-
Oh man... There are three things I miss terribly since moving out of NYC a couple years ago:
Originally Posted by John A.
- the Mayflower Margaritas from Refried Beans (Mexican) on Ft. Washington Ave. @ 187th
- the Singapore Mei Fun from Great Wall (Chinese) on 181st @ Ft. Washington Ave.
- the Calabrese pizza from Frescos on 187th
Other than that, I've found better food and higher paying gigs here in Tucson AZ!
-
12-06-2025 12:47 AM
-
Brussels called. They want their s back. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
-
A man can dream, can't he? Originally Posted by rictroll
-
-
if you are saying that New York City does not have good food you have just lost all credibility. seriously you’re saying waffle house is great in New York City has shitty food. Stop. Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
-
agreed. I’ve lived in Detroit, there now, Chicago and New York. Detroit has the best all-around pizza in variety. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
-
All this talk of different food reminds me of this old joke:
Heaven is where the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss.
Hell is where the cooks are British, the police are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.
(In my version of heaven, the cooks would be Italian)
-
I love the diversity of food available in NYC.
But, even in my California suburb, there's a lot of ethnic food available, including Russian, Mexican (taco truck to fancy and all great), Cuban, Thai, Chinese of various styles, multiple bagel shops, NYC style pizza, California style pizza, a rib joint, Joe's style (Bay Area people will know), Korean, Indian, Greek etc etc.
-
Haha, why everyone seem to diss on the British? I always enjoyed their meat pies of different varieties,. And what's wrong with fish'n'chips? I never had a bad food time in UK. The British food in NYC almost don't exist. And no, Irish ain't it, and their pubs are everywhere. Might be a dream for the OP though. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
-
Quite a tasty flow of ideas from jazz to pizza in NYC, onto food.
Let’s hear what Kenny says:
-
I lived in Jersey City from 2002-2017 and now live in Northern NJ about 30 minutes outside of the city. My advice if you really want to make the move is to save up a shitload of money and try to move out here with a few friends (if possible). A lot of the younger musicians move here right out of college with a few friends who act as a support group/roommates/band mates and that seems to make the transition a bit easier. The city has definitely changed for the worse (IMO) since the pandemic but you might not notice it if you've never been here. You will definitely have to have roommates and will definitely will have to find some way to make money unless you're independently wealthy. I was extremely lucky to find a private teaching gig in NJ a few months after I moved here so that saved me from blowing through my savings. Just like others have said - be open to doing anything to pay your rent/bills because you won't be making much money at all as a jazz musician unless you're a unique artist (eg. Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Julian Lage, Brian Blade, etc...). That said, I would recommend it if you truly love the music and are willing to do anything to survive out here. The best jazz clubs and jazz musicians are still in NYC and you won't get this kind of intense experience anywhere else in the world.
-
I have seen a "new" player warmly welcomed into elite circles in NYC. Handed gigs, recording and able to get as big a teaching practice on-line as he wanted.
Well, new to NYC, but with quite a resume elsewhere. And, absolutely world class skills in multiple aspects of music.
Then, hard work to afford NYC.
I know one lesser player who moved to NYC and was able to stay. Lesser, but still very good. He teaches at one of the colleges.
-
what are their names? Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
-
[QUOTE=wolflen;1436505]
Point of order: the yellow Sun records came from Memphis, not Nashville. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
As you were.
-
I don't have permission to say. Originally Posted by pawlowski6132
-
It can be done. For instance, if someone like James Muller, Jesse van Ruller, or Reinier Baas moved to NYC, they would immediately have work. But.... they are very unique, world-class players with their own voices and have already established themselves elsewhere. I would absolutely encourage someone at this level to move to NYC! Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
-
Worth reading:
The New York City Jazz Scene: Then And Now
-
[QUOTE=Aiq;1440968]
Never let the truth get in the way of a good lyric. Originally Posted by wolflen
-
Anyone thinking about making a living playing jazz should read this article. Today there are fewer venues for jazz and more jazz musicians, then there were in the past. That translates to less money for those working in the field. Trying to make a comfortable living as a jazz musician is pretty much like going to a casino and betting your entire future on a number on the roulette wheel. I suggest that having a backup plan is the prudent thing to do. Originally Posted by Cunamara
-
I don't what it takes to get through medical school and be a regular doctor doing say internal medicine, but it would be an interesting comparison to learning and studying jazz guitar. The obvious is the getting through medical school and just working the doctor thing would pay ok. Not the greatest money for physicians but much better than any jazz guitar playing. My guess is that the physician would not have much time to play the guitar either given the hours and stress. Being a specialist like orthopedic surgery you probably have enough less control of time and too busy to do anything else let alone play the guitar. I am guessing though taking this path one could still be a decent guitarist.
