The Impact of Jazz on American Communities

Stephen Brisley

Fellowship April 1st – May 13

th 2011

Introduction

I discovered jazz music at the age of 18, courtesy of my music tutor Nik Preston. He showed

me that jazz is the one of the most, if not the most, advanced genres of music. To study jazz, one

must go through a process that requires many hours both of tutoring, planning and - most

importantly - practice. I started, as do most jazz musicians, by learning jazz standards. I went through

the same process I do now - systematically, week on week, learning the melody, root movement,

chord tones and extensions of tunes, through twelve keys, around the cycle of fourths. There is no

argument against this process; if a musician is to learn jazz, he or she must use this method.

Through learning these standards, I quickly discovered just how advanced jazz music is. I

noticed that the standards most musicians would find easy to learn were much more advanced

harmonically and melodically than most contemporary music I had studied prior to this.

As I become more knowledgeable of the genre, I started to learn solos performed by the

musicians I was listening to. I learned many solos from Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’ album, more from

John Coltrane’s ‘Blue Trane’ CD and then I purchased the “Charlie Parker Omnibook” (a book with a

huge amount of transcribed Charlie Parker vocabulary) which is invaluable to any musician, as the

vocabulary in this book teaches a musician on any instrument how to link chords with many different

concepts at varying tempos.

I must acknowledge that without going through and continuing to go through this process, I

would not be the musician I am today; however, one day I realised that everybody goes through the

same process I am going through - learning the same songs and the same solos played by the same

musicians we all listen to.

After posing the question to Nik, my music tutor, about how I could get away from this

trend, he replied, “You can’t. You need to learn the fundamentals of jazz music before you can learn

to expand on what you have learnt.” I then asked, “So why do the best musicians sound so different

to the ones I study now?” to which he replied, “They started earlier”. This is when I realised why

New York has the best jazz scene on the planet. I realised that the best musicians move to this city of

opportunities from all over the country, ready to play with the best musicians in the world, because

they started going through the process earlier than their peers.

This is the reason that I decided to apply for a grant through the Winston Churchill Memorial

trust. I wanted to see exactly what exists in America that both encourages and allows musicians to

play jazz music from a very young age, and what opportunities exist for these musicians. I then

decided that I wanted to look further - to see exactly how the jazz scene is currently formed in

America, how the best musicians in the world work together to continue to create new sounds and

musical concepts and how this differs in different cities.

Background

In having made the decision to apply for a grant through the Winston Churchill Memorial

Trust, I thought very carefully about what I wanted to get out of the trip, and how to prioritise these

options.

The key aspects of the jazz scene in America I wanted to research were as follows:

What allows jazz musicians to play a high level of music from such a young age?

What opportunities are provided for musicians to further develop their sound and how do

they utilise these opportunities to expand on their original ideas and create new genres of

music?

What key factors exist that allow American cities to continue to develop the best jazz

musicians in the world and allow these musicians to perform on a daily basis?

How does this impact mainstream culture in the USA?

After prioritising these points, I came to a decision very quickly on which cities I would visit,

and it soon became clear how long I would need to spend in each city to make the most out of the

trip.

I decided to start the trip in NYC - renowned as the world’s best jazz scene ever since

working class Americans moved up from the south to escape the segregation that existed in the

south of the USA during the early 1900s - and in doing so, improving their opportunities for work. I

decided to spend two weeks in New York to give myself a chance to discover which areas of the city

host the best spots, and also to get to know musicians throughout all demographics and work out

how they earn a living, and what their impact is on their local communities. I then found out that

during the month of April a festival called PIFA was taking place in Philadelphia. I had no idea how

good the jazz scene was in Philadelphia but I was aware that many world class musicians came from

this city, and I quickly came to the conclusion that as the city is only a 2 hour bus ride from NYC I

would visit for 4 full days to find what opportunities exist within a smaller American city.

My next decision was, in hindsight, the wrong decision. I decided that I wanted to spend

time in a very large American city, which is not renowned for jazz but where jazz is known to be well

promoted which is why I decided to visit Chicago. I made the decision to visit Chicago for 10 days

which proved to be a blessing and a curse.

I had no hesitation in making the decision to go to New Orleans for 3 reasons, being:

1. The New Orleans Jazz Festival was taking place whilst I was in the city

2. New Orleans has had a reputation for being the home of jazz since the early 1900’s

3. To see the impact of Hurricane Katrina on both the city and the music scene, to find out how

it affected the scene and how the people of New Orleans have created a new scene from the

aftermath

I decided I would spend just under 2 weeks in New Orleans to experience the jazz festival,

the scene within the heart of the city and to spend time with the people of the city. This was the

best decision I made in my planning for the trip as New Orleans proved to be the most inspiring city I

have ever visited for a vast amount of reasons.

Finalised Itinerary

Friday 1st April Depart London Heathrow, arrive in Newark Airport, NYC. Stay on Columbus

Circle for 4 nights

Tuesday 5th April Relocate to Harlem NYC, for 9 nights

Thursday 14th April Bus from NYC to Philadelphia. Stay on Bank Street for 5 nights.

Tuesday 19th April Fly from Philadelphia International Airport to O’Hare Airport, Chicago. Stay

on East Congress Parkway for 10 nights

Friday 29th April Fly from O’Hare Airport, Chicago to Louis Armstrong International, New

Orleans. Stay on South Lopez Street for 11 nights.

Tuesday 10th May Fly from Louis Armstrong International, New Orleans to Newark Airport,

NYC. Stay on West 20th St for three nights.

Friday 13th May Depart Newark Airport, NYC to London Heathrow.

New York

Of all the cities I visited, I would say that New York and Chicago proved to be the most

difficult cities for which to organize an itinerary - for two separate reasons. Chicago was difficult

because of the scale of the city; New York was difficult because of the fact that the majority of the

people in this city are struggling to get by, and the majority will not converse with you unless they

can get something in return. Being a 20 year old musician, just out of university, it was a struggle to

convince these people that I had something to offer them, and I struggled to get a lot of interviews;

however, there were many exceptions.

In visiting New York, my plan was to focus on two main areas: to immerse myself in the best

music scene in the world and find out as much as I could about this scene, and to find young

musicians who were trying to make a name for themselves in the city. I was surprised to find that my

predictions were in fact the opposite of what actually happened: young musicians struggling to make

a start in the city seemed to have no time for me, and the best musicians in the world were more

than willing to talk and share their views on the scene, which proved to be invaluable to the trip.

