If Kenny G is a jazz musician then a Big Mac is sirloin steak. Let's get real here. The only reason that we are having this discussion at all is because the major labels have the power and resources to create super stars and if they want to force feed pabulum down the throats of unassuming consumers who don't know any better, they will, until they choke and gag all the way to the cash register. Kenny G sells millions of CD's while the typical jazz mainstream jazz record sells maybe a respectable 5000 copies. Why is it this way? Why don't the same people who buy a Kenny G. CD buy a Steve Lacy or Jane Ira Bloom CD? Those artists are right there in the same department as Kenny G.

Could it be that maybe they are emotionally bankrupt or lack imagination or just never browse in those sections? Why is Kenny G even positioned in the jazz departments of all the major retailers of the world? Because the major labels created their marketing plans to position him there.

When I was the manager of the Jazz Store at J&R Music World in the mid Eighties I got a good education in the buying habits of "unassuming consumers." Wall Street, World Trade Tower, City, State and Federal employees, tourists all shopped at J&R. And by the way, J&R does have one of the best jazz departments anywhere in the world-hard core collectors and jazz aficionados will tell you this. During the lunch rush, 12:00 to 2:00 PM, you only had to stand at the top of the steps, in those days the jazz store was on the second floor, and watch the parade of London Fog coats march into the store to check out the new releases. The latest fusiac and usual GRP crap would fly out the door like Furbys in a K Mart. In fact we were instructed by management to play only certain records during the lunch rush. It would not be unusual to sell a box or two of any of this 'product' during this time slot. Yes, we would occasionally slip in a ringer and receive the typical response of "What's that playing?" "Hmm sounds nice, I'll think about it."

And this is exactly my point. They have to think! Once you present something new, something unfamiliar where they have to use their imaginations and their sense of artistic taste and make a decision based on this they freak, because they don't have any point of reference to base it on. They revert right back to the familiar to calm their sense of fear of spending their hard-earned cash on somebody they don't know and music they don't understand. The record labels know this and McDonalds knows this. It's called mass marketing. And it works. I got to a point where I knew as soon as a customer walked into the store what they were going to buy before they bought it. In some cases I would just point to the latest new release I knew they would be interested in and bam a sale. Call me a super salesman, call me clairvoyant, but if you spend eight to ten hours a day six days a week on the floor of a major retailer you can develop this skill. And here is another point, how many record company executives at the major labels have actually worked in a record store? Just asking.

Kenny G sells millions of CDs, God bless him. We should all actually thank Kenny G. Why, because the cash flow from the sales of vapid Kenny G music allows label jocks like Matt Pierson to sign artists like Larry Goldings. Oops Larry was recently dropped from Warner Jazz. That's okay. When Blue Note drops Medeski, Martin and Wood, Warner's can sign them and they can do lounge versions of vapid Kenny G music. Anyway you get my point. Well, not really.

What is the answer for the real jazz musicians who have made sacrifices, paid dues, mastered their craft and received the recognition of their peers?

Should the Sonny Fortunes and Gary Bartz's of the world let all of that go to make vapid Kenny G music? I'm sure the temptations are great considering the amounts of money involved, but would they succeed and at what cost? For myself I have seen too many examples of great jazz players going to major labels making embarrassing records only to be dropped later. In the Eighties Columbia Jazz had Dexter Gordon, Woody Shaw, Arthur Blythe, James Blood Ulmer and Tim Berne. We know what happened to Dexter and Woody, but what about Arthur, James and Tim? Most likely getting 'one off' deals with independent labels or like Tim self-producing, quite successfully I understand. Maybe this is the answer. Artists taking control of their music and maybe this will be possible as the millennium nears. The Internet seems to be offering new opportunities for musicians to have their music heard on demand twenty-four seven by anyone who has a computer, modem and curious mind, of course the majors control the lions share of the worlds recorded music, but that does not prevent the artist from producing something entirely proprietary for the Internet.

Last night I watched a fantastic documentary on the life of Man Ray. I was not surprised to learn that he struggled for many years to gain recognition for his work and had to resort to commercial fashion photography to earn a living. After his death he finally received the recognition he so desperately sought while alive. His works now sell for millions. So we see that this phenomenon is not exclusive to the jazz world, but effects all of the arts.

Let's open a dialogue for solutions. Let's hear from the musicians, labels, presenters, entrepreneurs and anyone who cares to put in their two cents.