What chance HMV buying Ronnie Scotts in 2010? As they are now buying the Mama Group, which includes Jazz Cafe and Apollo, to get involved at Ronnie's would have sense.
Or the Arts Council selling some of its property portfolio, e.g. AEG buying South Bank; or privatising some of its functions, e.g. a trust taking over Royal Opera House? Here it is because it becomes a way for the government to raise some money to reduce its deficit.
Hmmmm
Showing posts with label Ronnie Scott's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ronnie Scott's. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Monday, July 27, 2009
Is jazz helped by gimmickry
By which I mean pandering to what might create publicity, such as a commission or a festival.
The commission - a way for promoters to get a bit of a high from getting something different. Often from a festival. Barry Green told me yesterday that a band that he was in was encouraged to do a commission from a festival. It meant a whole change in the nature of the band. Extra musicians, time spent writing and rehearsing (which could have been better used for honing and improving). And the result was something played once and never again.
A festival is also a way of providing a gimmick and a sop for something that continues 365 days a year. Is it enough to just get the jazz "fix" over a few days or, in the case of the latest Britjazz festival at Ronnie Scott's, two weeks. The Olympics are going on about something called "legacy". We need that, at least from festivals, and also the link to the past that's also going on. For example, I introduced gigs at the last year's London Festival by saying, for example, "Day 8 of the London Jazz Festival and Day 320 of the Vortex Jazz Festival". It's a year round thing. As it is indeed for the musicians.
The commission - a way for promoters to get a bit of a high from getting something different. Often from a festival. Barry Green told me yesterday that a band that he was in was encouraged to do a commission from a festival. It meant a whole change in the nature of the band. Extra musicians, time spent writing and rehearsing (which could have been better used for honing and improving). And the result was something played once and never again.
A festival is also a way of providing a gimmick and a sop for something that continues 365 days a year. Is it enough to just get the jazz "fix" over a few days or, in the case of the latest Britjazz festival at Ronnie Scott's, two weeks. The Olympics are going on about something called "legacy". We need that, at least from festivals, and also the link to the past that's also going on. For example, I introduced gigs at the last year's London Festival by saying, for example, "Day 8 of the London Jazz Festival and Day 320 of the Vortex Jazz Festival". It's a year round thing. As it is indeed for the musicians.
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