Hello Dear Friends,

 

Some news I'm excited about, and honored really. Agos Newspaper is a bilingual (Armenian - Turkish) Weekly in Turkey, with an new English on-line edition. If you don't already know Agos was edited by Hrant Dink up until recently when he was killed earlier this year by deniers of the Armenian Genocide, folks who do not want the Armenian Genocide to be discussed, or recognized etc.

 

I recently gave an interview with them and it was published.

 

 

Much Love,

Sarine

 

 

First of all, what's the meaning of your name?
SB: It depends I guess on which source you check, but Sarine (Sarin) in Armenian means "mountain rose" or "the best of the mountain roses". In my
last name "bal" I've been told means honey in Turkish.

You was born in Armenia and you was rised in both Lebanon and United States.  Could you tell us about what's the difference between ways of living (life styles, social and cultural patterns) of the Armenians in this three Country?
SB: Well, I am Armenian, born in Beirut and I've lived in the US since I was a child. The more Armenians I meet, whether in Armenia, Lebanon or the States
the more obvious it is to me that we're all from the same place. But I think we focus so much on differences that we forget about that. There is no doubt that we're all a little different and have been influenced or have become accustom to certain ways in our host countries and cultures. But if you pay attention when around Armenians of a different group than your own, and look past the obvious traits you can see the similarities. It's all a matter of how you look at it.

Have you got musical heroes? Could you tell us who are they? Why?
SB: So many to name. Just about anyone who was brave enough to stand out from the crowd and introduce something new or unique. Also people who have been  able to make a change in the way people think about music. I think it's a powerful thing to be able to come into a listener's life and effect them in some way.
Some singers who've done that for me are Ella Fitzgerald, Fayrouz and most recently Nina Simone.

With which mentors did you study to date?
SB: In college I studied with Hafez Modirzadeh, an incredible saxophonist and 
ethnomusicologist, among other things. I really have to credit him for getting me on this musical journey that I am on now. Sandy Cressman, I studied vocal technique with for a few years. She always had confidence in my abilities, and still does. She was able to bring so much out of me as a singer and musician, it's amazing really. I've had many teachers over the years and they've each taught me at least one important lesson that I'll have close to me, always.

"Juxtaposed" is your first studio album, isn't it? Which sound or genres 
influences in? You said that: "My music is an expression of who I am and what I am inspired by; music that allows multiple cultures to exist in the
same space." Could you enlighten that?
SB: Yes, this is my first full-length CD release. A couple of years before that we recorded a 4 song demo CD which got the idea for "Juxtaposed" started. The CD is influenced by a few different genres and disciplines. There is America jazz, some Latin & Brazilian jazz, Armenian folk, Arabic folk and European classical music. There is also some poetry and free-form improvisation.
In college I had to choose a genre to study and I chose jazz because I thought it would give me more freedom to be creative. For the most part that has turned out to be true, but not entirely. 
I never liked having to choose one thing to belong to. I don't see that the world works in that way. At least in my experience it doesn't. This collection reflects that philosophy.
People need to be aware that musical genre, really is mainly important for marketing purposes and doesn't or shouldn't matter otherwise. As artists we truly can't be defined by labels, we're just artists. Just like we're just people. I can love the sound of a cello as much as I love the oud sound, or be moved by an opera singer as much as a blues singer. There is an element  in music and art that is more significant than genre. 

Do you think that jazz music becomes more popular in last years? What's the matter of that?
SB:It seems that jazz is becoming more popular recently, especially with younger audiences which may be surprising. One reason might just be that it's great music. No matter how much highly commercialized and "dumbed-down" music you force onto people, although there's a time and place for everything, nothing compares to music, or art for that matter, that is full of emotion. You could surgically implant a cellular (mobile) telephone to a  person's ear but you couldn't remove his soul, or his heart. Those things can be oppressed but not removed. A 30 second ring-tone can't compete with the real thing.
 
Could you tell us about which musicians are performing with you? Does any member of the band get involved in individual side projects? 
SB: Of course, they're all involved in other projects. I just get to borrow them once in a while. That's the beauty of playing jazz is that you alwaysget to work with new people and learn from each other. That's how you growas a musician, just like in life.
Walter Bankovitch (piano) I've known for a while, he plays a lot with singers and instrumental groups as well. He also was the accompanist for a choir I sang with. It takes a certain kind of talent to play jazz piano wellwith a singer.
Eugene Warren (bass) and I have been playing together since my Senior Recital in college. He takes on any crazy ideas I throw at him, he's very willing to take a new or unusual approach to things which makes it a lot of fun to perform and collaborate with him. 

Which guest artists performed in "Juxtaposed"?
SB: My dad came and sang with me on Giligia. That was great. Also my mentor Hafez Modirzadeh played saxophone with my good friend John-Carlos Perea (electric bass). They came and recorded the Koyoutiunes piece. The poem was written by my late uncle Hampartsum, and we did a free form improvisation to it. That was a great experience too. We had some classical musicians as well for Giligia. Stephanie Blandino, a teaching colleague of mine, plays cello, and Nora Maki classical piano.

Which contemporary Armenian musicians (all genres) you reccomend for us?
SB: There are so many great contemporary musicians out there right now, it's hard to choose just a few. I would recommend all of them. Datevik of course is a personal favorite of mine. If I have to choose I would recommend acouple of groups that I think are close to perfection. One is a group in Belgium, Arax. And the other would be Katuner (Gaduner) in Yerevan. 

Do you have other vocations? I think you are a lecturer too. Which school we should study to become your student?
SB: I have been invited as a guest lecturer in the past in university and as a panelist on discussion about Armenian music. I mostly teach music to younger students. So right now to study with me you would have to go back to age 8 (haha). But you never know about the future.

What's your interests, except music?
SB: Creative writing is something I enjoy greatly. I love to dance, which I  never get to do nearly enough of. Also, maybe sounds strange but, I'm fascinated with ethnomusicology. But that's music too I suppose. Politics I find quite interesting and irritating all at once. People in general, human behavior is interesting.

What have you been working on lately and what about future?
SB: I'm thinking about the next recording project right now and bringing ideas together. I really want to compose, write for myself next time. Or somewhere down the road. I also am working on a writing project I started a while ago. Maybe soon I'll have that completed and published. Right now feels like a time to gather all the ingredients for what's about  to come.