Gumption is an old fashioned word, so it’s odd that it aptly fits the ongoing efforts of the squad behind Search & Restore, a new-fangled team of arts advocates bent on raising the visibility of new jazz and improvised music. With the much-anticipated relaunch of its Web site (www.searchandrestore.com), and the kick-off of its second major fundraising campaign, the S&R team, led by musician/organizer/entrepreneur Adam Schatz, is proving that their mission remains fueled by a blend of vision and effort. The new searchandrestore.com is packed with the fruits of the organization’s 2011 labors. Last year, as reported by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other major publications, Schatz and company successfully reached their goal of raising $75K through Kickstarter. Their promise was to further their work by documenting a wealth of live performances by artists on the far-reaching New York jazz and improvisational music scene. They’ve done so; the new site holds terrific-looking concert clips by such innovative artists as Fred Hersch, Joe McPhee, Nels Cline, and Matthew Shipp. This kind of content, shot at clubs and music spaces around the city, brings immediacy to the listening experience. Devoted fans and newly interested viewers now have a much richer experience when it comes to understanding an artist’s latest moves. It’s a really exciting feeling,” says Schatz. “Creating something that wasn’t there before is cool. Reaching audiences around the world who know the scene exists, but don’t know where to find out more about it, is a thrill. And so is the flip side: reaching all the people don’t even know this fantastic music exists in the first place.” You can see a one-time-only ensemble of Uri Caine, Jenny Scheinman, Theo Bleckmann and Todd Sickafoose cross-weave all sorts of intricate lines during one of S&R's "Spontaneous Construction" evenings at the Blue Note - a marvel of improvisation. Over 50 high-def clips have been uploaded to individual artist pages, and more are on their way. In total, they help tell an increasingly nuanced story about how this music was made at the beginning of the new millennium. |
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