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Why do humans make music? It doesn't feed us or make you very much money. It doesn't communicate anything tangible. It doesn't do a damn thing. Why do we do it? There has to be something spiritual that occurs. It's like dancing. There's no point but we've been doing it for tens of thousands of years. We get something out of it we don't get from other places.
-Reed Mathis |
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Photo by Maarit Kytöharju
And In The End
"Elvis kind of ended jazz in some ways, and bebop took it out of the dancehalls. In a way jazz is what happened before that. Or jazz is an American improvised tradition that incorporates any influence you want," provokes Mathis. "If it's the latter [definition] then that's what we are. If it's the former, we're not really that. We put it in the name so obviously we believe that a branch of the tradition is still going and can mean anything."
Haas & Mathis by Jon Bahr |
JFJO just returned from their second tour of Europe in 2006, hitting Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy. Their music has also taken them to Finland and Brazil, and they're hoping the rest of the world opens to them soon. Despite a devoted cult following Stateside, Jacob Fred is ready to tickle some new ears.
"We love the choir. We truly appreciate them. We just want to see what else we can add to these loyal, great people," enthuses Smart. "Nothing's in stone but in America we see ourselves working more festivals, major cities, and high profile opening slots, as well as developing Japan and Europe. This can do us a lot more good than crunching around in the same way we have been. We're trying to turn new people onto our music. That's the whole point. You could just play in your basement but we want people to enjoy it and bring it over to a lot of people. Taking American music that's often forgotten over here to places where people are starving for it you realize there's a whole new scene we've barely tapped into. That's crazy exciting for us. Japan is another place that we've heard is a promised land for open, jazzy free music."
JFJO by Kevin Haas |
"There are a lot of elements to life that aren't in the music. For example, Reed and Brian are married, and I may go that way one day too [laughs]. There are lots of parts of life that refuel and feed you to make better art. If you have no time to reflect and recharge – get out in the woods or hang out with your friends and family – then you have nothing to put back into the music," says Smart. "In our old touring mode, we hit walls a number of times. Luckily, we now have nice breaks and it's more organized every year. I feel blessed to be healthy and still doing it."
Haas says the simple goal is "less crappy gigs, more meaningful ones" wherever they perform. Mathis adds, "The challenges of endless touring are pretty obvious – physical wear and tear, lack of sleep combined with the lethargy of sitting around waiting, and the lack of your own space. You don't make shit for money playing this kind of music. We're really in each other's face in a heavy way, which gets to be a drag. Very few people have to live this way after leaving their parent's house after high school."
JFJO |
The problem of the increased genre-fication of music still plagues them. While it's easier to sell things in neat, understandable packages most musicians don't experience their art in this way. Smart comments, "I can see to a point why it has to be that way so you can find things but if it holds you back from true creative expression then it's a hindrance. You want people to find you in the store but not if it's restrictive. What we are is what we're excited about in the moment."
A philosophical Mathis finishes with this quandary, "Why do humans make music? It doesn't feed us or make you very much money. It doesn't communicate anything tangible. It doesn't do a damn thing. Why do we do it? There has to be something spiritual that occurs. It's like dancing. There's no point but we've been doing it for tens of thousands of years. We get something out of it we don't get from other places."
JamBase | Everywhere
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