In music, as in religion, people still have problems with sects. Sometimes, it's the special intensity of mutual distaste that near neighbours in the same idiom reserve for each other, but more often it's a misconception born out of passing acquaintance or none at all. Jazz has suffered more from this than most musical forms; mention that particular four-letter word to a non-initiate and the images it conjures up will, most likely, be of unsmiling devotees in smoke-filled upstairs pub rooms absorbing sounds too esoteric for the great unwashed to appreciate. In here, it's cool, man. Outside, the hoi polloi go round with knuckles dragging on the ground. It's a misconception that still needs dispelling, which is part - but only part - of the reason for OPENJAZZ 98, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. at the Temple Bar Music Centre tomorrow. Organised by the Improvised Music Company and featuring both workshops and performances, it's free and, like the broad church jazz is today, open to everyone.
Probably the most remarkable musical phenomenon of this century, jazz has travelled far since it began as a dance and parade music in fin de siecle New Orleans. On the way, it has nurtured - and fed off - the blues, gospel music, rhythm 'n' blues, rock'n'roll and, less directly, popular music from such as George Gershwin, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, even country music, down to today's rappers. And, while also metamorphosing into a concert music, it has embraced sources as diverse as classical, Indian and folk, whether Irish, Cuban, Scandinavian or whatever. In other words, it's all around you in some guise or other.
The point is not a dry, historical one, nor is OPENJAZZ 98 intended to bore people with earnest good intentions. That's why there will be a continuous round of music and workshops, with a string of auditorium performances reflecting today's diversity - one hour concerts by the innovative Guilfoyle/Nielsen trio; the more conventional, straight-ahead swinging of Isotope, with such as Richie Buckley, Myles Drennan and Hugh Buckley; Khanda, a brilliant fusion of jazz, Irish and Indian idioms featuring, among others, Ellen Cranitch and Martin Nolan; TIME, a recently formed octet which is really at the cutting edge of jazz here now; and an opening concert by students from Newpark Music Centre.
The half-hour workshops - covering trombone, trumpet, saxophone/flute, guitar, bass guitar, piano, voice, drums, latin percussion and guitar duo - should be attractive not only to students and musicians, but also to anyone wanting to learn more about the instruments used. And, since changes in the Leaving Cert music syllabus mean a significant part of students' marks (rumoured to be as much as 40 per cent) will be awarded in non-classically based music, teachers should also find the workshops rewarding. So too should parents who would like their children to hear the music in an acceptable environment.
"It's not just about drawing musicians into the experience," says baritone saxophonist Gerry Godley of the IMC, who is organising the open day. "It's about creating an audience as well. People can come along and the music will be presented as is, and they can draw their own conclusions about it."
There will be no preaching - not even to the converted. And sects? No problem.