However, this meant I had to work out a way to fill my days. During the evenings I was attending gigs

and jam nights and interviewing the worlds’ best musicians; however, during the days (where I

thought I would be attending educational establishments and rehearsals), I was spending all my

hours trying to work out where the musicians went in the day - the findings of which proved to be

very interesting.

For my first few days in the city, having been denied interview after interview and several

rehearsal attendances, I had no other option than to literally walk the streets of the city for hours on

end to try and find jazz music. I did not have to look far. The first time I ventured out into the city, I

went down to the local subway station on 59th St and was instantly faced with a sextet playing both

standards and original tunes. I was shocked; having been so disappointed at nearly all my proposals

for interviews falling through, I was instantly face to face with world class musicians. I sat in the

subway station for 2 hours and watched these musicians play a set of music that I would have

happily have paid £15 to see at home. After the set, I caught the subway with a couple of musicians,

pretending to be heading the same way and managed to conduct my first interview, with a

saxophone player who had been blowing in a subway for a living.

As I got to know him a bit more, I came to realise that this white musician came from a

middle class upbringing in New York and was formally trained in Julliard, New York, world renowned

for producing some of the best musicians in the world. I was fascinated to work out why this

saxophone player was forced to make a living by playing in subway stations for no more than a few

meals worth of takings. He told me that he played this spot quite often but that his band also played

more established spots in the city and were starting to build a reputation for themselves so when I

posed the question, “So why do you play in a subway station several times a week?” he replied “I’ll

earn as much money here as anywhere else,” which was a new concept to me. It made me realise

both the standard of musicianship within the city I was in, and how people in New York are not

afraid to earn a living by any means possible.

After having asked where I could find out more about this side of the city, I was told to walk

through Central Park and I would hear jazz in the air - which is what I did.

Within literally 5 minutes of walking through the park, I heard the first saxophone player

blowing the sound of jazz into NYC. I stopped for a short amount of time and was surprised by just

how generous people were in giving this performer money - he seemed to have had a very good

day’s work. After having walked through the park some more, stopping for an hour to watch some

students play as a quartet and again being generously rewarded for their efforts by the viewing

public, I came across a man with a saxophone in his hand, having an argument with someone who

seemed to be putting on a performance down the walkway. She was complaining that he was

playing too loudly, too close to her spot. As soon as she left, he picked up his case, walked much

closer to the performers’ area and started playing louder than the other musicians I had seen in the

park. I watched this man play very loose, generic bebop licks, playing at various tempos whenever he

decided to, and seemingly making up the chord progressions and key centres as he went along. In all

honesty, I wasn’t too impressed. However, what I impressed by was his attitude, and therefore hung

on until I had a chance to talk to him (incidentally having to pay him $5 to do so). Being an African

American raised in the Bronx, this man never had an opportunity; he had been homeless for many

years, never knew his parents and hadn’t been trained in any form of music education, having

learned to play from a cousin. I asked him his experience in the music industry, to which he replied,

“You just saw it.” I then asked him, “So what sort of life is this?”His reply: “It’s better to be playing

the music you love, than to be homeless with no passion to live for.” I found this very inspiring, and

this attitude proved to be a trend throughout NYC - both with homeless musicians and more

established artists.

What I found out through my experiences on this day was that the jazz scene does not exist

only in clubs, the fundamentals aren’t taught only in schools, and listeners don’t find jazz only where

they look for it. Jazz is part of the community in NYC; something that surprised me, as my impression

of New York was that it would be a place where jazz was played in an organised manner, by the

finest musicians, attended by people with solid jobs who could afford to attend. I was therefore

pleasantly surprised to find this untrue and to find that actually jazz in NYC exists on the street,

underground and at home.

I spent a lot of time continuing to get to know this side of the city, and I began to learn a lot

about how a single person’s attitude towards jazz can shape a music scene. I spoke to students,

musicians who had begun to establish themselves in the city and homeless people who were all

playing on the street in one form or another, and who all seemed to earn a similar amount of money

from doing so. I did this because these musicians gave me an understanding of how culture works in

New York. I learnt that these musicians knew where the best music spots were for the best gigs and

jam nights in the evenings, and they were all very knowledgeable on the history and tradition of jazz

in New York - even though some of these musicians had never formally studied music.

The main trend I started to notice was that these musicians all told me that there is little to

no help for jazz musicians in New York to make a living out of music, and that it comes down to the

individual to create a name for themselves and to find other individuals who can help them further

develop themselves as musicians, rather than looking to organisations to give them opportunities.

This became evident in the ‘cultural’ events that I attended in the daytime.

I attended several cultural events in NYC that were aimed at promoting jazz in NYC. The

events were well attended; however, the demographic was always the same - retired, middle to

upper class white Americans. The music reflected this demographic and was outdated and in no way

pushing the boundaries of jazz or even promoting jazz to a younger generation, which I was very

disappointed by. One example of this was a band called Gotham Jazz that played in a very well-

presented theatre on the Julliard campus. The event was free, and very well-promoted and well-

organised; however, I did not stay too long, as the music sounded almost as though it had just come

off Broadway in the 1940s. I found this to be a real shame, as I thought that this level of promotion

and the high standard that the setting provided would have proved to be an invaluable opportunity

for young jazz musicians or local musicians to get a chance to show what they can do in front of a

well-attended audience in a decent theatre. This was not the case and continued to be so

throughout all the cultural events I attended, which proved to me that the best music to be heard

wasn’t well-publicised jazz but underground, where the music’s origin exists.

The best example of this I have ever come across - both in London and throughout the trip in

America - was from a jam night I attended. I saw that world class trumpeter Roy Hargrove was

hosting a jam night at a venue called the Jazz Gallery, a venue I had visited a few days before and of

which I really admire the ethos. The venue itself exists purely to promote new jazz talent and is

arranged around this, putting on world class acts every single night. Walking into the venue, I was

shocked by how simply it was presented. At the door I was charged $10 ($5 for members) - a very

small price to pay to see a gig that would cost the equivalent of $25-$30 to see in Europe. I was

greeted by a room that hosted nothing but a stage, 10 rows of seats that you would expect to find in

a school classroom, and simply decorated photography placed on simply painted walls. The only

refreshment to be found was a basket next to the toilets where you placed $1 and took a bottle of

water - a level of trust I found nowhere else in NYC. It was a testament to the fact that the people

who attend gigs at this venue truly want to support the cause of promoting new jazz in their city,

which I believe is a very important consideration for our own jazz scene in London and the UK.

