Ted O'Reilly Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Over the last three-and-a-half years, I've been working with photographer/occasional singer Pat LaCroix on a book of portraits of Toronto jazz musicians. Not any sort of a jazz encyclopedia, just brief bios (which I've written, along with a preface) accompanying b&w shots of 100 of Toronto's best from over the years. It's a project that all involved have done pro bono and indeed have put money into... Every cent of the sales is going to two charities -- a jazz one, and a palliative care facility (Pat's wife succumbed to cancer during the project, and it was at her urging in the beginning that we undertook it). We found some real angels in the jazz community who kicked in for the paper and the printing, so the production costs (and boy, that's a lot of money per book when you go First Class all the way) were covered. Now, who does such a thing? 1. A dying artform, Jazz, some say. 2. A book? That dead-tree medium? A coffee table book at that? 3. A local topic too, just Toronto? For various reasons (including that neither Pat nor I know a damn bit about any form of Real Business) we decided it would be 500 copies, and that's that. We'd be lucky to sell them, for the 3 reasons above. But we wanted to do it, as a thank-you and payback to the jazz community that we've been part of for the past five decades. The beauty part of the story is that all 500 copies, at $60 each sold out in less than a month. That's right, all gone, and $30,000 is going to charity... We had to shut down the online ordering this morning, but the website's still up, showing some samples and a brief talk about the project by Pat and me. www.torontojazztreasures.com Toronto jazz fans: Thank You! from Pat LaCroix and Ted O'Reilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 Very nice! Do you think maybe you underestimated sales to people who just love their city? Or just love an attractive book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted July 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 You might be right, David. I'll admit to being a bit concerned about the state of jazz-as-I-knew-it and all that, so the book is a bit of a valedictory for me. Pat LaCroix and I did a CBC radio interview about the book which was broadcast across the province and within a half-hour 105 copies were sold on the website. I didn't anticipate THAT at all. Even though I spent four decades as a jazz broadcaster (retiring 15 years ago) I guess I underestimated radio's reach! To me, the music is everything, and Pat's assurances that there would be photo-fans went right over my head, and they surely made up a large part of the customers. It is a lovely-looking publication! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 It looks good of course, but I also think people like to know the stories of their city. After all, you can't show people photographs on the radio... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted July 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 2 hours ago, David Ayers said: "...you can't show people photographs on the radio..." True, that. And it's why I was surprised at the sales response. They were buying a visual product, unseen. As an aside, it sure hit home that the cost of distribution of Physical Media is very high...in our case, via couriers, not mail, a full one-fourth of the book's cost. And I know I've blanched at buying some CDs for 12 bucks and paying 8 bucks delivery plus customs charges... No wonder downloading is popular! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted July 25, 2017 Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 Ted - I would've loved a chance to have supported your work. I love supporting Jazz and cancer charities and I'm a sucker for Jazz photography. If you end up with any cancellations, I would love to buy a copy. Thanks, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, Ted O'Reilly said: True, that. And it's why I was surprised at the sales response. They were buying a visual product, unseen. With special-interest products this is often the case if the subject matter fits one's interests. I've acted in the same way when I sprung instantly for Bill Birch's self-published "Keeper of the Flame - Modern Jazz in Manchester 1946-1972" (from what I seem to remember he told me I was only the second German to have bought a copy of his book, and I hope he has met with as much success as you did). I have no particular affinity with Manchester but the subject matter of (1) early post-war "Eurojazz", (2) pictorial jazz history was right up my alley so there were no hesitations and no regrets. Books like this add (literally) to the overall historical picture and are bound to cover territory that remains uncharted elsewhere. For similar reasons I've bought books on the history of jazz (focusing on the early years) in Munich, Cologne, Vienna, Stockholm and Göteborg (and Boston, Detroit and Newark, N.J. too ). Alas, no book on the history of jazz in my hometown (and its greater metropolitan area) so far -which would add a third reason for buying: local history (like David Ayers said), which no doubt accounted for part of your sales in your own area). Anyway, VERY well done ... Hats off ... Agree with Kevin Bresnahan, BTW (in a way): Is there any website where sample pages of the book can be checked out - just to see what we've missed? Edited July 26, 2017 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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