America, Home of the Jazz Masters
They come from far away to play-and to stay. Guitarist Lionel Louke from Benin, Chilean singer Claudia Acuña, Swiss harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret, Turkish pianist Fahir Atakoglu and several dozen other musicians currently working in New York's clubs who together comprise the most internationally diverse generation in jazz history.
They are immigrants, making an artistic impact comparable to that of the British Invasion 40 years ago, when the Beatles, Stones and Yardbirds gave the U.S. a new take on our indigenous blues.
Lionel Louke came to the U.S. in 1999 to attend Berklee School of Music in Boston on a student visa, then earned a scholarship to the Thelonious Monk Institute, where he studied on a twice-renewed two-year artist visa.
"Now I am a resident alien," he explains, "which is one step before getting a green card. I got the approval for the green card six months ago, but have to wait a year for it. I'm lucky to have people like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard and Carlos Santana supporting me with reference letters." He's worked with them all.
Why is he here? "For my music, of course. For me, jazz is a language, and if you want to speak the language well, you go where the language is spoken."
Claudia Acuña arrived in New York in '95 on a tourist visa, embraced the city's energy and history, and admits to having been an illegal for a time. Owners of a jingle house for which she recorded became her sponsors, and with their support she received an artist visa. As of 2005, she has enjoyed full-citizen status.
"The last time I returned from touring Europe, I was sent to the U.S. citizen and resident line instead of the tourist line. Now I can come home without questions." Acuñz believes security concerns since 9/11 have increased America's national paranoia but maintains she has never felt discriminated against. "As an artist, I'm not taking anybody's job. I'm singing my roots, in Spanish, who I am as a South American, my own compositions."
She also considers herself a New Yorker, and has become integral to a musical community here.
"I can walk into a jam with Jason Lindner, Jeff Ballard, Josh Redman, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Guillermo Klein and feel part of it," she says with pride (she's at the Jazz Gallery April 27-29 with pianist Lindner, cellist-trombonist Dana Leong, percussionist Pernell Santurnino from Curacao and Israeli bassist Omar Avital). "I would have never had the same experiences in Chile. As for New York, I love it. Its heart is beating all the time with creativity."
Creativity requires refreshment, says Gregoire Maret, son of a Swiss dad and American mom whose own parents came from Martinique. People like himself, who are never sure where to call home, can provide that. "New blood is needed all the time," he says. "To pump fresh air into the jazz scene to keep it alive. It's important for us to learn about the tradition of jazz, but also for the jazz community to have something new coming in.
Maret has worked with Youssu N'Dour, Meshell Ndegeocello, saxophonist Steve Coleman and electric bassist Marcus Miller. "Inclusiveness is the most important thing about jazz," he emphasizes. "I think it's true of America too." He and his cohorts can attest to that.