[Dixielandjazz] Jazz as Communication and Jazz Audience

[Ministry of Jazz]

I'm with you, Steve. For Doctor Jazz, playing for an audience makes all the
difference. We rehearse to work out technical matters and difficulties, but
the playing is flat and lackluster, and we run out of gas rather quickly.
But playing to a crowd, even on the street for tips, brings us to life. The
energy and, I believe, the "feedback" (smiles, applause, toe tapping,
dancing...) of a live performance brings our music to life. If we have an
enthusiastic crowd, paying or not, sometimes we don't want to stop playing.

When we first started, we had a player who accused me of being crude and
greedy for playing for tips on the street. He said we'd never be anything
more than a garage band. He tried to hijack the band, claiming I was
destroying all of his hard work that he put in to build the band. He was put
off by his impression that we couldn't wait to count the money after we
played. What I find, however, after doing this for ten years, is that the
amount of money given as tips is a direct measure of how well we reached the
audience. On a good day we can make 2 to 3 times as much as we collect from
a less enthusiastic crowd when we are off (and it's still not enough to live
on). We can feel the difference. I can sometimes estimate accurately the
amount of money in the hat without looking, just from the feeling I get
about the quality of the performance -- not just the quality of our playing,
but also of the audience's response to it. That is one of the ways they tell
us that we reached them.

I always bring my students out to play with me on the street as their
baptism of fire when I think they're ready to perform. They get nervous,
sure. So I tell them not to worry. If they screw up, it's my name the crowd
will remember, and not theirs. If I bring out too many players who give poor
performances, it can damage my reputation and affect the amount and quality
of jobs I get hired for. So it's my responsibility to know when someone is
truly ready to get out there and perform.

For shows where people buy tickets in advance, the measure is more one of
your reputation -- how well you have reached previous audiences. An unknown
band can't charge more than a nominal amount for tickets or cover charges.
You can try, but people won't pay it. But if you have a track record of
reaching audiences, then even people who haven't heard you will pay for the
privilege. Maybe shows should be charged based on the old joke -- let the
people in for free, then charge when they leave. Actually we have one venue
here in Jerusalem that gives tickets out in advance for free, then has a
huge fishbowl in the foyer after the show for people to tip the performers.
I don't know amounts, but I could be quite happy having the amounts I've
seen in the bowl after the shows I've been to if they were for my band.

Lest anyone accuse me, like my former band member, of being too commercial
and money-hungry, let me say that, of course there is an objective measure
and standard of the quality of music. That's why there are recordings. If
you only want to hear the best, then go cuddle up with your CD player and
you can listen to anyone you want to, past or present, regardless of your
location. But for my money (oops, there I go again with that dirty word),
I'll take a live performance any time. I can't always afford to hear the
great players live anyhow, though I'm saving my shekels to hear you and Tom
and your partners in Eilat next week.

I must say, my experience with hearing the big names live has not been the
most satisfying. Once in New Orleans I paid dearly to attend the Dukes of
Dixieland show at the Top of the Mart. I was disappointed. I left feeling
like I had just listened to a recording of them, which would have been much
cheaper. There were bands in little clubs on Bourbon Street, or even on the
street itself, that I enjoyed more. Were they better than the Dukes? I doubt
it. But something about their lack of presence and failure to connect with
the audience left me flat.

My two shekels' worth,

Elazar
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Barbone [mailto:barbonestreet at earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 4:33 AM
To: DJML
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz as Communication and Jazz Audience

As for our band, the music is best when there is an audience, however small.
In fact, better in a small jazz club than in a large concert hall.