Thomas Bramerie, double bassist, has kindly agreed to take part in this series of Couleurs Jazz’s own take on Proust’s famous questionnaire…
An original way to take the first steps into the world of these remarkable jazz musicians, artists of our time.
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What, to you, is the ultimate form of musical poverty?
These days, music created by AI may well lead us into a state of profound musical poverty, because by definition it has no soul (or at least no love!).
Where would you like to live?
I’ve always managed to appreciate the different places I’ve lived in, despite the inevitable constraints that come with each one! I’ve moved around a great deal, and I’ll keep on doing so. Wherever life takes me will be somewhere I’m happy to live.
What is your ideal of earthly happiness?
Fortunately, I don’t have one, because I would inevitably go from one disappointment to the next. I try to find something that makes me feel good in every situation, despite life’s inevitable inconveniences.
Which wrong notes are you most willing to forgive?
All the “wrong” notes played by the masters of jazz: Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Ron Carter, Jackie McLean, Lee Konitz, Wayne Shorter and so many others…
Who are your favourite fictional heroes?
I haven’t read enough novels to give an interesting answer to that question. Besides, the internet and social media world we live in today distracts us completely from reading.
Who is your favourite classical musician?
I’m no great expert on classical music, but I’ve heard performances by Jascha Heifetz that moved me deeply.
Who are your favourite heroines or divas in real life?
Apart from my wife, you mean???
I’ve always felt a mixture of admiration and respect for the exceptional singer Elisabeth Kontomanou, despite the complexity of her personality.
Who are your heroines in fiction?
Perhaps Adèle Blanc-Sec, the character created by comic-book artist Jacques Tardi.
Who is your favourite painter?
Vermeer, without hesitation.
Who is your favourite jazz musician?
The list would be far too long. But I could mention the profound emotion I sometimes felt when accompanying the singer Little Jimmy Scott or pianist Brad Mehldau. I would also single out Joe Henderson for his inventiveness as a composer and his freedom as a soloist.
What quality do you most admire in a man?
Being attentive to his immediate surroundings.
What quality do you most admire in a woman?
The same as in a man: being attentive to her immediate surroundings, while making us realise that she is the one who deserves all our attention.
What is your favourite virtue?
Any virtue, be it wisdom, temperance, courage or whatever, makes little sense to me if it is not practised with love and respect for others as a matter of principle.
What is your favourite occupation?
Apart from making love to my wife, you mean?
In recent years, playing the double bass has become my favourite moment of the day.
Who would you have liked to be?
I’ve never asked myself that question. I have no answer. Being yourself is already difficult enough!
The chief trait of my character?
Adaptability. The ability to always find the positive side of any given situation.
What I value most in my friends?
Listening, attentiveness and sharing emotions. My true friends are those who enjoy telling me about their lives just as much as they enjoy listening to me talk about mine.
My main fault?
Carelessness. It gets me into trouble in every area of my life: professional, family and personal relationships…
My dream of happiness?
On a very personal level, a lack of tension within my family, both near and extended.
My greatest misfortune?
Like most people, I suppose, the loss of a loved one has been my greatest misfortune, precisely because it is irreversible and final. And yet it is astonishing to see how we manage to carry on living, sometimes even finding a degree of well-being alongside that gaping void…
What I would like to be?
Perhaps a better father than I already am, a better husband, a better musician?… It’s entirely up to me!
My favourite colour?
Green, probably because it is the colour most prevalent in nature, at least in our latitudes.
The flower I love?
Pink roses, or certain irises, for the subtle shades of colour in their petals.
My favourite bird?
Bird.
My favourite prose writers?
In recent years, I’ve been fascinated by Jiddu Krishnamurti, although he isn’t strictly speaking an author, since a large part of his “writings” are transcripts of talks and lectures.
My favourite poets?
Arthur Rimbaud. I’m not familiar with contemporary poetry, which I regret…
My heroes in real life?
Those politicians who, despite the relentless attacks and the low blows that are part and parcel of this unhealthy world, remain true to their convictions. There aren’t many of them.
My heroes in history?
The losers. Those who, in my view, championed universal truths but went unheard, or at least were misunderstood. The course of human history has not vindicated them. Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King and Gandhi come to mind, among many others.
My favourite names?
Yeïnou, Émile, Otti and Hawa: my wife, my children and my granddaughter.
What I detest above all else?
There are times when certain human behaviours leave me utterly bewildered, even shocked, or when uncontrollable events get on my nerves, such as torrential rain at the wrong moment or endless traffic jams. But I can’t remember ever reaching the point of truly detesting anything or anyone.
The reform I admire most?
The 35-hour working week.
The natural gift I would most like to have?
An extraordinary memory, precise and virtually infallible.
How I would like to die?
Without regrets.
My definition of jazz?
Jazz is the music played by jazz musicians. A jazz musician is someone who has been, is and always will be in love with every note played by Louis Armstrong, Duke, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Paul Gonsalves, John Coltrane, Miles, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Bird, Dizzy, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson, and so on and so forth…
Every note played by a musician who preserves that love and has absorbed the repertoire of this music into their musical vocabulary will be jazz.
My present state of mind?
A certain disillusionment with the direction human society as a whole is taking.
My motto?
This too shall pass.
Your signature track?
“Otti,” from the album Do It! by Antonio Faraò & Stéphane Belmondo.
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