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AAJ Publisher Michael Ricci Participates in "State of Jazz in Philly" Panel at the Kimmel Center

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By Victor L. Schermer

On, Friday, March 2, 2006, All About Jazz publisher Michael Ricci participated in a pre-concert panel discussion about “The State of Jazz in Philadelphia" held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The purpose of the panel, convened by Kimmel's Public Relations Director Paul Marotta, was to explore the current challenges and opportunities for jazz music and musicians in the Philadelphia area, taking into account the cultural, marketing, and technological changes and their impact on live jazz performance. (Although All About Jazz is an international community of fans, writers, and musicians, its executive headquarters are located in the Philadelphia area.)


All About Jazz's Michael Ricci demonstrates the regional capabilities of his website

Ricci began the discussion with an extensive description of developments in web technology that could help the jazz scene in Philadelphia. He suggested how AAJ services could be utilized by musicians and venues to increase their exposure. Projecting the website on a large computer screen, he showed the panelists and audience how the recent innovation, “My AAJ," personally customizes the site for the preferences of the individual reader. The visitor's zip code allows the site to provide regional information about musicians, concerts, nightclubs, etc., in the person's geographical area. He or she can then access the AAJ calendar to see upcoming events in the region, with links for further information, reservations, and ticket purchases. Such information could then also be added to a musicians' or venues' own website ("AAJ Live Calendar"), thereby connecting the jazz community on the web.



Ricci announced that, beginning March 15th, AAJ will host its own “Download Store" in collaboration with musicians, record labels and distributors. Jazz fans will be able to quickly download MP3 files of their favorite music, which are readily playable on various music sources from iPods to cell phones to home stereos. Above and beyond the record companies as such, musicians themselves will be able to sell tracks at the store.



Ricci expressed the hope that musicians and venues will increasingly take advantage of these AAJ services. He noted that All About Jazz doubled its traffic in the last two years and expects to have two million visitors by end of 2007.



Mervon Mehta, Vice-President for Programming at the Kimmel Center, then introduced the other panelists: Rick Lawn, Dean of the College of Performing Arts at the University of the Arts; Maureen Molloy and Jeff Duperon from WRTI-FM; and West Oak Lane Jazz Festival founders and organizers Warren Oree and Graziella D'Amelio. Mehta then asked some key questions of the panel regarding the visibility and popularity of jazz in Philadelphia. He first inquired, “Is there more jazz than ten years ago in Philly?" In response, Oree pointed out that, even though there are fewer clubs than in the past, there are in fact more opportunities for musicians in the way of workshops, teaching, performance, etc. Lawn added that “Our UArts jazz musician graduates often stay in Philly after they complete their studies and perform around the area. They enjoy living and working in this city. Also, they find that the theater and pit bands in Philadelphia are an important source of income for them." Lawn added that the music schools cooperate with clubs in attracting musicians to the area. For example, a musician will combine a master class and a couple of club dates and/or a concert in a visit here.




L-R: Mervon Mehta, Maureen Molloy, Jeff Duperon, Warren Oree, Graziella D'Amelio, Rick Lawn


The question arose about the relative lack of popularity of jazz compared with, say rock and hip hop, etc. D'Amelio argued that one reason is that jazz musicians are not as assertive and don't market themselves as strongly as rock musicians. But she did note that younger musicians tend to be more active in these respects. Furthermore, national jazz acts are coming through Philadelphia more frequently, which increases the popularity of the music. Jeff Duperon, a jazz show host at WRTI-FM, a highly respected jazz and classical station which serves an extended multi-state area, and now offers HD and internet availablility, pointed out that jazz requires an “active" listener (someone who takes the music seriously and listens introspectively), which makes jazz inherently more selective and less popular than rock and pop.



Mehta responded to this view of jazz as “sophisticated" music for the “elite" by pointing out the need of large venue like the Kimmel Center to attract large audiences for their Mellon Jazz series. “We turn down two to three times as many shows as we accept" on account of the need to fill the concert halls that are used. He then asked, “What do you think caused the lull in jazz in the 1970's-80's?" Oree replied that jazz had become an “underground scene," mentioning the musician Sam Rivers in this connection. The remainder of the discussion focused on how interest in jazz, especially among young people, could be increased. D'Amelio noted that jazz isn't getting enough TV exposure, despite such rare occasions as Ken Burns' PBS Series. Lawn added that interest in jazz shifted to Europe and Japan during the 1970's when many of the musicians became expatriates. Duperon responded, however, that jazz is increasing in popularity in the U.S., with players doing more tunes recognizable to young people: Stevie Wonder, etc. Oree, a fine bass player himself, stated that musicians need to interest audiences without compromising standards. “Musicians should be challenging but accessible. Know your audience and draw them in first." He put in a plug for the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival in June, which promises to be an outdoor multi-stage extravaganza in the heart of the community and which will draw old and new fans alike. The dialogue concluded with a somewhat peripheral discussion of the importance of lyrics in popular music, while jazz is mostly an intstrumental form.



The present writer found the discussion to be knowledgeable and stimulating and an important dialogue of the kind that can help local jazz people work together to increase jazz awareness and marketability. However, he wished there were more scholarly and historical input and an examination of why jazz, at one time an integral part of American popular music and culture, has lost that aura and, despite its expansion as an art form, seems at present to attract only a more specialized genre of audiences.

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