- When she was a child, she was always singing. Sometimes her mother even had to say: “Could you please stop singing?” Stefanie Hoevel is a professional musician since 1989. She sings and plays piano – together with the jazz-trio in Frankfurt. She loves to play what she feels. Her style is similar to Diana Krall’s way of performing. But of course, she has her own style.
- Is it possible to make an interview-portrait in 40 minutes? I can say – yes, if one takes some time before, and then – some time after. First time I met Stefanie Hoevel in Frankfurt in 2003. I arrived at the house, full of friends – she was the first one I met and talked to that evening. Our first contact was very nice – she was shiny, open, friendly and strong in a harmonious way. She did not sing that day. But that evening I got a CD from her as a present. We kept in touch for a long time past – but mostly through the long distance. It is really true – as the old tag has it – that people, who think the same, meet sooner or later. Here I have to say, that from my early childhood I was surrounded by musicians. They were neighbours, friends, teachers.. Later – boyfriends and colleagues. Eight years I spent in the musical school by the musical conservatory – I was playing piano and studying a musical theory. My whole youth was looking like a “long-train” of jazz-rock-pop- concerts. But here I have to stop.. This all is not about me. Just to show, that the portrait is drawing by the “proper” hand. Traditional German “Cultural Night” in September, 2014 I was going to spend with my friends – it was kind of privatе party, and a jazz-band was invited. I came into the hall… and saw Stefanie coming to meet me. She was shiny, beautiful, joyful. If one visited jazz-events and enjoyed them, one knows what it is about. Do you know how to dance off one’s head? That’s happened with me that night.
For the interview Stefanie invited me to her apartment in Frankfurt. That evening brought me not only the interview, but also a small home-concert. So, lets have a look and listen to it here – together.
Audio-interview: https://soundcloud.com/oraayer/interview-stefanie-hoevel
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Stefanie Hoevel in qoutes:
“I play piano and sing. I have my own style, and I really love to play what I feel. When I play at the private parties – I can сhoose from 400-500 songs, and I always look how old are the people – I will pick something from the age they were young – between 20 and 30. Then I always do my own version – because – that is what I can do best. When I give concerts, I make my own program. Right now since about one year – it calls “My favorite songs”.
“I am a good piano player and I am a good singer. This is already a quality. People like very much, when they hear me singing, they are very happy. And I developed myself – just happened over the years – that I can open up to space in a special way. When I sit at the piano, and I sing, I just open up, it is like I can switch into space”.
“I would like to play all over the world… and really travel the world. It is a wish, it will happen at some time. I see myself as Diana Krall – travelling around with a quartet, or quintette, sextette – whatever – and I could also imagine singing with the big band, I‘ve done it and it is a lot of fun. I would like to go on a tour, and may be I start here in Germany, and then go all over Europe. My musicians – they would go with me immediately, they are very good”…
“My drummer wrote me a Christmas-wish – he said: “I wish you happiness, and health, and thank you for all the great concerts – we had the good time together”.. I was really touched – because nо musician ever wrote something like that to me. And then he said – “May be next year we go get famous”.. It was like wow! – may be..”
“Right now we are having so different types of music, and it’s changed a lot. The beginning of the century – around 2000 – it was a little bit boring, but in the last 10 years a lot of different styles came up, and nowadays you can do whatever you like. Уou can do really great funk music, do like all time soul music – like Amy Winehous , or you can do even 80th stuff pop like Depeche Mode. Now even jazz is in a style again, Diana Krall, this is really like from the 50th , and Robbie Williams does a big band jazz and even Lady Gaga performs it. So you can do whatever you like, and it is all modern, right now”.
“From the one hand – we have a “form “- we have a song – a-a-b-b.. a-b-a.. and we do the form, and then.. we break it up! We break the form, but we do something. Musicians – they still know the form – and can come back to the form at any time. Its like when solo comes to the end – then musicians feel it: now it is ending – so, at some point we start again at the same time. Or somebody gives the sign an then – we know – OK, 1, 2, 3 – and we are back. So we can really play with music, we are very free, and this is super”.
Portrait of a Musician 