Peaks and valleys

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #1 07-31-2008, 08:17 AM

For the past five years, Louisville had a world-class jazz club which contributed to the city having a great scene in terms of places to play, but also in terms of places to go hear music and be inspired. As announced a few months ago, the club closed its doors at the end of March because of the slumping economy. It was a sad occasion for everyone, but also was a strange occurrence because it meant that the top of the food chain had been severed all at once.

For me personally, on the surface it meant losing 5-6 gigs a month. But beyond that, it meant the temporary loss of many of the "soul-food" gigs that make life so sweet when you're playing them. The local groups that were playing those gigs for the most part haven't yet found other venues to play in, and of course there are no more touring acts to back at the moment, so the chance to play with high caliber players from other parts of the country and world are on hold. Before I go on, let me be perfectly clear about one thing: it ain't about the money. It's about making one of those inevitable adjustments that life continually throws our way on a regular basis.

Since April, I've been slowly working my way back into the casual scene (the economy isn't helping that scene, either), and trying to practice each week during the time I would have spent playing. In one sense, there are some technical things that I've been wanting to spend some time working out, and this gives me a chance to do that, which is good. In another sense, I'm having to make a pretty serious adjustment in terms of creative outlets, and find myself setting up more playing and recording sessions to give me more of a chance to interact with other players on a high level. And in another way, the whole situation is making me take another look at how to make music on a high level and still make it "marketable" enough to be viable for booking at whatever level.

I hope this doesn't come off as whining, because I'm not really feeling sorry for myself at all - there are a lot of great possibilities for things I can do musically, and this situation simply compels me to adjust. But I thought it might be nice to hear from some of the rest of you as far as how you've reacted to similar situations in your own experience. How dod you adjust, and what were some of the outcomes, both positive and negative, or your adjustments?

ee-san · #2 07-31-2008, 08:28 AM

How are conditions for a concert series at the university to bring in folks from out of town? The visiting artist could do workshops for students and, perhaps, non-students also could attend the workshops for a small fee to help defray costs. Granted, this would not add up to 5-6 gigs a month but, at least, new artists would be visiting town a few times per semester.

Ed Fuqua · #3 07-31-2008, 11:35 AM

Play it and they will come.

It's gonna be a hard row to hoe to get the other cats to push for Happening Venue status given that the Cafe folded; they don't want to go down that road. Maybe give Ben Allison or Alexis Cuadrado a shout, talk to them about the whole "let's put on a show" collective scene? It's nice waiting for the phone to ring, but given that lack, it may be time to generate the groups and the venue (and the grant money to keep that going) your own damn self....

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #4 07-31-2008, 08:51 PM

eesan - there's plenty to do at the U, and we have a festival every year where I get to play with some of the guest artists. There is also a fertile ground for concertizing there, which I'm sure I'll take advantage of.

Ed - That's kind of where I'm headed with this. One of the things I've long wanted to be more involved in is improvised music branching out into pop (recent tunes)/funk/hop/whatever styles and venues. We had that going with Java Men for awhile, but there were some issues that got in the way. I'm not a hardcore jazzer in the sense that that's all I wanna do. In the big picture, I just want to be playing largely improvised music with good players in front of live people. We don't always have to be the center of attention, but I want the music to be happening.

It's easy as a bassist to just sit and wait for the phone to ring. It worked before the Jazz Factory existed, and it will work again if that's all I want. But I'm feeling that I want more than that. In a way, the whole thing feels like a wake-up call on so many levels, and I guess I'm still processing at the moment. I'm curious to see what other people are doing and thinking about issues like this.

Uncletoad · #5 07-31-2008, 10:17 PM

They say when one door closes very soon another will open. I suppose any time I can't see the door in the hall I get a little panicked and extremely morose.

Recently when we were interviewing contractors about the possibility of expanding our house we had this old hippie contractor fellow and his wife out to have a look at the house. We've got this weird multilevel roofline over the Garage the 50's breezeway and the main part of the house that is creating quite a challenge for those who are designing or trying to create something that looks like it's been there from the beginning.

So the hippie fellow was stroking his chin saying nothing as he looked over his reading glasses at the roofline from the backyard. After some time he said "well nothing obvious is coming to me in solving this.....(big pause) That just gives us an opportunity to do something cool."

