Some thoughts by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Are street musicians different from other musicians, such as jazz, Broadway, western classical or rock musicians? My answer is NO! A musician is always a musician. You can be “just” an entertainer or a “serious” musician or even being a music activist like me…but we all have the same purpose of doing music either “indoors” or “outdoors” which is to tell stories.
We all do the same job which is customer service. I know of musicians who don’t like street musicians and can’t appreciate their contributions to the community. (I did have this experience when I was playing my saxophone in Central Park three years ago when Lou Reed and Lauri Anderson passed by, and Lou looked at me in a nasty way as if i was “air.”) Some of them feel they’re better than “them.” I can’t accept this attitude which is very disrespectful.
I believe they are as important as any other musicians for the community. Their contribution can be deep as a Coltrane, Beethoven or Jimi Hendrix. They can be as ironic and funny as a Fran Zappa. They can be more sarcastic than the SEX PISTOLS. They can be as critical as a Bob Dylan of the 60s. And they can be as funky as a James Brown.
