Today we’d like to introduce you to Mauricio Morales.
Hi Mauricio, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I got started when I was about 13 years old. For as long as I remember I have bonded with my father through music. Although he himself is not a musician he was always passionate about it and constantly shared it with me, so it was only natural that I’d eventually want to give this music thing a shot.
Originally I just wanted to play in a band and the first instrument that caught my eye was the guitar. After I told a good friend that my parents had already agreed to let me have one he told me I should instead try the bass since he already had a guitar, that way we’d be able to start a band together. Since at this point, I didn’t really care for anything other than playing with other people I agreed without even consciously knowing what the sound of the bass was. I figured that if every band I knew had a bass player then it must have been somehow important.
Most of the music that I was listening at the time was completely guitar driven. For ignorant ears like the ones, I had at the time the bass was indistinguishable on pretty much all of those punk pop records I was listening to as a way to distance myself from my parent’s music. All I knew at this point was that I was now a bass player and that I wanted to be the best at it. Whatever that meant.
The more I got to know the instrument the more I fell in love with it. My journey with the bass has guided me through many music styles that I never imagined would become such an important part of who I am. If you had told 13-year-old me that I would be a jazz musician, I would have probably looked at you as if your breath smelled like a rotten egg. But now, 31 years old, I can’t imagine my life without it. I went from punk pop to heavy rock, to ALL kinds of metal, to jazz fusion, to straight-ahead jazz, to salsa, to classical, and to so many other music genres that I would probably take over all the space that I have on this interview, and after all of that all I care about is complete freedom of artistic expression. I’ve leaned mostly towards jazz, at least conceptually, because it allows me to start a blank canvas every single time I play, even if it is the same song I’ve played a thousand times.
Exploring music to such depths also triggered probably my greatest love: Writing. The more I developed my sensitivity as a musician in the bandstand the more I started to internalize different musical concepts such as harmony, melody, rhythm and pace, which are essentially the core of strong writing. Obviously, I started writing incredibly ugly pieces of music and, in fact, I still do. That’s the only way to grow after all. Writing music has taught me that it’s ok to try things out, that I am not meant to be perfect from the start and to embrace my ideas without fear of what others would think. In the end, the more ugly songs I write the better the next one is going to be.
Which leads me to where I am today. After two records out and one on the way I still have not achieved being “the best bass player” as my 13-year-old self envisioned. Now I even find that to be a bit contradictory in relationship to my current beliefs of the meaning of true artistry. However, I am still very much committed to being the greatest musician and human I can possibly be.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s not a smooth road at all. Being an artist is full of uncertainty, doubts, financial limitations, and many other struggles along the way. I remember whenever my dad asked me (hundreds of times by the way) if I was sure I wanted to be a musician, I cockily said that if become great at what I do there was no way I would ever fail. There was no doubt in my head about that because I had no life experience. Now, I still believe in my statement but I understand there’s a lot more nuances. It’s not a journey that’s gradually climbing but rather a roller coaster that at times makes you feel like you are on top of the world right before taking you all the way down at full speed as you throw up and faint several times throughout the same dive. I wouldn’t do it any other way though. I wouldn’t change my journey for anything in the world and I still feel excited to see where it takes me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a composer, arranger and acoustic and electric bass player. I have done a good amount of work doing work as a sideman or as part of and artist’s team but most importantly I am an artist myself and write music for large and small ensembles. As of right now, I’ve released two records. The first one, “Luna”, consists on 7 pieces written for a jazz quintet plus a string quartet. The second one, “Eclipse”, is a jazz trio record I released with two very close friends. I am very proud of all the music I’ve released under my name and I am very excited to be releasing my most ambitious project on 2023.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe taking risks is extremely important in order to create something that’s truly trascendental. I believe that in order to uncover new ground, we have to be different. Of course, we are surrounded by media telling us that it is ok to be different. Just look at the millions of movies and TV shows about the underdog who finally manages to succeed above everything. But that very media is also the one who will most likely play things safe. They will rather go for the remake or the sequel than the original story because it represents a lesser amount of risk. And as artists, I believe we have to endure. At times we will feel invisible. But no great thing has ever come easy. Obviously, I say this from an artistic standpoint, but I believe in staying true to yourself, creating the music that makes you unique and that embraces your individuality among others. Maybe it will not achieve the mainstream attention that we would hope for, but at least it is real. And that realness will be printed forever, long after we are gone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauriciomoralesmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mauriciomoralesmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsc8K-HOSbZ4Yij_jatE88g
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6gftWpsboRJR9WXQCYSxKB?si=eQlcd-zmSt2wgJxgt9vQIA
Image Credits:
Photo by Carolina Rizzotto
