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Where are you based
Antonella? I live in
Milan, Italy
When did you first take a bass in
your hands? When I was 14 years
old
What attracted you to playing
bass? Well, at first it was not
really an attraction! The problem was that we needed a bass player for a
Beatles tribute band and we had two John Lennons in the same band...so i
decided to become Paul!!!
Did you play any other instrument
before you started playing bass?
Like most bass players...GUITAR and then electric bass and then
double-bass
Can you remember the first piece
you ever learned on bass? The
Wall from Pink Floyd!
What was your very first public
performance? Oh.....i don't
remember. I think my life was more onstage than offstage! Maybe at the age
of 6...I become a professional musician when I was 15!!
What’s your current band?
I am freelance, I've just finished
an Italian tour with a singer called Ron, beautiful tour, he is a great
artiste.
What’s your main bass?
A Warwick Streamer Stage II Custom Shop 5 string.
Body colour/wood?
Pink body, wood is Africain Afzelia
What strings to you like best?
Labella both for bass and upright
What is your backline bass amp
setup? Mark bass head and
cabinet!
Fingers, plectrum or both?
Fingers!!!
What type of music do you play?
Everything from jazz to rock...well, music is my job not only my passion
so I need to play all but deep down, I'm a real rock girl!
Do you come from a
musical family?
Well my mother played bass in a
female band in 1972!! just some few notes but...great!! The best
compliment in my life was when she said me.."You realised all my ambitions
and dreams!!". I discovered my mother played bass after I had been playing
for 7!! She never played in front of me....maybe it's a legend.
If forming your ideal live band,
what instruments would you have with you onstage?
A grand coda piano...a Gretsch drum kit...a double_bass.
Do you see the bass as a solo
instrument? The modern bass
technique is so advanced. There are a lot of great bass players that can
stay ALONE on stage but, ...what sadness...I believe in an old bass
philosophy...bass should stay under the solo player, it's a hard job but
someone have to do it! It's a great moment when, after a flood of notes at
great volume a solo bass appears from the confusion! So I think bass can
be a solo instrument but...in moderation!
Apart from your own projects,
have you played recording sessions with other artistes?
I played more sessions with other artistes than for my own projects. I
think I'll have lots of time to play my music in the future but right now
I love to interpret other musicians' thoughts! It's like a trip to a far
place!!
Have you ever been to Ireland?
No! I would like to come!
Do you favour active or passive
electronics/pick-ups? I
love passive but for a lot of stuff active pick-ups helpvery much.
What other instrument would you
like to play? I'm trying
to play cello...my neighbours are not so happy! I'm not so good, I would
like to play trombone too!
If you could be taken to a
concert anywhere on earth tonight, who would you want to see live?
Prince!
What CD are you listening to most
these days? The Oscar Peterson
Trio with Lester Young "The President Plays" ..not the last hit.
Do you have a pet?
Yes, I have a beautiful white canary called
Gasperino. He is 6 years old and he is incredibly in love with bossa
nova!! When I listen to some bossa he sings like crazy!
Do you write/compose?
I compose some things but my passion is arrangement.
Do you have a day-job or do you
play professionally? I play as a
professional since I was 15!!!..now please don t ask me how old I am!
Give one piece of “golden” advice
to someone who has just bought their first bass?
pay less than you can!
Who do you listen to when you’re
not playing? all!! a lot of jazz
Have you recorded/released any
CDs? Yes, I work a lot in studio
both with bass and double-bass
What was your best gig/venue
ever? In Palermo, on New Year's
Night of 2000, I played in front of 450,000 people! A sea of people!
What was your worst moment
onstage? Well, alot of
strange things have happened on stage! One of my worst was when I
broke my foot. I was jumping and I fell down. Nobody realised what had
happened because I continued to play until the end of the concert.
Afterwards I was in plaster for two months.
What’s your favourite album/CD?
Jaco Pastorius, first album
Do you own any other instruments?
