Celebrating Five Years of FOSAJB
Happy 5th Anniversary to the members of the Facebook group Friends of Sant Andreu Jazz Band!
The internet has been both praised and blamed for the many ways it has affected and influenced our daily lives. Social media sites in particular often find themselves on the receiving end of criticism for how they have changed — and even dominated — the ways we communicate with each other in the 21st century. Facebook, of course, has been one of them.
But Facebook also offers the opportunity for ordinary people to create group pages intended to bring those of like minds together electronically. Even if we are thousands of miles apart, we can share and celebrate our favorite interests, hobbies, and means of entertainment with those who feel the same enthusiasm, whom we would have never met or known without coming together online. Friends of Sant Andreu Jazz Band is just one example, but it’s a special one to me.
So, if I may continue this piece with a more personal approach than usual…
As most of the original generation of Beatles fans will tell you, they can still remember where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard the Beatles for the first time. It’s similar with fans of the SAJB, as they often share on the discussion page. I’ve previously offered my version of how I first learned of the project, but today is perhaps an appropriate day to recount it, as it leads to how FOSAJB was created:
On the morning of October 11, 2019, I was on YouTube, casually scrolling down the side column of thumbnail images for videos by the great Brazilian jazz/bossa nova singer and pianist Eliane Elias. But in that column on the right margin of the screen, I also noticed the image of a young girl playing a trumpet, with the label identifying her video as the great Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Mediation” (“Meditacao” in the original Portuguese).
Hmm, I thought — a girl playing trumpet? And on a classic Jobim song?
Intrigued, I clicked on the image, and the video began. The girl was Andrea Motis. She looked so young, sang so beautifully and with such quiet confidence for her age, and was backed by a fine group of musicians, one of whom I recognized immediately as none other than the great Scott Hamilton. The lightning bolt had struck. After watching that video, I found another video of Andrea, and another, and many more. I watched several in a row, then scrambled to find out whatever I could about her and her story, trying to gather some accurate information. I didn’t get everything quite right at that moment, but regardless, I posted this entry on my Facebook page:
Oct. 11, 2019 —
“For the past half-hour, I’ve been absolutely gobsmacked by a number of videos featuring this mesmerizing girl, named Andrea Motis. She is a jazz/bossa nova singer from Spain, multi-lingual (sings in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and who knows what else), plays saxophone, and is especially brilliant on trumpet. She’s only 24 years old and wasn’t even 20 at the time of this performance — Jobim’s classic “Meditation” (performed alongside LEGENDARY saxophonist Scott Hamilton). I’ve yet to pick up my jaw from the floor. This girl was/is a true prodigy (she recorded her first album of jazz standards when she was 15), has a loyal following, and should be an international star right now! How could I have not known about her before this morning? Thankfully, I do now. I’ve been almost too flustered to know which of her amazing performances to post, so I’ll just begin with this one…”
The next day, the fever had yet to break. I posted:
“…Still smitten with Andrea…I’m just trying to catch up with the jazz fans in Europe who’ve already known of her remarkable talents for years, and I’m making some small effort to spread the word among those who love jazz and might occasionally check out my Facebook page.”
Then I found still more videos of Andrea, including those of the “Fab Four,” as I began to call them: SAJB trombonist Rita Payes, saxophonist Eva Fernandez, and bassist Magali Datzira, each of whom could command the stage and mesmerize an audience individually — together, they are sublime. Their remarkable talents, stage presence, chemistry with each other, and charisma as singers make them all very special, and the four of them will forever be linked together in my mind.
Two days later, as I sat bleary-eyed on the morning of Oct. 14, I wrote:
“Okay, it’s Monday morning, and I’ve watched about 50 or 60 videos of Andrea Motis and the other amazing musicians/singers from Joan Chomorro’s music school in Barcelóna, and I’m not even done. I’ve been watching a new generation of jazz musicians growing up on YouTube.”
