Interview with Yilian Cañizares: Bringing Sunny Summer to the Rīgas Ritmi Festival

Regardless of the weather, Yilian Cañizares will bring a sunny summer to the festival “Rīgas Ritmi” on July 6 in the garden of Riga Cathedral. She vividly represents the new golden generation of Cuban music, for whom music is as self-evident as water for life, and everyone who will be in Riga at that time will have the opportunity to experience it live. “With the Big Dz,” Jillian says in this interview.

The interview was published in cooperation with the “Rīgas ritmi” festival.

Cañizares stands out in Cuban music with atypical violin playing skills, learned in the classical school, but then turned in the direction of jazz, adding soulful vocals. Jilian has collaborated with many great names of the jazz world and has become a recognized teacher of violin playing and jazz improvisation in her current home country of Switzerland.

Your musical path developed quite quickly and extensively – you studied classical violin in Cuba, then Venezuela, then Switzerland. Sounds like the world turns right from the start.

Yes exactly! From an early age, I have worked to open myself to the world.

Wasn’t it hard for you, especially in the beginning?

Immigration is never easy. But I was driven by my passionate desire to become a better violinist, a better musician. And I also discovered that in the end, despite our differences, we are all human, so I have become a citizen of the world, which I also find very beautiful.

You fell in love with jazz in Switzerland. What really happened there?

Well, I fell in love with jazz not quite in Switzerland. Jazz has fascinated me since my early years in Cuba. But I didn’t have a violin model, so I thought I couldn’t explore this music with my instrument. And later in Switzerland I discovered Stefan Grappelli. I discovered his work, his music. And that was really a turning point in my musical journey, because listening to him, I realized that if he could do it with the violin, I could do something similar – explore my own tradition and my own vision of this music through my instrument.

You stayed in Switzerland, you got a lot of attention and all the Swiss fell in love with your Latin jazz sunshine or what was it really like?

Started in Switzerland but I would say my first international break was in France. Since then I have been lucky enough to play regularly in Switzerland and France as well as Italy and other parts of the world. It’s a great opportunity for a musician to get in touch with so many different audiences and convey his message, because that’s what music is about for me – conveying a message, an opportunity to say something that’s really bigger than me through music.

And what is that message if you can put it in a few words?

There are many messages, but first I would say respect, tolerance and equality. We can apply this to the environment, to women’s rights, to social issues. We can apply this to many, many things that we as humanity need to think about. A way to live together in peace. It is always very easy to highlight our differences, but what really matters is not our differences, but what we have in common. And that’s what I try to convey through my music. We musicians have a big, big opportunity because music has the power to break down walls, break down barriers that we humans put up in our hearts. So through music we can really get those messages straight to the heart instead of the mind.

In 2018, together with the Cuban pianist Omāru Sosu you recorded the album “Aguas”. Does that mean you missed Cuba?

Yes of course! And Omar and I share not only a Cuban background, but also the fact that we are two Cubans who have lived outside of Cuba for many, many years. So our vision of Cuban music is quite different. And it was beautiful to collaborate with him, because he is also one of the musicians who inspired a lot of my music, my work.

This album features percussionist Inors Sotolongo. He is still playing with you and we will see him in Riga so please tell us more about him and also about the bass player Childo Thomas!

I am very lucky to play with these musicians. They are among the best in playing their instruments, truly great masters! And also, which is very, very important to me, they are great people. I’d say they’re the backbone of my music, because Inor and Childo are in all my projects, that’s what’s stayed the same. It’s the basis for developing everything I want to develop, and we have a very creative and unusual formula. I think the audience will be really surprised, because I have never heard a trio like us before, the format is also quite innovative. And the alchemy between the three of us is pretty impressive. That’s why I’m very happy to play this project for you.

We are already waiting! In the program we will hear mostly songs from your latest studio album “Erzulie” or will it be something else?

You will have a mixture of sorts. Some songs will definitely be from “Erzulie”, but you will also have songs from my new mini-album “Resilience”, which I recorded during the pandemic and released last year. And very fresh surprises await you, because a new album “Habana-Bahia” will be released this year! I recorded it in Brazil, Salvador (Salvador de Bahia), and we will definitely bring some songs from this program as premieres for the audience in Riga.

Will there be some elements of samba or other Brazilian music involved?

