Along with her position as an artist supervisor, Lisa Buck is the driving power behind a powerful grassroots jazz motion rising in Calgary, Canada, with goals for musicians together with honest pay, sustainability and gender-balance. Interview by Kai Hoffman

When the one jazz membership within the metropolis of Calgary closed, as a substitute of claiming ‘Oh that’s too dangerous,’ BuckingJam Palace founder Lisa Buck “determined to mild a candle relatively than curse the darkness,” and opened up her dwelling with husband Tom for a sequence of home concert events in 2015. 9 years on, BuckingJam Palace host a live performance sequence, has a registered charity basis and membership program, and not too long ago created a documentary known as “Change the Tune,” now touring movie festivals worldwide. As well as, Lisa Buck’s artists’ administration company focuses on “supporting girls and others from under-represented communities, together with rising artists.” 

“I’m an important instance of the best way to stumble right into a profession,” Lisa says. “Our son was bitten by the jazz bug in class and our home turned crammed with the sounds of rehearsals and jams. My husband, Tom, and I got here to grasp Calgary lacked the infrastructure to host touring jazz artists so we determined to carry concert events and supply musicians with lodging. In truth, I knew little or no about jazz at first and it has been an extremely rewarding journey studying to like the music and to attach with the gifted artists who play it.” 

“It’s simple to image a patron of the humanities as a member of a rich elite. The reality is that many people have property that we will leverage to be grass-roots supporters. In my case, it was a lounge and eating room that have been an inexpensive dimension and had nice acoustics—and further bedrooms that we might supply to touring artists. In some unspecified time in the future, you simply leap in: e book a live performance, take money on the door, construct a mailing listing one individual at a time. Tom and I knew we had created one thing sustainable once we now not had to purchase a ticket for a live performance in our personal lounge!”

Initially began as a live performance sequence, BuckingJam Palace has advanced to incorporate a basis and advocacy group for musicians. “Artists are our tradition creators and it’s bizarre that we worth their artwork whereas being unconcerned that many can’t earn a dwelling wage.  We established a non-profit in 2019 and have been granted charitable standing in 2022. This has allowed us to entry grants for tasks comparable to our documentary ‘Change The Tune’ and our animated video,’Toones.’ The concept of jazz might be intimidating—and that’s a disgrace as a result of it retains individuals from exploring the music. So it’s a part of our strategy to teach the viewers we need to appeal to by discovering artistic methods to introduce individuals to jazz. The method of creating the charity actually helped outline what BJP is all about. Throughout a strategic planning session, our board members shocked themselves by realising that our ardour had much less to do with jazz and extra to do with serving to form a tradition the place musicians are paid pretty and handled with love and respect. We now have an extremely enthusiastic group in Calgary that realises there’s a direct relationship between the ticket costs we cost and our potential to pay artists correctly and they’re pleased to be a part of that effort.”

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“The opposite advocacy work BJP does is round gender fairness and variety in music. It dawned on me sooner or later that if I booked solely the artists who have been contacting me, our whole season can be white males. Illustration is essential: it’s important to “see it to be it” so we work arduous to e book feminine bandleaders and performers and assist instructional initiatives that encourage girls.” 

“We now have hit capability in our present venue so have began a “BJP within the Wild” sequence the place we host jazz in different areas. Our concert events promote out and tickets are arduous to get so we need to higher serve the group by presenting in barely larger areas and providing extra concert events. That’s a problem in Calgary: there simply aren’t reasonably priced, intimate areas with an honest piano and good acoustics. I get plenty of requests from musicians from all genres asking to report or rehearse in our house so we’d like to have a venue we might share with the broader group. A collaborative house to host the artistic vitality of many creative practices: that’s the dream.”

In addition to their sold-out live performance sequence, BJP have begun to host quite a lot of collaborations together with JazzCamp for Ladies in affiliation with JazzDanmark, the primary cooperative session of its sort in Canada, with the purpose of making confidence round improvising. “JazzDanmark has been presenting these workshops throughout Europe since 2014 and this was the primary time they got here to North America. The entire expertise was superb,” Lisa continues. “I’ve large respect for JazzDanmark for funding this program to assist not simply their very own youth, however aspiring musicians in different nations. We intend to proceed this collaboration together with one other annual workshop which entails the Calgary chapter of Girls Band Administrators Worldwide.” 

Having spoken in 2022 with LJN about The Ostara Mission (hyperlink beneath) , Lisa stories that this “super-group of Canadian feminine jazz musicians is prospering. Their debut album was nominated for a JUNO in 2022 and the group undertook a cross-Canada pageant tour in 2023. A tour to the Yukon and British Columbia in March 2024 contains three days in Vancouver to report an instrumental album—Roots— and a vocal album—Wings. Because the band supervisor, I’m within the midst of the enjoyment and problem of planning a tour to Europe for 2025.”

The documentary “Change the Tune,” about gender equality in jazz, is presently ending the rounds of movie festivals. “We’re beginning a push to get it into school rooms. At thirty minutes lengthy, it’s a good size to current in a category session with time for dialogue. Anybody with an curiosity in seeing or exhibiting the documentary can contact me by e-mail by way of our web site and I can be pleased to ship the hyperlink,” Lisa says. 

Lisa Buck turned a passionate advocate for ladies in music following a private expertise of gender-based harassment through the early years of their live performance sequence. “I used to be involved that talking out might have an effect on our basis and our potential to e book musicians, however realised  if I, who had basically nothing to lose (don’t need to play our venue as a result of we received’t put up with predatory behaviour? NO drawback) was feeling conflicted, think about how feminine musicians really feel whose livelihoods is perhaps severely compromised in the event that they communicate out. In order that’s a part of how I see my position within the music business: talking up as a result of I’ve nothing to lose.”

“I imagine it’s an thrilling time to be a lady within the music business. Lastly, FINALLY we’re speaking about systemic limitations and creating initiatives to deal with them. Girls are going to proceed to say the house that’s rightfully theirs and that’s going to profit everybody. As a result of it’s not nearly equity: it’s additionally about high quality. It’s nice to have a day that celebrates girls and spotlights feminine creativity, however I stay up for once we don’t want a day devoted to this, when it’s a given that ladies’s voices are pretty represented in our tradition.”

“The music business is simply higher when there’s a variety of voices. One of the highly effective instruments you may have is a community, so construct that with individuals whose values and spirits resonate with your individual. In case you are  struggling to get a seat on the desk, then construct your individual desk and make it fabulous.”

LINK: Buckingjam Palace Web site
Nicky Schrire’s 2022 characteristic about Ostara Mission
The Full Archive of LJN’s #IWD profiles since 2011