By: Estefanía Romero
Cover photo’s original source: bobbykappjazz.com
Laké, an incredible jazz band from Querétaro was a headliner at the Festival Internacional de Jazz Armando Núñez (FIJAN) 2024. The members of this ensemble came to push the jazz boundaries with their different compositions, but they also gave us a hell of a big surprise when Bobby Kapp appeared on scene.
“I do things out of my madness, and they accept it. This band is marvelous: Laké. It isn’t boring, they make music! This festival is really good, people are treating me really nice”, he commented when I got close to interview him for Bop Spots.
Some people are good with languages, Bobby speaks jazz and pure poetry just through the sound of his singing and harmonica melodies. He is a drummer though, but he saved this skill until the next day when he played with Josh Evans.
Bobby is 82 years old; he tells he’s from New York and New Jersey. Now he lives in San Miguel de Allende, although he’s been all over Mexico, where he settled, thus creating an important impact on the new generations of Mexican musicians who have met him and wanted to be involved with jazz.
So… here it is, the nice conversation I had with this talented man…
Estefanía: Why is it that you’re playing jazz in Mexico?
Bobby: Why not! Haha!
E: What brought you here?
B: I’m very happy to be here in your culture and play for the people. I like that I can just be myself.
E: For how long you’ve been playing jazz in Mexico?
B: I don’t know. 30 years or so. Wow. I’ve been all over the country. When I started there was no internet and no cellphones, there wasn’t that much information, but now musicians in Mexico are being serious and getting really good because there is more information.
E: When you arrived in Mexico, who were the people you met? The people you got the chance to hang out with musically.
B: Olivia Revueltas, her father was a famous poet (José Revueltas). People like Tigre Sánchez, Chilo Morán, Tino Contreras. La vieja guardia (“the old guard”). But now is young people.
Olivia was playing a long time ago in a place called Le Chateau, in Colonia Roma Norte, in Mexico City. She was a pioneer.
B: What have you seen in this evolution of jazz during all these years?
E: I have to learn more, but I know that is life. The world is crazy so… maybe music is good medicine for everybody.
B: How did people get jazz 30 years ago in Mexico?
E: People got jazz because people would bring cassettes from the States. They were una joya (“a precious stone”). No YouTube, nothing like that, but they love the music. There were very few people caring for jazz because it wasn’t Mexican music. But it seems that everybody likes to improvise, that’s very good.