Playing for Time
Problems in the music industry are not limited to events that happened 50 years ago. The aftermath of 9/11 crippled the small jazz club scene. When restaurant business was stunted in New York City, rising rent closed many off-Broadway theaters and music venues like CBGBs and Tonic and threatened many others. Some club owners were not able to pay musicians. Many musicians then agreed to play for less money until business picked up again. These musicians just had to play. “Musicians have to get out the music that’s in them. That’s just the way they are,” Oxenhorn said. “That’s why they’ve been such an easy population to take advantage of.” When the clubs recovered, they had no reason to increase the musicians’ pay, so it remained low.
A and M Roadhouse in the Manhattan Financial District used to guarantee $200 to $300 for a weekend night before 9/11. A few months ago, Oxenhorn — who’s a harmonica player — playing with guitarist Ladell McLin and two other musicians, was guaranteed $10 for every person the band brought in.
At the end of the night, the owner slapped three bills, two twenties and a ten, in Oxenhorn’s hand for the 32 people they brought in, claiming that some hadn’t bought dinner. She was able to argue payment up to $100, which was enough to pay for the drummer and bassist’s taxis to Queens, but did not cover Oxenhorn’s babysitter or McLin’s travel.
The public bears some responsibility when its members listen to and buy jazz, says Oxenhorn. When they try to find that album online, they shouldn’t download it. Or burn it from a friend. Not only does downloading immorally draw from the artist who made it, but it also hinders live music. The only way musicians receive all the funds from their album is when listeners buy it from them directly, whether at their concert or from their website.
The Musician’s Performance Trust Fund research was established by the Recording Industry Association of America to set aside a small portion of each album sale from major music store chains to be used towards setting up free or cheap concerts. Each year, the JFA is given a percentage of that fund to organize concerts for its artists. But downloading has taken a significant chunk out of that fund, allowing fewer live events.
Oxenhorn also asks that the listener support the artist at live shows. Ask the manager how much the musician makes per customer. If it isn’t what you think is fair, try to donate more to the musician’s bucket being passed around. Said Oxenhorn: “Instead of getting the chicken wings, maybe you want to put $7 in the tip jar.”
Jimmy Norman can’t be concerned about the money at this point: his gigs at Penang’s and Roth’s Steakhouse are unpaid. He sees them as rehearsals for his new band and as writing sessions for his new album, to be released by the end of the year. The album was funded by an anonymous Jazz Foundation donor.
Norman plays at Penang’s on the first and third Monday of the month from 8 p.m. to midnight. He recently started playing at Roth’s Steakhouse twice a week, while working on booking clubs downtown, when his band is ready. The problem, he explains, is that clubs book according to the number of people on a musician’s mailing list. Norman’s list, at www.jimmynorman.net, is not large enough to get him booked in the larger places, though he is working on expanding it at his gigs.
Since the sale of his Marley recording, Norman lives without financial assistance from the foundation. He helps pay his rent by performing at New York City schools as part of the Jazz Foundation in the Schools program.
But Oxenhorn has not vanished from his life. Recently, after a week and a half in the hospital, suffering from double pneumonia, Norman left on a Tuesday and was prepared to make a school performance on Wednesday. Oxenhorn was the only one who could talk him out of it.
“You’re never given an instruction manual when you enter this world,” Oxenhorn said. “At best you’re given good parents and, from what I’ve seen, that’s very rare. You just have to find your own way. But imagine having to find our own way without music in the world.”
