WSJ critic Terry Teachout’s recent article “Can Jazz Be Saved?”, which argues that jazz’s audience is “withering away”, sparked some serious controversy online, in print and on the radio.
Much has been said about jazz’s cultural relevance or supposed lack thereof, and one constructive development of this latest conversation is the “#jazzlives” campaign.
Darcy James Argue explains:
Critic and blogger Howard Mandel has launched a worthy Twitter trend: #jazzlives. If you are already on Twitter, you probably have a pretty good idea where this is headed: whenever you hear live jazz — at a club, festival, concert hall, on the street, wherever — throw up a Tweet with the #jazzlives hashtag, and let us know where you are and who you’re hearing.
It’s a great idea, and we’ve already put up the official #jazzlives widget on the right column of the website — showing what everyone has tweeted about the jazz shows they’ve heard lately. A further explanation of Twitter and instructions to add your own widget are in Darcy’s post.
Still, it brings to mind the question, “What does it mean to support jazz?” It’s obviously a positive step to show up at a jazz show, in terms of personal enjoyment, the artistic significance of larger audiences, and support of venues that present jazz.
However, in economic terms, attendance at jazz shows doesn’t necessarily translate into support for jazz musicians. Some jazz venues pay well; others collect a cover but keep most of it for themselves; many don’t pay musicians at all, forcing them to play for tips.
It follows that we can have artistically-thriving jazz scenes in New York City, where even many of the top, well-established musicians are without financial security, health insurance or a retirement plan. In fact, some have argued that NYC scenes are essentially subsidized by arts funding in Europe.
It’s time for jazz musicians and fans to demand more from our venues. Obviously, one effort that we think is worthy is our own Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign to get pension payments from top NYC jazz clubs like the Jazz Standard, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note and the Iridium. Our plan wouldn’t cost the clubs any money, so it’s a win-win-win for jazz musicians, audiences and venues.
The first stage of our campaign targets the high-end jazz venues. How can we improve conditions within the entire NYC club ecosystem? What are our responsibilities as audience members, jazz musicians and venue owners? How can we insure that support for jazz means some measure of stability for jazz artists? These questions aren’t easily answered, but they need to addressed.