Finding the SAJB by accident took place just a few years after my parents had passed away. As I experienced my first videos of the SAJB, one thought that kept repeating itself in my mind was how thrilled my mother and father would have been to see such young kids — an ocean away, no less — learning and playing all of those American standards that my parents danced to as high school sweethearts so long ago. Even now, each time I watch a performance by the band, or a song sung by an SAJB member, I know my mom and dad would have been as impressed as I am.
I promptly posted many SAJB videos on my own Facebook page, but received very little feedback from my friends (sadly, most of them don’t listen to jazz anyway). I began to feel rather lonely after failing to spark much interest or excitement for this great music, played so wonderfully by teens and pre-teens in Barcelona. Frustrated by my friends’ ignorance and disinterest, I felt compelled to reach out to whoever else might appreciate the SAJB.
I’m not a musician, but I am a writer and a lifelong jazz fan, so I found myself drafting my own online article about the SAJB, still knowing precious little about its history or people, but trying to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle, even with many pieces still missing. I wrote the article based on those bits of information as I found them. Perhaps my enthusiasm surpassed my accuracy on some points.
I then dared to contact Joan Chamorro directly — not really expecting a reply — but he was gracious enough to read through the rough draft of what I had written to that point. He offered more accurate information than what I had gathered on my own, and even scolded me for writing primarily about the girls in the band, and not as much about the guys — to which I must plead guilty. I felt embarrassed, humbled, and chastened. In my defense, I was still stunned and enthralled by the very sight of teenage girls singing and playing trumpets, saxophones, and trombones on big band swing numbers from the 1930s and ’40s — and doing it all so exceptionally well! I had never seen nor heard anything like it. As far as I knew at the time, young girls simply didn’t play jazz. But I was happy to see how mistaken I was. So, yes, at first, I did write mostly about the girls, each of whom played and sang wonderfully, with a genuine feel for the music.
Thanks to those SAJB singers who first caught my attention (and, a bit later, Alba Armengou, Alba Esteban, Joana Casanova, Elia Bastida, and others), I finally and almost unwittingly learned the lyrics to many American standards I had known only as instrumentals from the Big Band era. I was also happy to hear many numbers played by the full band that had been mostly relegated to old recordings and largely forgotten (where else can you hear something like “Moten Swing,” Count Basie’s original theme song, performed by a live band these days?).
I posted that first article on New Year’s Day, 2020. It received a much more favorable response than I could have anticipated, thanks in large part to Joan Chamorro re-posting it on several of his own Facebook pages. Two fellow SAJB fans, Bo Sybrandt Hansen (from Denmark) and Bengt-Ove Bostrom (from Sweden), who had already been following and learning about the band for years, messaged me with compliments for the article. Bengt-Ove himself had already written several excellent online pieces about the project, with an eloquence far beyond my own abilities (they can be found at his site, Articles — Musik.pm).
I explained that my article was simply a modest attempt to spread the word to Americans about Chamorro’s accomplishments with these young musicians, who display talent way beyond their years.
I have since deleted that first piece, seeing in retrospect how poorly written it really was. In the years since, I’ve replaced it with many more that I hope have done a better and more complete job of celebrating the SAJB and exploring its history.
In the meantime, Bo, Bengt-Ove and I began to discuss ways in which we could inform others around the world who might not be aware of the band. Should we create a website? Write a book? After much brainstorming, we arrived at the idea of creating a Facebook group page in English for sharing information, comments, videos, photos, news, etc. to whoever would like to take a more active part enjoying and celebrating the SAJB. We looked to the established French group page Amis Du Sant Andreu Jazz Band for guidance. That group was created in 2017 by Jean-yves Cordier and Alberto Batista.
Bo handled the technical aspects of getting our page into shape and ready for publishing online, as we continued to discuss what we wanted — and didn’t want — the page to be.
After reaching agreement on the fine points, Friends of Sant Andreu Jazz Band (FOSAJB) launched on March 20, 2020.
