| In times such as these, where the lack of true and unconventional love is a marketable commodity, where various degrees of madness, violence and corruption all over the planet are coupled with the rising prices of food, oil, rent and with the constant, diminishing power of the dollar, there is need for a high level of both mental and spiritual healing—one of the greatest vehicles of which is that of improvisational music. African-American, Classical, music of the spirit and Jazz are some music styles indigenous to this country, and it is these musical forms which are also enhanced by the sound traditions of other cultures. |  |
State Of The Music Address – Andrew Lamb
In times such as these, where the lack of true and unconventional love is a marketable commodity, where various degrees of madness, violence and corruption all over the planet are coupled with the rising prices of food, oil, rent and with the constant, diminishing power of the dollar, there is need for a high level of both mental and spiritual healing—one of the greatest vehicles of which is that of improvisational music.
African-American, Classical, music of the spirit and Jazz are some music styles indigenous to this country, and it is these musical forms which are also enhanced by the sound traditions of other cultures. In both America and abroad, music acts like a living entity spreading a certain warmth and balance that remains in harmony with the rest of the universe. When an individual is blessed by his creator as a messenger of music—when he is given a voice to sing or an instrument to play—that individual not only has the responsibility to perform at the height of his ability, but he must also uphold a responsibility to all of those who wish that they could sing and/or play their favorite instrument the way that musician can. Also, some of the finest musicians in the world who share this point of view and who have been performing for decades are those living in New York City.
These artists who have continued to not only represent the tradition of the music but who have also continued constantly to innovate and to take their music to boundless levels of art, creativity and expression, are in need of a big smile, a big hug, a big shot of redemption and a sea of appreciation. But, it’s hard to get even a small piece of this in New York. This is partly because the city does not have a full-time, major 18 to 24-hour radio station that is dedicated to such music, and that features all dimensions of music openly and evenly. If and when this becomes a reality, the national and international audiences will increase at all performances. This could lead to the opening of more clubs and performance spaces that could do good business, have top level music every night as well as the vision to compensate musicians correctly so that the experience might have a more lucrative existence. In addition, it would also be tremendous if the musicians looked back to the days of loft spaces and created business ventures to open musician-owned and managed establishments. At the same time, musicians could then teach the young and have master classes in these spaces so that such a culture could continue to thrive in New York’s five boroughs, out among the people.
Such music has been embraced all over the planet and what a wonderful thing that is. But, what is really fascinating is to arrive in another state in this country while on tour or visiting and to discover that your music, and the music of several of your friends and comrades, has been featured in radio festivals—that it has been played as theme songs and such there and, yet, it is still either not heard or hardly ever heard in the city in which you live, such as New York City, a cultural melting pot and one of the most lucrative regions in the world for music. In closing, my optimism tells me that everything improves in time.
