Maria Schneider - forget looking in your CD shop!

[A Lark Ascending]

This months Jazz Review draws attentions to the fact that getting Maria Schneider's CDs from now on will require a rather different approach.

Take a look at her site here for info:

http://www.mariaschneider.com

Strikes me as a creative way of solving the problem of putting out music to a non-mainstream audience.

Edited February 28, 2004 by Bev Stapleton

[A Lark Ascending]

Just received an e-mail announcing the new Maria Schneider is on its way, entitled "Concert in the Garden":

1 Concert in the Garden - Monder (guit) Kimbrough (pno) Versace (acc)

2 Choro Dançado -- Rich Perry (tenor) Frank Kimbrough (piano)

3 Pas de Deux -- Ingrid Jensen (fluegelhorn) Charles Pillow (soprano)

4 Dança Ilusória -- Frank Kimbrough (piano) Larry Farrell (trombone)

5 Bulería, Soleá y Rumba -- Donny McCaslin (tenor) Greg Gisbert(fluegelhorn)

personnel

TIM RIES alto/soprano/clarinet/flute/alto flute/bass flute

CHARLES PILLOW alto/soprano/clarinet/flute/alto flute/oboe/English horn

RICH PERRY tenor/flute

DONNY McCASLIN tenor/soprano/clarinet/flute

SCOTT ROBINSON baritone/flute/clarinet/bass clarinet/contrabass clarinet

TONY KADLECK trumpet/fluegelhorn

GREG GISBERT trumpet/fluegelhorn

LAURIE FRINK trumpet/fluegelhorn

INGRID JENSEN trumpet/fluegelhorn

KEITH O’QUINN trombone

ROCK CICCARONE trombone

LARRY FARRELL trombone

GEORGE FLYNN bass trombone/contrabass trombone

BEN MONDER guitar

FRANK KIMBROUGH piano

JAY ANDERSON bass

CLARENCE PENN drums

JEFF BALLARD cajon and quinto cajon on Bulería, Soleá y Rumba (right)

GONZALO GRAU cajon on Bulería, Soleá y Rumba (left)

GARY VERSACE accordion on Concert in the Garden

LUCIANA SOUZA voice on Concert in the Garden and Bulería, Soleá y Rumba

voice and pandeiro on Choro Dançado

PETE McGUINNESS trombone on Pas de Deux and Dança Ilusória

ANDY MIDDLETON tenor on Pas de Deux and Dança Ilusória

Details:

http://www.mariaschneider.com/album_detail...D=60&artistID=1

Edited July 5, 2004 by Bev Stapleton

[Clunky]

I got an email too saying it was on it's way to me, I didn't get track details and personnel listing - perhaps I havent paid enough. Her pricing strategy was more than a little complex.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

There was a big article in yesterday's New York Times as well. See below.

As soon as I heard that she was setting up with this new distribution method, I signed up. She is one artist that I will buy on faith. Everything she's done has been magnificent and if there's some way that I can support her continuing to do this work, I'm there.

I was disappointed to read in the NYT just how bad things were for her in terms of getting money from selling records. I'm quite interested to know how this new plan works out.

Now if only she could figure out how to send plain email without the code showing:

Dear Michael,

=0D=0A

I am so happy to announce that your new CD =27= Concert in the Garden=27 is on its way to your door=2E I truly hope you = will enjoy this project=2E It would not have been possible without the a= mazing musicianship of the band, the many people who helped with the reco= rding process, those who helped with the website, and you-the ones who ha= d enough faith in this project to take part in it =27in process=2E=27 We= all did this one together and I thank you from the bottom of my heart=2E=

Sincerely,

Maria Schneider

==============================

D.I.Y. Meets N.R.L. (No Record Label)

July 4, 2004

By FRED KAPLAN

IN the last decade, Maria Schneider, who regularly wins

prizes for best composer and best big-band arranger in

jazz, has made three albums on the Enja record label. Each

sold about 20,000 copies - very good numbers for jazz. She

didn't make a dime off any of them. On two of them, she

lost money.

