ACM Tutor Giorgio Serci had the pleasure of meeting iconic American Record Producer, Quincy Jones, earlier this month at Montreux Jazz Festival. We had a chance to catch up with Giorgio to learn more about his experience…
How did you find Montreux Jazz Festival? What was your main highlight?
This was my first time at this incredible and most prestigious Jazz Festival in the world. The setting is spectacular, nestled between steep hills and the magnificent lake Geneva. The energy was incredible, with a really vibrant atmosphere.
My main highlights were performing there with one of my musical heroes, the Grammy Award winner, Brazilian musician Ivan Lins. The concert was televised and live on radio, but what made this particularly thrilling was the presence of Musical Royalty, Quincy Jones, who came to see our concert and sat in pole position.
What brought you and Quincy Jones together?
Quincy Jones is a big fan of Ivan Lins, the amazing artist I am currently touring with. He produced his music in the past and have been friends ever since. Quincy Jones won a Grammy for his arrangement of Ivan Lins’ composition Dinorah Dinorah, performed by the great George Benson. After the concert, I went to meet QJ and sat on his table for a very enjoyable chat. I gave him a copy of one of my CDs, and he was very curious and asked a lot of questions about the arrangements and line up. I was Thrilled (no pun intended) After a short while, Ivan Lins sat on the table too and they started chatting like good old friends about their collaboration and many other incredible stories involving musicians who like them have had a crucial role in contemporary music in the last few decades (including Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis to name but a few). It was a very magical meeting, which I will treasure forever.
What do you have coming up over the coming months?
I will be finishing the European tour with Ivan Lins with a final concert in Munich the 27th of July. Furthermore, I will be working on the launch of my new signature guitar, called The Giorgio Serci ‘ALMA’ by Fibonacci Guitars and on my new endorsement by DVMark amplifiers as well as finishing my next CD.
I will still be busy writing my column with Guitar Interactive and working with a few orchestras, including one I have co-founded with saxophonist Paul Booth called ‘Bansangu Orchestra’ and as a soloist with a String Orchestra called ‘Keld Ensemble’. I will also be touring with the Multi-platinum world jazz pop vocalist Basia, promoting her latest CD ‘Butterflies”, which features one of my own compositions called ‘Matteo’.
But before that, I will be busy assessing the Final Performance exams from our 2nd year students. I love assessing these exams, as students always exceed our expectations with outstanding performances. It is a great way to celebrate the progress they have made studying at ACM.