The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    With the recent discussion about playing for free and the possible reasons why Pat Metheny hasn't released an album in a while, I just wanted to cut and paste this status update from Bobby Broom. I think we can all agree that Bobby is a fantastic player and that his albums are very well received. In fact, his Monk album is one of my all-time favorites. That said, it seems like even he is having problems with the current state of the business and has even considered hanging it all up. Just in case you don't follow his page, I wanted to post this here.

    From his FB page on 3 March 2018:

    What’s on my mind? Ha! This exposé.

    I’m aware that I’m not special in any way and that much of what I’m feeling and am about to express rings true with so many of my musician friends and peers. However, the spirit moves and I wanna speak out loud for a change. I get really tired of holding this stuff in. It’s not healthy for me to do that as it threatens my positivity, creativity and physical and mental health . As recently as this past holiday season I was contemplating what it would look like if I gave up trying to pursue my career in music altogether. I know. That makes absolutely no sense, but that’s how frustrated and discouraged I was feeling at that time.

    After releasing what I feel is at least one of my best records ever, it seemed like I couldn’t buy a gig. The record went straight to the top 10 of the national jazz radio chart, where it stayed for 3 months straight (as is usually the case with my records). This info is absolutely not for the purposes of boasting. (If it comes across that way at all, I apologize.) My point is to highlight the contrast in the fact that although, in the ears and minds of many jazz listeners, I exist among the elites in this field – people who release records on schedules that include tours with plentiful dates to support their releases – I am not, nor have I ever been afforded that kind of opportunity. At various points over the years, I’ve been able to cobble together strings of limited dates, usually well after the success of my current recording of that period. And although practically every place I play (here or abroad) is well attended – leading me to believe that I’m not crazy, that I could actually have a sustainable performing career of given a real and consistent opportunity – the result is that wIth every new recording, it feels as though I’m starting from scratch in dealing with venues and trying to create performance opportunities. I recall lines filed out of venue doors and down the street, as well as people being turned away due to lack of capacity in the room. I sold out Dizzy’s, Ronnie Scott’s (in London) and the Dakota (when it was in St. Paul, MN). I have had the fortune of return engagements at Dizzy’s, but not the other two. And not at the many clubs where I know that the business that I did there warrants a return. Again, I’m not bragging, but attempting to highlight, contrast and wondering what the meaning is behind all this? What’s the point of thousands of people hearing my music daily for the past 3+ months, if I have no way of accessing them to perform, give them an opportunity to see me up close, to purchase my record(s) and to say hello and thank you?

    It’s cool that I’m leaving a body of work for posterity, but that has no bearing on my life as far as my ability to contribute for my family, meet my financial responsibilities, etc. To the contrary, the production of this body of work has done the opposite, as it’s been an added expense rather than helping to create sustainable income opportunities for me. So after years of this kind of existence I say, “what’s the point?” I get the spiritual aspects of my music making and I appreciate all of the beautiful fortune that has defined my career – all of the magical, musical associations that I’ve made and just the fact that I’m gifted with some ability to make music in the first place – I’m thankful, but my gratitude doesn’t pay the bills! I’m a Capricorn and way too stubborn and persistent to read the tea leaves that say, “you’re not a chosen one, so this will be your existence if you chose to stay in this game...” I mean, I see and understand that, but I continue to hope for more and better. At this point it’s who I am. I’m gonna continue to strive and to play my part with a smile for my audience and they will never ever know the ways that I feel. They won’t see after the occasional joy of playing for them that is immediately followed by the frustration of having to fly right back home after playing two nights in China, or flying across the country for one date and then directly back home... all because that’s all of the opportunity that’s available for me.

    I must say, it’s not a comfortable position for me to be saying these things. In a way I feel like I’m shining a big light on the frailty of my career and the reality of my existence as a jazz musician who is supposed to have achieved some measure of success. Oh well... What am I hiding, if anything? Reality? I really don’t have much to lose in telling my truth. Mind you, I’m leaving out quite a bit of my accompanying feelings that come from the natural tendency to want to understand the “why?” of things. Why does my situation look and feel so much different in comparison... I won’t even start down that road... Suffice it to say that what I feel seems typical on so many levels. Like I said up front, this position that I’m in is way more average than extraordinary. I’d also like to wrap it all up with a nice bow, or some profundity or hopeful positivity, but I have nothing. I guess I’m supposed to write a song about it, or play it out in my solo... Yeah, sure...

