Artistry in music is a mysterious concept, one that often confuses musicians themselves. Trying to define it feels a lot like trying to define beauty—it is always entirely in the eye of the beholder. Because of this, I prefer to focus only on what artistry means to me. To me, an artist is simply someone who can deeply move me through their chosen medium. For instance, an actor who makes me shiver as he swims through a freezing Alaskan river is a true artist—especially when I am watching his performance from the comfort of an 85-degree room. Similarly, a painted landscape, barely suggested through patches of color that make me daydream about a crisp autumn afternoon from the youth of my yesteryears, is also the work of an artist.
But when it comes to music, we are talking about a direct line to my inner core, to the very fabric of who I am. My musical sensitivity was shaped during my teenage years, and nearly everything I listen to today stems from the tracks I loved in high school. Of course, my horizons have expanded since then. I have discovered countless new bands, unearthed hidden gems from familiar musicians, and branched out into entirely new genres. I didn’t know Mozart’s piano concertos back then, for example, but they are a staple for me now. My taste in Rock and Jazz has also evolved, reshaped by the syncopated rhythms of New Orleans music—a style I only stumbled upon five years ago. My classical choices have grown to include composers like Rachmaninoff and Schumann; I knew their names as a child, but I had never taken the time to truly explore their work. I have even embraced vibrant global styles like zouk, diving into the catalog of bands like Kassav.
Today, with the world’s music right at my fingertips, I can delve into something entirely new every single week, from Japanese pop bands to the latest sounds coming out of Ethiopia. Beauty is everywhere, making this lifelong musical quest priceless. Yet, through all of this exploration, the core definition of artistry remains exactly the same: it is simply someone or something that manages to move me. I think that is the ultimate way to approach music, whether you listen to it, or you play it.
