An open letter to the Jazz Journalists Association.

[Hardbopjazz]

What are the thoughts here regarding this? I find it sad the estates of the Basie family is not paid.

May 12, 2010

We are the producers of the award-winning Jazz Icons DVD series, a series which to date has released 30 separate titles of concerts by the greatest artists in the history of jazz from the 1950s through the 1970s. These are by far the most successful jazz DVDs of all time. Perhaps youve heard of us. Then again, maybe not.

The reason for this letter is to express our outrage at a serious problem regarding the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Awards. This being the nomination of Count Basie & His Orchestra- Live in Berlin & Stockholm 1968 as the Jazz DVD of the Year. Of all the DVDs released in the past few years, you chose to honor a DVD that is an absolute 100% BOOTLEG. This is a fact. We have spoken with Count Basies estate and the rights-holder to the footage filmed in Sweden in 1968 and neither of them has given permission for this material to be released. You should be ashamed of yourselves! The horrendous multi-generation VHS video quality alone would be enough to convince even the casual fan that this is a bootleg. It is irresponsible and reprehensible that an organization that purports to be arbiters of quality in jazz would nominate such a subpar and illegitimate release for a major award. Your support hurts everyone involved, from the artists to the footage holders. Every time we see bootleg releases reviewed in mainstream jazz publications it makes our blood boil. Especially when these publications ignore or downplay releases by legitimate companies who pay advances to the artists, pay for the footage, pay the side musicians through the union, pay royalties, re-transfer the footage from master tapes or film, not to mention including booklets with liner notes and photographs. There are many of us out there doing it right, and yet this is whom you choose to honor? Sad.

At the risk of this sounding like sour grapes at not being nominated, we would have been very happy if all of the nominees were relevant music DVDs legitimately released by reputable companies in 2009. This was not the case and is an embarrassment to the industry and a source of anger and frustration to those of us going the extra mile to create quality DVDs in an increasingly anemic jazz marketplace. Please do your homework, it's not that difficult.

Regrettably yours,

The Producers of the Jazz Icons Series

Edited May 13, 2010 by Hardbopjazz

[Ken Dryden]

As someone who lobbied to get DVDs back into the JJA Awards program, I am very unhappy to learn that a bootleg DVD was nominated. This issue has not happened before (at least during the years I have served on the ballot committee) and I'm sure it will be discussed at length during the creation of next year's nomination ballot.

Jazz Icons literally sets the standard for jazz DVDs in my book, no company has gone to such expense to create top notch videos from the best available sources, with detailed liner notes and lots of rare photographs.

One other thing: there was not even a category for Jazz DVDs the year that the Jazz Icons Live in '62 DVD was issued. It was dropped a few years earlier because very few members were serviced with DVDs, but only returned to the ballot this year.

Please note that I am speaking for myself and not claiming to represent JJA.

Edited May 13, 2010 by Ken Dryden

[Teasing the Korean]

Where can I get a copy? My interest is piqued.

[papsrus]

As someone who lobbied to get DVDs back into the JJA Awards program, I am very unhappy to learn that a bootleg DVD was nominated.

To be clear, the JJA Awards program knew in advance that this was a bootleg?

I wonder, what are the judging criteria?

[Christiern]

Many years ago, NARAS did the same thing, nominating a clearly pirated Ellington. At that time, Michael Brooks and I co-wrote a protest letter that was published in Variety. Jazz Icons is an exemplary company and I well understand their outrage, even though the JJA Award is insignificant. I have long wondered what JJA does for its members, other than stroke some egos and collect dues. I recently raised the question on Mandel's blog, but his response did not allay my curiosity.

[clifford_thornton]

Their nominations were pretty ridiculous in other categories as well.

[Chuck Nessa]

I got one.

[kh1958]

He must be referring to the website category:

Website of the Year

AllAboutJazz.com

Jazz.com

JazzCorner.com

JazzTimes.com

Pointofdeparture.org

[Ken Dryden]

I'd never heard of this particular Basie bootleg DVD, though I know of Impro Jazz and its shady origins.

It would be like nominating a Moon or Westwind CD.

I'm not sure that Impro Jazz was listed in the ballot nomination summary, or I think that I would have spotted it.

One thing we did put an end to was the eligibility of condensed boxed sets, in other words, smaller versions

of music already issued in more complete form, like the Billie Holiday Columbia stuff.

As for the nominating process, no one will ever be completely satisfied with the results, no matter how the results are tabulated (like giving voters the opportunity to make multiple votes for 1 artist instead of nominating 5).

I rarely like the summarized writer rankings by category in jazz magazines. Too many seem to vote on the reputations of artists' earlier work, even though they may not have released any recordings or toured actively during the past year.

As someone who lobbied to get DVDs back into the JJA Awards program, I am very unhappy to learn that a bootleg DVD was nominated.

To be clear, the JJA Awards program knew in advance that this was a bootleg?

I wonder, what are the judging criteria?

Only those who nominated it were possibly aware of it being a bootleg.

[JSngry]

It would be like nominating a Moon or Westwind CD.

Not exactly...Moon in particular issued stuff that had never been available outside of "collector's circles". Argue the ethics of that all you want, but it's a far cry from essentially pirating a preexisting release, which is what Impro Jazz.

Too be frank, Moon's two volumes of Sonny in Denmark should have been considered for some kind of award, that's how important they were as historical issues. I know there's ethics involved, but hell, this is the music business after all, you can rip people off illegally or legally, what the hell...

[clifford_thornton]

I got one.

I know, one of the few that made sense.

