Category: Music

Promo budgets, blogs, and weird submissions

Either people are actually reading this blog, or someone thinks people are reading this blog. In the last week, I have gotten 7 or 8 unsolicited CDs in the mail, presumably sent to me with the intention that I will write about them. Some of them are very good, and things that I dig, and I will write about them. Others are good, but so far removed from the type of things I usually listen to or write about, that I really doubt that they will get any cyber-ink here.

It makes me wonder who decides where to send promo copies of CDs. As a maker of independent CDs, I have grappled with the costs of promoting releases. I really have trouble justifying sending out hundreds of CDs to writes/magazines/bloggers when 75% of them will not even get listened to, and much fewer than that will yield coverage. I definitely send stuff to people that I think will dig it, or people that ask for it, but the expense of sending a copy to every station on a list of dozens of jazz radio stations, or every blogger listed on AAJ just seems silly, especially since many of the more conservative stations and writers won’t dig the CD anyway.

I figure it costs about $5 to send a CD to a writer, including the actual cost of the materials, postage, and the time of whoever stuffs the envelope. If some of that money were spent having associates read the writer’s writing and parsing his/her taste, it seems that eventually some money would be saved. I think the key to success in the new music industry is to only spend necessary money. If I can make and promote a CD for a reasonable amount of money, I can expect to eventually sell enough of them to make it work. If I spend $7k on promotion, I’ve got to have a huge hit (in jazz terms) to make any money.

When I started writing this blog, it was because I wanted to share the things that I found that move me. That’s how fringe art gets known, through a network of people with similar tastes and trust in each others opinions. Getting CDs from promo people tilts that idea a bit, but I don’t mind people sending me copies of stuff that I’d like to hear (and may or ma not have bought on my own). So, I will try to be as diligent as possible in always letting you know where I got the music I am writing about. If I bought it somewhere, I will say that, and if I got a copy from a PR department, I will say that as well. I will try to at least mention anything that I get that I like. If it stinks, I will probably say nothing at all about it.

One other plus to all the free CDs is that I get to read some of the completely silly stuff that is written on the one sheets that accompany the CDs. The other day I got a copy of an Ella Fitzgerald CD that is to be released in July. It is being co-released by Concord and Starbucks. The following statement is on the one sheet:

Starbucks Coffee Company provides and uplifting experience that enriches people’s lives one moment, one human being, one extraordinary cup of coffee at a time.

I’m not sure what that has to do with Ella, but it did make me laugh out loud, and laughter is a good thing.

Music is Fun!

One of my favorite trombone case stickers was given to me by Matt Golombisky, the bassist in the Lucky 7s. It is a sticker from his Tomorrow Music Orchestra, and has the line “experimenting with the idea that music’s really fun.” I love that idea. Too often we (musicians and artists of all sorts) take ourselves WAY too seriously.

This week I am playing bass trombone with the Louisiana Philharmonic on Carmina Burana. The conductor is Carlos Miguel Prieto. He gets the idea that music is fun. At one point in rehearsal he said to the chorus, “you are reading. I want music.” Not in a grumpy old stuffy conductor way, but in a “hey, it’s not about the dots, it’s about the emotion” way. He regularly encouraged the chorus to flirt with the audience, and was relaxed and funny, even when the logistical difficulties of the piece stubbornly presented themselves. Carmina is not easy to play or conduct, but he never let things get tense, even though the tension tried to bust in, almost succeeding once.

I don’t get to sneak into the orchestral world too often, and sometimes when I do, it is inhabited by too many people who aren’t having nearly enough fun to make up for the crappy money they are getting. Rehearsing with Prieto today was a great reminder of why most of us starting playing music…because it is fun. Hopefully more of that vibe will infect the LPO as his tenure as MD continues. That would be very cool for the musicians and audiences alike.

Rob Wagner CD release with Hamid Drake and Nobu Ozaki

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I just got an email announcing the release of this much anticipated (at least for me) CD. I haven’t heard the disc yet, but I heard this trio the night before they recorded this CD, and it was slammin’.

