I’d like to thank all the musicians who contributed to the evening, in no particular order: Tim Keiper, William Parker, Raul Rothblatt, Famoro Diabate, Sylvain Leroux, and dancer Marie Claudine Mukamabano. Also, thanks to Scott Friedlander for his photography and audio recording.

We can’t wait to let you know about our next event!

Please enjoy some audio and video samples from the evening:

Jeremy Danneman trio with William Parker and Tim Keiper

Famoro Diabate, Raul Rothblatt, Tim Keiper, and Sylvain Leroux (Video Courtesy of LeAnna Ficano)

Jeremy Danneman trio

$30,000 sounds too ambitious. What happens if you don’t reach your goal?

Good question! We are using a number of strategies to raise that kind of money. In addition to this Indiegogo campaign, we are applying for foundation grants and corporate funding. In fact, we are currently waiting for a response from a number of foundations, and we are sending out even more applications. Still, we want to be completely forthcoming with you about how much money we currently need. If we don’t raise all the money on Indiegogo, we will simply keep on fundraising until we do, and you should receive your perks no matter how long it takes us. Since we are a nonprofit, Indiegogo automatically sets us up for flexible funding, meaning that they give us the money even if we don’t meet our goal. Still, we’d love it if we could raise all the money from individuals like you on Indiegogo.

Yo, I’m broke! Is there still some way I can help?

That’s a bummer. Sorry to hear it! Of course, you can still help. Indiegogo has a way of directing traffic to campaigns that are generating a buzz, so what you can do is visit our campaign and like it on Facebook, tweet it, share it, or favorite it. Your comments are especially meaningful to us, so let us know what you think! Oh, and we hope your money situation improves soon.

Why is it so important to donate ASAP, when the campaign lasts 45 days?

89 percent of the things you don’t do right away, will never get done at all. Okay, so we don’t know if that statistic is precise, but we think you’ll agree that there’s quite a lot of truth to it. Also, a major purpose of this campaign is to use Indiegogo’s traffic to attract new donors. Indiegogo will direct more traffic to us if people are already donating. If you wait until the end, we won’t be able to take advantage of Indiegogo’s ability to direct their website’s traffic our way.

Why are you fundraising on a website other than http://www.paradeofone.org?

Good question! Since our founding in 2009, Parade of One has had the ability to accept credit cards on our own website. By using Indiegogo, we hope to take advantage of the traffic that can be offered by a much larger website. If you wish to donate by check, you may still do so, using the mail.

]]> http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/faqs-about-our-current-crowdfunding-campaign/feed/ 0 paradeofone http://www.indiegogo.com/project/badge/253313/1614764 http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/my-last-days-of-this-trip-to-southeast-asia-ill-be-back/ http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/my-last-days-of-this-trip-to-southeast-asia-ill-be-back/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:33:35 +0000 Parade of One http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/?p=386 Continue reading →]]> Dec. 19, 2011

Tonight, I had a rush hour performance at the Bin Loi Bridge. There were many motorbikes which had to eventually squeeze into single-file to go over the bridge, the keyword here being “eventually.”

At the Bin Loi Bridge, Saigon, Vietnam

A bunch of young children gathered underneath the bridge.

Children gathering underneath the Bin Loi Bridge, Saigon, Vietnam

This performance was part of a larger series of street performances taking place right in the thick of the Saigon rush hour. You can see more photos and read more about the theoretical background of this in my previous blog post. Also, it has gotten some major press, including this English article and video from TuoiTre news.

Dec. 20, 2011

Today Tina, the owner of the Faifoo Hotel where I’m staying, took me around to a couple flute shops and introduced me to the head of the traditional music department at the local conservatory. He taught me a bit about the various types of Vietnamese flutes, some of which I’m pretty hopeless at, and others I’m pretty good at. I was particularly intrigued by one that had no keys. The flutist is required to manipulate the overtone series with his breath, plus the palm is used to further influence the sound by closing and opening the hole at the bottom of the flute. (I am now realizing it would have been useful to get some photos and video of this.) In the evening, the professor invited me and Tina to play with him at a church gallery opening for Christmas.

Dec. 22, 2011

In the afternoon, I played at a little school for disabled children, in a small town a couple hours north of Saigon.

Disabled children checking out the saxophone.

In the evening I played at the Kid’s World Kindergarten where there was a big fundraiser for an orphanage. The fundraiser will go through most of January, so there’s no telling how much money will eventually be raised. Huyen the head of the school will keep me posted, and I’ll report back!

Dec. 23, 2011

Today, I went to Dau Tieng, one of two places where my father served during the war here. I am under the impression that things haven’t changed much there. My father remembers lots of rubber trees, and from what I saw, there are still lots of rubber trees. If you ask around about what to do or where to go in Dau Tieng, they will only tell you about rubber. If you ask if there is any special local cuisine, again they insist that their little town has nothing but rubber. There is a small museum dedicated to rubber, and the French exploitation of their resources during colonial times.

The museum about rubber exploitation in Dau Tieng, Vietnam

Not far from the rubber museum, adjacent to a traffic circle, are a few collected remnants of the American military presence in Dau Tieng, including a tank, a helicopter, and some unexploded missiles.

A tank from the Vietnamese-American War in Dau Tieng, Vietnam

An American helicopter, leftover in Dau Tieng from the war.

