, and so many different styles of music?
It's hard. I don't spend enough time writing music. Brazz Tree has a new
CD – we just finished it, it's being pressed now. So the past six
months, we've really not written anything new. Jut working on getting
that together and out there, playing the music from the CD. That was why
I quit all these bands I mentioned. I'm making OK money, and some of
these things I'm just doing, rehearsing but not making anything, and
that's fine – but I'm exhausted. So I had to quit 'em all, and go broke
but be happier. But then this gig came up and I got to play with Kanye
West. But I think there might be a few more of those. That's exciting.
Best gig you've played?
The best have been here, with Trigger at Maggie Mae's on Queens
Boulevard. And with Brazz Tree at Rockwood Music Hall, on Allen Street,
just off of Houston. The coolest, tiny little place. It's a listening
room—people actually listen to you there. The vibe is always really
great -- people are really into it.
I did a gig for MoveOn.org where Perry Farrell sang and Moby was there, a bunch of stars. That was really fun, playing "Idiot Rules" with Perry Farrell. All this stuff I listened to fifty times a day for years.
Who do you wish you could collaborate with?
There's a guy named Simon Jeffes. I heard this tune at the end of Napoleon Dynamite. He's a really cool pianist composer, and I think it'd be really cool to play with him.
What would you be doing if not playing music?
I'd be dead.
Favorite bar or restaurant in New York?
The Churrascaria Plataforma, on 49th Street between 8th and 9th. Meat! Meat galore. I love meat. Meat is good.
Best celebrity encounter on the streets of New York?
I was playing at this bar called the Falls in SoHo, and Russell Crowe
came by, the day before he got arrested for bashing some hotel employee.
My friend stared at him the whole time until he got up and left. When
he beat that guy, I thought it was all that rage from being stared at by
fans.
What's life like for an ex-New Yorker in Jersey?
It's a hell of a lot cheaper. It's really beautiful -- it actually
reminds me of Park Slope, where I'd lived: it's tree-lined and
brownstones and lots of baby carriages and lesbians. It is beautiful, I
feel like it's always sunny over there. The downer? You can't get sushi
after 8 in the evening. Everything closes. Sundays, forget it! You can't
get anything on Sundays. I'm so used to being able to get what I want,
when I want.
What advice do you have for Mayor Bloomberg?
Get a life? I have to say I'm not a politics person. All the guys up there bullshit, and their concerns are not my concerns.
Samples of Mazz's music are available at BrazzTree.com and TriggerNYC.com. Or you can come see her perform twice a month at the Listening Room at Café Vivaldi, or weekly at Maggie Mae's.
004 Mazz Swift: “You have to do it, like you have to do it all the time. That’s the only way your thing is gonna take off.”
Transcript:
[INTRO] You’re listening to Play It Like Its Music. Exploring the lives and craft of the people who play. Today we feature Mazz Swift. She’s one-of-a-kind: plays, sings writes and performs with total fire. I’m proud to call her friend. She’s been a member of Burnt Sugar, Brazz Tree, she’s got her own band called MazzMuse and she also plays in a string trio called Hear In Now. Let’s jump in.
TREVOR EXTER: State your name and instrument
MAZZ SWIFT: Mazz Swift. I’m a violinist and singer.
TE: How have you been today?
MS: Today was a day of alternating between catatonia — is that a word? Catatonic state and flustered and flurried activity. I had a meeting, so that was good and important. I was able to make it a phone call instead of actually going there so that made everything a lot easier for the day. I don’t know, I’m alright.
TE: Well. It’s really good to be here talking to you. Why do you play music?
MS: Because it’s the only thing I know how to do. I wanted to, I had a really strong idea that it was what I was meant to do, when I was very young before I had reservations about things. And I chased it down and then when the reservation started to set in, and the self-doubt and everything, it was plenty of my life spent thinking I was not ever going to be good enough to be professional musician. But I always came back to it eventually. I do it because I have been doing it, and I really actually do love it.
TE: I just want to ask you: in the very beginning, let’s go to the very first time you knew that you were hearing music ()as a little person) and then the first time you touched the musical instrument. Can you tell me about those moments?
MS:
Wow. I I remember being aware of music, I guess… you know my parents
always listened to it. They were like real lovers of it, so it’s just
always been around. I think part of my history and story as a violinist
has been like me hearing this thing and being like “what’s that” and
they’re like “that’s a violin” and I’m like “oh, that’s what I do”
[laughs] like. And they were like “Oh, what?” “A violinist plays the
violin, right? “Yeah…” “so I’m a violinist!”
So they were like “I guess we’ll get you a violin eventually.”
TE: So no aspirational anything, just recognition? Like oh, that’s what it’s going to be, not even “what it’s going to be” like that’s what it is already?
MS: Yeah so “I’m a violinist right now, without my violin or knowing how to actually hold one or play one or anything.
TE: How long did it take you to actually get your hands on one?
MS: I think it was a couple years. It was definitely a couple years from me saying that and from it actually happening. I think they wanted to see if I was serious, then I went around telling everybody I was a violinist.
TE: Wow so you really did an end run around the whole process didn’t you?
MS: [laughs] Something. So that happened, but I feel like I have memories as far as the first time I played an instrument. I have two older sisters and one younger and my two oldest sisters were in the public school system, as was I — and my younger sister eventually — but at that time when we grew up in the projects in Queens, in Long Island City, the local elementary school had a music program. And they had recorders! They gave people plastic recorders, and they got to play these things. I think I played my sister’s recorders more than they did. Just to make sound. I really liked it. It was something that just happened quickly and easily. And also the piano. My parents had a piano and my sister practiced piano. So between the recorder and the piano… I feel like one of those was the first instrument I played.
TE: And then violin came around.. And then we’re you like one of those annoying kids that was just good right away?
MS: …
TE: Guilty as charged!
MS: [laughs] The future looked so bright!
TE: What age was that?
MS: Six. So I’m late.
TE: Yeah no that’s super late. I mean I started when I was seven, and you know it took me a while after that. Still taking some time, but let me skip forward. What was the first paying gig you did, like the first time playing for money?
MS: Well first time playing for money was in the subway, but the first paying gig was with Alexis Hightower, who is a singer-songwriter. She saw me playing in Washington Square Park and came up to me and asked me if I’d like to go with her band to Spain. And I had never been out of the country — for music anyway — and and I didn’t even have a passport. I got a passport and yeah, that was like my first gig. But the very first gig was like a trial run kind of thing with her at Joe’s Pub, so yeah, I started at Joe’s Pub.