It was an uncertain time to do this, as the Covid pandemic had been swiftly bringing the world to its knees. We shared some doubt about starting a Facebook group page with so much suffering occurring around the world. But perhaps our timing was, ironically, actually better than we realized. People were staying home much more (as ordered by law in some countries), and had no choice but to interact with the world solely on their computers and phones. Even the SAJB’s very existence was in danger, with concerts and public events cancelled due to the pandemic. But, we reasoned, maybe our group page could bring some entertainment and joy at a time of dread and suffering.
Much to my surprise, FOSAJB grew to over 3,000 members around the world in just over six months. Bengt-Ove opted to leave his role as co-administrator, but has remained a valuable and insightful contributor, while Bo and I continued keeping an eye on SAJB activities daily, posting items we hoped the group members would enjoy.
I consider myself basically a nobody in the world of jazz journalism. I’m not a musician, I have a modest collection of jazz recordings, and a decent knowledge of the genre and its history. However, the combination of serving as co-administrator of the group page and my experience writing about pop culture and entertainment topics somehow gave me a rare bit of courage to begin requesting interviews with people related to the SAJB project. I felt from the beginning that their own words are more important than mine, and would greatly enhance my articles with first-hand information, memories, and reflections.
After Joan Chamorro and I exchanged a number of messages in those early days, Elia Bastida was the first to kindly answer my e-mails with questions for her (as she has done on several occasions since then). And I’ve had the great pleasure of speaking at length — mostly by video call, but occasionally in person or via e-mail — with many past and current SAJB musicians and others associated with the band. Each time, I shape our conversations into articles to provide some insight into the life and history of the project.
I also began an online friendship with fellow American and SAJB devotee Bob Kemper, who lived in the Midwest and who made it possible to bring the great Anastasia Ivanova to Barcelona for the first time in 2019, allowing her to play with the SAJB she admired so much.
Bob also referred me to The Syncopated Times jazz magazine. In September of 2021 I sent the magazine an e-mail offering to write a piece about the SAJB. One of the editors, Joe Bebco, replied to my query with: “We’ve wanted a feature on the Sant Andreu Jazz Band for several years now. So far they have only been mentioned in passing by our awed writers. There’s so much hope for jazz in their success! So yes we would very much welcome a piece on them.”
The magazine printed the article, with our shared hope to spread the word a little more in the U.S. (I grateful that The Syncopated Times has continued to accept my subsequent articles about the SAJB and other jazz topics).
Sadly, Bob Kemper passed away in January of 2022.
After expressing some doubt that I’d be able to travel to my first Jazzing Fest later in 2022, I made the trip and was so glad I did. In addition to my desire to see the people and hear the music in person, I also felt a responsibility to FOSAJB.
Bo was my personal tour guide and introduced me to many SAJB friends and sites in Sant Andreu. We sat in on a rehearsal at the Jazz House, then went to see a music performance at the Jamboree, where we ran into Alba Armengou and Vicente Lopez.
And that was just my first day in Barcelona, even before I had unpacked my luggage.
Bo and I also took time out every so often to meet in his hotel room, where he had connected up a myriad of laptops and other devices allowing us to post new photos and messages on FOSAJB in real time, as often as possible. The only thing missing for us were fedora hats with PRESS cards firmly slipped into the hatbands.
But what surprised me the most shortly after arriving at the Fabra i Coats Cultural Center, where Jazzing takes place, was that several people — many of whom are parents of the kids in the band — were walking up to me to say hello and introduce themselves. They knew me already! I did not expect it at all, being 3,000 miles from home and thinking I would attend the event as a fly on the wall, going unnoticed. I couldn’t believe such friendliness and generosity, but it was a very good feeling, to which I’m not accustomed in America.
Meeting so many nice people over just a few days’ time was a happy extra facet of the experience. It was our shared enthusiasm for the SAJB that brought us together and helped form our friendships.
Sadly, that November, just over two months after Jazzing, Bo suddenly passed away at his home. He was in the middle of a busy week, including preparing to give his first lecture about the SAJB. It came as a shock to everyone. He and I had messaged each other nearly every day to exchange information and discuss various ideas for what we could do for the FOSAJB page. We also chatted by video call often, and had delightful conversations about many things, from the serious to the silly. He enjoyed that Jazzing week immensely, and I told him how he helped make my own first experience there as enjoyable as I could have hoped.
