Much has been said about jazz’s cultural relevance or supposed lack thereof, and one constructive development of this latest conversation is the “#jazzlives” campaign.

Darcy James Argue explains:

Critic and blogger Howard Mandel has launched a worthy Twitter trend: #jazzlives. If you are already on Twitter, you probably have a pretty good idea where this is headed: whenever you hear live jazz — at a club, festival, concert hall, on the street, wherever — throw up a Tweet with the #jazzlives hashtag, and let us know where you are and who you’re hearing.

It’s a great idea, and we’ve already put up the official #jazzlives widget on the right column of the website — showing what everyone has tweeted about the jazz shows they’ve heard lately. A further explanation of Twitter and instructions to add your own widget are in Darcy’s post.

Still, it brings to mind the question, “What does it mean to support jazz?” It’s obviously a positive step to show up at a jazz show, in terms of personal enjoyment, the artistic significance of larger audiences, and support of venues that present jazz.

However, in economic terms, attendance at jazz shows doesn’t necessarily translate into support for jazz musicians. Some jazz venues pay well; others collect a cover but keep most of it for themselves; many don’t pay musicians at all, forcing them to play for tips.

It follows that we can have artistically-thriving jazz scenes in New York City, where even many of the top, well-established musicians are without financial security, health insurance or a retirement plan. In fact, some have argued that NYC scenes are essentially subsidized by arts funding in Europe.

It’s time for jazz musicians and fans to demand more from our venues. Obviously, one effort that we think is worthy is our own Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign to get pension payments from top NYC jazz clubs like the Jazz Standard, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note and the Iridium. Our plan wouldn’t cost the clubs any money, so it’s a win-win-win for jazz musicians, audiences and venues.

The first stage of our campaign targets the high-end jazz venues. How can we improve conditions within the entire NYC club ecosystem? What are our responsibilities as audience members, jazz musicians and venue owners? How can we insure that support for jazz means some measure of stability for jazz artists? These questions aren’t easily answered, but they need to addressed.

]]> http://justiceforjazzartists.org/2009/09/jazzlives/feed/ 0 http://justiceforjazzartists.org/2009/08/august-17th-j4ja-jam-session-a-grand-success/ http://justiceforjazzartists.org/2009/08/august-17th-j4ja-jam-session-a-grand-success/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:41:07 +0000 j4ja http://justiceforjazzartists.org/?p=262

The Justice for Jazz Artists! Jam Session on August 17^th was a grand success.  A hearty congratulations to all who took part!

Two Mondays ago, Local 802, the Jazz Foundation of America and the 802 Jazz Advisory Committee hosted a Justice for Jazz Artists! Jam Session and Kickoff Event to raise awareness around the current campaign to bring benefits to musicians who work in NYC area jazz clubs.

The award winning filmmaker/musician Ron Grunhut created a splendid high definition video of the event, which features interview clips of Randy Weston, Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Powell, Bernard Purdie, Junior Mance, Reggie Workman, Bob Cranshaw, Sean Lyons and Jimmy Owens, among others.

Featured in the J4JA! video are snippets of performances by Jimmy Owens, Benny Powell, Sean Lyons, Danny Mixon, Kenny Davis, Bernard Purdie, Guadencio Thiago de Mello, Vinnie Knight, Keisha St. Joan, Wade Barnes, Reggie Workman, Bertha Hope, Fran McIntyre and about 2o other performers.

The soundtrack for the video selected by filmmaker Grunhut, was, appropriately, the bluesy “Justice for Jazz Artists,” composed by trumpeter Owens.

The video is about 5 minutes in length, and will be posted on YouTube on or around September 14, 2009.

The Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign is gearing up for future events as we move our campaign into the public sphere this fall.

Local 802 and J4JA! have already been in contact with club owners and NYC political leaders in an effort to resolve issues surrounding the redirection of forgiven NY State tax dollars towards the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund.

