If you live in Los Angeles then you’ve seen the posters emblazoned upon walls scattered around the city. Bold, white lettering set against a black backdrop. JAZZ IS DEAD. The name, provocative and unrelenting with its subject matter, sticks with you long after you’ve continued with your day. “Is Jazz really dead?” you ask yourself, as you scan through the radio station searching for something genuine, something you can’t find.
These posters originate from Figueroa Street in Highland Park, a stretch of land known more for its rapidly changing real estate than it’s acknowledgement for what came before. But unlike the developers walking down those same avenues, Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhaamad and Art Don’t Sleep founder Andrew Lojero, keeps one eye locked in on the ever-changing future with the other looking back at the past, appreciating their elders and those who shaped the rich annals of music’s past.
Jazz is Dead is not only one of LA’s most exciting live music series but it’s also the premier jazz event in the country. Taking place at the Lodge Room, a relatively new Highland Park music and comedy venue situated in a Masonic Lodge built in the 1920’s, it’s re-branded and rebuilt the relationship between jazz music and Los Angeles, a relationship so horrifically spat upon in 2016’s _La La Land_. In a city overrun with options, it adds another solid argument to the age-old question of ‘what should we do tonight?’ ‘See a jazz show?’
However, Jazz is Dead stands as much more than an ongoing concert series. The aforementioned Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, known as much for their individual work as their collaborative efforts (highlights from their solo and collective resumes include: A Tribe Called Quest, scoring the Netflix series _Luke Cage,_ producing songs for Kendrick Lamar, scoring _Black Dynamite_, and producing and composing an album by Ghostface Killah amongst many, many other accomplishments), are the brand’s ambassadors, cofounders, and curators.
Along with Lojero, the trio has developed Jazz is Dead into a company, with future album releases, tour promotions, and, possibly, even a documentary looming somewhere in the near future. The label acts as the tour agent for Younge and Muhammad whom, as a ten-piece ensemble called The Midnight Hour , just [launched a 40 date cross-country tour](http://www.artdontsleep.com/2019/07/20/tmhustour19/) on September 2 in Oakland, California. The Midnight Hour tour acts as another stem in a growing partnership for the three creatives.
Flaunt spoke with Younge, Muhammad, and Lojero about what they have in store for their September 14th show with Theo Croker, how the idea for Jazz is Dead came about, and their most cherished memories of Ras G. the influential and beloved LA based beat maker and one-time performer at Jazz is Dead who sadly passed away last month. Read the article below and check out the photographs of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad performing as The Midnight Hour on tour now. Tickets on sale for both events here.
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**Thanks for speaking with me here at Flaunt magazine, I’m a big fan of the Jazz is Dead concert series. How did these concerts come about?**
**Adrian**: Drew manages me and Ali, we’re also partners on different business ventures, so we’ve known each other for years. And Andrew has been throwing concerts in Los Angeles for 15 years. The next step for his focus was something jazz oriented, and we just went into this as partners with Andrew.
The first show was Keyon Harrold, his debut here in LA. Drew just had an epiphany one day to have a series called Jazz is Dead and let’s try and figure how to make it something that is captivating and invigorating to people. Something that tells a story beyond the event itself. It started with Keyon Harrold and here we are today.
**At that very first event did you know it was going to turn into a concert series, or was it just a one-off show?**
**Adrian**: I would say at that very first event we knew there would be concerts in the same vein, but, correct me if I’m wrong guys, but we never knew it would be this. We knew it might be something else but to see what it became is something we always hoped, but I’m not sure we were as confident that everybody would be behind it as they are now. Would you guys agree?
**Ali**: We hoped it would be successful, but yes, I agree that we didn’t think it would be as big as it has become. But I think the hope factor was high and knowing we have such a great love and admiration for the jazz legends and songs that inspired us, I think there was a confidence we would make a connection with the community.
**How did you two meet each other?**
**Ali**: We met through my post on Twitter shouting Adrian out and admiring his music. He messaged me back and shared the same admiration for my music. He happened to be in New York at the time touring with Ghostface. We met up, had a great conversation, and he invited me to work on a project he was producing…Through that invitation came our friendship and working relationship.
