Hello readers,
I just got back from a successful tour of Australia. It the first time I have traveled around most of the major cities and performed and given master-classes. I took Mark Guiliana with me from New York and picked up James Muller and Brett Hirst. The band sounded really fantastic and had great responses and press reviews. We packed out venues in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra. Adelaide wasn't as good as the rest but it was still a great gig. We broke even financially which was surprising for me touring jazz in Australia, which is tough because of the large size and small population. It is also difficult often dealing with the one "jazz club" in town in each city. They struggle to survive I guess. Some of them cancelled shows at very sort notice and most expected us to let in everyone for as little money as possible so that they could sell more beer.
As expected Australians all over the country were relaxed, friendly and warm. Australia has a small population with little mainstream exposure for contemporary music and jazz, yet in every city there is an enthusiastic well educated audience for jazz music. The food and weather and hospitality was just superb for us. We loved soaking it all up. The highlight for me was the coopers ale on tap in Adelaide "close to the source". Despite the world recession there seemed to be a great deal of prosperity I suspect thanks to our natural resources boom in Western Australia.
On a sour note, it was sad to see how little Australian Arts culture is in the media. What little space on television and in newspapers is dedicated to music / theatre and film other arts seemed to be at least 50% (at a guess) dedicated to American culture. Commercial television has oprah / judge judy / jerry springer ... guests on TV shows included Harry Connick / Liza Minneli ... The newspapers had previews of a tour by Madeleine Peyroux, Diana Krall etc ... The Australian newspaper had reviews of American CDs and a one page article about a Keith Jarrett concert in the UK with the headline "D flat and the lonelyness". (apparently his wife left him and it made D flat major come in to his head). Sitting on a Qantas airplane ("The Australian Airline") music choices are mostly American and most shameful of all "Jazz with James Morrison" features only one or 2 local jazz musicians, one of whom is a pianist born in the USA. The next post in this blog shows an article in the drum media (a sydney music paper) which edited a photo of me and Guiliana so that I wasnt visible and went on to mention that he had recently released "pistachio".
All the cities have more than their fair share of enormous bars with the emphasis on drinking alcohol. A 2 minute horse race was surrounded by about 8 hours of continuous drinking with little food. The largest proportion of space in the media is given to sport, cricket players, and footballers are household names. Alcohol advertising is banned on TV, but they get around it by having "Fosters" in 20 metre high letters on the football/cricket ground. The news shows the winner having a beer or champagne after the match. Often the news a few days later revolves around the sports stars getting drunk and involving in loose sexual activity or rape.
Coming back to the USA, the television is chock o block here with American culture 98% created by Americnns. Tv shows / music / comedians etc ... The cheaper TV shows (as opposed to the "news") have exposes on musicians and actors getting drunk/stoned and sleeping around instead of footballers.
One wonders that in Australia if more emphasis could be put on the arts that there would be less alcoholism. With not enough music etc the only thing left to do is to drink. It's pretty hard to play football after the sun goes down.
I was lucky enough to be given a fantastic video of the late great Jackie Orsascky produced in Hungary. It's wonderful to have a document of him, but it was ironic to think that it had to be produced in hungary and not in Australia after it was too late...
If I ruled the world , the ABC (australian broadcasting corporation) would set up a venue in each capial city. It would have various sized venues (70, 150, 300 etc.) There would be cheap accomodation on top. It would be equipped with concert instruments (steinway, drums, amps, sound system etc). Cameras and recording equipment would be in place to record digitally without any personel involved . Musicians could take the recordings/video home and edit them themselves (which pretty much anyone can do with a computer). The ABC would provide a seperate music channel which would broadcast the stuff 24/7 and also be made available online. Musicians would interview each other during the day. All types of music would be represented. There would be travel subsidies given to musicians. Musicians could hire the venue for a low cost. I think that this would be a much better solution than to hand grants to musicians and/or pay orchestras to play repertory music at prices only the elite can afford. I also have a problem with arts "festivals" where an artistic director can assign money (often funded by governments) to musicians based on their "cultural value" which seems arbritary to me and easily corruptible. It should be a "trade issue" and countries whose artists perform at Australian festivals should be expected to reciprocate. Ditto overseas content in our media should be at the requirement of a reciprocal arrangement I think. The government stands up for Beef etc why not our music?
