Question for somebody in the business.

[GA Russell]

My question is about albums recorded live in concert.

Do union rules require that the sidemen get paid twice - once for the gig and another time for the recording?

And if more than one album is released from the same gig, do the sidemen get paid a separate time for each album?

Listening to Shelly Manne & His Men At The Black Hawk brought this to mind.

[Chuck Nessa]

Simple answer is yes. Club engagement and recording are two different employers.

The "live recording session" rules are/were weird. Much more complicated answer when I have more time.

Edited June 29, 2005 by Chuck Nessa

[GA Russell]

Thanks Chuck! I'll look forward to your detailed explanation.

[Chuck Nessa]

Copied from an old American Federation of Musicians Phonograph Record Labor Agreement:

Location Recordings

The Company shall give prior notice to the Office of the Federation President and to the Local of the Federation involved prior to making any recording on location during public performance. Location recording work shall be paid for at the rate of one basic session for each day of recording (from noon to the following noon). During any such day, no more than a total of three hours of performance shall be recorded. If more than fifteen minutes of recorded music is released for sale from each such three hours of recorded performance, the Company shall make additional payments equal to the regular hourly rate of pay for each additional five minutes of recorded music (or fraction thereof) released for sale.

Guess it was simpler than I implied.

[GA Russell]

It looks like "His Men" at the Black Hawk got paid quite a bit!

By the way, you're old enough to remember, and maybe you know...Did Contemporary release all four volumes of At The Black Hawk at once, or did they stretch it out the way Prestige stretched out the 1956 Miles Quintet sessions?

[Chuck Nessa]

IIRC they were issued in pairs in 1960 and 1961.

[GA Russell]

In those days, popular acts released three albums a year.

I wonder why, if they were going to issue all four volumes over the course of thirteen months, Contemporary didn't follow the norm and release one every four months.

Maybe they were issuing other Shelly Manne albums at the same time.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Have a look at the Contemporary Records listing - 20 out of the first 100 issues were under Manne's name (not counting albums where he was just a sideman).

http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/contemp.htm

Mike

[Chuck Nessa]

Mike is talking about 12 inch issues I guess.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Yes - isn't that how the Blackhawks originally came out? Just trying to set some context for that period.

Mike

[GA Russell]

Thanks Mike.

I note that the four Black Hawks are numbered consecutively.