I’m disappointed to report that, even after asking around a bit, I was unable to figure out where the US base was located. I know my father is interested to know what’s there now. He told me the base was overrun by enemy troops immediately after he left. Like I said, if you ask most of the residents about their town, they will only tell you about rubber! Maybe next time, I will see if I can consult an expert on the matter.

Not far from the tank and helicopter, was a little volleyball court, where I gave a really quick performance.

Playing sax in a park in Dau Tieng, Vietnam

When I returned to Saigon from Dau Tieng, I played a little party at the Faifoo Hotel, where I accidentally raised more money for the fundraiser being held by the Kid’s World Kindergarten. I’m still not really sure how that happened…

Dec. 24, 2011

This Christmas Eve day I played at the April 30th Park in District 1, Saigon. It’s called the April 30th park, because that was the day in 1975 when Vietnam was reunified and finally independent. The park is a great hang-out for university students, and has generally been one of my favorite places to play in Vietnam, though this trip I have neglected it a little because my of my rush hour performances.

At the April 30th Park, Saigon, Vietnam

I always get a lot of photo requests at this park. My guess is that I’m on quite many young Vietnamese Facebook profiles because of this. Facebook is often blocked here in Vietnam, but that doesn’t stop the young people from loving it.

Has anyone seen this photo on Facebook yet?

In the evening, I attended a Christmas Eve party in what is probably the only suburban style “subdivision” in Saigon. It is almost surreal to see such a quiet neighborhood in the middle of this very dense city. I played a little, but mostly I partied for my last night in Saigon. There were actually people dancing in the street!

A block party in Saigon

Dancing all night for Christmas in Saigon

It was a lovely night, many thanks to the neighborhood hosts!

Tomorrow, I make the long journey back to New York, but I know I’ll be back. In the meantime, I’ll be thinking about how to take the Parade of One project to the next level. I plan to immediately start work on continuing my involvement in Rwanda. Hopefully, 2012 will bring the first Parade of One intercultural collaborative album. The plan is to bring Rwandan vocalist and inanga player, Sophie Nzayisenga, to New York for street performances and to record an album with me and my people here. You can hear some rough recordings of what I’ve already done with Sophie at this link. Surely, I’ll be keeping you posted.

The Parade of One project is grateful for the kind support of individuals like you who make it all possible. Please consider making your tax-deductible donation this holiday season by visiting the Parade of One website. At the time of this publication, we are still offering holiday gifts for donors, but only while supplies last!

Would somebody please tell the sax player this is a one way street!

Dec. 12th, 2011

This evening was the beginning of a series of street performances that will take place, literally, in the middle of the Saigon streets during the nightly rush hour. The traffic in Saigon is a truly amazing thing. More than 99 percent of the vehicles on the road are motorbikes, and when the congestion is very thick, it is every bit as intimate as the crowded New York subway. Unlike the streets in the USA,  where people mostly drive cars, there is no social separation between drivers; people are not in enclosed air-conditioned vehicles, with their ipods plugged into the charger. The roads are something that the many drivers experience together more intimately in Saigon than anywhere I’ve ever been. Sidewalks, on the other hand, are tough to come by here, and when you find them, they might be used for motorbike parking or street vendors. The late urban theorist Jane Jacobs wrote that sidewalks “bring together people who do not know each other in an intimate, private social fashion… The sum of such casual, public contact at a local level – most of it fortuitous, most of it associated with errands, all of it metered out by the persons concerned and not thrust upon him by anyone – is a feeling for the public identity of the people, a web of public respect and trust, and a resource in time of personal or neighborhood need. The absence of this trust is a disaster to a city street. Its cultivation cannot be institutionalized. And above all, it implies no private commitments.” I find that Jacob’s observations about sidewalks (based on her life in New York) are actually more true of streets in Saigon. It is on the streets here that one observes tensions and triumphs in the public trust. In effect, the traffic codes in Saigon are mostly irrelevant; the safety of the streets is upheld and maintained (or not) by the vigilance of millions of individual drivers, not by any collective respect for the rule of law. In the USA, drivers will be mostly concerned with obeying the traffic code; in Saigon, the drivers are concerned with being in tune with the other drivers whatever may happen. It’s not unusual for people to go the wrong away down one way streets, and busy intersections are quite a frenzy, with the motorbikes turning every which direction. The safe driver in Saigon will not seek to be in the correct lane (what lanes?) Instead, the safe driver will be aware of the other drivers and will seek to properly communicate his or her direction and objective, perhaps with body language and facial expressions. Generally speaking, I have great respect for the ability of the Vietnamese people to drive in an anarchic but careful fashion.

This evening I played near a traffic light on Hoang Minh Giam Street near the Gia Dinh park. I didn’t know what to expect, but it went wonderfully. Many people offered smiles, thumbs-up, laughs, and applause. One man wanted to know if I was trying to promote any particular religion (which I was not.) A journalist went out of her way to do a u-turn, so she could check it out more and interview me. If you speak Vietnamese, you can read her nice article at this link.

Jane Jacobs, if she were still alive, would call me a public character.  ”A public character is anyone who is in frequent contact with a wide circle of people and who is sufficiently interested to make himself a public character. A public character need have no special talents or wisdom to fulfill his function – although he often does.” She claims these people are integral to the vitality of sidewalk (or street) culture.

