ArtistShare Q2 2008 Includes music by Danilo Perez, Jim Hall & Bill Frisell, Jon Gordon, the Grammy-winning Patrick Williams, Kevin Hays, Kate Schutt, Edward Simon & Leonardo Granados, and Joel Miller
ArtistShare Q2 2008, an eclectic, jazz-oriented compilation promotional CD that focuses on a broad range of artists associated with the unique and groundbreaking company, is now available to journalists. Founded by jazz guitarist and computer programmer Brian Camelio in 2001, ArtistShare has never been a record label in the traditional sense; CDs released through ArtistShare are funded by the artists' fans -- and the New York City- based outfit has attracted a long list of celebrated jazz improvisers during its seven-year history. Boasting performances by heavyweights like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell and Danilo Perez, ArtistShare Q2 2008 gives journalists an impressive taste of the types of musicians who have been releasing their projects through ArtistShare. The company is encouraging fans to participate in artists' projects in a variety of ways, which range from submitting artwork for the cover of a forthcoming Jim Hall/Bill Frisell CD, to being selected as a featured soloist on Patrick Williams' new CD, or having a song written just for them by singer/songwriter Kate Schutt.
An unmixed live-in-the-studio performance of the time-honored Tin Pan Alley standard “My Funny Valentine" unites two of the most cherished jazz guitarists of their generations: the 77-year-old Jim Hall (www.jimhallmusic.com) and 57-year-old Bill Frisell (www.billfrisell.com), who appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records. Known for his airy style of playing, the distinctive Hall has influenced a variety of jazz guitarists ranging from Pat Metheny to Pat Martino to Frisell. Frisell is a distinctive player in his own right -- and their mutual admiration is evident on their impressionistic performance of “My Funny Valentine" from their forthcoming yet untitled ArtistShare album. Hall and Frisell are currently in the process of recording the CD, which is due out in September 2008. Fans have opportunities to contribute to different parts of the creative process, including submitting artwork for the CD cover to helping to select the material. Those who participate at higher levels have the opportunity to attend the mastering sessions in New York City, receive an ipod containing never-before released music of Jim Hall, and much more.
Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer/arranger Patrick Williams' first fan-funded project on ArtistShare will allow participants to follow the process of writing, arranging, rehearsing and recording his forthcoming large ensemble CD. Through this project Williams' fans will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate by recording solos over music-minus-one-tracks for Patrick's review. He will then choose a featured soloist from these submissions and invite him or her to the studio to perform on the record! The chosen participant may also appear in an online meeting/clinic with one of the musicians from the CD. Other fans will feel as if they're right there with Williams as they witness the music and musicians taking shape to create his most exciting big band CD to date. Fans will also have the opportunity to “drop in" to get the latest news on the project, hear music Williams is currently working on, or even get a credit on the new CD. The fan experience will be enhanced through streaming video, photo journals and other additional content such as artist interviews from the studio and insiders' access to Patrick's compositional process. The project will coincide with the 25th anniversary release of Patrick's seminal 1973 big-band recording Threshold. Mixed by Phil Ramone and originally released by Capitol Records, the long-out-of-print Threshold will be reissued through ArtistShare later this year. To celebrate this milestone, Q2 2008 showcases “Mr. Smoke" from that album. It's an infectious modal offering that combines a Creed Taylor- ish funkiness with hints of Miles Davis and John Coltrane's modal periods. www.patrickwilliamsmusic.com
Toronto-based singer/songwriter and Pennsylvania native Kate Schutt (www.kateschutt.com) invites fans to participate in her current ArtistShare project The Telephone Game by submitting their own love stories, ideas, poems or prospective titles for songs. She will be writing songs for the CD based on the fan input and will respond to every submission sent her way. Participation will occur at different levels, including ArtistShare Executive, Gold, Silver, Bronze -- and depending on the level of participation they choose, Schutt's fans can be rewarded with anything from a private performance to prominent credit on her CD, or even a song written and recorded just for them! Schutt's hauntingly melancholic ballad “How Much in Love," featured on Q2 2008, successfully bridges the gap between jazz noir and adult alternative. Schutt's expressive performance draws on the influence of Billie Holiday and Julie London, but “How Much in Love" will appeal to not only jazz vocal enthusiasts, but also to admirers of modern singer/songwriters like Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin and Tori Amos. “How Much in Love" is from Schutt's 2007 release No Love Lost, which Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News hailed as “one of the finer female singer-songwriter sets of the year."
