Features
Giant Steps: The Jazz Roundtable
To get a sense of where jazz is today, Pollstar sat down with individuals from different sides of the jazz table in separate interviews to get their take on what’s inspiring and what’s giving them the blues.
– Mary Halvorson
Mary Halvorson: Guitarist, currently working with Code Girl and in a trio with Michael Formanek and Tim Berne.
Pollstar: What’s happening now that is challenging within the music?
How about the flipside, the negative?
I don’t book that many tours in the States because, in general, there’s less funding for this kind of music in the States than there is in Europe. It’s just more feasible.
In the pop world, tours for contemporary artists start off around the release of a new album. How does that model work in jazz?
It’s sort of a logistical decision.
With Code Girl, not everyone is based in the same city so it was an intense week of rehearsing and then recording. If everyone lived in New York we could spread it out through the year with different gigs. I do like to do gigs first. In an ideal world, I prefer to be as familiar with the music as possible, whether that means doing a couple gigs or a whole tour so you’re as familiar as you can be with each other and the music.
What are your major events on the calendar for 2019?
I’m writing a new book of music for Code Girl and hopefully we’re going to be doing a bit of performing and then record at the end of the year.
A key element of Winter Jazzfest is its support of social and racial justice, and gender equality. What’s driving that and how is it manifesting in jazz?
There’s been a real shift where so many festivals and venues have had series [devoted to women]. Some of them have a lot of women performing already and the ones that were not are saying,”Wow, let’s fix this.” I’m seeing a lot more women bandleaders and women musicians at festivals.
– Brice Rosenbloom
Brice Rosenbloom: Artistic advisor of LPR Presents; founder of Boom Collective; founder of New York City’s Winter Jazz Fest and promotes shows throughout NYC.
Pollstar: Lets start with the positive. What’s happening now that shows promise within the music and who are the artists doing it?
Rosenbloom: Most recently [artist-wise], Shabaka Hutchings. Nubya Garcia is an artist who is receiving increased attention. We’re seeing excitement around the Ezra Collective.
In the pop world, tours for contemporary artists start off around the release of a new album. How does that model work in jazz?
It’s less important than it used to be, but there still is attention and added value to having new music and support from the label. It is a nice hook.
Then there’s everybody’s favorite subject: Money. How hard is it to survive
as a touring musician in this business today?
We have the luxury of being able to select the right venue and figure out what fee will make sense economically. Very often, whether it’s the artist, agent or manager, they shoot for a fee or a venue that may be a little large.
A key element of Winter Jazzfest is its support of social and racial justice, and gender equality. What’s driving that and how is it manifesting in jazz?
We support Women in Jazz, an organization promoting the idea of women as equal purveyors, and Key Change, which came out of PRS in the U.K. They reached out to festivals asking that by 2020 there would be gender equality in programming with female representation in at least half the groups performing. Over 150 festivals or organizations have signed on to the pledge but Winter Jazzfest is one of only a handful of U.S. fests that have signed up. We can do the work selecting artists based on bandleaders, but it’s really going to take male leaders to determine if they’re going to open up their lineups.
– Anna Sala
Anna M. Sala: director of AB Artists; manages Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane and Nicholas Payton, among others.
Pollstar: Lets start with the positive. What’s happening now that shows promise within the music and who are the artists doing it?
Sala: I was just in Havana and saw a 15-piece band and I thought none of these kids are 20 yet. It reminded me of when I first came to New York with the music scene and the art scene and the hang scene. The venues are killing it and they’ve upped their game production-wise.
How about the flipside, the negative?
Right now everyone comes out of the womb and all of a sudden they’re a bandleader. I ask myself about that all the time: Where is the mentorship? It’s hard for the mid-career artists between 40 and 60 years old, they’re amazing but they’re getting [overshadowed] by our fascination with young people. Overall there’s a lot of lethargy in jazz. Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra will always do well, certain pockets will always do well, and the rest of us tend to be left on oxygen tanks.
Since Winter Jazz Fest
focuses heavily on new
artists, new projects and
new bands, how tough is
it to break through as a new artist?
It’s hard for us to even think about talking to a new act no matter how great they are because it will take three years before we even see a nickel. Basically, [you need] a supportive label, a manager in for the long haul, and a niche that needed to be filled. [Look at] Gregory Porter. The guy is hugely talented, he had [the label] Motema and supportive management and he filled a niche – what other male vocalists did we have? Then Blue Note comes along. In the Kamasi case, there is a desire to have a spiritual connection with music and here comes this person who embodies that, pulls from the tradition of Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane, and he’s a cool guy who wears funky clothes. It’s like lighting the fuse.
In the pop world, tours for contemporary artists start off around the release of a new album. How does that model work in jazz?
Artists who have their own labels can recoup a lot faster when we have physical product to sell at shows. But I used to ship out 40 pieces to a concert and now I send out maybe 25 for the merch table.
Then there’s everybody’s favorite subject: Money. How hard is it to survive
as a touring musician in this business today?
