My good friend Joe Higham sent me the link to an interview with Charlie Parker that had been posted on YouTube. Most interesting because in general not having had much opportunity to listen to Bird in verbal exchanges rather than the musical variety. He comes across as being a highly intelligent and very articulate individual.

What really made me really sit up and listen was the assumption - on the part of the interviewer was that Bird had by some form of osmosis acquired an incredible technique without having to work at it. The assumption that some folk just have it their in their genes. Pick up the horn and out streams Donna Lee - no problem.

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This morning I had a sad email from California following on from my 'Jazz Clubs Worldwide September Newsletter' where I talked about the current health of the jazz scene internationally. I quote:

"Hello Peter:  I wanted you to know, in case you haven't heard, that Charlie O's Jazz Club in Southern California closed down for good on August 31,  2011.  You can remove our listing from your website.  Your message this month  strikes close to me.  The economy here in California is so bad, the jazz fans  are non-existent and add to that all of the expenses to do business in CA and you've got another jazz club gone.  All the best to you Peter and thanks for listing our club all these years, Jo-Ann"

"Charlie O's is an intimate jazz club and restaurant originally established in 1987. We have been presenting live jazz performances seven nights a week from 8 PM to Midnight since August 17, 2000". If you check out their website which is still on-line: http://www.charlieos.com/ You will that this venue presented both local heroes and major names.

This is The United States of America. The birthplace of jazz.  A music that arguably is one of the twentieth centuries most significant contributions to world culture. So why no audience ?

My own live experience of jazz clubs is limited mainly to the United Kingdom and Western Europe. In the United Kingdom in particular the thing I see almost everywhere is the lack of younger faces. Please correct me if I am wrong but talking to people with some knowledge of the United States jazz scene I do get a distinct impression that a similar situation exists. Surely this is a very unhealthy. Jazz is not some passing fancy.    

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How often do we hear proclaimed loudly by the publicists, in newspapers, in magazines, on radio, on television      " Behold the new Billie Holiday " or the linking of some rather average talent to artists  - usually dead - who really were great.

It really is astonishing what hype can and does achieve. Constant repetition drives the message in. Large numbers of people consciously or unconsciously fall in to agreement. What a joy for the marketing men who I suspect really do not in general care less about the quality of the product just so long as the  message sells tracks, album, ticket, and all the other money making adjuncts.

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To paraphrase the quotation 'I have always depended on the kindness of strangers' It is in my view a truism that jazz,has to a great extent, looked for its promotion, venues, and general wellbeing  'on the enthusiasm of individuals '.

To take the example of jazz clubs. It would be interesting to evaluate just how many were founded and run by individuals who got into it because they loved the music and the jazz life - the majority I would anticipate. Wonderful clubs such as the '606 Jazz Club' that has been active for more years than the owner - - would like to remember - or perhaps the oposite - recollection is perhaps the motivation that makes him continue promoting a style of music that rarely makes anyone rich - or even moderately affluent.

The best jazz clubs do fall into this pattern. For jazz is not the ideal vehicle for corporate ambition and objectives. Love them or hate them - many jazz clubs owners are not particularly easy individuals - the jazz loving public know who they are and quietly admire their tenacity.

The Bierodrome a wonderful venue run by the late Pol Lenders only managed to survive for less then two years after his departure. Bought by the couple of individuals, who thought they were going a turn the place into some species of cash cow, they lacked even the most basic insight into what make a great jazz club function. The punters voted with their feet. The result a very sad hole in the Brussels jazz scene.

I do know that other genres also can depend on individual enthusiasm foe the specific style of music: Classic. Opera. Rock. Country and Western. et al. The essential difference is that potential earnings are astronomic compared to what can be earned by jazz promoters and jazz musicians.

National attitudes also have an impact. What percentage of the American public really appreciate of care about the contribution jazz made and continues to make to their culture. In the United Kingdom where there still exists a solid public for jazz but sadly hardly ever attracts younger people to turn up for the majority of gigs. This in itself is interesting and poses a question. Most will tell you that younger people in the United Kingdom  do not like and are not interested in jazz. Yet a couple of weeks ago I went, for the second time, to a very well organised jam session held in a bar in the heart of a student quarter of Manchester. The place was heaving and listening. 'Thank you for the music' said one young couple to me at the end of the gig.

So what place does jazz have in a given national conciousness ?

My very good friend the late Pol Lenders was honoured by the commune where he lived until his death by the naming of a street after him. I think we will have to wait a long time before we see a 'Ronnie Scott Street, London WI'. 

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It has become a familiar sight. At  jam sessions - forgivable - perhaps. On gigs - not so acceptable - just my opinion. What am I referring to ? The array of one or more Smart Phones being used to display the Real Book. Propped up on the music stand of the piano. The bass player his eyes glued to the screen. A horn player squinting at a distance.

Why not you might say. Why not indeed. Calculators have removed the necessity to learn basic arithmetic. Chords on a Smart Phones are removing the motivation to actually learn a specific chord sequence.

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Looking at some upcoming some major jazz festival programmes one wonders just what are the jazz credentials of many of the listed Headliners. Rock musicians yes. World Music maybe. Who knows what kind of music much of the time.

The problem is that many of the big festivals built their reputations and the ability to draw in large audiences by featuring jazz legends. However a high percentage of these recognizable Jazz Legends are no longer with us. There are many wonderful jazz musicians and groups very much alive and playing, but without any disrespect, they do not - at least at this time - the pull that the Miles,Gillespies, et al. had.

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ZAGREB (AFP) – Croatian jazz great Bosko Petrovic, who has played and recorded with many international stars, died here Monday at the age of 75, the national musicians' association said.

Petrovic, born in 1935 in the northern town of Bjelovar, was a vibraphone player, composer, arranger, producer and pedagogue.

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I have spent the last couple of days moving Jazz Clubs Worldwide - and a significant number of other sites to a new server. This is always a somewhat stressful activity but all seems correct with the migration. The new server is a much faster box than my old one. More memory, disk space, and a much faster system. This is particularly noticeable when accessing features such as Jazz Community Worldwide - database driven platforms.


You might like to have a look at this video. Sent to me by may good friend the saxophonist Joe Higham.

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Festival Diary 9th. of July 2010


Porec is a town located on the west coast of Istria. Due to its extraordinary geographical position, its natural attractions and cultural monuments, Porec is today one of the most important touristic sites in Croatia. The town which was designed in its current form by Romans two thousand years ago still preserves the traces of its rich past in its Old Town, and displays numerous cultural monuments, including the early christian Euphrasius's Basilica from the sixth century, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Valamar Jazz Festival site was situated on the island of Sveti Nikola, opposite Porec, in the grounds of a hotel, beautiful surroundings, and a the view of the sea and the Town.

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Festival Diary 8th. of July 2010

Long drive from Brussels 1350 km. Just to add to the joys blew out a rear tyre on the car around 6.00am en route to Stuttgart. The wheel having been put on at a tyre centre and the bolts tightened with a pneumatic device - impossible to loosen the wheel. Had to call out a mechanic to do this for me. Wheel brace and around two metres of steel tubing and it was still a strain. 

Arrived in Porec after midnight. The spare type causing vibration so had to keep my speed down. Weather very hot indeed. Mirna Cubranic, production Valamar Jazz Porec, was very kindly awaiting our arrival at the press office at the Riviera Hotel. Designated  the hotel where we were going to stay and provided a taxi to lead us there. 

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