The Art and Science of Jazz

Historians and scholars of medical humanities mine the (mostly) Western literary classics for the first descriptions of illnesses we have now categorized and studied. But why not explore popular culture as a historical source as well? Can art forms like the blues--the progenitor of jazz and other modern musical forms--contain also clues to medical mysteries of ...

It is safe to assume, that today, Blind Tom Wiggins (AKA Bethune) is not a household name. In the mid to late 19th century, and into the first decade of the 20th, however, Blind Tom was a phenomenon who some named the Eighth Wonder. Although no contemporary physician made the actual diagnosis of autism, it is ...

Music is a universal phenomenon across all human cultures both past and present. In that respect it is much like language, and as the understanding of language comes naturally to humans, so, too, does appreciation of music. Language has been mapped to distinct areas of the brain for well over a century, and relatively recently there ...

Motivation is the moving force behind anyone's activity. There is a complex set of forces which move anyone to do anything. It is no less complex for the musician. I bring this up not to point out differences between musicians and “laymen," but rather to point out the inherent similarities.

Musicians, like anyone else, find themselves ...

Every musician is at once a student and a performer. In each role, the musician explores and hopefully expands. The efficiency of progress for the student often suffers because of his inability to clearly see the differences between his own roles as student and performer. The attitude of the student must essentially be one of humility ...

Guitar Lore by Dennis Sandole was not originally published by Theodore Presser. I published the book and distributed it through my school Modern Music Studios Inc. A second edition paperback was published later by Pressers. There has always been controversy about the origins of the book. Dennis had conceived and organized this material long before it ...

There are frequent questions about booking agents and agencies world wide. There are two kinds of agents--those who never return a call or email and those whose “plates are full." There is never room on their rosters. Under what circumstances would an agency expand its roster? There must be a point where an agency loses a ...

Since it is so difficult to define or even recognize, talent, or the lack of it, has created more than its share of anxiety in aspiring musicians. Perhaps the greatest problem centers around the fact that talent is a fact in retrospect. Only after it has been developed does it become obvious that it exists. So ...

Music as a career has always been met with considerable skepticism. This stems from a basic misunderstanding of the types of music involvements that are possible. The concept of the “starving musician" is but one of the many stereotypes. This installment of “The Art and Science of Jazz" is devoted to illustrating other alternatives. Music can ...

The new jazz has nothing to do with the music. It has to do with the attitudes, the perception about jazz. History has created an image about jazz and jazz musicians. It's not a flattering image nor is it a beneficial one. Drugs, heavy drinking, seedy clubs and late hours have all contributed to this unseemly ...

Art or commercialism? It's almost always a problem to musicians and singers who pursue the jazz industry. We recognize it as an art but it has to make money to be a profession. Are these two concepts in conflict with each other or are they merely paradoxical? We know that anything can be marketed by the ...

The internet holds enormous potential for jazz musicians. Many of us have little to no idea of how to take advantage of it. We tend to have websites, Facebook and maybe Twitter. How many of us are happy with the results we get from our efforts?

After much searching, I have found evolvor.com. The following interview ...

No matter what your involvement is in music, marketing needs to be a way of life. This is true more for the musician seeking to make a living in music but it generally applies to anyone with goals other than pure aesthetics.

What is marketing? Marketing is the entire range of activities that involve increasing your ...

[ed. note: Chuck Anderson has had an amazingly diverse career in music. He has worked successfully as a professional guitarist, composer, author, clinician and lecturer. He has owned and directed music schools, recorded a dozen CDs, written twenty books on music, run a production company, written for national magazines and currently maintains a busy music consulting ...