To our cousins in the US, I really need to bring your attention to the bureaucratic theater that your ‘foreign‘ cousins are subject to every time we wish to bring our music/art to the US. To begin the arduous process of obtaining the necessary ‘work’ visa, we must first go on line with the closest US Consulate. The computer that answers you, for it is never a human, informs you that this phone call will cost you an extravagant sum of money. As you gradually work your way through the instructions, you can feel the euros leaking out of your pocket. We must then pay $45 in order to reserve an ‘interview’. If the date they give you is inconvenient, too bad: back to square one. And when it’s time to pay, then comes the big shock. « American Express cards are not accepted »! Amex cards are more American than apple pie! However, I digress. Before you can make your reservation for an ‘interview’, you must have in your possession a very important document which you can only receive having made the complicated application through a US lawyer in the US itself. (Average lawyers fees for my visa, $6000). Of course, this does not include my necessary flight to Paris (my closest US Consulate) the night before as the interviews are invariably given to you for 8h30, and the hotel costs. To give credit where it is due, some years ago, we were required to stand in the middle of the street, come rain, shine, snow, whatever, until we were allowed into the hallowed ground of the Consulate itself. Naturally enough, we were well protected from harm by marines with sub-machine guns who observed us stoically. These days we are allowed to enter as soon as we have been ‘controlled’ at the entrance. Once in there, it’s really just a question of taking out your book, (very necessary as no phones or computers allowed), and the interview takes form in questions about one’s motives? for visiting the US, and do you have all the documents? and being photographed and fingerprinted. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been fingerprinted and photographed by the US authorities since they repeat the exact procedure on arrival in the US, and then I’m in!!!
And there, are the greatest audiences in the whole world. God bless you all, only you make it all worth the hassle.
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As they say in arabic and urdu: Ya Sabur! (« O Thou who are Patient and give Patience! », roughly translated).
That’s a very interesting point in the life of any artist: all the amazing and hidden non-musical labour necessary to share your art. And of course going on stage as if you spent all the time before your performance smelling rose fragrance and beholding moghul miniatures. 😉
Was the same bureaucratic theater on when you left UK to join Miles?
Wishing you rose fragrance and illuminating visons (moghul or not), always.
Dear John , The world sure has changed a lot (too much) the last few years . I’m sorry you have to go through this circus . I haven’t been outside the US in years But I know if I wanted to visit Niagara Falls,Canada from Niagara Falls ,New York I now need a passport… And it’s not even 80 miles west of my home. I admire your patience and determination to continue sharing your love through your uplifting music in just about every country! Thank you for continuing being you ! Sincerely Jerry Fretto
I’ll make no attempt to defend our ridiculous border control policies. The sad thing is, for all that bureaucratic effort expended in making folks like you go through the rigamarole of applying for a work visa, many thousands of people every day simply sneak across our southern border undetected.
I know that I and many other Americans appreciate the hassle that you go through to bring your music to us. Would that it didn’t have to be that way…
Sounds like a very expensive game of miniature golf. Sometimes trying to get a small ball through a series of man made contraptions can seem tedious and completely pointless ~ but if your goal is beyond!
I just read about your upcoming reunion with Carlos Santana. Thrilling! I’ve been following Cindy Blackman / Santana’s post’s on facebook and it’s so exciting to hear what they are up to ( The Unity ).
I wanted to thank you again for the gift of your friendship, always inspiring.
Did I mention to you that I kept that
Love Devotion Surrender album cover on my desk as I wrote the earliest version of
The Big Love.
Have a fantastic time lighting up the universe.
All is Love
Laurie.
Two things: the U.S. should provide an express service for musical ledgends that want to tour in the states. Secondly, it is great to have John write these entries, its the best behind scenes insight a fan could hope for.
I’ve shared this on FB as well, and just hope this state of affairs will change. It’s important that people understand what it takes for musicians and others to legally work in the US. I’ve seen this at close hand in other disciplines, and the story never changes. Frustrating, unnecessary, and wrong. But thank you for writing on this subject. It really is that important.
Bureaucracy … How ridiculously blind these insular individuals are .. Maybe they should play and listen to more jazz John !! I salute you sir !
