German Modern Blues/Jazz Guitarist Jochen Seiterle

Guitarist Jochen Seiterle explores new boundaries in jazz and other musical styles. Joe Barth JGT interview.

Looking up from the Neckar River, one sees the majestic castle of Heidelberg, Germany.  In addition to the grand castle, the historic bridge, and Schwetzingen Palace there is a vibrant music scene that includes guitarist Jochen Seiterle.  Jochen’s approach is a modern exploration of new boundaries in jazz and other musical styles.  Also steeped in traditional blues, he is looking to take music to a place where it hasn’t been before.

JB:  Talk about when you started to play guitar and what inspired you to play jazz guitar.

 JS:  I started when I was twelve because I wanted to become a finger picker AND a rock star, cause all my friends and I were fans of the rock group Kiss. Later when I was sixteen, I also became a fan of Queen, Deep Purple, and Cream. Then when I was playing in my high school big band, I discovered Pat Metheny’s Bright Size Life and John Scofield’s Shinola. 

 JB:  Talk about the things you appreciated most about your musical studies in Germany.

JS:  I studied musicology and jazz guitar but didn‘t finish them. Musicology opened up my mind to all kinds of music, from the Ars Nova of the Renaissance Period to the contemporary composer Bela Bartok and everything in between.  

 JB:  To you, what are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums and why? 

 JS:  Metheny’s Bright Size Life because it changed the sound of jazz guitar.  The Wes Montgomery’s Smoking at the Half Note, cause Wes Montgomery’s playing is beyond perfection.  Then Jim Hall with Bill Evans, both records, Undercurrent and also Intermodulation. Jim and Bill achieve perfect musical interplay!

JB:  Tell us about your goals in making your album Blind Date with Love with William Cody Maher?

JS:  I wanted to combine music with poems and literature.  We both tried to find something, that we couldn’t find in our own disciplines.  With music telling stories with real words and in reading musical parameters like phrasing and rhythm. One writer said of this “It is simply the authenticity of the two artists William Cody Maher and Jochen Seiterle. Or maybe the way Maher delivers his spoken text in a Jazz-like manner bringing it to life. Or the nuanced interaction between the two artists? In the end, it doesn’t matter. It works!”

JB:  You have performed and recorded with guitarist John Stowell.  Talk about John’s impact on your playing.

 JS:  He is definitely my “Yoda Zen Master,” his chords, his scale choices, his complete absence of vanity, only serving the music.  When he comps for you, it’s like heaven! I could go on and on.  

 JB:  What do you appreciate most about the Fender guitar and the other guitars you play?  

JS:   I‘m not a big guitar nerd, when I play Strat or Tele or traditional archtop jazz guitar, or flamenco jazz, I want from each guitar its special stylistic classic sounds. At the moment, I working with a midi-guitar, where you can choose multiple sounds like a keyboard player, very inspiring!  For example, I find I play very differently when I have a wind instrument-type sound.

JB:  You live in Heidelberg, Germany, as a gigging musician, talk about the jazz scenes in that area.

JS:  There is a vivid scene here because of the Jazz University in Mannheim, near Heidelberg.   There are lots of young, new players as well as older ones who have been playing professionally. A good healthy mixture. There are some clubs, but the money we musicians make could be much better! 

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