[Dixielandjazz] Why We Play Jazz Music

[LARRY'S Signs and Large Format Printing]

Tell that to Leonardo Da Vinci.  I think he sold his art.  Duh! people pay
for art.  No one compromises anything by selling their art.  Zillions are
made every day by the record companies and the artists who make them.

You have to make choices.  If you are going to be a hobby musician then do
it, have a good time and don't regret it.  However if you are an in demand
musician then if you do low cost or freebee stuff then it has to have a
commercial reason.  Example: I rehearse with a community band that plays for
nursing homes and other real low budget community stuff.  Why do I do it?
First I make and musical contacts with other musicians that sometimes comes
in handy.  Second I make sales calls to the directors of those events while
I am there and thirdly It is a practice night to keep up the chops.
Everyone of those three things is strictly commercial.  I book quite a few
gigs annually that way.  If you don't do it this way you will find yourself
working a lot and not making anything.

I use this same philosophy in my commercial art business.  I do a few things
free or at lower cost for charities but always charge full boat to everyone
else.  I find that the freebee stuff pays off for me.  A month ago I did a
free banner and some signs for a former student who has Kidney disease.  The
Ad agency that was handling the whole thing  liked my work and brought me a
job for a Church banner which I discounted 20%.  Today they brought me
another banner at full price that I will make $175 from and they have 2 more
signs that they need this week  It's like playing pool.  You have to line up
your shots and plan where the ball is going to line up for your next shot.
It works the same with music.

I regard the fact that people pay me to do what I do as being a complement.

There are several hobby bands in town that are for the most part OK.  The
only issue is that they sell themselves too cheap and muck up the waters for
those band leaders who are trying to make a buck.  In this case the hobby
bands are selling a less desirable product but that $1000 difference  makes
a lot of difference to the bean counters so who gets the gig.  I tend to
withhold my services from them unless I have a pretty good reason like the
ones I listed above.  Remember plumbers and brick layers don't give away
their services so why should you?

I love to play and I love my art.  If people didn't pay me I would probably
go fishing or watch TV rather than put on a tux and spend the next 6 hours
traveling to and from and playing 3 or 4 hours.  The result would be
eventually an inferior product because I wouldn't be able to maintain my
skills although my wife would be happier about the free time.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elazar Brandt" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 4:05 PM
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Why We Play Jazz Music


> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Steve barbone [mailto:barbonestreet at earthlink.net]
> >
> > "Elazar Brandt" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il> wrote:
> >
> > > One last point. From what I've seen in my short life, making art into
a
> > > commercial enterprise kills it.
> >
> > Perhaps too sweeping a statement?<
>
> I'm just a young fellow, Steve. Turned 53 last month. I'm good at sweeping
> statements. I figure it will take me another 20 or 30 years, if I should
live
> that long, to learn enough of the details of jazz history to argue the
fine
> points. I never met or played with any of the jazz greats, well, unless
you
> count playing along with their records. At least I've been around long
enough to
> know what records are! I've been investing most of my energy into learning
the
> songs and styles, and only slowly am I learning about the lives of the
great
> ones.
>
> I didn't really mean to over-generalize the issue. After all, I also am
trying
> to make a living at this, so there has to be a business/commercial side to
it. I
> am more into audience pleasing than pushing the envelope of musical
ability or
> creativity. I am not highly trained or highly experienced. Just an average
> blower who loves to play and has found some people who love to listen or
play
> along. I try to echo the greatness of my favorite players, using what
training
> and skills I have. I try to get my students to do the same. And we make a
> pleasant, happy, danceable sound.
>
> I am happy at this stage to be able to say that I make about half my
living at
> music related activities, including performing, teaching (private
students) and
> buying and selling used and inexpensive instruments to try to help people
of all
> ages get started. I have hopes that my musical successes will grow and
provide
> me with more work, enough to live on.
>
> As for my statement about making art or music commercial, I suppose what I
> should have said was, when the motivation becomes making money more than
making
> music or art, that tends to squelch the creative side of the enterprise,
because
> the financial considerations will override the artistic ones.
>
> Applied to my own local situation, the practical application of this
argument
> goes something like this. I live in Israel. There is a huge market for all
kinds
> of Jewish music. Any band who wants to work parties and events in a Jewish
> country has to play some selection of Jewish music. And so does my band.
But we
> are not a Klezmer or Israeli folk dance band. There must be 1000 bands in
Israel
> who can do that music better than we do. We do jazz, and that's what
people hire
> us for. But to get hired to play jazz at a Jewish wedding or bar mitzvah,
you
> have to also play the processional and recessional, a half hour or so of
circle
> dancing music, and various other local traditional favorites. Otherwise
you
> won't get the job. So, to please our audience, we learn and do a selection
of
> Jewish standards. But if we were market driven rather than art driven, we
would
> become a klezmer or Jewish rock or dance band. There is no market for trad
jazz
> here. We're creating one. If someone wants to hire us for a Jewish music
gig, I
> refer them to other groups. It isn't what we do best, and they won't be
> satisfied, and we won't enjoy the gig, even if we get paid for it.
>
> That's what I meant.
>
> I know Louis is often lambasted for being a crowd-pleaser. I never heard
him
> play live, but what I see from recordings and films was a man who loved
and
> respected his audiences, and they loved him, and that provided a lot of
the
> energy that fueled his performances. Maybe he could have been more
innovative,
> but that might have cost him some of his audiences' interest or
enthusiasm. I
> suppose that's a decision that every player has to make. On the other
hand, I
> doubt whether Louis would have gone into rap just because that paid more
than
> jazz. Most of us have limits how far we will go to please the crowds.
Seems to
> me it's a balancing act, more than a case of right or wrong.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Elazar
>
>
>
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