What Am I Here For? about:reader?url=http://www.melmartin.com/html_pages/Articles/he...

melmartin.com

What Am I Here For?

14-18 minutes

by

Mel Martin

Let's make a quantum leap. Let's say that you you have read all
the wonderful articles on jazz improvisation, taken private
lessons with the best teacher(s) available to you, gone to a jazz
workshop of your choice and maybe even received a degree in
jazz performance. At this point you have probably had a taste of
real life performing and found (a) that you are totally disgusted
and will never quit your day gig, (b) that you have a moderate
amount of talent and that you would like to continue on, (c) that
you are very good indeed and others are calling you to perform
with them and , finally (d) that you play so well and even look so
good in a $200 suit that you are ready to go out and conquer the
world. Since the last choice is probably where you are at now, I
think that it is time to discuss creative approaches to doing
something with this vast talent that your mother was sure you
had all along. In my last article, I listed a number of musical and
spiritual resources that the creative jazz musician may draw upon
in order to survive. In this article I would like to extend that

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concept to some tangible resources that are available to most

musicians.

The first area to explore is that of organizational resources. This

applies to anyone that wants to function in a group although solo
artists may profit from some of these ideas as well. Many fine
groups begin by people simply getting together to jam on an
informal basis, either privately or publicly. If a certain rapport is
indicated, it may worth exploring the idea of forming a group with
the goal of performing. This situation is pregnant with
implications, and needs some careful consideration. Anytime one
becomes involved in an organization, certain immutable laws of
the universe come into play. I once was a charter member of a
Latin-Jazz-Rock band called Azteca which originally was sixteen
pieces strong. Even though that band scored a Colombia
recording contract, was booked by the William Morris Agency,
and got some substantial tours, it probably would have been a
good idea to consider the size of the group as this eventually
became a major problem. Of course, the excitement of the times
and the fact that the group had what appeared to be a promising
future and came up with some great music mitigated any
practical considerations. Also, the fact that there was no
intelligent leadership did not help. The choices that arise are
usually fairly obvious. The group should be comprised of
reasonably like minded individuals looking to achieve a higher
musical goal. This where the axiom "the sum is greater than it's
parts" comes into play. Paradoxically, "a group is no stronger
than it's weakest link" goes hand in hand with this idea. Not only

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is there safety but also power in numbers, but as I found out,

don't let that idea go to far. Another important part of this decision
is: is the group going to be a musical and/or economic
cooperative? Oops! There's that word. A group can function on
many levels and it is necessary to establish a direction musically
and economically but it's usually difficult to get any two
individuals to decide on anything. Members of a group generally
feel better about a situation where they are considered as
partners, but the question inevitably arises concerning who
cooperates and who doesn't. Individuals are supposed to have
their own agenda and eventually will pursue them, but if
worthwhile music can be made and there is some economic
incentive most people can see that. Cannonball Adderley's
bands were true partnerships where the financial rewards where
shared with group members. This made for some happy and
great sounding bands even though it was Cannonball's name
that was out front. Few jazz soloists that have reached that level
of accomplishment can afford to do that in this day and age so
we have what is commonly known as the leader/sideman
configuration. In other words, whoever gets the gig gets to be
leader and do his or her "own thing". Of course the previously
mentioned group axioms are still true which is why certain
players are always valued as sidemen. Also, some leaders truly
understand that if you make them feel like real participants in the
creative process, that the results are always better. Then there is
the benevelont dictator situation where one person makes the
artistic decisions, with a certain sensitivity to the other member's

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ideas, and monies are shared in a fair manner. This can actually
work quite well within a certain set of standards and is perhaps
the most democratic method of all.

There is much potential for musical things to be accomplished

once these basic organizational concepts have been addressed.
Players can begin to compose and arrange for the group and
tailor the music to fit whatever styles may be developing. Another
band that I was involved in, Listen featuring Mel Martin, used to
practice playing and improvising in odd time signatures for hours.
This resulted in some unique and original music which was
recorded on the Inner City label during the 'seventies. We were
able to reach a level of collective ability to compose and
improvise things that would have been impossible had we not
taken the time as a group to explore some different areas than
done ordinarily. Each group has a unique opportunity to come up
with something new and different if approached correctly.
Essentially, this is done by appraising the strong points of each
member and working with this in mind. I always enjoy composing
for the people that I am working with. As most people know, this
is the way that Duke Ellington fashioned much of his music. In
fact, not only did he write with the great individual players in his
band in mind, he maintained such a close collaboration with Billy
Strayhorn that it's almost impossible to tell where one's work left
off and the other's began. The rapport and empathy developed in
an ongoing group tends to overshadow the individual
contributions of the members. This is not necessarily a negative
thing. The groups of Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Herbie

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Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Ornette Coleman, Horace Silver, The

Modern Jazz Quartet, Art Blakey, George Shearing, Gerry
Mulligan and Thelonious Monk always featured wonderful
contributions from the featured players but, ultimately were
remembered for their collective sound and feeling. The
previously mentioned axioms hold true even when the individuals
players are of the highest quality. In fact there is a geometric ratio
at work when this is so. The power of this is even more obvious
when one looks at the history of the big bands in jazz. Count
Basie's band of the late 'thirties was not only one of the most
cohesive, but truly innovative units that ever existed. They
developed an approach that was quite revolutionary for that era.
This doesn't happen by simply making a decision to be
revolutionary. It comes from an inner working and a long term
commitment to producing something that is unique and valuable.
This begins to supersede the individual agenda and rightly so.
Unfortunately, in this day and age there are few working groups
that are functioning this way which may be why the music has
stagnated to some degree.

