We recently connected with Miguel Tarin Torres and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Miguel , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The single biggest risk I have taken has been moving to Ohio from Mexico in 2017. I was born and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.I had just finished high school and the stars aligned so I could spend some time with my uncle in Stow, Ohio. The original plan was for me to get my Green card and then go back to Mexico to study music. Luckily, I brought my bass along and got in touch with Jack Schantz, who was the director of the Jazz Studies program at the University of Akron. We met briefly and I played a little for him. He offered me a scholarship so I decided to stay in Ohio and study music. It has been five years since then and many things have happened but if I had decided not to come to Ohio back in 2017 I would not have come across all the amazing musicians and people I have met. Next time you go on a trip, take your horn. You’ll never know if you might just stay there.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Miguel Tarin Torres. I am a 22 year old Bassist and Composer based in northeast Ohio. I started playing music professionally in 2015 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

I am an artist that shares and collaborates with others regardless of musical
genre.I am most inspired by the freedom, connection, and conversation that one can
have with another person.

My musical ideas mainly come from the experience of living in different
environments and daily life. As a Mexican immigrant, I am deeply influenced by
the culture where I was raised.

The music I write fuses elements from all of these genres. One of my
compositions “Summer Woods” draws inspiration from the warm texture of lo-fi
beats but gives it a unique twist with an unexpected time signature. Another
example is my newest composition, “Do You Ever Come Around Much?,” which borrows inspiration from
Afro-Cuban rhythms.

I have always felt attracted to music that relies heavily on groove. As a bassist it
has led my ears towards a variety of different genres such as funk, jazz, Afro-
Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, rock, and flamenco to name a few.

My primary goal is to create and converse in musical contexts that make both the audience and the musicians themselves connect with one another and explore musical creativity in the many shapes that it comes. Therefore, most of what I perform depends on intensely listening to the other musicians in the
ensemble so as to create authentic musical conversation.

– Miguel Tarin Torres

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have a couple of goals when it comes to music. I would like to lift my musical companions as well as the people listening to the music. To me, it is all about making everyone involved in the music feel something and get something from it. If I get to make a single person’s moment right then and there then my purpose as a musician in accomplished. I also have this idealistic vision in which there is a community of artists of all disciplines collaborating and producing better and better art for the people. In my eyes, art is a celebration or expression of life. If we all put our everything into our crafts and do it from a place of respect and empathy and a sense of community then the bar rises. The higher the bar, the better the product. If we all take a moment to help each other out and uplift your mates within the creative community that would do wonders for the art.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I really appreciate the genuine interactions that you get when you share music with another person. That feeling when you meet someone new at a gig and they share many of your musical ideas and aspirations is both inspiring and humbling. I am still very new within this realm of the arts but I am extremely grateful for all the places and the people that music has led me to.

Contact Info:

• Website: migueltarin.onuniverse.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miguel_plays_bass/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tarinplaysbass
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5XsmdG-3KUj6PAd4v20_9A
• Other: Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/miguel-tarin-torres

Image Credits
Ike Arrington, Lucas Rosenberger