(Warning to the audience: expressions appear in this article that may hurt the sensibilities of those who think that in no case should culture be talked about in terms of tourism promotion and, even less so, to reinforce the marketinian and mercantilist concept of the city brand. )
Go ahead that the main contribution of jazz is the formation of a more critical citizenry. Few musical styles allow you to express your feelings so freely, with an exciting and continuous game of acceptance and breaking of the rules that define you. The palette of advantages is generous: it amuses, it forms, it stimulates, it excites, it calms.
And, as if that were not enough, it is the music that lends itself the most to mestizaje, a practice so necessary in this neo-feudal era. There is no more collaborative setting in the world than a jam session, if hyperbole is allowed, encouraged by listening, at the time of writing this text, to a combo by trumpeter Jerry González.
That said, what's to stop a city from cashing in on the fact that it's been tainted for decades by the best jazz virus? Why preserve the treasure for the exclusive enjoyment of the hobby? Why not share it with the world?
Let's look at the case of Barcelona, where an ambitious policy of cultural promotion is urgently needed to select the tourism it attracts. Because capturing visitors with the lure of culture does not massify or gentrify, but rather helps to open the eyes of all sectors of the sector so that they can see which type of tourist is best suited, whether millionaire or almost mileurista.
The fact is that not many European cities can promote themselves through jazz. And Barcelona is lucky to be among the chosen ones. For several reasons, the first of them being the venue for an International Jazz Festival through which the stars of the genre have passed –and pass– the stars of the genre. Making an exhaustive list is idle. Rather it would be necessary to enumerate who has not come. Louis Armstrong? True, the festival did not yet exist when Satchmo visited Barcelona in 1955, invited by the Hot Club. Duke Ellington? Yes, it was! In the 1969 edition, with a (they say) memorable concert in Santa Maria del Mar.
In a few days, on October 26, a true dream team of the genre will appear at the festival: Joshua Redman (sax), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (double bass) and Brian Blade (drums). The party continues.
In addition to the festival and a series of specialized festivals, there are the clubs, which proliferate in Barcelona despite the fact that this is a city that is unkind to anything that is likely to disturb the neighborhood. The dean, the mythical Jamboree, has dared to open a third room in Plaça Reial. There is also the public, contained but faithful, and there are the schools, such as the Taller de Músics, the Conservatori del Liceu, Esmuc, Jam Session or the inexhaustible pool of talent led by Joan Chamorro in Sant Andreu. And, thanks to them, young and talented musicians.
Missing? Probably, that the world finds out and, by the way, many Barcelonans who do not have to become adept at jazz but who would like to know that their city excels in the genre. A good way to launch this promotion would be to celebrate International Jazz Day, as Madrid does, in style, which falls on April 30. With the impulse of the City Council and the leadership of the festival, but integrating all the parties. This year there was a timid celebration, but the commitment must be more courageous and must be accompanied by an aggressive promotion. It is about taking the first step to incorporate jazz –from the classic to the most avant-garde– to the values of the city brand
Despite the general precariousness of live music, despite the fact that there is not a good harmony between the main players in the sector, despite the fact that jazz is not a priority for the administrations, in Barcelona it continues to enjoy good health. So, from now on, don't ask yourself what the city can do for jazz, but what jazz can do for your city.