So recently, she went off the grid. She became the first

musician to sign with a company called ArtistShare. Rather

than go through labels, distributors and retailers,

ArtistShare sells discs over the Web and turns over all the

proceeds (minus a small fee) to the artist.

Her new CD, "Concert in the Garden," went on sale last

Thursday exclusively through www.mariaschneider.com. If it

sells one-quarter as many copies as any of her previous

discs, she will do better than break even. If it sells half

as many, she will earn tens of thousands of dollars.

"Making an album takes lots of time and effort," Ms.

Schneider said in her apartment on the Upper West Side of

Manhattan. "It takes me two or three years to write the

music. Then there are the rehearsals, the studio time, the

mixing and mastering. It would be nice to get something

back for it. The thought that I could actually make a

profit off my records - that's unbelievable, really."

To make this new album, Ms. Schneider put up $87,000 of her

own money, which she had earned from commissions, music

clinics and guest conducting. Almost $40,000 went to pay

her musicians for four days' work in the studio. By the eve

of the disc's release, online orders had brought in

$33,700, strictly through word of mouth.

Record labels are still vital for many musicians. They get

the CD in the bins; they advertise it; they put up the

money to produce it in the first place.

But for those who already have a following and some

capital, the new way has appeal. "The guy who's doing this

is on to something," said Michael Cuscuna, a veteran

producer for the Blue Note jazz label. "For a lot of

artists, it makes sense to take control of their future."

That guy is Brian Camelio, a 38-year-old musician and

computer programmer, who started ArtistShare after he heard

stories from too many friends - one of them Ms. Schneider -

about frustrating experiences with record labels. His

roster is growing. Recently, he persuaded the jazz-guitar

giant Jim Hall to sign up and record a trio album. That CD

will be available on www.jimhallmusic.com in September. It

cost $18,600 to make. Pre-orders have already brought in

$11,042.

Going this route was a strange step for Mr. Hall, who is

73. "I'm still in the kerosene age, I don't know how to use

a typewriter," he said. "But I've known Brian for a few

years. He was so enthusiastic about this. So I thought I'd

give it a try."

Other friends-turned-clients include the jazz bassist Todd

Coolman, the pianist Danilo Perez, the keyboardist Rachel Z

and Trey Anastasio, the leader of the rock band Phish,

which recently announced that it would break up after its

summer tour.

Rock musicians have been recording live concerts and

selling them over the Internet, as CD's or MP3 downloads,

for years. But Mr. Camelio's twist is new in two ways.

First, he sees the Internet not as a supplement to labels

and record stores but as an alternative. Second, he's

marketing more than music.

On Ms. Schneider's Web site, fans can order her CD for

$16.95. For an additional $35 to $95, they also gain access

to printed scores, rehearsal sessions, interviews,

post-concert question-and-answer sessions and commentaries,

including a two-hour audio stream of Ms. Schneider

analyzing several of her arrangements.

On Mr. Hall's site, for $60, fans can watch him give a

guitar lesson.

"The key thing was when I realized that anyone could

download music for free," Mr. Camelio said. "I got to

thinking: what's the one thing you can't download, the one

thing that the artist can hold on to? The answer: the

creative process. That's the product I'm offering: the

creative process."

To a surprising degree, these special features are also

turning out to be the most lucrative part of the package.

As of last week, Ms. Schneider's online customers were

spending an average of $53, nearly three times the price of

the CD.

It may be that few people beyond her fans will even learn

about her new record. Ms. Schneider mentions her Web site

at her concerts, and she's hired a publicist for press and

radio promotion. Then again, she noted, "jazz is so

siphoned off from the rest of the culture, I'm not sure

people who aren't fans of mine find their way to my music

anyhow."

Ms. Schneider recorded her first big-band album,

"Evanescence," in 1993. It was swooningly romantic music,

stacked with lush harmonies yet propelled by a muscular

swing. She produced it at her own expense for $35,000; sold

it to Enja for $10,000; and never recouped her initial

investment.

