"The Giving Mindset" with violinist Nora Germain -

The Babblery

"The Giving Mindset" with violinist Nora Germain

00:00 / 59:50

Jazz violinist Nora Germain has been playing her instrument for 30 years, yet she describes herself as a beginner. Attracted to improvisational music from a young age, Nora knew that she wouldn’t follow her family’s classical music tradition. With no plan other than to leave home, she became the first jazz violinist trained at the top boarding school for performing arts, Idyllwild, then the first violinist to graduate from University of Southern California with a degree in jazz.

In this emotional and engaging interview, Nora speaks of her drive to achieve in an industry shaken to the core by new technology. Without a traditional agent or label, she uses social media as her public relations firm. She talks about the importance of mentorship and collaboration between musicians, including her longtime collaboration with American roots musician Jon Batiste. And she explores the way her difficult childhood, coming to terms with her parents’ alcoholism, and the early deaths of teen friends, influences her drive and her mindset.

Listen in for a fun tour through the unusual world of a woman unafraid to break new ground within an old tradition.

Platform listeners: Visit https://babblery.com for the full show notes.
Prefer video? Watch the uncut interview on YouTube.

“Swing is a very particular type of rhythm, and I love it so much because it’s a rhythm, it’s a feeling, it’s a lifestyle, but really it can’t be written down. People have tried to write swing so that orchestras can do it… It doesn’t work. It’s something that a person has to feel.”

Jazz violinist and author Nora Germain has been playing the violin for 30 years and performing professionally since 2010. She is currently based in Los Angeles. She has performed and/ or recorded with many of the world’s greatest musical talents including Jon Batiste on his Grammy-winning album “Big Money,” Postmodern Jukebox, Sam Smith, Lewis Capaldi, Tommy Emmanuel CGP, John Altman, Jacob Collier, Martin Taylor MBE, JMSN, KNOWER, Jeff Goldblum, Dee Dee Bridgewater and many others. In addition to playing on over 150 recordings of many genres, she has also released 13 of her own jazz albums, an inspirational book, and her videos on Instagram have been viewed over 5 million times. She has appeared on episodes of The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Ellen DeGeneres Show accompanying other artists, and performed at the Eckhart Tolle Foundation, for the Gates Foundation, and as a musical volunteer for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. A musician of many facets who is only at the beginning of her career, Nora has been praised as the best jazz violinist in the world. The sky is clearly not the limit for Miss Germain. www.noragermain.com