Give jazz the chance to put down some roots

Oh no, I hear you sigh, not another impassioned plea from an arts organisation pleading for a "space of its own". But bear with me, members of the jury, for the defence will ably demonstrate the overwhelming case that its client, the Irish jazz community, has just cause to seek reparations in the form of bricks and mortar for the practitioners and audiences of this burgeoning art form.

In his introduction to the first issue of the Journal of Music In Ireland, Toner Quinn alludes to the fact that Irish jazz, while "not without its problems", has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth over the last decade. One could argue that those same problems are part and parcel of the current vitality of jazz in Ireland. Dysfunctional art forms, like families, tend to be so much more interesting, and infinitely better company, than their well-adjusted counterparts.

Those within the community would also state that many of the critical issues facing the music have been addressed, with varying degrees of success, over the last 10 years. Organisations like Improvised Music Company, Newpark Music Centre and others have made significant progress in the areas of education, recording and performance, and the music is enjoying an enviable media profile. But success has brought new challenges, and chief among these is the provision of adequate performance space for a genre that relies so heavily on the live experience.

In advancing the argument for a dedicated jazz venue, it's necessary to look at the existing environment for jazz performance. A quick scan of the entertainment listings will point to plenty of activity, but when is it taking place and, more importantly, where? Certainly, the major international acts are performing in the salubrious surroundings of Vicar Street et al, but how many local musicians or breaking acts can fill a 600seater venue?

Further probing of the listings will reveal that the mainstay of local performance is ye olde Irish pub, usually on the graveyard shifts of Sunday lunchtime and Monday or Tuesday evenings. Even the availability of this bastion of live performance is dwindling, however, which may be a reflection of the receding role of the public house in Irish cultural life. The new breed of uberpublican is no longer satisfied with the comparatively low spend generated by a clientele that likes music more than beer.

The Improvised Music Company's present home is J. J. Smyth's on Aungier Street, Dublin 2, a traditional Dublin pub, family-owned, and as far removed from the multi-million pound gargle temples as you could imagine. Need I say more.

Which is not to say that pubs are a suitable space for jazz performance in the first place. There's the fight to be heard, of course, but worst of all is the fact that jazz performance in pubs encourages the idea that there is a symbiotic relationship between jazz and alcohol - or worse, that the music exists as a subservient aural backdrop to the communal activity of drinking.

Working in this environment has contributed to the underachievement of successive generations of Irish musicians.

It's high time for jazz and its fellow-travellers, such as improvised and world music, to put down some roots. There is compelling evidence, to paraphrase the Charlie Parker composition, that "now's the time". A recent feasibility study conducted by the Improvised Music Company points to overwhelming support for a dedicated venue, and the attendance of 3,000 at our summer open day in Temple Bar coupled with capacity houses at the ESB Dublin Jazz Week is indicative of the dramatic growth in the jazz audience.

?????????????????/ile de Valera's ACCESS funding programme notwithstanding. A recent article by Helen Meany in this newspaper highlighted the proliferation of new theatres and arts centres around the country, sounding a cautionary note about the dangers of building venues where demand and usage has not been proven. While many of these new venues profess to be "multi-disciplinary", the reality is that music comes a poor second to theatre production and visual art, and basic requirements such as flexible acoustic design, adequate PA systems and pianos are a rarity. With the best will in the world, it's well-nigh impossible to present one-off concert events if your performance space is tied up for a three-week theatre run or exhibition. Too many arts centres around the country are biased in this regard, a reflection of the fact that the upper echelons of Irish arts management are dominated by theatre professionals. It may be time for a quota system to be introduced, where venues have an obligation to programme a minimum number of music events per year.

Dublin is the only major European capital without a dedicated performance space for jazz and related music. When it does have one, such a space will be a catalyst for growth and an engine for creativity, in much the same way as the IFC serves Irish cinema, IMMA serves contemporary art, Firkin Crane serves dance, and so on.

The Improvised Music Company has proposed exactly such a centre to the Department of the Arts under its ACCESS funding scheme, and we reckon we'll know next month how we fared. I hope the department makes the right decision and lends its support to an element of the infrastructure for which there is such emphatic demand.

Two years into the new century, it's time that artists, students and audiences of this major 20th-century art form can perform, listen to and learn about it in an environment that does it justice. The defence rests.

This is an edited version of an article appearing in the January/ February issue of the Journal of Music in Ireland

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