Take Five With Maria Faust

Meet Maria Faust:

I was born in 1979 at the island of Saaremaa, Estonia.

Instrument(s):

Saxophone.

Teachers and/or influences? My influences are coming mostly from the classical music and big band music. I have many favorite musicians and they all have been inspiring me.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I saw a man playing piano.

Your sound and approach to music: Music should be honest and not perfect because we are not perfect. It should be tasteful but not boring. I like contrasts and also humor in music.

Your dream band:

I don't have any dream about building a band. The band is like a child—you cannot have an ideal, perfect child, you cannot control it but you can give some advice and directions. Even then, you cannot be sure that it will follow you. That's the whole beauty about playing and breathing together.

Favorite venue:

The jazz festival in Tallinn is amazing. They are really good at spoiling musicians.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why? I.

The first Jazz album I bought was: Women in Jazz: Billie Holiday

CDs you are listening to now: Evan Parker, The Topography of the Lungs.

Desert Island picks: Miles Davis/Gil Evans, Sketches of Spain;

Evan Parker/Derek Bailey, The London Concert;

Sonic Youth, Dirty;

St.Petersburg String Quartet, Shostakovitch Quartet No. 15;

Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a: biologist.