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Posts Tagged ‘Musicians’

As a travel writer for Dunhill Vacations, I get to write about some real far out places. As exciting as some exotic escape to Asia or a brand new all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, my favorite type of travel has always been cruising.  I enjoy the thought of being on a small city in the middle of the ocean.  I enjoy the sounds of the surf and the smell of the warm salty air. 

I was introduced to the wonderful world of jazz a little over 4 years ago on holiday up in St. Augustine, FL I stumbled upon a winery overlooking the oldest city in the US, listening to some Jazz. That moment has never left me and neither has my love of Jazz.

As a huge fan of Dave Koz, you can imagine my excitement when I found out about the 4th annual Dave Koz and Friends At Sea cruise.  I completely dropped the ball about reporting this last year, but I’m back on the good foot.  Dave Koz has been the first acts that I have ever seen perform live; and it was worth it.  The way he manipulates the sax into ’saying’ exactly what he wants it to say is mind blowing!  I spoke via the internet with a fellow fan that had gone two years ago on Dave’s cruise and he said that it was fabulous. 

Some of Dave’s friends will include Eric Benet, George Duke, Najee (another one of my personal favorites), Brian Simpson and other Grammy Award winning artists.  They will be getting the party started while making stops in Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Barth’s and Half Moon Cay.

If you can’t make this one, there is also the great Marcus Miller hosting the first ever Playboy Jazz Cruise. From the early days of the groundbreaking “Playboy After Dark” television show to the annual jazz poll in the magazine to the now 30 year old Playboy Jazz Festival, no one has done jazz better than Playboy.  Join host Marcus Miller and our very special artists for the inaugural sailing of the Playboy Jazz Cruise filled with some of the best contemporary jazz musicians.  The line up for this cruise is every bit a whose who is the world of jazz. Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Keb’ Mo’ are just a small few of the talent boarding this ship.  This Playboy Jazz Cruise will be the first of many festivals at sea.  Ports of call for the Playboy Jazz Cruise include San Juan, Nevis, St. Barths and Hal Moon Cay.

Both cruises will be aboard Holland America.  Cruise with award winning, record breaking jazz musicians in the world today, and don’t forget to bring you favorite wine glass.

Have you played trumpet, trombone or saxophone in the past and have the desire to play again? If so, you are not alone. Millions of people over the last 50 years have participated in band or school jazz groups while in high school or college, but for one reason or another lacked the opportunities to continue performing after they entered the work force and began raising families.Very few musicians who play a musical instrument well will ever make a living at it, but that does not mean you should quit and sell your horn on eBay! Forming a community big band or small jazz group may be a the best excuse for dusting off that old instrument and beginning a regular practice and performing routine once again. A community jazz group not only offers local musicians a creative outlet, but it also offers members of your local community a chance to hear big band music performed on a regular basis.The first step in starting your local community band is to identify the size of group you would like to assemble. Jazz groups can range in size from a trio to a full big band. The size of your group will most likely depend on the availability of musicians in your area. If you live in a sparsely populated area, the task of finding available (or any) musicians could turn out to be a rough task. Every reasonably populated city or town, however, should be able to produce enough musicians to outfit a small or medium sized jazz group or even a big band.Local Musicians UnionThe first place to look for available musicians should be the local musicians union membership. The local union will have a list of all members of the union, both professional and non-professional. If you are a member yourself, you should receive a directory of all other musicians who are members. This directory will contain all contact information for every member of the union. Don’t be afraid to approach or contact the best musicians in your area when putting your band together. Good musicians like to peform in groups (paying or non-paying) that are top notch in quality. You will have a better chance of putting together a better band if you go after the best players first.ReferralsOnce you have contacted a handful of skilled players in each section of your band, ask those same players for referrals of other musicians they would like to have in their section. For example, Joe is the best lead trumpet player in your area and he agrees to come to rehearsal and play in the band. Immediately after getting Joe’s positive response, ask him if he knows other trumpet players that he would recommend. Invariably, the musicians you ask for referrals will always give you names of other top players in town. When calling these new “prospects” always mention that “Joe” (or whoever the referal came from) told you to call. Mention that they were referred to you as one of the best players in town. This approach will not only help break the ice when calling but it will give you credibility at the same time. Use this referral tactic with all sections of the band that need to be filled – trumpets, trombones, saxes and rhythm section. Referrals are a powerful way to put together a highly skilled ensemble.CraigslistThe popular website Craigslist may help you pull musicians “out of the woodwork” as well. Place an ad under the music categories to find any spots that need to be filled within your band. Make your ad specific to the type of player you are trying to reach. Don’t simply put: bass player wanted. Be specific as to the type of music you will be performing and the level of musician you are looking for. Always audition musicians that respond to classified ads, and do not promise anything until you have made sure they perform to a level that you are seeking. The world is full of instrument “owners” who think they can play!Starting and organizing a community big band or jazz group can be a rewarding endeavor for both musician and listeners. The monetary compensation will never be great, but the emotional and esthetic rewards will more than make up for it.

