[Dixielandjazz] was New Age Stride paino in NYC/ now getting new audiences.

[Dixiejazzdata]

Hi Guys:

Yes, Toby Kasavan,  ( Fingers DelRey) is not a tried and true Stride or Rag Time player, Sorry I used those terms a bit too loosely, on this list, however I think in the piece he played it certainly had influences of those styles.  I was trying to say in so many words that this is something that younger piano players are doing as they try to find their own styles and make a name for themselves in the broader world of Jazz.   They are building a following and earning a decent living at it as well.

Toby actually plays a lot of Blues, and has a very good Blues band that is doing well on the Blues Festival circuits these days,  he performs in NYC  often at The Piano Works  as a solo act, and other spots with his Blues Band.   

There have been countless discussions and threads on this list over the years about OKOM and what is and is not OKOM,  I am trying to show the directions that are attracting younger audiences at festivals and events not specifically labeled as Dixieland or Trad Jazz events.  The survival of any festival or music event eventually is going to take the addition of other styles of Jazz in addition to Traditional  Jazz  to attract a n audience of paying customers.   It would also behoove the festival organizers to strive for Quality in their acts rather than Quantity.    In my observation over many years I find that Trad Jazz Societies tend to  be formed by local jazz fans of a certain style,   as a Ragtime Club, a Swing Club, a Dixieland Club,  or whatever style they like, with little regard to the expansion or growth of the CLUB so long as it is able to keep the status Quo of meeting and enjoying their style of music  at a small cost.    It is no longer possible for Good Band Leaders to organize and maintain a band and travel even locally with out making enough money to support the expenses of the band and pay the Quality Players a liveable wage according to at least the region of the country that they live in.    Hence the idea of Bring in in Special Bands form outside the region, to give the audience something New and Fresh to see and hear, of course this too will cost more to cover the travel costs of the Band etc.  But then you simply as an organization must pass that cost on to the members and guests in higher admission prices for those shows.    

Today's economics are going to put more and more of them out of business, unless they can expand their membership and participation levels which will also cost them additional money to actively get out and promote the organizations and their events to new people.   Just because you get a big turnout for one event does not mean you stop promoting, it is a never ending situation, because people are transient and will move in and out of the area and also often change their activities if they become bored with what is offered over and over again.   In the Olden days Guys Like Turk Murphy, Eddie Condon, Benny Goodman, and all the other "Stars" of OKOM  were being promoted  heavily and were doing live Radio Shows, and interviews in the newspapers, and magazines all across the country, Not to mention that it was the Rock and Roll music of it's time and the Dance rage.    They often got help in this from their record labels, most sold their recordings at engagements to supplement their income and Radio Stations often sponsored events.     I actually watched Turk Murphy's  loyal audience move out of San Francisco to Sacramento, Paradise, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno and other parts east  and his biggest mistake was not following them and opening another club  centrally located for them to come to. 

There is no shortage of musicians out there and we keep churning more young ones out year after year, unfortunately not all of them are marketable quality even if they do have the dream of being a Rock star some day.   Just look at the Current TV shows  American Idol and X Factor  and the Voice  and see how desperately so many are and naive enough to think they can actually enter a competition against real talented people and win.   Those people are being scoffed at politely by the producers as the Gong Show did back in our day.   The Singers on these shows engage the audiences and when they do it correctly magic happens for them and they move on in the competitions.    That's Entertainment,  and Entertainment Sells and attracts  good paying audiences to support the artists and musicians who deliver the goods.    

 Gone are the days that you can just bring a group of decent musicians and some charts into a room and get anybody to pay to listen to them, and playing in places that hang a shingle out saying simply Live band tonight shows it as an amateur place, that cares nothing about the band or musicians and does not respect them enough to even list their band name and or promote them as an attraction worth paying to come in and hear.   The bands that will play those kind of places and not insist upon some promotion even shared promotion between the venue and the band are not better and will most likely remain amateurs all their lives as well.   The Music Business is one of the hardest businesses in the world to earn a living in , and mostly because far too many musicians don;t take it seriously as a business and treat it like one.

Festivals and Societies need to step up to the plate and start promoting and hiring those bands that are the highest Quality and promote together for the growth and future success of their respective organizations.   If your club has all those volunteers, motivate them to get out and bring in new members and friends  even invite them to attend an event for Free once a month or or free admission to anybody who brings two or three new people who have a good time and may actually  then join the society.   

People like to join and have fun with like minded people that have a good time, and bands that make sure they have a good time will get them to come back more often while bands that just sit there and schlep out the notes become boring and actually often drive people away even if they are run by the board members of the organization.    Some societies are formed by fans of the music and others are often formed by mediocre bands that can't get hired by established societies so they in desperation form their own society and try to attract an audience.    Some of them schedule their  monthly events on the same dates and times as other regional societies and directly compete with each other for a dwindling audience hence making both of them resort to hiring cheaper more mediocre hobbyist bands that simply can't sustain a supporting audience in many cases large enough to even cover the costs of having them play.     

Most Societies are also non- profit groups, why then would you not choose a venue for your event that allows you to get your own alcoholic beverage permit and sell the beverages yourself as a source of additional revenue, same for food if applicable, the permits are easy to get and very cheap.    Bars and restaurants that sell alcohol are delighted to have you come pay them a Rental Fee + keep all the food and beverage money as well, so you are allowing everybody to make money off your work and event  except yourself.   That is not preserving Jazz nor is it furthering the cause of employment for musicians, it is supporting the alcoholic beverage business.  Does that venue advertise and promote your event  More often than Not  NO because they don't really care, and have no vested interest in the success of YOUR Event or organization, and will simply milk you as long as you are putting Free money into their coffers.  Certainly in every society you can find a member or recruit one to run the Bar, and another to run a food concession, and actually make a profit and split it with the society.

Just some rambling thoughts that might be useful to some, if not just ignore it.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins


 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Hanson <jazzdude39 at att.net>
To: Dixiejazzdata <dixiejazzdata at aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Sep 21, 2012 7:02 am
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] New Age Stride paino in NYC


This particular tune sounds like something Mose Allison might play/sing.

Dave Hanson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dixiejazzdata" <dixiejazzdata at aol.com>
To: "Dave Hanson" <jazzdude39 at att.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 12:08 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] New Age Stride paino in NYC


> Hey for all you interested int Stride and Rag Time piano,   here is a 
> video of a friend of mine who
> plays in New York City,  worth a  stop over to see and hear him if your in 
> the area.
> Toby Kasavan.
>
> He goes by "Fingers DelRey"
> OKOM is alive and well, ya just gotta go out and find it.
>
> Enjoy,
>
> Tom Wiggins
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWtDFLPVI9Y
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