The tax dollars can be painlessly redirected from door admission charges towards benefits for performers who work in the club on any given night. The tax money is about .84 cents of every $10 collected at the door.

Club owners must comply with the intentions of state lawmakers, who passed a law forgiving the door sales tax in 2007, and allowing it to go to performers’ benefits.

Thus far, the clubs have refused to do so.

The Justice for Jazz Artists! campaign seeks to change that!

To volunteer in this important effort to help jazz artists in NY State, please email us or call the Local 802 Jazz Department at 212 245 4802 X185.

Monday, August 17th 6-10PM
322 West 48th Street (8th/9th)
NY, NY

This is a FREE Kick-Off Event for the Justice for Jazz Artists Campaign to get benefits for jazz musicians who work in NYC clubs.

Fans Welcome!

All Musicians and Audience Members will required to sign a release upon entry, as this session is being filmed. No partcipation without RSVP!!

RSVP: 212 245 4802 X 158 (Claudia) or email us

See You There!

Best,
Todd Bryant Weeks

Commissions… have become a fundamental part of the jazz economy. And, I’d add, now a significant factor in jazz’s creative life. Last year I confessed some guarded ambivalence about this fact in a related Gig column, musing about the specific qualities of these “new jazz works” that tend to look good in grant-proposal form.

And more…

I would be curious to know how musicians feel about the state of commissions. Does the current system create more or less freedom(s), more or less pressure(s)? And I’d love to hear what other listeners think.

Detailed and thought-provoking comments follow from many musicians, including Ronan Guilfoyle, Vijay Iyer and Ellery Eskelin. RTWT here.

h/t Darcy James Argue, with his own perspective on the issue as a recipient of U.S.-based and Canadian grants.

J4JA! Petitioners have now reached over 900 concerned professional musicians and fans from all over! Here are some recent signers:

Dave Liebman
Helen Merrill
Bernice Watkins
Sean Gough
Gail Hightower
Ayodele Maakheru
Bob Blumenthal
Regina Carter
Laurence Donohue-Greene

We are building steam!

Keep up the good work!

Best,

Jimmy Owens
Bob Cranshaw
J4JA!

by Todd Bryant Weeks

When we regard our AFM local with an unclouded eye, one of the things with which we must come to terms is the notion that despite our shared vision of a democratic, unbiased body that serves all of its members equally; despite the fact that Local 802 has always been an integrated local; despite the fact that over the years 802 has bucked societal trends by having integrated governing boards; and despite the fact that in recent decades the local has reached out to jazz artists with the formation of a Jazz Advisory Committee – despite all this, the local is still learning how best to advocate for those who play vernacular music, and for our members of color.

One way 802 can achieve greater advocacy for these performers is by providing access to meaningful benefits.

For those older members who are not vested in the AFM pension fund, getting retirement benefits is an unlikely scenario, even for those who are still working.

Still, most elders I’ve spoken with are in favor of our Justice for Jazz Artists campaign, which seeks to provide a pension for jazz performers where no benefits have been previously available: the New York City clubs. The campaign has begun to gather momentum this summer and we expect to really ramp it up this fall.

Historically, musicians have rarely enjoyed union benefits while working in clubs. Even when union contacts exist, no artist works at any one club with enough frequency to secure eligibility in either the Local 802 Health Benefits Plan or the AFM pension fund from that employment alone.

Club owners have also found various ways to get around agreements, especially if they are conducting a cash business, which is typical for many.

In order for jazz musicians to have access to benefits, more of their work from different sources of employment and from a wider number of venues needs to be organized. The union has successfully organized some resident jazz orchestras, several tours and bandleaders, as well as teaching employment. For those receiving some contributions already, adding benefits from the clubs would be another important step towards a meaningful retirement package. For those who have no benefits, this could be a solid first step towards vesting in a strong and healthy national pension plan.

