the united states of jazz
Feeling good about the state of @exuberance, our 2-year experiment in piano jazz presentation. Every performance has been out-of-the-park. Masterful musicians grooving and dancing us home—where the heart is.
There are many kinds of jazz. Here @exuberance we present music that hits these notes:
virtuosic performers
melodic repertoire
deep swing/clave
race & gender-diverse ensembles
soulful, expressive playing
risk-taking intimacy
good humor
respect for our jazz and Latin traditions
Jazz and Latin, these siblings of West African parentage, share an emotional energy. Call it happiness, joy, exuberance. We hear it in Louis Armstrong’s recordings whether he’s playing or singing—that transcendently ebullient voice. Given the oppressive circumstances of his birth—the stain and shame of our nation—that voice defiantly reproaches evil with a ferocious love.
It is a voice that carries across boundaries. In his preface to The Bass Saxophone, Josef Škvorecký describes the stifling oppression Czechs experienced under Nazi, then Soviet, occupation. Jazz was similarly outlawed by both regimes, leading to the clandestine sharing of 78 acetates in brown paper wrappers. The exact denotations of the music might have been unclear. Not knowing that Armstrong’s “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue” refers to a fine female, Škvorecký writes that he and his friends pondered, “What on earth it could mean: walking pompously with a piece of animal carcass roasted whole?” Yet the music's connotations were clear—“an élan vital, a forceful vitality, an explosive energy as breathtaking as that of any true art, that may be felt even in the saddest of blues. Its effect is cathartic.” And therefore subversive to the ears of “slavers, czars, fuehrers, first secretaries, marshals, generals and generalissimos, ideologists at either end of the spectrum.”
When I came to Philadelphia in the mid-70s, the all-jazz WRTI’s moniker was “The Freedom Sounds.” I believe that slogan suits this music well. Jazz stands as a peculiarly American institution of creative substance, complexity, intelligence, compassion, courage and conscience and, as such, comprises our greatest contribution to world culture.
It’s heartening to see jazz on the up-swing here in Philadelphia. It’s fitting that our cradle of liberty should resonate with jazz’s impulses: personal expressive freedom and deep interdependency. Our nation has yet to fully realize its democratic aspirations and remains challenged by generalissimos and their ilk. This is why jazz is so relevant. Let our children hear the music that reminds us of balancing the needs of the individual with those of the many. Let them hear joyful, infectious swing and witness the endless miracles of cooperative ensemble. Let them witness slack-jawed the soaring improvisations and ambitions of musicians connecting us with our better selves. Let them be awed by technical skill and touched by the tenderness and skillful honesty that lie in this music.
Many thanks to the accomplished and inspired musicians who have dignified our space. And to all of you who have borne witness to our gatherings. With your support, @exuberance will continue to program pianists and ensembles with élan vital that reflect and inspire the democratic and soulful aspirations we share. Happy Interdependence Day.
-Matt