Los Angeles jazz musicians and organizers assembled a replacement showcase in 48 hours after the LA Jazz Festival was canceled, selling roughly 150 tickets and splitting proceeds among eight artists.
The event, Can’t Cancel Jazz, took place Thursday, August 13 at Slowjamz Gallery, a do-it-yourself space in Downtown Los Angeles. Annabelle Freedman, a jazz singer, songwriter, producer and educator, opened her set by leading four vocalists in a round over a soulful beat.
48-Hour Response
Organizer Gengis Don, whose legal name is Lyndon Harewood, said the cancellation pushed the community to act quickly.
“In times like this you see the superpower of community,” Harewood said. “Sometimes we need a flame under us to get us to do something like this. Otherwise we’ll be dragging our feet. Pressure either busts pipes or makes diamonds. It made a diamond here with this.”
Harewood worked with Tída Norasingh, who runs Jiji’s Jazz Club, and Cass Flower, a manager, event producer and climate activist. Slowjamz provided the venue, vendors were secured, and artists were booked by word of mouth within two days. Harewood said he had not met Freedman before the event.
Festival Cancellation
The LA Jazz Festival had been scheduled to run August 7-23. Its closing weekend at Dockweiler Beach was set to feature John Legend and Janelle Monáe as headliners.
The wider schedule included two free series:
- Jazz in the Park for daytime performances in local parks
- Jazz After Dark for evening shows at restaurants and other venues
Dozens of performances were planned across greater Los Angeles.
On Monday, August 3, artists received emails saying every event except the closing weekend was postponed. By Thursday, August 6, the entire festival was canceled. No official statement from the festival has been made.
Artist Impact
Freedman had recently relocated to Japan and returned to Los Angeles specifically for the festival after being offered $1,000 to play two shows. Her bandmates agreed to perform without pay, a decision she said she was not comfortable with but they insisted on.
“We have jazz every day in LA. Less than us needing a whole month of jazz, the community needs and deserves the funding that was promised,” Freedman said. “My heart is with all the different retailers, chefs, people who bought perishables to supply goods, the artists, and the whole ecosystem.”
At Can’t Cancel Jazz, the eight artists split ticket revenue and each took home close to $250, offsetting some of the lost performance fees.
Harewood said he wanted to act rather than only complain.
“When it got canceled, everyone was really sad, and people were complaining about it. I’m more of a do-er. I’ll complain about something, but I’ll still do it,” he said.
Freedman framed the replacement event as consistent with the music itself.
“Jazz is inherently improvising,” she said. “This speaks more to the essence and heart of jazz than any festival sponsored by Airbnb.”
