Deciding to become a bass trombonist in current times requires talent, courage and passion. Maxine Troglauer, who was born in Wiesbaden in 1995 and now lives in Berlin. After completing a two-year master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with bass trombone legend David Taylor in 2021, she found a variety of engagements such as with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, ECM pianist Florian Weber and the HR Big Band.
Her debut album Hymn is out on Berlin label Fun In The Church. An album that not only moves effortlessly between past decades and genres, but also freely between entire centuries. The compositions and playing instructions range from baroque to classical to modern jazz, to the avant-garde of our time and back again. As a special guest: the legendary jazz trumpeter Peter Evans. Together with double bassist Robert Lucaciu and drummer Wouter K¸hne, they create moments of great density and intensity. Julius Windisch expands the sound spectrum with his expressive piano playing, which often turns into dynamic sound experiments.
FACTS
1: I’m a nerd.
2: I get a kick out of simple things: smell of fresh cut grass, a perfect fifth, fresh butter on fresh bread, holding long notes for 30 min.
3: It is very hard to divide between what you do and who you are. Or is that maybe just my issue?
QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
I started as a classical trombonist, playing trombone quartet and symphony orchestra, so this symphonic, grand, sometimes overwhelming sound will never leave my head and heart. From there, life brought me to bigband music, which can be grand and overwhelming in a very different way, but was my introduction to jazz and improvisation and is an influence I am extremely grateful for. After that, I developed a fascination for contemporary sounds, whether it was different tonal concepts, just intonation, instrument preparations, conceptual composition or interdisciplinary projects. At this point of my life, the combination from all of them feels like a big, flavorful one-pot recipe that you come up with on a Sunday night with left-overs in your fridge that might not win a michelin star but definitely satisfies the cravings.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I visited the “open-door” day of my local music school at the age of 6 and was somehow fascinated by the trombone and started a few months later. Ever since I didn’t put that instrument down but the real identification as a musician came way later, probably only during my studies. Interestingly, the identification as a creating musician (as opposed to a reproducing musicians, as I see a lot of the classical business now) came only about 3-4 years ago when I was tired of the little repertoire and the limited functions you could have as a basstrombonist. So even within 24 years of playing the trombone, there have been many steps of exploring my instrument from a new perspective and identifying myself more and more with and through it.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Cécile McLorin Salvant – Ghost Song Gerry Mulligan quartet – What is there to say Ambrose Akinmusire – Beauty is enough Florian Weber – imaginary Cycle James Blake – Assume Form
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Home, noise, belonging, culture, food, feeling anonymous when you want but known when you need it, harsh dialect, people are different as soon the sun is out.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
My living room when the sun shines through the windows and life is buzzing outside. Otherwise probably the parks, the lakes, my friends places.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Be a doctor. Maybe? As I said, hard to divide between who I am and what I do at this point :)
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listen?
Cécile McLorin Salvant “Ghost Song” over and OVER again!
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Cécile McLorin Salvant (I sound a bit obsessed, don’t I?)
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
For me, there is a best gig almost every year or every couple of years, because as I am getting further, naturally things grow and perspective changes, so how could a compare a gig that I played as a 15 year old, that felt incredible at the time with a gig recently that also felt incredible? It’s like a photograph, it only shows the very moment in which it was taken and a gig is just the same – it is a real time proof of where and who you are on that day. So luckily, I played a few really special gigs over the years that make up my personal collection. As a spectator, the last very special gig was probably Bill Frisell at XJazz Festival Berlin. Speechless! All you can do is go home and sit quietly somewhere and process what pure musicality, interaction and joy of playing you just witnessed. Definitely a life goal of mine to be able to transport that from the stage.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
I’d almost say luckily not really at all and I’m saying luckily because I am a little bit afraid of the almost endless options and possibilities that technology can give you in the creative process. I like having the natural limits of my instrument or the instruments I am writing for and working through ideas how still be innovative in an “analog” sound world that relies on the abilities and personalities of my fellow musicians.
11. Please tell us more about the creation/development of your new album “Hymn”?
It is mostly an act of emancipation from my background as a “reproductive” classical music, that limited me to a certain repertoire and identity. I wanted to proof myself (and I guess others..), that I have enough creative power to write music for a whole album, featuring my long time musical hero and huge inspiration, trumpeter Peter Evans. It still is a huge honor, that he was willing to be part of this debut endeavor, even though not ever having played with anyone of us and being extremely busy with his own projects. Actually, the whole band came together for the first time in the studio, so it was extremely important to me to work together with musicians that I already have a connection with and know they will get me, no matter my state of mind. It really is a huge difference if you work with friends and can let yourself go and trust the process and outcome because of their support, musicality and professionalism. Before writing the pieces, I had a clear structure and arch of the album in mind, going from solo basstrombone to a full quintet and back, with specific sonic ideas – for example the prepared piano sound as the percussive element in “Perpetuum Mobile” or a bowed, high-register double bass that sounds like a hybrid cello in the duo pieces. I wanted to explore the different small formations that can be formed within a quintet, creating spaces for each instrument and their players to reach their full “analogue” potential (as I said, no technology for me…) and get the full attention of the listener. Naturally, the only full quintet piece became the pinnacle, and I knew the title “Hymn” before I even wrote the first note, just knowing the different sections and overall mood it should depict. After creating the skeleton of the album, it was fairly easy to fill in the dots and ultimately trust the fantastic musicians on the album to bring the ideas to life.
