L'entusiasmo e la passione di Davor Hrvoj per il jazz e la fotografia

Archie Shepp - Davor Hrvoj

 L'entusiasmo e la passione di Davor Hrvoj per il jazz e la fotografia

Un'intervista di Francisco Punal Suárez

Davor Hrvoj è un fervente amante del jazz ed esprime questa passione attraverso la fotografia. Il suo immenso lavoro con la macchina fotografica gli permette di catturare l'emozione, il gesto preciso dei musicisti e l'ideosincrazia di quel genere musicale.

Questo fotografo croato è nato nel 1960 a Zagabria, dove si è diplomato al liceo e ha studiato alla Facoltà di Educazione Fisica, dipartimento per insegnanti. La sua carriera nel giornalismo è iniziata a metà degli anni '80 come assistente nello spettacolo Jazz štand (Jazz stand) sulla famosa Radio 101.

Devor ha scritto innumerevoli articoli e ha realizzato numerosi programmi radiofonici e televisivi dedicati al jazz.

Avishai Cohen - Davor Hrvoj

Come giornalista freelance è membro permanente dell'Associazione dei giornalisti croati nella quale è membro del Consiglio d'onore dei giornalisti, dell'Unione musicale croata, della Società croata dei compositori e dell'Associazione croata degli artisti indipendenti.

Nel 2010, ho ricevuto una targa speciale da Hrvatske blues snage (Croatian Blues Forces) per molti anni di promozione sistematica della musica blues. Nel 2015, per decisione del Ministro della Cultura polacco, gli viene conferita la medaglia Zasłużony dla Kultury Polskiej (Merito per la cultura polacca).

Ha pubblicato i libri "Jazz Reflections" (Radio 101, 2001), "Jazz Connections" (Menart, 2010), "Jazz Vibrations" (Menart, 2011) che coprono conversazioni con famosi musicisti jazz e le loro fotografie, e "Life as a Jam Sessione - autobiografia di Boško Petrović ”(Menart, 2012) - autobiografia del più importante musicista jazz croato, grande amante e combattente per il jazz in Croazia, Boško Petrović.

Del suo amore per il jazz e la fotografia e della sua sensibilità nel catturare i momenti più acuti, stimolanti e forse più ricchi delle performance dei musicisti, Davor ci parla in questa intervista esclusiva per Fany Blog.

Quando hai mosso i primi passi nella fotografia? A che età?

Ben Williams - Davor Hrvoj

Ho iniziato ad ascoltare musica jazz da studente delle superiori e mi sono subito innamorato di quella musica e ho iniziato a frequentare concerti jazz nella mia città natale di Zagabria e in Croazia, oltre che in Slovenia e Serbia. Nel 1979, quando avevo solo 19 anni, sono andato a un festival jazz in Austria, e poi ad altri festival in tutta Europa. Dopo diversi anni di intensi viaggi ai festival jazz in Europa, a metà degli anni '80 ho comprato la mia prima macchina fotografica di qualità superiore. Era a L'Aia dove ero al North Sea Jazz Festival. Ho fatto l'autostop, due giorni a L'Aia e due giorni fa, ho dormito tra i cespugli e ho mangiato torte che mia madre metteva nello zaino, ma in tre giorni del festival ho ascoltato i più importanti musicisti jazz del mondo, ho inviato rapporti per telefono al programma radiofonico. Vale a dire, l'idea originale era di registrare diapositive e più tardi alle feste con gli amici ricordiamo i concerti in cui sono state registrate quelle diapositive. Quindi non era solo durante i viaggi jazz. Ad esempio, ogni estate facevo l'autostop in giro per la Spagna e facevo foto e al mio ritorno tenevo conferenze con diapositive. Ma nel frattempo si è reso necessario girare sui negativi perché quello era lo standard per gli articoli di giornale, e in quel momento ho iniziato a pubblicare sui giornali.

 Perché ti è piaciuta la musica sin dalla tenera età?

Non so spiegare perché quella musica all'inizio mi abbia sopraffatto, ma grazie agli amici che erano un po 'più grandi di me, ed erano appassionati di musica, ero esperto di musica rock di qualità, specialmente prog-rock. Ascoltando quello stile musicale ho logicamente iniziato ad ascoltare jazz-rock, poi molta musica dalla produzione ECM, poi sono arrivato al free jazz, e poi sono partito per un viaggio verso Louis Armstrong.

Cecile Mclorin - Davor Hrvoj

 In che modo il jazz ha conquistato il tuo cuore dall'inizio del tuo lavoro di giornalista?