    Lastly, I’m really not looking for sympathy. That’s not the point of this release either. However, I do appreciate those of you who would be moved to respond with that. As I said, I know that there are so many of my musician brothers and sisters who feel similarly, if not the same ways that I do. I also would like to thanks those of you who have tried to help me in big or small ways over the years. I’m very grateful for you. You often provided the positive energy that helps to keep me going.

    Thanks,
    Bobby

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Wow.

  4. #3

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    This doesn’t come as a surprise to me tbh

    I think everyone’s finding it tough.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    I think everyone’s finding it tough.
    There are certainly tiers within professional Jazz that separate your Brooms from your Bensons, but I figured he was positioned well enough to make a relatively comfortable career out of it - even if it meant long hours on the road and in the studio. I was certainly surprised that he is finding himself close enough to walk away from it all.

    Surprised and saddened.

  6. #5

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    love bobby brooms playing, and sad he feels that way...he's one of the very few current guys to mix that old school grant green/wes/benson vibe with the more moderns like abercrombie and shepik.. & beyond...he can play it all!

    but yeah as c77 wrote..not really a big surprise....music is about image (the young) or the desire for nostalgia (the vintage)...if you fall into the crack in between-- good luck...business wise

    but still/always enjoy the art of guitar itself


    cheers

  7. #6

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    Not surprised either. I'm hearing it from others, not mentioning names.

  8. #7

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    This is quite sobering and sad. I've been down on myself for years for not practicing and learning more tunes, and blaming my lack of effort on having to work 5 days week. This causes me to realize I should be far more appreciative of having a steady job and cash flow.

    Albert

  9. #8

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    Not surprised at all, but what is sad is that there are thousands of kids spending a fortune on a jazz performance degree that think they will be the exception to the longtime lack of work/gigs, or they're totally ignorant to the economic environment they will be joining.

    Do they think they will get in line for gigs AHEAD of Bobby Broom?

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
    Not surprised at all, but what is sad is that there are thousands of kids spending a fortune on a jazz performance degree that think they will be the exception to the longtime lack of work/gigs, or they're totally ignorant to the economic environment they will be joining.

    Do they think they will get in line for gigs AHEAD of Bobby Broom?
    Well, if they are lucky enough to be in the next Snarky Vulfpeck, they will.

    Or, stuff that, just be a horn player and play in a bad rip off of Youngblood.

    I think you might be overestimating the amount of proper jazz getting booked at jazz festivals etc.

  11. #10

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    Well, a friend of mine just spent a couple of months in New York. He had lessons with everyone, Bernstein, Moreno, Lund. If these guys teach..

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Well, if they are lucky enough to be in the next Snarky Vulfpeck, they will.

    Or, stuff that, just be a horn player and play in a bad rip off of Youngblood.

    I think you might be overestimating the amount of proper jazz getting booked at jazz festivals etc.
    There's always a demand for not-jazz players at jazz festivals.

    They really know how to play over those not-iim7 chords.

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drumbler
    There's always a demand for not-jazz players at jazz festivals.

    They really know how to play over those not-iim7 chords.
    The players all have jazz degrees. Many of them can even play jazz pretty well (although they are not Bobby)

  14. #13

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    Jazz cased to be "popular" music several decades ago. Ken Burns's Jazz (book and TV series) chronicles its decline very well. You can mark the start of it when the Beatles got off of the plane in NY in '64. Elvis wasn't exactly great for the genre either.

    Not trying to start a war here, but it is what it is.

    For most players, niche "touristy" clubs (like we still have here in KC), open jams, and city ensembles are about the only options left.

    I can see it among my own family and friends. I can play "Autumn Leaves" and like pieces, and I get "Meh, don't you know anything else that rocks?" Play a simple 12-bar blues, "Hey, that's more like it!"

    Maybe the best we can be is "museum artifacts." Just keep playing, keep Jazz alive.

    But if my math is right, this guy went to Berklee when he was a 12th grader, really got his chops up, studied the theory at all the right places, and has consistently scored #1 albums throughout his career, and struggles to make a living.

