It's not even Christmas and already the calls are coming through from promoters and venues apropos of concerts and festival appearances for 2012 and beyond. Make no mistake, this is good news. What with the world economy teetering on the edge of freefall it's rewarding to learn that even with such (allegedly) dark days ahead there are a few brave souls who are at least expressing an interest in presenting no nonsense, straight ahead big band jazz of the highest quality and paying me appropriately.
Note the last three words of the previous sentence once again if you will. Guaranteed fees for live appearances are getting ever more difficult to secure; I've heard every tale of woe going about getting funding, sponsorship, people to pay a fair admission price to hear top class musicians doing their thing etc etc. I've done a fair amount of risk taking myself; you win a few and you lose a few. Sometimes you'll take a big hit on promoting an event and that hurts, no doubt about it. Experience has taught me not to risk what I can't afford to lose. So, promoters, I feel your pain, believe me I do.
Having said that I do have a sense of my own value. It's a privilege to lead a band full of top draw musicians who go out on stage and give 100% every time without me having to ask them to do so. They do a great job and we're a great team, not to be messed with.
Jazz rarely pays paticularly well and many times guys in my band will display tremendous loyalty by working for me when they could perhaps be elsewhere making more money, although arguably not having anything like as good a time musically. Therefore I always try to negotiate as good a fee as is possible and promoters should take note:
"The most we can afford to pay you is £XXX"
"We had so-and-so last year and he did it for £500 less than you are asking for".
I have no problem with either of the above. I am not in the business of being the cheapest band in town, and it's worth remembering that when you go shopping for something the price on the ticket often reflects the quality of the goods on offer.
Plenty of cheaper big bands are available, you can take your pick. However, this is where a few musicians could help not only themselves but the wider music economy. We all understand that every leader wants to get gigs for their bands irrespective of size or genre. Live performance is the oxygen which helps the music to stay alive but I do take issue when I hear about bands taking on gigs in certain venues for inappropriately low fees. Case in point it came to my attention that somebody took a big band into Ronnie Scott's a while back and played a Sunday lunchtime paying the players about £30 a head! If this is true and not mere rumour the bandleader in question should hang his head in shame and possibly consider early retirement.
Looking forward to 2012 I am currently taking the first steps towards organising a semi regular series of big band shows in the capital. These shows will feature a number of first class bands apart from my own.
Interestingly I'm looking into the possibility of private sector sponsorship in order to guarantee that musicians will be treated properly and paid decently.
It might take a bit of doing but keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned.
In the meantime let's all make a New Year's resolution to try really hard to break free of the 'fifty quid' mentality. Jazz musicians are I think unwittingly in part responsible for keeping gig fees artificially low. Why not ask for more? You might just be surprised at the result, and if we all try to face in the same direction who knows what could be achieved. Public opinion can be influenced with a little well-thought-out campaigning as evidenced by the growing backlash against Westminster Council's frankly moronic plans to introduce evening parking charges in central London. They say it is in order to ease congestion, and yet I remember when they did away with most of the meters and single yellow lines in W1 using the same absurd premise. Outcome back then? Less places for people to park equals more people driving around searching equals increased congestion.
Remember, what we offer is an exclusive, high end, luxury product. It isn't for everybody. You can't get it in Primark so don't price it accordingly.
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