The Jazz Lady and the Secret Jazz Club
The Jazz Lady and the Secret Jazz Club
Denise Amon
July 29, 2022
“In 1982, a pianist and music teacher named Ms. Ivone Pacheco, soon to be known as The Jazz Lady, was discovered by a young and extremely talented musician. They started a partnership, performing at private parties. When she was 50 years old, after having raised her children and out of the need to express herself artistically and more freely, she decided to open up the basement of her home for jam sessions, inviting other musicians and friends. And so the Take Five Jazz Club, in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, was born.
For Pacheco, the opening of the basement meant a new life beyond teaching and being a wife and mother. She began performing in shows, pubs, subways, and streets, across the country and abroad. For 40 years, the Take Five Jazz Club has been welcoming musicians from all over the world, offering a space for the development of local artists and the discovery of new talents. No money is charged, or paid. The address is kept secret, but insiders know where and when to go. They are stimulated to invite other musicians and thus the community grows.
I had the chance to attend the sessions since the club's conception. I believe that the essence of the Take Five Jazz Club is to offer musicians the possibility of presenting their inner soul, in an environment of pure generosity, acceptance and beauty. When I took this portrait of The Jazz Lady at the club, she was 85 years old. She is now 89.”
Text and image: Denise Amon
Equipment: Leica M10 with Noctilux-M 50 f/0.95 ASPH.
For Pacheco, the opening of the basement meant a new life beyond teaching and being a wife and mother. She began performing in shows, pubs, subways, and streets, across the country and abroad. For 40 years, the Take Five Jazz Club has been welcoming musicians from all over the world, offering a space for the development of local artists and the discovery of new talents. No money is charged, or paid. The address is kept secret, but insiders know where and when to go. They are stimulated to invite other musicians and thus the community grows.
I had the chance to attend the sessions since the club's conception. I believe that the essence of the Take Five Jazz Club is to offer musicians the possibility of presenting their inner soul, in an environment of pure generosity, acceptance and beauty. When I took this portrait of The Jazz Lady at the club, she was 85 years old. She is now 89.”
Text and image: Denise Amon
Equipment: Leica M10 with Noctilux-M 50 f/0.95 ASPH.
Denise Amon+-
Denise Amon has a PhD in Psychology. She is a researcher, consultant, and independent scholar working on projects on the following topics: the human condition, society, social representations, social memory, communication, ideology and ethics. Her work in progress, titled Music and Hope, consists of building visual narratives approaching how musicians experience their own stories, and
analysing the connections with family, community, society and hope. Art has always been part of her life, either in the form of music or photography. She lives in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. More