The Roy Hargrove jam itself was incredibly inspiring; it was a lesson in music rather than a

jam. From the first tune, it was clear how high Roy expected the musical standard to be, often

shouting at musicians and even throwing them off his stage if they did not meet the required level.

He was able to do this because he told the musicians in attendance exactly what he wanted and how

they could achieve his required level, and - if they did not think they were ready to reach this level

on his bandstand - to go home, work, and come back next time.

There is something within this attitude we can learn from. Everyone in attendance was

inspired by the way Roy spoke. Musicians who were desperate to get up at the start of the night

remained in their seats and took notes on the advice he was giving throughout the night, realising

they were not quite ready to achieve the levels of musicianship that were being shown onstage.

However, the majority of musicians that did play were inspiring. The majority were students, with a

saxophonist and a few vocalists joining them onstage who seemed to be friends with Roy. When Roy

was giving instructions every musician on the stand gave him their full attention, and this was for

one simple reason - if they didn’t, it would very quickly show in their playing and they would be

shown up even more quickly by Roy.

I learned a very valuable lesson that night. Firstly, the jam reminded me of the power one

person can have over a whole room and indeed community of people, and the direct impact that

this has on the local culture. Secondly, I learnt that a world-class musician holds a lot of power, and

that outside a gig, he or she can be a huge influence on the generation to come. This was achieved

by the fact that Roy played hard throughout the whole night, having the courtesy to jam with every

musician that came up, and yet he seemed somewhat distant - as a professional tutor may treat his

students. It is an attitude that exists mainly in NYC, but something we can learn from. By playing so

well, acting so professionally, being so well dressed, giving such a good lesson and being so

uncompromising, Roy Hargrove gave me one of the most valuable music lessons I will ever attend.

The presentation of the “Jazz Gallery” club seemed to be similar to many other jazz clubs

throughout NYC. Taking away the exceptions (such as the Blue Note, Village Vanguard and Iridium

Jazz Club) - which are clubs highly presented to attract an audience that can spend well, so they can

afford to put on the best musicians every day of the year - the vast majority of jazz clubs in NYC had

a very similar setting to the Jazz Gallery. Smalls and the 55bar - two of NYC’s most established jazz

clubs - had a very similar layout. The clubs are designed for the listeners and the musicians - not for

the waiters or bar staff, as were many clubs I have come across in other cities. Although alcohol is

served, it is not the main priority for the clubs. I was able to attend every gig I looked to see in NYC

even though I was only 20, due to the fact that the clubs are not looking to sell alcohol or food - they

are looking to sell jazz. One club I found very interesting was Miles’ Cafe. The music was played at a

very high standard, and yet there was barely enough room to seat 30 in the club. The cafe is quite

expensive compared to some of the other clubs on a similar level (around $20) - however, for your

entry price, you get any one drink on the menu for free, and access to a simple all-you-can-eat buffet

- a business model that exists so that people who want to come purely for the music can attend a gig

in the venue for a reasonable price, without having to spend money on an enforced minimum drink

level which is common throughout the city. I found it interesting to see that even a club that calls

itself a café - that actively promotes the consumption of food and drinks - still exists purely to

promote good jazz, and to give musicians the chance to perform in NYC.

In comparison, the two least favourite gigs I attended in the city were in establishments that

existed to promote their food rather than the jazz music on show. The calibre of musicians was

world class - one of the gigs having Randy Brecker on trumpet, a musician that is respected

worldwide. Yet, in these two venues - one being a restaurant and one being a hotel - the

atmosphere was not right. People were more than happy to talk over the world’s best musicians and

to pay for overpriced food.

This is a point I would have missed, had it not been for the fact that I had attended gigs in

the Jazz Gallery and Miles’ cafe the two previous nights. I was shocked by how much I noticed the

difference between the two atmospheres. It became evident that there are three settings for jazz in

a late night establishment - the first being venues such as the Jazz Gallery and Smalls, whereby jazz is

the only reason for attending; a second setting where jazz is overlooked by the public and is used to

promote the food and drinks menu; and the third and final setting being the unique high end

specialist jazz clubs.

The final point I would like to make on the NYC jazz club scene is how well the high end jazz

clubs are constructed, and the purpose for which they exist within the city. I have deliberately made

this my final point because this is something we do very well in the UK; however, it is still worth

noting. The three clubs I visited in NYC that stood out above the rest were the Iridium Jazz club, the

Village Vanguard and the Blue Note. All three are different and therefore have their own impact on

the culture that exists around the clubs, and - most interestingly - this seems to have been dictated

by where the club is based.

The reason I mention Blue Note is because it puts on world class jazz acts every night, all

year around. The club is immaculately presented and deserves to charge the steep admission prices

due to its prime location, and the high calibre of the acts that come from around the world to play in

this club. However, this also exists in London. The Iridium is very similar, but what is unique is that it

is located on Times Square, NYC’s most noticeable tourist spot - and therefore caters for both

tourists and high earning jazz fans. Again, we see this in London.

However, I believe what we do not have in London is a venue like the Village Vanguard. I say

this because the club is a place where jazz purists come to see their favourite performers play at the

height of their career. I met fans in this venue who have followed the musicians on show throughout

their whole career. It seems that the Vanguard is the height of the NYC jazz scene, yet it does not

have to provide the extras that clubs like the Blue Note and the Iridium provide. It is very organised

and well laid out, although you do feel as though you are somewhat pushed into your seat –

however, once you are in, the people you meet around you and the musicians who you converse

with after the gig have created a culture that is unlike any other. I believe this is because of two

things. Firstly, the Village Vanguard is situated in Greenwich Village- NYC’s arts and gay district -

which enables it to draw a wide crowd, from jazz purists to art students. Secondly, the pristine

reputation of the club encourages a kind of loyalty amongst those who attend.

