When it comes to raising awareness or money for important causes, one of the most time-tested strategies is to pull at the heart strings. But after seeing the recent devastation in Los Angeles, Nir Felder decided to pull at the guitar strings instead.
The New York based guitarist is known for his work as both a band leader and a collaborator who has played with a diverse array of artists across jazz and popular music spanning jazz, R&B, and hip-hop,
So his personal musical community is quite broad. “ I sort of live in two different worlds, one where I play more pop and rock and R&B music and one where I'm a jazz guitarist,” he says. “I love the intersection there.”
Though he's lived in New York for two decades, he also feels deeply connected to the Los Angeles music scene. “I think there is this kind of bicoastal connection that a lot of us have. A lot of us have spent a lot of time in L.A. performing. We feel close to it.”
As he considered how he might be able to help the music community in LA, Nir had the idea to set up a fundraiser at the legendary Bitter End in the West Village. He put the idea out there on social media with no grand plan—just a simple post.
“ I actually just threw up a post saying like, Hey, you know, I booked this night at the Bitter End. If people are around and want to play, let me know.”
He was astounded by the response he got. “It was this outpouring of excitement. So between that and calling some friends, you know, it all really came together.”
The result, Nir’s Benefit for Los Angeles was held on Sunday night - yes, Superbowl Sunday. On a night when most eyes were on the Super Bowl halftime show, Nir took to the stage at the Bitter End, assembling a who’s who of New York’s finest musicians—particularly guitarists.
Speaking from the car the following morning on his way from New York to Boston where he teaches at Berklee College of Music, Nir said, “ We had a lot of guitarists, that's who answered my texts, you know, those are my friends I'm really glad that they were represented - you know those are the people that wanted to play and hang out with me on Super Bowl Sunday.”
Over the course of five hours, guitarists Julian Lage, Adam Rogers, Adam Levy, Mike Moreno, Rick Lollar, Gilad Hekselman, Will Bernard, and of course Nir Felder all played.
It was a party with a purpose—every musician played for free, with all proceeds benefiting those in need. Joe Petrucelli, executive director of the Jazz Foundation of America, took a moment to explain exactly where the donations would go.
“The ticket sales, the raffle tickets, everything else you give tonight goes directly into the Jazz Foundation and into the hands of artists for relocation expenses, for temporary housing, for instrument replacement, and just for their basic needs,” he said from the stage.
Each group played short, 20 minute sets, which allowed as many artists as possible to contribute. It also meant that a large part of the audience was made up of musicians, which gave it a feeling of something between a family reunion and a mini festival.
As Nir says, “It just felt good to see the West Village sort of alive with all the musicians hanging out together in the organic, sort of like old school community, let's hang out with each other, listen to each other play kind of sense. It seems maybe because I'm older and don't do it as much myself, it seems a little rarer [these days].”
That feeling of a community gathering may have been an unintended byproduct of the fundraiser, but it was one that did not go unnoticed by many people in the room.
“I hope we get to do it more. I hope that we can do it without a fire next time, you know, just do it to do it. I hope it was fun enough that people might consider maybe we should just make this a part of our lives,” says Nir.
While the California wildfires may have burned out, the flame in Felder for bringing musicians together has just been lit. “ I had so much fun last night hanging out with my favorite people in the world, so. If I can do it again, yeah, I'd love to,” he says.
If you’d like to contribute, you can support LA musicians in need by visiting jazzfoundation.org/donate or sending direct Venmo contributions to venmo.com/u/nycmusiciansforla.