Still, Enja made enough money off it that, two years later,

the label paid the full cost of producing her second album,

"Coming About." It also sold well, but not well enough to

earn her any money. In 2000, she split the cost of her

third album, "Allegresse," but again earned no return on

her share.

"I can't really complain about Enja," she said. "They put

my name on the map. But there are so many pieces of the pie

to slice up - for the record company, the distributor, the

record stores - that there's nothing left for the person

who did all the work: me."

"My point is not that the record companies are bad," she

added. "They have to make a living. They're risking their

money. They absorb the losses from artists who don't sell.

But I needed to find a business model where, at minimum, I

made my money back."

Ms. Schneider's situation was hardly unique. Most

instrumental jazz albums sell just a few thousand copies.

One that sells 10,000 is doing well. To sell 50,000 is

almost unheard of. Record labels typically offer musicians

a royalty of 10 percent to 12 percent of the retail price

for each album sold. But musicians are not paid any royalty

until after the label makes back the production costs.

Those costs include studio rental (in New York, about $200

an hour), equipment rental ($1,000 or more) and the

engineer's fee (up to $100 an hour). Many labels also

insist on making back the costs of packaging and pressing

the CD's ($4,000 to $20,000, depending on the quality of

the printing and graphics).

If the album includes original compositions, as Ms.

Schneider's do, some labels also demand the music's

publishing royalties. (Ms. Schneider gave Enja a 50 percent

share, though she has since acquired not only the full

rights but also the master tapes and is selling the older

albums on her Web site, too.) Under the traditional system,

then, it's no surprise that artists rarely see any

royalties.

Musicians with ArtistShare pay upfront for an album's

production costs. They also pay Mr. Camelio a fee to create

and maintain the Web site (about $5,000) as well as 15

percent of the gross proceeds. Other than that, they

receive all revenue.

"Who knows," Ms. Schneider said. "I may even get to the

point of making a living entirely off my recordings."

Fred Kaplan is a columnist for Slate and jazz critic for

The Absolute Sound.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/arts/mus...fffbbe6d192e0fd

====================

Mike

[A Lark Ascending]

Sorry,

I copied the track details direct from the website.

Nice to see another accordion!!!!

They're taking over the jazz world!

[A Lark Ascending]

Thanks for that article, Michael.

[wesbed]

I've never heard of Maria Schneider. I listened to the song sample on the site. You can find it under the maria schneider radio link (near the top-right of the page). I always welcome names of 'good' jazz people who I've not yet discovered. Especially when they present music of this quality.

[jazzbo]

Like Mike I signed up immediately as well because I can't be without a Maria Scheider release!

Cds have shipped; should be getting mine today or tomorrow!

[JSngry]

Have yet to warm to Maria's recordings, I'm afraid (literally!) to say.

Great writing, but the band always sounds a tad stiff for what I like.

My problem, most likely.

[A Lark Ascending]

Mine was on the doormat as I arrived home tonight. Looking forward to exploring it.

I can imagine Maria Schneider's music might sound a bit 'cool' to some ears. But she fits right in with some of the European orchestras - Westbrook, Gibbs, Towns, Wheeler (I know, he's Canadian). Not a lot of visible sweat or grease.

I tend to hear these bands as inheritors of the Gil Evans tradition up to the mid-60s. Gil went somewhere else afterwards which I enjoy but don't find so convincing.

I also love the harmonies of Schneider's music - seems to draw on Debussy/Ravel etc as much as the usual jazz suspects.

[JSngry]

I love the writing itself, and "cool" is not a problem. But her bands play the music with a pocket that sounds more "concert" than "jazz" to me, and that is a problem.

Gil's bands, even in the rock days, but ESPECIALLY in the mid-60s, had a real stoner kind of groove going on - spacy, ethereal, etc, but always with a rhythmic sway to them that was definitely "swing" albeit it's own unique variety. I don't get that from Maria's bands, and it's a pity, becasue she really is a great writer.