By using public space in a certain way, my street performances here are also like installation art pieces, in that they are transforming the perception of space. The Chinese artist Ai WeiWei says of public art, “The “public” in public art actually refers to a personal space. It does not contain an artistic value judgement. It does not serve the public. It was not created for the public. It could be targeted at the public, but it could completely ignore the existence of a public. Here, art has simply made effective use of a public spatial environment. It does not have an obligation to beautify or to adorn… The public’s normal state is one of numbness, but if you stimulate the public, it will reap a sense of happiness.” Generally, I agree with Ai Weiwei. The most I can tell my curious audience is that it is not about the message being conveyed, but it is about the interaction that occurs, and I do hope that my audiences are reaping “a sense of happiness.”

Dec. 13th, 2011

This evening’s rush hour I performed at Nga 5 chuong cho, a traffic circle also known as the “dog cage.” While I have already discussed that I have brought sidewalk culture into the street, this evening demonstrated how the streets encroach on the sidewalk in Saigon. The sidewalk was full of motorbikes whizzing past. If the automobile traffic is on the sidewalk, sure why not play saxophone in the street? What’s the difference?

The bus is in the street, the motorbikes are on the sidewalk. I and the little tree are in between...

Dec. 14th, 2011

In the morning, I and the crew from Dreams of a Christmas Night at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry made our first trip to a school for underprivileged children that their event benefited. Holiday gifts were distributed, games were played, and music was performed. The best part, though, was when the kids put on a fashion show, featuring clothes they made themselves out of newspapers.

The best fashion show ever!

The evening brought another rush hour performance at the Phu Nhuan intersection, in which I was joined by some journalists. You can read the article and see a nice video on TuoiTre News. Some young men stopped and asked a lot of questions. One of them said he’d never seen a street performer before. Now, I wonder if he’s under the impression that all street performers, literally use the middle of the street as their stage. Later, one lady tried to put money in my pocket, but I refused.

Their first street performer

At the Phu Nhuan Intersection, Saigon, Vietnam

From my perspective, the motorbikes went as far as the eye could see. What a view!

Dec. 17, 2011

For a change of pace, I took a quick stop in Mui Ne, a beach resort town…

Live at the "Fairy Stream," Mui Ne, Vietnam

Dec. 18th, 2011

Today was the final part of the Dreams of a Christmas Night, a fundraiser event held last week. As follow-up, I and the students from Ho Chi Minh University of Industry visited two orphanages and an HIV clinic, all within a couple hours of Saigon. Holiday gifts were distributed to the needy residents, games were played, and music was performed. It was great to be part of such an enthusiastic group of university of students. I’m so proud of them for their hard work and successful efforts.

At the HIV clinic, housing children born with HIV and many terminally ill patients.

The Parade of One project is grateful for it’s many supporters. It is contributions from individuals like you that make Parade of One possible. Please consider making your tax-deductible donation today by visiting the Parade of One website. At the time of this publication, we are still offering holiday gifts for donors, but only while supplies last.

]]> http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/street-performance-literally-in-the-middle-of-the-street/feed/ 2 paradeofone IMG_1746 IMG_1740 IMG_1742 IMG_1766 IMG_1775 IMG_1827 IMG_1806 IMG_1831 IMG_1886 IMG_1906 http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/back-in-vietnam-saigon-vung-tau-and-cu-chi/ http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/back-in-vietnam-saigon-vung-tau-and-cu-chi/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:57:45 +0000 Parade of One http://paradeofone.wordpress.com/?p=337 Continue reading →]]> Dec. 6th, 2011

Last night I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, (also known as Saigon) Vietnam, and today I took the bus, about three hours, to Vung Tau City where I met with the Blue Dreams Group, a band of disabled young people, many of whom are Agent Orange victims. Agent Orange is a chemical weapon that the USA used in the Vietnam War to make the countryside uninhabitable to guerrilla soldiers and their sympathizers. Unfortunately, the effects are still being felt by people today who are eating food that is grown in contaminated soil. Agent Orange enters the gene pool, so people who are exposed can pass birth defects to their children. US soldiers and their offspring were also exposed to Agent Orange, and the symptoms range from debilitating birth defects, skin disease, heart disease, diabetes, and more.

When I first met the Blue Dreams Group, we had a little performance right away in Vung Tau. They had set up a little stage in the street and a couple hundred villagers were there to watch. Most of the members of Blue Dreams are blind, and many have other disabilities too. Despite their disabilities, the level of musicianship is high. On a humorous note, the leader of Blue Dreams introduced me to the audience, and said my name is Economy.

Jeremy with Blue Dreams in Vung Tau

Villagers enjoying the concert

Dec. 7th. 2011

Today, I rehearsed with some members of Blue Dreams, because we were getting ready for a charity performance at the Ho Chi Minh University of Industry. Christmas fever has now spread throughout Vietnam, so we created a little rendition of Silent Night for saxophone, vocals, and piano.

Rehearsing Silent Night

Unfortunately, the plans for Blue Dreams to join me at events this weekend have fallen through since this rehearsal. It is due in part to the hardships of travel for disabled people. Nonetheless, I feel the performance we had in Vung Tau and the subsequent rehearsal was time well spent, and I will miss Blue Dreams at the Ho Chi Minh University and Cu Chi this weekend.

