Composer and violinist Layale Chaker was raised on the verge of multiple musical streams in her native Lebanon. Her vibrant sound universe lies at the intersection of classical contemporary music, jazz, Arabic music, and improvisation. A 2020-2022 Jerome Hill Fellow, Chaker is also recipient of the 2022 Opera America Discovery 2022 Award, among many other accolades. This past year has seen the premiere of a solo commissioned evening-length work, Qarar/Jawab, by the Venice 2024 Biennale , and the New York Philharmonic present the world premiere of her double concerto, “Dawning”, alongside Kinan Azmeh, for clarinet, violin and orchestra, co-commissioned with Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival and Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra.
Layale recently completed a year-long residency as part of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab and premiered a new work for violin and choir at Morgenland Festival Osnabruck in Germany with the choral ensemble Capella Amsterdam. She has worked with Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Holland Baroque, Oxford Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Jazz Festival, Alderburgh Festival, Lucerne Festival, Beethoven Festival Bonn, and Avignon Festival among others, with featured performances at the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Albert Hall, and Wigmore Hall. Layale lives with her husband, clarinettist Kinan Azmeh, and their four year-old son in New York City.
UK Jazz News: What is the best advice you received about balancing/juggling parenthood and career?
Layale Chaker: You will not suddenly lose yourself. Take the time to enjoy your postpartum without the worry of “bouncing back”. But I was not ready to hear it ! I didn’t know better. Had I known, I certainly would have enjoyed my postpartum differently. I still did and I recall this time with so much nostalgia. The newborn stage is so special and I truly miss it.
UKJN: What information or advice do you wish you’d received but didn’t (and had to learn through trial and error or on the go)?
LC: I would have loved to hear: You can indeed do it all! Just not at the same time. Give yourself the time and grace to figure out your flow, and don’t be afraid to turn down opportunities when they don’t seem right – other chances will rise.
UKJN: Your top tip(s) for other parents in jazz:
LC: Find your village, don’t worry about asking for help. We were not meant to raise children in isolation. Also, advance planning is your friend! Plan for your child as meticulously as possible, consider it as a crucial part of your overall advance before an engagement. Being in control of your situation will greatly reduce your stress levels and liberate a part of your brain – you know, the part you actually need to get through the gig!
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:
LC: Definitely do not overpack gear and gadgets, especially if you are touring cities. These can quickly become a burden during load-ins/outs, flights, etc. Pharmacies are everywhere! As children become older, they need less and less gear. Embrace that, make it fun to find new toys, books and keepsakes in the cities you visit. As part of your advance planning, locate access to laundry. Pack a stroller small enough to fit overhead bins!
UKJN: What is one way that figures or structures in the jazz industry could better support parents who are working jazz musicians?
LC: I feel that it should be a standard practice for every house to have a babysitter on call. We work outside of normal hours, so it is only natural to have support ; it isn’t like you can drop off your child at daycare for the duration of your call, even if you are playing in your home city.
Adopting childcare as a standard practice would also take the load off of the touring parents who might feel they are not in a place to ask for support (although anyone should ask for support). It truly is so much easier for a presenting entity to contract a local babysitter than for a touring parent to find that person of trust at a distance, for several stops on their circuit, in cities where they might not know anyone.
Ultimately, I would also love to point out something important; making these spaces child-friendly means you are already investing in future generations of musicians and concert-goers, and making your space an accessible reality for them already!
UKJN: What has surprised you about becoming a parent and remaining engaged with your professional activities and ambitions?
LC: I hear this all the time, and it could not be more true; I never realized how much time I had. But I also never realized how efficient and productive I can be, too. I truly feel that by wanting to be a better human for my child, I’m slowly becoming a better, more interesting musician, with much deeper reflections to share.
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.)?
LC: I’ve definitely had a few instances of “don’t worry, just bring your child and we will figure it out” that have turned out to be really stressful situations that burned me out to the core, just because people in charge thought they could just “wing it”. That is why I was really emphasizing the advance planning earlier. Now, I have learnt to ask to be put in touch with the caregivers ahead of time and know about them and their qualifications as much as possible, to ensure a smooth experience for everyone involved. There is nothing worse than being absent-minded in rehearsal or in concert because you are worried for your baby. After all, you are entrusting strangers with your most precious person, even if it’s only for a couple hours.
Layale’s most recent albums are “Radio Afloat” and “Vigil” (both In A Circle Records, May 2024). The former is the follow-up to her celebrated debut album “Inner Rhyme”, and features her chamber jazz quintet Sarafand. The album is conceived as a suite of intersecting movements, and echoes Lebanese author Ounsi el-Hage’s poem “The Trace of Blue Passion”. Layale says, “It is a commentary on the ebb and flow of politics of power, conflict and dominance that exacerbate the vulnerability of the land and those who tend to it.”
“Vigil” marks Layale’s first collaboration with new-music string quartet ETHEL, which sees her joining the ensemble on violin. “They’re just fantastic musicians, a very fiery string quartet with so much flexibility,” she remarked, “so everything was possible.” After a few initial days workshopping the title piece before the pandemic, it was clear that the album had more room for individual voices to shine through. Each member of ETHEL ended up contributing a piece, allowing Chaker to act as both a composer and an interpreter of other people’s works, learning their respective influences and musical languages.
(*) 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.
