Arts Agenda - Bring in da funk

Jason Orr celebrates the art of creativity with FunkJazz Kafe

This is the story of a man and his vision. His name is Jason Orr and his manifesto is FunkJazz Kafe.

What is FunkJazz Kafe? Take the intentions of the defunct Atlanta Arts Festival, combine those with the energy and ambition of Music Midtown, drench it in the soul and multiculturalism of the Montreaux Music Festival, throw in the original madness of Lollapalooza and top it all off with the bohemian spirit of Woodstock and you’ve come close to understanding what the FunkJazz Kafe experience is like today.

Held quarterly, most recently at the Tabernacle downtown, this five-hour festival has attracted top-notch local and world renowned musical talent from the likes of Joi, Doug E. Fresh, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Speech, Goodie Mob, Dionne Farris, Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Erykah Badu, comedian Jamie Foxx — you get the idea.

The appearances by those celebrities are usually unpublicized, as are many of the local visual and performing artists on the bill, but FunkJazz Kafe enthusiasts recall past highlights that include surprise collaborations by house bands Soulmate or Chronicle with those aforementioned artists. What is also featured at the events are poets like Sonja Marie and Jamaica, painters like Maurice Evans (a piece of his hangs on Orr’s office wall) and fashion showcases from the likes of Stefan’s and Wish.

Little is known about the man responsible for FunkJazz Kafe’s success and ambitious mission. What kind of man would have the cajones to maintain and nurture an event that has built a grassroots following based solely on its vibe? Orr is your man.

The 30-year-old Savannah native is a stimulating presence that can go from cool yet energetic in his Buckhead office to passionately soulful on stage. He resembles a modern Bob Marley: long dreadlocks; a lean physique; an attractive, expressive face; and a casual exuberance. His physical similarities to that legendary Rastafarian don’t end there. He has a pied piper kind of manner that explains how and why he’s been able to sustain something like FunkJazz Kafe for seven years.

Orr started FunkJazz Kafe at the Royal Peacock in the historic Auburn Avenue district, primarily as an outlet for his musical expression as well as that of his friends, who comprised the band Original Man. The band’s vocalist, Vinnie Bernard, would later become a frequent performer at FunkJazz Kafe. The event continued to grow as it moved to spaces throughout the city — King Plow Arts Center, Kaya Club & Bistro and the Atlanta Stage Works to name a few. And he’s taken his act on the road, to Washington, D.C., Detroit and Philadelphia.

The vibe that Orr sets for FunkJazz Kafe is the key ingredient to its success. It has something to do with revolutionary principles against “programming,” which is how Orr describes the blind consumption of the “art” dished out by cultural generators like MTV and commercially driven industry magazines that perpetuate the myth that in order to express oneself one has to make a rap song, direct a rap video or dance in it.

“Art is important in this time. I want to take people out of their programming and show them that there is much more to expression,” Orr says.

Orr likes to emphasize to his FunkJazz Kafe patrons that art is vital in whatever form it comes in.

“The revolution is on. How we know about the times is through art, like in ancient times they had visual art left behind for us to see what was going on. Now, we do a lot more in terms of our expression.” That is what Orr tries to demonstrate with every event. At past FunkJazz Kafe events, Orr has had paintings and other visual pieces created live by Evans, Lisette Gray, Sarah Afiley, Lance Clark and Sheila Turner. There have also been still models wearing clothes from the fashion artist of the moment, fire-breathers, masseuses, hair stylists, limbo walkers and, for heaven’s sake, Orr’s own mama’s food.

Orr would like FunkJazz Kafe to transcend its current status as a quarterly event to become a multimedia machine similar to the empire of Ministry of Sound, manifested in CD releases, a magazine and hopefully a television show. Although that could be far off, Orr is mostly focused on the upcoming FunkJazz Kafe Spring Festival 2001 on April 7 at the Tabernacle. In addition to food, vendors and cultural performances in the MarketPlace, there will be an interactive art gallery, film and visuals by Tony Bingham, live soul bands and interacting DJs, a fashion lounge, game rooms, an Internet Kafe, a Vintage Jazz Suite, a House Party Suite, a Poetry Pavilion and a screening of the film Life Suite starring MTV’s Teck Holmes.

“The experience that we offer at the Tabernacle is supreme. Where can you see 12 suites, six levels [of entertainment]? You gonna get a chance to see a high-end, high-caliber band, high-end [artists] that might be the joint down the line.” He adds, “You might even see Erykah Badu.”

But the promise of seeing a Badu or a Dallas Austin is not the reason anyone should go to FunkJazz Kafe. For starters, you wouldn’t even know if they were going to attend because Orr is adamant about not making those kinds of promises public. Besides, many times celebrities go just to hang out and soak up the atmosphere, like anyone else out for an evening. Instead, Orr invites everyone to come for one reason: “the experience.”

FunkJazzKafe Spring Festival 2001 takes place April 7 at 10 p.m. at the Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. $20 in advance with food donation, $25 at the door. 404-842-FUNK.??