it is very encouraging: the recent happenings in the jazz scene.
never has jazz been so alive in KL. this year's KL jazz fest boasts a stellar cast of big names. it is amazing how the organizer can pull it off. must have been backed by millionaires.
also, we heard about another jazz club coming out called the "estate" in february. this will surely add another jazz nightspots in the KL map, in addition to the already established clubs like NBT, alexis, mezze and nero fico, and not forgetting hakka republic.
most exciting news we heard must be the one about pavillion starting a live house. ( a live house is a gigantic live performing nightspot). finally, KL can boast of having its own live house!
managing night spots or jazz clubs is never easy. don't talk about the F&B side, even the artiste roster will kill you, if you don't have enough expertise and networking. look at how brilliant NBT did this over the last 13 years. it is hardwork, dedication and more hardwork.
you can't just have malaysian acts to fill the performing roster, people will get bored. you need international acts. and you know, due to the money exchange, it is never easy to pay overseas musicians who are paid in USD. so it is always a chicken and egg issue.
in the past, many aspiring clubs have bitten the dust. names like bangkok jazz, grooveunciton started out well enough but soon collapsed due to a myriad of reasons.
what makes a good jazz club? intimate atmosphere, friendly relationships between the punters and the venue, good sound system, a bar with decent food - and above all, a space small enough to offer proximity to the action. a jazz club can't be too big, it has to be really intimate and close-up.
jazz is music of spontaneous, rapidly evolving relationships, which are sometimes sublimely harmonious, sometimes deliberately bloody-minded, often gleeful, occasionally competitive, baffled, or downright lost. jazz can be at its most engaging when you can experience that process unfolding with your eyes as well as your ears.
just like music-making, the owners of the jazz club must have a heart that is beyond profit-making. he must have this fire in him to promote jazz as a music form and not lost in commercialism, profiteering and mismanagement.
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