By Annette Hinkle
Music, like any dynamic art form, rarely exists in a vacuum. For that reason, defining musical styles by use of a single term — such as jazz, blues or pop — often seems inadequate in light of the many influences that go into inspiring musicians who make that music.
Take Natalia Bernal for example. Though she could best be described as a jazz singer – offering up North American as well as Latin American jazz, Bernal, a native of Chile, also brings indigenous musical influences into her original songs as well as the familiar standards which she performs in Spanish, English and Portuguese. She is, in fact, part of a new wave of young Latin American musicians who are fusing the sounds of their native land onto what we know as traditional jazz.
This Friday, October 21 Natalia Bernal brings her quartet and her unique form of jazz to the Parrish Art Museum for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Despite the fact that she grew up in the far and remote reaches of northern Chile in the Atacama District — the desert region is the driest place on earth and was the site of the massive miner rescue effort last year — Bernal’s musical upbringing could hardly be described as desert-like itself.
Bernal hails from the coastal city of Iquique, which sits on the Pacific Ocean and is at a veritable crossroads of the world.
“Being at the extreme northern point of the country, it was isolated,” concedes Bernal. “But the country declared it a tax free zone, so a lot of commerce came in and a big port was built there.”
As a result, container ships come into Iquique from Korea, India and Taiwan. Meanwhile, countries like Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil ship goods out through the city, and Bernal notes she was the beneficiary of a truly multi-cultural upbringing in the most unlikely of places.
“There was a huge Asian community, and also the mining population – South Africans, Brits, Canadians,” she says. “At the same time, industrial fishing took off. Engineers from all over the world came in and the city was booming and they all needed their children to have a good education. There were bi-lingual schools so I learned English very young.”
“I was so prepared for New York,” adds Bernal who, after studying in Santiago, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and is now a professional musician in New York.
“I see how New York is exactly like my classroom all those 12 years — I had friends from Taiwan, Korea, Chile and Peru. The school I went to wouldn’t celebrate Christmas — they had ‘religion week’ and would bring in a Taoist priest, a rabbi, a Catholic priest and someone from the Anglican church.”
“It was very funny,” she adds. “I think, ‘Wow, who would have guessed you could be exposed to so much in such a remote place?’”
Besides her multi-cultural childhood, much of Bernal’s personal musical taste can be traced directly to her family.
“I had a very interesting upbringing,” she says. “My father’s business is hotels and I lived in my dad’s hotels for eight or nine years before we moved to our first owned house.”
“I lived with ambient music all the time,” adds Bernal. “It was an international hotel lobby so I heard Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Brazilian bossa novas.”
But Bernal’s musical tastes don’t stop there. Beyond the 20th century jazz that makes up part of her repertoire, Bernal has reached deeper to pull in the indigenous sounds of the Aymara people of the Andean Mountains – the native populations of Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
“It’s new music – but it’s in the makings,” says Bernal. “I am definitely waving the flag of Andean jazz. I’m trying to be truthful to my roots and respectful to the original style, but using the tools I’ve been given by years of contemporary music school and jazz musicians I’ve learned from.”
“It’s a true reflection of the world we live in.”
One of the biggest cultural influences on Bernal are the July 16 celebrations that take place in the Chilean desert each year. Known as the Fiesta de la Tirana the religious celebration is in honor of the Virgen del Carmen and the festivities are a melding of the Aymara and European traditions.
“All these different pagan celebrations are connected to the Catholic calendar brought by the colonists,” she explains. “It’s all about costumes and dances and big bands.”
“For me every July 16 in Chile, it was inevitable that I’d go to the desert,” recalls Bernal. “It was an hour and a half drive, and you could hear the drums from miles away – even before you could see the lights from the town. There would be 16 marching bands with huge bass drums and tubas playing their songs.”
“It’s that pagan musical religious manifestation that always gets my heart beating,” says Bernal. “It’s connected to my roots and the northern Chilean sound. These people are in the middle of nowhere, yet faithful to their culture.”
An the beat continues to be an inspiration. While she’s building a successful career in New York as a jazz singer, for Bernal, it’s important to stay in touch with her Chilean roots. Bernal travels back to Chile to perform and also offers music clinics for the next generation. She notes there are not a lot of musical role models around to take on this sort of endeavor.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to give back to my culture,” notes Bernal. “I can only think of a handful of musicians from Chile making a music career.”
Bernal also hopes that when she comes to the Parrish this Friday, members of the East End’s Latin American community will be in the audience as well.
“I find hilarious at jazz clubs in New York when I’m throwing in Brazilian and Argentinian influences, I have more attention from the people in the kitchen,” she laughs. “They hear the rhythm of the drums and that I’m playing their music — a few faces will be popping out at the kitchen window. It’s their music and it’s what’s becoming international today.”
“World tapestries include these Latin American folk tunes they grew up with and their parents listened to,” she adds. “I’m not reinventing the wheel here – I’m still playing Nat King Cole and songs Carmen Miranda was singing. But you have to give it your own twist.”
The Natalia Bernal Quartet includes guitarist Jason Ennis, drummer Conor Meehan and bass player Steve Whipple. Tickets to the concert at the Parrish Art Museum (25 Job’s Lane, Southampton) are $15 ($12 for members). The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 21, 2011 and will be preceded by a reception. Tickets may be purchased online at parrishart.org or at the door. Bernal’s most recent Andean inspired CD is titled “La Voz de Tres” (The Voice of Three) which she recorded with Mike Eckroth and Jason Ennis.
Above: Natalie Bernal performing.
