Irene Ypenburg is something special… What a thoughtful, kind, and wise human being. Gypsy Jazz really has a place for everybody, regardless of their origins, backgrounds or social environment. In this (maternal tone) interview Irene will guide you into some reflective subjects and life experiences. “Clean your life” and remember it’s never too late to follow your dreams.
1 – When did you start playing music? What has inspired and influenced you?
My parents both played piano really well, and my father played the violin as well. I always loved to sing and dance, and was begging my parents for a recorder and for dancing lessons when I was 4. Somehow, my parents thought it better to wait till I was 5. So when I was 5, I got my first plastic soprano recorder to play on and started with ballet lessons. The recorder sounded quite awful, but I was happy with it. Later, I changed to an alto recorder, which I kept playing till I was about 35.
My father and I loved to sing and make music together. Often when we had family friends over, we would play a game of cards or dice, meanwhile all of us sang in harmony. Silly songs, a lot of fun. So singing, dancing, and making music was a natural thing for me. I played piano, alto recorder, and guitar, I sang, and I danced. My parents are my main inspiration and influence. They taught me the basics of each instrument, and I worked out the rest by myself.
My father suddenly brought a guitar home for me when I was 15. He taught me the three chords he knew. Then I worked out the rest by myself by playing records of Joan Baez over and over again until I got it. When I was 17, I performed in so-called ‘Jazz and Poetry’ clubs all over Amsterdam. I played a few simple chords and fingerpicking and sang about the entire Joan Baez repertoire.
Since then, I have not developed my guitar playing. Later, I lived in a town where music was hardly present. No inspiration, nobody to learn from, nowhere to go. I gave up music entirely; I was just getting worse at it. And then I did not play or sing at all for at least 25 years, till three years ago. Unbelievable, in fact!
I moved back to Amsterdam a few years ago, and there I got in touch with people who played gypsy jazz. I loved it. They pushed me to pick up my guitar again. I swore I would never play anywhere where other people could hear me. I was absolutely convinced that my playing was terrible and could never get better.
Kevin Nolan (Robin’s brother and incredible rhythm guitarist) kept offering to teach me, though he really believed in me. I turned it down for a long time, and when I finally gave in, I just took one lesson, and the next would be about three months later. Then, for almost a year, I took regular lessons with him. Now, playing guitar has become my most loved and most important activity. Today, I mostly learn from playing with musicians who are way more advanced than I am. Which is actually everybody I play with.
2 – Beyond playing guitar, you’re also a web designer, photographer, journalist, painter… Am I missing something? 🙂 How do you manage all those activities, and how do you combine them?
I published several psychology books: about highly gifted children, about the connection between culture and identity, and a self-help book with exercises to connect with yourself. I translated (from German) and rewrote books as well.
I write a column and articles for Robin Nolan’s Gypsy Jazz Secrets Magazine, which I illustrate with a drawing. I’m also a Reiki master and have taught meditation. I founded and was editor in chief of a magazine for elementary schools about gifted education, helped organize conferences on gifted education, and was the manager of a once world-famous opera singer, for whom I organized master classes. Later, more and more classical musicians wanted to be represented by me. I did that for a while, but in the end, I chose being creative myself over trying to find work for other artists.
I don’t find it hard to combine different activities. Actually, kids in high school are supposed to study many subjects at once, for many years. After high school, suddenly everybody wants you to choose one single field of interest. I never understood why that would be better. I walk on many legs; if one doesn’t go very well, I still have other legs to move forward. I have many ways now to express myself, and it really makes me happy. It feels like it gives me total freedom.
3 - Quais são os seus projectos actuais e objectivos futuros?
Currently, I help organize two guitar camps: one with Dario Napoli in Tuscany in March, and one inside the gypsy camp where Paulus Schäfer lives. Paulus and Fapy Lafertin are the teachers. We did that in 2015, and the next one will be in June 2016. An amazing experience!
Also, the design work always continues: posters, CD covers, etc., as well as the writing, drawing, and photography for Robin Nolan’s Gypsy Jazz Secrets Magazine. Recently, I started a new YouTube channel, as an extension of my column, it has the same name: Irene’s Gypsy Jazz Adventures. Since I travel a lot and get to meet interesting people and see interesting places, I want to share it with the world; it is simply too good to keep for yourself.
I have a few regular gigs in Amsterdam and play in general as much as I can. This year, I will be traveling a lot, so a lot of video editing will be waiting for me.
O meu principal objetivo agora é aprender a tocar melhor e tornar-me melhor em fotografia e videografia, para que sempre que partilhe coisas, seja mais agradável de ver, e sempre que toque, seja mais agradável de ouvir!
4 - Tens trabalhado com músicos de topo como Robin Nolan, Paulus Schafer, Dario Napoli, etc. Como é que se sente por estar tão perto do centro de tudo isto?
People like Paulus, Robin, Dario, and also Christiaan van Hemert and more musicians I know, are not just very good musicians; they are also people with a very good heart, and that is why I love them.
