Hugh Laurie, actorul care i-a dat viata personajului Gregory House, va veni in Romania la jumatatea lunii iulie pentru a sustine un concert. Muzica reprezinta pentru Hugh o pasiune, un mod de viata si locul in care de multe ori isi gaseste refugiul. La fel ca si personajul Dr. House, Hugh Laurie se detaseaza de lume si incearca sa isi gaseasca alinarea in muzica. A inceput sa cante la pian inca de la varsta de 6 ani, iar acum putem spune ca este un muzician desavarsit.
Cei mai multi copii, la varsta de 6 ani se joaca cu mingea, dar tu la varsta asta invatai sa canti la pian, chitara, tobe, muzicuta si la saxofon. Cum ai ajuns in acest univers magic al muzicii si cum simteai aceste activitati cand erai mic?
Hugh Laurie: Ma jucam si cu mingea, desigur, dar stii cum e, cand se intuneca... Muzica a fost intotdeauna cel mai bun prieten al meu, cea mai placuta companie. Muzica e un loc in care te pierzi, e un lucru care te consoleaza, te bucura, te uimeste sau te emotioneaza. Pur si simplu iubeam sa stau in fata pianului si sa ma joc incercand sa urmaresc pasii eroilor mei.
Cum a ajuns influenta blues-urilor americane si a jazz-ului tocmai pana in U.K? Care a fost primul tau contact cu blues-ul, cu muzica din New Orleans?
Hugh Laurie: Sigur ca au existat multi alti britanici care si-au gasit calea catre universul muzicii din New Orleans inaintea mea. Cu siguranta nu am fost eu primul care sa paseasca pe acest drum. The Yardbirds, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin - ei toti au ascultat si au fost influentati de aceasta muzica si cultura cu mult inainte ca eu macar sa ating clapele vreunui pian.
Am citit ca albumul "Didn't it Rain" are o si mai mare influenta a sudului din SUA. Este greu sa canti despre lucruri pe care nu le-ai experimentat personal? Cum strangi informatii de valoare astfel incat muzica ta sa fie pura si cat mai fidela zonei din care provine?
Hugh Laurie: Nu stiu daca e mai greu ca eu sa cant despre sudul Americii pe cat de dificil ii e unei cantarete moderne de opera sa cante Carmen. Ce iubesc la aceste melodii este ca sunt pe cat de specifice, pe atat de universal valabile. Povesti despre dragoste, sex, frica, bucurie - acestea sunt lucruri care nu se intampla doar in sudul SUA.
Poti sa ne spui povestea micului pian de pe coperta albumului?
Hugh Laurie: Am primit in dar acel pian mic si l-am tinut prin casa pentru ceva vreme. Voiam sa pun ceva pe coperta albumului care sa sublinieze dedicarea mea fata de muzica, dar care sa nuanteze si partea jucausa a acestui domeniu. Distractia, viata muzicii.
Fiecare gen muzical are un anumit rol si un anumit efect asupra oamenilor. Care este efectul jazz-ului asupra ta si ce ai vrea ca publicul tau sa resimta cand asculta acest stil muzical?
Hugh Laurie: Jazz-ul poate avea orice tip de efect asupra mea si asupra oricui il asculta, sper eu. Poate sa te faca sa razi, sa plangi, sa dansezi, sa suspini, orice. Toata viata unui om zace in aceasta muzica.
Daca ar fi sa intocmesti o lista de 10 piese care sa devina soundtrack-ul vietii tale, ce melodii ai alege?
Hugh Laurie: Sunt groaznic la facut liste. Cand ajung sa completez a 10-a pozitie din lista, imi vine sa ma intorc si sa le schimb deja pe primele cinci. Preferatele mele se schimba constant. Ar fi ca si cand m-ai pune sa aleg portiunea preferata dintr-o mare in care sa inot.
Daca ai putea canta pe aceeasi scena cu unele dintre legendele blues-ului si jazz-ului, pe cine ai alege si de ce?
Hugh Laurie: Nu ar trebui sa cant cu niciunul dintre ei. As fi fericit doar sa stau si sa ascult in timp ce Ray Charles, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters sau Professor Longhair, sau oricare din sutele de eroi ai muzicii ar cuceri scena.
Te rugam sa transmiti un mesaj publicului din Romania care abia asteapta sa te vada live.
Hugh Laurie: Sper ca publicul din Romania e la fel de incantat ca noi. Abia asteptam sa venim. Show-ul e unul de care sunt tare mandru. Sper sa putem face publicul la fel de fericit precum suntem si noi cand interpretam aceste piese. Ne vedem acolo!
Hugh Laurie - Louisiana Blues
- Interviul in limba engleza
Most kids, at age 6 are playing ball but you were learning how to play piano, guitar, drums, harmonica and saxophone. How did you end up in this magical musical education and how did it feel when you were little?
Hugh Laurie: I was playing ball too, of course, but, you know, when it gets dark... Music always felt to me like the best kind of friend or companion. A place to lose yourself, be comforted, entertained, thrilled, amazed. I just loved to sit at the piano and mess about, trying to follow the footsteps (fingersteps?) of my heroes,
How did the american blues and jazz influence get to you in the U.K? What was your first contact with the blues culture, the New Orleans music?
Hugh Laurie: Of course there had been many other British people before me who had found their way to the bright light of New Orleans music. I certainly wasn't the first to tread that path. The Yardbirds, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin - they'd all heard and been influenced by this music long before I first put my hands on a piano.
I read that the album Didn't it Rain has an even stronger influence of the Souther US. Is it hard to sing about things that you didn't experience per se? How do you collect the valuable information for your music so that is genuine and more true to the roots?
Hugh Laurie: I don't know if it's any harder for me to sing about the American South than it is for a modern opera singer to play Carmen. What I love about these songs is that they are both specific and universal. Stories of love, and sex, and fear, and joy - these are things that don't only happen in the American South.
Can you please tell us the story of the little piano from the cover of the album.
Hugh Laurie: The little piano had been given to me, and it had sat in my house for some time. I wanted something on the cover that would convey the seriousness of my love for this music, but that would also reflect a sort of playfulness too. The fun, the life of it.
Every kind of music has a certain role and effect on people. What is the effect of jazz on you and what do you want your audience to feel when listening to this type of music?
Hugh Laurie: Jazz can have every kind of effect on me, and on everyone who hears it, hopefully. It can make me laugh, cry, dance, gasp, everything. All human life is in this music.
If you were asked to complete a list of 10 songs that would become the soundtrack of your life, what songs would you choose?
Hugh Laurie: I'm so bad at lists. By the time I got to the tenth on the list, I'd want to go back and change the first five. My favourites are always changing. It would be like picking a favourite gallon of water in the sea to swim in.
If you could sing on the same stage with some of the legends of blues and jazz, who would you choose and why?
Hugh Laurie: I wouldn't have to song with any of them. I'd be happy to sit and listen while Ray Charles, or Bessie Smith, or Muddy Waters, or Professor Longhair, or any one of the hundreds of heroes took the stage,
Please send a message to the Romanian audience that is so excited to see you live.
Hugh Laurie: I hope the Romanian audience is as excited as we are! We can't wait. The show is something I'm really proud of. I hope we can make the audience feel as happy as I feel when we play these songs. See you there!
*Interviul a fost acordat mai multor publicatii intre care si Hotnews.ro