One area of performance that needs to be addressed in the

group context is the programming of a show. You notice that I
just put a different spin on things by referring to a "show". One of
Dizzy Gillespie's axioms was that you need an audience to be in
the jazz business. Hence, a show equals the presentation. A little
bit of thought should be given to the balance of the sets. Things
to be considered are keys, tempos, solo order, balance of
originals versus standards. The physical aspects of the

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presentation should also be considered such as the quality of the

sound, in tune piano, lighting, stage setup, appearance of the
performers. Guest artists may be an option that will enhance a
show and also may bring in more people. This can also be a
great opportunity to create some great and, possibly, innovative
music with players of true stature. I have had the great
opportunity to do this with Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter as
well as an all star band featuring Freddie Hubbard, Bobby
Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, Mulgrew Miller, Jerry Gonzalez,
Lenny White and Jeff Chambers. In each of these situations I
was able to take a certain amount of initiative to lend some
direction to the proceedings. Many times, so called all star dates
are put together by people who have no inner sensitivity or ability
to organize the musical elements and the results are inevitably
dissapointing. Also, working with players of that caliber can be
very instructive, indeed. When a great player feels their
contributions are being properly utilized, they usually respond
quite positively to the situation and can offer many suggestions.
In fact, it would always be wise to seek out the advice of people
that you respect for some objective ideas about your
presentation. This can only help in the long run.

Rehearsing in a group context is somewhat of an art in itself.

Rehearsing can be anything from thorough drilling and precisely
worked out arrangements to simply talking down a lead sheet
two minutes before you go on. It is usually best to approach
rehearsing with the idea that the performance is one thing and
the rehearsal another. A different chemistry tends to take over

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once a group hits the stage. A group that has worked together
over a long period of time will have a pretty good understanding
of how this will go down. In general, it's best to not over rehearse
something. Leave some room for the player's creativity to come
out. This is where trust comes in. The idea is not to control a
performance but to guide it in a way that is appealing to both the
audience and the players. An intuitive sense of what is
happening very important to develop such as knowing when to
abandon a set order to play something more pertinent to the
vibes of the moment.

Finally, it would be wise to evaluate the group's efforts on

occasion. Audience feedback is, of course, paramount to any
performance and a willing audience will give you this immediately
but don't be afraid to go out and talk to your audience and
determine what their experience of your presentation was. In
fact, don't be afraid to talk to them from the stage. The group
should have a set of predetermined goals in mind, as well and it's
a good idea to try and figure out if these goals have been
reached. The ultimate question here is did the group truly
communicate on a number of levels. Without communication,
there will be no audience. Some players are so great that they
rarely say anything to their audiences but communicate only
through their music. Most of us can't count on this on a regular
basis so it's best to cultivate some sort of stage presence and
invite the audience to participate in your efforts.

I would be remiss to point out a very important aspect of the

creative musician's existence and that is economic resources.

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Money is the grease that keeps things happening and even the
most dedicated, creative, free spirited person needs some. If you
have something of value to offer, you must put a price that you
feel is fair and that the market can bear. It's easy to look around
at the big names and use that as your standard but the fact is
only a few artists can make money on that level. The rest of us
scuffle for whatever we can get and if we are able to make a
living in music, we do all kinds of jobs and are very happy when
we get to play jazz at all or the extreme privilege of playing our
own music. I have always felt that it would be smart to take a
basic course in economics or business management along with
all the music courses so as to understand those immutable laws
of the universe. The first thing is to learn to negotiate a fee for
yourself and your group. This is basic to your performing in clubs,
retaraunts, concert halls and public institutions such as schools,
hospitals and libraries. Ornette Coleman once told me that he
was once stranded in Europe with his famous original quartet
and negotiated a deal where they made a tour of all the mental
hospitals in the area and it was a great success both financially
and artistically. This is a perfect example of creative economic
thinking. Many engagements are sponsored by the Musician's
Union Trust Fund which is established through the contributions
of record companies. Other sources of funding are many times
available right in your surrounding community and beyond.
Regional arts councils exist in most cities and counties and offer
a certain level of funding for things such as municipal events and
even grants. States also generally offer various level of arts

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funding through their Arts Councils. Also, the National

Endowments for the Arts offers many areas of funding for both
ensembles and individuals and special projects. These grants
are very competitive and require a highly refined ability to deal
with the applications but can be very worthwhile in order to
further your career. I was recently awarded both a recording
grant and a performance fellowship and my group Bebop and
Beyond has also been awarded a number of similar grants.
Some artists have great ambivilance toward this concept, but the
concept of funding for artists goes back centuries and many
great works would not have come about without it. Finally, there
are a number of foundations and businesses that offer funding
for jazz, some on an ongoing basis and some one time only. With
a little research, one can usually find out who's offering this
support and see if the guidelines might fit a project you have in
mind. Since this is supposed to be a column on creative jazz
improvisation, I won't go into this subject in further depth but it is
an area worth exploring.

In this article, I have brought up some issues that aren't directly

related to playing jazz per se. But creative thinking isn't just
reserved for music. A true artist must be as inventive as possible
in the situations that are created, both musically and
economically. If you are only going to wait by the phone for
something to happen, you may have a long wait.. So it is better
to get busy and create something that represents your highest
artistic aims and can serve as a vehicle towards communicating
with your audience. In my next article, I would like to discuss the

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process of artistic thinking and perceptions.

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