Interview with Pedro Giraudo


Q: You were born and raised in Argentina and moved to NYC in 1996. Please tell me why you moved to the USA and what do you like about the USA that's very different from Argentina (and vice versa).

Pedro Giraudo: I moved to NYC mainly to study jazz. As soon as I arrived to the airport I felt a very strong connection to the city, and I still do. I miss Argentina very much though. I love its quality of life, its values, its character, its music and the fact that my family is there. On the other hand NYC is one of the most energized cities I have known. You constantly feel the whole city pushing you to improve, to break your own limits. It's indescribable. I think I could not have chosen a better place to study and develop as a musician than New York.

Q: Please tell me how the idea of forming Mr. Vivo came about and what do you want to achieve with your fellow musicians.

Pedro Giraudo: I formed the first version of my band when I graduated from Manhattan School of Music in 2000 and suddenly felt eagerness to compose. We have recorded three CDs so far: 'Destiny of Flowers' (septet, 2000), 'Mr Vivo' (octet, 2002) and the CD being presented now, 'Desconsuelo' (13-piece, 2005). Since its conception the band has been expanding, and my guess is that it will continue to do so.
It is pretty difficult to find people who commit to a band in New York; it took me some time to find the right people, but it was worth it. I write all my music, and I mean ALL my music, knowing who is on each chair. I'll take this opportunity to introduce the band on the CD: Will Vinson, Ramiro Flores, Luke Batson, Carl Maraghi: saxes; Jonathan Powell, Tatum Greenblatt: trumpets; Ryan Keberle, Mike Fahie: trombones; Jess Jurkovic, piano; Jeff Davis, drums; Tony De Vivo, cajón; Sofía Tosello, voice.
My goal is to write and perform the best music my potential allows.

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before. And who has influenced you musically?

Pedro Giraudo: I would describe it as organic South American jazz with some classical influences, performed by a 13 piece band.
I love a lot of music and I have a pretty extensive music library at home. I'm deeply moved by music of Bach, Yupanqui (Argentine folk music), Berg, Piazzolla, Spinetta (Argentine rock), Shostakovich, Isaac Oviedo (Cuban son), Mozart, Radiohead, Stravinsky, Keith Jarrett, Guillermo Klein (Argentine Jazz), Pugliese (Argentine Tango), Bill Evans, Gardel, Brahms, Septeto Habanero, Miles, Beethoven, Simon Diaz, Hermeto Pascoal, etc. I can go on and on...
I also must mention some of the teachers I had: Ron Carter, the best bass teacher; David Berger, incredibly knowledgeable person, taught me arranging and composing 'basics' that I use on a daily basis, and David Bushler, excellent musicologist with whom I discovered, not only a lot of music, but also a way to understand it in a deeper manner.
As all musicians do, I learn a lot from every single person I play with or arrange for.

Q: Why didn't you do a few bass solos on Desconsuelo?

Pedro Giraudo: My music is not about solos as much as it is about ensemble playing and form.
When we perform I feel that all of us are 'talking' to the audience as one entity. I compose using this idea as the main criteria. So far, I have not felt that a bass solo would enhance the expression of the ensemble. However I'm writing the first piece that features bowed bass. It will be on our next recording.

Q: There's also one vocal track (Primer Intento) on the new album. Since I don't speak Spanish could you please summarize the story told in the lyrics?

Pedro Giraudo: My Wife, Marianela Fernandez, wrote this short metaphorical piece thinking about our home country, Argentina, and its continuous sufferings, but also the love that always manages to keep Argentina a great country.

Q: Do you want to feature more vocal songs in the future?

Pedro Giraudo: Although I love vocal music and play with numerous great singers, I probably won't include vocal songs in the future because I feel my compositional tendencies are pulling more towards contemporary instrumental pieces.

Q: You've released the album on your own. How difficult is it for you and your band members to spread the word about Mr. Vivo and your music?

Pedro Giraudo: Well, this is a great chance to sincerely thank you very much for you support.
It's possible but not easy without the backing of a label. Getting radio time & reviews is more difficult and distribution is more limited when you work as an independent artist. But the internet helps us a lot. We also have our following in New York, a nice group of people which supports us in many ways.

Q: Would it be an option for you to sign with a (major) label?

Pedro Giraudo: I have not tried to get signed, but it definitely would help. I'm pretty sure that someone that would be interested in our music would let us continue doing what we do, and simply help out with some of the tasks I'm not great at doing.

Q: Your music is available for paid downloading on most music portals like itunes, napster, real or msn as well as on CD. For myself downloading music isn't really an option since most files feature DRM (Digital Rights Management) and are lossy compressed. When it comes to music I'm rather old-fashioned and like to have a real audio CD. But I'd like to know what do your listeners prefer? Downloading the song or buying the CDs? And what's your opinion about the DRM-crippled files sold online?

Pedro Giraudo: Most of our listeners prefer CDs. I also do, I have never bought music online. However I own an iPod, and I love it. I'm on the road pretty often and I like having a very large part of my CD collection with me, even if it doesn't sound as good as a CD. I think that anything that will make people get in touch with music, even if it's crippled, is fine.

Q: What can we expect from you and Mr. Vivo in the future and in which way do you like your music to develop?

Pedro Giraudo: Hopefully I will improve my playing and writing. I have some pieces for our next album and some of the characteristics are: a slightly larger ensemble (16), a bigger variety of instruments, a more contemporary harmonic vocabulary, and longer, more epic pieces. So far it has been impossible for me to write music that I won't hear/play immediately. Eventually I would love to get over that and compose music for different chamber ensembles.

For more infos visit mrvivo.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of Deconsuelo.