Matthew J. Bellisario 2023
The question is often asked, is Jazz music dying? Is it relevant in today’s culture? What does the genre of Jazz consist? Should the question be restated as, is traditional Jazz dying? The short answer is that traditional Jazz music will never completely die. However, a more important question may be, can you hear traditional Jazz at a music venue near you? For many across the country, the answer is no. In fact, unless you live in a major city you probably won’t hear traditional jazz in style of bebop, or hard-bop at a music venue. Sure if you are in New York you can find it, but in many more rural areas or smaller cities, you are probably hard pressed to find a venue that regularly has it. The level of musicianship is also a consideration. How many musicians truly know and understand the Jazz language?
Thankfully, here in Birmingham, AL we have a unique situation where we have live traditional Jazz music every week played by high level musicians. Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame trumpet player José Carr has been holding live jam sessions for many years trying to keep traditional Jazz alive. He along with another Alabama Jazz of Famer trumpet player Bo Berry and other experienced Jazz musicians take the stage every Tuesday evening at 7PM at True Story Brewing Company and play for 3 hours non-stop. This jam session is not only a blessing for the musicians who learn from these sessions, but also for those listeners who sit in the seats every week to hear a unique session never to be repeated. Several musicians drive 2 or 3 hours to come and sit in, and you never know who is going to show up.
Another issue is the fact that many have not been exposed to Jazz. A live experience offers them the opportunity to do so. Sadly, Jazz music counts only for just over 1% of all music sales in the U.S. This means that not many people are truly familiar with the music, and so it is a foreign musical language to them. The live experience however can change that, leading to more people listening to this group of talented musicians, both living and deceased. Once you hear a live version of ‘You Go to My Head’, or ‘A Night in Tunisia’ in a live setting, you are compelled to further explore the genre, leading you to uncovering great musicians such as Lee Morgan or Dizzy Gillespie. In short, the live experience inspires the listener to embark on a journey into Jazz music.
Our new documentary, ‘So You Say You Play Jazz’ offers a glimpse into the live Jazz music scene and why it is important for the future of Jazz music. This unique experience of Jazz music is experienced through the life of Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame trumpet player José Carr and the musicians who accompany him during his live jam sessions. The film highlights Carr’s passion for preserving the experience of live Jazz music, teaching future generations, and educating the public about the history of Jazz in Birmingham. It illustrates the importance of traditional Jazz and why more musicians once they hear it take notice and want to learn more about it. We hope that this film inspires others to embrace Jazz music so that people in every part of America can have access to this unique American music tradition. So you say you play Jazz? That is a serious statement indeed! Let’s inspire others to support live Jazz music.
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