A reflexion on the contemporary Jazz scene in the UK

28/01/2023 - Entry 1

During the first seminar of the term, Matt Roberts introduced us to the British jazz scene from the ‘60s onwards.

It was an exciting lecture that helped contextualise this European aesthetic, something that I did not realise until now: but re-discovering some familiar music was surprising and made much sense.

It has been fascinating how the cross-influence between the European classical tradition and the American jazz heritage shaped new sounds and musical conceptions.

One musician that came to mind during the lecture was Eric Dolphy, thinking about how he moved to Europe before his death to fight the public's reluctance towards the reinvention and experimentation of Jazz music in the States.

*On the left: Matt Ridley ‘The Antidote’, Live at Pizza Express Soho during the London Jazz Festival, November 2022.*

Another interesting fact I would like to mention is that while casually reading Ron Miller’s 'Modal Jazz Composition & Harmony', I noticed an interesting reference to this topic:

‘The freedom of the approach will allow the composer to express himself in any style: Post-1950s jazz, classical, ECM, fusion, pop, etc., that is not tied to any harmonic particulars.’

I would not have understood this reference to ECM if it had not been introduced during the lecture, and for that, I am grateful!

10/02/2023 - Entry 2

During the last few weeks, we were introduced to the **Black and African Diasporas'** contribution to the fabric of the **British Jazz scene** with Chelsea Carmichael.
This topic ties the origin and influences of the current British jazz scene, which does not only include more traditional **swing** music but also the evolution and mixing of jazz music with other popular styles, such as **funk**, **afrobeat**, **dub**, and grime.
This seminar has been a very one so far, and I was glad that some familiar names and bands were mentioned: many of these artists were one of the reasons why I decided to move to the UK in 2018.
*On the right: a live at the CLF Art Lounge, Peckham, February 2023.*

I was familiar with the London scene while living in Barcelona, a city where electronic dance music is more prominent than in London and where the Jazz scene is much more closed up and not much innovative: during that time, I would listen to Kokoroko, Oscar Jerome, Ezra Collective, Yussef Dayes and others.

At the same time, I was listening to many Latin American and North American music (especially from the LA scene). However, moving to the Americas was not a good idea due to Visa and economic reasons.

The UK seemed more feasible, and London was an excellent option for more immersion in a new musical scene.

Overall, the approach of the seminar has been innovative and of cultural interest, as I doubt that a discussion about Black heritage would ever be considered in the countries where I have lived so far (Italy and Spain) where racial prejudice is very present and deeply sewn into most of the society, without people even realising it at times.

21/02/2023 - Entry 3

During our second performance session, I was delighted to play a redemption of 'Tonal' by the Joe Harriott Quintet with my classmates.

I enjoyed the piece and took a couple of videos during the rehearsal and the performance: I am sharing the second one, where we made a timing mistake during a section switch.

I have always loved listening to 'Free Jazz' but never really tried to play outside with the double bass, an instrument that I picked up around six months ago, the reason being unsatisfied and stuck with my electric bass playing. I learned a lot from this session and will investigate this concept further.

When taking solos, I have difficulty communicating to the drummer my wish for an "open" section, where I can be rhythmically untied and explore different timbres and phrases.

I will need to check on that and my intonation, as I am also having a hard time with bow practice on the double bass (as well as a high register limitation, I still cannot play in the thumb position).

But I have some private tuition with an excellent local teacher, so I will get better in a few months.

Overall, communication with the band was excellent during the performance, and even if we got lost around 2:15, we recovered well.

08/03/2023 - Entry 4

During our contextual lecture with Chelsea, we discussed several topics:
The historical sexualisation of women in music (e.g., expected to be singers and not instrumentalists).
How female musicians are often asked about their position in the music industry instead of focussing interviews on the music itself!
The importance of independent freelance work vs. agency work, as well as communication and help between freelancers of a specific scene (a concept that can be applied to other industries).
The new 'digital' trends and how they allow artists to collaborate with brands in other fields like fashion and arts. Today's artists' digital presence boosts this.
The importance of storytelling in music and the value of authenticity.
Jazz: How young kids can "pick it up" without prejudice and musical education background.

*On the left: Weekly Jazz Gig at the Royal Albert, New Cross, March 2023.*

We also discussed some issues related to the London scene, more specifically:

The fact that quintessentially, the London scene is the product of a mix of jazz music with other popular genres, such as afrobeat and grime. But what is the main ‘problem’ with the scene itself? One of the issues we pointed out during the seminar is how the London scene alone tends to overshadow other national scenes, such as the ones found in Leeds as well as Scotland.

Another point of discussion was about whether the London scene is a fad or not, in poor words, is it going to last?
The answer is unclear: but Chelsea pointed out that authenticity is the key as a general rule of thumb. Authentic music can help transcend the hype, elevating it to a new whole level and allowing it to keep its relevance through time.

Now, reasoning about the sound of the London scene, how can we describe the peculiarity of the scene in terms of it? It can be pointed out that there is a general lack of swing, allowing for broad explorations of alternative beats and feels.
We also had a quick discussion about the need for a new sound: Chelsea commented that the scene "could get more experimental" (half quoted). This could indeed be beneficial for the scene's longevity: maybe an extra injection of free jazz and electronics could help! Accessibility is another matter…how expensive is it to go to a gig nowadays and what efforts are being made in order to keep live music viable in an expensive city like London?

We also reasoned about some questions we should ask ourselves as artists: For example, how are people consuming music and content? It is clear that the latest social media trends are pushing audiences of all kinds to consume content that is shorter than ever. The attention span of the average content consumer is shorter than ever, so what can be done to catch the attention of the public? Of course, the best would be to revert this trend, but this seems unlikely to happen any time soon.

I also asked a question that concerned the use of the word Jazz. This question arose because I have followed the trumpeter Nicholas Payton on social media for a few years. I was first impressed by an article posted on his blog in 2013, where he speaks about the misuse of this word, as well as how the term Black American Music should be used instead when referring to this musical tradition. I personally find myself not having a defined opinion on this matter yet, so I’m trying to read some material to better understand it. Here are some interesting articles that can help getting introduced to this topic:

On the top: Live at the Matchstick Piehouse, Deptford, March 2023.

12/05/2023 - Entry 5 (Post assessment)

To conclude the module, we had a final performance to showcase what we have learned so far, thanks to the module. It was a pleasant and positive experience overall!

Our repertoire included: ‘Carry Me Home’ by Kokoroko, ‘Bad Company’ by Yazmin Lacey, ‘The Spoon’ by Oscar Jerome, ‘Sea Lady’ by Kenny Wheeler, ‘Door’ by Alfa Mist and ‘Tonal’ by Joe Harriott.

As the objective of the performance was to re-imagine contemporary jazz tunes, each member shared different ideas and outputs that helped us reshape the repertoire as much as possible. We also tried to make sure that every member could perform at least one solo in order to give some space for creative performance and improvisation.

Personally, I decided to play electric bass exclusively, and with the help of my pedalboard, I have tried to bring new sonorities to “Sea Lady” by creating a drone with a reverb and delay pedal, as well as experimenting with an octave pedal in “Bad Company” and “The Spoon”.

I was eager to try and explore different timbres with the electric bass, reaching unusual frequency ranges and trying to get a more electronic and experimental sound, something that always fascinated me.

I also took advantage of the module to transcribe some songs, and that is always a good exercise! The transcriptions can be found below.

To conclude, this module has been engaging, interesting and useful for me to gain theoretical insight into the history and current state of the jazz scene in the UK and, more specifically, in London. Thanks to all our lecturers at Goldsmiths!

Arrivederci,

Ottavio