We recently had the chance to connect with Joe Fritz and have shared our conversation below.
Joe, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Drinking a great black coffee and playing my cat.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a Hungarian-born clarinetist Joe Fritz. I was ranked among the world’s top 30 jazz clarinetists in 2012, with a discography that includes 11 solo albums as a leader and 54 as a sideman. My music-style in between the 30’s and the 60’s jazz eras, including swing, bebop, west coast etc.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
I have had many good teachers over the past 30 years, but perhaps it is worth introducing some of them personally, I think I was very lucky to have learned from them.
My first jazz teacher was Pál Herrer who was 91 years old when I was 14. You should know about him that in his youth he lived in America and France and played with greats like Stephane Grappelly and Coleman Hawkins
I owe my detailed knowledge of the instrument to József Balogh who was the solo clarinetist of the Hungarian Radio at the time and was very well-known all over the world
In addition, I learned the basics of jazz from József Pap at the Budapest Jazz School
Later I was lucky to meet and take master classes from the best musicians in the world from the clarinet world like Buddy DeFranco, Bill Smith, Tony Scott, Alan Stanek, Marcus Eley, F Gerard Errante etc
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
When I first understood that in my own country, in my own language, I could not only be a musician, but also had to do everything that was against art and playing an instrument
How did I recover from it? I first moved to Australia and then a few years later to the United States
Of course, this does not mean that I do not consider myself Hungarian, it is just that I realized the characteristics of the place and hoped that I could feel at home there professionally
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
That jazz is dead.
Every time I play and people hear me, I realize that jazz is alive, has been alive, and will be alive
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
To play music that is expected of me but I don’t want to
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fritzjazz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fritzjazz_clarinet?igsh=MWNoaGJzZnVwMmxxYw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ac9Kiq1qj/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@fritzjazz1?si=ru6Ib5wuJZU1Qdf-
Image Credits
Photos by Anett Fritz, Eva Bognar and Miklos Kaunitz
