| | As I sit here thinking what to say about the Philadelphia Jazz Scene, I'm only reminded of how far it has come to me and then again how fast it has disappeared. The first time I went to Ortlieb's Jazz Haus back in February of 1998, I was amazed at how the musicians just whipped through the songs. I sat there wondering how they just sat around song after song and decided what song to play next. There weren't any questions about the speed in which they would play them. No questions as to who would solo first. The music just flowed, and I thought, "That's is definately something I would like to do". That was a Thursday night and by Saturday afternoon, I had rented an alto saxophone from my local music store. In the coming years, I have met lots of nice people, musicians and non-musicians in and around the jazz scene in Philadelphia. Ortlieb's, Chris's Jazz Cafe, Zanzibar Blue, Deetrick's in Jenkintown, etc. For a lot of younger musicians coming up, the opportunity to play on stage in dwindling down to only a handful of choices. Maybe the economy is to blame? Maybe people are losing interest in jazz music? We have a venue here in Philadelphia that is, in my opinion, undersourced. The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. This venue was built from the ground up especially for jazz but hardly do they have top performances there. This is another sign of the times. If a "HOUSE OF JAZZ" can't make it, then the smaller spots have no chance. We are now reduced to a Sunday matinee of maybe 2 hours. Something must to be done to preserve this music. If people can't go when they want to hear it live, and get the youth involved at an early age, there will SURELY be no Philadelphia Jazz Scene in a few years. |
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