I have a lot of respect, in general, for people who work hard; I really like that. And I very much prefer people who have a heart for others, who are genuinely honest and kind. The combination of great talent, hard work, good sense of humor, intelligence, and kind heartiness I find most attractive in a person. They all have those qualities.
I never think of myself as being in the center of it all, I just feel grateful and lucky for everything that is currently happening in my life.
5 - Sente que é uma força motriz da cena do Gypsy Jazz hoje em dia?
It would actually never occur to me that I would be a driving force in the Gypsy Jazz scene. I am not even sure what that is. I did notice, though (mostly because other people keep telling me), that the combination of the things that I do helps to bring other musicians to get to know more about each other’s existence.
There is an inner journalist in me. Whenever I see interesting people or things, I feel that they should be documented. Without thinking twice, I do that and share it with the world: “Look at this great 17-year-old kid in Boston! Look at this amazing sunset and listen to Wawau Adler’s music at the same time! Look at this city and the people in it! Wow! Have you ever seen people in the Philippines hand-build guitars?!”
That compulsory journalism keeps me quite busy, making all these photos and videos and editing them. I just can’t help myself. Also, when I meet people, I automatically think of what would be great for that person to do, or whom they should really meet, if that would be good for both of them. And then I immediately take action upon that.
6 - Não há muitas mulheres a tocar guitarra de jazz cigano. O que pensas sobre este assunto?
Actually, I don’t have feelings at all about that. At first, I didn’t even notice that wherever I was playing, I was almost always the only woman with a guitar. Every girl is totally free to pick up a guitar and start playing gypsy jazz.
If women in general are not that interested in doing so, that is their choice. Making music is what it is about for me; I don’t care with whom I play as long as I love to listen to them.
7 – How do you motivate yourself to practice guitar?
Quando praticamos, estamos sobretudo a fazer algo em que ainda não somos bons, por isso não gosto de me ouvir a praticar.
Stephane Wrembel once said, “Practice is practice. Leave out the judgment, just go through the routine.” E isso ajudou imenso.
Also, I know that in the first ten minutes, I seriously dislike it, and after a while, I am actually enjoying it.
What motivates me is that I have these nice opportunities to play with guitarists who are much more advanced than I am, and I want one day to be really worthy of accompanying them. My greatest motivation is that I really want to play better than I do, and I know I have it in me to still make quite some progress. So when I find it difficult, I tell myself: Look at what you achieved in not even three years… Just keep practicing and you’ll get better.
Also, from all the other things I learned in the past, I learned that as long as you work hard and are structured towards a goal, you might just get there. Studying is like possessing a magic wand: just wave it around enough and miracles will happen. I have faith in that magic wand.
8 – Does playing professionally (meaning: main activity) feel different than playing just for fun?
No, it doesn’t. When I do something, whatever it is, I always take it seriously. I don’t pursue something if I don’t like doing it, and I know I won’t enjoy it if I don’t get the best out of myself. I am not there yet, I hope someday I will!
9 – Have you ever had a practice process? Did it change through the years?
I have only been playing for three years. Due to my living circumstances, I did not make any music at all for 25 years, and never had a formal music education. For gypsy jazz I had about one year with Kevin Nolan as a teacher.
I made a routine for myself, which, of course, changes from time to time. In general, I try to work on ‘sounding good’, more than on ‘knowing much’ at this moment.
At this moment, I start with practicing some chords that I find hard to grasp. Then I practice different rhythms, La Pompe, Bossa, Rumba, and so on. And then I go through the repertoire I have to play at the next gig.
I play with different people, and always adapt to their repertoire, because I can learn so much from them. That means that with one person, I play entirely different things than with the other, so I keep learning new tunes and forgetting tunes as well, unfortunately.
After that, I allow myself free doodling on the guitar, which I think is also very useful, to start feeling free and at home with my instrument and get a more relaxed and natural sound.
10 – Tell us about your routines. How does a regular day in your life look?
A primeira coisa que faço de manhã é tomar café e responder a e-mails e mensagens do Facebook. Muito do meu trabalho passa pelo Facebook.
Then, usually I go out to a coffeehouse nearby where people bring their laptops. There, I do computer work like organizing or writing or design I have to do, because there I am surrounded by other people who are working, and that helps me to focus.
Then I go home, take a lunch break, and do some other chores. After that, usually around three or four in the afternoon, I practice guitar, at least an hour, sometimes two or three.
Then cook, eat, and go out to play a gig somewhere, which lasts mostly around three hours. Of course, not every day is the same, and I don’t play a gig every evening, but quite often.
The very end of the day is often for having a coffee or dinner with friends, which gives me something to look forward to. Often in the evening, if I am at home, I just put on the television for background noise and either practice or do design work till late at night. Drawing on my iPad comfortably in my little corner on the couch till 1.30 in the morning is not unusual for me.
11 – As a sideman (or should I say, side woman), one experiences the stage and the musical process differently than being the soloist/star. What do you consider to be the fundamental aspects of a master sideman (personality and musicality)?