Since the 1990s, Kevin Hays (www.kevinhays.com) has received many rave reviews for his piano playing -- The All Music Guide's David R. Adler, for example, has said that “Hays' soulful, uncluttered, unassuming style sets him apart among talented young jazz pianists" -- but on the intriguing “A Question," Hays demonstrates that he is equally skillful as a vocalist. “A Question," which describes a soldier's encounter with an apparition in the middle of the desert, is from Hays' 2007 release The Dreamer. Fans can participate at different levels including a personal correspondence lesson with Kevin Hays, 2 online lessons, a Q & A session, CD download and more.
Fan participation will be a critical part of The Bolero Project, the forthcoming CD by Venezuelan-born pianist Edward Simon (www.edwardsimon.com) and singer/percussionist Leonardo Granados. In this project, fans will have an opportunity to submit their real-life stories to Simon and Granados, who will carefully go through those submissions and write and record boleros based on the stories they select. The Bolero Project will offer different levels of participation, and individual boleros will be dedicated to fans participating at the higher levels. Q2 2008 showcases an unmixed take of the bolero “Como Fue" from the sessions for The Bolero Project, which will bring together two powerful traditions: the jazz vocal tradition and the Latin bolero tradition. “Como Fue" is performed in Spanish, and even if one doesn't speak espaol, there is no denying that Granados' vocals pack a strong emotional punch. Equally appealing is Simon's melodic pianism.
Originally heard on The Danilo Perez Big Band's The Panama Suite Project, the adventurous “Awakening/El Despertar" underscores Perez' talents as a composer, bandleader and arranger. Although Perez is famous for his virtuosity as a pianist, the pianist on The Panama Suite Project is Columbia native Gabriel Guerrero, one of Perez' students. To many, Latin jazz has meant Afro-Cuban jazz, but Perez has helped to expand Latin jazz' horizons by incorporating both South and Central American folk elements in what he calls “Pan-American Music" - and his love of traditional Panamanian music comes through with exuberant results on “Awakening/El Despertar." All of the profits from The Panama Suite Project are being donated to the Danilo Perez Foundation, which funds educational, scholarships, and mentoring programs in Panama. The Foundation runs the Panama Jazz Festival, which includes workshops and educational programs and has become the biggest music educational event for jazz in Latin America. www.panamajazzfestival.com
“Hospital Loop" is a dusky post-bop track from Joel Miller's 2007 CD Tantramar, which illustrates the Montreal-based improviser's skills as a tenor saxophonist, composer and group leader. Giving Tantramar a five-star review in the Montreal Gazette, Irwin Block praised Miller (www.joelmillermusic.com) for providing “music that is challenging and appealing." And Katie Malloch, a well-known broadcaster for The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), has described Miller as “a very happening tenor player" who has “one of those sounds on tenor that makes you very glad that there is such a thing as the tenor saxophone." By participating in this project, fans will hear the stories that inspired his music, and gain insight into the production process. Fans will be able to go on a journey through Joel's world with video of his live performances and rehearsals, audio lectures and interviews, photo galleries, sketches and journals.
Alto saxophonist Jon Gordon (www.jongordonmusic.com), who the iconic Phil Woods has exalted as “one of the greatest alto players ever," is both hard-swinging and melodic on his hypnotic post-bop track “Joe Said So," which is from Gordon's 2007 release Within Worlds. In All About Jazz, Within Worlds enjoyed a highly favorable review from Ken Dryden, who called the album “compelling" and wrote, “It's clear from these provocative sessions that Jon Gordon isn't one to coast on his reputation." And DownBeat's Kirk Silsbee gave Within Worlds 4 stars and described it as “a multi-faceted statement that invites repeated investigations." Fans can still log on to read Jon's blog and download content from the making of the CD, improvisation lessons, live concert download and more.
So what is it about ArtistShare that has been attracting instrumentalists and singers of this caliber? To answer that question, one must go back to 2001. That year, Camelio observed major changes taking place in the music industry and concluded that traditional record companies were in serious trouble because piracy and online sharing of music files had become increasingly harder to prevent. Camelio also felt that traditional labels were being increasingly unfair to artists, and he launched ArtistShare with the goal of creating an environment that was both kinder to musicians and less vulnerable to the effects of piracy by providing fans greater access into the creative process. ArtistShare, as envisioned by Camelio, would be a major departure from traditional labels in that CDs would be funded by artists' fans, distribution would be strictly Internet-based, and artists would maintain full ownership of recordings and keep 85% of an album's profits.