Many! Two double-basses, a ukulele, 6 electric basses, 3 guitars.....!
Do you sing?
Yes I do.
Did you ever perform onstage
without your bass? I don't like
to perform without a bass but it did happen during my last tour, I had to
sing with the artiste just piano and voice.
What’s your opinion on basses
with more than 4 strings? Up to
6 strings we could call it a bass, but more? We would have to change the
name!
What do you feel is the
bass-players function in a band?
A psychologist! It's a joke but every people know the great harmonics and
rhythmic power and importance of a bass player...less people know that in
all the band musicians need to talk with the bass player about all the
kind of problems! Communication and friendship are very important for me
in a band.
Did you ever have a
famous person in your audience?
Yes, I've played in front of a lot of famous person but the best I
remember was while I was playing in a small pub in Perugia during a great
Jazz Festival called Umbria Jazz and it comes to me a great
boy...well...he was Cristian MacBride!!!
Does being such an adaptable
musician cause any problems? Is it a big change from electric bass one
week and then maybe double-bass the next?
Well, there are a lot of difference between the two instruments! Technique
is really different but above all is the bass line conception the greatest
difference! If I play double-bass normally I play jazz so my part in the
band is to create a strong and powerful walking bass, a perfect carpet
where the soloist can improvise without harmonic problems! The notes I
have to choose are really important, I have to be clear, every note is a
stone! If I play electric my choices are harmonic but also rhythmical, I
have to stay together with the drummer and at the same time I have to
express the harmony! Well, while I'm writing, I am discovering that at the
end, the biggest difference is.. transportation! It is not so easy for a
girl to go around with a double-bass, it's much more simple with an
electric! Being an adaptable musician is a very important thing in this
historical period, music is a global world, there are no more barricades
between styles because to work it's necessary to be the most complete
musician it is possible to be!
Please name some singers/bands
you have toured with? I'm a
sessionist so I've changed a lot of bands! I've played with Lillian Boutte',
great jazz singer, Lino Patruno, a very important jazz player, Vittorio
Castelli, Ron...I've jammed with George Lynch, Lucio Dalla, Enzo Jannacci...i
don t remember all...but all great experiences.
Are you a big star in Italy
Antonella? Ah-ah!!! Of course
I'm a big star! The most famous in my building! Well, iI'e played for 3
years in a television show on RAI2, national TV...I don't know if I'm
famous! A lot of people know me...this is being famous?!
Have you played in many other
countries? I've played in
Shanghai (China), in Germany, in Switzerland, in Spain and all over Italy!
Where was your double-bass made?
I have two double-basses, one is a Reghin, from Romania, it is not
handmade but it's very good and the other one was made in Naples from
Sirleto.
When you fly, are you worried that it might get damaged? Is it
valuable? When I fly I prefer to arrange for a double-bass to be in
the place where I have to play or I use an electric upright, the Triumph
from Warwick.
If you received an offer to tour
with an orchestra, a jazz group or a rock band in the same week, which
would you choose and why? A
terrible question! Sometimes choice is conditioned only by money! It is
not a good thing I know but music it s also a business. But when I can, I
prefer to play in situation where I feel good, with good musicians, good
friends, calm situation! It is not important what but with whom!!
Do you ever use a bow on your
double-bass? I love bow! I've
studied classical in the Conservatory of Milan, now I don't play much
classical, just for me, for fun, at home! But I use bow in some jazz solo
or also if I play pop for some long long note.
What musician or band would you
most like to see live in concert?
Every concert is a great event! The concert I would like to see but can't
is the WORD OF MOUTH TOUR of Jaco Pastorius!
What are your ambitions Antonella?
Play, play, play more and more well! As well I can! I would like to reach
my limits and then go over! To find my dimension, the right place for me,
become a good musician every day more and more, to be a good person
without causing suffering to people, to love more than I can!
thanks to Antonella for being part of BassGirls.Com
text and images are copyright
of Antonella Mazza and
BassGirls.Com
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