Not many artists have released live albums from the Blue Note or from the Iridium, whereas

many seminal live jazz recordings have been recorded in the Vanguard - from John Coltrane and

Sonny Rollins through to Brian Blade. In fact, the gig I attended in the Vanguard was one in which he

[Brian Blade] was recording his own “Live at the Vanguard” album. The club seems to have found a

mix of high-end qualities with the promotion and ethos of clubs aimed at establishing musicians, and

at allowing the finest musicians in the world to put all their years of practice, work and gigging to

good use - and yet not be afraid to lose their creativity.

This is something we can embrace more in London. We do have venues that are very well

respected by musicians (Charlie Wright’s and the 606 come to mind) and therefore we do have a

promising future for jazz in the city, as long as we keep embracing the unique environments that

these clubs create.

Philadelphia

From the minute I stepped off the bus, I realised Philadelphia is a city that heavily promotes

the arts. Everywhere you turn, there is a poster or advertisement of some sort promoting a festival

or an artist. During my stay in Philadelphia I was looking to improve my knowledge of the level

musicians play at from a young age - something I struggled to do in New York - and to find out what

a city can do to promote their local talent. In the four days I was in the city I did not struggle to do

this.

The many free events hosted throughout my time in the city were mostly centred on the

Avenue of the Arts, a street in the centre of Philadelphia created purely to host cultural and artistic

events. During my stay I spent the majority of my time in the Kimmel Centre - a building that

provided a base for the PIFA festival. During my time there, I spoke to many musicians of all ages and

watched them perform in a variety of settings.

The most impressive aspect of the PIFA festival was the standard at which the high school

bands performed at; two special examples come to mind. The first was a big band that was

composed of musicians between the ages of 11 and 16. The band performed at a very high standard,

each musician having their own chance to shine within the band. However, the aspect I was most

impressed by was the fact that many of the compositions and arrangements played had been done

by the students. The tutors seemed to take great pride in this, promoting the development of each

individual’s skill set, which had allowed them to either compose an original piece of music or arrange

a standard of their choice.

When talking to some of the performers after the festival, I managed to establish that each

person I spoke to had been introduced to jazz and - more importantly - the concept of improvising

before high school; either through the educational establishments they had studied at, or through

relatives. This allowed these students to go to high school with an understanding of the basic

fundamentals of jazz, and allowed them to develop their own voices much more quickly than a

typical student - therefore giving them the opportunities to play at a higher level with more

musicians and learning at a faster rate. What I saw was very much a snowball effect. The earlier a

musician learned the fundamentals of jazz, the earlier he could play with other musicians, and the

earlier he would develop his own sound to give himself a unique aspect in comparison to his peers.

This meant that by the time these musicians are out of high school, although they may not be

groundbreaking musicians, they are at a level where they can play music in any professional setting

and therefore have more options in narrowing their study path at college and becoming specialists.

This is vastly different to the UK, where, in general, students are not forced to study at a high

level, but instead are more focused on learning the fundamentals of their instrument, reading and

taking grades, rather than learning music that will prove to be beneficial later on in their career.

Obviously there are many exceptions, as we do have a very accomplished educational system in the

UK. However, I believe music education is too broad. The focus leans too heavily on reading and the

history of music, rather than establishing what it takes to be a musician in the modern day music

scene, and how reading and grades apply to this.

I believe the other main difference that I found when I spoke to young students in

Philadelphia was that they understood how jazz music and contemporary music have a direct

correlation. All the children I spoke to (who had barely started high school) knew of the career paths

of musicians like Tony Royster Jr., Questlove and Christian McBride. They understood how the

fundamentals of jazz and technique installed in these musicians from a very young age had enabled

them to play any gig that they chose. Through this understanding, the students I spoke to did not see

jazz as a chore or something they should do to please their parents/tutors, but something they

should do to improve their overall musicianship and to give them the best chance at a good career.

On the same day that I saw this high school band, I saw another group of musicians from

high school - all percussionists. They did a performance that lasted around an hour and barely played

in 4/4, showcasing their knowledge for odd time signatures - something which will only be ever

learned at high school level in specialised extracurricular activities. The group was great to watch.

One musician who looked around 15 was leading the class effortlessly, and yet his attitude wasn’t to

try and showcase his talent at every single opportunity available, but to help some of his peers who

seemed to struggle with some of the pieces - as some of the students had only just been introduced

to pitched percussion instruments. I was very impressed by the attitude this young musician had,

and was even more impressed when he had the chance to take a drum solo where he truly showed

how good he was.

I believe the success to this performance - as well as the big band performance - was the

determination of the students; firstly not to let their peers down, and secondly to play their own

part to the best of their ability, and to really stand out. I believe this is mostly because in both bands

there seemed to be one or two musicians that were the “cool kids” of their school. Their peers

looked up to them and they could give good advice without question. I believe the unique thing

about these “cool” students is that they have studied music within their family from a very young

age and are already at a good standard by the time they reach school.

Although their instrument of choice may not be seen as cool in their school, the fact that

they can play to such a high level means that they are respected by their peers in school, and also

means that they can concentrate on other extracurricular activities in school such as football and

basketball whilst maintaining their level of musicianship on their chosen instrument. This has

allowed certain school students to play in a band without being looked down upon by their peers,

and they feel comfortable in throwing themselves at the project. From what I gathered during the

trip, this has been the case in high schools for a long time.

The other factor that proved to be very influential in these performances - and was, in all

honesty, not too surprising - was the enthusiasm of the group leaders. I learned a great lesson from

these leaders, as their passion was not merely to improve the musicianship of their students in order

to produce the best musicians in the school, but it was also to get the students to play together and

to have fun - something which I believed had a direct impact on the performances. The leaders took

great pride in the fact that it was their sole responsibility to have these musicians playing as one, and

they seemed to allocate a large amount of their time to arrange and conduct their lessons so that

their students had to make very little effort in having fun and performing with their peers. The other

thing that the leaders did was to actively promote the idea that their students had the ability to

arrange their own music, rather than performing from charts. This seemed to enable their students

to take their show a lot more seriously, as they had a direct impact on what they were performing.

This is an example I will certainly learn from, and is an example I believe other team leaders can

learn from, as I believe that by putting trust in students to input their own stamp on what they do,

the more passionate students will take charge of their group and will ensure that they are not shown

up by their peers. This proved to have an impact not only on how the students performed their

music, but how they conducted themselves around the bandstand, as it was clear that particular

students believed they had a certain responsibility within the band and took their responsibilities

seriously.