“I started ArtistShare with the vision that the music industry was rapidly changing from a retail industry to a service industry," Camelio recalls. “The one thing that cannot be downloaded is the creative process, and ArtistShare's business model has been based on the creative process."
After being in a developmental stage in 2001 and 2002, Camelio's new business model fully went into effect when critically acclaimed bandleader/arranger/composer Maria Schneider (www.mariaschneider.com) released her fan-funded album Concert in the Garden through ArtistShare in 2003. The CD made history by becoming the first Grammy- winning album that was sold online exclusively, and Schneider won another Grammy when her song “Cerulean Sky" (from her second ArtistShare-affiliated project Sky Blue) was named “Best Instrumental Composition" in 2008.
Since 2003, a long list of well respected jazz improvisers have released fan-funded albums through ArtistShare, including Chris Potter, Bob Brookmeyer, Eddie Palmieri, Billy Childs, Jane Ira Bloom, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eden Atwood, Rachel Z, Brian Lynch and Kenny Werner. And Schneider isn't the only ArtistShare-associated artist who the Grammies have recognized; along the way, projects released through ArtistShare have resulted in eleven Grammy nominations and four Grammy wins, including Childs for his composition “Into the Light" in 2006 and Palmieri and Lynch for their Simptico album in 2007. Fan/artist interaction, Camelio stresses, is an essential part of ArtistShare's operation. Camelio notes that when fans fund ArtistShare-affiliated projects and offer their input and feedback, this inevitably encourages a stronger bond between artists and fans that is beneficial on both a creative and a business/marketing level. In terms of marketing, it is beneficial because ArtistShare-affiliated artists are better able to gauge what fans are willing to pay for -- and on a creative level, Camelio says, the fans' feedback encourages artists to really go that extra mile.
“The old way of making records and selling them in stores was kind of an insular experience for the artist," Camelio explains. “Breaking down the wall between the artist and the fan has been the foundation of ArtistShare's business model, and we have found that when that wall is broken down, artists do some of their best work. The quality of the work I have seen at ArtistShare has been astounding."
And this high level of creativity is very much in evidence throughout ArtistShare Q2 2008.
ArtistShare Q2 2008, an eclectic, jazz-oriented compilation promotional CD that focuses on a broad range of artists associated with the unique and groundbreaking company, is now available to journalists. Founded by jazz guitarist and computer programmer Brian Camelio in 2001, ArtistShare has never been a record label in the traditional sense; CDs released through ArtistShare are funded by the artists' fans -- and the New York City- based outfit has attracted a long list of celebrated jazz improvisers during its seven-year history. Boasting performances by heavyweights like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell and Danilo Perez, ArtistShare Q2 2008 gives journalists an impressive taste of the types of musicians who have been releasing their projects through ArtistShare. The company is encouraging fans to participate in artists' projects in a variety of ways, which range from submitting artwork for the cover of a forthcoming Jim Hall/Bill Frisell CD, to being selected as a featured soloist on Patrick Williams' new CD, or having a song written just for them by singer/songwriter Kate Schutt.
An unmixed live-in-the-studio performance of the time-honored Tin Pan Alley standard “My Funny Valentine" unites two of the most cherished jazz guitarists of their generations: the 77-year-old Jim Hall (www.jimhallmusic.com) and 57-year-old Bill Frisell (www.billfrisell.com), who appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records. Known for his airy style of playing, the distinctive Hall has influenced a variety of jazz guitarists ranging from Pat Metheny to Pat Martino to Frisell. Frisell is a distinctive player in his own right -- and their mutual admiration is evident on their impressionistic performance of “My Funny Valentine" from their forthcoming yet untitled ArtistShare album. Hall and Frisell are currently in the process of recording the CD, which is due out in September 2008. Fans have opportunities to contribute to different parts of the creative process, including submitting artwork for the CD cover to helping to select the material. Those who participate at higher levels have the opportunity to attend the mastering sessions in New York City, receive an ipod containing never-before released music of Jim Hall, and much more.
Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer/arranger Patrick Williams' first fan-funded project on ArtistShare will allow participants to follow the process of writing, arranging, rehearsing and recording his forthcoming large ensemble CD. Through this project Williams' fans will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate by recording solos over music-minus-one-tracks for Patrick's review. He will then choose a featured soloist from these submissions and invite him or her to the studio to perform on the record! The chosen participant may also appear in an online meeting/clinic with one of the musicians from the CD. Other fans will feel as if they're right there with Williams as they witness the music and musicians taking shape to create his most exciting big band CD to date. Fans will also have the opportunity to “drop in" to get the latest news on the project, hear music Williams is currently working on, or even get a credit on the new CD. The fan experience will be enhanced through streaming video, photo journals and other additional content such as artist interviews from the studio and insiders' access to Patrick's compositional process. The project will coincide with the 25th anniversary release of Patrick's seminal 1973 big-band recording Threshold. Mixed by Phil Ramone and originally released by Capitol Records, the long-out-of-print Threshold will be reissued through ArtistShare later this year. To celebrate this milestone, Q2 2008 showcases “Mr. Smoke" from that album. It's an infectious modal offering that combines a Creed Taylor- ish funkiness with hints of Miles Davis and John Coltrane's modal periods. www.patrickwilliamsmusic.com
Toronto-based singer/songwriter and Pennsylvania native Kate Schutt (www.kateschutt.com) invites fans to participate in her current ArtistShare project The Telephone Game by submitting their own love stories, ideas, poems or prospective titles for songs. She will be writing songs for the CD based on the fan input and will respond to every submission sent her way. Participation will occur at different levels, including ArtistShare Executive, Gold, Silver, Bronze -- and depending on the level of participation they choose, Schutt's fans can be rewarded with anything from a private performance to prominent credit on her CD, or even a song written and recorded just for them! Schutt's hauntingly melancholic ballad “How Much in Love," featured on Q2 2008, successfully bridges the gap between jazz noir and adult alternative. Schutt's expressive performance draws on the influence of Billie Holiday and Julie London, but “How Much in Love" will appeal to not only jazz vocal enthusiasts, but also to admirers of modern singer/songwriters like Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin and Tori Amos. “How Much in Love" is from Schutt's 2007 release No Love Lost, which Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News hailed as “one of the finer female singer-songwriter sets of the year."
Since the 1990s, Kevin Hays (www.kevinhays.com) has received many rave reviews for his piano playing -- The All Music Guide's David R. Adler, for example, has said that “Hays' soulful, uncluttered, unassuming style sets him apart among talented young jazz pianists" -- but on the intriguing “A Question," Hays demonstrates that he is equally skillful as a vocalist. “A Question," which describes a soldier's encounter with an apparition in the middle of the desert, is from Hays' 2007 release The Dreamer. Fans can participate at different levels including a personal correspondence lesson with Kevin Hays, 2 online lessons, a Q & A session, CD download and more.
Fan participation will be a critical part of The Bolero Project, the forthcoming CD by Venezuelan-born pianist Edward Simon (www.edwardsimon.com) and singer/percussionist Leonardo Granados. In this project, fans will have an opportunity to submit their real-life stories to Simon and Granados, who will carefully go through those submissions and write and record boleros based on the stories they select. The Bolero Project will offer different levels of participation, and individual boleros will be dedicated to fans participating at the higher levels. Q2 2008 showcases an unmixed take of the bolero “Como Fue" from the sessions for The Bolero Project, which will bring together two powerful traditions: the jazz vocal tradition and the Latin bolero tradition. “Como Fue" is performed in Spanish, and even if one doesn't speak espaol, there is no denying that Granados' vocals pack a strong emotional punch. Equally appealing is Simon's melodic pianism.
Originally heard on The Danilo Perez Big Band's The Panama Suite Project, the adventurous “Awakening/El Despertar" underscores Perez' talents as a composer, bandleader and arranger. Although Perez is famous for his virtuosity as a pianist, the pianist on The Panama Suite Project is Columbia native Gabriel Guerrero, one of Perez' students. To many, Latin jazz has meant Afro-Cuban jazz, but Perez has helped to expand Latin jazz' horizons by incorporating both South and Central American folk elements in what he calls “Pan-American Music" - and his love of traditional Panamanian music comes through with exuberant results on “Awakening/El Despertar." All of the profits from The Panama Suite Project are being donated to the Danilo Perez Foundation, which funds educational, scholarships, and mentoring programs in Panama. The Foundation runs the Panama Jazz Festival, which includes workshops and educational programs and has become the biggest music educational event for jazz in Latin America. www.panamajazzfestival.com
“Hospital Loop" is a dusky post-bop track from Joel Miller's 2007 CD Tantramar, which illustrates the Montreal-based improviser's skills as a tenor saxophonist, composer and group leader. Giving Tantramar a five-star review in the Montreal Gazette, Irwin Block praised Miller (www.joelmillermusic.com) for providing “music that is challenging and appealing." And Katie Malloch, a well-known broadcaster for The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), has described Miller as “a very happening tenor player" who has “one of those sounds on tenor that makes you very glad that there is such a thing as the tenor saxophone." By participating in this project, fans will hear the stories that inspired his music, and gain insight into the production process. Fans will be able to go on a journey through Joel's world with video of his live performances and rehearsals, audio lectures and interviews, photo galleries, sketches and journals.