That is the mindset. The void allows room for the next step. It's the opportunity for growth that, if allowed to, will fill the void and most likely be even better than what you had before. Do what seems clearly in front of you and trust the process.

I don't play at the same level Chris so my tales don't offer paralell but since you started the lament I'll jump in too. The opportunities to do what you have already done don't really show up here in the Land of Cows. The venues that could support that level of musicianship don't last long here. Attendance is usually slender and eventually the venue gets poisoned by the drunk and drug addicted jazzbo posers that never leave town for New York. Read that as anybody who's really good here eventually leaves or if they don't they can't shake their demons and become a drag on the whole scene.

You can count the exceptions on one hand.

The economic depression/recession that we "aren't in" has washed out most of the society gigs, casuals and paying club dates for jazz or outside of the mainstream music. Most of my restaurant gigs, duo gigs etc have gone away too. What's left are dumps you can play in for $50 for the whole group. I'm fortunate enough to be employed by a couple of ensembles that can make money doing arty versions of country/rock/bluegrass/blues tunes in venues that don't otherwise employ musicians. Not jazz but fun for sure. It keeps me playing and bringing in the dough in a time where many of my friends are doing neither.

in the last week I've noticed that the sound I'm getting from my new old bass is making me want to jump headlong into more Jazz stuff even if it doesn't pay much. The ghosts in the bass are giving me some instructions and I feel the need to surround myself with a higher level of input. The fellows I play with most of the time are great people but I generally dust them in time and harmony. I need a good ass kicking.

Thing is I don't have the time to stretch myself that thin, keep the gigs I have, be a dad, be a hubby and be a business owner. I'm not sure how it will all play out.

So I practice whenever I can and hope for the opportunity to present itself before I'm to old to enjoy it.

Sam Sherry · #6 07-31-2008, 10:45 PM

But let's return to Point A: How can you get to keep playing with out-of-town semi-big names? The short answer is, "Make it happen yourself."

It's surprisingly affordable to bring semi-big names to town IF they're playing with local backup. Yeah, it takes a lot of money to get Joe Lovano, but most of the folks only one rung down on the ladder of public recognition are downright eager to work and often tend to "make it so."

(Distractive rant: Bear in mind that there are essentially no "famous" living jazz musicians. Oprah Winfrey is famous. Barak Obama is famous. Miles Davis is famous. By that standard -- which is the only one in the "real" world outside the tiny pond of jazz -- Joe Lovano is not famous. For the sake of this discussion, assume that semi-big names in jazz , i.e. people not even as "sorta-famous" as Joe Lovano, understand this fact. Also, I'm not bugging on Joe Lovano, who was extremely gracious to me the one time we talked.)

One way is to rent a hall, front a band, and bring people to town yourself. As Herbie says, "Risk is what moves us all forward . . . " You might wind up paying to play. You might make a bit of money. You will certainly have a forward-moving experience.

Another way is to get the local Jazz Organization to front the funds and reap the potential benefit. Is there a Jazz Society or suchlike? Do you know the people involved? If you go to them with, "I can bring you Mr. xxx for only $xxx" they are always ready to consider even if they may not always be ready to act. Note that these folks often work at least half a year in advance; plan accordingly.

Last but not least, the effort to organize these types of events is a growth experience by itself. Some of the coolest conversations I ever had were getting turned down by jazz names.

Its very late; I'm going home. I hope that some of this makes sense and helps somebody. Especially Chris. Lord knows he plays well enough to be with great players always.

damonsmith · #7 08-01-2008, 01:38 AM

You could try to find a bar with an upstairs room or an art gallery and just put on your own gigs. That is what happens in the more experimental improv scene. Make posters and try to promote on craigslist and myspace. The music needs to be played, and all you really need is a room to play it in.
It could be a temporary or wholesale solution.
If you can hook up with an arts non-profit you can pursue grants to bring players from out of town, if you cultivate an audience you can maybe save a portion of the door at a regular series for guarantees for the players you want to bring in.
I have done organizing as needed - I prefer to play bass but if it needs to be done I will do it myself.

fingers · #8 08-01-2008, 10:42 AM

When things have been in transition here in Chitown I always fall back on the community of players I know and enjoy. Jamming, trying new stuff, reading original tunes, whatever. I have a nice studio that we can use for playing. Even a nice beer drinking hang. Some big idea always comes out of it plus it is a good time doing what I love with cool people.

jazzbo · #9 08-01-2008, 02:31 PM

You're welcome in SF buddy, there's lot of great places to play here.