From Ben’s email:

ROB WAGNER TRIO Featuring HAMID DRAKE & NOBU OZAKI cd
is finally
available
online and at Louisiana Music Factory.

I am very pleased to announce there will be two “CD
Release PartIes”:

SUN. JUNE 3 @ THE BLUE NILE 9 PM

MON. JUNE 4 @ DRAGON’S DEN 10 PM (with special guest
KIDD JORDAN)

New Orleans morns the loss of veteran clarinetist Alvin Batiste

I found the following press release in my inbox this morning. Alvin Batiste was deeply influential on so many musicians around here. I never really had any personal encounters with him, but many of the people that have helped shape me were shaped in part by Alvin Batiste.

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans morns the loss of veteran clarinetist Alvin Batiste who passed away in his sleep early Sunday morning, May 6, 2007. Batiste was scheduled to perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival later today.
His most current CD; Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste is with Bradford Marsilas and other notable Jazz musicians. It also includes a reading by wife, Mrs. Edith Chatters Batiste.

Several well known musicians studied under Alvin Batiste while at Southern University. They include Randy Jackson (American Idol), his brother Herman, Brandford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Henry Butler, Kent Jordan, Micheal Ward, Herlin Riley, Charlie Singleton (Cameo), Woodie Douglas (Spirit) and others.

His Columbia album billed him as a “Legendary Pioneer of Jazz.” Alvin Batiste is an avant-garde player who does not fit easily into any classification. Under-recorded throughout his career, Batiste was a childhood friend of Ed Blackwell and he spent time in Los Angeles in 1956 playing with Ornette Coleman. However, Batiste chose the life of an educator in Louisiana where he taught music at Southern University in Baton Rouge where her created the Batiste Jazz Institute and currently at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) where served as lead teacher in jazz instrumental music.

Batiste recorded with the AFO (“all for one”) quintet in New Orleans, performed with Cannonball Adderley, and toured with Ray Charles in 1958, but was an obscure legend until he made three albums with Clarinet Summit in the 1980s (a quartet also including John Carter, David Murray, and Jimmy Hamilton). Batiste recorded an album, Bayou Magic, in 1988 as a leader for India Navigation and made the 1993 Columbia album Late. Songs, Words and Messages, Connections appeared in 1999, followed by Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste in 2007.

Batiste also performs on the Marlon Jordan featuring Stephanie Jordan 2005 CD which was a production of the Jordan-Chatters-Batiste family.

Arrangements will be announced onced complete.

Chaz Fest

While I am posting outer fest posters, I’ll put this up too. I am playing on this one with Magnetic Ear. We are scheduled to go on at 6:30 pm for a 50 minute set. The whole fest should be great music and food, so come on out if you are in town.

Jazz Fest – first weekend redux

I had a very busy, but fun and fulfilling first weekend of Jazz Fest. It really started on Thursday night with The Thing at the Big Top.thething.jpg This band really must be heard. The music is hard to describe (isn’t most good music hard to describe verbally?), but as I told a friend who missed the show, it is like speed metal free jazz with good taste. There is definitely a noise element there, but there were also beautiful melodies and precise ensemble playing. It was a great way to start the weekend of music.

Later Thursday night, I played with George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners at Southport Hall. We did a bunch of stuff from the new CD, and it was lots of fun. George said he feels like this is his best CD yet, and I am proud to have been a small part of it.

I was at the Fairgrounds most of the day Friday. First thing I heard was a little bit of the Xavier University Jazz Band. I teach trombone at Xavier, and it was nice to hear the band sounding so good. Next stop was the Jazz Tent for the Rob Wagner Trio. The sound was very good, due in part to Rob (or maybe Ben) being smart enough to bring their own sound guy (Mark Bingham in this case). The poor fest engineers have a lot asked of them and most of them do a good job, but nothing beats having an engineer that is good AND really knows you and your music. Rob’s set was very good. I dig his melodic sense in that setting.