Dec. 8th, 2011

Back in Saigon today, I had my first street performance since arriving in Vietnam. It entailed a parade from my hotel to the market and included some small treks into the congested intersections. I’ll have to get used to that, as chaotic as it is, because as I continue street performances here, I intend to engage the motorbike traffic more. I should also add that it’s safer than it sounds, because the congestion gets so thick that no one’s moving. Hopefully, I’ll have some better photos soon.

Parading through the Saigon hustle

Dec. 9th, 2011

Today I performed at the Faifoo Hotel, where I’m living here. It’s the perfect hotel for me, as the owner, Tina, is herself a musician and holds weekly concerts in the restaurant, including Vietnamese traditional music, jazz, and opera. It was quite a blast, and I was happy to learn some Vietnamese music. It was also nice to meet some solid Vietnamese jazz musicians.

Dec, 10th, 2011

This evening was the long awaited “Dreams of a Christmas Night” charity event at the Ho Chi Minh University of Industry. It was the first charity event to take place at the university, and the hope of the student organizers is that it will become an annual tradition. It was a great success! The students were pleased, and the dean was visibly delighted. The event was even covered by the local news. $2000 were raised, which is a lot here, and over the next week the students will visit several orphanages and other desperate places, to give gifts and provide services. The evening included singers, dancers, a magician, and a panel discussion about education and charity. For my part, I marched through the audience playing saxophone, then told stories and showed slides from the Parade of One project and played some more music.

Dreams of a Christmas Night at the Ho Chi Minh University of Industry

Hello Vietnam, meet my friend Rwanda.

Of course, seeing the dean dressed up as Santa Claus is what really put a red ribbon on the evening.

Dean Nguyen Van Hoa (Oops! I mean Santa Claus.)

Dec. 11th, 2011

Today, I took a trip to Cu Chi, cosponsored by Helping Hand Saigon. First, we visited Thao’s library, where I was accompanied by a blind a guitarist to entertain neighborhood children. Thao, the founder of the library, is severely handicapped from the USA’s use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. (She was born after the war, but due to the lasting contamination and genetic effects, Agent Orange continues to devastate lives here.) Thao was too sick to attend school as a child, so she educated herself at home, then opened her library to help educate others. The kids at the library were delighted with the music. We also played “Name that Tune,” and if someone named a tune their reward was that they got to kiss the person of their choice, but the kids were all too shy to claim their reward. Thao also recited a poem about Agent Orange.

A Group Picture at Thao's Library

Me and Thao

In the afternoon, we visited a rice field in Cu Chi. There weren’t many farmers out, but I played for the ones who were there.

Live at the Rice Field, Cu Chi

After the rice field, we headed to the Thien Phuc orphanage. Many of the residents there are mentally challenged; oddly, they are the only ones who understand when I try to speak Vietnamese. They enjoyed the music, and requested some spiritual music, as they are a Catholic orphanage. Luckily, they had the sheet music for me!

At the Thien Phuc Orphanage, Cu Chi, Vietnam

Parade of One is made possible through the generosity of supporters like you. I hope you’ll consider making your tax-deductible contribution this holiday season. You can donate by visiting the Parade of One website. At the time of this publication, we are still offering Holiday Gifts for Donors. Thanks for your support!

Sarath and Jeremy at the Phom Penh Riverside

This evening was a wonderful time at the Phnom Penh riverside with Sarath the chapey player. We reached both tourists and locals who were surprised that saxophone and chapey were compatible, some of them speaking to us at length. Here’s a short video excerpt:

Nov. 29, 2011

Today, I went to the countryside where Arn Chorn-Pond lives to rehearse for the Our Village Concert which is on Saturday. We ended up having to plug-in using a generator, because the electricity was out. That’s life in some parts of the world. It was great to get the music happening, though. While Arn is very widely known as The Flute Player, these days he’s singing more, and we also have a female vocalist named Seyma. One of the child performers also rehearsed a song with us. Our music is a fusion of Cambodian and Western influences. I hope to get some samples up soon.

Rehearsing for the Our Village Concert

Nov. 30th, 2011

I woke up very early to visit the Phnom Penh dump today. I knew my interpreter Ny was good (and that he thinks like I do) when he suggested we go there. As expected, it’s not such a pretty scene, but the people appreciated the music Sarath and I made.

Performing for workers at the Phnom Penh dump

There’s also a school at the dump. I think the sign for the school explains exactly who the students are:

The school for child garbage workers

Sarath led the young students in a sing-along, and while I don’t know what they were singing about, I did contribute a little saxophone.

"vulnerable garbage worker children"

In the afternoon, I made the trip back to the countryside, with Sarath and my interpreter Ny, to record at Arn Chorn-Pond’s studio. It went wonderfully. Seyma, who will be singing in the Our Village Concert also contributed some vocals, and the recording quality was much better than what we achieved with my handheld digital recorder. I’ll get back to you all with more news about how I want to pursue my budding collaborations with Cambodian musicians. For now, enjoy some of the songs we just recorded. We’ve got three songs up on my soundcloud page: SatMohory, Neangbok Sreuv, and RomleukonKro,

Finally in the evening, a youth empowerment organization, called Empowering Youth in Cambodia, arranged a performance in a poor neighborhood. There were some young children with very interesting dance moves. It was nice!

