Musical journeys can take a person anywhere. Take the example of Lydia Hendrikje Hornung, who currently teaches vocals at the True School of Music (TSM) in the city. The German musician came here in September 2015, to head the vocal training team. After interacting with other musicians, they started playing together and a band was formed.
This weekend that band will perform together at a show titled Blues N’ Jazz Series: Jazz at its Best. Accompanying Hornung are Spanish pianist Alfie Copovi, guitarist Odysseas Toumazou from Cyprus, Italian bassist Gianluca Liberatore and Hungarian drummer Aron Nyiro. “We will basically do standards from the Great American Songbook, besides some Latin American classics,” says says Hornung. “We will also do some modern compositions.” The musicians have known each other since they studied in the Netherlands. “Though we specialise in different streams, our jazz education is similar,” continues the singer. “So we are very comfortable playing with each other. The chemistry comes naturally.”
The set list will include John Coltrane's 'Equinox', Wayne Shorter's 'Infant Eyes' and 'Blue In Green' by Miles Davis. “We will approach these tunes in a modern way, using our own approach to harmonic patterns,” says Hornung. The vocalist hails from Giessen in erstwhile East Germany and eventually, the family moved to Frankfurt. “I don't know whether there was a strong jazz culture but people listened to jazz. I grew up on the Beatles and Michael Jackson.”
Though Hornung attempted some jazz numbers on her mother's piano, her actual fascination with the genre happened when she joined a band which did covers. “The saxophonist introduced me to jazz in the real sense of the music.” And the quest education in the field took Hornung to the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands, where she majored in jazz vocals in 2012. Later she got a master's from Codarts University in Rotterdam. “Though my focus was jazz, I also got exposed to various world music cultures,” says the vocalist. “Initially, it started with Latin American music as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto were part of my course."
Hornung even visited India five years ago, and briefly learnt Hindustani classical vocals from Dhanashree Pandit Rai. “I have a lot more to do this area, though, and hopefully, I shall learn more," she says. At TSM, Hornung has trained some 40 vocalists. "Some come and go, some have stayed on. But there are very talented people here," she says. As a teacher, she uses a holistic approach. “In jazz vocals, there are various elements. Starting a piece, solos, improvisation, scatting. So each thing has to be handled differently. And different voices have different abilities,” she says. Her philosophy is simple. Have fun with whatever you do - teaching or performing and this Sunday won’t be any different.
Blues N’ Jazz Series: Jazz at its Best will take place on Sunday June 11 at 7pm. Visit bookmyshow for tickets.