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From there I headed over to the Accura Stage to perform with George Porter. It is quite a view from the stage to look up and not be able to see the end of the people. I had a blast playing with George (I always do). We had the “every member of the pool” horn section on the gig with Tracy Griffin, Alonzo Bowens, Brian Graber, Mark Mullins and me. I spent many a night in college listening to this band with those guys playing in the horn section, so it is a real honor, and a little bit of a trip, to now be a part of that band.

The rest of Friday included hearing parts of sets from Dr. John (which was fabulous), Astral Project, the James Carter Organ Trio, and Bonerama. It was all good. Friday night I played with Luther Kent and Trickbag and got some hard blowing blues added to the weekend’s musical mix.

I didn’t get to the fest on Saturday, but had a great day on Sunday. It started with hearing an ensemble from Julliard that featured trombonist Marshall Gilkes and New Orleans natives Jonathan Batiste and Victor Goines. I only caught a couple of tunes, but it was very happening. Next I played with Vivaz. We had a fun set, and the crowd seemed to dig it. I then hurried over to the Jazz tent to catch as much of Kidd Jordan as I could. He had Alvin Fielder, Joel Futterman, Clyde Kerr, Kent Jordan, and Maynard Chatter, Jr. on the set. It was good, but it is sometimes hard to come in on the middle of a free jazz set and get the flow of what has been happening. The big festival setting also lacks the intimacy that can make that type of listening so rewarding. But, even with the difficulties, it is always good to hear Kidd.

I was on my way to hear the New Orleans Social Club, when I was sidetracked by running into Lolet Boutte. Lolet is the mother of Tricia “Sista Teedy” Boutte, and used to manage Teedy’s reggae band Cool Riddims, which I played in in the late 90’s. Lolet has been displaced to Houston, and it was a real joy to run into her and get to visit for a while. She told me that Teedy was getting ready to go on stage with Bob French at the Economy Hall tent, so of course I had to go see her as well. The Boutte’s had been on my mind lately, so it was a real blessing to see them.

I did finally catch some of the New Orleans Social Club, as well as a bit of The Revealers, Dr. Lonnie Smith (who had a fabulous sounding Peter Bernstein in his band), and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

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The find of the day however was Banda el Recodo. I saw their three huge tour busses emblazoned with their logos when they arrived earlier in the day. Fortunately Ben Lyons prodded me to go check them out. Imagine if you put Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, the Jackson 5, and the Rebirth Brass Band in a blender. Add a touch of Ricky Martin and the LSU Tiger Marching band. That would get close to the vibe of these guys. The first thing you notice are the matching intricately decorated blazers and the slick choreography. Then you realize that there are 4 clarinets. It isn’t until later that I noticed that what I though was a stringed instrument of some sort playing the upbeats was actually two alto horns. These guys were so tight I couldn’t hear that it was two people, I had to see that it was too people. The sousaphonist was astounding. It was quite a show.

The highlight of the weekend however was playing with Bonnie Raitt to close out the Gentilly Stage on Sunday evening. A horn section made up of Tracy Griffin, Alonzo Bowens, Reggie Murray and me joined Bonnie and her band for a medley of New Orleans classics to close her set. Ivan Neville was also sitting in at that point, and when Irma Thomas walked out during “I Know”, the crowd went nuts. Bonnie’s band is great. It is always inspiring to hear the tops of the professional music world, and these guys are the tops. They are clean and precise and deeply soulful all at the same time. What a treat.

And what a great weekend. Of course, when your weekend ends with a kiss on the cheek from Bonnie Raitt, that’s usually a sign of a good weekend.

RIP Andrew Hill

Andrew Hill passed away today April 20, 2007. Peter Margasak has a nice piece about Hill’s life on his Chicago Reader blog called “Post No Bills.”

My first exposure to Hill’s music was instigated by a comment from Ed Petersen. I was taking composition lessons from Ed and he told me a piece I wrote sounded like something with an Andrew Hill vibe. I wasn’t very familiar with Andrew Hill’s music, so I bought Point of Departure. I liked it and more albums followed. I don’t know that I have written anything else reminiscent of Hill’s writing, but I sure have enjoyed listening to his music.

