The sorry state of live jazz.

[Jim Alfredson]

Who the hell is "the famous B3-ist Matthew Fisher"? I must be out of the loop.

He's most famous for being the organist in Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale). So basically his opinion about a jazz pianist like Keezer is akin to my opinion about a band like Deerhoof.

[jlhoots]

Lots of whining in this thread (? esp. from the east coast).

We just finished the New Mexico Jazz Festival.

Excellent crowds (up to 800 people) for the likes of McCoy Tyner Septet, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Arturo O'Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Newport All-Stars.

Maybe we're just not as jaded & more grateful.

For a city of 65 thousand we're doing O.K..

Any chance of getting organissimo into that festival with possibly a club hit somewhere next year?

Thank you Duke City for clarifying that it was approx. 800 per concert.

The person to contact for booking possibilities is Tom Guralnick at The Outpost Performance Space.

[marcello]

MARCELLLO: are you saying nyc is so cool hot trendy girls go to Cedar Walton concerts just to chill and drink and socialize?? id like to see cedar get some repect over there but that still is the coolest thing ive ever heard

What happens there is that a lot of upper class tourists go there to have a "genuine NYC jazz club outing". Because of it's location and affiliation with Lincoln Center, it's a safe bet for them. The setting is exqusite looking out above Columbus Circle and the base of Central Park.

The recently when I was there a entire mid week early set was sold out with company party. I believe they were part of a health group that has offices in that building complex.

They were very well behaved and attentive, though.

The next set there were a couple of large tables of Ministers from the island of Anguilla, who were the guests of BET.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

marcello: u sholud of bought the president of Angola a jager shot then got 'freaky-freaky' BET style w/ him

[Free For All]

u sholud of bought the president of Angola a jager shot then got 'freaky-freaky' BET style w/ him

Wait, I thought "U Sholud" WAS the president of Angola??

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

good one !!!

[Allan Songer]

I've been hitting the L.A. clubs regularly for nearly 30 years and I have to tell you there has NEVER been a huge audience for live jazz. I remember a Joe Henderson gig a Catalina's where there were TEN people at the second set! Sure, it was a cold rainy weeknight, but WTF? (Joe blew all ten of us away, by the way). I also remember an Andrew Hill show at the Bakery where there were less than 20 people. But even as far back as the late 70's I remember going to Art Pepper gigs when he was at the "height" of his second coming and the house being half full.

The clubs do not sell out here except on the RARE occaision for a Saturday night first set when some big-time famous player comes through AND there's a Friday positive review in the L.A. Times.

But there is some GREAT music in this town and the clubs seem to be holding on, just as they always have.

[Hot Ptah]

Kansas City's live jazz scene over the past 20 years has been mixed. I would love to get the reactions of the other Kansas City members of this forum to what I am going to write.

There are now two national subscription concert series, with about six or seven shows each, which run from September to May, about one or two shows a month. They are presented by not-for-profit venues, with substantial corporate and government support. One theater, the Folly, seats about 1000, and the other, the Gem, seats 500. The presenters naturally hope to attract good crowds for these shows, and present bigger names, and mostly mainstream-as-they-come artists. Some are near sell-outs, while others draw only half capacity.

There is a limited number of national artist club appearances each year--these are unpredictable, and usually occur at the Blue Room, a jazz club in the American Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine (also the location of the Gem Theater).

Bobby Watson is the jazz professor at the local university, and appears live several times a year, which helps a lot. There is a Rhythm and Ribs blues and jazz festival over the Fathers Day weekend, which has had one or two "real jazz" artists each time, in its two year history.

For national artists therefore, one can see some of the big names once or twice every five years. There is very little to no national artist avant garde jazz presented each year. Excellent musicians who could not sell out a 1000 or 500 seat theater will probably not be seen for many years, if ever.

There used to be a three day Blues and Jazz Festival for many years in the summer, with three or four stages going from noon until late at night, where you could catch a lot of acts that would otherwise never come to town. That Festival went out of business a few years ago and has not been resurrected.

There is a lot of local live jazz, all the time, with several clubs regularly presenting the local acts. Some of them are excellent. The local jazz does tend to be jumpin' blues/vocal oriented, centered on pre-bop styles. Of course there are some exceptions. Again, there is little avant garde jazz.

Sometimes I think that we have it pretty good. Then I will mention to one of my friends on the East Coast that I just saw a particular drummer for the first time, playing as a sideman with a big name. The East Coast friend will describe the eight times he has seen that drummer live, and how the drummer's performances varied in different contexts. I realize that the drummer will probably never come to town again, or if he does, he will be a sideman again with another big name player, and will probably come in about three to five years.

If you cannot catch a national artist's concert because of work or family conflicts, it is likely that you will not have a chance to see that artist for a very long time, and you have also just missed one of the relatively few jazz highlights of the year.

At times over the past twenty years, the live scene has been much more sparse than it is now. The live scene is fragile--if the Folly, Gem and Blue Room lost their corporate and/or government support, it would be a live scene with virtually no national acts coming to town.

Edited July 31, 2006 by Hot Ptah

[sheldonm]

I think I'm going to open a club with great acoustics, that don't have a drink minimum and seats about 10-12 people.....I'm sure I can pack it every night of the week!!!

m~

[Kreilly]

I think the high prices at a lot of the NYC clubs are so prohibitive, with the cover charge and drinks it is hard to get through a set without dropping close to $50/person.

It's $10 at the Stone. Depends on what kind of jazz you like. I saw Andrew Hill at Birdland with my wife. At the end of the night we spent $150. We've seen Henry Threadgill at the Jazz Gallery and spent a total of less than $50. Downtown tends to be less expensive. Avant stuff is generally less expensive. Roscoe Mitchell is playing at Merkin Hall in November sharing the bill with Connie Crothers. I bought two tickets, ten bucks each.

[marcello]

marcello: u sholud of bought the president of Angola a jager shot then got 'freaky-freaky' BET style w/ him

Those ministers from ANGUILLA didn't need any help from me! By the end of the night they were dancing and shouting encouragement to the band, who by the way, included Geoffrey Keezer; The Joe Locke / Geoffey Keezer Group.

When they found out that the bassist, Reuben Rogers', father was born in Anguilla, it pushed them over the top. Including their Cheif Justice.

They have a jazz festival there called The Tranquility Jazz Festival