From smoky US bars to clubs in the Weimar republic, jazz has been
popular across the world, with its heyday almost a century ago. But in a
tiny converted railway arch in south-east London, a weekly jazz night
has become the hub for a new flourishing scene in the UK.
https://www.steamdown.co.uk/" rel="nofollow - Steam Down
in Deptford has hosted a growing number of British artists. Their
presence, combined with the rise of streaming websites, is triggering a
spike in appreciation for jazz in Britain. Signs of that surge in
interest are visible across the music business, with streaming sites
reporting a growth in young listeners, mainstream artists collaborating
with jazz stars and big music festivals signing up more jazz acts than
ever.
When it started, Steam Down saw around a dozen people walk through
the doors. Following its second anniversary, Ahnansé, who set up the
night and also performs with the in-house band the event is named after,
said it has been at capacity for the last six months.
“One of the main reasons [behind the growth of jazz] starts with the
musicians and the fact lots of them are not selfish … they share a lot …
They grew up together and have grown together and by default created a
scene from that,” he said.
Spotify told the Guardian that about 40% of jazz listening on the
streaming website is done by people under 30, with the percentage
holding steadily since 2014. It reported that listeners of the genre in
this age group have risen year on year since 2016.
The jazz renaissance is being reflected in festivals and ticket
sales, with British jazz featuring heavily in this year’s Glastonbury
line-up. Notable acts included https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/28/sons-of-kemet-review-koko-london" rel="nofollow - Sons of Kemet and https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/03/the-comet-is-coming-trust-in-life-force-deep-mystery-review" rel="nofollow - The Comet is Coming .
A number of new jazz festivals have also appeared this year, such as DJ
Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here festival in Huntingdon, taking place in
August.
Peterson said that people’s tastes have become more sophisticated,
which is why jazz is gaining popularity, particularly among younger
audiences. “If you’re 21 now, you can get all kinds of music much
faster. You can stream it or listen to it via YouTube … My generation
had to buy the records and that took a while to get to a certain point …
so inevitably people get to jazz as it is the holy grail when it comes
to music.”
Archie
Tulk, 16, said: “Jazz is so much more accessible. It is not just going
to a record shop, it’s there online for you to listen.”
He added: “It’s really popular now because there are so many great
things for young musicians all over the country, such as [development
organisations] https://tomorrowswarriors.org/" rel="nofollow - Tomorrow’s Warriors
in London and Jazzlines in Birmingham. At the moment there is really
great scene in London, where lots of jazz musicians are younger.”
US musician Miles Mosley, who is part of the West Coast Get
Down with Kamasi Washington, said there was a resurgence in other parts
of the world as well as the UK. “Everyone wants to return it to what it
felt like in the whisky hothouse days, but our version of it.”
Mosley’s first single, Abraham, from his album Uprising was named one
of NPR’s top 100 songs of 2016. He added: “The re-emergence of jazz
comes as a natural reaction to rampant micro music … when you go to
watch a video on YouTube there is another 30-second video with another
30 seconds of music on it … but that means that music is on the same way
that the lights are on … The natural reaction to that is for people to
forge a relationship to their music, and jazz is a great place to start
as you can’t quickly process it.”
Peterson said https://www.theguardian.com/music/jazz" rel="nofollow - Jazz
re:freshed, a weekly live residency in west London, has provided a
space for musicians to play and to build a scene. “Jazz is about finding
places to play regularly and constantly … The reason Britain is good is
at the moment we are going through a period where lots of people are
coming through and sound great is because they are playing a lot and
creating their own spaces to do that. They are setting up their own
record labels and putting on their own nights. They are taking a DIY
approach.”
from www.theguardian.com