Price point is a big deal. I’ve seen some kind of relative driving down of fees so what was a $10,000 concert gig is now $7,500. The expectations are high for some of the cats who have been out there for some time so if seven, eight years go by and they’re still at the same number, they’re backtracking. We’ll get told, “We paid him that in 2005 and we’d like to pay the same.” How does that make any sense?
What are your major events on the calendar for 2019?
I have Nicholas Payton doing his Black American Symphony for the first time in the U.S. in Colorado in October. Ravi is supposed to turn in a record. I have requests for Pharoah in 2020 but he says, “I don’t even know where I’m gonna be. I’m 78 years old. I can’t think that far away.”
During a Jazz Congress
panel, Christian McBride took issue with a young player not knowing any Duke Ellington songs.
As education/mentorship shifts to universities and away from the bandstand, what’s the effect?
Benny Green, after he had been in Ann Arbor for three years, said there’s a disconnect. Their reference point is Robert Glasper and when they’re told to go back, they have no idea what came before. It’s good they’re in touch with their contemporaries but you need a strong knowledge to make it.
– Denny Stilwell
Denny Stilwell: president of Mack Avenue Records. The label boasts a roster that includes Cecile McLorin Salvant and Christian McBride.
Pollstar: Lets start with the positive. What’s happening now that shows promise within the music and who are the artists doing it?
[In 2018] we released some projects that really stretched what we have done as a jazz label – Tower Of Power, Macy Gray and a Jeffrey Osborne record. In 2019, we have a fantastic record from the Soul Rebels. Those projects are tethered to jazz in one way or another, but we’re starting to push the boundaries of what we’ve been known for.
Since Winter Jazz Fest
focuses heavily on new
artists, new projects and
new bands, how tough is
it to break through as a new artist?
We’re getting pitched so regularly that frankly it’s been challenging for our A&R team to keep up. Certainly there’s got to be a high level of proficiency in performing and how they approach their craft. That’s the first thing we look for. We also want to see that there’s potential for some longevity beyond the first record. And we do look at infrastructure – a manager and an agent. It’s not a prerequisite but it’s great when an artist has the required business elements.
In the pop world, tours for contemporary artists start off around the release of a new album. How does that model work in jazz?
A lot of the marketing that we do is geared around tour dates, so when we’re planning an album launch, one of the first questions we ask is, “Are there any significant performances we can work this around?”
What are your major events on the calendar for 2019?
We’re starting off the year with Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedro Martinez, who have a nice tour coming up. A Julian Lage record, Joey DeFrancesco, Cyrille Aimée, the Soul Rebels in April. There’s a new record by Veronica Swift who did the Christmas tour with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; a new one from Cameron Graves of the West Coast Get Down and a Christian McBride Big Band later this year.
– Todd Walker
Todd Walker: agent at Paradigm Talent Agency; books Jose James, Julian Lage and Christian McBride.
Lets start with the positive. What’s happening now that shows promise within the music and who are the artists doing it?
A lot of progressive things that are starting to bubble up – Blaque Dynamite, Blick Bassy, James Poyser – and all sorts of stuff is coming out from overseas like Gogo Penguin. People like Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper and Esperanza Spalding have a lot to do with creating the narrative outside of the traditionalists.
How about the flipside, the negative?
It’s more challenging for jazz artists graduating from [college] to really find a career. And a traditionalist kind of mentality is becoming more and more challenging.
Since Winter Jazz Fest
focuses heavily on new
artists, new projects and
new bands, how tough is
it to break through as a new artist?
I haven’t signed a new jazz artist in a while. I get pitched a lot of stuff that I really love, but as a booking agent I ask, “Is this something that can translate and resonate outside the traditional parameters?” And “How will the team around them help foster that?”
In the pop world, tours for contemporary artists start off around the release of a new album. How does that model work in jazz?
I would say zero percent. There’s never really a traditional record cycle. Christian McBride’s New Jawn was touring for two years before the record came along. [The album] is a cherry-on-top kind of thing.
Then there’s everybody’s favorite subject: Money. How hard is it to survive
as a touring musician in this business today?
Fees have become more realistic.
Historically, you could charge a little bit of a premium when you played a performing arts center but they’re shifting as they need to be more cost-conscious. I work hard at not blowing out dates because of money or passing on dates just because of money. Always try to make it work if it’s the right look for the band.
What are your major events on the calendar for 2019?
Anoushka Shankar has a new tour in March and May and she’s working on a new record. It seems like everybody is stacked on holds. I’m talking broadstrokes for artists in 2021; I’m deep into Christian’s 2020. It’s just a matter of continuing to keep your head down and staying focused on getting some of these great artists out there.
During a Jazz Congress
panel, Christian McBride took issue with a young player not knowing any Duke Ellington songs.
As education/mentorship shifts to universities and away from the bandstand, what’s the effect?
A lot of these artists are nurturing this next generation of jazz listeners. Christian McBride has always navigated a lot of different waters – he spends a lot of time mentoring the next generation.