Nubya Garcia On Identity, Accessibility And Independence

By Tina Edwards I Aug. 11, 2020

Saxophonist Nubya Garcia—who recently issued *Source* (Concord Jazz), her debut as a bandleader—often is referred to affectionately as the “queen” or “empress” by British broadcasters, journalists and fans.
(Photo: Adama Jalloh)

With your When We Are EP from a few years ago, you began using electronics and performing at less traditional jazz spots. Have you continued to explore that path or is Source the beginning of something new?

I’ve spent the last couple years listening to loads of different music: traditional jazz, a lot of produced music and electronic music. When Kwes and I were producing Source, we used a lot of effects. I think the beauty of doing it live is that it’s going to be different. I love using pedals and Ableton. I’m not a big fan of that sort of stuff on stage, but if I could find the hardware, then all systems go.

We obviously had a whole mad year planned, which was going to be pushing the perceived notions of where jazz should be played. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I think the smaller venues and the grassroots places are really going to suffer. I hope that we can hang on to and support venues—not just the big ones that have funding.

Maybe this will change in the future, but I’ve really enjoyed playing for people who aren’t confined to a chair. But some “standing only” venues are still very behind on accessibility—there’s work to do there. I’m quite aware of it when you walk into a building and it’s like, “Oh, you’ve only got stairs”—although it’s often a money thing. Where possible, going forward, I’d like to aim for places that are accessible to everyone. That includes financially as well.

Source is being released on Concord Jazz. Was signing to them a hard decision to make?

There were a lot of conversations and offers before people even heard the music; it was insane. I’m really blessed.

Concord was the right fit. I really vibe with what they’re doing and I love what they did with Esperanza Spalding. The future holds many things: Maybe I’ll go back to being independent at some point. But I think it’s a really exciting time to have that kind of push behind me. I realized that while making an album, you don’t have to do everything. If you want to push yourself to the maximum, then you need a team to do all the other things, because they’re at the top of their field. If you want to be the best that you can be, then you can’t be your own manager or tour manager. Mailing records takes time, figuring out a strategy takes time. Really, what I’ve chosen, is to put all of my time back into being a musician.

Right, admin and strategy isn’t what attracted you to making music.

Yeah, I think it’s important to know how to do it, because now, I can have conversations with labels. I’m very specific about what I desire—and why. You’re more empowered, if you know what the fuck you want.

Your album’s going to reach current fans and—potentially—new ones. So, what would you love for your new fans to know about you and your music?

Come with an open mind. I think people listen to music with expectations; that’s just a fact of life. But when you have a record that goes to so many different places, all you can hope is that people are open to listening to all of those different styles. I hope they enjoy the music. That’s the main thing. DB