Interview: Getting To Know Jazz In France Through Ternoy Trio's Jèrèmie

Jéremie Ternoy, composer and pioneer of Jéremie Ternoy Trio (Instagram @jazzgunung)

JErerèmie Ternoy Trio for the first time is on a tour in Indonesia. At least, they appeared in three different events known as a place for jazz lovers to enjoy music, namely the Mount Bromo Jazz Festival (22 July), Mben Senen Yogyakarta Jazz (24 July), and Ubud Village Jazz Festival (29 July).

Jéremie Ternoy Trio comes from Lille, France consisting of Jéremie Ternoy as a composer as well as a pianist, Nicolas Mahieux (contrabas) and Charles-Albert Duytschaever (drums).

After appearing at the Mount Bromo Jazz, Jèrèmie Ternoy expressed his satisfaction with the response of the audience in Indonesia. He felt that the audience listened to his music well.

"I feel very happy. I think the audience is listening well. It's a beautiful experience for me," said Jèrèmie Ternoy.

Jèrèmie is aware that playing in Indonesia will provide a new experience for her. However, not only in Indonesia, for him every place he has visited has its own characteristics.

He saw that several places he visited this time had differences between one another. This allows him to see the diversity that exists in Indonesia.

"Of course we will be very happy if we can return to appear in Indonesia. And we will try to be able to come again," he said.

After his appearance at Mount Bromo Jazz, VOI had the opportunity to interview Jèrèmie Torney. The conversation took place with the help of an interpreter from the Fran calmais Indonesia Institute in Surabaya.

In this interview, Jèrèmie discussed the entry of jazz music in France and its current development. The pianist also talked about the composition of his music and its difference to many known American jazz players. Check out the full interview below.

France is known as a country with diverse populations, how can jazz enter and develop there?

Yes, there is a lot of diverse cultural influence in France, especially a lot of music from the United States, but also from Africa, Cuba to Eastern Europe. Even in our place of origin, in Lille there are many communities from various countries. In jazz, two of the best known French jazz musicians arectional Reinhardt with his jazz dypsy and Stephane Graphelli who plays violin like classical music. Their style of playing is called jazz manöl, and it was popular in the 1940s.

The combination was also added by an chordon player named Marcel Azolla, whose musical style is widely used for dance. His musical style was very popular after World War. Since jazz is pairing music, finally jazz mixes with the influence of French musicians who practice these musical styles.

After that, the movement continued to this day. For example, France is close to England which has many well-known groups such as The Beatles and other rock groups. They also influenced musicians in France with their progressive music. This progressive music also mixes with jazz. The combination took place in the 1960s, 1970s and continues with other advances to date.

In addition to music coming from outside, such as jazz or pop music, France also has folk music and its own traditional music. Which one better influences your music?

I was more influenced by pop music than folk. An example is a singer who is also a drummer, Robert

In addition, Robertmen are also good friends with Maurice Ravel and Claude Dewassy who are classic musicians, as well as Gyorgy Ligeti who is a contemporary musician. In addition, my musical style was also influenced by jazz musicians from the United States, including totaling Hancock and Chick Corea.

"However, that doesn't mean there is no folk in my musical style. Part of the folk has been integrated into me. It has become a part of me that I convey through my work. Like Frederic Chopin, where he also uses traditional music in his music. It's inevitable, because we know classical music from an early age, and classical music also has the influence of traditional music. I think it's integrated.

How do you describe the musical composition style you've made so far?

Yang saya suka ketika menulis musik, setiap komposisi punya identitas yang secara langsung bisa dikenalikan. Saya suka membuat motif sebagai signature lagu yang dengan mudah bisa dikenalkan orang. Jadi, saya membayangkan dengan membawa komposisi musik saya, pendengar seperti disunjuk ke dalam sebuah pemilik atau focasi di mana mereka merasakan berada di dalam dalamnya, namun masih dalam frame yang saya buat.

"There are many compositions that I make that have layers piled up, and I try to be able to bring up a different layer. I like to make a composition that is clearly visible between the complexities. That's how I see the world.

How do you differentiate the jazz you play with many jazz musicians from the United States?

Regarding history, United States jazz was formed in a certain way, but at the same time it arrived in Europe. These European musicians are also looking for their own style. And there is also a lot of inspiration from classical music and contemporary music. As for our differences with American jazz musicians, we lacked influence from blues music, although we agree that blues is the heart of our music.

We see blues as a way to express like an idiom. For us, blues as a way of expressing, blues is to bring out what is in us. When compared to flamenco, blues feels like it emits suffering, which feels different.

How do you see jazz music in France, how does it work with pre-existing music, such as folk and traditional music?

In my opinion, jazz is traditional music, because it's traditional music from the United States. Because the United States is a country that exports this music, they also export their language. When we learn jazz, we learn such as learning new languages and new accents that can be used to express our own language.

So, we do need to use this idiom and later we will reform it. We started by learning standard jazz music from American jazz musicians, and gradually we found our own characteristics. In my opinion, the process that everyone goes through is like that.