#jazzhole

‘Mumu LP Vol.3: The Listening Room’ is a sculptural sound installation that foregrounds the ‘voice of the people’ in an ongoing artistic interrogation of political engagements in the public realm.

‘Mumu LP Vol.3: The Listening Room’ is a sculptural sound installation that foregrounds the ‘voice of the people’ in an ongoing artistic interrogation of political engagements in the public realm. This art work is part of a long-term project called ‘Archiving the Future’ which began in 2016, collecting social media screenshots and audio recordings of conversations at bus stops around Lagos. These…

Out of about 8 on staff, 1 is a woman.

At her juries (assessment of her playing) last week, one of the two (male) professors looked her up and down, including her chest, and told her she should’ve done her hair up.

The head of her department asked a graduating female senior if her music sucked, because “that would really be annoying for the musicians.”

For her history of jazz essay comparing two musicians from the bop age, her professor denied her permission to include a woman saxophonist on the grounds that bop wasn’t “in her vocabulary,” and she was “faking it, at best.” They have not covered one female musician so far in the semester, and we’ve hit midterms.

That’s just a sampler of her experience in the jazz comp major.

So I’m going to have to try to do actual runs and body based exercises so that I’m not slacking too hard. 

So last night, I was like... I have some energy left and some time, might as well do some push ups. 

“Jazzhole, a cultural haven combining a bookshop and music store, in Lagos, Nigeria.” (photo by Chris Stein)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Jazzhole is easy to miss — tucked next to a pharmacy on Awolowo Road, a busy, traffic-packed road crammed on either side with banks and businesses. Lagos is nearly always hot and sticky, and it makes me happy to walk into its cool and darkish interior and to be filled instantly with the expectation of discovery. Tables with books spread out like invitations. A range of fiction, from Lisa Gardner to Tash Aw. Biographies, histories, poetry. Large, hardcover art books propped on shelves. Framed images on the walls of iconic book covers, musicians, nationalists. A traditional drum hanging from the wall. A music section with CDs of both old and new music from Africa and Europe and America.

The Jazzhole is a bookstore, a music store, a cultural haven. It is a space reverential of stories and history. Its casual, lived-in charm encourages browsing, and I have discovered beloved books there — books about Africa, in particular. It is also the place in Lagos to go to for new British and American book releases. I have attended live music events there, with the bookshelves pushed back to fit in seating. I have had delicious cake and fresh juice from the tiny cafe at the back.