Anant Lerpradit is currently news editor of the Judprakai section of Krungthep Turakij, lecturer at Silpakorn University and Gen-X Academy, columnist and editor of quarterly jazz magazine Jazz Life, and author of Jazz: Issarapab Thang Dontree Khong Manudsayachad (Jazz: Mankind’s Musical Freedom), Jazz Guitarist and 100 Jazz Album Reviews.

The main purpose of Jazz Life magazine is to serve Thai jazz listeners.

Jazz has become more popular but knowledge of its history is still limited because a lot of people can’t read English. When Jazz Seen magazine stopped, my friends and I decided Thailand really needed a Thai language magazine on jazz.

I listen to a wide range of music, from morlam to classical Thai. I listen to everything as long as it’s good. I’m a fan of Dreamtheater, Pornsak Songsang, and Buddha Bless.

But jazz is more contemporary. To me, jazz is like a theory that has more tricks to it than the others.

Jazz is like a language. It emphasizes each musician’s individuality. During solos, the musician’s signature can clearly appear and listeners can tell immediately who’s playing.

Jazz is all about live performance. The same song performed twice will never sound the same.

Our society lacks sources of knowledge written in Thai. Not only knowledge of jazz history, but in many other fields as well. Compare us to Japan, where you can read everything you want in Japanese.

I want to help out making things available in Thai, but I can’t do everything, so I chose the topic I love most—jazz.

There should be cultural management courses at undergrad levels, not just at masters as it is now. Music is not a commodity product. Know-how and appreciation need to be taught to students.

I went to the third Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia. Bangkok Jazz is in its fourth year—but we are in kindergarten compared to them.

Hong Kong’s art festivals have been of excellent quality for over 30 years, and they are in the heart of the city. But we don’t have that.

I think Thai audiences are now waiting for a chance to see some impressive live performances, but wealthy people, the government and the private sector don’t support this as much as they should.

We need more venues. Right now, the Thailand Cultural Center schedule is full all the way to the end of the year. We don’t have other places to organize good concerts, so we have to have them in malls.

Suppose that I’m an indie artist who wants a space for 500 people, what do I do? Where can I play? We have a lot of space in Bangkok, but it has all been turned into malls.

Concerts shouldn’t be seen only as a show. There should be workshops, exhibitions…

As a critic, I play the guitar sometimes. Not to create new songs, but to analyze them. To be a good critic, you have to like what you criticize first. Then some basic understanding of what you critique is required. You should know the range of different types of instruments and understand how they work.

I’m glad that the young generation is more deeply involved with music. But when you listen to hip hop, you should know of its roots, its origins. When you love something, and want to know about it, you need to dig into its history.

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