More about Jorge
2024
I started playing piano when I was about 6 years old. Then I joined a children's choir where I also learned some basics of guitar and violin, and I continued with private piano lessons. At 14, I joined another music school where you had to choose one major. Unfortunately, there was no more room for piano, so I started with bassoon. But for various reasons I had to quit that after three or four months.
One day I came to school and suddenly heard a very low, deep sound. It sounded almost like the sound of a whale, but melodic. It immediately got me excited and curious. When I got to the classroom, I saw an old friend playing double bass. I was tremendously impressed by how beautiful and powerful the low sound sounded, and how fun it looked to play that big instrument. At that moment I thought: this is what I want too, I should play double bass.
Bachelor studies at the Escuela Superior de Música of the INBA with Nikola Popov in Mexico City. I then obtained both my bachelor's and master's degrees at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where I studied with Olivier Thiery and Rick Stotijn.
My own double bass is probably of German manufacture from the mid-19th century, with an unknown builder, but restored by David Estrada in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico in 2008. I also have a circa 1790 Lockey Hill on loan from the National Musical Instruments Fund.
I don't have one favorite composer, but rather many, and I'm always listening and discovering new things. If I had to name a few classical music composers, I would say Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Silvestre Revueltas, Sergei Prokofiev and Richard Strauss.
I bought my own double bass from one of my former teachers. This bass was his main instrument at the time, and when I first heard and played it, I immediately fell in love with it. The bass was found around 2007 in the basement of a church/monastery in Mexico, completely damaged and broken into pieces.
My teacher bought it for a modest sum and had it restored by David Estrada in Coatepec, Veracruz - one of the leading experts and violin makers in Mexico. David analyzed the instrument, completely restored it and brought everything back to top condition. At the same time, he confirmed that it was an antique instrument from the mid-19th century, probably built in Germany.
When I told my teacher that I would like to buy his instrument, he needed time to think about it before he agreed. My parents helped me with half the amount, and I paid the other half myself with savings I had earned by playing in my youth orchestra.
I hear music in my head almost constantly. I really enjoy discovering new artists and sounds. In that same journey of discovery, I also try to learn about other styles of music; lately, I Last been particularly concerned with a traditional style of music from the southeastern region of Mexico called Son Jarocho.
I also like to cook, without the ambition to make something complicated, but rather to discover new flavors from different parts of the world. I also enjoy taking long walks in nature with my dog. And since a few years, I have become more curious about connecting with my body; therefore, I am constantly looking for different forms of movement and disciplines.
What do I like to listen to?
El Son Sin Fin by Los Cojolites is a great example of how Son Jarocho has evolved greatly in recent years, while remaining faithful and respectful to tradition, yet leaving plenty of room for innovation. The dance (Zapateado) is performed on a wooden platform called "Tarima," where the dancers not only set the rhythm, but also improvise during the music with powerful or syncopated rhythms. This platform is the centerpiece of the whole celebration, and the musicians and audience gather around it.
Guajira is a style of music that I really enjoy. It awakens all my body cells to life, and because it is a cyclical and rhythmically grooving music, it gives you room to improvise and have plenty of imagination.
Silvestre Revueltas is one of my favorite composers because his compositions contain a lot of emotion and humor. La Noche de los Mayas is a voluminous work that I enjoyed playing and that brings back many fond memories of my childhood in Mexico.
La Danza del Trigo from the suite of Alberto Ginastera's ballet Estancia is another piece that takes me back to my early years in orchestral playing every time I listen to it. It also reminds me how lucky I am to be able to do what I love as my main profession.
Philly Slop by Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer, simply because I am a double bass fanatic and these two masters are a huge inspiration to me.