MR PC · #10 08-01-2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

It's easy as a bassist to just sit and wait for the phone to ring. It worked before the Jazz Factory existed, and it will work again if that's all I want. But I'm feeling that I want more than that. In a way, the whole thing feels like a wake-up call on so many levels, and I guess I'm still processing at the moment. I'm curious to see what other people are doing and thinking about issues like this.

If the pond you are in is feeling small, it's time to choose the outlet for moving on before you become to big to leave.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #11 08-03-2008, 06:04 AM

Phil - I hear you about the recession we aren't in. Things are slow around here for everyone, which makes the crunch feel all that much tighter. I've been spending the last few months dealing with some major home renovations that *really* needed to get done, so that's good; once the cleanup is done, it'll be time to dig into whatever new routine/direction I want to take.

Sam - I need to take some inspiration from the way you organize concerts and try to follow your lead. If you can manage to book shows in Maine with happening players, I should be able to do it here in the midwest.

Damon - same thing, and I agree with you as well. But first, I need to feel out and decide on a direction to take. There are some great local players, it's just a matter of putting the pieces together into something that will interest everyone and having an ongoing project. I've kind of been doing what Marc suggested with the jam/session hang for a while now, but usually pretty loosely organized, just another person or two. If I can get more of a collective session/recording hang (I've also got a little studio in the house) going that involves some originals and materials that can't be found in a fake book, I think I'd be well on my way. Like I said, I had that for a while with Java Men...maybe I just need to reinvent something similar.

JB & PC - thanks for the advice & invite, but for me it's about making things work where I am (see sig).

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #12 08-24-2008, 10:49 PM

progris riport:

As it turns out, maybe the time off hasn't been so bad after all. We've done some major renovations on the house (new bathroom, 1500 sq. feet of stripping, skimcoating, and painting of walls in our 120 year old Victorian monster), taken a vacation, gotten our little guy started in kindergarten, and nested a bit. Out of sheer boredom and disgust with having lost all my piano chops, I've started practicing a little piano again (mostly bach and Mozart, but I'm sure the jazz will flow from that), which I've been meaning to do. And on top of that, some ideas of a direction to go on the bass are starting to emerge.

More on this story as it develops...

christ andronis · #13 08-25-2008, 05:56 AM

Chris....sometimes I have to do what you did, walk away for a bit. My chops may need a bit of work upon my return but I always find that my "approach" is always newly reinforced by the things that were working before the layoff and alot of my obstacles just aren't there anymore.

mattfong · #14 08-25-2008, 10:42 AM

I've found that sometimes taking a break is great for your playing, no matter what instrument you play.

.matthew e wengerd. · #15 09-05-2008, 01:13 PM

Inspiring. I've always believed you can make your own scene.

BASSnSAX · #16 09-17-2008, 01:43 PM

CF, thanks for the great and inspiring story!

I just graduated from the university with my undergraduate in May. I majored in Bass Performance and Theory/Composition, but never had enough confidence to really try to just gig to make money. So to make ends meet, I got a job on campus with the IT Hardware department, fixing computers and installing electronics all over campus, which was fun, like getting paid for a hobby. Then that opportunity expired in August, and I was without a job. I had found out that they needed a new Listening Lab Coordinator in the Music department, so I'm filling in temporarily right now until they find a full-time person (Now even sooner than later, unannounced this morning, they started showing around some prospective candidates). I'm only sticking around town until May or so, then going off to a bigger city/grad school.

Now where I don't go completely off-topic is that I recently picked up 2 students. This made me realize that if I get up off my ass and be dedicated, I could actually probably make ends meet doing just music. So maybe I'll try my hand at teaching, and try to pick up a couple more students. I'm also going to try to book gigs instead of waiting for someone to call me up for a gig. I auditioned for the area symphony, and while not getting a contract, I got a spot on the short-term sub list, and I'm playing in the first concert series next month. If that fails, I'll just get a job that gives me lots of time to practice. I've just got a lot of anxiety about the whole situation.