Jazz journalist, author and radio show host Sammy Stein filed two comprehensive reports last summer on musical activities in the face of the covid-19 lockdowns of in-person activity in the UK, where she’s based.
Following publication of this this posting, Stein has volunteered and been approved to serve as JJANews International Editor.Among her other credits, Stein is the author ofWomen in Jazz: The Women, The Legends & Their Fight, which was nominated for Best Book About Jazz of the Year in the 2020 JJA Jazz Awards.
“It is clear people want the venues there for when this is all over – whenever this may be,” she writes in “Lockdown Lowdown — What is Jazz Doing Now?” for the platform JazzViews.net, commenting on responses to imaginative fundraising efforts club such as The Vortex, Cafe Oto, and Iklectik art lab have instigated.
“There is also the opportunity to not just donate but also create. . . Artists themselves are not locking down at all – a look through feeds on Facebook or Twitter gives just an inkling of the people who are creating music and other events.” Besides a lengthy blog roll, Stein highlights the charity Help Musicians UK, the Global Music Foundation, and JJA member Debbie Burke’s reviews and interviews site.
In “Lockdown Lowdown Part 2,” Stein brings up Birmingham’s Jazzlines (Town Hall and Symphony Hall), the London based jazz organization Blow the Fuse, the Edinburgh Blues and Jazz Festival and her own “Jazz Unhinged’ program (co-hosted by Anthea Redmond), on JazzBites.com. Stein’s tone is confidently upbeat, pointing out silver linings.
“One of the great things about on line creative events is that you can see things which would normally be outside your locality such as events in London if you live in Scotland or vice versa,” she writes, “so whilst live music will always be best, people are getting a taste of what is out there. It doesn’t matter either if you are half a world away, you can still watch events in Sydney, London, Jamaica or wherever you like.
“You can also get to see award-winning musicians performing live or recorded recently and find out more about them and their music. There has never been a better time to get acquainted – or reacquainted with the music.”
