As a jazz musician myself, picking up the pieces of the past few years and currently in the middle of a project entitled ‘Brighter Tomorrow’ celebrating all who contribute to a brighter tomorrow for The Arts, I felt compelled to reach out to fellow jazz musicians to check in with them and see how they’re all doing. At a time when we are supposedly heading towards better days, I am more aware than EVER of musicians really finding things tough, feeling overwhelmed, losing their love of music, questioning the path they have chosen to pursue and expressing a relentless fight to survive in this industry. I have also sadly seen some incredibly talented friends hang up their performing shoes, having opened up about being beaten down by the enormous strains of the music business (not just in the jazz world). A fellow musician and friend recently posted “I don’t want to pretend to be a success anymore” onto a social platform. This really struck a chord with me and fuelled a growing concern that our wonderful creative community is losing those at the very heart of its survival. I want to find out why and investigate if there’s anything that can be done to help. I asked a selection of jazz musicians to answer 10 questions about how they’re finding things, how they’re feeling and any changes they’d like to see. You can find out what they have to say over this four-part series of interviews kicking off with two of the most highly-respected and experienced award-winning multi-instrumentalists at the forefront of the UK improvised music scene: saxophonist, flautist, violinist and composer Tori Freestone and pianist and composer Alcyona Mick.   

Singer and improviser Diana Torti and guitarist Sabino de Bari have been creating music together since 2006. As composers, they have previously released albums as individuals and together and most recently their stunning duo album On A Cloud. It was a great pleasure to ask them about their brand new album It’s All We Have.