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Ernesto Cervini Interview: Musical Background, Career Highlights, and New Record ‘Joy’

Jazz artist Ernesto Cervini speaks about his musical background, new record ‘Joy’ (TPR), and what he sees as the best moment of his career thus far.

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There’s joy in the air thanks to jazz artist Ernesto Cervini and his brand-new album. The JUNO Award-winning Cervini released his latest record, entitled Joy, last month, a collection of tracks inspired by Canadian author Louise Penny’s New York Times bestselling detective novels. More specifically, it’s Penny’s Gamache series that really spoke to Cervini, and the elements of goodness, decency, courage, and love are a significant part of their themes. He attempted to compose music that would capture the essence of the characters, relationships, and landscapes that Penny so cleverly used in her writings.

Joy is also significant for being the first Cervini album to feature vocals. Two of the songs feature Alex Samaras of the Canadian chamber pop ensemble Queer Songbook Orchestra, and another showcases the talents of Felicity Williams, JUNO Award winner Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Amy Cervini, who also co-produced the record. Cervini very skillfully entrenches you in the music, delivering surprises along the way, all the while satisfying you with his musical ingenuity and also keeping it a very accessible listening experience.

To get to know him a little better, we recently spoke to Cervini about his musical background, the new record Joy, and what he sees as the best moment of his career thus far.

For those not familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about your background and music?

Ernesto Cervini: “I grew up in a very musical family in Toronto. Both of my older sisters are musicians, and we all grew up with music as our primary focus. My oldest sister, Amy Cervini, played classical piano and classical/jazz saxophone and is now a jazz vocalist living in New York City (and sang on and co-produced my new album, Joy) and my sister Marisa Prince played classical piano and classical flute and is now an instrumental music teacher in the Toronto School Board.

“I studied classical/jazz piano and classical/jazz clarinet as well as jazz drums growing up, but I always knew my passion was with the drums. I did my undergrad at the University of Toronto for Jazz Performance, and I got my Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music (in NYC) in Jazz Performance.”

Your new disc, Joy, has just been released. Now that it is complete, how do you feel about it, and what has been the response so far?

“I’m so incredibly proud of this album. It was a bit of a leap for me, as the music is all based on a common theme (the wonderful mystery novels of Louise Penny) and features a variety of musicians, including vocalists, for the first time (for me.) The response to the album so far has been excellent! We’ve received many rave reviews from across the globe and have been getting lots of radio play as well. I couldn’t be happier!”

Ernesto Cervini, photo by r.r.Jones

What is your writing process like?

“Often, the most challenging part of writing is getting some sort of inspiration. I find that if that’s present, the writing part is pretty easy! For this album, because I had a strong idea of the inspiration for each piece, the writing part came pretty naturally. I write at the piano, and then try to bring the music to a band as soon as possible, so I can hear and feel it.”

What is the story behind the name of the new record?

Joy was inspired by the New York Times bestselling detective novels by Canadian author Louise Penny. Although they are murder mysteries, the books are about love, joy, community and human decency. That’s what shines through in these books, and I hope that comes through in the music. One of the first songs I composed for the album was ‘Surprised by Joy,’ and I felt like joy would be a great way to capture what music, and these books mean to me!”

Artwork for the album ‘Joy’ by Ernesto Cervini

What are some of the newer acts or musicians that you are listening to or enjoying?

The Smile! I absolutely LOVE their new album, A Light for Attracting Attention. Not jazz, but it’s so killing! I can’t wait to go see them at Massey Hall in November.”

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take three CDs with you for eternity, assuming there was a solar-powered CD player, what would they be?

“Ooof… three CDs, that’s so incredibly tough! I’ll give it a try, but I already regret my choices!

Frank SinatraLive at the Sands
RadioheadIn Rainbows
Bill EvansPortrait in Jazz
Dave Matthews BandCrash (sorry… I’m smuggling a fourth).”

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

“It would have to be winning the 2020 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year. It was a funny situation, as we were in the middle of the pandemic. In fact, we were going to be flying to Saskatoon on the day that the JUNOs were cancelled, and everything shut down. The JUNOs were postponed for three months and were presented online on my daughter’s fourth birthday, June 29th, 2020. My wife suggested we get dressed up to watch the awards, and unbeknownst to me, she invited my sister and two brothers-in-law to join us. They all showed up in dresses and tuxedoes, and we had a big old party, including a red carpet! It was really exciting.”

When recording Joy, did anything strange, wonderful or terrible occur?

“The recording of this album was a little surreal, as it happened just as things were opening up and becoming somewhat comfortable in September of 2021. Everybody was masked whenever not playing, but it was so, so, so nice to be in a room with people making music again! That was so wonderful!

“Not wonderful? My car wouldn’t start after I unloaded my gear, and I had to call a tow truck… Stressful! Thank God I had a great producer (my sister) who kept everything moving while I dealt with that.”

Ernesto Cervini, photo by Sarah Simone Abacka

Do you use the same gear when recording as you do when playing live? If yes, what and why? If not, then why not?

“Not usually… I have a gig drum set that lives in its cases, and is ready to be loaded in my car. My drum hardware for that kit lives in my trunk. The drum set I record with is set up in my music studio/office at my house, and I practice and record on this kit. It just makes for less setting up and tearing down… less of a schlepp!”

What are some of the lesser-known fun facts about yourself that people need to hear?

“I was once a celebrity judge at the Etobicoke Rib Fest. It was amazing… one of the highlights of my career, for sure!”

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