Ed Neumeister and Artist Share

I want to write a post on Ed Neumeister‘s Artist Share projects, and I am not sure if I should start with Ed or the Artist Share concept. Each subject warrants many words.

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I’ll start with Ed. My first exposure to Ed was through my favorite big band of my early adulthood, The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. The guys in that band were my heros. Real working NY pros. In the late summer of 1990, I was in NY for a week visiting my friend Andy, who lived on Long Island when not rooming with me in New Orleans. I heard Ed in a quartet at Visione’s one night, then a few nights later with Mel’s band at the Vanguard. (I don’t think they had yet gone to the Vanguard J.O. name, even though Mel had passed away earlier that year.) That night at the Vanguard I asked Ed if he was available for a lesson. The next day I took the train to the town he lived in (Croton-on-Hudson as I recall), and Ed picked me up at the train station and took me to his house, where I got way more than an hour’s worth of a lesson.

We dealt mostly with practice routine. This was Ed’s suggestion. He said if we would have been in a situation where the lessons would be recurring that he could be more specific, but since this was a one shot, we would cover the most important stuff, which is organizing and focusing your practice. We also hit some improv stuff and I asked lots of general kind of “how do you make it in NY” type questions. Ed was honest and sincere, and very helpful and encouraging. That lesson still shapes the way I practice and teach.

He also gave me some interesting advice on moving to NY. He said that if my goal was to make a living playing music, then I should come on up. There was work to be had. Then he said if I wanted to play creative music that I should look at other places too, because in NY Ron Carter or Freddie Hubbard are trying to get booked also, and if the club owner has a choice between me and Freddie…

I never did move to NY. It has worked out ok for me so far.

In recent years I have become fascinated with trying to discern business models that will work for modern creative artists. In an recent internet forum discussion of piracy and DRM, my good friend trombonist David Gibson made the point that fans that feel like they can develop a relationship with the artist are less likely to pirate that artist’s recording, because there is a face associated with it, not just a record label monolith.

This is the basis of the Artist Share model. Taking advantage of internet capabilities to allow the listener to see and experience aspects of the artist and the artist’s process that can be experienced from a CD and its accompanying liner notes. When you buy in, you become a participant, and the different packages are called participant offers. I have become a participant on a few offers. The most basic level is pretty much like buying the CD. You get the CD in the mail, and access to some online goodies, and it costs about the same as buying a CD in an expensive national chain store, but you get the goodies too.

I bought Ed’s Reflections CD this way, and also bought a couple of Ingrid Jensen Artist Share CDs at a live performance, and they came with a code to enter to enroll in the participant stuff online. It is a pretty slick system. The participant content ranges from lead sheets and podcasts to video commentary and recording session footage. Ed has some very frank discussion of his career and motivations on one of his audio conversations. It is quite insightful.

One possible drawback to the Artist Share system is that sometimes the amount of stuff can be overwhelming. Some of it is streamable only, so it ties you to your computer, and I don’t always have the time to fully explore everything that is available. I guess too much of a good thing is still good. To wander off path for a minute, I wonder how appealing Artist Share is to non-musicians. I think all of this inside info is great, but does Joe Blow jazz fan care about a leadsheet to the tunes on the CD? Is there a Joe Blow jazz fan that isn’t a musician? Can we survive with only other musicians as our audience? Are we already doing that?

Sorry, I’ll try to get back on track.

Ed’s newest project is called the NeuHat Ensemble. I was sent a recording of this group from the most recent IAJE conference. This is a very interesting group. Ed composes the music and conducts, but doesn’t play trombone. It is kind of a big band with strings and more interesting woodwinds, but that description is too simplistic. Jazz is definitely the foundation of the music, but there are lots of shapes and colors that come from other areas. Improvisation is prevalent, and the improvisers are good. The studio CD should be great. It is being made possible through Artist Share participation. There are some very cool participant offers, including composition or improvisation correspondence lessons. Go here to see all the offers.