Hello everyone—
I hope that many of you have seen our new advertisements. We’ve added several new sponsors since our upgrade, and I would like to encourage you to support these advertisers by clicking through to their websites, and—when appropriate—buying some of their merchandise. While the nation’s economy has improved over the last few years, it is increasingly difficult to make a living in the music business. It’s vital that musicians and their supporters work together to insure that creative music continues to thrive in the coming decades.
I certainly feel those difficulties in running this website. Being the only employee at present, my duties extend far beyond writing and researching articles. I make cold calls 3-4 days per week in search of advertisers, and when that doesn’t create enough income, I must call on friends and colleagues to make donations. This site attracts about 1500 hits per week from readers all over the world and has over 2500 followers on Facebook. I’m sure that you’ll agree that it is unfair for a handful of people to support a site while others read it on a regular basis without making any sort of financial contribution (either through ads or donations).
Here’s how you can help. If you have a music-related product or event to promote, consider advertising with us! Our rates are very reasonable, and the terms are negotiable. If not, consider Jazz History Online as another magazine you read every month, and consider your donation as a subscription fee. Many online publications have paywalls, but I don’t want to add one to this site. I won’t be the person to deny someone the right to information because they are cash-poor.
Advertising requests can be sent to me at jazzhistoryonline@gmail.com
Donations can be made through the Donate button on the Front Page or at paypal.me/jazzhistoryonline
We have a full set of brand-new articles this month! First is a Profile of the incredible young vocalist, Veronica Swift. Veronica comes from good jazz stock—her dad was pianist Hod O’Brien and her mother is vocalist Stephanie Nakasian—but Veronica has her own approach to music, and I’m sure that some of her musical preferences will surprise you. The article includes three embedded videos so you can hear her work first-hand. Our Concert Review features my first visit to the Vail Jazz Party in five years. Along with the mix of returning and new artists are several new recurring performances, a new venue for the Party’s most popular event, and an energetic festival staff that is building on the Vail legacy to create new and exciting additions to the existing festival. The review is accompanied with photos from several fine photographers.
It’s been months since a new jazz DVD turned up in the JHO mailbox. In this case, it was the new documentary on Blue Note Records. For the DVD Review, I pulled out the 1996 film “Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz” and found that it and the new film, “Beyond the Notes” complimented each other very well. As a result, you get two DVD reviews for the price of one! This month’s Retro Review was a labor of love: it is a semi-autobiographical look at one of my all-time favorite jazz LPs, “The Playboy Jazz All-Stars, Volume 2”. My encounter with this album coincided with my first exposure to jazz history, and the arrival of a very special Christmas gift. Our Instrumental CD Reviews discuss three progressive jazz composers, while the Vocal CD Reviews cover four new releases which look forward and backward at the same time. The Book Review features a new biography of Johnny Hodges. The book has valuable biographical information, but hardly any discussion of Hodges’ music. Therefore, I have appended a collection of five of my favorite Hodges features, complete with embedded videos and brief commentaries. You’re welcome.
We now have nearly 2600 Facebook fans! Are you one of them? If not, please go to https://www.facebook.com/JazzHistoryOnline/ and join the party! To be sure you get our Facebook messages, hover over the “liked” button on our Facebook page, and click the top two selections (“Get Notifications” and “Following”). If you’d like a monthly e-mail update of new articles (no, we won’t sell your addresses to anyone else), or would like to communicate with me, please write to jazzhistoryonline@live.com
Best,
Tom Cunniffe