    Sad, but the music public is fickle.

    You think that rock and rap will survive? Doubtful. Something else will come out, like in '64.

    Best keep your day job.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alter
    Well, a friend of mine just spent a couple of months in New York. He had lessons with everyone, Bernstein, Moreno, Lund. If these guys teach..
    Everyone teaches now. I was at the Vanguard recently, talked with a very popular jazz pianist everyone would know, was playing in an all-star quartet. He mentioned that everyone in the band teaches now, and how it's a lot different today than it was 10 years ago. I'm continually surprised by the amount of top shelf musicians that have jobs teaching at universities.

    That said, I don't think everyone that goes to music school thinks they will be a professional musician afterwards. There are lots of degrees that don't directly translate into jobs (Art History, anyone?)

  16. #15

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    Liberal arts and especially fine arts are becoming less and less practical from an employment perspective. Unless you earn your MBA or law degree afterwards. There you go.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by SandChannel
    I recall lines filed out of venue doors and down the street, as well as people being turned away due to lack of capacity in the room. I sold out Dizzy’s, Ronnie Scott’s (in London) and the Dakota (when it was in St. Paul, MN). I have had the fortune of return engagements at Dizzy’s, but not the other two. And not at the many clubs where I know that the business that I did there warrants a return. Again, I’m not bragging, but attempting to highlight, contrast and wondering what the meaning is behind all this? What’s the point of thousands of people hearing my music daily for the past 3+ months, if I have no way of accessing them to perform, give them an opportunity to see me up close, to purchase my record(s) and to say hello and thank you?
    I thought this was the interesting part: If he sells out all those clubs, why don't they book him a second time? No disrespect intended, but maybe he should reconsider his agent?

    I know a jazz guitarist in my area (Germany, between Cologne and Dusseldorf) who actually makes a living playing concerts. He is certainly no Bobby Broom - but he's got the business down. He runs workshops, two concert series, has his own projects, tours as a sideman, too. It's not just artistic merit, although we'd like to believe that.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by AKA
    This is quite sobering and sad. I've been down on myself for years for not practicing and learning more tunes, and blaming my lack of effort on having to work 5 days week. This causes me to realize I should be far more appreciative of having a steady job and cash flow.

    Albert
    Not that I ever really had the goods at that level, but what prevented me from going all in on music as a career was seeing the guys I admired in my small corner of the universe, the real players in all genres, struggle to make it work. And I mean struggle. So if they couldn't hack it, what was I gonna do? That was over 10 years ago.

    Ultimately, I was not brave enough to suffer for my art. I did get a great job which allows me to play as much as I want for $100 a night and provide a stable living for my family, travel modestly, save for retirement etc., and for that, I am very thankful.
    Last edited by andrew42; 03-06-2019 at 01:33 PM.

  19. #18

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    Yup. Those Vulpeck guys are Michigan grads. Gonna sell out MSG in the fall, too. There is hope, but very few people want to hear anyone play changes these days.

    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    The players all have jazz degrees. Many of them can even play jazz pretty well (although they are not Bobby)

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by docsteve
    I thought this was the interesting part: If he sells out all those clubs, why don't they book him a second time? No disrespect intended, but maybe he should reconsider his agent?
    There are some jazz clubs that have a "built in" crowd, and just because you sell the place out, doesn't necessarily mean you are gonna get another gig there. There are a lot of factors, and clubs are not always fully economically rational about these kinds of things.

    It kinda goes back to the same supply and demand conversation we always seem to have. there are a lot of great jazz artists that can work at any given well known jazz club and will be totally fine for folks looking for a nice night of music. Us aficionados of course are gonna want to see Bobby specifically, he's a master, but this is a small percentage of even jazz audiences. Most people just want a night out with some cocktails and jazz.

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by dickbanks

    You think that rock and rap will survive? Doubtful. Something else will come out, like in '64.
    .
    Rock's already dead, if you ask me. Mining the same ground it has for 40 years. Greta Van Fleet and all that.

    Rap's pretty healthy...I think we'll see it around for a good while. It keeps going through different phases, the stuff popular with kids now sounds different than it did 10 years ago, which sounded different than the popular stuff 10 years before that.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Well, if they are lucky enough to be in the next Snarky Vulfpeck, they will.

