One of the first speaking
gigs I ever got was in high school. Some friends of mine were in a band called
Nadsat Rebel, and they got a gig in a church basement outside of Chicago.
Somehow I got the nod to be their warmup act. They didn’t care how I started,
as long as I ended with ‘Straight from the depths of hell, it’s Nadsat Rebel.’ Get
it? I said hell. And it was a church.
Well, they were rebels.
While I’ve never really sought
after the job of Warm-up-Act-for-Band, the job seems to have found me. When
Caro Emerald sold out 3 nights at Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall, they needed
someone to introduce her. They wanted someone who could seem like a 1950s Vegas
type. Smarmy but charming, preferably with his own tuxedo. I got the gig. I
like to think it was good karma. Why?
I love jazz music. While
most Dutch radio is intent on assaulting me with all the Lionel Richie, Phil
Collins & Jon Bon Jovi that I came here to avoid, there is one station that
I can stand: Arrow Jazz FM (aka Sublime). Why did they change their name?
You’ll see.
But yes, I like Arrow Jazz. What’s
that, you say? ‘I’m a boring, old whiner, and I don’t care that they play the
same 10 songs over & over?’ You have a point. But if I have to listen to
the same song every day, I’d rather have Nina Simone than Lady Gaga. Rather Lou
Rawls than Katy Perry. And I believe even One Direction would choose Miles
Davis over One Direction. SO – when Arrow Jazz asked me to be the front-man for
their Arrow Jazz live shows, I said yes.
The shows took place at
Sugar Factory in Amsterdam, every Monday. (You see already how this is going to
end.) Sugar Factory is a great space, just off the beaten path. It’s across
from the Melkweg – which, itself, is already off the beaten path. The main host
was DJ Graham B from New Cool Collective. We had some great live acts - and I
got to introduce them! Konrad Koselleck Big Band, Bas van Lier & Def P, and
my favorite: Fred Wesley of the JBs. When James Brown said ‘Blow me some
trombone,’ he was talking about Fred Wesley. I got to talk to Fred Wesley
backstage, about the old recordings and the intros for the live shows. That guy
with the weird, high-pitched voice. ‘That’s Pee-Wee!’ Fred Wesley warmed up
immediately. So I did my best Pee-Wee imitation for the intro.
Sure enough, we got word
that Arrow Sugar Suite would not continue to receive funding from Arrow Jazz
FM. In fact, they were going off the air completely. Bankrupt. No more Arrow
Jazz FM. I can’t say I was surprised. But I was surprised at what happened
next: I made up my mind to try and save them. I thought ‘Why not organize a
benefit concert called “Save Arrow Jazz?’”
It was March 2009. I got a
couple dates to set up an event, and – when the cause was Arrow Jazz - it
proved refreshingly easy to get people to donate their time. We had Hans Dulfer
& his band. We had Wicked Jazz Sounds. We had Benjamin Herman from New Cool
Collective. And my favorite was Zuco 103 with Brazilian sounds from Ms Lilian
Viera herself. For 2 star-studded evenings, we raised money for Arrow Jazz FM.
Or did we? Apparently the money that was raised went to cover the sponsor money
they never gave… The result: they still went off the air.
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