7/4/19:</br>ensemble
We’re all in this together. On Independence Day, we might take measure of how dependent on each other we actually are—in this community, this country, this world.
The jazz ensemble is a perfect metaphor for this interdependence. For good music, each player deserves maximum freedom for deep expression with an attendant obligation to fit in and support everyone else in the ensemble. Doesn’t this sound a lot like democracy? We have rights to be us and responsibilities to the common good. Abridge the rights of the individual or neglect the rules of the road and the music suffers.
Gail Boyd correctly identifies the music we present here @exuberance as African America’s gift to the world. Celebrations and bromides about freedom on this day invoke a history of injustice and struggle that resonates in its sometimes angular lines and fulsome choruses. There is both reproach and redemption in this music. Today’s public discourse has become increasingly clouded by brutishness. Everything about our music is the antithesis of brutishness. In jazz we trust.
Our experiment in crowd-funded piano jazz begins its fourth season. Audiences hunger for great jazz. Musicians need great listeners. @exuberance plays matchmaker to fructify this interdependence. And we depend on all you all for that.
We pledge to continue presenting swinging virtuosos and heterogeneous ensembles with respect to ethnicity and gender. We will always respect the music and the musicians. The sustainability of our pursuits depends on you—our audience.
Here’s what you can do:
Attend our salons. You’re not just treating yourself. You’re supporting worthy artists.
Bring young people to our salons. The health of this music depends on audience development which depends, in part, on you.
Volunteer to help out (at the bar or elsewhere).
Become an overnight host for a musician. The costs of lodging can make or break an @exuberance booking.
In August, we’ll be presenting our 50th salon @exuberance. The artist signatures multiplying on our wall tell a story of an evolving haven for piano jazz—117 musical artists and counting. Thank you for making that possible.
wishing you well,
Matt