Chats with Cats
Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
Guitarist B. D. Lenz chats with today's industry experts about career advice and approaches for today's jazz professional.
The Archival Producer: Zev Feldman
by B.D. Lenz
I have to be honest. When I approached Zev Feldman about doing this interview I really had no idea what an “archival producer" was. I had the impression that it was a very solitary task that involved working in some, half-lit, library basement searching through dusty stacks. I came to understand that it's really more about getting into people's lives. It's delving into the histories of musicians, finding rare recordings of them, and presenting them with the historical context to ...
read moreThe Studio Owner: Paul Wickliffe
by B.D. Lenz
I remember a period of time around ten to fifteen years ago when I was constantly being propositioned by musician friends and audio wannabes to do some recording in their basements. It seemed that with the advent of home recording software, overnight, everyone had become an audio engineer. But after many recording sessions over the years, in studios of all types, I've come to truly value the opportunities to work with experienced professionals and have come to appreciate the art ...
read moreThe Venue Owner: Henry Wong of An Die Musik
by B.D. Lenz
As the Covid crisis continues to ravage the music and entertainment business I was interested to speak to a venue owner. Clubs are at the front lines of the suffering and, undoubtedly, many will not survive the pandemic. I got an interesting perspective from Henry Wong, owner of An Die Musik located in the historic district of jny: Baltimore Maryland. The philosophy behind his venue is simple although possibly controversial in our capitalist society—musical culture first, money second. His venue ...
read moreThe Festival Director: Terri Pontremoli
by B.D. Lenz
In this installment of Chats with Cats I caught up with Terri Pontremoli who is the Artistic/Executive Director of the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, in jny: Cleveland, Ohio. Her passion and enthusiasm for the art form and her festival is evident. Our conversation comes at a very unique time and, in our discussion, Ms. Pontremoli addresses how her organization has been actively tackling the disparity of opportunities through education. I also had to get her perspective on the current and long ...
read moreThe Radio Presenter: Bob Osborne
by B.D. Lenz
In this edition of Chats with Cats I interviewed a radio presenter. In an earlier column I had spoken to a traditional jazz DJ (Sheila Anderson of WBGO) but, in this digital age, I thought it would also be good to get the perspective of someone who's utilizing the new broadcasting mediums. Internet radio and podcasts have opened up new doors and presenters like Bob Osborne have found a freedom in this new territory. About Bob OsborneBob Osborne ...
read moreThe Jazz Label: Marc Free of Posi-Tone Records
by B.D. Lenz
In this edition of Chats with Cats I interviewed someone from a jazz record label. It's no secret that selling music has become much more difficult in recent times so I was wondering what the outlook is for someone who's been doing it for 25 years. It was a nice surprise to hear the optimism that Marc Free holds about the music and the business. He echoed a sentiment I've been hearing throughout all of these interviews that the music ...
read moreThe Festival Presenter: Danny Melnick
by B.D. Lenz
For this edition of Chats with Cats I interviewed a festival presenter and was lucky for the opportunity to speak with someone who really has seen and done it all. Danny Melnick has booked the biggest names at the most prestigious of venues. As a musician always looking to better my own booking skills I, of course, wanted to get some pointers about things I could do to get the attention of presenters and he gave me some sage advice. ...
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