I asked Google for the definition of “camaraderie” and it said: mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together. This, to me, is one of the core values of Jazz. It is also one of my favorite things about Jazz.
In general, I don’t like making fanfares over a “special occasion.” I want things to be cool in a very understated kind of way. I also don’t like to be asked, “what’s good at The Jazz Gallery?” because everyday is special at The Gallery. Lol. At least that’s how I feel. So when Roy’s would-have-been-50th Birthday was approaching, I wasn’t going to do anything special at first. I feel that The Jazz Gallery keeps doing what it does everyday and that is the best tribute to Roy and his legacy: but then it came to me one day that there is a way to honor his memory and to celebrate him on this, after all, a special day. Jam Session! Of course. What else?
Two things come to my mind when I think of Roy. His enormous love of music and the generosity of his spirit on the bandstand. When he passed away, everyone, I mean everyone had a story of their interactions and encounters with Roy at a jam session some place in the world: NYC, Europe, Japan, Cuba, or wherever. He would go anywhere and play with anyone.
One of my fondest moments happened when Dale took me to Cuba with Roy’s quintet which was performing at the Havana Jazz Festival. It was 2002. One afternoon, I was sitting in the courtyard of Hotel Nacional with Roy, drinking mojito like everyone else. Roy was staring and listening intently to the local band performing for the guests. I think he was the only person who was really paying attention to the music. When they started playing this old bolero, Roy half got up from his chair with his horn and made a gesture to one of the old gentlemen in the band if he can come up. When the guy waved come on, Roy jogged to them and learned, “La Puerta.” Roy loved sharing the music wherever he was. He was down to play with really anyone and pretty much most of the time.
This is one of the truly beautiful things about Jazz. Yes, I love polished and sophisticated compositions that are well rehearsed, too, but Jazz and its practitioners' ability to connect and allow truly meaningful communication between strangers on the fly is wondrous. I feel that Jazz is the only art form where people from any place in the world can come together and converse without being able to speak each others’ languages. Jazz is the language.
We used to host a jam session at 290 Hudson Street for about two years before we had to stop. Every Saturday from 1 am to 4 am. It was really fun and I was so happy to provide the space where cats can hang and be with each other. Duane Eubanks ran the session and the house band was James Hurt, Tarus Mateen or Eric Revis, and Nasheet Waits or Eric McPherson or someone like that. But it eventually had to stop. Since The Jazz Gallery is not a bar, we really didn’t have a means to bring in cash to sustain the session. Ever since then, I have been thinking on and off that I really want to bring the session back. It’s an important forum in the tradition of this music.
As I watched Jaleel Shaw run the session in celebration of Roy’s 50th birthday, I was reminded of that and how much I enjoyed being in that communal space. It’s nice to hear young musicians I have never checked out before. It was amazing when Tain got up on the stage to show everyone how it’s REALLY done. Renee Neufville taught everyone how to pull everything together. Some young cats got to play with their heroes.
It seems that less and less people are going to sessions. Everyone is in their own cocoon and is trying to be different and unique. I get that. You want to make your mark. But it is also important that we all embrace one of the most cherished spirit of Jazz: camaraderie. Jazz is a language and the only way we are going to be fluent in it is to go out there and start talking to each other.
I’m going to somehow figure this out (a.k.a. $$) and bring back the session at The Jazz Gallery. I’ll keep you posted.