Although I do not want to review gigs for the whole paper, I do feel compelled to mention

one gig - the only gig I paid to see that was not jazz. It was a performance by a drummer named

“?uestlove” (pronounced “Questlove) - a drummer from Philadelphia who is mainly known for his

work in hip-hop and popular music, although he does have a great knowledge of jazz. This evening

summed up the PIFA festival for me.

PIFA (Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts) is a festival that showcases both artists

from Philadelphia and worldwide artists to come together and perform in Philadelphia, where many

musicians, dancers and other performing artists collaborated to produce unique shows that could

only be found in Philadelphia during the month of April. Festivals such as this continue to run the

whole year round in Philadelphia - something which has shaped the city’s rich culture.

This particular festival promoted the arts that existed in Paris in 1911, a time at which the

arts were having a direct impact on Parisian culture in a way that they had not done previously. The

reason I paid to see ?uestlove perform was that he had collaborated with artists, classical musicians

and arrangers to put on a performance that celebrated both 21st century hip-hop (a genre of music

that Philadelphia has had a huge role in influencing) and early 20th century classical music by the

most influential composers and tutors living in Paris during the time.

Walking into the theatre, there was instantly an obvious divide in demographic. The

audience was seemingly divided into “classical” fans, fans of the “arts” and pure hip-hop fans, who

had all come to see ?uestlove perform - the reason I was drawn to the gig. The set itself consisted of

a single piece of music lasting around an hour and a half, with 15 minute piano interludes, 5 minute

vocal interludes, and a 5 minute drum solo by ?uestlove to finish off the piece. I would say that the

piece was neither classical nor hip-hop but rather contemporary. One of the reasons I found this gig

so interesting was that all the “pure” hip-hop fans - fans who later admitted to me that they had no

prior interest in classical music - sat through the set with their eyes transfixed to the stage, not

realising they had paid to see a 15 piece orchestra play classically-influenced music for long periods

of time - but just enjoying the music nonetheless.

The same point in reverse was evident later on in the evening when ?uestlove performed a

DJ set in a smaller theatre within the same venue. The music was old, raw hip-hop, born in the clubs

of Philadelphia and NYC, and I was therefore very surprised to find that there were many very well-

dressed, white, middle- to upper-class Americans at this DJ set - the majority sitting on the sides but

some finding the courage to join the many club-goers on the dance floor and dance for hours. It was

at this point that I realised music is only a small part of what attracts a person to a certain event. I

realised the setting has just as much of an impact as the music itself, as I cannot imagine many 40-50

year old white office workers allowing their children to attend hip-hop in its rawest, oldest form on

the streets of Philadelphia or NYC - let alone participate in the event itself. However, because the

person on the decks had proven himself as a very proficient musician and arranger in what could be

seen as a classical context, these people were more than willing to give him a chance in what he

does every day for a living, and were not only enjoying his performance but participating in it.

This surprised me and made me realise the impact media has on culture, as media has

consistently downgraded hip-hop as unhealthy music performed by poor black men from the

suburbs with a real attitude problem. However, when faced with the reality, the very same people

who had condemned this genre of music were embracing it with open arms, purely because it was in

a “clean” theatre being performed by a performer who would push to combine the art form of hip-

hop with other genres of music.

This also allowed me to gain a greater understanding of how jazz was treated 100 years ago,

as the same has happened with hip hop. I was taught that jazz was regarded as dirty music, for poor

working class America, played in brothels and illegal bars (due to prohibition) and because of this the

music should not be respected as an art form as it was bad for society and promoted the “dirtier”

side of America. Now, jazz is one of America’s most respected art forms and exports; it is performed

worldwide in the best theatres by the finest musicians and attended by well-off audiences. I always

struggled to understand just how jazz musicians managed to bridge the gap between brothels and

fine theatres, but after this one night in Philadelphia, my knowledge expanded more than I could

have imagined.

We are in a transition period with hip-hop that was found in the jazz idiom during the 1950s-

70s - where the musicians had the chance to play more gigs at better venues and to earn a better

living, with particular musicians finding a way to evolve their sound to continue their high levels of

success such as Miles Davis or John Coltrane. This trait can now be seen with hip-hop artists such as

Jay-Z, who has always maintained the respect of the hip hop community since his seminal recording

‘Reasonable Doubt’, and has continued to evolve his sound and approach to making records so that

he can adapt to the current market and look to promote his genre to a wider audience. Although this

is not so relevant for jazz in its current setting, I think this point would give students who were new

to jazz a much greater understanding on the history of jazz, as there are very similar traits to the way

hip-hop has evolved and has continued to do so in our everyday lives.

After my first three days in Philadelphia, I realised that my stay in the city was nearly over,

and I had hardly left the Kimmel Centre! I therefore decided to find out what was on outside of the

city centre, as the city centre itself is quite small and the suburbs spread for miles in all directions

around the centre. I was told that South Philadelphia was only good for sports, eastern Philadelphia

was the border of New Jersey where I wouldn’t find much, north Philadelphia was too rough for a

white Welshman to visit alone, and that my best chance was to go to the west of Philadelphia where

I may find something. Although my last day in the city proved to be somewhat unproductive I

managed to find a jam just over the river.

Before the jam started, I was reading my recently-purchased Quincy Jones autobiography,

when I was distracted by a woman who said to me quite impatiently, ‘Now, what’s a boy like you

doing reading Q’s autobiography?’ The woman, named Lynne, turned out to be a relative of Orrin

Evans - the pianist who was hosting the jam - who is well known throughout the east coast of

America. The jam itself attracted musicians at a much higher standard than that of my own and was

very enjoyable. However what I found interesting when talking to Lynne and her family was that I

had really missed out on not visiting the north side of Philadelphia, and that although the crime rate

is quite high there, I should have made the effort to visit as there are many good things happening in

that part of the city if you know where to go. Although this was no longer relevant as I was leaving

the day after, I decided I would not make the same mistake in Chicago and would not limit myself to

any particular areas of the city. I would travel to places that were rich in culture, regardless of the

crime rate and demographic.

