Saxophonist Maikel Vistel grew up in Santiago de Cuba, where music was part of the household long before it was part of the curriculum. His conversation ranges from family and genre-crossing collaborations to improvising in Ibiza with a trio that likes to leave room for the unexpected.
What did growing up in Santiago de Cuba teach you about music before you ever studied it formally?
Being born and raised in Santiago de Cuba is something truly special. I was very fortunate to grow up in a well-known musical family in Cuba. My grandfather was one of the great Cuban musicians of his generation; he played with the legendary Benny Moré and with some of the great Cuban orchestras.
In my home, everything was about music. From a very young age, I grew up surrounded by the sound of the piano, the trumpet and singing. Music was simply part of our everyday life, long before I began studying it formally.
You’ve collaborated with musicians from Joe Lovano to Calle 13. What makes a great collaborator?
For me, being a great collaborator means being open to all kinds of music. You need to understand different styles, know the artists you are working with, and always keep researching, listening and learning.
I believe you should never put limits on yourself. You have to prepare yourself so that when life gives you an opportunity, you are ready to take it, without thinking about genres or musical boundaries. Music is music.
When you’re improvising, what does Ibiza bring out in you?
Ibiza brings out my personality when I play. The audience will feel the energy I bring to the stage and the way I communicate through the instrument.
For me, improvisation is also about sharing my experiences, my background and everything I have lived through music with the people in front of me. Every performance becomes a conversation and an exchange of energy.
What can an audience expect from you at Jazz Point — and what might surprise them?
I think the audience is going to really enjoy this performance. The trio with François Moutin and Florian Arbenz is a very powerful combination. There is a lot of energy and a very strong personality within the group.
Recording together was an incredible experience, and every concert we play becomes a different story. That is one of the most exciting things about this trio: we never know exactly where the music will take us.
What records never get old?
For me, Crescent by John Coltrane is a record that will never get old. But I also believe that the great jazz records are timeless. Every time you go back and listen to them, you discover something new — a detail, a sound, an idea or a feeling that you hadn’t noticed before. That is what makes this music so special.
Trumpeter Michael Cruse knows a thing or two about changing rooms—and musical hats. His conversation takes in the different demands of jazz, Broadway, film and television, the value of preparation, and why being present with the people you’re playing with matters.
Your work stretches from hard bop and straight-ahead jazz to Broadway, film and TV. How do you move between those worlds?
It’s not easy but it’s more mental than anything. Having a mental shift each room that you enter and deciding on what “hat” is needed for each situation. Some ask for intense reading, focus and others ask for free creativity off the page of music but having all of those skills sharp and prepared for when any room or world that you are asked to perform in!
What does jazz tradition mean to you — and how do you make it your own?
Jazz tradition is a way of life, and understanding the lives and cultural experiences of those that preceded me in playing this music. Finding your own voice within the music by studying the tradition and language of the great masters that have left so much history and music behind. It’s like ingredients in a dish, a little bit of this ingredient and that ingredient, but how it comes out is uniquely you. We will never be or sound exactly like someone because of our own unique human experience and path in life. Embracing you and your sound is a journey that can be a tough one but also beautiful journey.
You’ve played legendary clubs, Broadway shows and even a Tiny Desk concert. Does each stage bring out a different side of you?
Yes and no, I may have more internal excitement about a certain historical stage or space that I’ve longed to play in but the preparation is still the same. I learned from several musical mentors that all say: “treat the small stages just the same as the big ones”. The key is preparation, when you’re prepared and ready on any stage. There’s a certain level of comfort and freedom that allows you to perform on any stage big or small.
You’re also a teacher and mentor. What advice do you give young musicians?
Be prepared, stay present in everyday, take breaks from social media and the phone and be 100 percent engaged within the music and who you are creating with! With the rise of AI and technology, human experience like playing music are becoming increasingly more scarce. Take full advantage of being in the moment and connecting with others.
What are you hoping to find in Ibiza when you’re not on stage?
I am hoping to experience the culture, and food and views in Ibiza! It’ll be my first time visiting in Ibiza so I plan on soaking up as much of the island and culture as I can. Any recommendations are welcomed, excited to meet the community and create music there!
Alto saxophonist Karolina Strass Mayer has played her way from an Austrian Alpine village to New York and the WDR Big Band. She talks about the places that shaped her, the alto saxophonist who first caught her ear, and the ongoing work of finding a sound that feels like her own.
You grew up in the Austrian Alps, spent 15 years in New York and later joined the WDR Big Band. How did each place change your music?
Growing up in an idyllic village in the heart of the Austrian Alps instilled in me a desire to experience and create beauty. I understand beauty not as an external standard to be fulfilled but the experience of feeling alive and being moved and awed, the experience of wonder. The colossal beauty of the mountains is engrained in my heart, even after decades of living abroad. New York woke me from my idyllic existence and taught me about courage, adventure and pushing my boundaries. I developed the kind of courage required to do something intimidating, like standing up in a New York jam sessions with “the cats.” Playing side to side so many passionate and accomplished musicians has helped me grow into a versatile and passionate musician myself. The WDR Big Band has also provided me with so many opportunities to collaborate with some of the most charismatic artists in jazz. To experience this up close every single day is a great privilege and an ongoing learning and growing experience. Standing next to Joe Lovano in the philharmonic hall and trading eights with him taught me to become myself, to value myself and to stand tall. And these days, the kind of courage that intrigues me is the courage to be fully myself, as a musician and as a human being.
What first drew you to the sax?
As a teenager, I came across a tape of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I popped it into my Walkman and was electrified by what I heard. I had no idea what I was listening to, what instruments, and what the music was called. But I knew that I had to do this. Later, my grandfather, who was a conductor, helped me identify the music as jazz and the instrument that had touched me so deeply was the alto saxophone of Julian Cannonball Adderley.
With KLARO!, you make music with your partner, Drori Mondlak. What makes the quartet feel so personal?
Our quartet is our heart project. We’ve been playing music together for over 25 years now and the deep sense of trust has helped my compositions and my playing to blossom. Sharing our life and our music is the great adventure of my life.
You’ve done a lot of work supporting women in jazz. What do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
I wish that I didn’t have to spend years to prove myself and try to play like a man. It’s been a deep internal journey to discover how I want to play, to excavate the sounds that give me joy, the notes that I really, really want to play, not the ones I felt I had to play in order to be taken seriously and to earn my place in the jazz world.
What are you looking forward to about playing in Ibiza — and at Jazz Point in particular?
I am looking forward to meeting my fellow musicians, to play with this stellar group of artists and to play from my heart to the heart of our listeners and to meet lovely people, eat delicious food and to enjoy the wonderful environment.