In effetti, il jazz è sempre stato il mio hobby oltre che la fotografia. Ho iniziato a lavorare come giornalista quando a metà degli anni '80 sono stato invitato a partecipare a uno spettacolo jazz sulla popolare stazione radio Omladinski radio, in seguito chiamata Radio 101. In seguito ho ricevuto l'invito a fare spettacoli jazz alla radio nazionale croata ea scrivere per vari giornali e riviste. A un certo punto c'era così tanto lavoro giornalistico che sarebbe potuto diventare il mio unico lavoro. Mia moglie ha detto che abbiamo il suo piccolo stipendio da insegnante e che in qualche modo sopravvivremo sempre, e che farò ciò che amo di più. Così ho deciso di fare del mio hobby il mio lavoro fisso, anche se sono sempre rimasto un libero professionista, un giornalista freelance.

Come definisci il jazz?

Non ho una definizione per il jazz, come nessun altro ha. Il vibrafonista Joe Locke mi ha detto in un'intervista: "Il jazz è una bellezza che nasce dalla sofferenza degli afroamericani!" Questa potrebbe essere una delle definizioni. Citerò ancora mia moglie che è, in effetti, una persona saggia. Ha detto: "Il jazz è quando Dizzy Gillespie dirige un'orchestra in un modo che gli fa tremare il culo!" Tutti i fan del jazz sanno di cosa si tratta. Per me il jazz è la musica dell'eccitazione, della spontaneità, della vita. Il jazz è vita! Vivo jazz e questo si riflette anche sulla mia famiglia.

Christian Scott - Davor Hrvoj

Cindy Blackman Santana - Davor Hrvoj

Davor Hrvoj's enthusiasm and devotion to jazz and photography

An interview by Francisco Punal Suárez

Davor Hrvoj is a fervent jazz lover, and he expresses that passion through photography. His immense work with the camera allows him to capture the emotion, the precise gesture of the musicians, and the ideosyncracy of that musical genre.

Davor Hrvoj - Todd Bashore

This Croatian photographer born in 1960 in Zagreb,  where he graduated from high school and studied at the Faculty of Physical Education, department for teachers.  His career in journalism began in the mid 1980s as an assistant on the show Jazz štand (Jazz stand) on the famous Radio 101. 

Devor has written countless articles and has done numerous radio and television shows dedicated to jazz.

As a freelance journalist he is a permanent member of the Croatian Journalists' Association in which he is a member of the Journalists' Council of Honor, the Croatian Musical Union, the Croatian Composers' Society and the Croatian Association of Independent Artists.

In 2010, I received special plaque by Hrvatske blues snage (Croatian Blues Forces) for many years of systematic promotion of blues music. In 2015. by the decision of Polish Minister of Culture he is awarded with medal Zasłużony dla Kultury Polskiej (Meritorious for the Polish Culture).

Diane Reeves - Davor Hrvoj

He published a books “Jazz Reflections” (Radio 101, 2001), “Jazz Connections” (Menart, 2010), “Jazz Vibrations” (Menart, 2011) covering conversations with famous jazz musicians and their photographs, and “Life as a Jam Session - autobiography of Boško Petrović” (Menart, 2012) - autobiography of Croatian most prominent jazz musician, a great lover and fighter for jazz in Croatia, Boško Petrović.

About his love of jazz and photography and about his sensitivity to capture the most acute, most challenging and perhaps the richest moments of the musicians' performances, Davor talks to us in this exclusive interview for Fany Blog.

When did you take your first steps in photography? At what age?

I started listening jazz music as a high school student and I immediately fell in love with that music and I started attending jazz concerts in my hometown of Zagreb and Croatia, as well as in Slovenia and Serbia. In 1979, when I was just 19, I went to a jazz festival in Austria, and then to other festivals all over Europe. After several years of intense traveling to jazz festivals in Europe, in the mid-1980s I bought my first more quality camera. It was in The Hague where I was at the North Sea Jazz Festival. I hitchhiked, two days to The Hague and two days back, slept in the bushes and ate cakes that my mother put in my backpack, but on three days of the festival I listened to the world's leading jazz musicians, sent reports by phone to the radio program. Namely, the original idea was to record slides and later at parties with friends we remember the concerts where those slides were recorded. So it wasn’t just on jazz trips. For example, every summer I hitchhiked around Spain and took photos, and on my return I gave lectures with slides. But in the meantime, it became necessary to shoot on negatives because that was the standard for newspaper articles, and at that time I started publishing in newspapers.

 Why did you like music from an early age?

Wayne Escoffery - Davor Hrvoj

I can’t explain why that music overwhelmed me at first, but thanks to friends who were a little older than me, and they were into music, I was versed in quality rock music, especially prog-rock. Listening to that musical style I logically started listening to jazz-rock, then a lot of music from ECM production, through that I came to free jazz, and then I set off on a journey towards Louis Armstrong.