    I see. So figuring out sophisticated instrumental music that's also accessible to younger audiences is a matter of luck?

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    if he runs workshops, he also makes a living from teaching. i'm from that area and i'm trying to think of guys who play only jazz and do not teach. i cant think of many (mostly bassists, but even henning gailing teaches). who's the guitarist?
    Axel Fischbacher.

  24. #23

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    Bobby Broom talked about selling out the Dakota when it was in St Paul, MN. I've played that club many, many times. I don't recall seeing him listed there during my Twin Cities stint, 2000-2006, and they moved from St Paul to Minneapolis in around 2003 or 2004 at the latest, so that means he hasn't played there for at least 15 years. Here's some other info about that. When the Dakota was in St. Paul it was jazz all the time, but it wasn't doing well financially. The owner of another jazz club in town told me that the Dakota had to buy their booze retail instead of on an account because their checks had bounced too many times. When they moved to Minneapolis to be inside the Target building they almost immediately started booking non-jazz, starting with aging female pop stars who suddenly realized they loved the Great American Songbook, and moving from there to all manner of hokum. By the time I moved in '06 I had walked in to that club one night to the sound of a very lame blues bar band playing a Stevie Ray Vaughan cover. They still have jazz, but not like before.

    But none of this is especially new. I've seen jazz venues come and go in every city I've lived in, and since when have jazz guitarists been major draws anyway? Pat Metheny, perhaps, and it was already mentioned that he hasn't put out an album in a while. Thirteen plus years ago, when I was teaching at McNally-Smith College of Music - which went out of business in December 2017, leaving its teachers without pay and expecting them to finish the fall semester - Larry Coryell came to the school with his trio for a clinic. I happened to go to a sushi place across the street where they were having lunch, and Larry was on the phone with some venue owner or manager, trying to get a gig. Allow me to reiterate he was doing that while he was having lunch. I also saw Alan Holdsworth, Jimmy Johnson, and Chad Wackerman do a clinic at the school, and after playing one tune Chad began talking about his gear in depth, which sounded like a canned speech. Turned out it was - they were "on tour" to advertise Chad's gear, and this was their only appearance that wasn't in a music store.

    I can go on at length like this, because just by moving around a lot, teaching at different schools, and playing gigs with a lot of people - some of them long terms friends of mine - who should be above my pay grade - I know a lot of the dirty secrets of the business. It is what it is.

  25. #24

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    Maybe I have an odd perspective of success, but I see a difference in artistic success and business success. These two are not the same, but neither are they mutually exclusive. I saw this in the family restaurants I grew up in with my family and extended family, where the reviews were real, but the business was unsustainable from a financial success. I also saw it in 20 years of military service, serving in communications-electronics repair. The great TECHNICIANS solved all kinds of problems but didn’t care to develop the administrative leadership skills that were also critical to making sure the organizations ran smoothly, and thus a very important factor in promotion.

    Now I’m not pointing fingers here or making any accusations, but it is obvious that Bobby Broom is a wonderfully talented and gifted musician, and has ARTISTIC success. Nobody here is denying that. But my personal experiences are making me wonder why he is struggling to find the business success he is missing. Yes, the jazz genre as a whole is not as lucrative as it was 60 years ago, but there are some who have still found the business success Mr Broom is seeking. I wonder if he or his manager are difficult personalities that have garnered a reputation that closes doors (I doubt it if he keeps getting good gigs every now and then). I wonder how well his manager, assuming he has one, does at promoting him to opportunities. I wonder if he’s willing to tour as an opening act for another name, or as a dual-headliner. I wonder if he is asking for too much money in a depressed market. There are a lot of things that should be evaluated here, and if anyone isn’t willing to honestly evaluate the situation from an outside perspective, then it will be hard to see what is the cause and what effects are rippling out to create the current situation.

    In the end, if he would rather hang it up than make that evaluation or make any changes, it’s his prerogative. But nobody can bend reality to their will and make things happen exactly how they want. And if he, or any other musician, isn’t finding the success he wants, then he needs to take an honest look why and decide if the cost to achieve it is worth the pursuit.

  26. #25

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    There are plenty of great musicians who just jack it in.