April 11– In part 1 of my long post from AustralianJazz.net I hailed guitarist John McLaughlin for making Is That So, his new release with Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain free to all, a gesture towards fighting the virus during our pause in social gatherings.
Here’s how many other musicians have quickly followed his model.
Saxophonist and keeper of the spiritual jazz flame Nat Birchall, from Manchester, UK, offered his spectacular 2016 album Creation for free through a Facebook post saying, “In light of these dark times I thought I would make a tiny gesture and make my darkest album, Creation, available for free download.
“It’s quite dark but I believe it has uplifting qualities all the same. I wrote the music and we recorded it at a time when the world was getting darker and it got me thinking about where all this darkness came from.
“Was it there from the beginning, or did it arise somewhere along the way? Was there love in the universe at the beginning or did it arise at some time? Either way, I firmly believe the only way to fight darkness or evil is with positivity, with beauty.”
Here in Australia, our friend – and brilliant pianist – ade ishs offers his full discography for free, in the same spirit. “My thoughts are with those who are disadvantaged and having difficulties fulfilling basic necessities, as well as those struggling financially, mentally and physically, including those who have their income cut off because of the outbreak,” ade says. “In times like this, let us support each other and give to others what we can give.”
Another Aussie legend, folk-jazz artist Ben Salter also stepped up to offer a live recording of his performance at the Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine – featuring Dr. Bridget Lewis on cello and Julien Wilson on sax – for free; a day later he released yet another album, Summer of the Loud Birds.
Yes, he is prolific – which also helps make a couple other points:
There is so much music out there that all of us who rely on it for our emotional stability can feel safe. We’re never going to run out. Apart from the millions of recordings in the vaults – most of them just a push-of-the-play-button-on-a-streaming-service away – there is an abundance of music created right this moment, music that is not necessarily written to cope with the global self-isolation situation, but that is de facto doing it.
Some of this music is created in front of our very eyes – in the dozens of live-streaming performances and zoom video collaborations already taking place every day.
This is the Isolation Improvisation Collective, a new venture by Lachlan Thompson, Patrick Telfer, Gordon Li, Isha Ram Das, Theo Carbo, Sophie Weston and Monica Lim.
Here’s another observation – as the planet is facing an unprecedented global crisis, as the global economy is already in tatters, people are fearing for the future, for their lives, their health, their jobs. Trying to understand, they make comparisons with the Spanish Flu and the Great Depression; but there’s a difference.
Back then, we did not have the tools we have today; back then, we could not instantly communicate with each other. There was no Telehealth during the Spanish Flu, there were no virtual classrooms during the Great Depression, no video chat, no WFH, no opportunity to work online. Things are different now; this is not to say ‘easier’ nor that we know the shape our communities will take, after all this is over.
Case in point – arguably the most widely used online tool these days is Zoom. Corporations use it to manage work meetings; teachers and therapists use it to deliver lessons and sessions online; musicians use it to play together.
Look at this group of living legends — Steve Grant on cornet, Jono Brown on the trombone, Flora Carbo on sax, Jon Delaney and Ben Kahans on guitar, Kym Purling on piano, Sebastien Girardot on bass, Phill Jenkins on tuba and Danny McKenna on the drums — playing “Mama Inez” together.
This gem was recorded from March 27 to 31 in Melbourne, Adelaide, Paris and Vung Tao. This is what a jam session in lockdown looks – and sounds – like.
Yes, COVID-19 has deprived us from our beloved jazz clubs, but live performances keep happening. When the Arts Centre announced its closure – three weeks ago – the Melbourne Sympony Orchestra still performed Rimsky – Korsakov’s Scheherazade as planned, in front of empty seats, but beamed live into our living room. This was of course, when a gathering of fewer than 100 people in a room was still allowed.
In the days that followed, other organizations have followed this example.
The Jazz Music Institute in Bowen Hills has been streaming its JMI-Live weekly gigs for a while now, and it has not stopped these past couple of weeks; starting with a fantastic performance by Jess Spina and the Will Sargisson Trio, the JMI Live sessions – every Thursday at 8pm – are the closest we have to a jazz club.
While these gigs are streaming for free, JMI still pays the musicians who perform to the empty club.
“We are feeling very thankful for modern technology and our ability to continue spreading jazz and our love for music during this crazy time,” reads its statement.
Over in Sydney, SIMA (Sydney Improvised Music Association) is doing something similar, holding its program online, under the title “A Meditation in Jazz” every Friday. Back in Melbourne, the Make it Up Club has been presenting weekly curated experimental, improvised and avant-garde music and sound happenings since 1998. Now it has moved to presenting online concerts of mind-blowing music.
It’s not only organizations; it’s also individuals. Every Sunday afternoon, the brilliant Nat Bartch is hosting her own series of concerts, featuring guests such as guitarist Robbie Melville.
What is really interesting is that these ‘Soothing Sundays’ not only quickly found an audience, but this audience is willing to offer donations to the performers, setting an example of a successful business model that would make live-streaming gigs viable for artists.
Which brings us to the newest of these ventures, the Jazz Social, a virtual ‘jazz club’ bringing together three artists per week live-streaming from their homes. Viewer spots are limited and access to the gig is by donation – like what happens at an actual jazz club. Next week the Jazz Social features Julien Wilson, Kristin Berardi and James Sherlock. We’ll be there.
This is the new normal. We will get used to it. And we will prevail. As long as there’s music.