When I go to a country like Brazil, I never play music that people think is a cliché. It’s always about giving my perspective, how I see the music out there. So I thought we’d surprise you with a mix of Cuban, Brazilian and African music.

Your latest album “Erzulie” is named after the Haitian goddess of love and freedom. Sounds like a powerful concept, especially in these ex-pandemic and still war times.

I think the energy of Erzulia, the energy of love, is very much needed today. She is also my protective goddess. So I wanted to dedicate this album to her energy and through this music continue to move forward with what I just said about the message of love and tolerance that I want to spread around me. In fact, this is an album that gave me many, many beautiful moments. It was nominated for best album at the Songlines Music Awards, which is pretty impressive to me because when you record an album, you do it from a very intimate perspective, just talking about your experiences, your life. And to see how people around the world have taken this album and made it close to themselves is one of the greatest gifts I’ve received in recent years.

The album was recorded in New Orleans. Perhaps in the jazz capital of the world! The guests are also bright – a trumpet player Christian Scottbassist Michael League from “Snarky Puppy”, pianist Bill Laurence… Sounds like you had a lot of fun in New Orleans.

Yes, it’s a city I love because it’s so similar to Cuba, it’s the culture there. We have many things in common. New Orleans is in the US, but to me this is a Creole city. So I mainly wanted to record the album there, and of course I’m blessed to have these amazing artists that you mentioned. They are not only great artists, but also a huge source of inspiration. They put a lot of love, a lot of respect into this music. I think people can feel all the love that everyone put into this record.

Definitely. You like cooperation – Omar Sosa, Chaco Valdes, Richard Bona and many others are on your cooperation list. What do you get out of your musical relationship with these artists?

For me, music is about sharing. It’s about connecting with another soul, and all the artists you mentioned do that. They have taught me a lot because, first of all, they are great masters, great musicians, but I have also learned a lot about their vision of music. Most recently, I had the opportunity to play two concerts with Chaco Valdes. Every time I play with him, it’s not only a great honor, it’s like a master class to see this very great, great musician at the age of 81 giving me the best with passion, determination and trust. To receive all his trust, love, smile when I play with him is priceless to me. That’s why it’s one of the most beautiful things that I really like as a musician – collaboration.

All the colleagues you play with can be your teachers, that’s right. But you yourself are also a real teacher in Lausanne.

It’s beautiful to pass the ball. I have received many gifts from the masters, and I also need to give something to the new generation. I am very passionate about teaching because I want to be a role model, especially for girls. I want to show them that women also have a place in this music, you just need to be consistent, work hard and try to get better every day. And it’s very interesting for me to see young girls and young boys immediately playing and singing at the same time, because they’ve seen me do it and it’s natural to them. So they don’t even realize it’s hard. I am fascinated by children’s ability to simply learn something. I am happy that I can teach and contribute to the new generation of musicians with my knowledge.

You will also teach a master class in Riga. What will you do in it?

It depends on the audience I will have. Sometimes I have an audience of violinists with whom we delve more specifically into the skills of violin playing. Sometimes I have many players of different instruments in my master classes. For example, at the beginning of the year I was in Cuba, in Havana, giving a kind of master class to many, many players of different instruments. And then I tried to listen first. I ask – what are your needs? Because nowadays there is a lot of information, maybe even too much. What I always try to give my students in the master class is to encourage everyone to bring out their own voice, which is one of the most important things a musician needs. You can play great, you can teach yourself to play every standard, every tune, but at some point you have to put in a lot of time and effort to become your own unique version.

I will ask though – is it easy or very difficult to play the violin and sing at the same time?

The violin is not the easiest instrument. First of all, it takes a lot of work to learn the violin, and also because of the position of the violin, it is not really the best instrument for playing and singing. So I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find a way to put my violin in a slightly different position while singing. It wasn’t easy when I started, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. So it’s natural for me now. It has become one of my trademarks. So I think it’s not that hard, it’s just work and commitment.

Finally, what is the best thing about jazz that you would like to pass on to others?

What I love about jazz is the ability to marry any kind of music in a very successful way. This can be seen in the example of Latin American music – there is Latin American jazz, but with Eastern sounds, with African sounds, with hip-hop, with anything. And it’s always evolving, evolving, evolving. That’s why I really like this music, because it’s very alive, with the Big Dz.