nils wogram

Downbeat, february 2008: trombonist wogram charts expansive path [pdf]

Die Zeit, Kultursommer: Raus aus dem Abseits [jpg]

faqs

why do you play trombone?
i came across the trombone by checking out my fathers record collection at the age of seven. he is a hobby trombonist himself and has great recordings by jack teagarden, jj johnson, curtis fuller, jimmy knepper and others. i liked the sound and knew i wanted to learn how to play the trombone.

did you start as a classical player?
my first trombone teacher was was reinhard feldmann. the classical bass trombone player of braunschweig`s symphony orchestra. nevertheless i started pretty much at the same time to play jazz in an „oldtime jazz“ band, in big bands, and participated in some jazzworkshops. so i am not a classical player who discovered jazz later in his career.

are you influenced by albert mangelsdorff?
yes i am but not as heavily as some people think. my main influences are the trombonists mentioned above. i use some of the multiphonics and some melodic ideas of albert.

do you have new projects coming up?
my main goal is to keep the bands which i lead woking as long as i can, write new material for them and make records. history shows that the best music was played by bands and not by new projects. that does not mean i will never put together a new band again.

who are your main influences as a composer?
besides the tradition of john coltrane, wayne shorter, charlie parker and thelonius monk i am also influenced by charles mingus, duke ellington, gil evans, frank zappa, alban berg, django bates, hermeto pascoal, ligety, bob brookmayer, kenny wheeler, kenny werner,tim berne, eastern european folk music, radiohead and many others.

why do you have four different bands?
each band has it`s very original sound and the players are individual players with various influences. for me it is a challange to write music that brings out their strength combined with my own compositional ideas. with the four bands a can express a complete pictiure of my musical horizon. i like this better than playing different styles with one band or putting together new projects all the time.

do you consider your music complex?
my music is often based on the traditions in jazz. since jazz is a mix of groovy stuff and intellectual ideas there is also some complexity in it. of course my music should also be entertaining but the artistic idea is the most important aspect. it really depends on the way you listen to my music. i have seen people who have enjoyed my music although they had no listening experience in jazz as well as some old jazzfans who did not find access to my music. if you have heard most of the important jazzalbums it is easier to understand where i am going for but it is not a must. i try to compose music that i like. that does not mean everybody has to like it. but it is real and not a comercial compromise.

why do you mostly play with acoustic instruments?
i worked hard on my sound. to get the best results and bring out a warm tone i mix acoustic instruments because their overtone structure blends very well. mixing acoustic and electronic instruments is much more difficult and the losers are mostly the acoustic instruments.

do you consider your music to be european jazz?
my music uses many elements from the american jazz tradition. i grew up with jazz around me and that is the base of my musical language. at the same time classical music and pop was always on the radio. in the beginning of my playing jazz and other musical styles where totally seperated. i would play with a bigband in the morning, have a rehersal with a classical orchestra in the afternoon and with a small jazzgroup at night. when my intrest in composition started to grow jazz and other influences merged in my writing. i combined through-composed stuff with jazzelements like playing form, time and changes so i think my jazz is closer to the american tradition but uses more compositional features than the everage amarican mainstream jazz.

how important is technique in your playing?
the trombone is a very limited instrument. my goal was always to bring together the warm sound and human-like expression with the advanced lines like saxophone players or pianists would play them. in order to do that you need a very good technique on the trombone. but my urge was always to play stuff i hear not to show special skills on my horn.

how important was your time in new york city?
i studied for two years in nyc at the new school and mannes collage. i went from the little provincial town braunschweig to new york at the age of 19. directly after i finished high school. of course at this age one is very open for new influences. those two years where very importand to me and i learned a lot of the stuff i am doing now in nyc. it was an inspiring time and i had great teachers. yet i am a german. that`s where i come from. i don`t want to forget my roots! jazz has always been a mixture of different culture`s music.

do you teach and what do you think about teaching jazz?
yes i teach at lucerne conservatory (musikhochshule luzern). i learned a lot by going to school and had fantastic teachers who where also great players. so i think it is a positive thing to teach jazz. it is just important how you do it and that the teacher knows about the „real live“ on stage and the recording studio. that`s how generations of musicians learned from their older colleagues. i try to follow this tradition in my teaching.