Jazz websites have become a hot asset to new Jazz artist as well as established Jazz artist.  As the manager for a new independent Jazz guitarist, Dave Percell, it has become essential to hang out and become familiar with some of the best Jazz websites on the internet.  Two of my favorite Jazz sites are The Jazz Network and AllaboutJazz.com.  These two sites have been incredible resources for me.

It’s true that “Who You Know” can make or break an artist, and that is why I love The Jazz Network.  We have connected with not only other Jazz artist/musicians, but the variety of producers, Radio stations, podcasters, and publicist  that are literally at our finger tips has been a huge blessing.  We have connected with Radio stations broadcasting both in the US, Australia, and the UK in which some of them fish for fresh Indie artist from this website to assemble their playlist and broadcast on air and online.  The Indie Showcase is just one radio station that has aired Dave Percell recently and of course is a contact that we met through The Jazz Network. As with other profile sites you can take advantage of meeting new friends, sending invites to upcoming events to your friends, play your tracks and music on your profile site through the use of their online MP3 player, post bulletins, join groups, and so much more.  The connections on this site is amazing.

Allaboutjazz.com is one the most Jazz artist/musician friendly sites around. Where do I start with this site? Their is just so much you can do. They aren’t their just to make money, they are their to help artist promote their Jazz music, and it’s evident with the amount of free resources and exposure they give to Jazz musicians.  Every day this site features a daily MP3 download that gives an awesome amount of exposure to the artist.  It is featured on their home page, and picked up by other article sites, bloggers, and online news websites. It was honor to be able to have Dave Percell’s song “Eternal Traveler” featured on this site as it drove an enormous amount of traffic to our CD Baby Site as well as Dave Percell’s Myspace and official website.

Article writing is a great key to internet marketing, which is yet another reason to fall in love with this website. All About Jazz allows you to submit articles on Jazz artist, upcoming events, festival, general news etc. and feature it; which is again picked up by multiple websites thus sending traffic to your other websites.  In case your wondering this is all 100% FREE EXPOSURE! Yes people FREE EXPOSURE! The industry resources include music bloggers, publicist, Production companies, and many more …. and yes again its free……AND it includes the contact information to who you need to contact within these companies.

There are many more reasons to love these two Jazz websites, but hopefully what I wrote so far will cause you to go there and start exploring these sites for yourself because they will be a great asset to your musical career.

Classic rock is a term used loosely to describe albums released in the early to late 70’s by artists that have become legendary and therefore “classics.”

Most of these artists were highly original and became influential on many bands in subsequent generations to come. No matter what era you were born in, almost any band you listen to has been influenced by artists and bands from the 1970s. Moreover, even if you are only in your teens and you think your favourite band is “totally original,” chances are they were influenced by a musician or group from that era, even if they don’t consciously know it.

The seventies were a great era because it was truly a ground breaking time for music. Nothing was copied or rehashed and everyone had their own sound. The 1970s represented a culmination and expansion of sounds that were experimented on in the 1960s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Free, Allman Brothers, Queen, Black Sabbath, Cream, David Bowie, Status Quo are all examples of acts who made their start in the 60’s but found their sound and style in the 70’s, and therefore gave rise to many other bands who then added their own flavour to these styles.

Lesser known bands such as Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grand Funk Railroad, Scorpions (who became quite huge in the 80’s), and Thin Lizzy are worthy of mentions but would not necessarily legends, where as other acts such as Queen became absolutely huge and remain so to this day.

It is the same with guitar heroes. Almost every guitarist, no matter what age, has heard of or listened to Hendrix, Clapton, or Jimmy Page but there are other extremely talented and influential guitarists who are less well known that should have legend status as well. Two such examples are Richie Blackmore from Deep purple and Michael Schenker from UFO. You will find some modern players such as Kirk Hammet and Dimebag Darrel were heavily influenced by Michael Schenker, but Schenker has not really achieved “god like” status some of his contemporaries like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton have.