[Ken Dryden]

It would be like nominating a Moon or Westwind CD.

Not exactly...Moon in particular issued stuff that had never been available outside of "collector's circles". Argue the ethics of that all you want, but it's a far cry from essentially pirating a preexisting release, which is what Impro Jazz.

Too be frank, Moon's two volumes of Sonny in Denmark should have been considered for some kind of award, that's how important they were as historical issues. I know there's ethics involved, but hell, this is the music business after all, you can rip people off illegally or legally, what the hell...

I wasn't aware Impro-Jazz was reissuing available product, I figured they were just dubbing old broadcasts that had not otherwise seen the light of day.

I doubt that Moon or Westwind ever paid anything to the artists, songwriters or publishing companies. In my mind, these labels are no better than Impro-Jazz. At least some of the folks who put out music circulating among collectors try to do the right thing and pay royalties. Heck, one of the Westwind Bill Evans sets is obviously a reissue of an old Yellow Note bootleg LP set, you can even hear the groove noise from the source material.

[JSngry]

Ok, you're right, the Impro-Jazz is bootleg, not pirate. My bad (2nd time today...yikes...)...

As for WestWind, IIRC they would release some things that had been legitimately releases, but Moon? Maybe at the tail end, one or two things...no need to debate the whole "bootleg" thing again, almost everybody has some, one way or the other (I know there are a few Pure Souls out there), and no, I really don't think that bootlegs should be nominated for "legit" awards, but some of the very best music I've ever heard has been bootlegs, and if it was all about royalties and such, then we need to get "universal" on public domain laws and such, and ain't no way that's gonna happen... We all love our Chronological Classics and such, but there ain't no royalties being paid there, never will be, never will have to be. Objectively, those things are more like pirated items than bootlegs, and pirating is something that is worse than bootlegging in my own heirarchy of Bad Things To Do To Other People's Stuff. But...it's legal! And we do love 'em! And nobody gets paid!

All I'm saying is that any indignation over a boot being nominated for a "formal" award is certainly justified. Any indignation that such things exist and are actually "popular" is either feigned or hopelessly naive.

Also to add that in these days and times, if you want a bootleg and actually have to pay to hear it, you're just not trying hard enough...

[Ken Dryden]

I'm no saint, I've acquired things on various questionable labels over the years, though I've never nominated any of them for awards. I used to get serviced with Moon CDs through Allegro for review and I wrote about a few of them, noting many of their shortcomings.

[JSngry]

I hear ya'...

Truthfully, I thought, w/o reading too closely, that Impro-Jazz had just pirated a Jazz Icons DVD..I don't know what the company is, but there's an "Andorran" company that routinely does that. They shuffle the contents around sometimes, but it's obvious that they're just pirating Jazz Icons. That kind of thing is beyond unconscionable in my book.

[MomsMobley]

And 'Basie's Estate' has precisely what 'rights' to do with this? Should Eddie Durham's estate get a cut too if any of his arrangements were still in the book? Who the hell knows what the original film rights to this thing was? (Ain't broadcast pubic domain in Euro? Perhaps not.) And while I have no truck with the dvd co it's silly to get all upset.

What was the 'Basie Estate' doing with this for the last, uh... 26 years? Or Basie before he croaked?

JJZ is a joke, give your $$$ to any random homeless person and it'll have greater positive effect.

(early Sam Phillips) Sun >>>> Moon (of Memphis) = Moon (of Sonny in Denmark) >>>>> Telarc Jazz, Marsalis Music (sic), Okka etc combined.

early Fresh Sound was hot too! Smokin' Bird, Bud, Guiffre 3... Al Haig?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

whose that company run by? the same guy whose plopping down ontop of the balitimore jazz society tapes!!!

lol @ that chart. the chart points out.....

ONE of the dvds is from 1962

ONE of the dvds is from 1968

62, 68

the year of the twist, and the year sunshine of your love

[MomsMobley]

Please excuse my math, though I won't make up a chart asking for absolution. So it was Basie ** 1962 **!!

And who besides the good Count-- whom I adore, and I'm wearing one of his Captain's hats even now to prove it-- and his "estate" is supposed to get profit participation in this thing? What were the contracts of the band members like on that tour?

Hey, I'll donate $5 to the 'Basie Estate' if they'll just go away and stop wasting everyone's time-- or put out their own dvd, with proper payment to, I dunno, the Thad Jones Estate? Or Frank Foster?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

Moms Mobley?? and YOU are kind sir ????????????????????

[clifford_thornton]

Welcome back.

[Jazzmoose]

Ah. It's Gabe Kotter.

[AllenLowe]

I don't know if any of you guys remember the old Everest Archives of Jazz label, which was one of the prime 1960s-70s bootleg companies (and actually did some very good stuff, lots of Bird broadcasts) - I was thinking about it because Moms mentioned Al Haig, who told me he was forever mailing letters to the box number on the record (some of the Lps had text requesting that musicians contact them with payment info). Haig was somewhat amused by their lack of reponse (they put out one of his trio sessions, Jazz Will of the Wisp, with excellent notes by Max Harrison).

Edited May 14, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Christiern]

I recall Everest going as far as to Xerox and paste the original liner notes of the album they were pirating. Somehow, Gloria Lynn and Monk )separately= come to mind.

Now, back to honoring piracy and bootleggery....

[AllenLowe]

hey, without Everest I would never have gotten into jazz - those LPs were all $1.98.

[Ken Dryden]

Even Phil Woods, who has been ripped off a few times by bootleggers, said that when you "spot a new Charlie Parker, you just have to buy it."