Giulia Valle: Mastery is in generosity

Years ago, Giulia Valle left a letter in the kitchen addressed to her mother. "In that letter, I told her everything I was going to do: I will record albums, I will make the best music possible, I will study double bass like a madwoman, I will teach. I will search for my own voice in music, although this only came thanks, among other things, to the great musicians I have been able to play with, both here in Barcelona and in New York."

She recalls all this sitting elegantly at a table in the Bar, in the company of her inseparable greyhound, Balú, with an affected expression, stately bearing and a wide yawn, and savoring a rich gin and tonic "from BCN Gin" after having tasted a couple of servings.

"I am Giulia –she explains--, my life is centered on music. I write, record albums, I dedicate myself to teaching and my main instrument is the double bass, although to write I basically use the piano". She speaks as one of the spearheads and artists with the most international projection in Barcelona Jazz, with extensive activity on stage and a discography behind her.

A career in which, just these days, she marks a new milestone through "a project very different from what I am used to doing, which is rather instrumental and avant-garde music: A tribute to the great Carlos Cano, who was a great innovator of copla". This tribute has just materialized in several live performances and an album, the artist's ninth, Carlos Cano en Clave de Jazz (Satélite K).

"I have had absolute freedom, and I have managed, supported by magnificent performers, to bring Cano's music to my territory without losing its essence, even with completely revisited themes". Santiago Auserón, in charge of the album notes, defines it thus: "The infrequent alliance of the best Spanish popular song and the most innovative jazz has given birth to a memorable album".

Dysfunctionality and the death of the ego

As a good artist already in her mature stage, Giulia feels especially proud "of having been able to develop a discourse, of having a life in music and of being a reference for those new generations that I admire enormously. Helping them find their way, lose their fears, prioritize common sense in music rather than virtuosity for its own sake, gives meaning to my existence."

And that is where the artist marks the difference between a gifted student and a master: "In the end it's about generosity. The ego has to die after a certain age, and that's when truly transcendent things start to happen".

Another thing she is very proud of is "that, despite my dysfunctionality, I have managed to carry out each of the projects I have undertaken. On the other hand, as David Bowie well said, an artist cannot not be dysfunctional."

Almost 20 years have passed since a summer, spent with her uncle in Tuscany, frantically preparing Colorista, what would be her debut as a leader. At this point, Giulia looks back with satisfaction, dwelling on beautiful moments: "some of the many tours through Europe, the United States or Canada with my groups. Memorable concerts, some of which have been immortalized on record. Some reviews like one I remember with great affection from Karles Torra, for La Vanguardia, when I presented Colorista at the Jamboree." And a long etcetera.

An unrecognizable city

An incorruptible resident of Poble Sec for the last two decades, the artist confesses that, right now, her relationship with Barcelona "is one of total and absolute disappointment."

"I remember a vital Barcelona, of which I always loved Raval and Poble Sec. I was always excited to go for a walk through the neighborhood or through Raval when I returned from one of my stays in New York. I had my route made: a walk through the Central, eat at some vegetarian place, a carajillo in one of those bars, very traditional... Now I don't feel like doing any of that because I no longer recognize this city," she laments about the loss of a physical and emotional street map, where the landscapes and people that drew and defined her urban perception have been lost.

All this, the conversation has taken place with a sacrosanct background silence, so when Giulia Valle is asked if she wants to listen to something on the radio, she, an admired composer and performer, applauded on stages around the world, offers a more than surprising answer:

--Well, I love listening to political debates, football debates, and programs about paranormal phenomena.

--No way! Seriously?

--Seriously, seriously--, she smiles amused.