Live at Bouding, Phnom Penh

Dec. 2, 2011

This evening the first Parade of One film, Rwanda 15, screened at MetaHouse in Phnom Penh. Shot by Rwandan filmmaker Kivu Ruhorahoza, this short documentary captures a few slices of Parade of One’s beginnings in Rwanda back in 2009. It has been screened on three continents, at the Zanzibar International Film Fest, the Vision Fest (New York,) and now Metahouse (Cambodia.) The reception at Metahouse was fantastic; the audience was very interested. Afterwards, I performed briefly with Sarath on chapey, and Arn Chorn Pond spoke about the upcoming Our Village Concert.

Here’s the trailer for Rwanda 15, in case you haven’t already seen it:

Dec. 3rd, 2011

The Our Village Concert was tonight, and it was a huge success! There were an estimated three thousand (or more) villagers in attendance, who had never seen anything like it.

Thousands of captivated villagers at the first Our Village Concert in Cambodia

The show included several musical acts, including the Waterek production band, which I played with, a fashion show, an ancient Cambodian opera performed by children from Cambodian Living Arts. comedians, amusement park rides, and more.

Children from Cambodian Living Arts performing an ancient opera

The large attendance and enthusiastic reception exceeded our expectations. On behalf of the Parade of One organization, I am proud to have financially sponsored and performed in the Our Village Concert. This was considered to be an experiment, and it definitely succeeded. I am sure that there will be more Our Village Concerts in the future. Many thanks to all the supporters of Parade of One and the other sponsors for making it possible.

Jeremy Danneman representing Parade of One at the Our Village Concert

Parade of One is made possible through donations from individuals like you. Please make your tax-deductible contribution by visiting the Parade of One website. Thanks so much! (As of this publication, we are still offering holiday gifts for donors, but only while supplies last!)

This morning I attempted to get a decent recording of myself and Sarath, a vocalist and chapey player. A student of his also contributed some vocals. Unfortunately, my handheld digital recorder didn’t do such a great job in what was a very cavernous and echo-filled room. The problems are especially apparent in the saxophone sound. We are hoping to get a better recording at Arn’s studio while I’m still in Cambodia. Nonetheless, this is what we have for now! Feel free to have a listen at this link. Soon, Sarath will be joining me for some street performances, and with a little luck we’ll get some video!

In the afternoon, I went by the Music Arts School here in Phnom Penh. They are very kindly allowing me to use a practice room in their school, as I don’t want my travels to interfere with practicing. (Like many jazz musicians, I’m quite obsessive about practicing.) In return for the school’s kindness, I’ve been doing a bunch of sax and clarinet demonstrations for the curious students. They just walk right into the room and sit down and listen!

11/23/11

Today was quite amazing. Early in the morning, I met Ny, my interpreter, and we went to a poor housing complex called Bouding for a morning street performance. The audience was very appreciative. One of my fans was a young boy, who is half-German, but the father is out of the picture, and the son is living in poverty (an all-too-common predicament here in Cambodia.) I was a little alarmed (but also a little amused) to learn from Ny that the boy had called me “Dad.”

Mr. Danneman fully denies fathering the child to his left. (Whatever the kid chooses to call him.)

An appreciative breakfast audience at Bouding in Phnom Penh

After the street performance at Bouding, I had a truly memorable experience in the afternoon. My colleague Arn Chorn-Pond, who among other things, tirelessly seeks and promotes rare Cambodian traditional music, made a truly stunning find recently. While it was thought that there were no more Khan players in Cambodia, he located an ensemble that uses Khan near the border with the Laos, and they came to Phnom Penh for the first time this week. (It was the first time they’d ever been to a city, at all!) The khan works a lot like a harmonica. It uses multiple internal reeds and produces tones with both both inhalation and exhalation, but it sounds quite different and looks nothing like a harmonica. Check out this video I took of a khan player with singers and dancers. You don’t want to miss it!

It was my first time seeing a khan, and it was also their first time seeing a saxophone. Unfortunately, I only have a short snippet of the khan and sax collaboration, because the photographer was a little confused about the camera being in video mode. It’s still pretty nice, though!

Arn had already arranged for a khan player to come from Thailand for the upcoming Our Village Concert, but there’s a chance these guys might make it too…

11/24/11

Today, was a school visitation today. I performed and spoke at two branches of the Worldwide International School. This school mainly serves young adults, who might not afford university but are still interested in taking classes in languages, accounting, computers, and more. It was fascinating to meet them. I am very surprised by how shy some Cambodian students are. There was one young man who stood up to ask a question, but then got so nervous he couldn’t remember what it was.

At the Worldwide International School in Phnom Penh

A group picture from the Worldwide International School

11/25/11

This morning I had a wonderful time giving a masterclass at the Royal University of Fine Arts, where the Dean of Music Faculty Yos Chandara gathered a roomful of a young music students. I gave them brief history of the Parade of One project, from my birthday in 2009 to Rwanda, Vietnam, and Cambodia, then I demonstrated saxophone and clarinet for them, explaining the role of improvisation in jazz, the cultural history of klezmer music, and much more.

"You see, Einstein's Theory of Relativity has a profound significance in the overtone series, especially the third harmonic." (just kidding.)