Chicago

I decided to visit Chicago for two reasons – firstly, because it was once the host to one of the

world’s best jazz scenes after black Americans moved north to find better work and escape racial

prejudice during the early 20th century, with musicians such as Louis Armstrong establishing

themselves in the northern half of America. Secondly, I decided to visit Chicago due to the city’s vast

size, and wanted to find how the scene differs in different suburbs - something that I felt I needed to

focus on, having seemingly missed an opportunity in Philadelphia.

I therefore quickly arranged to attend a jam night in the south side of Chicago in an area

called Englewood. Having been on the CTA train for 30 minutes, and having been the only white

person on the train for 15 minutes, I became aware that I was venturing into an area in which I may

not have been welcome. However, I embraced this fact as I wanted to see how people from these

suburbs can evolve themselves to become not only great jazz musicians, but also athletes and

artists. However, when I was a few stops away from my own, I was confronted by a man who

claimed that I was the devil because I was white, abusing me physically and telling me to get off the

train - an opinion that was shared by a portion of the carriage. Although I did question whether to do

as he said and leave, as I did not want to miss out on what I thought could a be a great opportunity

to see how an underprivileged culture has produced so many influential musicians and athletes, I did

give in - in fear of my safety.

Around a week later I met a young man, around the age of 16 working with group of people

called Brother to Brother. This group of students was formed to not only give underprivileged people

help, but also simply to spread goodwill around Chicago. For example, when I met the group, they

were cooking Chinese food for the hostel I was staying in at the time, and went on to give a lesson

about the food they had just prepared. I met them later in the evening but they were all more than

happy to give me the leftover food and told me to eat as much as I could. I had to remind myself that

these people were from the same neighbourhood as the man who called me the devil purely

because I was white, and yet their attitude towards me and towards life was truly inspiring.

This 16 year old in particular, whose name I have forgotten due to the fact that I only met

him for a few hours, was from Englewood. He had only ever left Chicago in order to do performances

on violin with the orchestra he took part in, and had never left the country. His only other passion

outside of music was the NBA, looking to gain an NBA scholarship so that he could afford to study in

higher education. This person was an example of exactly why I wanted to go to Englewood. I found

that because of his background and the social circles he had been forced into, he had a very high

level of motivation that I have not seen in many other people - purely because he knew that to give

himself a chance of life, only he had a say in what he could do and he knew how hard he would have

to work to achieve this. I told this young man that he had inspired me to revisit Englewood and to

attend the jam I was going to go to a few days before, to which he replied, “Don’t.” He told me that I

would be a target in that area as a white man and would inevitably face trouble.

This was the case for many other areas of south Chicago, and I was quickly limited as to

where I could travel, which somewhat hampered my plans in Chicago. However, in this 16 year old

man, I found exactly what I was hoping to find. I found someone who had no hope in the world and

yet could achieve anything - a trait I have struggled to find anywhere else in the world, yet a trait

that has been prevalent in jazz for 100 years.

My awareness of racial differences did not end in Englewood. In NYC and Philadelphia, race

was not something I thought much about, as the musicians and crowds came from all demographics

at every gig or event I attended. However, in Chicago there seemed to be something different.

Of all the gigs and rehearsals I attended in the city centre, the vast majority of musicians

were white and many of them were nowhere near a world-class level of musicianship. Having been

told that Chicago has a great jazz scene, I was shocked to find that although the level of musicianship

was quite high, it was nowhere near that of NYC. The best musicians seemed to move out of the city.

I then realised why Chicago is said to have such a good jazz scene, with two main reasons. The first

reason is that there are many jazz clubs and many jazz musicians, made possible by the fact that

downtown Chicago is vast. However the crowds these musicians cater for, for the most part, are not

enthusiastic about jazz but are more interested in their dress sense and the cocktails they were

purchasing. I struggled to get into some clubs due to my age, -the first city that this happened in.

This is because the clubs were looking to sell alcohol to bring in revenue, rather than to sell jazz to

bring in the fans as was the case in NYC and Philadelphia. I was disappointed by this and was also

aware that the large majority of the audience attending these gigs were white – again, this was

different to NYC and Philadelphia, where many different cultures would come into a single room to

enjoy music that evolved through black culture. In Chicago, this really was dinner jazz on an extreme

level.

However I did find a few exceptions, one being the Jazz Showcase. This is yet another

example of how one man, who isn’t a known jazz musician, has had a huge impact on the jazz scene

in his area. The owner, Joe Segal, has made many careers in his time running the club by giving jazz

musicians the chance to perform in his club. Thursdays to Sundays are put to one side for respected

artists; however on every other day he can, he hires either students or local musicians to play in his

club for a heavily discounted rate with a further half off for concessions. In providing these musicians

with opportunities to perform in this world renowned venue, Joe gives new artists from his area the

chance to build on their fanbase and showcase their name, once they have established a proper set

that Joe is happy to put on. Along with this, Joe is also very passionate about giving students the

chance to play at his venue. Whilst I was in the city I saw two university big bands perform. The

standard was very high for both gigs. I was reminded once again that a single person still has the

power to shape the careers of many musicians, if he or she chooses to do so.

During my stay in Chicago I arranged many interviews with students and musicians and, as

with Philadelphia, the students praised the opportunities they had to perform in high school. Some

of them wanted to continue studying in Chicago due to the city’s reputation for high achievement

within the colleges. I attended many more rehearsals, gigs, cultural events and school recitals;

however, I must say that in terms of jazz (apart from the Jazz Showcase), I did not find anything that

seemed to really stand out as unique in the city. The level of musicianship was always high

throughout all ages; the younger generation had a good knowledge of the tradition and the history

of jazz, and there were many gigs one could attend. However, I did not see anything culturally

significant happening at these gigs and recitals that I hadn’t already seen elsewhere, which I was

disappointed by. Perhaps I missed out the areas that host the best music; however, I do not believe

this is the case - although I will never be sure about south Chicago.

I believe this is why in cities such as New York and London there is a large amount of people

that have come from elsewhere. Chicago is a place that is perfect for learning jazz, jamming with

other jazz musicians, gaining some knowledge of the tradition of jazz and finding a unique voice, but

I believe that for that unique voice to be heard and appreciated, the best jazz musicians look

elsewhere to find that opportunity.

