The Milwaukee Jazz scene is a hotbed of talent with artists both local and national calling the city’s many clubs home for the night, however finding these shows can prove to be a challenge if you don’t have your finger on the pulse.
With a background in design and web development, Ignacio Catral built MKE Jazz.Live, an online “pocket guide” calendar application and website; after he missed a show from Grammy award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch. It includes a running schedule of upcoming Milwaukee-area jazz performances, with the option to filter shows by date, venue and neighborhood.
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Catral was able to get funding for the app from Jazz Unlimited of Greater Milwaukee, WMSE and the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts. Besides funding, the web app is developed “for free and out of love” for the scene.
To use the site, just look up mkejazz.live or milwaukeejazz.live, all shows on the site have the date, time, address, price and a short description of what to expect. Most of all, it’s artist-inclusive, user-friendly and free – music to the ears of performers, venues and patrons alike.
“Before, you had to follow a whole bunch of websites to find shows or use social media, but you’re at the mercy of whatever the algorithm decides to show you,” said Catral. “This was designed to help fans find music easily and see shows that they might not realize are happening right around them.”
There’s no shortage of jazzy jams, with over 250 venues and nearly 70 artists featured. However, the website doesn’t just promote shows from traditional jazz clubs; anybody hosting a show can try to promote it. The website lets artists and venues submit their shows to the calendar for Catral’s review.
“I think what goes unnoticed and comes to the surface when starting to get all the show submissions is how many restaurants and other unconventional venues there are,” Catral remarked. “It might be an atypical venue for jazz, but it shows up on our app, such as jazz at Transfer Pizzeria, Colectivo’s lakefront shows or a concert series at Humboldt Park.”
With the closure of the “small but important” Jazz Estate, a longtime staple of Milwaukee’s scene, Catral finds it even more essential to emphasize that the scene is still in good health for regulars and newbies alike.
“There’s a lot of older players that have been around forever that are being mentors to young kids coming up,” Catral said. “Whether you like jazz or if you’re curious about it, this gives you a quick glance at what’s going on in this scene.”
Even the “.live,” as opposed to “.org” or “.com” evokes this meaning – users are searching for live music to scratch the itch of in-person vibrance. This sentiment abounds in Catral’s conversations, with anecdotes from performers and enjoyers of simply “jumping on the app” and ending up promoting or attending a show. Since its launch in April, its analytics have proved both intriguing and promising.
“There is a 50/50 Chicago and Milwaukee split of app users,” Catral explained. “We’ve had around 4,000 sessions since the launch and something that’s not very usual is that the average session is nearly four minutes with 20% of people returning; with apps, it’s usually less than a minute, so a lot of people are staying and exploring.”
Catral views MKE Jazz.Live as a “stable resource” for the community, but is brainstorming options for future expansion while keeping it simple, such as personalized calendars or features to better support artists and venues. In the meantime, he hopes that it continues to illuminate the local jazz scene.
“You put it out there into the ether and don’t know what will happen, but everything’s going well and we’re looking to make it better,” said Catral. “We’re averaging around 10 shows a day, so there’s plenty of opportunities, just bookmark it for whenever you want to check out live music.”