Alto saxophonist Jon Gordon (www.jongordonmusic.com), who the iconic Phil Woods has exalted as “one of the greatest alto players ever," is both hard-swinging and melodic on his hypnotic post-bop track “Joe Said So," which is from Gordon's 2007 release Within Worlds. In All About Jazz, Within Worlds enjoyed a highly favorable review from Ken Dryden, who called the album “compelling" and wrote, “It's clear from these provocative sessions that Jon Gordon isn't one to coast on his reputation." And DownBeat's Kirk Silsbee gave Within Worlds 4 stars and described it as “a multi-faceted statement that invites repeated investigations." Fans can still log on to read Jon's blog and download content from the making of the CD, improvisation lessons, live concert download and more.
So what is it about ArtistShare that has been attracting instrumentalists and singers of this caliber? To answer that question, one must go back to 2001. That year, Camelio observed major changes taking place in the music industry and concluded that traditional record companies were in serious trouble because piracy and online sharing of music files had become increasingly harder to prevent. Camelio also felt that traditional labels were being increasingly unfair to artists, and he launched ArtistShare with the goal of creating an environment that was both kinder to musicians and less vulnerable to the effects of piracy by providing fans greater access into the creative process. ArtistShare, as envisioned by Camelio, would be a major departure from traditional labels in that CDs would be funded by artists' fans, distribution would be strictly Internet-based, and artists would maintain full ownership of recordings and keep 85% of an album's profits.
“I started ArtistShare with the vision that the music industry was rapidly changing from a retail industry to a service industry," Camelio recalls. “The one thing that cannot be downloaded is the creative process, and ArtistShare's business model has been based on the creative process."
After being in a developmental stage in 2001 and 2002, Camelio's new business model fully went into effect when critically acclaimed bandleader/arranger/composer Maria Schneider (www.mariaschneider.com) released her fan-funded album Concert in the Garden through ArtistShare in 2003. The CD made history by becoming the first Grammy- winning album that was sold online exclusively, and Schneider won another Grammy when her song “Cerulean Sky" (from her second ArtistShare-affiliated project Sky Blue) was named “Best Instrumental Composition" in 2008.
Since 2003, a long list of well respected jazz improvisers have released fan-funded albums through ArtistShare, including Chris Potter, Bob Brookmeyer, Eddie Palmieri, Billy Childs, Jane Ira Bloom, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eden Atwood, Rachel Z, Brian Lynch and Kenny Werner. And Schneider isn't the only ArtistShare-associated artist who the Grammies have recognized; along the way, projects released through ArtistShare have resulted in eleven Grammy nominations and four Grammy wins, including Childs for his composition “Into the Light" in 2006 and Palmieri and Lynch for their Simptico album in 2007. Fan/artist interaction, Camelio stresses, is an essential part of ArtistShare's operation. Camelio notes that when fans fund ArtistShare-affiliated projects and offer their input and feedback, this inevitably encourages a stronger bond between artists and fans that is beneficial on both a creative and a business/marketing level. In terms of marketing, it is beneficial because ArtistShare-affiliated artists are better able to gauge what fans are willing to pay for -- and on a creative level, Camelio says, the fans' feedback encourages artists to really go that extra mile.
“The old way of making records and selling them in stores was kind of an insular experience for the artist," Camelio explains. “Breaking down the wall between the artist and the fan has been the foundation of ArtistShare's business model, and we have found that when that wall is broken down, artists do some of their best work. The quality of the work I have seen at ArtistShare has been astounding."
And this high level of creativity is very much in evidence throughout ArtistShare Q2 2008.
For more information contact Braithwaite & Katz Communications.
