Deers,
What a year.
You all know I prefer my privacy but if you know why, you know why. The bells tolled but nobody died…
Beautiful things, big decisions, there was no lack of a flourishing personal life this year. Hence why I have been a little quiet here so far.
However, I return to you now with my musical news.
In this newsletter you’ll find some:
- Breaking news
- Upcoming dates you should pay attention to (if you are in my omgeving or locale)
- Sneak peak to future music (regardless of locale)
BREAKING NEWS
The breaking news is that I now have an isolated sound booth in my home!
After hunting down countless temporary rehearsal spaces over the years, I finally gave up and opted to integrate one into my home environment. If you aren’t aware, saxophone is an incredibly resonant, loud instrument to practice in an apartment building. After practicing softly for years, my booth is a sanctuary of sonic freedom. It’s time again to blast off!!!!
I can even fit a small recording setup in there. Here’s how it looks – read to the end of this newsletter to hear how it sounds:
Upcoming dates
I am looking forward to a few upcoming dates, maybe you will look forward with me if you are in our locality:
September 4th and 5th 2026 – PAS Festival Maastricht
On the above dates we (a collab with my 3S-AMI-5A universe and Stichting Kracom) will resurrect our mosasaurus performance of two years prior, but now with a lighter atmosphere and the theatrical addition of some other famous bones of our locality.
The theme of the performance is “Know your Neighbours” – many international students and expats live in Maastricht but aren’t aware of the amazing stories that give it it’s bourgondisch lively character. We will bring some key figures to light in our classic thoughtful and playful fashion in the garden at the Natural History Museum:
The 1913 prehistoric-styled garden of the Natuurhistorischmuseum blooms into a tableau vivant of the famous bones of Maastricht: the mosasaurus, Saint Servatius, Elisabeth Strouven and d’Artagnan. A contemporary troubadour-esque company of players, dancer, saxophone and tuba bring these characters to life. Get to know your local legends.
The performance is about 20 minutes and will occur twice per night.
The festival is free to attend, and does not require any registration. We hope to see you there!
Location: Natuurhistorischmuseum Maastricht (garden)
Address: De Bosquetplein 7
Friday times: 20.00 and 22.00
Saturday times: 19.45 and 21.45
Festival website: https://pasmaastricht.nl/
19-22 October 2026 – Jazz Camp for Girls NL
After being called in to sub on this jazz camp last year, I fell in love with the atmosphere it created.
Personal note: I will never forget my first time working in a “girl band” – an all femme RnB professional project. Before we started, I had my doubts. Why do I need to make music only with women? After the first notes of rehearsal it was clear. It’s hard to put into words. The atmosphere felt so safe, but it was also filled with a lot of respect and mentorship. There was one woman in particular who had a really advanced music career. I remember when she helped me play a certain line even tighter, even funkier. Instead of letting me flounder and sound perpetually mediocre, she helped me glow.
Jazz Camp for Girls NL is a place where the next gen can learn how to glow musically through improv, band experience, and community.
I will be there a saxophone coach, group improv guide, and helping give (historical) context to the great musical freedom we get to perform in Jazz and Black American Music.
If you know someone between the ages of 12-16 who would benefit from this kind of camp, please let me know or get more information here: https://jazzcampforgirls.nl/
Don’t read if you’re scared of nerds.
As promised, here’s one tidbit of what I’m working on.
If you have been reading closely, I have been on an adventure of singing Gregorian chant in our local basilica for the last three years. The music is incredibly enticing to me, between the beautiful texts, the modal, melodic driven format, and monophony. It’s like a feast of text-driven scale degrees.
Now if you look at the surface, jazz/BAM and Gregorian chant could not be further apart. But if you know even a surface scratching little about both, it’s quite clear that 1960s modal jazz uses the same(ish) kinds of scales as 8-9th century liturgical music. Curious isn’t it?
Now when it comes to performance practice, I’m not going to waste time trying to replicate authentic first millennium music on one of the “newest” instruments in the western canon (the saxophone), so I will treat the melodic information as I have been taught – something to respectfully play with.
Gregorian chant is basically a liturgical form of jazz standards of centuries past anyway.
There are a few modes that evoke a particularly bluesy atmosphere. It reminds me of when I played a replica of a 10.000 year old flute last summer, and it was basically tuned to the blues scale. My surface scratching of Arabic music also revealed that the most basic maqam/scale had the quarter tones in a very bluesy place. I don’t know where this will all lead musically but it’s just something that is very clearly there. And I really like it.
Over the years, I have been compiling the bluesier gregorian chants, hoarding them away until it’s time. It’s almost time, honestly.
But you’ll have to bear with me for a second.
However in a flurried effort to try and record something in my new booth, I made the following with a particularly sweet (not very bluesy) Gregorian setting of a poem attributed to St Ambrose:
AURORA JAM SPARGIT POLUM
(DAWN IS SPRINKLING IN THE EAST)
Composers notes: imagine the following minute of music turning one into the other over a much longer period (minimum 5 min), at a much slower tempo, and with much more tact. Also with preferably more humans and instruments than just Julia Warren and her ole faithful 100 year old axe.
All’s that to say, hit me up if you like these kinds of things.
Closing Thoughts
I don’t know what the future holds (if you have been attentive to this newsletter, I seem to be more focused on the historical past) but I always rely on this one nugget of wisdom I got secondhand from I don’t remember who from the great Pauline Oliveros – that even when there’s no next gig you still have to be getting ready for it.
I’m looking forward to (re)developing more intimacy between Julia the human and Julia the musician.
The dawn is indeed sprinkling in – all the changes set forth at the end of last year have finally arrived and now I sit here with the glorious chasm of – Now what? What, now? So what.
To quote my great teacher, guitarist Gary Schwartz: 1 + 1 = ?
In sound and space,
and with boundless love for you who read this far,
Julia
J(ulia) Warren 