Sam Bardfeld – Violinist extraordinaire

“a marvelously gifted, violinist, composer and arranger,” The NYTimes

Sam plays the violin beautifully, period, and it does not matter what type of music his playing ….

Salsa-101: ‘What type of music do you prefer to play’ ?

Sam: Like Charlie Mingus used to say “There’s two kind of music in the world, There’s good music and there’s bad music”

Sam is also the author of a very special book titled “Latin Violin’ Special to me and countless others because it’s the only book of its kind, a deep understanding of the violin within latin music.

When asked why publish such a book as this, the answer was simply “because there was none.”

Sam, born and raised in New York City’s upper west side, began studying the violin at the tender age of five. He heard lots of latin music growing up. At first Sam wanted to learn and play the drums. His parents of course objected the idea. He abandoned formal music training at fourteen to play music with his friends and recorded with The Connotations on CBGBs Records.

Sam: “All I wanted to do was hang out and play music with my friends”

Salsa-101: Do you regret this decision ?

Sam: Of course I do. But I also believe that the path you take determines who you are both for positive and the negative. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today if I had not taken the path that I took.

Sam learned and played different styles of music while growing up, such as Blues, rock, Cajun, and Jazz. Today Sam’s musical taste is wide and varied, but he considers himself mostly a jazz musician.

As a child, Sam listened to many different types of music and was also very interested in world music. Always borrowing music from the Lincoln Center Music library.

Sam: I practiced (especially improvisation) but also did a lot of listening as well.

Sam got involved with a New Wave Band after high school. During his High School years he was heavily into improvisation.

My mother  played the flute and the piano. She stayed home to raise me and did not go back to work until I was eight. She played the piano while and I played the violin. Music was an intricate part of our home environment while growing up.

Growing up in the Upper West Side, Latin music was always around.

Salsa-101: “Dirme con quien too andas y te diré quien tu eres” Roughly translates to “Tell me who you’re hanging out with and I’ll tell you who you are”

He always managed to surround himself with others of same interest.

Sam grew up near Lincoln towers close to Lincoln Center. Sam was surrounded by music while growing him. By growing up where he did he was able to absorb a lot of music. Thanks to his parents.

Sam left NYC to attend Wesleyan University in (CT). In 1986 he graduated with honors, studying improvisation with saxophonist Bill Barron, in addition to studies in anthropology and history. In 1991 he received a fifth year Ford Foundation Academic Associates grant to study ethnomusicology at Wesleyan.

In college Sam studied Social Science along with music, he had thoughts of becoming a lawyer or maybe a phycologist. At 26 he realized he was not motivated to enough to persue these careers. He was not sure which path was the right one for him to choose in life. Once he did decide which path to take, he became motivated with intention and determination. The choice was music and this decision prompted lots of practice and more playing.

At the age of twenty-six Sam quits his day job and dives into the life of a freelance musician. This meant digging in and dedicating more time to the violin. Others would not even consider this type dedication. Many musicians have failed to grasp the fact that they are the product and as such should do everything they can to expand, enhance and promote such product. What better way than preparing yourself properly.

Early gigs included a week with alt-rock legend John Cale in Vienna, work with John Zorn, a weekly residency at the Louisiana Community Bar and Grill playing Cajun and zydeco music with The Gotham Playboys which led to recording folk music with Bruce Springsteen, a night with avant-jazz icons The String Trio of New York and collaborations with saxophonist Michael Attias and percussionists Ehran Elisha and Kevin Norton. Sam is still a member of Bruce Springsteen’s Sessions Band.

Salsa-101: Special thanks should be given to Rob Thomas, violinist for Johnny Almendra’s first Charanga band… Rob Thomas was instrumental in bringing Sam to Johnny attention.

Sam: Charanga is great music especially when it’s done right. The violin’s role in CHARANGA music is very ecstatic and elegant. The violinist  plays the melody and maybe gets the opportunity to improvise. When your playing  MONTUNO you have to lock in with everybody else and it’s all about locking in. A musician coming from a traditional classical background, the first reaction might be “Why the hell am I doing this” ? This the most boring thing I’ve ever had to do. Repeating a four bar phrase over and over again for 5 minutes!

But the thing is to DO IT RIGHT and it’s not an easy thing to do. And to do it you have to develop the skill to be able to listen to five, six or seven different voices(timbalero, conga, piano, bass, cow bell.etc . etc ) at the same time. Plus understand how they interlock.

Salsa-101: Sam a dedicated and passionate musician and great author.

Salsa-101 give thanks to Sam for the time shared with us, the book he authored and the music he’s played and will continue to play for years to come.