Of course, it is important not to have the desire to be in the foreground. Kevin Nolan is, for me, a good example of a very good rhythm guitarist who is a good sideman as well. He stays in the background, still displaying lots of imagination, never dull or repetitive. Incredibly steady and pushing without speeding up.
What I admire so much in Kevin Nolan’s style is that he never draws attention to himself; his playing is in perfect control, and he can bring in many variations without it being disturbing. His playing is very supportive and makes the soloist sound better. That is probably what it is about: the rhythm player is there to make the solo come out best. I think Kevin and Robin Nolan are both at their best when they play together.
For the side(wo)man, it is important that you like other people to shine. And you must like rhythm and have a feeling for the tune that you are playing. I personally don’t like it if people play everything the same way: sad tunes, happy tunes, all sound the same, only a bit faster or slower.
Alguns solistas preferem que o guitarrista rítmico continue a tocar como uma máquina, sem qualquer variação. Eu não fico muito contente quando alguém espera que eu toque assim. Outros gostam quando começam a tocar com fogo, o guitarrista rítmico também deve ser mais ardente. Compreendo e aprecio melhor essa abordagem.
12 – What were the biggest challenges you have faced to progress in your practice, performance, and musical career?
Maybe for everybody, the biggest challenge is your self-image. Especially in the beginning, I found it hard to imagine that good musicians would really like to play with me. That reflected on my playing. It is like when you are telling somebody a story and deep inside you think he is not at all interested, you start to mumble and cut it short, instead of making it the interesting story it really is.
I didn’t dare to be audible; I thought every stroke on my guitar would irritate the hell out of everybody who heard it. No difference whether I was practicing at home or playing with others. I told a friend at that time that my biggest goal was to play with others without them getting mad at me! Not that anybody ever did, I just thought they probably should…
Tentei ensinar-me a gostar de praticar em vez de ter medo de me ouvir tocar. É-me sempre difícil ouvir-me a mim próprio; adoraria tocar muito melhor do que toco...!
13 – What do you value the most in the music/musicians you love to listen to? What key ingredients do you cherish the most?
Adoro quando eles conseguem baloiçar a sério, o Wawau Adler baloiça muitas vezes como um louco! Adoro isso!
Também aprecio muito quando um músico se atreve a seguir o seu próprio caminho, sem se esforçar demasiado para ser diferente. Quando se distinguem apenas por serem eles próprios. Robin Nolan e Stephane Wrembel são bons exemplos.
I like a sensitive, musical approach to the music, with a beautiful tone, whether it is genius warp-speed playing or a slow ballad. Fapy Lafertin has an amazing tone, and the different ways he bends the strings and brings out every tone individually, giving each tone its own character, I admire a lot.
Gosto de um músico que ouve enquanto toca.
So in short: to be yourself, to swing, to be sensitive, to listen. And of course, a good technique is crucial to sounding good.
14 – Do you still practice meditation or any other activity?
I am a Reiki master and have taught Reiki as well as meditation for many years. Nowadays, I do not really practice meditation, but I regularly sit down to make contact with what I really feel and think and reflect about that.
15 - Sabes que adoro citações inspiradoras e epifanias. Aposto que tens muita sabedoria para partilhar connosco. 🙂
In my life, it was important to ‘clean up my life’, like you clean a house. Get rid of what bothers and blocks you.
Faça escolhas positivas em vez de escolhas negativas: opte por aquilo que gosta de fazer e pelas pessoas com quem gosta de passar tempo, em vez de lutar contra o que e quem não gosta.
Everything you do, say, or even think has an infinite stream of consequences. And every consequence multiplies into new consequences, and those new ones again, like a cauliflower effect. So making very deliberate choices is incredibly important.
Create harmony in your life, without sacrificing your own happiness. Your choices should create harmony within yourself as well as with others. This means you, too, have to clean up your life.
16 - Qual é o aspeto mais importante do seu percurso de vida que gostaria que as pessoas recordassem?
Provavelmente o que acabei de referir acima: Tenha consciência de que todas as suas escolhas têm um fluxo infinito e expansivo de consequências. Por isso, limpem a vossa vida e criem harmonia dentro de vós e com o que e quem vos rodeia. Então, em última análise, isso também se irá multiplicar.
17 - O que diria ao Django se tivesse a oportunidade de o conhecer?
“Obrigado pelo esforço que fizeste para te tornares no músico que és, para seres esta grande inspiração e exemplo para milhares de pessoas em todo o mundo.”
In fact, I would probably scream: “Are you really Django Reinhardt?! I thought you were dead! May I offer you a drink in this nearby cozy café? I’d love to spend some time with you!”
18 – What record, musician, or song would you give Django for him to hear?
Uma canção torna-se interessante devido à interpretação que os músicos lhe dão. Gostava de saber o que é que ele sentiria ao ouvir “Sitting On The Top of The World”, de Ray Charles. E a versão de “Stardust” que Dave Brubeck e Paul Desmond gravaram em 1975 - a forma como o saxofone abre o céu como uma porta para um mundo diferente.
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