 How did Jazz win your heart from the beginning of your work as a journalist? 

In fact, jazz has always been my hobby as well as photography. I started working as a journalist when in the mid-1980s I was invited to join a jazz show on the popular radio station Omladinski radio, later called Radio 101. Later I got an invitation to do jazz shows on the national Croatian radio and to write for various newspapers and magazines. At one point there was so much journalistic work that it could have become my only job. My wife said that we have her small teacher’s salary and that we will always somehow survive, and that I will do what I love the most. So I decided to make my hobby my permanent job, even though I always remained a freelancer, a freelance journalist.

Tom Harrell - Davor Hrvoj

How do you define jazz?

I don’t have a definition for jazz, like no one else has. Vibraphonist Joe Locke told me in an interview, "Jazz is a beauty that came from the suffering of African Americans!" That could be one of the definitions. I will mention again my wife who is, in fact, a wise person. She said, "Jazz is when Dizzy Gillespie conducts an orchestra in a way that shakes his ass!" All jazz fans know what it’s all about. For me, jazz is the music of excitement, spontaneity, life. Jazz is life! I live jazz, and that reflects on my family as well.

 Could you summarize what it has meant to you to work in organizing jazz concerts? What was the most difficult?

Organizing concerts is, first of all, easy job, because, since I have been traveling to concerts and festivals for four decades and I have met many musicians, and I have made friends with some of them and we have kept in touch and I know at any time who is on tour with which program, and the same thing is with Croatian musicians, and on the other hand is hard to do, bacause a lot of musicians call me, and unfortunately I can't invite them all to Zagreb.

 Is Croatia a country that admires jazz? Is there an audience for this musical genre?

I'm not happy with the number of audiences, there are less than before, but those who come to the concerts are well versed in jazz.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Davor Hrvoj

Please tell me about how you have taken these photos of jazz musicians.

At a concert I like to sit in the front row so I can study the musicians, their gestures, their character. I also like to wait for the end of the concert and only then take photos, when the musicians are completely sweaty, when they lose control of their actions, when they unconsciously reveal their character. Also, since I know a lot of musicians, sometimes our eyes meet and it’s a good opportunity to trigger. I try to take photos from which the viewer will feel the personality of the photographed musician.

 Technically, what camera do you use, and what lenses?

Then in The Hague I bought an Olympus OM 10 body, an Olympus normal lens and a Tokina 70-210 telephoto lens, all second hand. Very quickly I bought another body, also an Olympus OM 10, also second hand. Later I switched to a digital camera, again Olympus with an Olympus telephoto lens, and today I use a Pentax K 70, a normal Pentax 50mm lens, a Pentax telephoto lens and a Sigma wide angle lens.

 What Jazz Festivals have you attended have motivated you the most?

Why? 

One of my favorites is Jazzwoche in Burghausen, Germany, a festival I’ve been going to for years. There, in a relaxed and stimulating atmosphere, I listened to the world's best jazz musicians, took great photos, did a lot of interviews with jazz stars, listened to unforgettable jam sessions in a jazz club, made wonderful friendships ...

Jazzmeia Horn - Davor Hrvoj

For which musician do you have the greatest predilection?

My best friend from the world of jazz is Charles Lloyd who was named the best tenor saxophonist in the world this year in DownBeat magazine. In fact, it grew into a family friendship. I did my first interview with him. In addition, I adore his music which is close to my sensibility. He is the most refined jazz musician, God’s gift. I also adore the music of Charles Mingus which is extremely exciting. I feel like I could fly on the wings of his music.

What topics do you cover in your published books?

One of the books is actually the autobiography of our most famous jazz musician Boško Petrović, which I wrote using interviews I did with him. The remaining three are books of interviews with jazz stars such as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Cassandra Wilson, Ornette Coleman, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval and others.

What are you currently working on?

John Scofield - Davor Hrvoj

I used this time of isolation to sort photos and prepare new exhibitions, as well as to translate new interviews and prepare new books. I am currently preparing material with more than 100 interviews for a book of more than 1,000 pages, and with each interview I have a photo of that musician that I took. Since that’s too much for one book, the plan is to publish 2 new books.

 Of the photos you sent me, which ones do you like best? Why?

Tom Harrell - a relaxed hand holding a trumpet, and the trumpet is lowered at the feet ... Although the person's face is not visible, his character can be recognize, and jazz connoisseurs will know that it is Tom Harrell.

Wayne Escoferry - was filmed from behind so it’s hard to recognize who it is, but that conductor’s gesture reflects the drama, the ecstasy, the movement, the moment the conductor sends a suggestive message to the orchestra. Also, the white dots in the background suggest as if he is conducting the stars.

Dave Liebman - Davor Hrvoj

Shoji Hano - Davor Hrvoj