In the spring of 2023, I met with the SAJB Dixie Band in Cincinnati, as did a few superfans from around the U.S., as an invited guest for the CPS (Cincinnati Public Schools) International Jazz Festival — something that wouldn’t have been possible had I not been at Jazzing and met CPS band director Isidore Rudnick, whose student band participated at Jazzing about six months earlier. Some of the loyal SAJB fans who traveled to Cincinnati included Tom Porter, Greg McCarthy, Don Parks, and Bill & Kendra Mohn. Greg even chauffeured Joan back to his hotel as I rode shotgun in the front passenger seat and peppered our chat with still more questions for the maestro.
Upon my return to Jazzing later that summer of 2023, I finally met Bengt-Ove in person, and other SAJB superfans who have enhanced the group page with their knowledge and support. Of course, we remembered Bo and spoke of him often.
Now, five years after we launched FOSAJB, I still tend to think of my role almost as that of a news reporter or editor, striving to get the latest news items, photos, and videos to the page as efficiently as possible to keep the fans up to date. But it’s also fun to reach back into the SAJB “vault” to find older images and videos still popular with fans. I also sometimes present a photo series with a theme, offering a new image for that theme every few days. Work on the page has dominated a good number of my waking hours each day and night, but I hope that, in the process, I’ve been serving some useful purpose, and that I’ve made a few friends as well.
More recently, I’ve had the help of Paul Mason (designer of Elia’s web site) and Tom Porter, both of whom have picked up the slack during those times when my computer badly misbehaves.
Of course, members and visitors to the page continue to post interesting items they’ve found on their own. Many have contributed their own photos and videos of SAJB events and concerts they’ve attended in person, closer to their respective homes near Barcelona and elsewhere in Europe. I can’t mention all by name here, but they know who they are, and I hope they accept my appreciation.
We’ve also seen the creation of two more SAJB fan groups created by superfans: the Spanish-speaking Fans de la Sant Andreu Jazz Band, managed by Eloy Carbó Ros and Arturo Beramendi, and the Brazilian Amigos Da Sant Andreu Jazz Band, founded by administrator Vera Fonseca. Each group was created in 2024, and each offers a variety of SAJB-related items, posted mostly in their respective languages, but are welcome to all.
I had never dreamed, when stumbling upon that video of Andrea on that October morning in 2019, that I would become involved (albeit remotely) with such an enjoyable, satisfying, and rather addictive musical project to follow, write about, and simply marvel at the talents of its young jazz musicians.
At this writing, FOSAJB membership is approaching 11,200. Some members contribute items or comments fairly regularly, while others visit the page just once in a while to see what’s new with the band. And, while there are times when I feel so very far away from where the “action” is in Sant Andreu and the greater Barcelona area, I do my best to help the SAJB fans around the world — including myself — feel just a little closer to, and involved with, the Sant Andreu Jazz Band.
Again, thanks to the members of FOSAJB who share the joy of music and song with each other on this 5th anniversary. I wish visionary leader Joan Chamorro and all of his young musicians — past, present, and future — good health and more wonderful, life-affirming jazz to come. I thank them for doing their part in keeping this special music alive.
Until next time…
You can read my 100+ online articles, including over 30 related to the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, at the links below, and at the “Garry’s Blog” page on my website, www.GarryBerman.com. The site also includes synopses and reviews of my books, which you can order via the links to Amazon.com.