I could go on for hours about classic rock and there are hundreds of excellent albums that are still available today but some songs and albums deserve special mention for their guitar prowess and are worth your time to have at least a quick listen. Here’s a quick list of four lesser known gems of classic musical genius that are worth a listen:

Deep purple:

Guitarist: Richie Blackmore:

Choice albums: Made in Japan and Deep Purple in Rock

Songs: Highway Star, Child in Time.

Some of the most blistering guitar work you will ever hear recorded in the early 70’s and held the Guinness Book of Records title as the loudest recording ever made!

UFO:

Guitarist: Michael Schenker.

Choice Albums: Phenomenon and Force It.

Songs: Rock Bottom

One of the most exciting and dynamic solos ever recorded, he was about 18 at the time!

FREE: (later to become” bad company” another excellent act!!)

Guitarist Paul Kossof

Album: Best of Free.

Songs: All Right Now, Fire and Water, .Mr. Big [live]

Simplistic and slow style excellent natural tone, all feeling!!! A Les Paul plugged straight into a marshal, no pedals and no tricks.

WISHBONE ASH:

Guitarists: Andy Powell & Ted Turner.

Choice albums: Argus and There’s The Rub.

Excellent melody and twin harmony lead breaks, copied by many acts since! Very complex arrangements.

Classic rock is a term used loosely to describe albums released in the early to late 70’s by artists that have become legendary and therefore “classics.”

Most of these artists were highly original and became influential on many bands in subsequent generations to come. No matter what era you were born in, almost any band you listen to has been influenced by artists and bands from the 1970s. Moreover, even if you are only in your teens and you think your favourite band is “totally original,” chances are they were influenced by a musician or group from that era, even if they don’t consciously know it.

The seventies were a great era because it was truly a ground breaking time for music. Nothing was copied or rehashed and everyone had their own sound. The 1970s represented a culmination and expansion of sounds that were experimented on in the 1960s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Free, Allman Brothers, Queen, Black Sabbath, Cream, David Bowie, Status Quo are all examples of acts who made their start in the 60’s but found their sound and style in the 70’s, and therefore gave rise to many other bands who then added their own flavour to these styles.

Lesser known bands such as Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grand Funk Railroad, Scorpions (who became quite huge in the 80’s), and Thin Lizzy are worthy of mentions but would not necessarily legends, where as other acts such as Queen became absolutely huge and remain so to this day.

It is the same with guitar heroes. Almost every guitarist, no matter what age, has heard of or listened to Hendrix, Clapton, or Jimmy Page but there are other extremely talented and influential guitarists who are less well known that should have legend status as well. Two such examples are Richie Blackmore from Deep purple and Michael Schenker from UFO. You will find some modern players such as Kirk Hammet and Dimebag Darrel were heavily influenced by Michael Schenker, but Schenker has not really achieved “god like” status some of his contemporaries like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton have.

I could go on for hours about classic rock and there are hundreds of excellent albums that are still available today but some songs and albums deserve special mention for their guitar prowess and are worth your time to have at least a quick listen. Here’s a quick list of four lesser known gems of classic musical genius that are worth a listen:

Deep purple:

Guitarist: Richie Blackmore:

Choice albums: Made in Japan and Deep Purple in Rock

Songs: Highway Star, Child in Time.

Some of the most blistering guitar work you will ever hear recorded in the early 70’s and held the Guinness Book of Records title as the loudest recording ever made!

UFO:

Guitarist: Michael Schenker.

Choice Albums: Phenomenon and Force It.

Songs: Rock Bottom

One of the most exciting and dynamic solos ever recorded, he was about 18 at the time!

FREE: (later to become” bad company” another excellent act!!)

Guitarist Paul Kossof

Album: Best of Free.

Songs: All Right Now, Fire and Water, .Mr. Big [live]

Simplistic and slow style excellent natural tone, all feeling!!! A Les Paul plugged straight into a marshal, no pedals and no tricks.

WISHBONE ASH:

Guitarists: Andy Powell & Ted Turner.

Choice albums: Argus and There’s The Rub.

Excellent melody and twin harmony lead breaks, copied by many acts since! Very complex arrangements.