We have conservatoriums, radio stations / television stations set up all over Australia, but a serious lack of affordable venues and media exposure for Australia music and musicians ... Bus drivers, Lawyers, Doctors, Truckies etc all have the necessary infrastructure in place in Australia but for serious musicians unless you are interested in performing dead European composers it is a hard road.
Despite all this the depth of Australian musical talent never ceases to surprise me, especially amzing to me is the compositions. I heard some outstanding new music by Carl Vine, Cameron Undy, James Muller on this trip .. As time progresses I expect that more and more Australians and others will take pride in our cultural heritage. Aussie musos should fight for our music to be recorded, made available and preserved ... The internet provides a great opportunity for this.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
drum media australia
OK OK .. I confess .. Guiliana actually wrote all the music on "pistachio" ... and he actually plays drums on it . I just put keith carlock's name on the cover to sell more CDs ;)
click on the image below to read the article
click on the image below to read the article
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
mothership orchestra competition
Hi there all ,
I entered a big band competition in Australia this year , but failed to make the final cut . Unfortunately for me it seems that the judges lack good taste ; . The piece is called "chorale" . I recorded the horns in my own apartment which was stressful but fun . I blew up an australian made condenser microphone in the process . None of the horn players received any financial renumeration , but hopefully they wont mind me sharing the recording . There was no rehearsal . It says something about the music scene in NY that this difficult piece could be recorded in half an hour .
there is a score and some photos of the session here :
My heartfelt thanks to the musicians who helped me who shall remain nameless for legal reasons .
Monday, September 7, 2009
play today ... pay tommorow
I am doing a little gig tonight in New York at a venue called spike hill with a great saxophonist Ian Rapien
http://www.ianrapien.com/
He's a bit younger than me and so is his band . Most of them graduated from the New School or Berklee college with master's or bachelor degrees in music performance within the last couple of years .
None of them have health insurance . I lived here for 7 years without it so I know cheap doctors which I have referred them to when they get sick .
After a brief chat during a break in the rehearsal I figured out that they collectively owe about $500,000 in student loans .
Some of the loans have an interest rate of up to 8%
They have been deferring payment due to " economic hardship" for a while but the "dollar will fall soon "
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-dollar-done-fell-lyrics-buddy-guy.html
http://www.ianrapien.com/
He's a bit younger than me and so is his band . Most of them graduated from the New School or Berklee college with master's or bachelor degrees in music performance within the last couple of years .
None of them have health insurance . I lived here for 7 years without it so I know cheap doctors which I have referred them to when they get sick .
After a brief chat during a break in the rehearsal I figured out that they collectively owe about $500,000 in student loans .
Some of the loans have an interest rate of up to 8%
They have been deferring payment due to " economic hardship" for a while but the "dollar will fall soon "
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-dollar-done-fell-lyrics-buddy-guy.html
Doing the maths ( math for you Americans ) , just to pay the interest on $500,000 at 5% costs about $ 136.99 per day . The law in America also makes it impossible to declare themselves bankrupt in relation to these loans ( although the big car companies can do it ?? )
Tonight's gig is a tips gig . I reckon the whole band will get about $75 in the tip jar ( there are 5 other jazz bands playing on the bill tonight ) .
The guys cant even pay for the interest on their student loans let alone rent , food , insurance etc ...
Welcome to the jazz business 2009
post script : the band recieved $25 in tips in total :( . I estimated 50 people in the room during the gig . The guys in the band all live in the same house with other musicians who are also in piles of debt . Instead of going to university they could have collectively purchased their own house in park slope and built a jazz club in it .
