For Fabien Degryse, the guitar is an extension of himself. On his latest album Fingerswingin', Degryse uses the guitar to convey his various moods and feelings, from the snappy jubilation of “Bock to Bock" to the sun-drenched contentment of “(In My) Solitude" to the rain-swept infatuation of “Fly Me to the Moon." Each track is sculpted in Degryse's trademark fingerstyle playing. Each string of Degryse's acoustic guitar has a sensuous chime; throughout the album it produces a calming, hypnotic effect that is nearly impossible to pull away from.
Based in Belgium, Degryse discusses the past and present of his career.
Q: You're an accomplished guitarist. When did the passion for the instrument begin with you?
A: Thank you. I started to play the guitar at age 10. My sister came back from school with an old guitar she bought with the few cents she had, and she didn't say anything to us about her plan before so we were all completely amazed about this funny instrument. It was an old, low-cost classic-type guitar, with steel strings on it. I was particularly impressed, and I asked my sister to show me the chords she eventually learned from friends at school. After a few years, she decided not to go on with this because she found that I was learning much quicker than her. I was always looking for some more interesting things to play: first some pop tunes heard on the radio, Irish and Flemish folk music, and then I rediscovered jazz. My dad had a few jazz albums at home (Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass). And I thought this was music for old people until I realized that they could play what I was looking for: virtuosity, intricate phrases, and more than all, when I realized that this was all improvised, I got stunned.
Q: What jazz artists made the biggest impact on you when you were younger? What did you learn from them?
A: As I said, I listened to Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass very early because my dad had their records at home. I liked to listening to them, but I didn't play guitar at that time, and it was nothing more than cool music to listen to. When I started to play the guitar, after my pop and folk period, I started to listen to Philip Catherine, his fusion album Guitars, and his duo with Larry Coryell. The guitar duo formula has since then always been an important part of my musical experiences and of my teaching also. And gradually, I listened back to the old Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery albums. I loved the cool ambiance of it, the natural sound, the groove and the weird phrases.
Q: Has the guitar always been your primary instrument? What is it about the guitar that fascinates you the most?
A: Before I started the guitar, every time my family went to visit another family, I asked them if they had a musical instrument at home, and I spent the day to try and play some melody on this instrument. I tried in this way an accordion, a flugelhorn, a mandolin, and some others. After buying my first guitar at the age 13 or 14, I still wanted to try other instruments, and I used to play some banjo, mandolin, fiddle, a little bit of piano and trombone; I also played a lot of electric bass. When I started to play professionally, I played both guitar and bass. And after a few years, I was playing guitar in my own project and bass in many other projects. I was in one band as a guitarist, and in ten bands as a bassist. Every new band needs a bassist, but almost no new band needs a guitarist, or the leader is already the guitarist s I had to make it clear in my mind: do I want to be a bass or a guitarist ? If I don't choose, life will choose for me. One of the drummers I was playing with told me: “This is the worst choice of your life." Well, I'm pretty happy with this choice. I enjoyed—and I still do—playing the bass, but there is something special about playing the guitar which I really love.
Q: Is the jazz scene in Belgium supportive of independent artists such as yourself?
A: Not really. We have some programs to support the art in general, and jazz in particular. But those programs are not really big and ambitious. So it helps us to make a living out of music, if we are ready to live with very few money, but it doesn't help us to promote ourselves in an international, professional way. We do have a very nice educational system.
Based in Belgium, Degryse discusses the past and present of his career.
Q: You're an accomplished guitarist. When did the passion for the instrument begin with you?
A: Thank you. I started to play the guitar at age 10. My sister came back from school with an old guitar she bought with the few cents she had, and she didn't say anything to us about her plan before so we were all completely amazed about this funny instrument. It was an old, low-cost classic-type guitar, with steel strings on it. I was particularly impressed, and I asked my sister to show me the chords she eventually learned from friends at school. After a few years, she decided not to go on with this because she found that I was learning much quicker than her. I was always looking for some more interesting things to play: first some pop tunes heard on the radio, Irish and Flemish folk music, and then I rediscovered jazz. My dad had a few jazz albums at home (Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass). And I thought this was music for old people until I realized that they could play what I was looking for: virtuosity, intricate phrases, and more than all, when I realized that this was all improvised, I got stunned.
Q: What jazz artists made the biggest impact on you when you were younger? What did you learn from them?
A: As I said, I listened to Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass very early because my dad had their records at home. I liked to listening to them, but I didn't play guitar at that time, and it was nothing more than cool music to listen to. When I started to play the guitar, after my pop and folk period, I started to listen to Philip Catherine, his fusion album Guitars, and his duo with Larry Coryell. The guitar duo formula has since then always been an important part of my musical experiences and of my teaching also. And gradually, I listened back to the old Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery albums. I loved the cool ambiance of it, the natural sound, the groove and the weird phrases.
Q: Has the guitar always been your primary instrument? What is it about the guitar that fascinates you the most?
A: Before I started the guitar, every time my family went to visit another family, I asked them if they had a musical instrument at home, and I spent the day to try and play some melody on this instrument. I tried in this way an accordion, a flugelhorn, a mandolin, and some others. After buying my first guitar at the age 13 or 14, I still wanted to try other instruments, and I used to play some banjo, mandolin, fiddle, a little bit of piano and trombone; I also played a lot of electric bass. When I started to play professionally, I played both guitar and bass. And after a few years, I was playing guitar in my own project and bass in many other projects. I was in one band as a guitarist, and in ten bands as a bassist. Every new band needs a bassist, but almost no new band needs a guitarist, or the leader is already the guitarist s I had to make it clear in my mind: do I want to be a bass or a guitarist ? If I don't choose, life will choose for me. One of the drummers I was playing with told me: “This is the worst choice of your life." Well, I'm pretty happy with this choice. I enjoyed—and I still do—playing the bass, but there is something special about playing the guitar which I really love.
Q: Is the jazz scene in Belgium supportive of independent artists such as yourself?
A: Not really. We have some programs to support the art in general, and jazz in particular. But those programs are not really big and ambitious. So it helps us to make a living out of music, if we are ready to live with very few money, but it doesn't help us to promote ourselves in an international, professional way. We do have a very nice educational system.