TE: At this point you were how old?
MS: Uh I was it was 2000 I think so I was like 29 or 30 something like that.
TE: Were you doing other jobs in your 20s to pay rent?
MS: Yes. I worked in a body piercing shop and tattoo, and then I left New York and lived on a farm for a couple years. It was an artist sort of commune. I actually quit violin for a couple years during the time before I left New York, and then when I went back to New York is when I picked up the violin again, so but yeah, and I was on that farm. And then when I came back I was working in a mom-and-pop shop, like a office supplies shop as the buyer.
TE: So you’re like a legitimate adult, you’re not like…
MS: I was an Actual adult. [laughs]
TE: I didn’t mean that in a derogatory way, but there’s people that just start working in music right away, and then they never know how to do normal people things. And you’re not one of those people.
MS: Right yeah, I mean yeah, that was yeah. I hated it, but I did it.
TE: Yeah. I hear you there. Do you want play something?
MS: Sure.
TE: Let’s see what we got. Now that we’re not in the subway anymore, and we’ve done the road and we’ve done Carnegie Hall what do we got? Mazz what do you got? [looks at violin] I hate that you have bass strings on your violin that pisses me off! Is this the Mark Wood, right, the Viper?
MS: Yes. I shall never call it a flying-V fiddle.
TE: The not-flying-V-not-fiddle.
[Mazz plays]
Nice. I know you got some classical in your backgroun. At what point did you start improvising, was it right away, or did you have to be given permission or learn how to do that or something?
MS: Permission and time! You know I had a boyfriend at Juilliard who was a violinist also and really into the idea of improvising. He wasn’t very good at it per se but he was free, so it helped him. You know he didn’t have that fear that a lot of people have so it was interesting to me. He was actually roommates with Dave Eggar, who you know is killing…
TE: We’re going to talk to Dave also.
MS:
So yeah, I always really admired Dave for that too. So I thought about
it, and then I tried it once and it sounded terrible of course, so I
never did it again. Which is the classical musician’s approach to
improv. But no, I didn’t really get into improvisation until I went to
that farm and lived on the farm.
Part of their philosophy was improvisation and that was a revelation actually.
TE: What about this farm, what happened at the farm?
MS: What happened at the farm… That’s a great title for my bio. “What happened at the farm….” It was, they had this whole philosophical component about trying to create a new kind of culture and, like -what’s the word — prototype it for the world? You know, one that was based on collaboration and not competition and pure honesty and life artistry, like even down to the guy who sweeps the floors makes it an art of, you know… So everybody has purpose and meaning and value.
TE: Was this a religious place?
MS: No, but it was very dogmatic and -
TE: it wasn’t the Amish either?
MS:
And it was not the Amish, but it was cool because I got a lot of
skills: not just physically being able to do things like learning how to
do things with my hands, and I worked with goats. I was a goatherd for a
large portion of that time. It was amazing. I freaking love goats.
Goats are awesome. They’re little assholes. Like me, but I get to be the
boss asshole.
So we get along just fine. No, but I learned a lot of
stuff, and I learned a lot about, you know, kind of my attitude toward
life actually affecting my life. Which sounds kind of like something
that you might know, but I kind of didn’t. And so I learned a lot about
that and was able to sort of take more control of my life because of it.
I’m sure of that.
So the farm itself was weird. It had all these high ideals, and they didn’t really put a lot of them into practice, and it was not a fair place, and it was not a friendly place in a lot of ways and a lot of shit went down that’s just like ridiculous and bordering on truly horrible. Like awful. But at the same time I got a lot out of it and kind of really became… I feel like that’s where I really became an adult in a way, like responsible for my own actions, even though I was like, you know 23 years old. 24 at that point, but I became aware of the responsibility.
TE:
I know some people who’ve had some weird experiences moving into… I
mean there’s like any number of alternative model communities around the
world. Some friends of mine moved to the desert in Arizona. Some
Buddhist thing, and some people died… Like it was rough. You know, and
then we got Jonestown as well… Like there’s all kinds. There’s all
kinds.
Oh, yeah, so that’s another thing we have in common. Because I
wasn’t really gigging seriously until, you know around 30 and after 30.
So okay. Cool. Let’s start a society. We’ll model it. [both laugh]
Goats are big improvisers right?
MS:
They are, but they’re also very predictable. They’re awesome, I have to
say. Go back to goats. [laughing[ Whenever think about them, I think
about just how jerky they are, how they’ll just like kick your shit
over. Just just to do it. They’re little assholes. Anyway….
[music]
But yeah, they had a band on the farm.
TE: Goat band?
MS: Yeah, a goat band. Right. Alright. Um yeah, so that’s where I started trying out improv. And I think the difference was in my mind improvisation had to do with jazz. Like you couldn’t separate the two. I couldn’t separate the two in my thinking, so what sounded terrible to me was that I didn’t sound like a jazz musician, you know? Like I didn’t have the accent, so to speak
TE: You didn’t have a wealth of cliches.
MS:
[laughing] Again, no comment. Haha yeah, but I also I didn’t have the
vocabulary. I just didn’t have like you know, I didn’t have the harmonic
understanding of a jazz musician. I’d never been… You know I had been
exposed to it a lot, but I had not studied it. And then when I realized
you had to study it, then I really just ran the other way because I was
tired of studying. But yeah, so on the farm what was cool about it was
that they were improvising rock songs. You know they were just like
people who played Rock in previous bands and so that’s was less
intimidating to me. And then I could just kind of put my sound on top of
it.
I started experimenting with electric violin and effects and things, and then it just went to a whole other level when I met Greg Tate, and he put me into burnt sugar. And I feel like, if being “born” as a musician was Burnt Sugar, then living on that farm was like the gestation period, you know? Like I just started, it started happening, and then it really started happening, .
TE: You have a way of improvising with just…. Wherever it starts it always goes somewhere. And like there’s just a pure imagination that takes hold. I’ve seen you play in a bunch of different settings, and that thing is always there. Where it’s like, wherever you are… At some point it becomes a Mazz thing. And it always fits too, so it’s not like you lose your mind while you’re playing, but there’s definitely a freedom that you have that… I’m curious: was there a point where you started feeling free, are you still waiting to feel free, or what’s your relationship to Freedom when you’re playing?
MS:
Wow. I think that it’s a lot like meditation when people say “I’m not
good at meditation”, but there’s no such thing. You know it’s just like
whether or not you can like sit still and be okay with all the shit
running around in your brain.
I feel very free in it, and I feel
very… It was the greatest education being part of Burnt Sugar to be
honest. Like I think that’s really where… It was a profound sense of
safety and value. Like everything, it didn’t matter what I put out. It
was valued and part of a really important thing that was happening. So
maybe that’s what gives me the confidence now.
I feel like that was
an experience that like really went inside me on a cellular level. So
now I still have shit running through my brain, like just now I was “oh,
I think I just did that slide for the gazillionth time, but it feels so
good to play it, but then I listen back later, and I think that sounds
terrible, and I should stop doing it…” Like I have those thoughts, but
really they’re so small and they’re so… Like they don’t have any effect
actually on what I’m doing.
I don’t think you know.
TE:
There’s a strident flavor, which as a cello player I associate that
with violinists and I don’t generally like it, but if someone does get
up with the right attitude, and they’re like “I’m doing this. I’m saying
this”, and yeah, it’s like whatever. You start in the Brahms concerto. I
get it. You know, so I have a stereotype about violin players that does
that.
You definitely bring a violinistic, strident tone, but you do stuff with it that no other violinist does. But I know creative violinists and a lot of them kind of abandoned the stridency. So like if you know fiddlers… fiddlers will fall back on their fiddle chops. Classical people will fall back on their classical chops if they’re feeling like they need to prove themselves they’ll fall back on something familiar. And you have all that stuff in your chops too, but I never get the sense that you’re falling back on something.
MS:
That’s really cool. That’s very cool. Because I don’t think that I am
although I do think there are licks that I play, like certain patterns
that my fingers fall in all the time — which drives me crazy because I’d
love to just do something unexpected to myself, but I think the 100%
goal is making something cool. Like I want to say “self-expression”, but
it’s so corny. But I really feel like the most important thing to me is
just putting out some music that I like. That feels good to do, that
hopefully other people like. There’s nothing unique about that statement
whatsoever, but that’s what I’m thinking about rather than trying to
think of licks and things like that.
[music]
So what do you think that [I’m asking you questions now.] What do you think improvisation as a musical tool or style or genre serves?
TE:
I don’t know. I don’t even consider myself that much of an improviser.
Like I don’t “blow” on the cello, which is why I asked you that stuff.
Because you really blaze on the violin. And I know people who really
improvise. I compose things, I’m more of a producer and a songwriter
than I am an improviser. So I’m always thinking of doing something that I
can repeat. Like I’m trying to build a little structure, that I can
maybe build a vehicle for myself. So I write a song in terms of “I want
to take this to another place”. So I build it ahead of time, make
prototypes or whatever, and then I test it out and then at some point I
have a song that I know I can bring places. But there’s a lot of
advanced planning that goes into that and construction. It’s not an
improv. It’s not an improvisation. So in that phase I might improvise to
come up with stuff, but if I come up with something I like I’m going to
work with that thing and compose with that.
And it’s really rare that I’m improvising on a stage. So yeah, that’s one of the things about you that blows me away: it’s like you’ve just got the improvising thing, like you will tell a Story. Like if you give Mazz the spotlight she’s going to do something with it. If you give me the spotlight I’m going to take a minute to get used to the, you know -
MS: You’ll be grumpy about it!
TE: — yeah, well not necessarily grumpy, but definitely… I’m going to have to get my bearings you know? And then by the time I’ve gotten my bearings usually people have moved on. So I never really… You know the improvising thing never took off. I’m always dreaming that someday it will but…
MS: I think it will, but you have to do it. You have to do it, like you have to do it all the time. That’s the only way your thing is gonna take off. I think you have a lot of potential that way. I can’t wait to see it.
TE: Thanks.
MS: It always surprises me when you say you’re not too much of an improviser because I think of you as a complete musician, and I think that yeah, I know that you would be so tasty once you just get comfortable with it.
TE: I think for me, just personally, I have a thing with improvising where at some point my reach exceeds my theoretical and technical grasp too much. You know you should always be playing a little bit beyond your abilities — just to keep that fire burning — but I always tend to just go off the rails a little bit. And then I get lost. So I’ve had plenty of great moments improvising on stage, it’s not like that has never happened for me, but in terms of my feeling like an improviser… I feel like until I know more of the functional harmony, you know, ins and outs and voice leading and things like that, and then just knowing how to keep track of my motivic development and formal like like ….
MS: Do you think I have any grasp of any of that shit? I don’t even know what that means!
TE: Right right right so, but there’s that side of the thing and then if there’s other people who I dig who just have that fire burning, and it’s like coming out of them, and they’re not keeping track of Jack. You know they’re just playing and it’s working… I’ve never really been one of those people. So I’m like, in terms of being “cultivated” as hell, I’m not them. And I’m also not burning it up in that way. I categorize you as a burner and it works great. So you don’t need the other stuff.
MS:
I do want more of it to be honest, but I know I don’t have the… I don’t
want it enough to like do the work that it takes to get all of that. I
admire it when people do, and I kind of use it to beat myself up…. I
don’t do it, but part of me feels like I really just want to play music.
I don’t want to study it anymore, and I want it to come out the way
that it comes out as me, so.
[music]
TE: You play your ass off, and you work your ass off. Like you’re legit, So speaking of work that you don’t do tell me about practicing. Does it happen, how does it happen? Why and when and where and what?
MS:
Um usually it happens because I have a specific thing coming up that I
want to prepare for. So I just did a solo show and I had to put a set
together. I was thinking about just going out and just improvising the
entire show, but then I felt like well, maybe just have a couple of
outlines. Like that thing that I just played is something that’s been a
blueprint that I’ve had for a long time that I… That is different every
time I play it, so I’ll get something together for that reason.
I
practice a lot of, like when I have a classical concert I practice a lot
for that because it’s something that you just, it just requires so much
freaking time.
TE: Do you do a lot of classical gigs?
MS: Um not a ton, but I do at least one a year because I play in a string quartet. So well, I play for a chamber music organization that always has a string quartet concert in their series every year, and I’m always part of that quartet, so -
TE: I want to go to it. Which one is it and where?
MS: Ha ha, it just happened.
[music]
So yeas, the practicing happens less as a thing to like just become a better instrumentalist and more to make sure I’m prepared for this next concert, so I’m basically playing to the test.
TE: Right, and you’ve played through some good tests, like you don’t get into Juilliard by accident do you?
MS: You don’t get into Julliard by accident it turns out,. [laughs]
TE: So there was a time when you were like heavily practicing?
MS:
There was yeah, I feel like. Yeah, I mean definitely. I feel like I
didn’t practice as much as my counterparts — all the other people that
were there — and honestly I feel like I mostly got into Juilliard
because of my orchestral audition. I had a fine solo audition, but I had
a lot of experience in an orchestra and the stuff that they gave me to
sightread I had actually played already as second violin. They gave me
first violin parts, but they always give you like some sight reading
thing and that was very strong because I knew the music and I had been
exposed to it, and music sticks in my head forever. So like even if it’s
something that my parents particularly liked, I think that was one of
the pieces that I had to play. That was just like it came to me very
quickly so I had a very good orchestra audition. Better than the solo
thing I think. And I’m pretty sure that’s why I got in anyway.
TE: So what should a newer player avoid completely?
MS:
God I don’t know. I was gonna say having sex with your bandmates?!
[laughs] I think that’s probably something to avoid, huh. What to avoid,
I don’t know. But what I tell people to do is — and I think I’ve
actually heard somebody say this to you already, but say yes to
everything. Like literally say yes to everything. And then learn how to
say no because here I am like, seventeen years later still saying yes to
everything and just realizing that you you can’t go forever, but like
if you want — when you’re getting started that’s the most important
thing. Like fuck all that stuff like “oh, I don’t know if I’m good
enough” or “I don’t think I can do this yet,” or that yet, or “I’m not
ready” or any of that.
Just do it. Just do it.
TE: That’s good. I can use that. Mazz Swift, thank you so much for talking to us.
MS: Thank you Trevor Exter.
TE: Alright over and out. That was killer.
[OUTRO] That was Mazz Swift. Violinist, composer, singer, bandleader, raconteur… raconteuress? Recountationist? No idea. And general force of nature. Thanks to Mazz for her time, and for being and doing all those things. You can find her at MazzMuse dot com. Her Twitter and Instagram handle is MazzMuse, and you can also buy her record. This record underneath me right now. Go buy it. I did.
That’s our show. Thank you for listening. This is play it like its music.
Thank
you so much for listening to the show it means everything to have your
ears and support each time you pass the link to your friends, review us
on the web and help out financially.
These are the players I admire
the most, and as a working musician myself I’m always looking to get to
know them in a deeper way. Find out stuff that might help me become a
better musician.
I love sharing these moments with you and reading your feedback and questions at our website, playitlikeitsmusic.com where you can browse other episodes and support the show.
We are 100% listener funded. It’s how we can have the conversation we need to have in an age when we’re all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams and a lot of noise out there in the culture.
These are exciting times. It’s almost as if the simple act of playing an instrument is a revolutionary one. We don’t draw any lines between scenes or styles, so if you haven’t done it already head over to the web site and join the community. You can use PayPal or make a recurring pledge through Patreon where we offer a selection of merch and rewards as always.
Thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music. I’m Trevor Exter.
https://blackrockcoalition.org/reviews/mazzmuse-review/
As a follow up, she envisioned an album that would take her talents to the next level. She assembled an extraordinary band that complimented her musical vision and rather than wait for the majors to come to her, Mazz launched a Kickstarter campaign to finance the project independently. Vernon Reid – who as guest conductor for Burnt Sugar during the Bowie and Steely Dan retrospectives, got to see amazing Mazz’s skills firsthand – came aboard the project as a producer.
Biography
Mazz Swift, a native New Yorker, began playing the violin at age 6, studying with Elisabeth Small, Shirley Givens and Timothy Baker. She graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts, during which time she made her solo public performance debut on the stage of New York’s Alice Tully Hall, performing alongside members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She later attended The Juilliard School of Music, studying under Stephen Clapp, but left in the middle of her 3rd year in order to pursue a more organic approach to music making.
Mazz’s diverse musical interests have led her in many directions; from classical to rock to traditional folk music from around the world (specializing in Irish music) to hip hop and most recently jazz (free and composed). Consequently, she has recorded and performed with a wide variety of artists including Whitney Houston, Perry Farrell, Dee Snider, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid and DJ Logic (The Yohimbe Brothers), William Parker, Butch Morris, many artists from the Black Rock Coalition, Kanye West, Common and Jay-Z.
Mazz’s current projects include solo performances under the name of MazzMuse and writing music for and playing in the string trio Hear in Now. She also spends much of her time in Budapest, making music with some of Hungary’s finest musicians in two projects: Budapest Bar and Fire + Fire (Gypsy Meets Black). She sits on the artistic board of Con Vivo (the Jersey City-based Chamber Music Society) and is also a proud performing member for that same organization.
DEDICATED TO FORESTS, INNER AND OUTER
Interview: Mazz Swift
We met Mazz at the concert of one of our favourite bands from NYC - Hazmat Modine.
She was performing with them as a special guest and a collaborator. We
fell in love with the magical sound of the violin in her hands, Mazz's
rich voice and strength of her presence on stage. After talking to her
and listening to her other music projects we were extremely happy to be
able to invite Mazz to enter the Forest. Here’s what came out of this
encounter in the woods.
Mazz, how did you begin making music?
I
was raised in a musical family. Everyone in my family does something -
we all sang, we had a piano in the house, so we all played to a greater
or lesser degree. I have three sisters and we all studied music. My
father and mom both listened to a lot of music, especially classical
music and jazz, bebop. There is actually a funny story about how I got
into music. I was about four years old, one day my mom has put on some
music and I liked it. I asked her: “What is that?” And she said: “That’s
a violin. A violinist plays a violin.” And I said: “Oh, I’m a
violinist!” And I went around telling everyone that I’m a violinist
until I was about six years old and my parents finally got me a violin,
so I began studying. But I’ve always been exposed to music. I always
wanted to do it.
How do you create, how is your music born?
My
creative process is kind of scattered because of the fact that my
interests are really scattered. I like a lot of different kinds of
music. Things that feature the violin, things that don’t traditionally
feature the violin. My solo project
came after splitting with a band I’ve been playing with for a while. I
got myself a looper, I found a way to play music and accompany myself.
That was a really great jumping off point. I found out things about
myself creatively. It’s been a kind of “go to” thing for me. As a
composer, I’m one of those people that work well with a deadline. I
usually have ideas and record them, write things down. And at some point
I go through that stuff and start flashing it out. I also really
believe in improvisation as a tool, for learning about oneself as well
as coming up with new ideas. A lot of my music comes from initially
improvisation, which I then go back to and edit. I have stuff for solo
violin that way, for string quartet, violin and clarinet, and so on.
How is it that improvisation is a way to learn about oneself?
Well,
a lot of the times when we try to control our reactions.... Or actually
I’d say it the other way around - when we let go of control, and just
play, or just speak, or just write, like a stream of concience writing,
we can really surprise ourselves. It’s a good life lesson in accepting
what comes out of you, and reacting to that. That can be a meditation of
some sort. It’s really powerful. Ultimately you learn how to befriend
yourself, and be ok with whatever is coming out of you, whatever you are
thinking, in order to grow, to feel you have something to offer.
Improvisation is really important that way.
It’s also really
interesting to improvise with other people, to find yourself in
situations that are maybe uncomfortable. It’s a lot like having a
conversation. Improvisation in groups can sound like a lot of people
talking and nobody listening. And it’s really interesting to see how do
you react to situations like that. Do you step out of the way? Do you
find your little place inside of it? Do you try somehow to direct it? If
you stand back and look at what your reactions are you can learn a lot
about yourself and other people too. And learn to accept things that you
wouldn’t necessarily have accepted before that moment.
How do you do that? How do you get over judgements?
I think it is a process of doing it over and over and over again. This is something I’m learning in meditation: letting the thoughts arise, not judging them as good or bad, let them be and let them go. That’s the same process in improvisation. You notice what you like, what you don’t like, and you let things go - we are in the next moment now. Being able to do that can really help things move along.
What moves you to do the work you do?
I have a lot of energy. And a deep desire to express. To express things I cannot express in words, everything, all the different aspects of who I am. And probably to be understood and loved. Maybe there are people who don’t have that desire to express all of who they are. It’s probably just the way that I’m wired. I was lucky to have parents who saw my desire, my talent, and encouraged me to follow it, even when I was about to quit. Let alone my immediate surroundings, immediate culture. Support is important.
You are a very versatile
musician, you play in diverse music styles, different instruments, you
also sing. How does it influence you to be so multidisciplinary?
My interests have been in all the different forms of music around the world that do play the violin, a lot of folk music, gipsy, irish music, Brazilian music, folk dance music, and rock and roll of course. I like stepping into different roles: singer, violinist, guitarist or horn player. Hazmat Modine is a good example of that. I’m lucky that I do have a lot of interests. It encourages me to keep expanding my horizons, to keep working. I feel like it’s an opportunity to express different aspects of my personality. I really like finding beauty in everything, in things I wouldn’t normally have exposed myself to. I consider myself lucky. Also, the more diverse you are the easier it is to make a living.
Who inspires you?
I am inspired by people who do things really well. I’m addicted to the Olympics. I think it’s beautiful to see people excelling. I keep myself surrounded by people that I really respect. I feel like you can find inspiration in everything. It’s a lot harder to figure out a way to apply it to yourself, what you want to do with it. It’s easy to be inspired, it’s harder to transmute that energy into something that you do, that is also inspiring to someone else. That’s my hope, that I’m also inspiring other people.
How do you find a way to transmute that?
I don’t think I yet codified a way. I do work well with deadlines. Or being in painful situations. Pain is a great kick in the pants. You have to get it out. And I’m a melancholy person. So as I get older I try to remember to practice my art so that I don’t hold on to the negativity. I’m inspired by many things but what really moves me forward is pain. Though the moments of joy are just as important. Life is really full. You can’t only focus on what’s horrible, or only on what’s great. Life is so full. It’s so important to keep that balance. In perspective and in my work. I would like to represent that life is full in my music.
What gives you energy and what takes it away?
Exercise is really important. Siting around is really detrimental to my mental health. I do martial arts. It’s important for me to have something outside of music that forces me to be in the moment, to move around, that challenges me mentally and emotionally, and also just allows learning something new. It’s imporant to be physical if you are a musician. To get into your body, cause we can really live stuck in our heads. Teaching also is really inspiring and gives me energy. I don’t have a method for teaching, which is frustrating at times but also goes together with my philosophy of improvisation. I do have a very clear intuition about how to teach and how people learn. I’ve enjoyed teaching violin lessons, also in groups, helping people to unlock their ability to improvise. People I meet inspire me every single day, they give me energy, and ideas. It makes me feel like I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing.
What takes energy away... Being sedentary, as I mentioned before. Also, I’m a sensitive person, I’m attracted to other sensitive people, who are really great at what they do. But actually co-dependency with them is really a trap for me. Sometimes I put a lot of energy into trying to get to work things that just aren't workable. That drains me. Negativity from people takes my energy. I think its important to think what is negative and what is positive, what encourages growth and what doesn’t. If I’m not aware of those things I can go down the path of diminishing returns.
Where do you feel a wish to create comes from?
I feel like it’s part of the human condition. It’s already there. I don’t see how we could be where we are now without this desire. Life creates. I think that’s just how it is. We do have this superpower - this ability to create. We have the ability to create really crappy things and truly wonderous things. It’s the matter of what our intent is. A lot of things we have in the world that we created have come out of necessity or just as ideas to make money. We have this ability to create but how will we use it, for good or evil... And we have to decide what’s evil, and that’s where it gets difficult, ‘cause it’s different for everyone. I think it’s important to think about what is sustainable, what is a drain on our resources, on the planet, on the community and personal resources as well. We have this thing and we gotta learn how to use it.
What sustains you in times of storms?
True friendship. Having someone in your life that you can be yourself around, who can be a mirror to you, who would be honest with you, and who would listen, just listen. That’s pretty rare. That’s what gotten me through difficult periods of my life. Friendship and music. Also, when I was going for the black belt in hapkido, there were a lot of stressers in my life, but it was a great place to be focused, be in the body. I think it’s good to stay active, to be introspective and to have friends. There is no way to do this life alone and be happy.
What would you most like to teach people you work with?
Improvisation and interaction. Especially for young people. Being in a space where they are allowed to be themselves completely. And also where they learn to be with others. They would get a lot out of that. That’s important.
What would you most like to change?
Intolerance. Sometimes it’s important just to tolerate. It doesn’t necessarily mean going along with, or even agreeing with, but just tolerating ideas that are different from yours. That really bugs me. When it’s not even possible to communicate with another person if they are just not open.
What’s important to have around you, in a place where you live?
Definitely space. Which is a challenge in New York City. I used to live in a very small apartment that was full of our stuff, and cats. That really drove me crazy. A couple of years ago I moved to another apartment in Brooklyn. And I have space, it’s important to be able to open my arms and not touch anything.
Tell us a story from the life of a musician...
I did this great tour sponsored by the US state department, they do it every year. Our band got the grant, and we went to West Africa. It was a great experience. We performed in all kinds of situations - from great halls, to classroom, or ambassadors’ homes. There was also a teaching aspect - sharing what we do with local people of all ages. And the third aspect of it was that they paired us with local musicians. We were at five different countries. So in each country we had a couple of days just to sit with musicians from that town we were in and learn what they do, and they learned a little bit of what we do. And every night they came and performed at one of our shows. It was very energising! I would love to do that again.
How do you keep on growing?
It’s important to constantly be taking in new information, and also to take time to process this information, to see how I feel about it, how can I use it. I try to always stay open to learning. Learning what life offers me to learn. But also practically, learning with composers, taking in different kinds of music, going out. I would also love to educate myself about other forms of art. I love ballet, painting, visual arts. There is inspiration there too.
Your first associations....
Fairy-tale: Brothers Grimm, I like the sort of darkness and weirdness in their fairy-tales
Animal:
Tiger, and also a Mole - I think moles are fascinating. It’s this
little creature that has got huge hands and a really long snout, and on
the tip of it there’s the most sensitive organ, it can sense electrical
currents in water to know where the food is, for example. And it’s so
ugly, and I kind of love that too.
Saying or proverb: We never play the same thing once.
Season: spring
Plant: Tiger Lily. And Zee-Zee plant, it’s perfect for a travelling musician!
Movie: Run Lola Run, The GodFather, The Matrix
Smell: many but nothing in particular
Book: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
Song: Steve Wonder "Songs In The Key of Life", Shostakovich 8th string quartet, Bartok 1st string quartet last movement
Sensation: being touched
Poem: ***
Painting: Dalí
Person: Nina Simone, she is my shero
Colour: at times red at times black
Object: my violin
Food: lasagna
Human quality: compassion
Place for travel: Budapest
Secret: would that be a secret if I told you? :)
Cover image cortesy: Mazz Swift
About
Critically acclaimed as one of America’s most talented and versatile performers today, Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist Mazz Swift has engaged audiences all over the world with the signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation that she calls MazzMuse.
Mazz combines elements of classical, folk, rock, jazz, free improvisational music and electronica to create a rich, unique and diverse musical experience. She is a singer, composer and Juilliard-trained violinist who plays electric and acoustic instruments and has, over the years, performed and recorded with a diverse accumulation of artists including Whitney Houston, Perry Farrell, Dee Snider, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Valerie June, DJ Logic, William Parker, Butch Morris, Jason Lindner, Kanye West, and most recently as string mistress for D’Angelo’s “Vanguard Strings”.
On electric violin, acoustic violin, soulful singing and improvisation, Mazz brings music that speaks directly to your soul. Expect to be transported.
Other performance and career highlights include:
– appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Valerie June)
– tour of Africa (Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal) as cultural ambassador for the US Department of State (Matuto)
– travel to Suriname as a cultural ambassador for the US Department of State (The 13th Amendment?)
-featured violinist and singer in “Basetrack Live” national tour, culminating at a weeklong engagement at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival.
– featured appearance in the popular anti-fracking documentary “Dear Governor Cuomo”, in concert alongside Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne, Citizen Cope, Medeski Martin and Wood, Dan Zanes and many more
– Solo MazzMuse appearance at the National Action Network’s 20th Annual Keepers of the Dream Award Ceremony in 2011, where President Obama gave the keynote address.
– festivals in The United States, Canada, New Zealand, Western and Eastern Europe, and Russia (Valerie June, LaFrae Sci’s The 13th Amendment?, Burnt Sugar, Daughters of Nina, Tamar-kali, Budapest Bar)
– performances in all of the great halls and public arts spaces in NYC (Carnegie, Avery Fischer, Alice Tully, Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center, the Lincoln Center Atrium, Symphony Space, Live at the New York Public Library, BAM Next Wave Festival at the Harvey Theater, Joe’s Pub, Le Poisson Rouge) as well as other well established venues around the world, including The Royal Albert Hall (London), The Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), The Palace of Arts (MŰVÉSZETEK PALOTÁJA, or MUPA – Budapest), and Bimhuis (Amsterdam)
– assisted in conducting workshops and performance with inmates at Sing Sing (NY State Correctional Facility, a Maximum Security State Penitentiary) as a Teaching Artist for Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections Program
https://mazzmusic.com/sandbox/projects/
Projects
Solo MazzMuse
Where it all began…
In her music, Mazz employs a technique called live looping to create songs and compositions in the spur of the moment. Many of the MazzMuse Band songs you hear today come from her early experimentations with loopers and electronics, and she still does live looping in her performances, solo and band.
The MazzMuse project came about during an interesting time: Mazz had just disbanded Brazz Tree and had also recently acquired a looping pedal. Looking for a way to make music on her own terms, she turned to the looper for creative fodder. During this time, she was deeply in love, in a committed relationship, but was also profoundly troubled. She found herself writing songs that it took her years to understand the meaning of.
But the meaning was there and as Mazz began to perform these songs as a solo artist, they (the songs) began to demand more full expression. She felt the looper could only take her so far. The band was formed in 2012.
Solo MazzMuse singles “Molten” and “Melancholy Baby” are available for sale at the MazzMuse Store.
MazzMuse: The Band
The four-piece rock band that is known as MazzMuse…
A Short Band Biography
MazzMuse, The Band was assembled in 2012 to realize in band format the
music Mazz had been performing in her solo project “Solo MazzMuse”.
The Music:
The music, born of a queer, self described “recovering christian” woman, who as a person of color explored and expressed freely her love of classical and jazz music, while secretly nurturing a love of rock, metal, punk, pop and electronica, this music is a sonic contradiction – a cognitive dissonance that by the pure fact of its existence, compels a cathartic experience for its performers and audience alike. It is the freedom of Rock and the depth of Soul, brought together with the precision of a classical sensibility.
A Wall of Sound That Breathes also known as Prog Soul.
On December 15, 2014, The MazzMuse Band explodes on the scene with their eponymous debut CD, produced by rock legend Vernon Reid of Living Colour. 12 powerful tracks including songs of love, devotion, frustration, confusion and victory through self-empowerment; two blazing instrumentals; and two covers of songs written by a couple of Mazz’s sheroes: PJ Harvey and Annie Lennox.
The Band:
Mazz, on her 6-string electric violin and voice, belts out her music and
is fortified by the people most call her band mates, but who she calls
her allies:
Alex Nolan on electric guitar, Dan Paccione on electric bass and LaFrae Sci on drums – All mega-powerhouses as individuals and unstoppable as the MazzMuse Band.
MazzMuse Trio
The semi-acoustic trio comprised of Mazz Swift, Alex Nolan on electric and acoustic guitars and LaFrae Sci on percussion. Music from Solo MazzMuse and MazzMuse The Band, reimagined for a more intimate setting
Announcement of Performance Date Forthcoming.
HEAR in NOW is a collaborative trio performing primarily original jazz-tinged avant-classical compositions. First brought together in the winter of 2009 by an Italian concert promoter for the WomaJazz festival in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy, the trio, feeling a great sense of musical chemistry, have since kept the momentum going. Residing in three separate locales, the women of Hear in Now bring together elements from their indivIdual regions for a unique sound experience by exploring free improvisation along with through-composed pieces.
HEAR in NOW is comprised of Mazz Swift (NYC) on violin/vocals, Silvia Bolognesi (SI, ITALY) on doublebass and Tomeka Reid (CHI) on cello. As individuals all three are active performers in the international music scene, having performed and/or recorded with William Parker, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Nicole Mitchell, Butch Morris, Vernon Reid, Burnt Sugar and Members of the Black Rock Coalition, Enrico Rava, Keiko Bondjeson and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.
Mazz Swift Biography
Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist Mazz Swift engages audiences worldwide with her signature weaving of improvisation and composition. In addition to full-time work as a performer, Swift is a composer and educator. Her works include commissions by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the University of Delaware, Neues Kabarett (through a Meet-the-Composer grant), The New Harmony Music Festival, and the Blaffer Foundation. Two of Ms. Swift’s compositions are featured on the Jersey City chamber music organization Con Vivo Music’s compilation, Modern Dances.
Mazz has performed and taught workshops in free improvisation and “Conduction” (conducted improvisation) on six continents and is a performing member and teaching artist with the acclaimed Silkroad Ensemble. She is also a Carnegie Hall teaching artist, where she coaches talented teens from every corner of NYC, writes and records lullabies with incarcerated mothers and mothers-to-be at Rikers Island, coaches the inmates at Sing Sing Penitentiary in string studies and composition, and leads professional development workshops on improvisation for symphony orchestra members and their students.
Ms. Swift is a Jerome Hill Fellow, currently working on several projects, all of which involve conduction (conducted improvisation) and are centered around protest, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.
Tomeka Reid Biography
Recently described as a “New Jazz Power Source” by the New York Times, cellist and composer Tomeka Reid emerged as one of the most original, versatile, and curious musicians in the Chicago’s bustling jazz and improvised music community over the last decade. Now based in New York, her distinctive melodic sensibility, usually braided to a strong sense of groove, has been featured in many distinguished ensembles over the years.Reid has been a key member of ensembles led by legendary reedists like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as a younger generation of visionaries including flutist Nicole Mitchell, singer Dee Alexander, and drummer Mike Reed. She is also a co- leader of the adventurous string trio, Hear in Now, with violinist Mazz Swift and bassist Silvia Bolognesi. Reid released her debut recording as a bandleader in 2015, with the eponymous recording by the Tomeka Reid Quartet (Jason Roebke, Tomas Fujiwara and Mary Halvorson), a lively yet charged debut album that is a vibrant showcase not only for the cellist’s improvisational acumen, but also her knack for dynamic arrangements and her compositional ability. Reid, grew up outside of Washington D.C., and her musical career kicked into gear after moving to Chicago in 2000 to attend DePaul University for graduate school. Her work with Nicole Mitchell and various Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians-related groups have proved influential to the young musician. By focusing on developing her craft primarily as a side person and working in countless improvisational contexts, Reid has achieved a stunning musical maturity. Reid is a 2016 recipient of a 3Arts award in music and received her doctorate in music from the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign in 2017.
Silvia Bolognesi Biography
Silvia Bolognesi is a double bass player, composer and arranger.
Graduated in double bass at the R.Franci Institute of Siena with Maestro Andrea Granai, perfecting with Maestro Alberto Bocini.She approached jazz studying at the Siena Jazz Accademy with Paolino dalla Porta, Furio di Castri and Ferruccio Spinetti.
The most significant encounters in his musical training are those with William Parker, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, Roscoe Mitchell and Antony Braxton.
Winner of the "Top Jazz 2010", by “Musica Jazz” as best new talent and in the same year winner of the "In Sound" trophy for double bass category.
She leads several bands: Open Combo, Almond Tree, Xilo Ensemble, Ju-Ju Sounds, Fonterossa Open Orchestra, Young Shouts, Sly Family…
Since 2009 she is part of the international string trio Hear In Now with Tomeka Reid on cello and Mazz Swift on violin and vocals; with this trio they completed Roscoe Mitchell’s sextet in his Homage to John Coltrane in 2017.
In 2010 she founded her own label “Fonterossa Records”.
She teaches double bass and combo class at the Siena Jazz Academy and at “Associazione Mosaico” in Colle Val d'Elsa (Siena).
Since 2016 she is part of the "European exchange-Erasmus +" program for the Conservatory of Maastricht (Holland), Tbilisi (Georgia), Riga (Latvia), Birmingham (UK).
Artist Spotlight
February 22, 2021
Spotlight: Mazz Swift
Mazz Swift is a composer, conductor, singer, bandleader, educator, and Juilliard-trained violinist who has performed on many of the world's greatest stages. In addition to her appointments as a Carnegie Hall Teaching artist and Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, Mazz was most recently named a United States Artist Fellow. Here, we interview Mazz about her current projects, inspiration, work with Silkroad, and more!
How did you decide to become a musician? What drew you to your instrument?
Since I was a little kid, the sound of the violin has always been attractive to me. I think something about the soaring melodies of the Romantic period was what first caught my attention. As soon as I found out what a violin was, and that a violinist played the violin, I went around telling everyone I met that I was a violinist — forcing my parents to eventually get me a violin and some lessons! It was meant to be for sure!
When did you first work with Silkroad? What did you work on?
My first project with Silkroad was in the fall of 2018. The group was in its last year of a residency at The College of the Holy Cross and the collaboration was really meaningful for me. The group welcomed me in so openly and asked me to bring my own music to the table — which felt remarkable because I was brand spanking new and they were interested in knowing where I was coming from. We had a great time speaking on our philosophies behind music and healing and what we feel important in our own lives. It was such a warm group of people that were really working towards seeing each other as we are. A particular moment stood out when we did some free improvisation during a performance, leading into my piece written for Aiyana Jones (the 7-year-old who was killed by Detroit Police during a no-knock warrant raid on a home that turned out to be the wrong address for the person they were looking for) and her parents, for whom justice never came but for 5 years later in the form of a check from the city of Detroit (a shameful situation that I didn't want to forget and needed to highlight for people who had no idea that this had happened and happens all the time). The group took that story in and then poured themselves into the music, making it all the more meaningful for me and, I think (hope) for the students at the College. I stand in gratitude for that experience and the opportunity to connect with those extraordinary people.
What is your favorite memory while with Silkroad?
The above, and also workshopping, recording, and performing Osvaldo Golijov's Falling Out of Time. Two things about that tour really stand out: the first is a talk Osvaldo did, explaining where the piece came from that ended with the Ensemble playing excerpts from the piece. After soaking in the weight and beauty of the composers intent, and the story of the same name, written by David Grossman — and inspiration for this work — we were all so moved and in tears by the end of it. I don't know that I've ever felt so connected with a group of musicians. I remember looking to my left and seeing my insides reflected back at me in the tears in cellist Karen Ouzounian's eyes, and then looking to my right and seeing the same in violinist Johnny Gandelsman's eyes and really feeling like something special had just transpired. My second other favorite memory from that tour was recording live performances of the piece on the stage at the Barns at Wolf Trap. More magic — with the musicians, with the audience, and on that very special stage. There's such a rich vibe in that venue and on those grounds. It really felt like l was living the dream, you know?
I'm a huge fan of and believer in free improvisation and have been — over the past 10 years or so — really delving into Conduction (a system of hand signals and gestures created by the great Butch Morris in order to facilitate improvisation by large groups of sound-makers) — applying it to my compositions and educational workshops. That's the stuff that makes me feel really alive and truly rooted in my own creativity. It's scary as hell to stand up in front of an orchestra, the audience to my back, with no game plan to lean on and create something out of the blue. But it is also really affirming to get to the other side of the in-the-moment creation. It serves as a rich wellspring for my written creations to come from.
What kind of projects have you been working on? What can we expect in the coming months/year?
I guess there are a few things brewing but I've got an ongoing project that I've been calling the "Sankofa Project". Sankofa is a Ghanaian word that literally translates to "go back and get it," and deals with the concept of looking backward to understand how to move forward. I am exploring that concept through re-imaginings of so-called "Slave Songs," as well as freedom songs and my own versions of what I'm calling "Modern-day Protest" Songs. I’ve also been really fascinated with the work of Butch Morris and was able to work with him on and off for about 10 years before he died. I’ve since adopted his system of Conduction (conducted improvisation) and work that into almost every project or composition of mine. I plan to do a large-scale Conduction project sometime in the near future — or as soon as the pandemic and/or vaccine availability will allow.
What are you listening to these days?Well, to be honest, I've been listening to a LOT of podcasts lately, haha! The Daily (from the New York Times) is a staple for me, as is Pod Save America, and Preet Bharara's Cafe Insider. Analysis of the news from the perspective of good journalism, people who have worked in the White House, and from a legal standpoint has really kept me sane over the past four years. But over the holiday season, I finally sat down and watched Beyonce's gorgeous epic music film Black Is King and became obsessed with the soundtrack (The Gift) — all of it loosely based on the story of the The Lion King and so full of pride (no pun intended!) and celebration of the many popular musics of Africa and Black America. Plus, inspirational lyrics kept me dancing! I shared it with my niece and I have to say, there's nothing really much sweeter than hearing an 8-year-old girl sing "Brown Skin Girl, your skin just like pearls, the best thing in the world! I'll never trade you for anybody else..." 🥰 Other things that I've been digging lately (by no means a comprehensive list!): Planetary Candidate (Michi Wiancko), Parts (Ohmme), and also Truth and Soul (Fishbone) have also found their way back into my recent playlist. This is just a snapshot of what I'm into these days. Ask me tomorrow and it will almost certainly be a different list!
Do things you are scared to do. Also, put as much effort into other parts of your life as you do your music: it can only inform your art more. Put down your instrument/practice and pick up a physical activity that makes you feel like a superhero: martial arts, dancing, fencing, yoga, running...whatever makes you feel good! We spend so much time in our heads and hands — not much time in our whole bodies. Keep the energy flowing through your whole body and it'll refresh your mind, spirit, creativity, etc... Also, I think it is of utmost importance to practice mindful meditation (you can start small — set a timer for 30 seconds and sit quietly — listening to your body and thoughts, while practicing non-judgment, no matter what comes to mind) every day. Lastly, as a musician, no matter what style or genre of music you play, it is invaluable to explore free improvisation. You learn so much about your strengths and weaknesses, the things you like, the habits you tend toward. There's so much to learn and when you figure out what it is that you have to offer that is unique to you, you'll find your undeniable voice, and likely stand out in a sea of people who often are trying to sound like someone else. Being rooted in “self” is a powerful and indispensable tool!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I'm super excited to announce that I'm part of the 2021 cohort of United States Artists along with a most amazing group of individuals, some of whom I've admired for years (Wadada Leo Smith! Kidd Jordan! My musical sister, the amazing Tomeka Reid!), and others I'm so excited to find out more about. After a truly soul-crushing year of unrelenting bad news, the loss of work (work that is so tied to my core Self, the lack of which left me feeling unmoored, like so many of my performing friends and family), so much death at the hands of an incompetent federal administration, and the continued murder of my Black brothers and sisters at the hands of those charged with protecting us — the demoralizing nature of it all highlighted by well-meaning folks coming forward to say how unaware they had been (though many of us have been screaming about it for decades)... the news came from United States Artists and made me feel like the work I've been doing to bring a little bit of light into the world is actually being felt. I can't express how grateful I am for that — I'm really looking forward to continuing to make music, for myself and with the amazing artists at Silkroad (with whom I've been cooking up some fun plans, virtual and in-person)! The future feels bright indeed. :)
Silkroad’s Artist Spotlight is a series designed to feature and celebrate the incredible talent of Silkroad’s artistic collective. Each month we will feature a new artist and share an interview about their current projects, inspiration, work with Silkroad, and more!
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