New Orleans

Upon arriving in Louis Armstrong International Airport, one is greeted by a large statue of

the great man himself - a moment any fan of jazz realises they have made the right decision in

coming to visit this city. Unlike any of the other cities, I had nothing planned on my arrival in New

Orleans, apart from the Jazz Fest. I did this deliberately as I did not want to have to stick to an

itinerary - giving myself the freedom to meet many people from all walks of life who shared the

same passion: music.

I instantly found out that the New Orleans Jazz Festival is very unique. With most music

festivals of any genre, the best artists are drawn in from around the world to play on the same line

up to ensure ticket sales are good. Although there were a few big name artists each day, the spirit of

the festival reflected the spirit of the city in that although it was open to new ideas and new

cultures, it would always push the promotion of New Orleans’ heritage and tradition. One cannot

help but notice just how proud these people are of what they have to offer.

I was very surprised to find that the festival finished very early - around 7pm - and was

slightly disappointed until I realised why. Firstly, the children of the city lined the streets around the

festival site - many selling merchandise and beverages, with many more playing music for tips. The

standard of musicianship was not as great as one might hope, but I kept reminding myself of just

how young these musicians were. There were brass bands playing traditional New Orleans music,

where the musicians didn’t look a day over 12; there were string quintets playing classical music

where the musicians hadn’t even reached their teens yet, and there were children as young as 4 and

5 playing with what appeared to be their brothers and sisters, banging anything they could get their

hands on to make a sound and make some money.

It was at this moment when I realised why a large number of the world’s elite jazz musicians

come from New Orleans. Jazz music isn’t something that’s taught or studied, but it is just another

part of the family. Some children in New Orleans play basketball with their friends; others play

football, but just as many play a horn or a percussion instrument. It is not looked at as “uncool”, or

out of fashion, but something to be embraced. The most interesting aspect is that it is not until the

children playing this music reach their twenties that they will realise that this is exactly what holds

the city of New Orleans together, and what lends the city its remarkable reputation for music. It is

just something they do for fun - a mentality that I feel many jazz musicians in the UK and around the

world miss out on.

Thinking about how we can create a similar atmosphere in the UK is simple - we can’t. It is

not something you can put into a city through school programmes and good tutoring. It needs to be

at the height of society and culture - which it sadly may never be in our country, as well as in many

other cities in America. However, what we can learn from this is that the impact that a family and a

community has on a child will change the way he thinks about music for the rest of his lifetime.

The second reason the Jazz Festival finishes as early as it does is that more gigs are put on in

the evenings in the centre of town, so that the Jazz Festival crowd put more money into the city’s

economy. This has allowed a very special atmosphere to exist during the time of the Jazz Festival in

New Orleans, as the best artists - nearly all of whom originate from the city - play with each other

every night for two weeks, which gives the artists on show at the jazz festival good promotion in

order to earn extra income, and the chance to give the audience a full length show rather than

merely filling their allotted time slot at the Jazz Festival.

As I mentioned previously, the sense of community in New Orleans is overwhelming. When

walking around the city, one can easily forget the whole city was underwater not so long ago. I came

across many neighbourhoods that were very derelict and never have a chance of being repaired, and

many other neighbourhoods that were still in poor condition but that had been repaired to a

standard that allowed people to go back to living in their old homes and districts. In these

neighbourhoods, I saw many things that reminded me of growing up in rural Pembrokeshire - things

that you forget after living in London and after having spent a month visiting two of America’s most

populated cities. There were parents sitting on the porch watching over their children. Groups of 10-

20 children met up in the street to play basketball or music. Nobody hung around on street corners

in New Orleans and I didn’t once see any underage drinkers or smokers purely because of the fact

that if a child was caught misbehaving in New Orleans, the local area would know exactly what

family that child came from and therefore the family’s reputation would be affected. This is not to

say that this doesn’t happen exactly as it does as with any other city; however, it seems that in New

Orleans this exists on a smaller scale, because people truly care about the environment they live in. I

can’t imagine that if an area such as Plaistow (East London) or any area in the south side of Chicago

were to be submerged underwater, it would be built back up without any funding from the

government by the people who once called that area home.

The point to these examples is that the sense of community in New Orleans has a direct

impact on the jazz scene. This is shown in a HBO series called “Treme”, which is a programme made

to promote the district of Treme in New Orleans. The programme leans heavily towards promoting

brass bands and the sound of New Orleans jazz.

The brass bands are a very potent image of New Orleans - an image that is used to connect a

consumer’s mind to a forced idea of the city. However, the reality is that these brass bands exist for

one reason, which is to earn a living for the musicians in the bands. It is very easy to forget that they

are not paid by the city to play to keep the reputation of the brass band alive; they were not

supported if they lost a member of the band to the hurricane. They are like any other band in the

world - a group of men looking to make a living. However it is these bands that are pivotal to the

continuation of the success of jazz musicians in New Orleans.

The brass bands are unique in that musicians at varying standards can play in the band and

stand out in their own way - something that barely exists in other forms of jazz due to the necessity

of a tight rhythm section, a solid harmonic instrument and a strong melodic instrument. In a brass

band there are different opportunities available – one great example of which includes Louis

Armstrong, arguably the most influential jazz musician of all time. It was in these brass bands that he

learned from a very young age how to play and get along with other musicians on a daily basis; how

to learn tunes quickly, so that - in his own words - he could look at the women he was performing

for, and to gain respect from his peers and the communities he played for, as one of the city’s

promising young musicians.

Through doing this, Louis had managed to gain a great understanding of jazz at a very young

age, and had managed to develop a truly original voice in his teens - something which even John

Coltrane didn’t do until he was 30. Having established a brand new sound, Louis was able to focus on

his appearance, his stage show and his personality, so that anyone who went to see him perform

didn’t go to see a jazz show - they went to see a Louis Armstrong show.

I wouldn’t have imagined this example could have been substantially important 100 years

later; however, I soon realised its potency when I saw a young man called Troy Andrews perform

more times than I can count on 2 hands within the space of 2 weeks.

“Trombone Shorty”, now one of the worlds’ most established trombonists, fuses different

genres of music to create a stage show that is incomparable to any other. He has had a very similar

musical path to that of Louis Armstrong. His career began around the age of 4, playing trombone

with the brass bands. As he had the opportunity to learn music from such a young age, he was able

to lead brass bands by the age of 6, learning every day from other musicians - many of whom were

his cousins - how to develop his sound, to play harder and stronger. It comes as no surprise that by

the age of 20 he had performed with Lenny Kravitz, U2 and Green Day, having worked out a way to

combine his instinctive knowledge for jazz - learned through the brass bands - with an image that he

grew into at an older age.