I concluded the masterclass by inviting a special guest to the stage. I’d brought along Sarath the chapey player (long-necked guitar,) and we showed the students some of the collaborative music we’re working on. They were extremely interested in this music and quite surprised that a chapey/saxophone combination worked so well. They asked us a lot of questions about what it was like to play together and if there were any difficulties. Sarath and I were both open about these difficulties. Sarath was at first a little confused when I played, and it disturbed his ability to remember and improvise lyrics a little bit, though after a couple times playing he figured it out. As for myself, I was at first a little confused by the intonation and harmonies he plays on the chapey, but I also found my place in the music after a couple meetings. One student asked a very basic, nonetheless particularly interesting question; he wanted to know why I wanted to mix the sax and clarinet with traditional Cambodian instruments. I told him that combining music from different cultural contexts is one potential path to innovation.

Sarath and I at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia

A group photo from the Royal University of Fine Arts

11/27/11

Today, I had the pleasure of attending and performing at a group recital of beginner piano students at the Simphony School (intentionally misspelled,) a new community music school in Phnom Penh. It’s been a long time since I attended a recital of beginner musicians, and it was rather cute. There was one seven year old who had a marvelous sense of dynamics, and you could feel the excitement and anxiety of the young people being on stage for the first time. There were a lot of proud parents in the room too. At the end, I was invited to the stage as a special guest to play sax and clarinet, and explain the instruments and the types of music I play. It went well, and there was actually a request for the theme from the Pink Panther. I am rather embarrassed to say that it’s been so long since I’ve played or even heard the song, that I couldn’t even remember parts of the melody in my head (however catchy it is.) Luckily, someone appeared with a score of the tune, and it saved the day. Those kids really, really love the Pink Panther song!

The Simphony School recently acquired a saxophone, and they intend to start teaching it soon. I consulted with them briefly about instrument maintenance, what type of reeds and mouthpieces to buy, and some other basics. Not surprisingly, their new saxophone arrived in the mail with some leaks. It will certainly be a challenge to keep a saxophone program going without a local repair technician or even a place to buy reeds and other equipment. Maybe, as the sax grows there, those things will come.

The Parade of One project is very grateful to have supporters like you. Please make your tax-deductible donation today by visiting the Parade of One website. For a limited time only, we are offering holiday gifts for donors as a token of our gratitude!

November 16, 2011

After a very long journey, beginning in New York and going through Frankfurt and Singapore, I finally arrived in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capitol, on the morning of Wednesday November 16, 2011. Sure I was tired, but there was no time for rest. I immediately had to make my way to the Cambodian Living Arts headquarters for a brief rehearsal and then a press conference for local news services and television stations to promote the upcoming “Our Village Concert.” The Our Village Concert will take place in a rural area not too far from Phnom Penh, called Chombok Meah, where the impoverished population is rarely treated to such live music events. They will hear fusions of western and traditional Cambodian music. Even the traditional Cambodian aspect might be a little unfamiliar to them, since this music was banned by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and is only now starting to make a come-back. I am told that the saxophone and other western aspects of the music, not to mention the fusion with Cambodian music, will be exciting and startling to the audience, as they rarely glimpse life and culture outside of their own village. There will also be several child performers involved, for whom it will be their first job, and local merchants will be invited to sell their products rent-free. The whole event should be a great benefit in many ways to many people, plus it should be a really fun time. Musicians are coming from Thailand and Vietnam too! Parade of One is just one of the cosponsors of the Our Village Concert, along with Cambodian Living Arts and Arn Chorn-Pond’s new project, Waterek Productions.

The press conference was wonderful. We featured some of the child performers, who were a little nervous and really excited to be on television. Check them out!

Jeremy with Cambodian Child Performers

And from the rehearsal, you can see some of the traditional Cambodian instruments:

Rehearsing with Cambodian traditional instruments

You may notice the beautiful scarves some people are wearing in these photos, and you can actually get your own scarf, by donating to Parade of One. Click here to learn how!

November 17, 2011

On Thursday, I had a great meeting with a Cambodian instrument maker I met last time I was here. His name is Mr. Yim Serchot. He’s teaching me about a few of the local woodwind instruments, and I’ve even bought a couple from him. Check out this video of Yim, playing one of his flutes. Each one takes a full day for him to make, and he plays them beautifully:

If you are interested in owning one of these beautiful flutes, you can do so by making a donation to Parade of One. They are great both for playing or for decorative/collector potential. Click here to learn more!

Nov. 21, 2011

Aside from meetings and press conferences, I’ve jumped right into street performances, as well. Street performance is the heart and bloodstream of the Parade of One project. All films, musical collaborations, and even my participation in the upcoming Our Village Concert have arisen from humble street performance. At first, I had to make do without an interpreter. Last time I was in Cambodia, I had the pleasure of working with two wonderful assistants. Unfortunately, Soluy is now busy traveling all over Cambodia for her work, and Somaly has a full-time job, though she’ll probably be joining me at some point when she’s free. Luckily I have been introduced to Ny, though, who has a master’s degree in English. He’ll be helping me out a lot with the street performances. Today was his orientation, and he joined me for street performances outside the National Museum and at the Riverside (on the bank of the Tonle Sap.) Unfortunately, our schedules only made this possible in the mid-afternoon, when early evening is more peak time, but it was still interesting. Outside of the National Museum, a mildly intoxicated gentleman started asking me a lot of questions, when a lady sitting next to him snapped, “What are you an interviewer or something?”

