by Harold McMillan

Damn! that was a good show. If you missed the April 24th Kenny Garrett Concert at the State Theater, you missed one of the few chances we Austin folks get to see up-close/hear live-and-in-person the hard edge of '90s neo-bop-funky jazz played by the guys who define exactly where the form is right now. Jeff "Tain" Watts played Philip Marshall's (local drummer boy) vintage Gretch drums at the State Theater, on Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. Kenny Kirkland's priceless hands, knowing nuance, soul of a true modern jazzman played Karen Kurkyndahl's (local real estate saleswoman/chaunteus) piano. I got to pick up bassist Nat Reeves at the airport. Kenny Garrett rode in Brad Andrews' cool and clean Caddy. Pam Hart and Elias Haslanger agreed to open on short notice. Jay Trachtenburg told you you needed to see/hear this show. Michael Point and Christopher Gray recommended that you go to this show...So did Jody Denberg, Doc Jones, Jazz Dave and Roger Brown. KOOP and KVRX gave away tickets on the air (others, too). Elizabeth and I put flyers on your windshields to tell about the show. Marlo, Doug, and Court called you and sent you invitations and press releases. AusTix gave you a good pre-sale price to come to the show. And Cedar Street let you in for free, with your Kenny Garrett ticket stub.

And in something short of two and one-half weeks we put together, arguably, one of the best jazz shows to come through Austin this year. It was billed as a fundraiser for the Clarksville Jazz Fest. And know what? It was a great time. Too bad you missed it. But, there will be more.

Like it said, it was billed as a fundraiser for our Jazz Fest. It didn't really work as that, but the show was an overwhelming success. What we did with the Kenny Garrett Concert was produce a jazz consciousness-raiser. And that is really the point of most of our programming. We (DiverseArts) face the challenge, especially with our jazz programs, of showcasing the legends and future legends of a genre of music that has yet to be understood or truely appreciated by a mass audience in America -- not to even mention here in Austin. What we did was bring to the State Theater four of the world's most accomplished jazz musicians. The audience was one full of knowledgeable jazzheads, musicians, young folks who wanted a taste of "big city jazz," and old folks who are interested in the future of jazz. And some folks were simply adventurous enough to check that action to see what the buzz was all about. A successful show. I was well pleased and happy about the outcome.

For DiverseArts, as a presenting organization and producer of Austin's Jazz Fest, each time we try something like this we learn a little more about the taste and temperment of the listening public here. We reaffirmed that the State Theater is a lovely hall in which to produce and listen to a good jazz concert. There are local jazz players who are not threatened because of our efforts to bring the influence of the larger jazz world to Austin. The better news this time out is that we reafirmed that there is a growing Austin audience out there for world-class touring jazz acts. There are harder lessons learned from this show as well, but the positive aspects far outweigh that stuff. Yes, money spent and lost comes into the conversation. But really, if you are working on something that addresses long-term goals, you gotta invest in the notion for it to become reality. And sometimes we just gotta prove to folks that we are ready to move, as a unified community, toward cooperation and broad partnerships in strengthening the expanding core (the relationships) of the Austin jazz community.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not announcing the death of the "old Austin jazz establishment." What I am pointing out (and promoting) is an opening of the ranks here. The coming new century will not find Austin's jazz players marching to the beat of the same old drummer or two. We old guys have to face the fact that the kids are growing up and Austin is really just now, for the first time, poised to have a truly inter-generational, multi-ethnic, multi-sub-genre-driven jazz scene. The days of the same guys playing the same standards on different nights at the same clubs is nearing its end. To be sure, those days are not gone yet, but they are numbered. And that shouldn't threaten the old heads. That should not bother the folks who have for years had a tight grip on what goes in the jazz scene here. Good work pays off in a variety of way. And sometimes one result is having to make room for new players who do it differently than its been done in the past.

If the scene is to florish, grow, open up, there has to be influence from the outside, more cross polination of players, styles, venus and ideas. We need to accommodate and nurture folks like (and as different as) Pam Hart and Tina Marsh, East Babylon and Tony Campise, Son Yuma and Eric Johnnson, Hot Buttered Rhythm and Lucky Strikes, Martin Banks and Bob Meyer, James Polk and Heather Bennett. And on some gigs, there might even need to be a place on the stage for an acid-jazz-spinnin' DJ.

The thing we learned (re-affirmed) with the Kenny Garrett Show is that there are some folks out there hungry for world-class jazz in Austin. And, I really believe, if there is more of it around, that audience will grow. In order to make Austin a regular stop for these folks, however, the community must come together and do the teamwork thing.

Happily, we found that, given a few phone calls and requests for help, the Austin jazz scene will come together for the good of the community. A new jazz scene paradigm just might be in the making.