“You should play (venue/festival…) “

Yes, thanks for that tip. But here’s something most folks don’t understand about the professional gig getting process. 

We, (the musicians) are hired by the club, ice can’t hire ourselves.

We can ask for gigs all we want, many do, (but some musicians are pretty shy about hustling like that), often they are the ones who are so into learning to play they have a hard time ‘blowing their own horn’ so to speak, because they just don’t believe they’re ever good enough. Or their busy practice (yes even in their mid 60s)

So they are not even on the mind of the people booking venues.

Others are constantly trying to get a gig… and between those 2 extremes are the hard working musicians who try to balance those aspects of their musical lives. But there’s no better way to get the attention of a person responsible for hiring music in a venue than a bit of a buzz about a musician or band.

And the person who gets the most attention in that regard is the person (a fan) who will part with money to buy a ticket to the gig.

So, to all you jazz fans out there, if you wonder why your favourite jazz musician doesn’t have a gig at your jazz festival, don’t ask the musician. They are likely as mystified as you, maybe more so. Ask the people responsible for hiring the music.

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