This Black Music Month, the Jazz Generations Initiative celebrates Black music and its many permutations with a series of panels, performances and celebrations featuring a range of artists from New York and beyond. This week, flutist and bandleader Irwin Hall salutes seminal artist John Coltrane in what would have been his 100th year. Check out our Q&A with Irwin below to learn more about him.
We hope to see you tonight, and the next 2 Tuesdays this month at 651 Arts in Ft. Greene for panel discussions and every Thursday at Café Erzulie in Bed-Stuy for performances. All programs are free with RSVP.
June 9 & 11: The World Within: Irwin Hall listening session and Soundoff Session
Join us tonight, June 9, from 6-7:30 pm at 651 Arts for a listening session and live lecture exploring the international influences that shaped John Coltrane’s music and artistic vision. Through live demonstration, recorded examples, and conversation, Irwin Hall will trace Coltrane’s connections to Africa, Brazil, Spain, India, and the spiritual search at the center of his later work.
On Thursday, June 11, at Café Erzulie, Hall and his band will perform his 4-part live suite, “The World Within: The Sounds of John Coltrane,” along with all-vinyl sets by DJ Large Professor, and an interdisciplinary jam session to close out the night.
Doors at 7. RSVP here.
An interview with Irwin Hall
What does your instrument allow you to say that words cannot?
The saxophone allows me to communicate feeling and attention directly to people and bypass the thinking/interpreting mind altogether. It's phenomenal, really, that we can stir emotions and the imagination through sound and intention so directly. I really enjoy the idea of painting with sound and using tradition, theory, and abstraction to convey a message and take people on a journey.
Who is your favorite maker of Black music right now?
I can't say I ever have a favorite because my tastes are so varied and multifaceted. I was just listening to Exile by Chronixx from Jamaica earlier this week, and then yesterday started revisiting the music of the Afro-Peruvian maestra Susana Baca. A few weeks ago, I had the UK rockstars the Nova Twins on repeat non-stop. There are so many amazing artists making such good music out there that I couldn't possibly pin down a favorite.
What’s something you draw inspiration from outside of music to fuel your creativity?
I’ve been deeply involved in the Brazilian martial art capoeira for more than 20 years. I don’t get to train as much these days, but it is always close to my heart and continues to shape the way I think about creativity. Capoeira is an endless well of knowledge and wisdom rooted in deep tradition, bringing together self-defense, movement, folklore, ritual, song, dance, acrobatics, storytelling, and community into one living practice. There are many overlaps with Black American music in terms of pedagogy, philosophy, discipline, and cultural memory, so I find myself continually inspired by it.
The Jazz Generations Initiative cultivates creative futures in jazz performance and scholarship by celebrating the music's past and keeping its present rooted in community. Backed by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, and support from the Jazz Foundation of America, we’re most excited to be working with you: the audience, the artists and community that we’re bringing together around this music in New York, New Orleans and in the digital sphere.