Atlanta's newest venue: your home

For the April issue of Downbeat, I penned an article about hosting jazz concerts in private homes, a nationwide trend. I interviewed Phil Clore and Mary Jo Strickland of the Southeastern Organization for Jazz Arts for the piece. For nearly an hour, we talked about everything from SOJA’s monthly Atlanta house concerts to bringing jazz to a younger generation. The following is an edited transcription of our chat.

How did the SOJA house jazz concerts get off the ground?

Mary Jo Strickland: It’s been almost 10 years. I just got a great piano and had a friend in Florida who I wanted to come up and christen the piano. It started out just having a party to celebrate the piano, and then my neighbor said, this is cool, we should do it all the time.

I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. I just knew that I liked the music, and I had a piano, which people liked. What I found is that people really liked playing in a home because they got listened to.

Phil Clore: I thought it was absolutely fascinating because I had never heard of this kind of concept. I met up with Mary Jo, and we worked together to create something. That’s how SOJA was initially born. Two years ago, we had the concerts at Ken Gregory’s at 800 East studio. We converted it once a month to a performing arts center. We’d go in and put the chairs up, move equip around, and set it up.

We didn’t get the support or the attendance that we had hoped for. It’s situated in a neighborhood, and there’s not a whole lot of parking. So we got together a SOJA advisory board. They came up with the idea, let’s do what you were doing at Mary Jo’s home, but have other people open their homes up.

As we started meeting people and having events and building our e-mail list, we started putting that out there, would you like to have one of these in your home? Mary Jo would communicate with interested people how to put it together, what to do, and they would select the musicians. We’d get the information out. They’d invite their friends and neighbors and other people who were on the e-mail list.

MJS: Which has expanded our list because the concerts have happened in different places.

PC: It’s moved from Powder Springs to Conyers and in town to out of town. Whoever decides they’d like to have it, that’s where it will be. It’s created a network of people who have never met before in different areas around Atlanta.

Do artists get paid well? Do they like playing house concerts?

MJS: I never quote a price to the musicians. They’ve found that they usually make enough to make it worth their while. I think it’s a pleasant gig for them; they don’t have to be out late at night. They usually play two sets with a break in the middle — and they get listened to, which is a big perk because a lot of musicians are used to playing restaurants where people are talking, blenders are going off. It’s a different experience, too, then a club because it’s usually earlier in the evening.

PC: The musicians can mingle with the people. They like that. Plus, kids can come. That’s the important thing. We’re also able to highlight underage musicians during the break. That’s our next generation of listeners that we need to develop. You’re finding more and more really young people who are starting to perform.

MJS: When I had things at my house, I would have kids come. Neighbors came and had their kids fall asleep under the piano. I liked having that atmosphere where kids can come and hear the music. I think that’s one of the perks. Kids can't go to a regular jazz club. I’ve invited kids as long as they’re old enough to be quiet.

From what I understand, either SOJA or the person who’s hosting the concert books the musicians. Does SOJA have a say about who performs?

PC: We like to make sure it’s not the same ones because people will get bored. We look for new talent and folks who are already established.

MJS: The one thing I’ve learned about musicians is they’re always looking for gigs. Once they find out that something’s happening, they find you.

The SOJA house concerts occur once a month throughout the metro area. Tickets are usually $20 per person, which includes a $5 donation to SOJA (the rest of the money goes to the artists). During our chat, Clore emphasized that SOJA isn't just about house concerts and said he hopes to someday create a jazz performance space in the city. SOJA’s organizers also hope to more widely promote additional outreach activities such as jazz education in elementary schools.