As usual, many kids were attracted to the scene. Some of them seem to like sticking their ear right into the bell of the saxophone, and then when they realize it’s painfully loud to do that, they to do it again, over and over. I’ve seen this everywhere, with children, but it seems particularly prevalent in Cambodia. I’m not sure why…

Gee that's painfully loud; let me do it again!

Parade of One is currently fundraising to keep our operations alive, and for the upcoming Our Village concert. Please donate by visiting the Parade of One website. Donors who are interested in receiving holiday gifts, can check out the Cambodian scarves and flutes.

I had thought of using music as a channel for positive social messages. Music crosses all the boundaries of language, race, and religion, but it became so expensive for me to join the competitive music industry. I thought of all possible means and found out that writing was the easiest strategy to achieve my ambition. It was a matter of having pen and paper and it became so easy to access them, sometimes for free! I began writing a novel which I expect to publish by the end of 2012. Alongside the novel, I freelance for the local newspapers.

In 2010, Jeremy Danneman, an American saxophonist, emailed me, saying he was fond of my articles, especially one about the unpopularity of recreational reading in Rwanda. He told me about his street performance project, and suggested we might work together. His email excited me. I had never really known any Americans or Westerners very closely. The fact that he was a musician from New York, raised my expectations from him into a higher horizon. I thought he was a very rich celebrity in the USA. He became a symbol of a music career I thought was\is inside me. I expected a lot of fun, fortune and public approval from working with a New York musician in Rwanda. “You are going to be rich. You are now rich,” my co-worker shouted at me when I proudly showed him Jeremy’s email. After two weeks, Jeremy came to Rwanda.

Soon after his arrival, I met Jeremy at Bourbon Coffee. I admit that it was my first time there. My expectation evaporated as soon as my eyes fell on him. He looked a simple man different from a music star from New York, the most famous city on this planet earth. He was dressed in untidy long sleeved dark shirt, an old pair of jeans , old sneakers and a saxophone in its sheath. He did not look like an American super star I was expecting.

The next day I accompanied Jeremy, as a photographer and interpreter, for a performance at Kimironko Market, where an audience spontaneously formed and many people remembered him from when he’d been in Rwanda a year earlier. I got surprised by the type of music Jeremy played. He played different tunes to a meditative audience, and it was followed by a general discussion with audience members.

I was with Jeremy for several street performances in Kigali. Some people thought he was abnormal, because they expected him to charge a fee for his performances. “This is a mad white man” one pedestrian commented as he performed along the street in Nyamirambo, the busiest suburb in the capital Kigali. “How will he get air ticket to take him back to America?”. Others would ask him the reason behind his performance, and he would get a chance to explain his cause that would lead to a discussion between him and his street audience.

My experience with Jeremy Danneman’s performances along Kigali Streets showed me how music in public spaces can create peace, unity and reconciliation in any area of conflict. You see,here is the guy who just blows air into his saxophone while clicking its buttons stylistically to create a certain tune. Without a wordy verse or chorus but still people would stand by and listen. Music without words inspires meditation which is food for the soul. It is like listening to God. We understand that God speaks through sounds like thunder or wind. That is why most people love melodies and rhythms, often even more than the words used in a song.

The most notable event was our visit to the Mutobo Rehabilitation Center. After consulting the National Demobilization Office, we made the 3 hour trip from Kigali. The residents of Mutobo had been soldiers in the forests of Democratic Republic of Congo for twelve to sixteen years, and were considered enemies of Rwanda, many of whom had ties to the militias that carried out the 1994 genocide. Now, they had surrendered and were adjusting to ordinary civilian life. First, they sang in Kinyarwanda and danced for us, then Jeremy performed some jazz and klezmer music for them, and told them stories of how he happened to come to Rwanda and the experiences that led him there. They told him their favorite song was Bob Marley’s One Love. When Jeremy performed it for them, I saw the smiles on their faces and put down the camera and started dancing Reggae, as they clapped hands and applauded with joy and happiness, as if they were not living in a camp. They asked him many questions about the saxophone, his life, and even about Barack Obama. The trip to Mutobo was good, enjoyable, and fruitful. I could see it in Jeremy’s face. “Man, today was wow!” he said.

Jeremy walking through the aisles of the audience at Mutobo Rehabiltation Center

The author and Danneman pose with the female residents at Mutobo.

I learned from Jeremy that artists especially musicians can play a big part in mending peoples broken hearts by creating dialogue space for the people to discuss their grievances and find remedies for them. Just like the press does though sometimes it may mislead the masses. For example the 1994 Rwandan Genocide is attributed to the press.
Most people love music, and this is a big advantage for music artists to participate in creating peace,unity and reconciliation in communities which have experienced various types of conflicts because they command attention and respect from the society.
They can do this on a non-profit basis since the majority cannot afford to attend their live concerts and have an interaction with them. It is from Jeremy’s humble project that I have learned that, if every artist sacrificed some of his or her time into the community, there would be a positive change in growth and development.
Musicians can pay a big role in changing people’s mind sets. As most governments are embracing science and technology,they should understand that the arts specifically music remain a fundamental domain for making our world a better place for all of us, but that is a whole different article to write!

This is the first of what we hope to be many guest essays published in the Parade of One blog. The views and opinions in this article may not reflect those of Jeremy Danneman or the Parade of One organization.

