Ralph Peterson 35th Annual Student Music Awards - Downbeat

The
Inside �
14 I Riffs
16 I European Scene
18 I Julian Lage
20 I AuM fidelity
22 I Players
Jazz Bakery
Rises Again
Moveable Feast Finds a
Permanent Venue
Ruth Price was playing a constant waiting game when it came to
securing a second site for her suspended Jazz Bakery.
The waiting game entered a new phase after Price received two generous
gifts: an unsolicited $2 million donation from the Annenberg
Foundation and a permanent venue site within the limits of Culver
City, Calif.
Price’s hand is also strengthened by the recent addition of the
Bakery’s new Executive Director, violinist Jeff Gauthier. Gauthier, who
helms the esteemed West Coast jazz label Cryptogramophone, also
works with artistically ambitious Angel City Arts organization, which
books cutting-edge musicians and the forward-thinking Angel City
Jazz Festival.
Price is unequivocal in her praise for Gauthier. “I love having him
aboard,” Price said. “I’ve known him for a long time and I’ve always
respected him as a musician. We did a paid search for an executive
director and he was the choice; I was thrilled.”
In 2009, Price’s landlord unceremoniously terminated the lease on
her club’s original Culver City home, and she’s since been an impresario
without a permanent venue. Price was far from idle during this setback
and managed to book an ongoing schedule of tantalizing shows at
various locations around Southern California, all under the Bakery banner
of “Moveable Feast.”
Even during this limbo-like holding period, Price has fulfilled the
important role of presenting quality artists in Los Angeles: Trio M
(with Myra Melford, Mark Dresser and Matt Wilson), guitarist Kurt
Rosenwinkle, pianist Chano Domínguez, guitarist Pat Martino with
pianist Eldar Djangirov, violinist Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread
band and singer-guitarist Dori Caymmi.
Still, the frustrations of booking—inclimate weather, venues with
subpar equipment—are magnified as Price continuously deals with
these many sets of variables while also keeping n eye on the ongoing
progress of the Bakery’s new Culver City home. But as nerve-wracking
as her post-eviction life has been, Price counts the great blessings
that have come to her, including renowned architect Frank Gehry’s
offer to design the forthcoming building.
“He came to the Bakery a couple of times,” Price recalled. “I didn’t
News & Views From Around The Music World
EARl GiBSon iii
know who he was. He was usually with Herbie Hancock and he didn’t
say much. He told me later that when he heard we lost our lease, that he
thought about helping us in some way.”
“It was almost a shock,” she added, “when he came to us and offered
his services on the first of the year. He said, ‘I’m doing this for two people—Sydney
Pollack and my wife, Berta.’ It turns out she was a frequent
visitor to the Bakery, as was Sydney.”
The Jazz Bakery will co-produce the Angel City Jazz Festival this
year. Though Gauthier will be stepping away from his position at Angel
City Arts, he will participate in the programming of the festival with
Price and ACA founder Rocco Somazzi.
Gauther is extremely enthusiastic about the collaboration between
the Bakery and the Angel City Jazz Festival. “I saw this as an opportunity
to bring the two organizations closer together and help realize
the Bakery’s vision for a beautiful new center for jazz in Culver City,”
he said. “I’ve been creating opportunities for music and musicians for
a long time in L.A., and I saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity
to really make an impact and advocate for jazz and creative music
in Los Angeles.”
Gehry’s involvement already has Price and Gauthier’s artistic
wheels turning. “Frank has asked to consult with several musicians
before putting the finishing touches on the room,” he reveals, “so he
really wants to have a dialogue with musicians. We’d like to ask four
different jazz composers to write a suite inspired by the new building
and have it performed by an all-star group of L.A. players during the
first season. Wouldn’t that be something?” —Kirk Silsbee
JUNE 2012 DoWNBEAt 13