Saturday, August 22, 2009
wayne krantz = ouch
I am no music critic ... don't touch the stuff really , but occasionally something comes along which deserves "honorable mention "
It's been a long time between drink's for improvised music I reckon . Maybe its a result of the shifting world scene . America and the world is a very different joint since the internet , terrorist attacks , no Queva Lutz and now the "great recession" . Combine that with destruction of copyright and the ability of any tom, dick or harry to post any musical crap they like for the whole world to sift through and things get difficult for "serious" music . Anything decent is buried in a sea of "noise" . There is probably a lot of great stuff happening elsewhere , but it's still hard to beat NYC for a collection of great improvisers . Even here though one wonders about the state of the "scene "
The rise of jazz education in New York and elsewhere with young musicians spending $100,000 on an education probably hasn't done the music much good either . Everyone is more versed in the 144 modes than they ever were . From my perspective the "jazz education" lacks having enough formal training in composition ( improvisation is composition isnt it ? ) and the old "Street school" of learning on the job . Still with so few little gigs around to play I guess school is the only place a youngster can play in front of other people ... Combine that with rents in NYC going sky high and clubs going bust left right and centre and you have 1000's of musicians fighting over a few crumbs . That has the tendency to produce nepotistic little cliques of cold musicians trying to negotiate their little scene to power ( OK I am generalising here ... the truth isnt that bleak ) . It's getting to harder to find an original voice in jazz or pop music . It's rare to see a musician in search of real expression as opposed to playing whatever the last guy played to become famous .
I really got into Allan Holdsworth , but his last CD was released in 2001 or something so it's been a long wait for me .
Complaints aside In the meantime there has been a lot of great jazz around ... James Muller , Miles Okasaki , Brad Mehldau , Wayne Krantz , Dr Lonnie Smith , Hank Jones and countless others have done plenty of outstanding things in the last 10 years . But none if it has REALLY grabbed me by the b#lls . Lots of great playing and writing but nothing that works as a complete musical statement to my ( jaded?) ears .
Of music written since the terrorist attacks most of the stuff I have fallen in love with has been songwriting based : The Shins , Nate Wood , Steely Dan , Mindy Smith , Tift Merrit , James Taylor , Kris Bauman , Robynne Dunn ... etc
Wayne Krantz has been really great to go and see play over the years . His regular gig at the 55 was THE live act in NYC for me in the last 10 years or so of spending most of my time here .
If you could be bothered buying every live record or download he has put out since " 2 drink minimum " and you could compile a CD yourself from it you would have the "best" mostly improvised music of the last ten years recorded . I am too lazy for that . I want a great album I can listen too with more than one decent cut on it .
The new CD " Krantz Carlock Lefebvre " lives up to that expectation for me . Its genuinely one of the few things I have listened to in the last 10 years that has really made me rethink things . Music is going to sound different to me now .
There is loads of great writing and playing . Wayne is a fantastic composer and I think he underrates himself .
The guitar playing is really out of sight on this one .. fantastic sounds , groove and ideas .
Wayne has his own take on minimalism which is also groundbreaking I think . Other improvisers repeat stuff ( notes , phrases , even one bar for the whole song ) , but wayne has really turned minimalism into an improvisational artform . Triplets and uneven subdivisions is COMPLETELY removed from his rhythmic language . Almost all of the tracks are 16th based . Wayne's playing is very precise almost computerish on top of Carlock's "southern" lilt . Krantz' playing is so strong and the downbeat's are covered by him so elegantly that it feels like he is pulling the rest of the band along with him . It's pretty incredible to hear the GUITAR acting as a metronome instead of the drums . The singing is cool and the phrasing in the solos is just extraordinary . Maybe it's not revolutionary , but its still creative how Wayne sustains notes on his guitar to create tension . I have never heard anyone do it quite that way .
It's also pretty groundbreaking to hear an improvised record mixed and mastered this way . It's LOUD . That is actually probably my one quibble . ( Well a couple of fast licks on the album would stop me feeling like I overplay all the time ) I would prefer to "turn up" something a bit warmer than to artificially have the music made louder using compressors and limiters . Maybe it's just the sound of the .mp3 that I dont like . Welcome to the future .
