For the Black Nile, LA is a city of jazz: ‘ We all have to improvise’

For Inglewood-born brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw, jazz is truly a family affair.

The brothers, who perform together as the Black Nile, have been nominated for Grammys and played with a roster of musicians – Lawrence has played for John Legend, Booker T. and the M.G.’s and Aminé, while Aaron’s performed alongside Herbie Hancock and Tyler, The Creator, and even gave OutKast’s André 3000 flute lessons.

The brothers were artists in residence last year at Boston’s Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and holed up in the Berkshire Mountains to write much of their new album “Indigo Garden,” but Lawrence said if anything, he was surprised at how the wealth inequality in different parts of Massachusetts reminded him of home.

“ L.A. is still in us, even though we're in Boston creating this,” Lawrence said.

Aaron, who plays saxophone and handles many of the melodic elements, said it’s a big relief to have the Black Nile’s new album out in the world.

“It's kind of akin to when you have your middle school pictures as your profile picture and you're however old you are now,” Aaron said. “Or if you open your old passport book, you're like, ‘damn, this is not an accurate representation of me,’ you know? So I feel like this is a better snapshot of us.”

On their roots in South Central’s jazz scene

Both Aaron and Lawrence grew up going to jazz rehearsals and camps all over South L.A., which even directly informed some of the songs on “Indigo Garden.”

Lawrence said the song “Slauson Fog” has a direct inspiration from that time in his life: “Taking my big, giant, upright bass down the 108 bus down Slauson from the 110 all the way to the West Side at 5:00 p.m. in the middle of rush hour traffic.”

“People are looking at me on the bus, like, who the f— is this guy? What's going on?” Lawrence added. “I'm on the 108 public metro bus taking an instrument they've never even probably seen in textbooks, don't even know it exists.”

When comparing the jazz the brothers were learning about to the music they’d hear around L.A., the brothers say their education on jazz, blues and the history of music made them connect with the music they were hearing on a deeper level.

“I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that, because a lot of people that I went to school with didn't really have a lot going on outside of school as far as it relates to experiences around music, in music, off the stage, on the stage, all those things,” Lawrence said.

You can hear that mix of past and present in the Black Nile’s music – you’ll hear standard jazz lines and chord changes, but also synths and production that move the songs forward.

Aaron (left) and Lawrence Shaw make up the top and low end of the Black Nile, respectively.

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Courtesy Myron Rogan

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L.A. as a city of improvisation

To Lawrence, the spirit of jazz is in and around L.A., whether people recognize it or not.

“We all have to improvise. We all have multiple jobs,” he said. “I don't know a single friend that just does one thing.”

The brothers see a throughline between greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, who responded in real time when they experienced racism, and Nipsey Hussle’s entrepreneurship and community-based activism. The common thread, he said, was that “they had no choice but to connect music to life.”

“I think Nipsey was the representation of purpose in action,” Lawrence said. “It was, ‘Okay, I'm a rapper. Alright, well, everybody raps. What makes me different?’ Well, it's the message, it's the story, it's the language, it's the movement.”

The Black Nile brings their new album to the stage on Saturday, April 26.

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Courtesy Myron Rogan

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On the preservation of jazz in South Central

The Shaw brothers consider themselves lucky to have spent so much time learning jazz. But many of the community programs they grew up going to have since lost funding and are no longer operating.

To add to that, some of the people who would have served as mentors to a new generation have died – so the brothers now see it as their turn to keep the music going.

“We need more jazz clubs in South Central, and we need more jazz music going on in South Central,” Aaron said. “That's part of our mission, because we need to elevate the experience for our people.”

To hear the Black Nile perform

The brothers will hit the stage April 26 at 2220 Arts + Archives with a full band to celebrate the release of ‘Indigo Garden.’

Tickets are available here.