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I mentioned previously (Connecting<\/a>) that I attended the Charlotte Jazz Festival earlier this year. It was a wonderful event with a number of highlights. The one most apropos of this blog was a concert by Sammy Miller and the Congregation<\/a>. I had seen them perform at the Festival the previous year and they were good. This year, however, they had become a force of nature.<\/p>\n Let me\u00a0begin with a\u00a0bit of fanboy prose not directly related to this blog. They were awesome: immensely talented musicians, well-schooled in the history and techniques of jazz, and thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining. I was smiling throughout the concert. I think it may have been the most pure fun I’ve ever had at an evening of music.<\/p>\n That out of the way, what\u00a0is<\/em> related to this blog is their combination of high-end artistry and technical skill, musicianship, and knowledge of their discipline with total dedication to winning converts. The band even has a mission statement:<\/p>\n Sammy Miller and the Congregation are on a mission to put the generosity back into jazz and bring art back to the people. Playing joyful jazz\u2014music that feels good\u2014the band shares the power of community through music in a style that entertains, enriches, and most of all uplifts.<\/em><\/p>\n The concert itself was dangerously high energy from start to finish. They played to, with, and in (!) the audience. They were\u00a0theatrical, even flamboyant at times. But just when I was ready to check out saying the schtick was going over the top they would launch into a fascinating, sensitive contemporary take on a jazz standard. They sometimes flirted with “too much”\u00a0but in the end\u00a0this was a group of artists dedicated to their art attempting\u2013and succeeding in spades\u2013to help people love jazz.<\/p>\n Everyone who I heard perform at the Festival this year was a stunning musician knowledgeable about and dedicated to jazz. What sets the Congregation apart is the addition of\u00a0an almost maniacal dedication to connecting with their audience. They love performing and they really love making others love jazz.<\/p>\n I have written before about a performer who appears to completely enjoy connecting with the people at his concerts: Jimmy Buffett (Lessons from a Pirate: I<\/a>; Lessons from a Pirate: II<\/a>). He works in a\u00a0much<\/em>\u00a0different corner of the musical universe but he is also dedicated to connecting with his fans.<\/p>\n The difference between the two is that\u00a0JB is not worried about winning the hearts and minds of the public. His incredible commercial success proves that but he keeps at it. Sammy Miller and the Congregation do have that concern for the art of jazz and for its future.<\/p>\n It is the dedication to connecting that I would most highlight here. We in the nonprofit arts are every bit as committed to our art as this group is\u2013but not more so. The question is whether\u00a0we are willing to do what it takes to allow people to come to love our work as much as we do\u2013not by “dumbing down” that\u00a0work but by expending the energy required\u00a0to make what we do irresistible . . . and keeping at it until we succeed.<\/strong><\/p>\n I had a very difficult time finding a video or a recording that did justice to the live experience, but rather than leave you hanging, this is a pretty good representation of a part of the\u00a0appeal of Sammy Miller and the Congregation: Li’l Liza Jane<\/a>.<\/p>\n And, for a straight-ahead classical music example of the same ideas, see Joe Patti’s blog post on the pianist Alpin Hong<\/a>.<\/p>\n Engage!<\/p>\n Doug<\/p>\n