Live jazz in lockdown

Two months into lockdown, and the country and jazz community are getting used to the new way of a socially distanced life. There are no live gigs on the horizon for the foreseeable and so organisations and musicians are learning to adapt to the new challenges presented by the pandemic.

The gig and night-time economies are some of worst-hit industries, yet jazz is still flourishing. Countless live streams are taking place daily and as we all learn how to navigate new digital skills, here’s a snapshot of some of the activity taking place.

In London, Tomorrow’s Warriors Female Frontline are continuing their educational work digitally by offering lessons to their members. They had 73 gigs cancelled because of coronavirus and after closing their doors in March, they’re now offering lessons and sessions via Zoom.

Managing director and CEO Janine Irons says: “It’s very easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom of it all, but always in situations like this, there are new opportunities.” Artistic director Gary Crosby adds: “We’re trying to keep in contact with everyone and encourage them and engage with them. We’re all trying to support each other. Pandemic or not, our core values are still the same and the job has to be done.”

Crosby has also been setting playalong challenges on the organisation’s social channels, fostering engagement despite the lack of physical interaction.

He says: “We know that if we keep in contact with the musicians, when and if this thing resolves itself, then we’ve got something to bring to the table.” See @tom_warriors on Instagram for more.

We also spoke to Tamsin Mendelsohn, Jazz South manager. Jazz South is a three-year funded project hosted and led by Turner Sims Southampton, aiming to deliver a programme of development for jazz practise across the south of England. As they’re still in their infancy, the pandemic has thwarted their original plans. “We’re still trying to find our feet and define ourselves,” says Mendelsohn: “but it has come as an opportunity.” She and her team have been using the time to complete thorough desk research, advising musicians and curating and sharing playlists compiled by interns, key jazz figures and more. Check out www.jazzsouth.org.uk for more.

Serious has launched a new collection of streams, ‘Serious Livestream Sessions’. These began with a collaborative session with Edition Records to present new music by Rob Luft and special guest Elina Duni.

David Jones, Director at EFG London Jazz Festival producer Serious says: “We worked with Edition and Rob and it worked brilliantly. We all learned very quickly about what we had to do. We all worked together.”

Although Serious has experience of producing large-scale live streams (Jazz Voice in 2017 reached a quarter of a million people), these usually come with a significant budget and planning time. This situation provided neither. However, by working in collaboration and learning new skills they’ve been able to programme new activity in response to the situation.

Jones says: “it gives a sense for everyone working at Serious that there’s an output, something you’re doing immediately rather than planning for a future that may change.”

The livestream sessions aim to bring new music to audiences, which allows musicians to showcase new material with listeners in a more intimate way and gives the series a clear purpose: “It was about new material and it was a completely joyous thing to do. The more I think about it, the more I feel I’m learning every day. You start to see possibilities you wouldn’t have thought about in the normal run of things.” Serious Livestream Sessions continue fortnightly, and Duncan Eagles launches his new album on 12 June – visit www.serious.org.uk.

Individual musicians are also taking the opportunity to present their music via the Internet. Saxophonist Kevin Figes will be streaming a concert on 12 June to launch his new album and Andrew McCormack also has a new album out on 26 June, which he will be streaming on Facebook Live (if his Vortex concert on 23 June is postponed). Check their social media pages for updates.

Jazz Leeds has programmed two main digital activities in lieu of any live gigs: a weekly radio show called ‘Jazz Unlocked’, with jazz news, live recordings and albums from Leeds on Jazz Leeds and ChapelFM radio (chapelfm.co.uk) which takes place every Thursday at 9pm. They’re also producing a jazz archive show on their YouTube channel every Sunday at 1.30pm.

Further south, Watermill Jazz has been fundraising to help musicians whose gigs have been cancelled. They set up Just Giving pages for March and April and reached over 100% of their £3,000 target. Additionally, they’ve set up a series of four 60-minute online-guided listening sessions on Zoom. These are based around historic recordings and presented by Arnie Somogyi. Check out www.watermilljazz.co.uk for more info.

In these uncertain times, it’s heartening to hear how the jazz community is continuing to thrive, and as Janine Irons says: “Thank God for music.”