I mention this because one could do this with any occupation to make comparisons on time commitment and learning curve. I still say in my own mind setting out to be a musician fulltime is a crazy and a pipe dream. Music is important but in the hierarchy of what needs done being plumber, electrician, carpenter, craftsman trade will get take you farther. Folks who can fix things well in building trades and even auto mechanics always work and the trade spills over to other areas. You are able to keep your home and surroundings in good order. Can you replace your kitchen floor, install dishwashers, repair things that go wrong around your house? I say this because all this comes at some point to most people. Having all your eggs in the jazz guitar basket it not usually good for these daily things that come up.
Only after college on my own did I learn to install water heaters, appliances, and put down some types of flooring. I can do most simply ordinary wiring around the house and other maintenance things. These all keep we away from the guitar but when you need to use the bathroom and the toilet is not working there is not much you can do to put things on hold.
Looking at this purely in terms to practicality I say give up being a full-time musician. Sometimes by accident a person falls into it and makes a great living but not many. Play the odds and stay away from New York. I get called on this post for being negative, but I am just too damn practical.
Many years ago, when I went around to guitar shows and dealers would gripe or discuss how things were it was fun. In the end no matter what the guys selling the food and drinks at the venue for the attendees always had business and plenty of it, they did not play the guitar.
-
I know some players around here who get a lot of decent paying gigs. They can make some kind of living, although I suspect that often involves marrying well.
But, they aren't getting paid that well (such as it is) to play the music they love. These are commercial gigs and I've heard at least one player lament that he plays the same 60 tunes over and over and that he's been tired of them for quite some time.
My impression is that making a living playing jazz is reserved for a relatively small number of the very best players -- and they have to travel, work hard and go through life with minimal security.
-
On the one hand, yeah, if you want to make a living as a musician you might want to plan to marry someone with full-time job and health benefits. On the other hand, the same thing is true of nearly every other career. It's not as if most other people are supporting a family on one salary, especially (in the context of the thread topic) in NYC. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
-
Even 50 years ago it was tough to make a full time living playing jazz. Most jazz players then had a side gig during the day or if they did make it full time playing music it wasn't jazz,they were doing pop sessions,jingles,weddings.I knew 2 guys who were excellent readers that would do "elevator music" sessions and they made a decent living doing that even though a lot of guys would kid them.Most of those sources of revenue have dried up with the changing scene.I mean even Tal Farlow years ago never stopped being a sign painter in New Jersey. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
-
For all the “commercial success” of the Wes Montgomery Muzak albums, he never quit his welding job. Originally Posted by nyc chaz
I think the idea of supporting yourself with jazz is a romanticized pipe dream.
I just read Marty Grosz’ memoir and he bluntly said all the gigs dried up in the 1960s, first people stopped dancing after dinner so supper club gigs died out. Then the TV studios started to use recordings instead of live bands and just like that, it was over.
But nothings stopping you from moonlighting as a musician.
-
You gotta be like a farmer and have a wife with a good job in town.
Two of the guys in my band now make their living playing but it's not just playing jazz. It's jazz, blues, rock, zydeco, funk, jam band material, and/or teaching lessons which mostly means not jazz or it's jazz but it's solo dinner gig work. They are both always hustling and the guitarist is out of town every weekend he isn't booked in town. Both of them have toured internationally as sidemen but also are stuck taking $75-100/man gigs during the week sometimes.
You can look at some of the bigger publicist agencies and see artists, most of who you've still never heard of, that are paying premium $$$ for representation, trying to build a name and possibly find booking agents as part of a marketing scheme. The bigger publicists function as the gatekeepers to XM radio and other critical forms of mass media. You can be looking at anywhere from $500-3k per month to employ those agents and some of them are just work from home dirtball grifters who can't do anything you can do yourself.
How to make a small fortune in music? Start with a large one....
At least there are still actual "jazz" clubs. There are three in Austin. One of them is owned by a guy who is also a jazz player so I guess that's one way to guarantee gigs for yourself, LOL. There is only one blues club left in the entire state of TX. Even my Memphis contact tells me Beale street is nothing but club/rap/hip-hop after 10pm now. Man, things have changed radically in 25 years. The next 25 should turn into a real shit show, LOL. Almost there now...
Reply With Quote
Has anyone tried the Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster?
Today, 10:08 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos