{"id":619,"date":"2016-10-16T07:52:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T07:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/?p=619"},"modified":"2017-06-06T07:55:01","modified_gmt":"2017-06-06T07:55:01","slug":"suna-gunlaugs-dzez-je-univerzalni-jezik-ali-nije-isti-sirom-sveta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/suna-gunlaugs-dzez-je-univerzalni-jezik-ali-nije-isti-sirom-sveta\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunna Gunnlaugs: \u201eJazz is a universal language but it is not the same all around the world\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Islandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaungs found the initial inspiration in the music of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, as well as Bobo Stenson and Jon Balke, combining her love of America and Scandinavia in an original lyrical music that knows no borders. Following a notable career in the USA and Canada (main collaborators: Tony Malaby, Drew Gress and Ohad Talmor), she returned to Island and continued to release excellent albums. Being among the most renowned artists in her country, Gunnlaugs is the artistic director of a jazz festival in Reykjavik. Sunna Gunnlaugs \u00a0will perform with her Trio at 32<\/span>nd<\/span> Belgrade Jazz Festival on October 26<\/span>th<\/span>, in Americana Hall of Belgrade Youth Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"SunnaLast year you have released a new album with your trio, called “Cielito Lindo” \u2013 tell us please more about it and the creative process within the band.<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>This is the third album that this trio makes together. We all contribute compositions to the trio’s repertoire and on this album we recorded a standard for the first time, Summertime by Gerswin. When we meet to rehearse and try out new material we try not to talk too much about it. Instead we try to give each other a basic idea and see where it takes us. I like to approach the trio as a unit that is constantly making something together. We have tunes with traditional solo form and also where just one person may be the featured soloist yet it is important that the trio is jointly creating a journey from the beginning to the end. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Together with the trio you were recently awarded as “Best Performer” at the Icelandic Music Awards. How much means to an artist to be recognized for his\/hers work in homeland?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>It is an encouragement to be recognized for your work especially when you are a woman in a male dominated sector. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1993 you went to the USA for a college, lived there for years and achieved very successful career. You said it <\/b>was such a stimulating environment for you as a jazz musician. What made you come back to the Iceland as a formed and prominent artist? Was it connected with the end of one phase in your professional life, or something else?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>While New York is a very stimulating environment it is also a struggle to survive there as a jazz musician. At a certain point I was tired of being poor with very little prospects for a higher quality of life. I wanted to have children, we had no family around so I knew that life in Iceland would offer greater opportunities for us and our children. <\/span><\/p>\n

Recently you had one new experience: your first music score for movie \u201cReykjavik” for a jazz quintet was out. How did you manage and how different from your usual music creating was this process?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>I really enjoyed this project. Usually when I write music everything is totally open so it was very different to write music of specific length to scenes that required a particular mood. I was a bit nervous about starting the project but found it quite easy to put myself in the right mood and the whole process was quite enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

You are also the artistic director of the Reykjavik Jazz Festival \u2013 what are the experiences from that part of your career?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>It is very interesting to be on both sides of the table so to speak. To be both a performer and a presenter. I think I have learned a lot, one thing is how important Jazz Festivals can be to encourage international collaborations and to expose people to artists they may not have heard of. There are fewer stars on the jazz scene today then there used to be and a whole lot of artist that deserve wider recognition. A jazz festival that has its audience’s trust plays an important role in bringing great talents into the spotlight. <\/span><\/p>\n

In one text on your blog you wrote \u201cIn a way, music is all about relationships. It’s about connecting with people in the moment, on stage and off.\u201d What relationships were and are most important for you as a musician, the ones that formed you and gave you the direction to the artist you are now?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>Relationships of the past of course played an important role in shaping me as an artist but what I care most about now is the relationship and communication with the people with whom I am playing and also the relationship with the audience, being in the moment. If we can’t connect with the audience then there is no flow of energy. <\/span><\/p>\n

This year’s slogan of the Belgrade Jazz Festival is “Planet Jazz” – do you think that jazz around the world is the same, universal language of music, or are there differences? How do you see and feel jazz in 21st century? <\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>I definitely think that jazz is a universal language but it is not the same all around the world. It may be equally as good in every corner of the world but still have something unique that comes from that part of the world. I think musicians are greatly affected by their traditions and surroundings and that is the beauty of it. You can always discover something new and it never gets tired.<\/span><\/p>\n

In January this year, you released the first duo album “Unspoken” with Dutch bass clarinetist Maarten Ornstein, whom you\u2019ve \u201cmet\u201d on Twitter. Would you define it as an example of positive globalization in artistic domain? How would you describe that experience and the result of your collaboration?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>Absolutely. It was a total surprise to me. I had no idea really what I was getting myself into and pleasantly Maarten and I have a very nice connection. We have performed together on several occasions, released this album you mentioned and continue to perform. There is something fresh and unexpected in it for me since we live in different countries and only meet on occasion. Then we just have to dive in and intensely interact thru music. It is very rewarding.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you know about Belgrade and Serbia? Are you familiar with some jazz (or other) musicians from our country?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>The tradition of the brass bands is of course famous but I do not know much about Serbian jazz. I look very much forward to experiencing it first-hand. <\/span><\/p>\n

What will you present to the audience of the Belgrade Jazz Festival, together with your Trio?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunna Gunnlaugs:<\/b> \u00a0<\/span>We will play a selection of tunes from our previous albums and maybe something new.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sorry, this entry is only available in Serbian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":745,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions\/745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2016.bjf.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}