Darcy James Argue

I had a composition lesson yesterday with Darcy James Argue, best known for his grammy-nominated Secret Society steampunk-inspired big band. The lesson was my selected Kickstarter reward for donating to Adam Schatz's Search & Restore project. I'm very grateful to DJA for generously sharing his time and knowledge, so I figured I'd post here about the lesson and his music.

Darcy James Argue – photo by Ben AnamanI've been motivated to start writing music again. I'd like to develop an album's worth of new sextet music and record it, but feel that I need to find a fresh approach composition. It's part of a larger creative exploration I began a few years ago. So when I signed in to donate to Search & Restore, this was a serendipitous opportunity that actually made me laugh out loud.Read more

Not so long ago, Search and Restore began an ambitious fundraiser to raise $75,000 through Kickstarter. The money will be used next year to document the New York City new jazz scene and build a new online home for the community.

Search and Restore is a 501c3 non-profit organization formed by Adam Schatz to build the jazz audience through amazing concerts and online activity. Part of the goal for next year is to film 208 jazz concerts. Four concerts a week – that's a lot of filming and editing and production work! Money raised will help make that possible, as will a lot of work by talented people dedicated to jazz in the city.

I've already participated in one of Adam's documentaries: a raid on Prospect Park by Stefan Zeniuk's outlandish Baritone Army. Adam spent the entire afternoon running all over Park Slope with us capturing footage. For sure he's serious about his commitment to the jazz scene (even weird crap like this!)Read more