Reflections by Lloyd Williams, parent of former Litchfield Jazz Camper Alejandra Williams-Manieri, who started at Litchfield Jazz Camp at age 12 and is now, at 27, a working professional musician. And a happy camper!

I am increasingly impressed by what music affords a youngster coming up.  It’s ironic: we got so much well-meant but consistently negative feedback from parents about Alejandra’s music career interest. “Oh, well, sure, but how is she going to earn a living?” She and I had many talks about not buying into that outlook, having faith, and understanding that there are many opportunities for someone who really knows what they are doing in the music world. 

As it turns out, music can become the most practical of skills to have.  So many of Alejandra’s friends have come to NYC, with “better majors and degrees,” to live and work. It’s taken many of them forever to find jobs that will pay the bills, and these jobs may or may not be meaningful to them. By contrast, Alejandra has a very marketable skill and there are multi-avenues for delightful income-earning opportunities at levels that far exceed what her friends are earning.  It’s almost as if she went to a vocational post-secondary school, not a liberal arts college. Between teaching music, gigging her own stuff, gigging as a sideman for other performers, collaborating on projects, being invited to do recordings, accompaniment, playing at restaurants, clubs, schools, inns, and weddings, not to mention being part of the Jazz Camp faculty. She’s just flat out all the time and now about to fly to Japan for a week of performances. We can’t keep up with her! Learning to play the piano is something like learning to be a carpenter.   🙂 And it is such a long-term work—always improving, always discovering, always changing and growing, and always deepening their ability, understanding and appreciation for this most amazing music of jazz and all that it influences.   

What a very pleasant surprise! At the heart of it all has been Litchfield Jazz Camp, with all of its own influence, contacts, personalities, connections, encouragement, inspiration, direction, teachers, peers, and network of support and opportunity. Alejandra will often call us and let us know of some opportunity she has been given by a musician and friend we’ve never heard of, and it turns out, “I knew them at Jazz Camp.” LPA is like an octopus, with tentacles everywhere, lol. You have built a veritable little empire, Vita, and such a very human-to-human direct experience one at that, with so many people and families affected, and with so much joy put into this suffering world. I really can’t say enough. 

I think all families with talented kids who have their hearts in music should know that being a professional musician and having a viable career in music may include but is not limited to being some kind of mega star. The Herbie Hancocks of the world are a breed unto themselves. There are and will always be prodigies and wunderkinds. You certainly have known and worked closely with many of these and opened doors for them, Vita. But there is an entire profession, and a most rewarding one, of talented musicians working every day at a very high level, who really know what they are doing, have worked hard at their craft and excel in it, and are enjoying the fruits of their commitment, vision and persistence. Some of these, as the work continues and maturity deepens, will themselves become known public figures either within smaller local circles or larger. But the point is this: no child, and no parent, should be told or believe anything like “Oh, music is nice, but you can’t make a buck at it.” Yes, you can!