Maybe that's what she wants, obviously it is, so that's cool. It's just not what I want, and I demand that my needs be met no matter who it is! FEED ME!!!!

Let me hear this same band when it's older and/or more dissipated (preferably the latter first). THAT I'd plop down big bucks to hear!

Edited July 6, 2004 by JSngry

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Sure, lots of Evans, but there's also the Brookmeyer influence. A lot of serious development going on in the writing, no being locked into chorus structure, letting the piece evolve in its own way, etc.

For me, I got no problem with the way the band swings - and it does swing, to me, meaning that my body has a physical reaction, a movement, to it. The later Gil stuff had its own sloppy groove, which is OK, but this is quite different. The influence of non-traditional jazz things brings out a different style. There's a lot of dance (and not your typical jitterbug and lindy), and more Brazilian and Spanish influences. I think this *is* concert music - and I don't think that is any kind of put-down at all, not one bit. Schneider has drawn from the well of Thad/Mel and added so much. Every new record brings something new. I don't see her as settled in any way. It's still growing in so many directions.

Just found mine in the mail. More anon.

Mike

[A Lark Ascending]

I'm not a big fan of the traditional big band - with some honourable exceptions like Ellington, the earlier Basie band and a few more. Perhaps Schneider appeals to the more classical side of me. I've always been more drawn by harmony and melody than rhythm.

Which is clearly my problem (well problem is the wrong word, but you know what I mean.) Maybe at 80 our listening will meet, JS?

I don't know very much Brookmeyer, Michael, but can hear the comparisons in a marvellous 1999 CD of his I have called 'New Works'. I also think your observation about her enthusiasm for 'dance' in its wider sense is very true. Another way in which her music draws on areas outside of that used by the usual jazz arranger.

[jazzbo]

I'll bet Jim would like the one that came with the wine bottle. . .before or after drinking the wine! That one is a little looser and bootier than the others to me.

Hope mine is there tonight!

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Oh man - this is a great one. Track 2 so far - some wonderful reminders of the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra arrangements that Carla Bley did on Ballad Of The Fallen and Dream Keeper (I listened to a lot of those recently while working on my Ken McIntyre discography). The feel, the Spanish harmonies and some of the basic orchestration ideas are similar to Bley's writing, but there is a lot of difference in the concept of the bands (this one has sections - trombones, etc.) and the style of writing is more intricate and the performance is more polished.

Great builds and fades, as always. Clarence Penn does nice work.

Slightly bummed that Scott Robinson gets no features on this CD but....

To be continued.

Mike

Halfway through the last track - damn! No one has ever done some of things in here - certainly not in the jazz world. The execution is breathtaking - these players are tighter than anything and subtle, in tune, they are as one - as MS says of them in the notes: I'm astounded by you!

I've heard people talk about Schneider's music as "cold" - completely unfathomable as this draws so much emotion from me.

There are some similarities to areas that Pat Metheny has investigated. The "real instrument" aspect of the MS band is a bit more appealing - there's so much more challenge to getting parts tight and in tune when you're dealing with nearly 20 human beings. Man, are those trumpets in tune. Another thing to consider is that the personnel of the band has remained so consistent now - what - 12 years? later.

OK, an hour later - time to do it all again.

Mike

Edited July 6, 2004 by Michael Fitzgerald

[medjuck]

I'll bet Jim would like the one that came with the wine bottle. . .before or after drinking the wine! That one is a little looser and bootier than the others to me.

Hope mine is there tonight!

Actually "Days of Wine and Roses" came with 2 bottles of wine. I think I checked out half the supermarkets in California before I was able to find it. Good wine. Better cd.

[jazzbo]

I sit corrected! I bought a few copies off ebay of just the cd. . . luckily. . . didn't want the wine!

[A Lark Ascending]

Don't tempt me, Michael.

I've still got another hour of annual strategic plan writing to complete before I can reward myself with listening to this disc!

So why am I typing here. Get the job done...

[Free For All]

She just showed up in the mail. I'll be checking it out later today.