JAZZ TAKES BACK SEAT

When the AFM was at its peak membership in the 1950’s, vernacular music like jazz took a back seat to the concert field and Broadway, and the union’s neglect of the jazz field was often perceived by musicians as being anti-black.

The bassist and educator Dr. Larry Ridley recalls, “I’ve been in the union since 1960. As African-American musicians, we always had to fight to get the respect we deserved, even within our own union. Black musicians back then looked at the union as being insensitive to our needs – even as locals in every town, big and small, still demanded dues on every gig we played.”

This climate of indifference began to change in the 1980’s, as then 802 President John Glasel, who was a Broadway musician, worked to repeal the daunting cabaret laws that hamstrung musicians by prohibiting small venues and restaurants from hiring more than three performers at a time, and by excluding percussion and horn players from many gigs.

In the early 1990’s, Jimmy Owens, Benny Powell, Bob Cranshaw and Jamil Nasser formed the Local 802 Jazz Advisory Committee to address the inequities that had plagued jazz performers who were unionized – and those who weren’t but who wanted to take advantage of collective bargaining agreements and benefits programs.

Jimmy Owens remembers it this way. “It was a case of benign neglect,” Owens said. “That’s a nice way of putting it. The union and the musicians didn’t really look to secure the kinds of protections that should have been made available to all musicians. And, what was worse, the pension fund was kept a closely guarded secret.”

As the clubs foundered in the 1960’s, some jazz artists were able to make a living by working in studio bands, recording jingles, or playing in pit orchestras. Others sought refuge in Europe, where state-funded venues and a healthy appreciation for American vernacular music had created a vibrant, and expanding, jazz scene. Many musicians felt that both the country and the union had turned away from them.

A decade later, in an attempt to bring some equity to the New York club scene, the Jazz Advisory Committee, with the enormous help and support of New York City Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell Jr. as well as upstate legislators George Maziarz and Joseph Morrelle, succeeded in getting a bill passed in Albany that allowed for an abatement of the sales tax normally charged on admission to small venues.

Like the earlier Turkus Award (the forgiven 1963 Broadway ticket tax utilized for Broadway employee benefits and still in effect today) the door tax dollars were now free to be contributed to the AFM Pension Fund.

The clubs, especially Birdland, the Blue Note, Iridium and the Jazz Standard, all agreed to support the 2007 lobbying effort by the union, but when the law was passed, the club owners balked.

Some felt that they would be deemed “employers” through their association with the fund, and thus would be liable for state statutory benefits like unemployment, workers’ comp, and disability insurance.

Others simply refused to participate, stonewalling any attempts by Local 802 to seek their co-operation.

Since the law as written did not actually compel the owners to do anything, the club owners were not violating any laws by refusing to redirect the tax. Even after the union successfully addressed the statutory benefits piece of the puzzle, allowing for a scenario where contributions could be made even as business in the clubs went on as usual, owners have yet to agree to sit down and discuss a resolution with the union.

Again, the jazz musicians found themselves on the outside looking in.

This summer, Local 802 hopes to move hearts and minds on this issue with two simple words – “Justice” and “Jazz.”

At this writing, the Jazz Advisory Committee has gathered over 800 signatures of prominent jazz artists in support of the campaign, and has put together a growing coalition of endorsers including the Jazz Ministry at St. Peter’s Church, New York City Central Labor Council, Jazz Foundation of America, New School Jazz Department Faculty Committee, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition and prominent music writers, including Nat Hentoff, Dan Morgenstern and Gary Giddins.

WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION

For some artists for whom these efforts may be too little, too late, there must be continued advocacy.

If they are unable to access basic benefits programs due to past inequities, then we all have an obligation to these senior members of our musical community; at the very least we should do what we can to promote their music and their legacy and ensure their comfort and security in their later years.

For those younger musicians who work night after night in local clubs with no benefits, Justice for Jazz Artists will have a real and lasting impact.