Who in their right mind leaves the glorious, sunny weather of Johannesburg and heads to New York City in the middle of winter? Well I and several Jazz crazy humans from around the world did just that last week.
4everJazz was thrilled to be invited to the Jazz Congress 2020 which took place on January 13th – 14th at the Jazz at the Lincoln Center. Organised by Jazz at Lincoln Center and JazzTimes, the Jazz Congress bring together artists, media and industry leaders in the global jazz community to exchange ideas in order to nurture and grow the jazz community. This happens through a series of workshops, panels and networking opportunities, all geared to expanding the audience for jazz, a goal which is at the core of what we do at 4everJazz. Attendees include presenters, artists, managers, agents, journalists, radio programmers and other jazz professionals.
The Jazz Congress event happens during NYC Winter JazzFest, the city’s most talked about jazz event that took place from January 8th – 18th this year. So you can imagine the heavenly feeling of being in the company of jazz artists and practitioners one admires and is a big fan of.
Arriving on the Friday, we hit the ground running by catching a performance, just in time of “Spiritual Sounds and The Jazz Age”, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis featuring two of its most acclaimed originals: Victor Goines’ Untamed Elegance and Chris Crenshaw’s God’s Trombones, at Jazz at the Lincoln Center. I got to interview Chris Crenshaw the following day for my radio show “The Urban Jazz Experience” on MetroFM, (Watch out for the podcasts coming soon). By the way, we love the orchestra for immortalising the South African Jazz Song book with their performances around the world.
Soon after that, my friend and companion for the evening Jerry Mpufane, South African Tourism Hub Head for USA and Canada, got into the famous Dizzy’s Club and caught a performance by Soulful vocalist Brianna Thomas and her band, whose performance was a review of their new album “Everybody knows”. We stayed on for the next show which featured the awesome vocalist Charles Turner with pianist Sean Mason, bassist Noah Jackson, drummer Henry Conerway III, brilliant trombonist Jeffery Miller, and alto saxophonist Christopher McBride. By 1:00 am local time, my jetlag couldn’t handle it and I called it a night.
Day 2 was a marathon and an exciting day of exploring the NYC Winter JazzFest. Daytime was filled with work, recording artist interviews and exploring Manhattan’s bustling lifestyle clad in the warmest clothes I could fit in my luggage. Walking in NYC is quite a thing, no wonder songs are written about it. The Winter JazzFest had 20 events over 11 days, with 150 performances spread over 11 venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. We were clearly spoilt for choice, only limited by distance and time. With some of the acts one wants to see billed at the same time, it was a tough choice. My most anticipated show was our very own Nduduzo Makhathini’s premier show, as Blue Notes first South African signed artist. He had the room spellbound performing songs with his wife and musical partner Omagugu Makhathini from his upcoming album, “Modes of Communication – Letters from the Underworlds”. He sure made a mark as a string of people wanted a moment with him after the performance. It was also great seeing some of Africa’s artists based in New York come and see him perform, including Aaron Rimbui.
Other performances of the night that I enjoyed was saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, presenting “Pursuance” The Music of the Coltranes. She sure had more of a Miles Davis attitude and look for her show. This is where I looked to my left and pleasantly found myself standing next to bassist Ben Williams, who I had last seen at the Blue Note at Sea in 2019. He has a new album coming out in February ” I Am A Man”. I also got to see part of a show by an almost Stacy Kent-look and sound alike Kat Edmonson. Next up was Terrace Martin‘s Grey Matter show, immediately followed by the always hilarious Robert Glasper‘s Electric Trio, which Terrace joined. Day 3 Sunday was mostly rest and more interviews recorded for the radio show as the Jazz Congress was to begin the next day.
The two days of the Jazz Congress were the most insightful and educational jazz experience as the panel discussions I managed to attend were of real importance to me and the work I do for jazz. Kaisha Johnson co-founder of “Women of Color in the Arts“ did a fantastic job facilitating a session about Women in JazzTown Hall – building equity, inclusion, trust and respect across the jazz community. I was impressed by the added contribution by men in this plenary session also providing solutions. The incredible quote that came out of this discussion was “Women don’t need jazz, jazz needs women” as well as “Until women become decision makers, nothing will change”.
I also got to sit in discussions about ‘Jazz vocalists and their unique approach to singing and leading a group’ with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling and Sheila Jordan on the panel, facilitated by the versatile instrumentalist Camille Thurman. Dee Dee Bridgewater suggested vocalists should start thinking like a composer. I joined a workshop on ‘Building & Nurturing your Jazz Ecosystem’ where I shared how our “Jazz Clubs” in our townships, under the South African Jazz Appreciators Association (SAJAA), have over the years played a key role in supporting a healthy jazz ecosystem and building a vibrant jazz community around the country.
As you can expect a panel discussion titled “Jazz Radio’s role in an era of music abundance” would be of great interest to me. Top jazz radio executives shared their strategies and actions of tight programming, expansion into digital and how radio remains important to music discovery and artist development.
Brenda Sisane, Meklit Hadero and Somi
The hightlight of the panel discussions was the topic that was important for the African continent. “Africa: The Past & Future of Jazz”. The fact that the much loved singer Somi of (Salon Africana) was facilitating this discussion was exciting already. Together with Nduduzo Makhathini, Meklit Hadero of (The Nile Project/Yerba Buena Center for the Arts) and our very own Brenda Sisane of KayaFM (who is the organiser for International Jazz day hosted by Cape Town in 2020), all shared their views on the continents past and future contributions to jazz as well as addressing the growing cultural exchange across the continents. Nduduzo Makhathini’s presence in NYC being a prime example of the hunger and appreciation to hear different jazz sounds and language from Africa. I so wish there was support of projects of this nature from our arts and culture department, as it would be invaluable for our legacy and culture marketing.
With so much going on and being discussed during the Jazz Conference, I needed to remember to record interviews with various artists I encountered including trumpeter Sean Jones, Saxophonist & Singer Braxton Cook, Singer Aimée Allen, Radio host Simon Rentner, Kenyan pianist Aaron Rimbui, Vocal & Bass Duo Acute Inflections, Drummer Kassa Overall, not forgetting Nduduzo Makhathini on his Blue Note label and NYC experience.
Do check out the recorded, streamed panel discussions of the Jazz Congress on the Jazz at Lincoln Center facebook account, all are very interesting.
There is so much more to tell about my week in NYC but so little time. I certainly would do what it takes to have this experience again next year, even though winter is not my favourite season. Seton Hawkins, thank you for the invitation. My first New York jazz trip was certainly the greatest way to kick off 2020 immersed in jazz culture & lifestyle. #HappyPlace
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