Life of a Scuffling Jazz Musician

[Leeway]

From this weekend's Washington Post. (The post is behind a paywall but I think you get a limited number of free views).

Trying to make a living playing jazz in DC:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/for-dcs-older-jazz-artists-scarcity-of-gigs-is-a-hard-reality/2014/10/23/6c395f3e-4983-11e4-a046-120a8a855cca_story.html?hpid=z4

[bertrand]

There are a lot of other musicians they should have spoken to to get a different angle on the story.

Bertrand.

[Leeway]

That's true, but what's wrong with considering this guy's life?

[bertrand]

I could write a book about what is wrong with 'Magic' - he used Butch Warren, among other things.

[Dan Gould]

16 photos but only about 500 words about the musician?

Might have been a lot better as an in depth study of one man's local career, who he played with (wondering if he ever gigged with a "name"), where, and how the job opportunities changed.

[bertrand]

Maybe I am being a little rough, but there's a lot of history there for those of us who knew Butch.

[Leeway]

16 photos but only about 500 words about the musician?

Might have been a lot better as an in depth study of one man's local career, who he played with (wondering if he ever gigged with a "name"), where, and how the job opportunities changed.

A picture is worth a thousand words sometimes . I hear what you are saying but getting any newspaper to do anything on jazz that isn't the product of some PR flack is rather difficult these days. We've already been treated to some flip dismissals of jazz by newspaper columnists recently. I was actually rather surprised that they would even take on this subject, especially in its less that glorious aspects.

Maybe I am being a little rough, but there's a lot of history there for those of us who knew Butch.

I get it, I'm not trying to endorse Lavender-Bey, but just trying to show people who like jazz that the underbelly of the music can be pretty challenging and downright dismal. I'm sure Butch suffered through "the life" as well. Sometimes I think we forget, the people who live this music, they become "invisible men," and so I though this glimpse worth taking a look at.