To contact the author, please email Apollo Ndungutse – ndungutse.apollo@yahoo.com.

To donate to Parade of One, or simply to learn more, please visit www.paradeofone.org.

Today, I played at a little slum near the Sovana supermarket. It is generally quite a high-income area, but there is a little strip of small homes (maybe “huts” which can be a loaded term) hidden away in the middle of the urban development. Soluy had found this place one time, while she was wandering around. The audience there was massively appreciative. There was one crazy dancing guy, as tends to happen in low-income, high-drinking areas. I was compelled to learn how to play sax with one hand while dancing with the other hand.

Learning to dance and play at the same time...

There, were also people drinking coffee and eating dinner in their houses, and since there were no walls, they could signal for me stop by their house and play for them a little.

There are people having a drink in that house.

Finally, there were loads of kids.

May 31, 2011

In the morning, I had another meeting with people from Cambodian Living Arts. This time I played with a Pin Peath ensemble, composed of wooden xylophones, gongs, and percussion. The leader of this group is an old Cambodian master, who’d performed in the Royal Palace before the Khmer Rouge. A staunch traditionalist, and nice as she was, she was not interested in ways that sax and clarinet could interact with the group, but her younger counterparts were. One of them is Nisa, a nineteen year old rising star in Cambodian classical music. She speaks English quite well and has even been to Brooklyn. Later that day, she joined me for a street performance at Bouding. It was quite fun.

Pin Peath ensemble (possible spelling problem here.)

Nisa and I at Bouding

Another one of Nisa and me

June 2,3,4,5 2011

Finally, in the week before I leave, I took a trip to Siem Reap, partially to see the temples at Angkor (including Angkor Wat.) It’s the thing you are supposed to “not leave Cambodia” without doing. The temples are quite impressive. My favorite is called Ta Prom, where the forest is actually growing straight through ruins of the temple, with the roots of the tree intertwined around the rocks, and growing from both sides of some of the walls.

I also visited a small village outside of Siem Reap, called Kompong Phluk. The houses there are built on stilts, very high off the ground, because in the rainy season, the entire village would otherwise be deep underwater. The people are very poor, and their way of life is completely controlled by the seasons and the waters. I played a little bit for students at the school there. This classroom will be underwater by next month, as the rains increase.

This classroom is soon to be underwater

Spies!

This is what Kampong Phluk looks like.

There is also a branch of Cambodian Living Arts in Siem Reap, and Sambor, the local manager, took me to do a little intercultural exchange with some music groups. First, we went to a village where there is a group of young children learning to play traditional funeral music. (As with most of the traditional music, it was almost wiped out by the Khmer Rouge.) The funeral music is very slow, and for lack of a more original term “mournful.” There are only two ensembles in Cambodia now playing proper, traditional funeral music. More commonly, there is the wrong kind of music at funerals, or they use a tape. I am particularly interested in a “double-reed” instrument they use.

The funeral band

Next, Sambor took me to another village where I was introduced to a wedding band. This music was very lively, but probably not in the same way we would expect for weddings in the West. There was another deeper double-reed instrument, in which the musician uses circular breathing, so I showed them some circular breathing on saxophone. Most people in Cambodia, even the musicians, have never seen a saxophone before, other than on television.

Wedding Music

More Wedding Music

June 6, 2011

Today was my last full day in Cambodia. I met Arn Chorn-Pond for lunch to continue discussing plans for the future. Right now, we are seriously floating around the idea of producing a small series of concerts, with international performers, on the Thai border, where there are many former Khmer Rouge and still a little violence. I hope we can pull it off!

Later, I paid another visit to Cambodian Living Arts. I met with Sarath the chapey (two string long neck guitar) player again, and we recorded a few songs. I’m hoping to put some music on my website soon, featuring Parade of One collaborators.

In the evening, it was my time to shine at Nerd Night. You may remember that Nerd Night happens every two weeks here in Phnom Penh, and I was invited to give a presentation at this evening’s event. I gave my usual edutainment presentation about the Parade of One project, but there was one catch. Every presenter at Nerd Night is required to use the Pecha Kucha format, meaning that I had to use 20 slides for 20 seconds each. It was the first time I ever gave this presentation in such a short amount of time (about seven minutes.) Ordinarily, it lasts 20 minutes to an hour. I think the Pecha Kucha format added some humor, but I’m sure the audience (mostly nerds) were left with lots questions!

June 7, 2011

Today I had a quick appointment at Cambodian Living Arts to meet an instrument maker who specializes in woodwinds. I bought a couple unique reed instruments.

Later, I had my final presentation at the Seametry School. You may remember that this school shares a building with my hotel, and the relationship between the two is very close. I was surprised that the kids still remembered terms like Hutu and Tutsi! I played some more music for them, we discussed the differences between Cambodia and Rwanda, and Muoy, the principal, even showed them a google search of my name, and they read an article about my original birthday parade (which is really how the Parade of One project started: http://bushwickbk.com/2009/03/23/jeremy-dannemans-parade-of-one/) They are a very impressive group of kids with impressive instructors. I would definitely recommend staying at the You Khin house, should you ever travel to Cambodia. (It helps support the school.)

Shortly, I’ll be on my way to the airport. Time to go back to New York City, but I’ll be back!