[Dixielandjazz] minority musicians, waste of time music

[Elazar Brandt]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

Combining 2 current threads, I thought I'd chime in with my experience when I
was a kid at bar mitzvahs. At every bar mitzvah there was always a group of kids
who took the crystal water glasses at the head table, lined then up and tuned
them into a 2 octave chromatic scale by adding or drinking water out of each one
until it was in tune. Then we could play them with spoons or by wetting a finger
and gliding it around the rims of the glasses. I don't recall that we ever broke
a glass. However, by the time we got them tuned up, and since there was already
a band, the food would come and we didn't get to play much. But that didn't stop
us. Talk about a royal waste of time to produce music, and by minority
musicians... who were minors yet!

In other news, I'm happy to report that my trio group -- we now call ourselves
"Doctor Jazz" -- got called 2 weeks in a row to play at a new place called the
New Orleans Grill House in Tel Aviv. Pay was lousy -- about $30 a head plus
drinks, with no food or travel or tips! (We're making more than that playing on
the street in Jerusalem, and with far less hassle and almost no travel
expenses.) But for a new jazz band it was too good to pass up the chance to play
in a respectable place. Both weeks the owners didn't invite us until relatively
late, so not much time to advertise. The first week we drew in about 20 friends,
and the rest of the place was full. Second week we played what I thought was our
best performance to date, but to a very small audience, and no one from our own
people. We're holding our breath waiting for another call back, but they're
waiting too long again to do much advertising.

Anybody have experience with what to expect when starting a weekly gig in a new
place? How long might it take to get a group of groupies who come hear you
regularly? What about paying the band for performing to a small number of
customers? This fellow didn't balk at paying us for the slow night, but he
seemed disappointed that we didn't draw more people. But he only called us on
Sunday to perform Tuesday night. We're not yet a known band -- no known band
would play for that money! And instead of trying a month or two with advertising
of the band, they decide week to week at the last minute if they want to try
again.

Elazar