Kinan Azmeh is a Syrian-born, Brooklyn-based clarinetist and composer who has gained international recognition for his distinctive voice across diverse musical genres. He brings his music to all corners of the world as a soloist and commissioned composer with leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony and the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustration, and electronics. His recent works were commissioned by The Knights Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Elbphilharmonie, Brooklyn Rider, and Aizuri Quartet, amongst other leading ensembles. An advocate for new music, several concertos were dedicated to him by composers such as Kareem Roustom, Dia Succari, Dinuk Wijeratne, Zaid Jabri, Saad Haddad and Guss Janssen. In addition to his own Arab-Jazz Quartet CityBand and his Hewar trio, he has also been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble since 2012, whose 2017 Grammy Award-winning album “Sing Me Home” features Kinan as a clarinetist and composer. Kinan lives in New York with his wife, composer/musician Layale Chakar, and their four year-old son.
UK Jazz News: What is the best advice you received about balancing/juggling parenthood and career?
Kinan Azmeh: Listening carefully to my inner voice has been very helpful, as it continues to tell me that no career should jeopardize your relationship with your partner or kid. Checking-In with your partner and kid at all times is the best way to go. Now I am more aware of what it means to be fully present in the moment during our family time.
UKJN: Your top tip(s) for other parents in jazz:
KA: Take your kids on tour as much as you can before they start going to school. Take them to soundchecks (when not too loud), rehearsals and jam sessions. Let them into your world as much as possible as they will notice and learn from the passion you have for what you do.
UKJN: Travel/gigging/tour-with-child advice. This can be gear or gadget-related, or pertain to approach/what to do/what not to do:
KA: Nothing new here when it comes to gear: paper and crayons, books and lots of snacks! But what is even more important is to carefully plan the exact hours of arrivals, departures so that it causes minimum disturbance to your kid. Paying a little extra for a decent departure/arrival time for a flight with your kid is worth every penny.
UKJN: What is one way that figures or structures in the jazz industry could better support parents who are working jazz musicians?
KA: It should become an industry standard to have a professional babysitter at the venue for the duration of the soundcheck and concert. We should all start to include that in our techriders moving forward.
UKJN: What has surprised you about becoming a parent and remaining engaged with your professional activities and ambitions?
KA: Two things: 1- I became by far more time-erricent, both as composer and performer. And 2- The meaning of travel changed, I used to add a day or two to explore the new city after a performance, but now I am on the first flight out right after the concert when possible.
UKJN: What boundaries have you set for yourself as a parent in jazz (could be related to travel/touring, riders, personal parameters, child care decisions, etc.)?
KA: Every professional engagement has to be totally worth it (financially, creatively, exposure, etc). Watching a little kid grow and sharing and introducing the world to them has been such an inspiring experience for me, and these magical moments go by so quickly.
Kinan’s newest album Live in Berlin (Dreyer Gaido) features his New York-based genre-bending CityBand quartet comprising guitarist Kyle Sanna, bassist Josh Myers, and drummer John Hadfield. Influenced by the music of his homeland of Syria, Live in Berlin captures the arc of personal and collective anger, frustration, sadness and hope felt in the face of atrocities. Conceived during the 2011 Syrian uprising, the album presents six of Kinan’s deeply personal compositions, recorded in front of a live audience 10 years later on the Pierre Boulez Saal stage in Berlin. The European leg of the album tour begins on 3 April at Bimhuis.
APR 3 – Bimhius, Amsterdam, Netherlands
APR 4 – Zwolle, Holland
APR 5 – Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
APR 6 – Jazz Hall, Hamburg, Germany
APR 8 – Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin, Germany
(*) Parents in Jazz was started (first as ‘Mothers In Jazz’) by vocalist Nicky Schrire in August 2022. The initiative aims to create an online resource for jazz industry professionals with children, those contemplating parenthood, and jazz industry figures who work with and hire musicians who are parents. The insight of the musicians and administrators interviewed for this series provides valuable emotional, philosophical and logistical information and support that is easily accessible to all. “Parents In Jazz” shines a light on the very specific role of being both a parent and a performing jazz musician or jazz arts professional.