Please click the “follow” button and follow me on Medium (for no charge) for more articles on popular culture, music, films, television, entertainment history, and just plain old history. You can also become a member in the Medium Partner Program for a modest fee to help support my writing! https://garryberman.medium.com/membership
SAJB-related articles:
“Catching Up with Jazz Violin Virtuoso Èlia Bastida” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Joe Magnarelli Returns to the SAJB” | by Garry Berman | Oct. 2024 | Medium
“Joan Chamorro and the SAJB in 2024” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Lola Peñaranda’s Sax Does the Talking” | by Garry Berman | April, 2024 | Medium
“Catching up with Anastasia Ivanova” |April, 2024 | Medium
“The Jazz House Story”| by Garry Berman | March, 2024 | Medium
“Joana Casanova Finds Her New Musical Direction” | by Garry Berman | Jan. 2024 | Medium
“Andrea Motis: Europe’s Jazz Queen” | by Garry Berman | Jan. 2024 | Medium
“Bossa Nova Returns to Barcelona” | by Garry Berman | Medium| by Garry Berman | Medium
“Carla Motis: A Quiet Force on Jazz Guitar” | by Garry Berman | Sept, 2023 | Medium
“Memories of my Visit to Jazzing Fest, 2023” | by Garry Berman | Sept, 2023 | Medium
“Meet Asier Vázquez, The SAJB’s Eager New Guitarist” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Koldo Munné’s Musical Journey” | by Garry Berman | June, 2023 | Medium
“Claudia Rostey’s Rising Star” | by Garry Berman | June, 2023 | Medium
“A Film About Kids and Music: Ten Years Later” https://medium.com/@garryberman/a-film-about-kids-and-music-ten-years-later-50d5bf96f53b
“Marching to a Different Bassist: The Music of Magali Datzira” | by Garry Berman | Medium
“Kindred Spirits: How Joan Chamorro and Isidore Rudnick Teach Jazz to Kids” https://medium.com/@garryberman/kindred-spirits-how-joan-chamorro-and-isidore-rudnick-teach-jazz-to-kids-2d0cb80bed77
“The Compelling Music of Elia Bastida and Carolina Alabau” https://medium.com/@garryberman/the-compelling-music-of-%C3%A8lia-bastida-and-carolina-alabau-65da74f07804
“The SAJB’s Koldo Munne Steps into the Jazz Spotlight” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-sajbs-koldo-munn%C3%A9-steps-into-the-jazz-spotlight-238b3231626f
“A Tale of Two Albas” https://garryberman.medium.com/a-tale-of-two-albas-904849a5e697
“How a Kids Band in Barcelona Rekindled My Love of Jazz” https://garryberman.medium.com/how-a-kids-band-in-barcelona-rekindled-my-love-of-jazz-a20ea8873670
“Jan Domenech’s New Chapter as a Jazz Musician” https://garryberman.medium.com/jan-domenechs-new-chapter-as-a-jazz-musician-e1f0da8b19b9
“Joan Chamorro and the SAJB: Past, Present, and Future” https://medium.com/@garryberman/joan-chamorro-and-the-sajb-past-present-and-future-573eedcbff76
“Josep Traver: Guitarist of All Trades” https://garryberman.medium.com/josep-traver-guitarist-of-all-trades-608296f9d00a
“When American Jazz Pros Meet Spanish Jazz Kids” https://garryberman.medium.com/when-american-jazz-pros-meet-spanish-jazz-kids-25c7f5023571
“Claudia Rostey: The Life of an 18-year-old Bacelona Jazz Trombonist” https://garryberman.medium.com/claudia-rostey-the-life-of-an-18-year-old-barcelona-jazz-trombonist-d13b82c770a3
“The Magic of the Voice: The Singers of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band” https://garryberman.medium.com/the-magic-of-the-voice-the-singers-of-the-sant-andreu-jazz-band-208dfb629221
“Jobim is Alive and Well in Barcelona” https://garryberman.medium.com/jobim-is-alive-and-well-in-barcelona-d384b40d8c2e
“Did Someone Say Anastasia Ivanova?” https://garryberman.medium.com/did-someone-say-anastasia-ivanova-dd6f67277c64
“Struck by (musical) Lightning” https://garryberman.medium.com/struck-by-musical-lightning-6583ecb0de13
The Sant Andreu Jazz Band is always grateful for donations large and small to help the project continue to record and release new albums, perform live concerts, and maintain a successful project, with all that it entails.
