[Dixielandjazz] RV: Check out my band playing Ellington's Awful Sad!

[Shaw, Tim]

?Go for the more arcane tunes, I think - there are too many (mostly boring) re-hashes of those that are well-known. From my experience, most CDs these days (last decade or so) are sold on the basis of audience appreciation of live performances. While they like to hear standard repertoire, the more obtuse stuff is often appreciated even more,


________________________________
From: jim at kashprod.com <jim at kashprod.com>
Sent: 03 February 2020 21:16
To: Shaw, Tim
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] RV: Check out my band playing Ellington's Awful Sad!

Madison T <maditayl at gmail.com>  wrote:
>We're about to start recording our first album. I've been sifting through more obscure selections of trad...

I have found, at least with our audiences, that people look at the list of songs on a CD, and when the recognize a few of them, they are more apt to purchase.  And, most are not avid Jazz fans.  We have included tunes by Ellington on our cds, such as Caravan, Mood Indigo,and The Mooche, but looking for "obscure tunes" seems to me to not be a commercial viable approach.  Perhaps one obscure number might be ok, but I wouldn't search directly for those songs.  And, "live" recordings are more popular than studio recordings.

Anyway, it's just my "commercial side" coming out, and needn't be to your choosing.

Jim