We talked with Jitka Šuranská about a new album full of music, where she is the bandleader, but as she points out herself, she is only one of three equal elements. The Jitka Šuranská Trio consists of her, cross-genre mandolinist Martin Krajíček and multi-instrumentalist (educated jazz bassist) Marian Friedl. The three musicians started the debut tour of the first album Divé husy symbolically on 1 October at the Goose Festival in Boskovice, two day later they launched it in the Stará Pekárna Club in Brno. Until mid-October, they will be touring clubs, cinemas and libraries in Náchod, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Zlín and České Budějovice. Although the trio mentions folk songs as their inspiration, their author's coat is made of many musical styles, yet it is harmonious and interesting. And Jitka's own musician's path is important and inspirational for the final outcome.
You grew up in a place where it was impossible to avoid folk music. How did the environment impact your perception of music in childhood?
I come from Kudlovice near Uherské Hradiště. It is a small town but rich in folklore activities. From childhood, I was a member of the Jatelinka ensemble where I later played in my first (still children's) dulcimer band under the guidance of Tomáš Drábek. Then I danced in the Lúčka group. A little later, I came to an important decision: whether I wanted to dance and sing in an ensemble or whether I wanted to perform in a proper adult dulcimer band. Finally, I decided, as most people do, based on my feelings and replaced dancing in Lúčka for the post of a violinist in the Stanislav Gabriel Dulcimer Band.
How old were you when you were actually deciding about your future?
I was fifteen. I think that working with exclusively male music gave me a lot, at least it enriched my vocabulary and my overall social skills (laughs). Anyway, the ten years with the Stanislav Gabriel Dulcimer Band were very important for my musical development as well as for my fixation in the musical style of our region.
In order for a musician to enter the field of renowned music such as the Gabriel Band, they must already know very skilled violinists. Where did you learn to play?
I went to the children's art school in Uherské Hradiště to take classes with Pavel Štulír (second violin in the famous Jaroslav Čech Dulcimer Band, Ed.) who is an important figure in the education of young folk musicians in our region. But back then, he did not accept girls in his dulcimer band, which was part of the children's art school, so I was only able to play in the chamber orchestra. However, I was already dreaming about playing in a dulcimer band. Finally, it intertwined with my personal life: I fell in love with the bandleader Stanislav Gabriel and eventually I told him that in addition to signing I wanted to play with the band.
What did the band members say since it had only been men until then?
Surprisingly, they made an exception and accepted me in the band. However, I do not want it to sound like I earned my position only through my personal relationship. Stanislav did not show me any favouritism. He put me harshly all the way in the back in the last violin position and said that I would be learning. Then I played the third violin position, which I think is most difficult to search for the third voice in the band. I gradually worked my way up to him all the way to the front. But Stanislav, as the bandmaster, had authority and always strictly separated personal life from the band's life, which was not always easy for me. But I am very grateful to him for this "training" to this day.
It is almost obligatory for a talented person in the Moravian Slovakia to have music or singing as a hobby but choosing the profession of a musician is a hard decision for one’s whole life. Isn’t fifteen a bit early?
I must say that even when I started the conservatory, it was not completely clear to me. The first time I heard a live performance of a symphony orchestra was in Brno – the local philharmonic orchestra. Of course, I fell in love with classical music but choosing music as a profession was a decision made with my heart. One is actually prepared inside, they feel that they want to do music for the rest of their life. But what it takes, what the life will be like, what is paid for what, how much travel it takes, constant preparation, discipline - a musician only finds out when it is happening to them. But at that moment, they love music so much that it is too late to take back the fateful decision.
So you headed to the conservatory after finishing school. What was next?
I graduated from the conservatory in Brno but I was no superior interpreter, I failed all university admission exams. But I did not give up: for a year, I taught at the children's art school in Uherské Hradiště and travelled to prepare with my future professor Zdeněk Gola to Ostrava. It was a crucial life encounter for me. With his help, I was accepted by the Institute for Art Studies (now the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ostrava, Ed.) and under his guidance I gained, in addition to the interpretive skills, confidence and love for the violin. It was because of him that I was finally assured that the violin and music are my life's journey.
Currently, there are occasional debates over the necessity of formal training for musicians playing folk music of their regions. What is your opinion?
I think it is very beneficial for any musician to try to learn as many musical styles as possible. If you play classical music and you are taught to interpret the prescribed parts, you will learn a different approach than when you stand among musicians in a band, playing by ear and feeling and trying to be part of the band. Music is just one and a good musician can change like a chameleon. It is difficult but for me it is very rewarding.
A wider musical audience than folklorists noticed you as one half of the duo Hudecká úderka in 2005 when the acclaimed album Písňobraní came out.
This album was fateful for me in a way: Until then, I had been part of a big band and I was a bit worried about playing in a pair. But Jiří Plocek assured me that we can handle it in two people and that it would be fine. I did not completely believe him; I was quite afraid. In retrospect, I believe he was absolutely right that two people are also a band. When Jiří and I can play together these days, I always realise how much joy it brings me.
