This is a copy of an E mail that I sent to Ben Ratliff, jazz critic for The New York Times It's in response to a question concerning the market for jazz.
Ben,
I am a veteran jazz guitarist, born in Chicago but based in suburban Philadelphia.
I appreciate how you handle sensitive topics related to the Art of Jazz.
Being in this business for a long time as a musician, educator, author and lecturer, I have a somewhat different take on the subject of jazz musicians and audiences. Though it's easy to blame the media and they deserve some of the blame, I think the biggest problem lies squarely on the shoulders of jazz musicians and the jazz community.
This community has never promoted or marketed their art and craft at the level or with the same intensity as other musical idioms. This is not to comment one way or another on the musical significance of jazz versus rock - country vs pop etc.
As an example, country music has an enormously popular and important tradition called Fan Day. This is basically a big convention for the fans to meet, up close and personal, their country music idols. Autographs are given, merchandise is sold, pictures are taken. I have never seen a country artist resist this tradition or complain about it. They recognize that without the fans, they would have no career.
Country music plays to the fans and seems to show a genuine interest in them. I understand the differences between country and jazz but jazz still must be marketed with consistency and enthusiasm. The musicians have to do their part in promoting and marketing their art and craft. I am talking about traditional forms of jazz not "smooth jazz".
Jazz shares many of the same issues with classical music. There is too often a distance and certain type of elitism that prevents audiences from getting "close".
I hold out great hope for the future because of the "new" music business - the "cyber marketing" and all the tools that are available to jazz musicians across the world.
Chuck Anderson
"Audience Friendly, Progressive Jazz Guitar"
www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com
If interested, I'd love to send you copies of two of my CDs as well as one of my books. It deals with the subject of development within the music business, the individual and within the artistic community. The book is titled "Music Pursuing the Horizon"
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Chuck Anderson
www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com
chuckandersonguitar.blogspot.com
Monday, January 12, 2009
Picking
The issue of picking has been debated for years with opinions on all sides. Picking gets down to pairs: 2 downs, 2 ups, 1 down and 1 up and 1 up and 1 down.
Alternate picking is typically used for 2 notes on 1 string. Consecutive picking is used to transition from string to string when the direction of the phrase permits it.
The term "sweep" implies an effect as much as it implies a technique. Regardless of how the picking motion occurs (which is a different subject), you can't avoid the concept of the picking pairs.
If you think of phrasing, consecutive picking gives you a legato, flowing effect, no matter what the speed. On the other hand, alternate picking gives you a more articulate sound.
Ultimately, virtually all jazz guitar players use a combination of alternate and consecutive picking.
Alternate picking is typically used for 2 notes on 1 string. Consecutive picking is used to transition from string to string when the direction of the phrase permits it.
The term "sweep" implies an effect as much as it implies a technique. Regardless of how the picking motion occurs (which is a different subject), you can't avoid the concept of the picking pairs.
If you think of phrasing, consecutive picking gives you a legato, flowing effect, no matter what the speed. On the other hand, alternate picking gives you a more articulate sound.
Ultimately, virtually all jazz guitar players use a combination of alternate and consecutive picking.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Does Jazz Blues Exist?
This question was posed on The Jazz Network. This was my response.
Blues can be typically described as a 12 bar song structure based on the I, IV and V chords. These fundamental chords appear at specific locations within the 12 bar format. The function of the I chord occupies bars 1 through 4. Bars 5 and 6 introduce the IV chord. The I chord is again brought back to cover bars 7 and 8. The V chord makes its first appearance in bars 9 and 10. Bars 11 and 12 reintroduce the I chord and function as a turnback or turnaround.
Jazz Blues follows this same format but introduces substitutions and links between the critical chord functions. This discussion is based on the harmonic structures within Blues not the melodic or rhythmic aspects of it.
As Wes Montgomery said - "Blues is responsible for the fire in jazz" I couldn't agree more!!!
Examples of this style of jazz blues can be found in my "Blues for Chris" from The Vintage Tracks CD and "Aqua Blue" from the Angel Blue - A Tour of Jazz CD.
www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com
Blues can be typically described as a 12 bar song structure based on the I, IV and V chords. These fundamental chords appear at specific locations within the 12 bar format. The function of the I chord occupies bars 1 through 4. Bars 5 and 6 introduce the IV chord. The I chord is again brought back to cover bars 7 and 8. The V chord makes its first appearance in bars 9 and 10. Bars 11 and 12 reintroduce the I chord and function as a turnback or turnaround.
Jazz Blues follows this same format but introduces substitutions and links between the critical chord functions. This discussion is based on the harmonic structures within Blues not the melodic or rhythmic aspects of it.
As Wes Montgomery said - "Blues is responsible for the fire in jazz" I couldn't agree more!!!
Examples of this style of jazz blues can be found in my "Blues for Chris" from The Vintage Tracks CD and "Aqua Blue" from the Angel Blue - A Tour of Jazz CD.
www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Develop Your Own Uniqueness
The guitar world has always been obsessed with who is faster or better. The reality is that all good players are fast and knowledgeable about chords, improvisation and harmony.
What makes one different than another is not the external factors of technique but the unique projection of personality that comes through the music. Just as you meet one person that you like and another person that you don't like, the audience is only affected by their own individual response to a player.