" footnoote : Joe Zawinul " Brown Street" I think deserves a mention here as being one of THE "jazz" CDs of the 2000's . It doesnt quite qualify as NEW since most of the compositions where written in the 1970's and 80's . "
It's been a long time between drink's for improvised music I reckon . Maybe its a result of the shifting world scene . America and the world is a very different joint since the internet , terrorist attacks , no Queva Lutz and now the "great recession" . Combine that with destruction of copyright and the ability of any tom, dick or harry to post any musical crap they like for the whole world to sift through and things get difficult for "serious" music . Anything decent is buried in a sea of "noise" . There is probably a lot of great stuff happening elsewhere , but it's still hard to beat NYC for a collection of great improvisers . Even here though one wonders about the state of the "scene "
The rise of jazz education in New York and elsewhere with young musicians spending $100,000 on an education probably hasn't done the music much good either . Everyone is more versed in the 144 modes than they ever were . From my perspective the "jazz education" lacks having enough formal training in composition ( improvisation is composition isnt it ? ) and the old "Street school" of learning on the job . Still with so few little gigs around to play I guess school is the only place a youngster can play in front of other people ... Combine that with rents in NYC going sky high and clubs going bust left right and centre and you have 1000's of musicians fighting over a few crumbs . That has the tendency to produce nepotistic little cliques of cold musicians trying to negotiate their little scene to power ( OK I am generalising here ... the truth isnt that bleak ) . It's getting to harder to find an original voice in jazz or pop music . It's rare to see a musician in search of real expression as opposed to playing whatever the last guy played to become famous .
I really got into Allan Holdsworth , but his last CD was released in 2001 or something so it's been a long wait for me .
Complaints aside In the meantime there has been a lot of great jazz around ... James Muller , Miles Okasaki , Brad Mehldau , Wayne Krantz , Dr Lonnie Smith , Hank Jones and countless others have done plenty of outstanding things in the last 10 years . But none if it has REALLY grabbed me by the b#lls . Lots of great playing and writing but nothing that works as a complete musical statement to my ( jaded?) ears .
Of music written since the terrorist attacks most of the stuff I have fallen in love with has been songwriting based : The Shins , Nate Wood , Steely Dan , Mindy Smith , Tift Merrit , James Taylor , Kris Bauman , Robynne Dunn ... etc
Wayne Krantz has been really great to go and see play over the years . His regular gig at the 55 was THE live act in NYC for me in the last 10 years or so of spending most of my time here .
If you could be bothered buying every live record or download he has put out since " 2 drink minimum " and you could compile a CD yourself from it you would have the "best" mostly improvised music of the last ten years recorded . I am too lazy for that . I want a great album I can listen too with more than one decent cut on it .
The new CD " Krantz Carlock Lefebvre " lives up to that expectation for me . Its genuinely one of the few things I have listened to in the last 10 years that has really made me rethink things . Music is going to sound different to me now .
There is loads of great writing and playing . Wayne is a fantastic composer and I think he underrates himself .
The guitar playing is really out of sight on this one .. fantastic sounds , groove and ideas .
Wayne has his own take on minimalism which is also groundbreaking I think . Other improvisers repeat stuff ( notes , phrases , even one bar for the whole song ) , but wayne has really turned minimalism into an improvisational artform . Triplets and uneven subdivisions is COMPLETELY removed from his rhythmic language . Almost all of the tracks are 16th based . Wayne's playing is very precise almost computerish on top of Carlock's "southern" lilt . Krantz' playing is so strong and the downbeat's are covered by him so elegantly that it feels like he is pulling the rest of the band along with him . It's pretty incredible to hear the GUITAR acting as a metronome instead of the drums . The singing is cool and the phrasing in the solos is just extraordinary . Maybe it's not revolutionary , but its still creative how Wayne sustains notes on his guitar to create tension . I have never heard anyone do it quite that way .
It's also pretty groundbreaking to hear an improvised record mixed and mastered this way . It's LOUD . That is actually probably my one quibble . ( Well a couple of fast licks on the album would stop me feeling like I overplay all the time ) I would prefer to "turn up" something a bit warmer than to artificially have the music made louder using compressors and limiters . Maybe it's just the sound of the .mp3 that I dont like . Welcome to the future .
" footnoote : Joe Zawinul " Brown Street" I think deserves a mention here as being one of THE "jazz" CDs of the 2000's . It doesnt quite qualify as NEW since most of the compositions where written in the 1970's and 80's . "
Friday, August 7, 2009
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