by Daniela Arriaga

For this assignment, we were asked to find a local jazz musician and interview them, the person that I picked was Linus Wyrsch. Linus was born and raised in Switzerland and a little while after he made his way to the Big Apple. He attended Berklee College of Music and a while after he pursued his dream of being a musician. He found himself interested in playing jazz as well as improvising it, his main instruments are the clarinet and the saxophone. These instruments are what bought Linus to great success, his hard work and dedication paid off and he now tours all around the world and is even on tv-shows called NBC’s Universal Kids (PBS Kids Sprout), NBC’s The 10 Show!, NY1 and ABC7 News. He also produces and hosts the popular podcast “The Jazz Hole”. If that’s not enough he even won a Grammy for best children’s album back in 2018. Seeing all of his accomplishments made me interested in his life as a musician and I asked the following questions to which he responded with the following…

Do you play instruments other than the Clarinet and the Saxophone? and if you do which was the hardest to learn and why? If you don’t what was the hardest part about learning both of them.
1. When I was a teenager, I tried to play the drums (next to the clarinet and sax). However, for drums, I only took a couple of lessons, I never formally learned it. I just enjoyed playing along with recordings, trying to imitate other drummers, and watching them closely in concerts (live or on video). When I went to music school, I also took basic piano lessons, in order to get a basic understanding of harmony and the structures of jazz standards. I would never call myself a drummer or a pianist, but I think that learning some basics of other instruments can be extremely useful in one’s musical development. The piano is of particular importance for harmonic understanding. In retrospect, I wish I had learned more about it at an earlier age.

Did you ever have a moment of discouragement in your career, what made you keep going?

2. Yes, more than once! I believe jazz musicians are often facing tough hurdles that can be discouraging. The genre itself is not as widely popular as others (anymore), which by default has several consequences: Work can be scarce at times, the offered wages can be low at times, the genre’s infrastructure and budgets are limited (meaning that most tasks land on one’s own shoulders. Few jazz musicians today have Management, Booking Agents, etc.), the general enthusiasm and admiration for jazz seems pretty low at times, and all this can lead to a feeling of lack of appreciation or recognition at times. Furthermore, many of us at some point felt discouraged by having to regularly play music other than the one we are truly passionate about, in order to make ends meet (see question 4). Here is what keeps me going in these situations:

a) I try to remember that it’s a privilege to play music for a living – even if the circumstances are not always ideal. Only a few people have successfully managed to turn their passion into their profession, to be among them should never be taken for granted. Getting jaded doesn’t help, it’s better to look back and appreciate how long being a musician has worked out so far or to look forward and motivate oneself about what’s coming next.

b) I’m not sure who said it first, but there is a cliché quote that jazz musicians will often use: “Take care of the music, and the music will take care of you”. While this is often meant in regards to one’s practice time, I like to apply this quote in its broader sense, for example exactly during a time when I am discouraged to practice my instruments. I will try to dive right back into this music in some other way: studying or reading something about its rich history, for example, or listening to an inspiring recording. It might help me remember what got me into this music in the first place. Often the music itself has the power to lift you out of any discouragement if you just attentively listen to some of it.

c) If this doesn’t work, it’s also ok to really step away from it sometimes, taking a walk, going to a museum, or taking a little trip, focusing on something else. It’s not possible to be inspired by music 24/7 (or anything else for that matter), so it’s ok to step away. Then, sooner or later, music will come right back to inspire me in one way or another because it’s just such a big part of life – and I will be reminded of my love for it.

What inspired you to follow your passion for music/jazz?

3. My father has a huge CD collection (mostly jazz), so as a child, I began listening to a lot of music and tried to play along with the records at a young age. I started taking recorder flute lessons and then at home, I would put on a CD and try to play along using the recorder (before my fingers were big enough to hold a clarinet, which is what I always wanted to have after hearing Benny Goodman). My father also plays bass semi-professionally, so since I was little, I accompanied him to concerts and was fascinated with everything, the band setting up, performing, etc. I also got to see some concerts by famous jazz musicians with my father, including a concert by the incredible Oscar Peterson, which left a big impression. Music and especially jazz with its improvisation element continued to fascinate me to no end. As I got older, I took more music lessons (clarinet, sax, …), and I was also doing pretty good in high school in most subjects. But I realized as it came to making some first decisions regarding my future, that there was no subject other than music that I truly wanted to pursue further, professionally. While my music teachers and parents were of course always very encouraging, I also had warnings that it can be a difficult and risky career, so I decided to major in music business and management in order to learn more about the business side, but deep down I knew I wanted to mainly become a performer and took a lot of music classes. Of course, with today’s music scene, having some knowledge in the business aspect helps a lot even as a performer.

Would you like to try another genre other than jazz?

4. I have, many times (from playing with an Orchestra to playing with some rock/pop groups). Playing a big variety of music can be very fun, challenging, and inspiring. For

example, there is no feeling like playing in a big orchestra, it’s something very special and while I don’t usually pursue that, I do miss that feeling when I haven’t done that in a while. Certain other genres I have played at times only as a paid job (in order to make ends meet). Sometimes your extensive background and studies in jazz and on your instruments make you qualified for a gig that might pay well but is musically not challenging or satisfying. I think most experiences in music are (or can be turned into) good experiences somehow, so I am not against taking these jobs from time to time, however, when you do too many things that don’t give you a good musical gratification or are regularly stuck in a situation like that, it can become boring or discouraging. It will draw you back to playing more of the music that you actually want to play. I personally love variety, but luckily, the jazz genre itself can already be extremely wide, so I can usually get a pretty good fill of variety in different contexts that still have to do with jazz. For example, living in NYC, I can play a very traditional jazz gig one night and then an authentic Latin jazz gig another night and more of a jazzy pop gig yet another night.

When did you perform in front of an audience and how did it feel?

5. Luckily, I play in front of audiences all the time. During good times, most nights of the week. Of course, it’s not always in a concert hall, theater, jazz club, or festival, often it’s in a small restaurant or bar, but playing in front of any live audience is actually my favorite thing! It doesn’t matter how big, often a small audience can make things even more intimate and special. I don’t think anything can ever replace that unique feeling of getting together in a room, performing with other musicians in front of a live audience without edits or do-overs. To me, that human connection that takes place at the moment is the big fundamental of jazz, it’s what this music is all about, in my humble opinion. It’s a very special feeling already to play with other musicians and interact with them, but some nights the audience can add another layer, create a special thrill, especially with jazz where you improvise and take certain risks – it can really elevate the music or inspire the musicians (pretty immediately) to try something different or special.