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**It seems like it turned into a profitable friendship for both of ya’ll. Let’s talk about the title “Jazz is Dead,” which is provocative. I actually own a t-shirt from an event I attended and worn it around the city and people have came up to me angry saying “Jazz isn’t dead, what are you thinking?” So, tell me, why did you pick this title for the event series?**
**Adrian**: Drew was actually the one who coined the phrase. The reason why we went with it is because as soon as he said it, it stimulated thought. It was one of those things where the name kind of came before the idea. The name was the catalyst for the movement, you know. We stuck with it because of the same reaction you get when you’re walking around with the shirt. So, if you’re doing the dopest jazz show and your saying that “Jazz is Dead,” if you’re smart enough then you will really understand what we are really saying. But if you don’t get it, then you don’t deserve to be there. It’s one of those things where we are saying the exact opposite of what we are doing. We are keeping our eyes and ears open to see how people are responding to it and we’ve been very delighted to know the movement is very much being embraced by not only Los Angeles, but people all over the world.
Who ever thought we would have people flying in from Japan, people flying in from Canada, people driving from Texas? People are flying into these events because they can’t get to the event from where they are. They are enjoying the movement, and if it hadn’t been called “Jazz is Dead,” I’m not sure they would have made the long travel to get there.
**It has a powerful, mysterious ring to it. So far, all the Jazz is Dead performances has taken place at the Lodge Room which used to be a masonic lodge in Highland Park. It seems like there are thousand of venues in LA, why did you choose this one?**
**Adrian**: That venue is one we really love. We have our record store next door, we have our recording store next door, our office next door. This is our hood, our area. To have that within walking distance from where we are every day, it just made sense for us.
**Andrew**: We have done a Jazz is Dead event at the Echo and Echoplex. We took over both rooms in one night. There will be Jazz is Dead experiences outside Los Angeles. Jazz is Dead is the tour agent for Ali and Adrian. They are coming together for The Midnight Hour, which so far has 40 dates around the country. Expect Jazz is Dead to pop up locally wherever someone is reading this.
**So, it’s a growing movement?**
**Ali**: That’s what we hope.
**When does the tour begin?**
**Andrew**: The Midnight Tour begins September 2nd in Oakland.
**Will the concert series still continue in LA while they are on tour?**
**Andrew**: Absolutely
**Each Jazz is Dead event features a unique lineup. How do you go about curating the artists for the performance? Is there a certain theme in mind?**
**Adrian**: Everyone is different, so we had a series of shows for Black History Month, so we wanted to make sure we brought out certain black icons like Roy Ayers, Brian Jackson, Gary Bartz and celebrate their music while they are still doing it. In June, a few months before we went to Brazil to meet with some of our favorite legends there and have them do a show in LA. The people we bring for Jazz is Dead, from older artists to young up and coming jazz artists is about do we think they are creating music that is free. Do we think they are creating music and have an artistic perspective we agree with and fits our brand?
**Andrew**: We’re only discussing 50 percent of the operation here; the other 50 percent is Ali and Adrian are recording records with everyone you see at Jazz is Dead. We have full-length records with all those people you have seen that are produced by, recorded by, or performed with Adrian and Ali in Adrian’s studio. His studio is like walking into Motown in the 70s. It’s a really special thing, so part of the booking process is “who do we want to fuck with?” Who do we want to get into the studio right now? It comes down to folks that are available and understand with the vision.
We haven’t been able to share that part of the coin yet, all we are doing is keeping our heads down and doing the events. It’s a crazy clash of recorded music with live performances that’s coming together to form Jazz is Dead in a very hi-fi authentic way.
**I didn’t know you were making records. Where can you purchase them?**
**Ali**: We haven’t put out these records yet, but once we do they will be available everywhere.
**Are you releasing these records all at once? Or over the course of several months?**
**Andrew**: Over the course of several years. This is not going away anytime soon. We record all of the live performances for documentation, but the studio is going to be brand new audio recording.
**Ali**: We are offering high-quality music from legends who are still here to the new and up and coming.
**I can imagine that this is one of the biggest jazz events not only in LA, but the whole country. How important is it to you to bring back jazz on such a large scale?**
**Adrian**: It’s important showing people being free with creating music, that’s what’s important. Whether its jazz, hip hop, or soul. It’s about people creating music and not worrying about if it can be played on the radio. People not worrying about being judged. People having an open forum to create. That is what the bedrock of jazz is: freedom music. It’s important people coming to an event and seeing people express themselves. That’s all.
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