Meet Alonso De La Fuente

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alonso De La Fuente. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alonso below.

Alonso, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I’d say two things. One on the side of me that appreciates creativity in its abundance, and the other on the side of me that acknowledges its elusiveness.

First: I think it’s really easy for me, because I love the music that I do. I love all the wonderful musicians who came before us. I can’t help but enjoy the music of say Louis Armstrong or George Gershwin, and draw energy from that.

The other side comes from a kind of rejection I’ve cultivated toward being dependent on vague concepts like creativity to work. It just doesn’t work in all fields of music making, at least not for me. If I have a deadline or work to do, I can’t rely on creativity or inspiration to be at its peak; I just need to be able to do. So on that side of the coin, I don’t try at all to keep creativity alive, because I should be able to operate regardless.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Alonso De la Fuente, originally from Santiago, Chile. I’m a guitarist and composer specializing in traditional jazz and early American popular from the 1920s and 30s. I discovered this music a bit later in my journey, after first studying more modern forms of jazz, and it completely shifted my perspective. It’s still hard for me to fully describe it, but there’s something raw and human about early jazz, and I think that’s something most musicians can feel right away. For the general public, its collective nature is so direct that you can’t help but smile when you hear it. After all, it’s dance oriented music.

Back in Chile, I started a band called the Santiago Royal Jazz Band with my friends Enzo Medel and José Tomás Puga, which really helped me grow as a performer. Eventually, I was lucky enough to come to the U.S. as a student, not only to deepen my skills as a composer and arranger, but most of all to be close to one of the most important traditional jazz scenes in the world.

Even though jazz spread quickly across the globe, I like to think the echoes of what happened in early 20th-century cities like New York, Chicago, and New Orleans still linger. I’ve been living in NYC for three years now, and after spending the rest of my life way down yonder in Chile, it’s been amazing to feel those echoes; to learn directly from the people and places that keep this music alive, and to try and be part of the community that surrounds it.

Right now, I’m focused on gaining as much experience as I can performing, and on expanding my portfolio of recordings. I recently released a double single entitled Deep Night / Take Your Tomorrow, which is my humble attempt to replicate an early 1900s 78 rpm double sided record release. Another release in that same format is on the works. you can find my music on Bandcamp: https://alonsodelafuente.bandcamp.com/

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The most important areas of knowledge, and the ones I think I’d have something to say about, are also the ones that gave me the most trouble. These are things I’ve had to train in order to somehow rewire my head and improve my way of working. One of them is what I call “do, do, do,” which is basically my mantra to stop thinking and just do.

It’s a funny way of practicing something my composition teacher, Ed Neumeister, said to me repeatedly about how to “get in the zone.” The idea is to become efficient in our craft without depending on the sometimes evasive inspiration; to let go of thinking and just do. I like that I turned it into a silly phrase that forcefully switches between my chronic perfectionist thoughts to a more playful and detached way of working. In the end, this has led to a bit more writing, and as a result, made me a better writer.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think both approaches are essential, as long as both are actively happening. It’s easy to get stuck in the mindset of needing to “be fully prepared” before stepping out. But the truth is, you learn the most by doing; by putting yourself in real situations, staying curious, and being part of a community. That’s when your strengths naturally shine, and at the same time, your weaker areas become clearer and more specific, which makes your practice much more focused.

Personally, the times when I’ve had the most gigs and growth were overlapping with the times I was out the most! going to shows, jamming, and talking to people. That’s where you discover what works and what doesn’t, where you find out what needs work. So I’d say: don’t focus too much on just one side, The balance is what keeps the momentum going.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @adelafuentemusic https://www.instagram.com/adelafuentemusic/
• Other: bandcamp: https://alonsodelafuente.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits

Domenica Bernetti