Improvisation and the voice of the individual

Last weekend I spent two days before the Muenster Jazz Festival at a seminar learning about improvisation. One of the most fascinating sessions was about improvisation in the nineteen century. Composers such as Beethoven and Liszt were leading exponents and writers like Czerny explained how it was possible to "extemporise". Certainly it went hand in hand with the rise of the Romantic individual and was as much a means of expression as poetry or art. Especially helped by the improvements in the piano. (Much easier to appreciate and develop than two hours of wailing oboe improvisation!)
It's a skill that was lost during the 20th century as classical musicians concentrated more on technique and interpretation. Improvisation was frowned upon, except perhaps by organists. Until jazz came along to save it. Hence one partly sees, in my view, why jazz musicians have been at the forefront in highlighting human rights and so on. (Weren't Max Roach and Nina Simone two of the leaders propounding civil rights in the 60s?)
By the way. Thinking further on the matter, there is one further element of jazz which has developed in Western culture which wasn't around in the 19th century - the concept of improvisation within a group context. So we end up with a melding of approaches from western and eastern cultures.

The cost of recordings - the sad news about New Note

It'll take time for New Note going into liquidation to hit home. It means short-term unavailability of many albums, into those few shops still around. But also lost revenue to many musician-led labels, such as Clark Tracey's Tentoten, Andrew Cleyndert's Trio, 33, Dave Stapleton's new Edition label, etc. etc. The list goes on. New Note was (is) the biggest.

Even the attempts to salvage the wreckage by Proper will not bring the lost money back. The last time there was a collapse was Mactwo. I think that the demise of Caber and the dormancy of Dune and Provocateur have to be related to this.

On the one hand, jazz is vulnerable, because even a few thousand pounds out of the system affects a permanently cash-starved sector. My optimism for music watchers is that the musicians and labels will react fast with solutions that the rest of the world could adapt to. It's very resilient in that regard. After all, wasn't the era of the Jazz Age also that of the 30s Depression?

I think that the need to build on loyalty and commitment, of fans as much as musicians, are key. It's a great "community".

Digital is one route. Another is to look for new means of direct action

The Vortex's initial response is to start a monthly music muarket from 22 Feb - in the afternoon. A chance for fans to buy direct and for labels to set out their wares at minimal cost. If it works, then we want to expand into the Square! (For more information about taking a stall contact stephanie@vortexjazz.co.uk.) This will be one of many experiments by many involved solve the problem, I'm sure. Bringing the music to the fans is certainly one way.

New Babel releases for 2009

The following have been confirmed for early 2009. Not too many, but great all the same.
Big Air - Chris Batchelor, Steve Buckley, Oren Marshall, Myra Melford, Jim Black. Already selected as a CD of the year by Jazz on 3!
Zed-U. Shabaka Hutchings, Neal Charles, Tom Skinner. They were in the studio at the weekend and the album will be ready for April.
Amit Chaudhuri - author and musician, known more for his writing and commentaries but also able to move easily between and raag, jazz and blues.
More soon on the Babel web site.

The recession. Should jazz be worried?

It's strange that, over recent months, I have moved from being a big pessimist to a degree of optimism for jazz. I think - and hope - that jazz is well placed to weather the stormy recession clouds and storms. The Financial Times should be regarded as being printed on blood, and not pink, coloured paper!
Nevertheless, at the Vortex it's possibly the best December since the club reopened in Dalston, and the programme for 2009 looks really promising. My little shop is beginning to work out, as I now have an array of music available, both directly related to the club and also by many others, e.g. from elsewhere in Europe. Of course, that only happens because my requirements, financially, are relatively modest. I still haven't, though, got enough to justify paying someone when I'm not around! (So, when I was in Amsterdam at the Dutch Jazz Meeting at the weekend, I probably missed sales at the Acoustic Ladyland gig etc.)
Jazz has quality and value to it. It may seem trivial at a time of boom where there are quick bucks to be made elsewhere. But during the recession, it has a longevity that people will look towards.
There are problems, of course. The bankruptcy of distributor Pinnacle and Brecon Jazz Festival, the problems of Zavvi (via EUK), show that we are not immune. A lot of jazz musicians will suffer in terms of a few hundred pounds here and even perhaps a few thousand. This is concerning. But their commitment and flexibility will hopefully see many of them through.
Larger events, reliant on subsidy and grant, are also vulnerable. I have heard some worrying stories about private sponsors of festivals, as well as seeing how foundations and companies are cutting back. Not because of their respect of liking of the music. Just because of the exigencies that the recession brings.
The strength of the music is its ability to be flexible and look for the opportunities. Those who grew in the hope that the boom years would help out and continue are likely to be those who suffer most and have to adapt most.
I keep my fingers crossed.

And now the good news....?

It's been a perverse year at Babel. When the economy was doing well, it was a drag on our activities having to sort out some of our payments to musicians. Now that the recession has hit good and proper, things are moving in a positive direction, for reasons that I can't yet fathom.
Portico Quartet's CD has continued to sell and sell, and it was a delight to see them at a sold-out ICA on Wednesday, confident and with some exciting new material and effects. It's probably Babel's best selling CD of all time by now!
The Vortex's piano has now been paid off, thanks to an individual act of generosity. With a further substantial donation by another "friend" to come, it means that almost certainly the club can weather the recession.
Finally, at a time when the retail music sector is in meltdown (more on the Pinnacle/New Note/Cadiz story unfolding soon), I have opened a Babel shop at the Vortex! Between the Nigerian travel agent and Somali qat seller. More a jazz deli than a supermarket, I feel that it's time to go back to basics and directness.
I have many CDs of the young jazz generation who perform regularly at the Vortex. Blink, John Randall, Amit Chaudhuri to name a few who are otherwise unavailable.
Why the (relative) optimism? My first thought is that at a time of recession like this, jazz is no longer peripheral. Quality and value are two important elements that spring to mind. It's music that can repay constant revisiting. Yet costs the same or less than other entertainments around. (My local cinema is more expensive than a usual Vortex gig.)