Eloisa Manera, a new voice at the Musicafoscari San Servolo Jazz Fest

Eloisa Manera is an Italian-Spanish violinist, composer and improviser with a strong classical training who is emerging in the jazz scene. She will be the playing on October 29th at 2.30pm at Ca’ Pesaro for the fifth edition of Musicafoscari San Servolo Jazz Fest.

Interested in experimenting, in art and in the “anthropologic and migratory character of music”, she has always dedicated herself to music with great curiosity, exploring the relation between written music and improvisation. In the last years she included the use of electronic in solo works (Rondine) and composed a piece inspired to Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities for eight musicians.

What will you present at the Musicafoscari Jazz Fest?
I will play the “Rondine”, a solo project that I registered in 2013 and was released the following year. It started thanks to the support of people from Almendra Music Label [ndr a production company from Palermo created in 2012 by Sicilian composers and producers] as I was working on the Invisible Cities project. Meeting them made me leave aside the Invisible Cities for a little while and caught my attention.

You combine violin and electronics. Can you tell us a little bit more about your musical approach and training?
Electronic appeared as a practical need. I use a computer, a pedal and special effects. I started classical music when I was 8 years old in a path that ended in Venice and it is an honour to come back here with my music. I studied in Milan for 10 years  and one of the most important experience I had was playing a Mozart concert as a soloist and then coming back to play my own music. In 2002 I started to become more and more interested in the first musical genres and I discovered that there is so much to explore. The Cities are landscapes that I have interiorized: places that mattered in my life. Nebbia (fog) was inspired by the city of Venice, and New York inspired me as it gave me the push I needed in my personal journey.

On your website you mention your “interest for the anthropological and migratory character of music seen as the artistic dimension that represents the catalyst of different cultures”. Could you explain this concept to us?
You can find all the places that mattered emotionally in my life in migrations. I am not involved in musicological theory, I am not a musicologist but I am interested in music from different cultures. In this sense I relate to music as the artistic catalyst of cultures and jazz is one of the musical genres that mostly mix the characteristics of cultures mixing.

What do you expect from a Jazz Festival that has many university students in its audience?
I am picturing a curious and non-judgemental audience. In this sense it is an ideal and fresh audience. On October 21st I played in Bologna and got to be surrounded by linguistic researchers who were deeply touched by the concert. It is a different environment and considering this experience I am picturing a great audience.

Would you have pieces of advice for students with untrained ear?
My advice is relevant in music but not only. Being fresh and curious is fundamental. Interpretative instruments must be built by listening and studying. Discovering this kind of music is a personal and not an academic experience. Obviously the more you listen, read and gather information the more knowledge you get. It is important to appreciate what you hear and to associate it with your own cultural background.

Could you tell us about a recent project you are proud of and about your future projects?
I am very proud of the Invisible Cities which were adapted from Italo Calvino’s work. The album was released last year, in 2016, but I have started thinking about it in 2011. I am very happy with the result. We initially wanted to associate it with images and videos. With regards to my future projects, I have been working for two years now with Dj Fana [Stefano Greco] on his album Phase Duo, for which we have recorded 6 original pieces. We have gathered our experiences and created something new that you could call “electroacoustic music” to use labels. Our goal is to make beautiful music - and by “beautiful” I mean taking the most of what our combined talents can create. I would like to think about a solo project, but it is only an idea for now.

Interview by Francesca Isotta