High Bias #3

NAME: Andrea Centazzo

HOME: Long Beach California since 1991. Before Bologna Italy

BIO: Composer, percussionist and multimedia artist. Not dead yet.

WEBSITE: www.andreacentazzo.com, www.myspace.com/andreacentazzo 


Do you read reviews of your work?

Sometimes

Do you reread them? rarely Save them? sometime Quote them?

Excerpt on some presentation and emails

Have reviews ever had an effect upon the way you approach your work? For better or worse?

NO

Are there writers you hope will (or won't) write about your work?

NO

Have you ever written to a reviewer or publication in response to a negative review of your work?

Yes but not for musical reason but politic: a Hollywood journalist was delirious about Tina Modotti, subject of my first opera.

A positive one?

No

Are there reviewers who you consider to be your friends?  

I have some journalist friends.

Do they write about your work?

Very little.

How does that make you feel?

Great

Have you ever been told by a writer that they feel too close to you personally to write about your work?

NO

Have you ever felt that a writer was trying to get something out of you, or get back at you, or had some other ulterior motive in what they wrote about you? Please explain.

Many times being also the producer of my music (www,ictusrecords.com ) I've been approached from writers just trying to expand their CD collection with the pretense to review the CD's. Especially new kids on the block... Since I've been always broke and I couldn't give CD's away, I had less impact on the music scene than musicians recording for record companies. That could explain why in the last 30 years I did the same number of concerts that my colleagues does in 6 months.


Have you ever published anything you wrote about someone else's music?

When I was 22 (from 22 to 26) I made my living being the music critic of my hometown news paper

Do you continue to write about music?

I wrote 6 musicology books holding a PhD in Musicology (specialized in musical paleography) and countless articles for many magazines and newspapers. But never about living musicians but about music. I love dead musicians... and not jazz.

Do you think there was a time in the past when music journalism was better or worse than it is now? Why or why not?

Since Homerus (not Simpson -the real one -the Greek) more or less it has been always the same with few exception: Bernard Shaw, Marcel Proust, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wolfang Goethe and some other guy with wig.... 

Anything you'd like to add?  

I hope that my friend Barak can get that darn health new plan since I cannot afford a health insurance

Anything you want to ask me?

Why after 35 years playing with all the best and producing 160 recording with no negative reviews (most of the time from good to rave ones) I'm getting no exposure at all? Should I dress like Elvis or Michael??? It seems that my Italian Armani style doesn't fit the expectation of the journalists... or perhaps its' because I have yellow teeth, considered a crime in the contemporary society? Or should I just suddenly die trying heroically to rescue Liz Taylor dog? Any suggestion to one of the aging fathers of the improvised music and percussion new technique?