This is the way many musicians in New Orleans learn how to play jazz, and it is therefore no

surprise that many of the worlds’ most original jazz musicians originate from New Orleans. It could

well be because of the fact that they were introduced to jazz at a very young age, and it is part of

their community. The vast majority of performances I saw were original, combining different genres

of music to create new sounds. Jazz that currently exists in New Orleans seems to have evolved into

a new musical genre - the “New Orleans sound”. There are too many influences within the music

that is being played to call it merely just jazz, as trumpet players, MCs, funk drummers and soul

singers often get up on one stage to produce a sound that is very unique to the city.

The final point I found interesting about the city was that the music seemed to be aimed,

very consistently, at tourists. I did wonder whether this was because I was visiting during the jazz

festival; however, I was told that this is the case all year round in New Orleans. I was slightly

disappointed, as I was hoping to find traditional venues with local residents playing for local

residents. However, after talking to many residents of New Orleans, I managed to establish that it

was not just tourists that attended the gigs, and that many local residents did go to see their friends

and family play. I managed to come to the conclusion that jazz is the main tourist attraction in New

Orleans, and therefore the audience at a jazz gig will always be split between fans of the music and

tourists. When I asked the musicians on show if they minded this, they replied that it was extra

money for them and that if they played hard enough they could get anyone dancing, which

encapsulates perfectly the attitude of the entire city.

It is very hard to find words to describe New Orleans, as the city is so unique. Music is at the

heart of the city. It is played on the streets, and even holds up traffic if the music is good enough and

the crowd is big enough - which is most definitely not allowed in any other city! Any musician from

the city has such a vast knowledge of the tradition of jazz, as they have lived that tradition, that they

are more than willing to talk and jam with any fan of jazz, whether a beginner or a world class

musician. Music is the heart and soul of the city due to what has been before, and what the city

knows, it can provide for future decades.

It is hard to learn from New Orleans, as the only way any other community could ever

capture the spirit for music that New Orleans has, would be to clone the city -it is truly unique. It

benefits from a good musical education that I saw throughout America. It benefits from a strong

sense of community, with members of the public looking out for both each other and the people

that visit their city – treating it with a great sense of respect. Finally, it benefits from a strong music

scene, with great venues, catering for the best musicians that have been learning from their family

and friends for as long as they can remember. These gigs are attended by people who want to see

these musicians show off, push boundaries and keep the tradition of New Orleans alive - something I

truly believe I will not see again until I go back to visit.

Conclusions

It is hard to draw particular conclusions, as there are many different factors that allow a jazz

scene to exist and flourish within an individual city - and even more factors that dictate its impact on

cultural society. Therefore, rather than drawing conclusions and recommendations for the reader, I

will draw my own conclusions and the impact they will have – and have already had - on my life.

The first conclusion I will draw is the value of taking the time out of learning an instrument

to really listen to how other people approach both the instrument and genres of music I am

currently learning. Since my arrival back in the UK, I have realised that the way I perceive music has

changed. It is hard to explain, but to give a brief example: When listening to Stolen Moments - a jazz

record I have listened to many times - I would previously have listened to mostly just the harmony

and the melody. This was never a decision I made deliberately - it is just how my ears listened to that

certain piece of music. However, upon my arrival back in the UK, I found myself listening to the horn

arrangements, and went on to really focus on the soloist’s phrasing, rather than the particular notes

he was playing. I can only assume this was the influence New Orleans had on my ear, as ever since I

visited that city, my interest in a song’s arrangement has been heightened to a point I would never

have imagined before, but something I am immensely grateful for.

Another example - and also more importantly - is how I listened to my own bass playing.

After 6 weeks of having only played a handful of times, I picked up my bass enthusiastically the

minute I got home, and to my disappointment realised I didn’t particularly like the sound I was

producing. It was my sound, it was original but it was nowhere near what I would call refined. Much

of my playing was too complex and busy, and many of my note choices were being used for the

wrong reasons. I seemed to be listening to my bass as an outsider for around a week after I arrived

back from America, which gave me enough time to establish where I wanted my playing to go and

how I was going to achieve this.

I would never recommend not practicing an instrument, but at the same time the six weeks I

spent “out of practice” made me look at the way I approach music without even realising I was

analysing this particular facet of my musicality. I would therefore recommend taking the time out of

practicing an instrument - or out of composing or even partaking in music at all - just to watch and

learn how other musicians go about what you are trying to do, as this focused attention may make

you re-assess the entire way you go about music.

The second conclusion I would like to draw is the difference that one person can make

within a whole community. Whether it was the Roy Hargrove jam, the people that ran the

Philadelphia high school shows, Joe Segal’s impact with the Jazz Showcase or Trombone Shorty’s

influence on the New Orleans jazz scene, I was inspired by the fact that if a person has a passion for

jazz, there are many ways he can influence his local area if he combines this passion with a passion

for the people in and around his local community. How I will act on this, I am not yet sure. I will look

to firstly develop my musicianship to a point at which I can confidently play with the musicians I have

always aspired to play with, but after this, I will look to push my passion for improving local cultures

to create systems where children can be influenced by jazz at a young age; where musicians have

the chance to showcase their talents on a regular basis and where I can have a direct impact on the

correlation between jazz and local communities.

The final conclusion I would like to draw is the impact of families and communities on a city’s

jazz scene. It became evident that no matter which city I visited, the best musicians came from a

musical background, and the chances are that their family will continue to develop the sound of

music in one way or another. I believe this is because of two reasons - the first being that musicians

who come from a musical family are introduced to music at a very young age, and do not question

whether a style of music is “popular”, or to their peers’ liking. Secondly, they instinctively react to

music they enjoy listening to, and strive to play both like these musicians and the family and friends

that surround them. I think that after this experience, I will always look to promote not only jazz, but

the fusion of different musical genres within my family and community, as I have realised that

people have nothing to learn from if they are not introduced to new concepts on which to build

upon. I believe that from experience, I can hopefully influence friends and family in looking for new

musical avenues and new ways to play music, and I hope that in turn, that will have some impact on

the jazz scene I strive to be a part of.

Stephen Brisley

2011