Looks good. I'll be interested to hear what eveyone thinks. I have heard some of the pieces already (Three Romances) when she guested at KU a few years ago.

Great music!

This one will definitely require "focused listening"!

[A Lark Ascending]

Grace!

That's the word that comes to mind on first hearing of this remarkable recording. A real sense of delicacy and poise. The dance references made by Michael and commented on in the liner notes are clear to hear across the album. Am I being fanciful in hearing a particularly feminine approach to writing on this record?

I don't know if it's the title - 'Concert in the Garden' - but the album reminded me of one of those large, complex gardens where you can move from one part to another and experience totally different colours, shades, sounds and smells. The music seems to do this within the space of a few bars. One minute you're in the glaring sunlight, then in a darker, minor-key shaded area. Debussy and De Falla came to mind on a number of occasions.

Oh, and if you want passion make straight for Donny McCaslin's stunning extended tenor solo on the final piece, a solo made all the more effective by the backdrop Schneider's orchestration provides, reaching a marvellous crescendo (I'm sure there's a waterfall there!!!).

This is an album I'm going to love sinking into. I'm off to the Moorish bits of Spain in a couple of weeks and this will definately be coming with me. Just the thing to listen to when taking a rest in the Alhambra.

Edited July 6, 2004 by Bev Stapleton

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I don't know that I believe in the 'feminine' sound, but I do believe in Schneider's personality, which I'm coming to learn after these 10 years of listening. In my view, she has a strong vision that is about searching, exploring, presenting new things. BTW, I met her once and found her very unassuming, friendly and down-to-earth.

Your point about quick shifts is true - and one thing I find so rewarding is that when I hear the start of a piece by MS I have absolutely no idea where it will end up. Which is quite different from the majority of jazz tracks. One could extract a five-minute snippet and it would be one thing, but placed back in context it becomes something else entirely.

Your mention of grace sent me back to the previous CD: Allegresse. The brief notes are quite instructive (and in my view, apply to more than just that specific CD) -

--

For this recording I wanted to create music that conveys beauty. I searched for softer hues and more intricate textures. The first piece to be written was the dance piece Dissolution. And so it followed that the rest of the pieces were also largely influenced by my love of dance and movement. Hang Gliding is entirely about movement, an impression of my experience of hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro: the suspension, grace, lift and acceleration accompanied by the rush of apprehension and exhilaration. If this music not only fills your ears, but also stirs your body, I will feel truly rewarded.

--

Yep. Works for me.

Mike

[Clunky]

Well this is my first exposure to Maria S. I've not heard a note until this CD but I was aware of her reputation. There is clearly lots to listen to here and first spin last night sounds very promising indeed. Might even manage to get my head around wordless vocals !!

[JSngry]

Hang Gliding is entirely about movement, an impression of my experience of hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro: the suspension, grace, lift and acceleration accompanied by the rush of apprehension and exhilaration.

That is a miraculous piece of writing. One of my favorites of hers.

[jazzbo]

This is an EXCELLENT cd. Timed it so that I could listen to it in its entirety while I sat and had coffee and read this morning before going off to work.

I think more than any other this one seems to be HER music, to have transcended Brookmeyer and Evans influences and become that fusion that is her own. And I view this as fusion music, fusion of jazz and European and South American music especially, it's a wonderfully cohesive blend that has her signature within it.

Beautiful stuff, well recorded, excellently executed. . . I particularly enjoyed the first and second of the three romances, they just transported me. . . . I'm so glad I ordered this and I'm going to look forward to many more listenings.

[A Lark Ascending]

I don't know that I believe in the 'feminine' sound

Yes, I put that a bit crudely. Kenny Wheeler's music has a similar grace though a very different accent!

I suppose I'm thinking in a generalistic way. I was listening to her much earlier 'Coming About' disc today and it was noticeable that on one track the music was more aggressive, funky, jazz-rocky. Her recent releases seem to have dispensed with that. She seems comfortable to write without resorting to crowd-pleasing up-beat moments. Most blokes would feel the need to show at some point that they really were lively lads!