Latino Music Cafe

Latin Jazz needs the younger audience!

Posted on 15. Jul, 2009 by Hector Aviles in Latino Music

I just read a very interesting blog at the Latin Jazz Corner titled “Is Latin Jazz on its Deathbed? A Need to Reach the Younger Generation”. The article talks about the problem highlighted in a study in which they found that the audience of Jazz listeners is only the older generation, but it is not attacting the younger. What I liked about the article is that the author then extrapolates the problem to also involve Latin Jazz, and proposes some pretty sound ideas on how to address the issue.

Latin Jazz really on its deathbed?

Barriles de Bomba

The article makes the assumption that although the study refers to the public’s participation with Jazz, the same circumstances, and therefore the same problem, apply to Latin Jazz. I concur. The author proposes that although he doesn’t think Latin Jazz will die anytime soon (despite the artile’s dramatic title), it could be approaching a challenging period.

Whether the problem is true or not, it brings a couple of interesting points for discussion. If Latin Jazz is facing a downturn, we would not be seeing new musicians in the genre. The other point is to figure out how to attract the younger generation to Latin Jazz.

New Latin Jazz Artists

We are seeing many new faces emerging in Latin Jazz. I have been seeing more concerts of Afro-Peruvian artists than ever before, and this is not one of the most popular genres out there. I’ve also seen how new musicians are getting very creative with their music. I recently bought a CD by the Puerto Rican Folkloric Jazz group called “Barriles de Bomba”. What Jorge Rodriguez, the group’s leader, did (as the album title suggests) is take the drums (”barriles”) used to play the Puerto Rican folkloric rythm of “Bomba”, and add them to a Latin Jazz sound. The result was beautiful and very original music. I highly recommend it. These are just a couple of examples, but I believe the new faces and more groups are forming.

Reaching out to the young

What I really liked about the article were the suggestions provided to attract the younger audience which we are apparently loosing. The four suggestions are:

• Get Latin Jazz into Video Games
• Use Latin Jazz Ring Tones
• Get Latin Jazz Artist Using Social Networks Effectively
• Get Young People Involved in the Promotion of the Music

I will not get into the details of each, as those are well addressed in the article, which I encourage you to read. But in my opinion these ideas are going in the right direction. Video games, mobile phones, and social networks is where the young generation is. We have to go seek the avenues that will take us to them. For example, I agree with the article’s point that most artist, be them of Latin Jazz, Salsa, Pop, or whatever else, don’t use Facebook or MySpace effectively. They put a site as a billboard for their upcoming gigs, instead of making it a community that will increase the fan base and their loyalty. That is a big, area where artists can help themselves.

Willie Colon’s insight

In the movie “El Cantante” about the life of Hector Lavoe, there is a piece that covers this thinking well. Several years ago, the salsa genre was under heavy commercial pressure by the big commercial success of merengue. Merengue was displacing salsa in the shelves and in the dancehall platforms. In the movie scene where Hector is pondering his future after his illness and son’s death with his friend Willie Colon, Willie mentions the merengue threat to the “salseros” saying “they are going to bury all of us; we need to get out there so that people know we are here”. Today, the young people are precisely in video games, mobile phone, and social networks. That is where Latin Jazz artists need to show up.

My Conclusions

I don’t think Latin Jazz is in its deathbed, but people in the music business should take note, and make sure they don’t miss the curve. Musicians depend more for income on live perfomances than on record sales. In this digital age of easy copying and distribution, tying to avoid illegal copying is a lost cause. Let the viral music spread virally (like the YouTube video of Susan Doyle did) and the fan base will grow into a fantastic market. I understand that Susan has been offered a lucrative contract to record and do live performances. That is not the future, but rather the present.

This is a great topic of discussion, and I would love to read your comments.

Tags: El Cantante, hector lavoe, Puerto Rican