[Dixielandjazz] Your Best Gig

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/15/03 6:46:58 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
nvickers1 at cox.net writes:

> Listmates:
> I'd be interested in hearing about "Your Best Gig."  I once asked the great
> jazz and classical guitarist Laurindo Almeida about his own best gig.


Darn and I would have thought he would have said it was the two direct to 
disc recordings he made when I was producing for Crystal Clear Records, but then 
again I am sure the label owner never paid his royalties on the two sold out 
recordings I made with him, they didn't pay me either.  :)


> 
> He reported that he was flown from LA to NYC, first class, put up at a first
> class hotel and paid a handsome sum ( didn't say how much.) He was
> contracted to play 15 minutes for a corporate function.  He said he arranged
> beautiful numbers and his performance went exactly seventeen minutes.  When
> he finished, the corporate person who had made all the contractural
> arrangements for him said only, " You played two minutes too long!" But he
> was paid well and went away happy and satisfied with his performance.

Goes right along with one of my previous posts about corparate event 
planners, 

Last year I had one call me to put together a major fundraiser event at a 
posh Winerey/Country Club up in California's Wine country.

I brought in a giant tent with air conditioning as they requested, sit dowon 
catered dinner open bar etc etc.  And booked A Regional San Francisco 
orchestra to play for Dinner, and Patti Labelle as the headline entertainment show.

The Orchestra and Patti were each contracted to perfom foro 90 minutes each.

The event corporate co-ordinator walked up to me five minutes after Patti 
Labell started her show and said they wanted to wrap up and go home early, so 
please have Ms. Labelle cut her show to 20 minutes so we can get all these people 
out of here.

The bill for the evenings shows and dinner was in the six figures, Patti was 
insulted, but being a true professional she cut the show short said goodnight 
and counted her money all the way to the ariport.   She had flown all the way 
out to San Francisco from Philadelphia with fifteen people to do this great 
show and they only allowed her twenty minutes.

Agents love these kind of events because of the big money usually associated 
with unsophisticated buyers in this market, sort of like opening up the door 
to the bank vault while everyone is out for lunch.   These folks will buy any 
Celebrity for big bucks but have not a clue what is happening musically or 
professionally in the manner of treating them and or letting them do what they 
paid them to do.  Entertain their audience.   Insensitive twits is what I always 
called them.

SO when you get a call for corporate gigs be aware, anything bizzare can and 
will happen in many instances, just cash the check and move on, most likely no 
one important to your career saw you anyway.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins

Musical content:  Do Re MI, Fa So let's go!   buddddaba budddubadeee   aaaaa 
thaaaaat's all folks !


> -----------------------------------