JOIN US'Music is a global language'
It was at the age of 6 that Ehud Ettun, a jazz musician from Jerusalem, picked up the piano and played his first musical notes. After a brief hiatus, he moved to the guitar and since then has been making musical magic. Performing in the city, with pianist Daniel Schwarzwald and drummer Nathan Blankett, as the ‘Ehud Ettun Trio’, the musical maestro is nothing less than excited.
“It was the age to step into music and most people used to do it. But I’m proud to say that not many took it up seriously. I enjoy music more and more with each passing day,” says Ehud. He strongly believes in the phrase ‘music has no barriers’.
“Music is a global language. And jazz is a global experience. People from any culture can connect through music. That is the power of the medium,” says the artiste.
Ehud has collaborated with varied artistes like Danilo Perez, George Garzone and Anat Cohen among others across the world. “Jazz is more about the human connection and about feelings. The scene is changing globally and music has transformed accordingly,” says Ehud.
On how each of his compositions came into being, Ehud says that sometimes his works are inspired by just sitting in front of a blank music sheet. “The fact that there is a blank music sheet in front of me, sometimes pushed me to make music. At other times, it is a crazy experience or incident that happened. Else, it could be a musical piece that has been in my mind for a while but just needed to be penned down,” says Ehud.
Having been a band leader and a sideman, he says that being the band leader can be really difficult. “It’s like carrying around a lot of weight. But after being a sideman, I have learnt to let the others be themselves. Say in the trio, I just let Daniel and Nathan do their roles as they are well aware of what they are doing. They are brilliant artistes in all measures of music,” says Ehud.
In Indian music, Ehud is especially fond of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and his style. “His music is incredible and I’m deeply influenced by the style. His music has a certain touch to it that has left its mark on me. I’m amazed by the saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa too. Also Ravi Shankar was a great artiste and created his own niche.”
The trio has performed at venues ranging from New York’s Blue Note to Washington’s Kennedy Center and Boston’s Symphony Hall, and will be performing in Bengaluru at Indigo Live Music Bar on May 1.
“I can’t be thankful enough. I’m very grateful to the Israeli Consulate for making this experience happen,” says Ehud. He wonders how the city’s music lovers will react to their music.
“I’m curious about the Indian music lover’s preferences. I am looking forward to a lot of interesting interactions and feedback. I’m also looking forward to learning a lot of new things,” he says.