Dear Maestro: Thank you for addressing this topic.
Your being subjected to such ordeals, decade after decade, is preposterous (shameful exploitation).
This current bureaucratic process effectively excludes some foreign players from US touring. It serves neither art or business.
Stuart Munro
(40 years loving your music)
What a shame!Mankind with no art is a dying breed and the people behind that process are murderers!J.S.Bach must have been a lucky one living a few centuries back…no work visa for him!What a policy…and lack of culture!I feel myself like reading Franz Kafka…That’s all I can say.God bless you all!
Don’t know if it’s true, but there’s a story where someone (Promoter, fan, whoever) was hassling Joe Zawinul and saying things like, « Music should be free etc. » to which Joe replied, « The music IS free! You pay for all the other crap we have to go through to GET here! » If it aint true, it oughta be.
Greetings John,
What can I say regarding your issues with bureaucratic nonsense? Shame, all in the name of « security ». What’s next? Perhaps the authorities will review some album titles of yours and draw nothing but negative conclusions.
« Inner Mounting Flame » hmmmm, « Birds Of Fire », I see! Sounds like « terrorist » activity. Obviously, I jest….somewhat. They’ll do anything to secure their jobs, and if that means repeated fingerprinting etc. they obviously will.
It’s absurd.
Thank you so much for all the sounds, rhythms, and performances that you have delivered over the decades!
I do know that this site is not dedicated to political matters ,it just has to deal with pure art!! so i ‘d like to comment john’s post with humor: instead of considering john as a potential terrorist the american customs should bow gratefully whith humility regarding his wonderfull talent and let him enter the sacred soil of America
John,
Thank you! Thank you for EVERYTHING! I don’t wish to go on, writing out a rambling and long-winded comment that is lengthier than the original post which this is a response to! But I could, quite easily, especially if that post were concerning the utmost praise and appreciation that your continued efforts justly deserve. I believe that I am speaking for an entire generation or cohort of younger-than-usual American fans of your work when I say: Thank you! If not for the more recent American tours, of 07 and on, many younger American fans would never have had an opportunity to experience your music, live. And what an experience it is! The energy coded within your music is nothing less than ecstatic. I could « feel » this ecstasy when I have been there and a part of the crowd. It is almost « haunting » how « connected » it feels. Not everyone understands your music, and this is expected with any sort deviation from the mean or « out of the box, extra-ordinary” etc. Not everyone « gets » the Bhagavad-Gita, but this does not take any meaning away from The Gita or from your music. If anything, this deviation increases the meaning and value of such things. Its is no surprise then, that many of your biggest admirers are themselves, musicians. You a musician of musicians, a king of kings in that regard.
Refraining from addressing any potentially political issues presented by this most recent posting: I will say that America is a country of extreme polarity, home to the best and worst of almost anything/everything. If not for he effort your have put forth and discomforts you have endured to bring your music to us, here in America, many of us are not able to leave to country easily to experience such a joyous performance.
Thank you so very much is only just for being.
of course like your website however you have to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find it very bothersome to inform the reality nevertheless I will certainly come again again.
John,
This is the land of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. In that sense, it is sacred.
Unfortunately it’s also the land of some less inspiring politician types that keep out many great musicians from around the world with the visa hassles and expenses.
Thank you for making the effort to continue to visit the land of JAZZ. We feel your music so deeply, we feel all jazz music so, so deeply. It is in the DNA of this land and it’s people. Perhaps that’s why you say we’re the greatest audiences. Because to us, as Americans, jazz isn’t just music… it’s God transformed into sound. Thank you for continuing to bless us with your absolutely inspiring vibrations.
In Peace and Love,
Martin Franco
You have to realize that the USA is a fascist state, and has been for decades. The USA, which created Banana Republics all over the world, is itself a Banana Republic. And the worst is yet to come.
As an American I am embarrassed and sorry for the hassles you must endure just to play music here. I have arrived at several shows in Boston over the years that were delayed or cancelled because of visa/border hassles for the musicians. If I remember correctly, the 1980’s Mahavishnu was denied entry when there was a double bill with Weather Report. My question now – is Canada any easier? Any chance the Remember Shakti 40th Anniversary tour could include Canadian dates?