Does the player move them or not? After all, the audience is not in a position to judge a player on the basis of his or her technique or knowledge. The audience can only react. This is ultimately a good thing.
Bill Evans said something that I always admired . He said you must please yourself. Play what pleases you. You can't chase players or styles or trends. In essence, he was saying find your own voice.
From a marketing point of view, you have to find an audience that likes your style, your sound, your personality.
If you become your own unique self, you'll never be disappointed with the results!
What makes one different than another is not the external factors of technique but the unique projection of personality that comes through the music. Just as you meet one person that you like and another person that you don't like, the audience is only affected by their own individual response to a player.
Does the player move them or not? After all, the audience is not in a position to judge a player on the basis of his or her technique or knowledge. The audience can only react. This is ultimately a good thing.
Bill Evans said something that I always admired . He said you must please yourself. Play what pleases you. You can't chase players or styles or trends. In essence, he was saying find your own voice.
From a marketing point of view, you have to find an audience that likes your style, your sound, your personality.
If you become your own unique self, you'll never be disappointed with the results!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Just Jazz Guitar
I'm currently writing a series of articles for the national magazine Just Jazz Guitar. The articles take a detailed look at the process of reading music for the jazz guitarist. The first installment appears in the November issue of 2008.
Just Jazz Guitar, as the name implies, focuses on the art and craft of the jazz guitar.It's refreshing to see a guitar magazine that isn't loaded with Rock guitar gear and misleading columns.
I would highly recommend anyone interested in the jazz guitar to subscribe to this fine magazine.
Contact Ed Benson at www.JustJazzGuitar.com and tell him that I sent you.
----
Just Jazz Guitar, as the name implies, focuses on the art and craft of the jazz guitar.It's refreshing to see a guitar magazine that isn't loaded with Rock guitar gear and misleading columns.
I would highly recommend anyone interested in the jazz guitar to subscribe to this fine magazine.
Contact Ed Benson at www.JustJazzGuitar.com and tell him that I sent you.
----
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Marketing and Music
No matter what your involvement is in music, marketing needs to be a way of life. This is true more for the musician seeking to make a living in music but it generally applies to anyone with goals other than pure aesthetics.
What is marketing? Marketing is the entire range of activities that involve increasing your exposure in the market that you have chosen. It includes but is not limited to advertising, promotion, public relations, product creation, merchandising, endorsements, establishing contacts etc.
A typical musician runs hot and cold in this regard. He or she gets enthused about marketing and works very hard ... for a couple of weeks. Then, nothing for months.
What you need to do is to set aside time every day for something ... anything ... that would promote you and your work. It's a good idea to follow some simple advice from the exercise world and the diet world. Do what you can maintain. In other words, it's a lifestyle more than an emergency event.
The more you do, the more you will develop an attitude, a momentum. Soon, the process will be natural. It becomes something that you don't even have to think about, to do.
When this happens and continues to happen, you're on your way!
What is marketing? Marketing is the entire range of activities that involve increasing your exposure in the market that you have chosen. It includes but is not limited to advertising, promotion, public relations, product creation, merchandising, endorsements, establishing contacts etc.
A typical musician runs hot and cold in this regard. He or she gets enthused about marketing and works very hard ... for a couple of weeks. Then, nothing for months.
What you need to do is to set aside time every day for something ... anything ... that would promote you and your work. It's a good idea to follow some simple advice from the exercise world and the diet world. Do what you can maintain. In other words, it's a lifestyle more than an emergency event.
The more you do, the more you will develop an attitude, a momentum. Soon, the process will be natural. It becomes something that you don't even have to think about, to do.
When this happens and continues to happen, you're on your way!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Practice and Performance
Practice is necessary to develop the skills required to pursue music successfully. But practice can also be a crutch - a delay tactic. Just as many people continue their college educations to avoid the necessity of getting a job - of facing the real world. It can be the same in music. You're "never" ready. The fact of the matter is : you're always ready. When you can struggle through one song, you're ready!
As in most things in life, it's important that you strike a balance between practicing and performing. By performing, I don't mean a huge concert venue. It might be a performance for friends or relatives. It could be at a coffee house or an open mike night. Anything that puts you in the position of having to play songs - original or not in front of people is valuable.
Songs are not exercises. They are vehicles of self expression through music. This often strikes fear into the hearts of new performers. This is an understandable reaction. Remember that fear can be redefined as excitement. They have the same physiological symptoms - shaking hands, a feeling in your stomach, the tendency to run. But if you enter the arena of performance, these feelings will ultimately turn to motivation.
So, practice and perform. Make it a lifelong habit!
As in most things in life, it's important that you strike a balance between practicing and performing. By performing, I don't mean a huge concert venue. It might be a performance for friends or relatives. It could be at a coffee house or an open mike night. Anything that puts you in the position of having to play songs - original or not in front of people is valuable.
Songs are not exercises. They are vehicles of self expression through music. This often strikes fear into the hearts of new performers. This is an understandable reaction. Remember that fear can be redefined as excitement. They have the same physiological symptoms - shaking hands, a feeling in your stomach, the tendency to run. But if you enter the arena of performance, these feelings will ultimately turn to motivation.
So, practice and perform. Make it a lifelong habit!
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