Anne Phillips
In this interview, Anne Phillips reflects on the creation and evolution of Bending Towards the Light: A Jazz Nativity, exploring its musical legacy, remarkable collaborators, and enduring message of love, hope, and unity.
1.Hello Anne, and welcome to The Interviewist! How did the idea for Bending Towards the Light: A Jazz Nativity first come about, and what inspired you to bring the Christmas story to life through jazz?
The birth of The Jazz Nativity was on a sunny summer morning in 1985 when the Rev. John Garcia Gensel called to tell me that he had suggested me as the writer of the Christmas story told through jazz. I was surprised because he knew me as a singer, but as a writer? But I shakily said yes.
I had just met, and heard, the man who was to become my husband, tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred. When I sat down at the piano, I could imagine that beautiful warm sound playing “Silent Night” in the dark. That became the opening of the show and still is.
2. Jazz Pastor John Garcia Gensel played an important role in the creation of this production. How did his original suggestion influence your vision, and how did you turn that idea into a full musical and theatrical experience?
At the first performance at St. Peter’s John Gensel spoke the biblical passages from the Bible. I wrote a script for him, breaking the story-telling passages with appropriate carols between that moved the story along.
I had heard the song “God’s Love Made Visible” from Dave Brubeck’s newly written “La Fiesta de la Posada.” I called Dave, whom I had met when, as a student, I sang on the Brubeck at Oberlin concert. He happily agreed to my not only using his song but offering to come to the performance and sit in on it! His son, Chris Brubeck, recently was a King.
3. Bending Towards the Light has become an annual New York tradition. Looking back at its journey, how has the production evolved over the years, and what keeps you inspired to bring it back to audiences?
The show continued to evolve. First, a theater friend said it might flow better if it were all sung. I arranged all the biblical passages for a soprano, the Archangel, and a jazz vocal group, the New York Voices who were brand new in town. I also wrote: One Star” for the shepherds and “Softly Falls the Gentle Night,” a lullaby for Mary. I turned “What Child is This?” into a jazz waltz and asked Jackie and Roy to become the Guardian Angels.
“Bending Towards the Light” an original song by Bob Kindred for which I wrote a Christmas lyric, came into the show, sung by a shepherd child. It was a showstopper and became the title of the show.
Beth Ann Kennedy became the director. Working with jazz musicians is a bit different from working with seasoned Broadway actors. Even the lingo.
4. This year’s cast features remarkable musicians, including Paquito D’Rivera, Ingrid Jensen, Maurice Chestnut, and Arturo O’Farrill. How do you bring together so many different musical personalities while keeping the spirit and message of the production intact?
Yes, every year The Jazz Nativity has featured the most remarkable musicians! Different instruments, different personalities, different beliefs but oh, so much respect and love. From the first band rehearsal to the choir rehearsal, to the first time running the whole show, (on the day of the show) it’s like the gathering of a big loving family. New players are welcomed with excitement and joy.
When I wrote it I didn’t think of a “message.” Then when dear, Charles Kurult, as our host, wrote this, he hit it right on the mark:
LIGHT IS MEANT TO SERVE–AS LIGHT SERVES FOR SO MANY RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES–AS A SYMBOL OF TRUTH AND LOVE . . . . AND. HOPE … HOPE THAT EVEN IN A DARK SEASON, WE MAY BEGIN TO SEE THE WORLD. . . BENDING TOWARDS THE LIGHT.
And YES, the “light” is that symbol for many religions. In 1992 we performed The Jazz Nativity, at the invitation of Rabbi Balfour Brickner, at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in NY.
5. The show combines live jazz, theater, dance, and a 20-voice choir. What are the biggest challenges of coordinating such an ambitious production and which moments do you personally find the most rewarding?
The big challenges? Besides snowstorms and transit strikes? Well, things have changed. Theaters used to pay you to bring in a show. Today you must rent the venue. That means we have had to raise enough money each year. The only way we have kept The Jazz Nativity going is that there are enough people who have seen and loved it so much that they continue to contribute.
Every year we’ve crossed our fingers and every year we do it again!
This year is special. We are filming it with the hope that we can place it on T V.
Most rewarding? After the show hearing audience members say… “I didn’t think I liked jazz, but if this is jazz, I love it!” What a jazz audience builder! “Bending Towards the Light” has been done in cities across the country with their own casts, their own local Kings and Angels and bands.
“What an awesome experience—worthy of Broadway with fantastic choral and orchestral music, dancing and spiritual messages. Kudos to West Market St. UMC for bringing this wonderful gift to our community!” Barbara Gesse, Greensboro News & Record, NC
“Anne Phillips has created a compelling evening in which the secular and sacred swirl and soar!” Chuck Berg, Topeka News Journal
It is theater and jazz. Real jazz players playing real jazz at their best. Even jazz aficionados are in disbelief when, during the finale of “Deck the Halls” and “special guests” come out of the audience to join in. “I felt like I was re-living “Jazz at The Philharmonic!!” gasped one.
It is a family show. Children love it. We had a Jazz Nativity Children’s Project. Ticket buyers could sponsor inner-city children. We had about 400 kids a year from the Boys and Girls Club, Covenant House … So exciting!
“Incredible show! You deserve an award! Our children couldn’t stop talking about it!” Arthur Mills, NYC Office of the Mayor
6. With the December 21 performance approaching at St. Paul and St. Andrew’s Church in New York, what can audiences expect from this year’s edition, and what message would you like them to take home after experiencing Bending Towards the Light: A Jazz Nativity?
Latin percussionist Candido said in every interview, “Every time I do the show it’s like the first time!” I think that is how audiences feel and why they come back year after year. Jazz is improvisational, and though it’s an old story, the show is new every performance. Jon Gordon’s BLAZING solo on “The First Noel” as the saxophone playing shepherd, how long will the Shepherd child hold the high note at the end of “Bending Towards the Light”? The surprise of stride pianist Bram Wijinands and his daughter, Lucy, who plays Mary, performing together in the finale of “Deck the Halls,” The Foreman Brothers joining their tap teacher King Maurice Chestnut. No one wants to miss one breath-taking moment.
What the audience feels after experiencing The Jazz Nativity. This says it best:
I was privileged to attend a performance of “Bending Towards the Light … A Jazz Nativity “ and was held spellbound. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a more entertaining communion with God, the church, and my fellow man. It is such a rich cultural experience
Howard Steward
Flushing, NY
The last line sung by the whole cast is
” You are like a light for the whole world Let your Light SHINE”
That’s the message.