[Dixielandjazz] Common Sense, Rarely Applied

[Nickdragos at cs.com]

Listers,

One of the reasons I'm an "ex-Jazz-d.j. at present was my refusal to just 
play a choice piece of music and then either not announce what it wa or say "and 
we started that last set with Coleman Hawkins....now, send us money 
at........."

This article clearly explains the realities of why jazz radio is dying, dying 
& dying: some Station Managers & Music Directors {Sacramento's Capital Public 
Radio stations are prime examples} actually believe the jazz audience is 
exactly like rap, "urban" music, and "Top 40" audiences.....like this direct quote 
from a recent discussion I had with KXJZ's Music Director (shortly before he 
became my ex-boss):

"Why do commercial stations give short 'back-announces', or none at all?"

Me: "We're not commercial stations...we're SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFERENT...the 
audience expects more from us."


Indeed.


>From the   AllAboutJazz.com   website:



Jazz Radio--Blindfold Tests, Hostage-Holding, And Station Breaks 
By  
I've had some interesting feedback to the short piece below that was in JAZZ 
NOTES (publication of the
Jazz Journalists Association) earlier this month. I'd welcome your reactions 
and those of jazz broacasters,
if you'll send it on. For info about JJA, visit the website at 
www.jazzhouse.org. 
An Open Letter to Jazz Broadcasters 
Dear friends of jazz, 
Several decades ago, innumerable pop and easy listening stations decided it 
was fashionable to play
several tracks in a row without announcing the names of the songs and artists 
until the end of the set. The
boast was “We play more uninterrupted music.” That's okay for Top 40 tunes 
or music to chew gum by in
an elevator or a supermarket. But unfortunately, it has become standard 
practice on many jazz radio
programs. 
The effect is not a trivial matter. Jazz fans are deprived of basic 
information. The name recognition of jazz
musicians is diminished. The viability of record companies is threatened. 
This is especially true in the
case of lesser known artists and small labels. 
It's safe to say that many listeners, possibly most, hear jazz radio while 
driving or involved in activities at
home that will often cause them to miss short announcements between long 
sets--and the jazz sets I've
timed run from 12 to 25 minutes, sometimes longer. Surely, listeners often 
like a track that's played at the
beginning or middle of a set and are ripe to buy the CD. But if they need to 
answer the phone, take a leak,
keep an appointment, leave their house or car, etc., they miss the title of 
the selection, the name of the
leader or group and sidemen/women, the label, and other follow-through 
information. 



It's a big world of music and artists out there, so only the most ardent 
fans, critics, and musicians can
regularly identify who they're hearing without the benefit of timely 
announcements. Jazz radio should not
be a Blindfold Test. How much time and effort does it take, really, to make 
announcements after--or even
before and after--each track? “What listeners and musicians alike need and 
deserve... is the common courtesy of
simple identification.” 
With multi-track sets, listeners go away dumber and musicians wind up poorer. 
Let's face it, most jazz
musicians need all the exposure they can get. It's not excessive to honor 
them by announcing who is on a
track rather than stringing tracks together. With advance info, listeners 
could mull appropriately, e.g., “I've
never heard that vocalist. I wonder how she'll handle Lush Life.” The 
post-track announcements would
catch those who tuned in after the start of the track and would let everyone 
hear what they need to know to
buy the CD. “I didn't know that Columbia re-released that great session. I 
wore out my old LP of it in the
70s.” 
I'm not suggesting that audiences always want protracted analysis or 
biographical and historical
information, although that certainly has a place in jazz radio. What 
listeners and musicians alike need and
deserve, though, is the common courtesy of simple identification. Holding the 
most basic information
hostage for another fifteen or so minutes isn't hip, and it certainly isn't 
helpful if Joe Listener needs to go
about other business before then. 
So here are the questions for jazz broadcasters: Are there any good reasons 
for failing to tell us what we're
hearing before and after each selection? Is the multi-track set mainly a 
convenience for deejays and
engineers? Whatever the reasons for tardy identification, do they outweigh 
the informational benefits to the
listener and the potential economic benefits to musicians that would result 
from simple disclosure? 
Picture a common-sense world of jazz radio. In that world, the accumulated 
effect of better information
delivered by hundreds of jazz broadcasters would certainly increase the pool 
of jazz fans' knowledge of the
names of individual musicians, groups, and record labels. You love the music. 
As a broadcaster, what do
you have to do that's better than ensuring that we know what we're listening 
to? 
I can't conclude without saluting the jazz broadcasters who do give concise 
information, track-by-track.
Yes, kudos and bouquets and oodles of free promotional CDs to you. But I 
believe that you're in the
minority. As one who has traveled widely and heard jazz radio throughout the 
country, I'm frustrated by
the prevailing practice, apparently unexamined, of treating songs and artists 
like station breaks. 

Charles Suhor, author of Jazz in New Orleans: The Postwar Years (Scarecrow 
Press, 2001), is a former
writer for Down Beat and others. He has taught jazz history at Auburn 
University, Montgomery, where he is
a freelance percussionist and writer. 





This most clearly extends to OKOM.....vintage historical works that BEG for 
explanation & illumination....but it also applies to contemporary jaz, 
too...these few radio stations need to build their product up, not treat it like 
something they re almost ashamed of.

Regards & Salutations,

Nick Dragos, currently ex-jazz-d.j., Sacramento, California
NickDragos at cs.com