Am I correct that you were born in Argentina? What city and when was that?
Yes, Buenos Aires, 1973

I know you recently got your degree for the conservatory of music in Amsterdam. Is that initially what brought you to Amsterdam? Or was it something else?
I wanted to travel out of Argentina and to study and looking for that combination I ended up in Amsterdam. But for example at that time Cuba was also a possibility.

What ended up making you choose to go to Amsterdam in the Netherlands rather than Cuba?
It was a confluence of factors more than just one. But I think that the fact that I have EU passport made a huge difference, here I can work and stay, study and
travel. Who knows !?! May be I go to Cuba after all these years !!!!!

What is that keeps you in Amsterdam now?
I love free improvised music and Amsterdam is a great place for it, I love interdisciplinary work and that's also happening a lot here. I feel I have a nice group of people here, musicians, artists. I have found some people with whom I love to play and create. Amsterdam gives me a lot of possibilities in many senses.
But I don't take things for granted, I'm always re-thinking my self and where to be, I like to keep the chances open.

You recorded your first CD as the Celano-Baggiani Group Figuras in 2005 on BAU records (Buenos Aires Underground). Was this your first time in the recording studio?
No, but it was the 1st time that my work got released through a label.

Tell me how you started working with Guillermo Celano?
The 1st jam session that I played in Amsterdam was with him!!
He’s from Buenos Aires, we never met there but the connection here was strong.
From that time we jam a lot together. I admire him as musician and as a person.
I’m very glad to be working with him!

Your latest release Simple Songs you have saxophonist/clarinetist Michael Moore on a tracks. Had you worked with Michael on any other projects prior to this CD?
Around 3 years ago, I was gathering a laboratory on music, dance and light improvisation and we invited Michael to play. He has been involved in interdisciplinary improvisation for a long time already. Also around that time, we started with Guillermo to organize a jam session in order to play more often and to tryout our music. We invited Michael several times to play with us and through that process we came with the idea of making a recording with him. He was always willing to make music and he was also bringing his own music to the sessions. Working with Michael Moore is a privilege and a real pleasure. He is a lovely person and man of knowledge. I really love his playing.

How do you work together as a group to come up with the arrangements that you have on these recordings?
Guillermo and me jam a lot together with different musicians. The process of working out the material is very natural. Guillermo is a great composer and we like to create space for the music to happen. We try to play as much as we can the songs that will be record, so when the time of recording comes, we know what we want.

How you describe the differences between Figuras and Simple Songs?
Figuras is a “Figurative” album, the songs are describing landscapes, situations, feelings... It is a “nostalgic” CD, with a lot of references to our home town, our country and friends in Argentina. It is our first common ground, our roots. Also the sax player, the great Natalio Sued is from Argentina, so the reference is strong.
Simple Songs is the consequence of another process, and the name describes that process. We were getting together to jam and simple songs are what you bring to jam with people. And Michael has a simple and direct style and we share that.

Now, your brother Francisco has done the art for both releases hasn't he?
Yes!!! I love him.

And he lives in Argentina?
Yes, I miss him a lot, he’s one of those I hardly can stand to have so far away.

I am very interested in these long distance collaborations. I suppose it was very easy with the internet to send him the music so that he could get the feel of what you were doing musically. How important is it that any artistic collaboration be felt on a deeper level other than just liking each others work?
For me, my brother making the art was just a normal consequence of needing a cover. Before I came to Amsterdam, We were living together and watching his work was part of my life. He is also a music lover, He introduced me to Ornette Colleman for example. And he also plays music! He used to play “quena” and “siku” and more resently electric bass. We were jamming together! And working with him is a way to have him closer…

When we think about cover art for a CD or album typically we suppose that the art is somehow inspired by the music. What inspires you as a musician and songwriter?
I have to say that visual arts are a great inspiration for me, and I include dance on these fields. Also feelings and places are giving me a great imput. And sound… sound is just… amazing!!!

You have done a fair amount of improvisational work as well performing written works. It was fantastic to watch you perform with Steve Cohn and Michael Moore at the Mo(ve)ment Meets Musicians shows in Amsterdam, (September 07) How is improvisational work different for you from performing other music?
This is a interesting and deep matter. It is totally different and yet the same. At the end is music and so is sound and so is communication. But dealing with compositions requires a conscious presence that could be annoying if you are improvising. Let´s say that to get some freedom through structured music you need to know so well the structure that your body just follows it as a natural path.
I love to do both works! It gives me so much and kicks my as at the same time.

Is there different set of preparations you need to make when getting ready to improvise?
Totally, improvising for me is almost a religious situation. It is a sort of meditation and also a philosphical activity. So the preparation is more related to a mental state.

Is there a big difference to working with dancers as your main collaborators as compared to other musicians?
It depends on the artists (dancers or musicians) rather than on the discipline. But I love the way dancers are involved with their whole being into the art. Many musicians (many artists) think that this type of collaborations are a degradation of the “pure” arts. But for me is a total liberation, because when you work with other disciplines, the common ground is not a chord or a note or a style but the creative idea, the upper structure (or deeper, as you want to call it) The communication and meta-communication within the group and with the audience, the presence of ideas and spirits, etc.

During Mo(ve)ment Meets Musicians you also had the added dimension of live painting projected on the wall in the venue. How did that extra element add to the overall dialogue that took place during those performances?
I really loved it! It was a beautiful experience. Also a “coming truth” of a collaboration, because of my brother and my work with dancers, was sticking in my head for a while. For me it was not the live painting but the projection of it what really gave me work. I’m a “screen” man, a person who grew up watching TV too many hours a day; so a big screen with constant flow of information would suck my attention very easily. It is not the 1st time I work with screen on stage but it is the first time that the information is able to change, grow, die… let’s say, to be alive! But Tali was on stage also and that was giving the room for another connections with the painter. The presence of Benno on the space was also helping to change the focus. And off course these amazing musicians Steve Cohn and Michael Moore!!

What is next for you Marcos?
We are working on a new recording with Guillermo, also with Michael Moore and Sven Schuster but including a 5th musician, probably Gorka Benitez, a tenor sax from Barcelona. This will happen very soon. I keep on working on Trytone Fetival, making the program of the monthly events. I’m always around interdisciplinary improvisation, especially working with dancers. I’m doing collaborations with some great improvisors, playing here in Amsterdam and hopefully recording. I’m planning also to go for five or six month to Buenos Aires next year, to play there and to do an intense course of Alexander Technique. And I hope to be able to organize a tour of my band there. So, very busy, very busy… But happy!