by Harold McMillan

It is time for Austinites to come to the aid of American Art Music.

Given all of the recent coverage given efforts to convert Palmer Auditorium into a "state of the art" performing arts complex, you might get the impression that Austin's support for American Art Music is strong and broad-based. The Palmer debate, gentle and respectful yet emotionally charged, is a great example of how disparate forces come together to show financial, civic, and political support for the benefit of cultural aims. It is a noble cause with folks from a wide variety of Austin communities weighing in with opinions, ideas, solutions, and arguments for the proposed retrofit.

For those of us who support the notion that Palmer just might be the city's best bet for getting the needed performance space at the lowest possible price, the answer is clear: convert Palmer and make it affordably available for, among other performance activities, showcasing America's art music. Not that "American Art Music" should be the only music activity there, but since the building will continue to be a publicly-owned municipal facility, first priority should go to projects and programs which address civic and cultural needs of the city rather than programming that is strictly commercial in nature.

If you've followed the public debate, you know the Palmer Retrofit idea has supporters offering millions of cash dollars, has all kinds of monied socialites showing up for City Council meetings, has support from political heavy-hitters, has support of local banks (and officers) and architectual firms, multi-million dollar high-tech firms, and a number of well placed non-profit cultural institutions. If you look closer, and have been looking for a couple of years now, you also know that Austin's major classical performing arts organzations and audiences are really the movers and shakers behind this effort. And they ought to be.

With PAC scheduling busting at the seams, the Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Orchestra, and Ballet Austin are in need of a home to call their own. The Palmer Retrofit is probably the answer to this need. The Opera now has the building right across the street from Palmer. The Symphony is marshalling their well-placed financial and political troops to make the Palmer retrofit a reality. What could be more perfect? Austin needs a first-rate, quality performance space to take us into the 21st Century, one we can be proud of. Austin's classical and non-commerical performance, and/or arts organizations, deserve a well-equipped, multi-purpose space to showcase the work of Austin's best and the world's finest practitioners of traditional and cutting-edge cultural performance forms. And because this is the reality of the situation, the troops are indeed in place.

Millions of dollars are already pledged. High-level political favors are being called in. Architects are dedicating hundreds of hours of pro-bono retrofit work, political consultants are offering advice, fairly specific ways to spend millions of dollars of public bond moneys are being proposed. The Austin art music and performance community (and others) are united and ready to work to address (their version of) the cultural needs of this community. And, at a fairly detached distance, I support their efforts.

I speak of all of this for one very specific reason. These folks, these folks who are be-damned and determined to make sure that European Art Music and dance are preserved, practiced, and promoted in the heartland of Central Texas offer a useful model for those of us who are concerned with, for example, the past, present and future of America's Art Music, Jazz. I support the notion that Austin's Symphony, Lyric Opera, and Ballet need the support of the the civic, business, political, and governmental communities of the region. But what do we do to show our support of American Art Music? What do we do to show our support of the indigenous culture of Northern Mexico, whose land we occupy?

Just as the example of Austin's European classical community is clear, so too is the answer to my questions. My message here is not really to debate the need or want for a Palmer retrofit. I personally think the retrofit would be a good thing for Austin. But I also think that those who champion the cause of European classical forms (and their relationship to others in this community of cultures) might also take a closer look at the value of artistic and cultural traditions that more accurately reflect the cultural reality in which we find ourselves, here in Central Texas -- and not just with a side-long glance, but with a deep look at cultural chauvinism and what that says "politically" about power and influence in our Capital City.

Palmer retrofit or no, Mozart's music will survive in Austin. Believe me, Bach will be ok. What I wonder is when Austin's jazz community is gonna wakeup and realize that we have the power and obligation to claim that same kind of support base. Commercial radio, cigar-puffin' nightclubs, bottomline-driven promoters and booking agents are not obliged to support the preservation nor growth of Austin's jazz community. Those of us who truly do care about diverse cultural expression -- and the value of making connection to like-minded old and new Austinites -- must come forward now. Those of us who are determined to keep jazz, the real stuff, alive in Austin must now begin to show our muscle. We must.

The classical music community lives in East, North, West and South Austin. They are students and poor. They work for small businesses, are owners, manage projects for multi-million-dollar/ multi-national corporations, sit in board rooms and have meetings at downtown banks, and vote Republican, Democrat, Other. They are normal Austinites.

The thing that Austin jazz heads must acknowledge is: so are we. If non-commercial jazz is to find support, a friendly home in Austin, jazz heads now need to come out of the closet, the boardroom, the Council Chamber and identify themselves. In order to continue their (read: our) work, the non-commercial, non-profit jazz-presenting groups who have been sweating blood to bring you the real stuff, are now tired and broke, and very much in need of a show of community.

Supporters of European classical forms offer us our best models of just what it takes to make sure that non-commercial American Art Music survives and thrives in Austin, Texas. Without financial and political support -- a supportive audience -- similar to that of the opera and symphony, real jazz in Austin will inevitably fade away.

Real jazz is not, nor will it be, a commercial cash-cow. That's not the point. It's not about record sales, radio airplay, and commercial sucess. Jazz, as THE fundamental American Art Music, requires subsidy, support, sponsorship, preservation, and respect to survive and florish. That's true in New York City, Paris, France, and Austin, Texas. I think the difference is, we Austinites (who are in the best positions to support this notion) have not figured this one out. Those of us who do truly care about the future of the jazz tradition in Austin must come together, much like a Symphony Society, to make sure that the power, influence, and importance of our collective consumer, political, culutral, and civic voices are heard.

Perhaps the time for the Jazz Society in Austin has finally arrived.