At that time, Jiří Plocek had just finished with Teagrass and you were still firmly anchored in the Stanislav Gabriel Dulcimer Band. How did the guys from the band handle your "wild idea"?
Inevitably, there were conflicts, especially when it came to scheduling. Stanislav still saw me only as their full-time violinist and singer and I had to choose in case of scheduling conflicts. Internally, I felt that the meeting with Jiří Plocek was giving me the opportunity to open new horizons, and I favoured him. So I officially quit the Stanislav Gabriel Dulcimer Band – which does not mean, however, that we parted on bad terms, on the contrary, we still play, sing, party together from time to time...
That fateful choice, however, did concern only amateur music. Back then, you were already working in the Zlín Philharmonic Orchestra...
Yes, I have been a member of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín since 2003 and I greatly appreciate it. It is always a great advantage for a musician to have a solid background and security. In addition to playing excellently, our orchestra has amazing interpersonal relationships. I can play part-time and I can consult the concert programme of today's trio in advance with the head of our instrument group to make it work and still suit both sides.
For your second (and first solo) album Nězachoď slunečko in 2013 you invited the Slovak and Moldovan jazz PaCoRa Trio consisting of the violin, dulcimer and contrabass. Why did you choose them?
We were introduced by none other than Jiří Plocek. I met Stanko Palúch in Teagrass for about four concerts but our musical friendship endured. I knew that if I wanted a producer for my first solo album, I want him. Then I heard the complete PaCoRa play, invited them to work on a few songs with me and this resulted in the entire album. When you meet someone, who brings you closer to another musical genre like they did, it is a huge mutual enrichment. In our case, it was their precise technical jazz with improvisation and my rather intuitive feminine approach. When it is put together, it is really strong.
Unlike on Písňobraní, on the album Nězachoď slunečko you seemed more confident, more distinct and authentic in singing and playing. How come?
It is perhaps due to the fact that I started to musically perform for myself, as Jitka Šuranská. Finally, I understood who I was in music. On Písňobraní, I was still led by hand, Jiří was the visionary, he put together the Hudecká úderka and it was his album. The album Nězachoď slunečko was my idea from beginning to end. I made the concept, invited musicians to the studio, found sponsors and decided that it would be this way.
It was another turning point – to clarify where I want to go and who I need for it.
Yes, for the first time – albeit forced by circumstances – I was independent and performed for myself. The developments in the past two years represent the fulfilment of a dream: to be a bandleader in my own band. That is another reason why this year's album is already the joint product of the entire band. My two bandmates, Marian Friedl and Martin Krajíček, are very capable and willing to not just be guests on my album, but they are on my team, as a band.
I would like to briefly mention your solo performances that preceded the JŠ Trio and that you sometimes go back to. Can a folk musician use a loop station and remain a fiddler?
It is definitely one of the ways how to stand alone on stage while creating a live band. I gradually layer instruments in several loops on top of each other, they I play them as background or accompaniment, and I can create solo-music, live out the text, and offer a story to people. A loop station is common in many other genres; it is not common in folk music. As far as know, I am the first and probably still the only one. I do not, however, want to use a variety of modern technology that is available, no effects – I still want to maintain the sound of fiddler music. To keep it as close as possible to the way a musician had played and sang in a pub for people back in the day.
The Jitka Šuranská Trio consists of three musicians with experience from different musical genres. Where did their paths intersect?
I am a very intuitive person and I look for my bandmates similarly. We knew each other with Martin by sight, I listened to CDs by the KK Band and noticed how Martin's mandolin makes me cry every time, how I find it beautiful. So I called him one day and drove to Boskovice to meet him and try if we could work together. It worked the very first time. We agreed that we could use a bassist; Marian was by coincidence recommended by Emil Formánek, a guitarist in Druhá tráva. A band can be born this way too. So with Marian the band gained not only a contrabass but also a small Beskydy dulcimer and a range of flutes and whistles. Moreover, he is great at singing and arranging. Some things just happen by themselves – and this is also the case of our trio.
A musical understanding, mutual admiration of the three of you breathed at me from your new album Divé husy the very first time. Was there an immediate harmony or did it develop gradually?
Initially, it was rather difficult for me to talk about our trio because I was not able to describe what was happening. The guys had never met before, for the first time we all three met at the music studio in Frenštát and it worked very well from the first song. We have played together a little over two years and we are becoming friends.
Unlike the last album, there are no guest musicians, the three of you arrange and play everything yourselves. Is it a perfectly collective work then?
Everyone brings their strengths. I represent that utterly feminine principle: this is about sadness, guys, make me sadness! They write it and we gradually put it together. Or Marian, our amazing arranger, brings a song that is ready, built, and we then just fix the little things together. And it is my role to make sure that the emotions stay in the song that should always be there. We should always know what we sing about, what we communicate. For us, it is important for the song to keep its story.
Why did you name your first joint album Divé husy (in English: Wild Geese)?
Marian Friedl wrote this song. It is about looking at the sky, at a flock of wild geese flying off into the distance. It is a song about desire, which we all have inside, about our dreams that we carry. And on our CD we say: Look, dream and make your dreams come true!
