“Music is a necessity, it is part of the core of every human being” -William Parker centeringMusic
It is time to come together for the first and last and every time it is needed. The music business like life is unfair. Music itself is perfection. If we go all the way we can succeed if we half step we will fail. If we stand together, if we stand for something, if we demand what is needed, for a moment, we will be able to resist the overwhelming mediocrity and banal influence of a world controlled by pervasive greed. -W&P Parker
Artists as Human Beings should use our voices to help create a better world. But we must also be the leaders of our own Destiny. We live in a society that mistreats Artists in ways not dissimilar to how women are treated. Too often we are either idolized or disregarded. Society pimps out the work of the musician, artist as decoration or for a good time. Our role as Truth Tellers (not in a literal sense but in a profound inspirational sense) is discouraged. In this first iteration of the FreeJazz Convention, we come together to bring our real value and our real needs to the eyes and ears of our larger community. By standing together, we can begin to take the steps that are necessary to have our most powerful art flourish so that all will benefit. We learn from the past. We learn from the present. We create the future. – Patricia Nicholson Parker
There is parallel road, a continuum often ignored despite, it’s loud whispering backed by history of fact, work, deed, blood, tears and death, with no acclaim or acknowledgement to one who gives spark to the possibility of a different idea. The freedom of difference which speaks to the individual and to the collective community is formed by an agreed vibration rather than trend setting slick . We find ourselves in a time of redundancy the repeated act of interview as to doubt and put into question the legitimacy of a music backed by the pillars of note, i.e. Coltrane, Ayler, Taylor, Coleman and Ra . It is the need of this conference to inform, educate and equip the artist and the lay person with the understanding of this music and the resources to help it flourish both for the artist benefit and the general public . JBLewis
In any music, It’s particularly difficult to suss out what something is before it happens. Any amount of careful planning can be thrown to the wind as something begins to exist. Importantly, the same un-rule exists outside of our craft and swallows much of the reality we share. The conference we’ve been tasked with employs the parameters of setting guidelines, counter-ideas and counter-arguments to the so called “status quo”, of the supposed “jazz industry”. This is something that all in attendance may have gripes, concerns, talking points, experiences with, information to be made open source, etceteras etceteras. Ideally, this FreeJazz conference may be a place to air the laundry, clean or dirty and decide on possible solutions to the ills that plague this thing we’re in. What it actually is, is very much up to those in attendance. A very exciting prospect. -Brandon Lopez
There is a major shift happening in the world of Improvised Music. We wish to catalyze and galvanize the legacy of “Free Jazz” first coined by Ornette Coleman as an artistic statement, breaking new ground in the tradition of jazz. The music was developed and honed in the tumultuous period of the 1960s, when many musicians were birthed directly from the struggle for justice. Musicians began to explore these concepts, organizing their communities around the music while dedicating themselves to creative innovation. With this Convention and within the context of organized working sessions we will make space for emerging leaders in concert with veterans and elders to share knowledge, experience, and resources. The importance and urgency of this new beginning cannot be overstated. There have been multiple avenues of destruction of the greater society, with Free Jazz musicians being greatly affected.” - Luke Stewart (Triple U, Bassist)
