Jazz Bohemia Revisited is an artistic creation conceived and crafted as an endeavor of absolutely no commercial value. This does not mean, however, that it falls into the category of art for art’s sake, or even worse, “pure†art. Jazz, or, the art of improvisation as it really is in the tradition of musical styles – not, the commercialization of a sociological phenomenon – is by nature a spontaneous flaunting of notes on a page that can be reproduced and, of course, charged for$$$ Its raison d’etre is the freedom of what is being done at that moment, with no concern for profit or marketability. This spirit of rebellion against societal norms provides the ideas that shape its revolutionary forms.
The social stigma that has gone with playing “jazz†has as much to do with the horror that the establishment will not make money off of it, as it does with the a historical concept that it is race music. Now, let’s not be naïve. People did start to make money by exploiting the musicians right from its rise to popularity outside the marginal world of alcohol, drugs and prostitution that nourished the sounds where improvisation could flourish. But, the necessity to create and will to express oneself in one artistic mode or another go far beyond the exigencies imposed by the profit motive. Ernst Fisher called it, simply, the “necessity of artâ€.
The music presented here, or recreation in renaissance terminology, is such a work: art to be enjoyed in its totality or in miniature, savoring the notes above the notes or those wandering in search of a lost unity. It is dedicated to the memory of Jaki Byard (Newberry St., Blue Hill Ave. and Wally’s Paradise on Mass. Ave.). The art of improvisation is what he lived and taught. His untimely death leaves us with a deeply felt sense of loss. From his beginnings with the Jaki Byard trio (AFRO) and 16-piece big band, Al Francis has devoted a lifetime to the ideas that emerged from Jaki’s studio in Boston in the 50’s. Charles Smith, BSO ret., instilled in the young percussionist- studying days and playing nights- an awareness of the philosophical potential of his instruments, putting him in contact with the music and ideas of the experimenters with the new music of the time. Al expanded his intense desire to understand and create art to further studies of aesthetics in literature and art with years of study with Julio Rodriguez-Puértolas(SUNY, UCLA, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), and Raimundo Lida at Harvard University.
Our Videos
Jazz Bohemia Tribute to Red Norvo Trio 4
Jazz Bohemia Quintet 2 Jaki Byard Tribute