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I'm going to say some things that have nothing to do with... [waves hand nonchalantly towards current Western events].
1. I like being asked about my work. I actually like talking about my work with people, and appreciate when people talk about my work.
1. I like being asked about my work. I actually like talking about my work with people, and appreciate when people talk about my work.
2. I despise the situation where people steadfastly ignore my work, and then in the middle of a global crisis, ask me to talk about my work because it looks like I've been busy.
3. I'm also not a fan of the situation where my work is ignored, but when I confront an issue, I'm only of any value because of the issue and not my work.
The last two points are small escapades really (not big adventures), but it does give me some insight into how hard it must be for other people in modern music.
I hope that the music in #freeness and the way I talk about that music represents not a "trendiness"; but the music, appreciated. I'm primarily concerned with articulating the method, and the joy of the process.
Some of this was prompted by a very good discussion with @GuildhallJazz students (set up by @robertmitchellm)., but also conversations with the brilliant @ggj92415171 (who is hardly ever on here) about advocacy, and the process/ethics of advocacy of improvised music.
One of the things that came to me while I was rambling in a vaguely coherent mode was that I have had a tripartite role in music for a while: the booker/advocate, the musician, and the reporter (although not in the sense that I write for a publication).
Whenever I'm asked to talk somewhere -- I generally head towards talking about making music. Because that is what work is seen as, right? But in terms of loving music, and putting it on in spaces, I always miss that bit of work off.
As some of you know, I have been promoting gigs since 1995. I was also one of the founder of B'ham Uni Jazz Society (along with @richardmbarnard and some others), and we put on a series of gigs including @JulArgJazz, Tomorrow's Warriors/J-Life, and @DenysBaptiste
That was my main focus, actually. I never wanted to be a "player", but just show my love of music by listening to great musicians. I didn't have a venue, but I could always find spaces -- Derby WAS full of them before the council and university gorged on the flesh of the city.
I learned A LOT about programming through Alan Cross at The Bear in Bearwood. I did the door there while I was at uni. I also did the door at Derby Jazz, and learned a lot there too.
I also learned A LOT from @dudleyevans, since his programming was probably the basis for a lot of the things I'm into now. Weird having met David Murray as an audience member AND as support for his quartet, many years later.
But the person I know I have learned the most from -- even though I have known him for the shorter amount of time -- is @jazzalertman. I met Paul while I was full-steam-ahead in the work of music making, negotiating clemency with @hawkinsmusic's charts.
(not that I had the charts in front of me for the gig. I have standards)
(I also can't read Standard Western notation)
