Sarah Marie Hughes, Saxophone

SARAH MARIE HUGHES

Sarah Marie Hughes, Saxophone

by Biggi Vinkeloe

I met Sarah Hughes with Ephemera led by Amy Bormet at the first Women in Jazz Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. We talked about music, gender issues, and difficulties in the music business for women, and we played some original music together. We met in Washington DC, at the Washington Women in Jazz Festival, three years in a row. We performed together each time, harmonizing our saxophone voices. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Hughes for this publication.

Where were you the first time you heard music?

The first time I heard music was in the womb. My mother said that when she was pregnant with me, she would go to my father’s concerts. He is a jazz pianist. She felt me move in response to the music. I was recruited to sing in a play in first grade. Eight students played the parts of the bells, Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. I was Fa. I remember the music of Chick Corea and Bill Evans coming from my father’s office in the basement. It felt warm and lovely.

Do you compose? If so, how many songs have you composed and/or published?

I used to compose songs for a jazz trio or quartet, in my twenties. For larger ensembles, I created through composed structures that were the jumping point for free improvisation.

Do you have a music publishing company?

I don’t.

Are you aware of the challenges women face in the male-dominated field of music?

Each woman faces a different challenge, according to who they are, their family, and upbringing. The patriarchal family does a lot of damage to males and females. Women may have an inherent feeling of being dependent on males, or not up to dealing with tasks labeled ‘male’ in the home. This results in a lack of confidence, dealing with the business of the

music, or leading males on the bandstand.

Males include each other in the instrumental context, while accepting females as vocalists more than instrumentalists. They are at ease with one another and possess a societal reverence, fear, or even predatory behavior toward women. If a woman can play as good as a male, she is still not the one to get the call in a male-dominated group. If the woman gets the call, she might be the focus of sexual attention, or mutual or non-mutual affection from bandmates. Subliminally, this situation devalues her musicianship. Many male musicians have become selfaware, so, this situation may exist less and less as we are evolving. It’s hard to be treated as an equal because, historically, socializing between men and women has been complicated and contrived in a number of sexist and primitive ways.

What advice do you have for younger people entering the world of literature or music performance? Young people, especially, young women, should learn to keep business and pleasure separate. Male and female are so complicated, and those emotions do not belong on the bandstand. I made the mistake many times, and it damaged my identity and perception of my reputation and power. I should have been more

professional, instead of letting my personal relationships impact my performance. Falling in love is not a choice. To create deep and lasting friendships, you must assume that dating a colleague may alter your sense of freedom and professional boundaries. Some musical relationships are too priceless to be traumatized by dating issues.

Where were you born? How did that influence your personal path?

I was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and raised in Pasadena, Maryland. My mother immigrated from South Korea and my father is from the U.S.A. My father is a professional jazz pianist. He met my mother on tour with the Jazz Ambassadors. My mother studied Korean traditional dance and drumming, before she met my father. Obviously, my father’s career impacted me a lot in my choice to become a professional improvising musician in the jazz realm. But I have an interest in Korean traditions like pansori. The sound, feel, and poise of those performers influenced me a lot. When did you know that you wanted to be a musician? When did you get your first instrument? Do you still have it?

When I decided to play the saxophone at age nine, my father bought me a used Yamaha YAS23. It’s the horn I am playing, now. I wanted to be a professional musician when I was 11 years old. I flipped a few times, wanting to be a doctor or a fashion designer, but by 17, I was sure that music was my thing.

Sarah Marie Hughes, Saxaphone

Where did you study music? How much support did you get?

I attended the University of Maryland for Music education. I had a dual degree, since Music Ed majors completed performance requirements, too. I learned educational philosophy and how to play every instrument. I studied with an amazing classical saxophonist, Dale Underwood. I attended the New England Conservatory, where I studied with Jerry Bergonzi, Donny McCaslin, Ran Blake, and Anthony Coleman. Jerry opened up my jazz vocabulary, while Ran and Anthony developed my style and compositional approach. What was your first public performances?

My first time performing for the general public outside of school was at jazz jam sessions in Downtown DC. It was hard to get my horn out and be brave enough to play on tunes I was learning, but I my friends were encouraging and supportive. Eventually, it was fun to hang out and feel part of that community, although I judged myself harshly. When did you start to teach and why do you think it is important? What did you learn from teaching others?

I taught private lessons, in my last year of undergraduate school. After graduating, I taught band and strings in elementary schools. I learned about what life is like for people who have not dedicated themselves to music and who have a variety of interests and hobbies. They are less intense people, gentle people. I learned that I could share my passion for making art. I shared ways in which I discipline myself, and ideas about being intentional with my instrument.

How do you combine visual art and music?

I stepped away from making visual art part. On a practical level, it’s hard to do both music and visual art, seriously, because the world demands stricter boxes and identities that commit in order to meet the demands of capitalism. The more people saw me as a visual artist the less they thought of me as a musician. The two personalities have a hard time sharing space in this world. There is not enough time, space, or resources. Am I an Eye and an Ear person? Can I be great at both, or must I choose? I like doing all of it, but visual art is a private hobby, for now. I doodle to relax and daydream.

How did you learn to compose? Have you developed a composing style of your own?

I took composition classes at NEC with Ken Schaphorst and Ben Schwendener. Before those classes, I was just making it up on the fly. I love arts and crafts. But composing music is using my imagination and piecing things together. The classes at NEC were about standard practices. My composing style is intuitive, organic, and untraditional. Have things changed since the 1980s, before social media, and so many women playing at a professional level?

I don’t know if things have changed because I am only 36! But I can imagine that, as society creates more equality between the sexes, there must be an impact on the music scene. Social media is a burden but a great equalizer.

Instagram: @sarahmariehughes

http://www.sarahmariehughes.com

Photo by Efrain Ribeiro