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THE SAX-Y NEW YORK JAZZ SCENE The historical genre that keeps on evolving Words by Joelle de Poto Art by Dorothea Dolan | Designed by Emily Saraidarian
In our fast-paced American culture, we are always looking ahead to something new. Even in a culturally rich place like New York City, it can be challenging to care about the past and make time to be present. And yet, jazz prevails in NYC as a means of creating community and engaging with history and culture. Hailing artists from all over the world, NYC’s jazz scene is diverse and lively. Today, jazz clubs play a significant role in making NYC’s nightlife scene vibrant. To learn more about the experience of attending a jazz club in NYC, Jerk spoke with Timea Czira, a college student living in NYC who has attended several live jazz events. Although Czira claims she is “not a connoisseur of jazz,” she enjoys attending jazz clubs for their immersive quality. One venue that Czira praised is The Flatiron Room, a whiskey bar with live music. “The sounds really filled the room,” Czira said. “It was much more of an experience than just listening to a jazz song.” Within the NYC jazz scene, there are niches for different communities. “NYC has a lot of jazz clubs that have been around for a very long time, and all of them feature different kinds of jazz from different places,” Czira said. For example, Bill’s Place is owned by Harlemborn saxophonist Bill Saxton, who focuses primarily on pure jazz in performance. Another cultural jazz venue that Czira talked about was Tomi Jazz, a Japanese jazz and blues club. “It feels historical, which I think is the entire appeal and charm of the place because it’s not like an average jazz bar,” Czira said. Jerk also had the opportunity to hear from Annie
Chen, a jazz vocalist and composer, who performs at a variety of jazz venues and leads Voyagers, her current ensemble of musicians. As a collaborative performer, Chen emphasized the importance of communication in live jazz. “[Other musicians] really have a great sense of what your composition is about; they will try to support your music as much as they can,” Chen said. In jazz performance, performers communicating with their fellow musicians is just as important as communicating feelings to the audience. In addition, Chen spoke about the importance of multiculturalism in jazz. Speaking about her own practice, she explained the importance of Chinese culture and international influences in her work. “My goal is to fuse my culture, my background, and the things that I love,” Chen said. Likewise, her interest in experimentation engages audiences from many different cultural backgrounds. According to Chen, different areas in NYC have different levels of jazz immersion. Brooklyn, for example, has people who are more interested in experimentation. “You can play very, very crazy original music, and everybody will appreciate it because you just present your character,” Chen said. Chen’s words reflect the unique qualities of the NYC jazz scene. Although the interests of jazz audiences may differ, each audience shares their love for live music and their support for jazz as an art form. In the vast variety of jazz venues in NYC, there is always something new to be discovered and there are always elements from jazz’s past to appreciate.