Alto saxophonist Will Vinson hails from England but established a great many of his musical collaborations while living in New York City. He has appeared and/or recorded with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ari Hoenig, Jonathan Kreisberg, Marcus Gilmore, Chris Potter, Kurt Elling, Lage Lund, Aaron Parks, and many others. Will has appeared with his own group and as a sideman in the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. His musical experience has not been limited to Jazz. Will is a member of Rufus Wainwright’s band, which toured for 10 months in 2007/8. He has also performed, arranged and/ or recorded with Sufjan Stevens, Sean Lennon, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton and Harper Simon. Will lives in London with his wife, vocalist Jo Lawry, and their two children aged four and six.
UK Jazz News: What is the best advice you received about balancing/juggling parenthood and career?
Will Vinson: I remember vividly Matt Penman telling me that, to paraphrase, every single hitherto existing part of your life will become immeasurably worse, but that you’ll also have a child. So, on balance, your life is slightly better than it was before. I think that’s about right. There are aspects of my old life I miss and know I won’t get back until it’s probably too late to enjoy them properly. But I took full advantage when I had the chance, and now the experience of seeing my kids every day is unbeatable.
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)?
WV: Honestly I was totally unaware of the impact having kids in a situation where both parents have non-traditional work lives. I have plenty of friends who are musicians, but they mostly have partners with 9-5 jobs, meaning the requirement of regular childcare was there from the beginning. Our flexibility meant that we had the opportunity to have so much more contact with our kids than most people. However, it also made things very difficult when we both had to work. Arranging ad-hoc childcare can be a nightmare! I guess a good piece of advice would have been to make sure that we have some kind of regular childcare in place, in order to make sure we had time to decompress a bit.
UKJN: Your top tip(s) for other parents in jazz:
WV: I would suggest making a plan with your partner that allows you both time to focus on things outside of parenthood that are important to you. The division of labor is so important, and it doesn’t happen by itself. Take care of yourselves and each other as well as your child!
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:
WV: We have mostly avoided touring with kids. I am in total awe of friends of mine such as Ingrid Jensen and Jon Wikan and Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan who somehow manage to make this work! Although I will just drop it in here that they both have one kid, which might (might!) make it seem more doable.
UKJN: What is one way that figures or structures in the jazz industry could better support parents who are working jazz musicians?
WV: Oh my.
UKJN: What has surprised you about becoming a parent and remaining engaged with your professional activities and ambitions?
WV: Honestly, with the sheer labor of raising kids (obviously there’s the labor of actual childbirth, which I can’t even imagine), the thing that surprises me is that I’m still able to play music at all! I guess that’s what all those years of practice were for – to get me to a point where the music is still there once I’ve done the real work, which is taking care of the rest of my life.
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.)?
WV: Ah, boundaries! They’re meant to be broken, aren’t they? One of the reasons I wanted to move to Europe after a 4-year sojourn in Australia was to be closer (than New York, and obviously than Australia!) to the places where most of my work happens. This is to enable me to travel for a few days at a time, rather than a few weeks. I did a long tour, right before Covid, leaving a toddler and a pregnant partner at home and it was an experience I think we’d all like not to repeat. So now my limit is like 10 days, but to get anywhere close to that, it has to be a project I’m personally committed to. Even that length of time is hard on everyone – except the kids, who I’m glad to say take it all in their stride. In fact I think the thing that makes both us parents most proud is that we’ve raised two kids who are secure and grounded enough (despite the ground constantly moving around them) that, when one of us leaves for x amount of time, they barely flinch!Extra: If you’d like to include information about an upcoming release or tour or performance, please add it in here and it will be included along with your website url at the end of the piece.
(*) 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.
