To learn more about me and my history playing the trumpet and learning jazz, please start with the following links: About this site // Five-year anniversary // My playing history - the beginning // My playing history - the blowout // My playing history - the comeback // My introduction to jazz // Recommended recordings // Equipment information
Archived "About Me" blog entries are listed in the left-hand column.
Earlier, I mentioned that I quit music school after my second year of college (my first year at DePaul University). In that journal entry, I failed to mention the real tipping point…
Due to my chop problems and my lack of exceptional talent, I knew I'd never be a top-notch player. While we're all the same age, I was (and still am) light years behind guys like Nicholas Payton and Ryan Kisor. Even though I knew I couldn't attain their level of success, I still held onto the idea that I could make a living playing jazz in local clubs. This delusional line of thinking continued, until one night during jazz combo practice.
There was a local pro that helped teach/coach the jazz combos. He'd sit in with combo rehearsals once a month or so, giving students comments and suggestions. In my eyes, he was what we were aspiring to become. He put in the practice, he paid his dues, and he emerged as a full-time jazz musician.
On one of these nights that he was scheduled to join us, he failed to show up at the normal meeting time, so we started to rehearse without him. I had just finished taking a solo on our second or third tune when he walked into the room. The first thing I saw was his cummerbund. Then I noticed the black jacket, which he had draped over his shoulder. And finally, I saw the unmistakable black stripe that adorned his black slacks. Yes, he was wearing a tuxedo.
In between tunes, I thanked him for finally dressing for the occasion. He chuckled a bit, and then mentioned that he just finished playing a wedding gig. My heart sank. I couldn't believe it. Our mentor, the guy that we were hoping to become, was playing in a wedding band?!?
The next day I started planning my new major. The following school year, I quit music school and entered business school.
In retrospect, I probably overreacted to the wedding gig. It might have been a friend's wedding -- perhaps the wedding of a fellow jazz musician. Or maybe it was a really good paying gig where the band got to play music they liked, and the audience dug it. Or maybe he actually likes wedding gigs. Who knows? In my mind, though, it only meant one thing: to make it as a (jazz) musician, I'd inevitably have to take gigs that I didn't want, playing music that I didn't want to play, just to make ends meet. I knew I couldn't do that and still enjoy playing. I had to quit.
To all the happy wedding giggers out there, I apologize for the implication that wedding gigs are cause for reevaluating one's career path. I have nothing against the gig itself, it just isn't for me. I suspect many of you would feel the same way about having to stare at a computer screen all day ;-)
I'd like to close this entry by encouraging everyone to support live jazz in your city. It's not enough to simply see the national touring acts. Your local jazz scene needs you. Don't force them to play gigs they don't want!
Wedding gigs; from 1987 to 2003, I averaged thirty to forty a year. Businesswise, I would gross $2500.00, pay five sidemen $300.00 and net $1000.00 for the four hour performance, which would include two and a half hours of setup/teardown time.
I enjoyed the challenges of weddings because many times brides would bring me new songs that once I learned them, they became staples in my repetoire (Have I Told You Lately, Because You Loved Me, All My Life, I'll Always Love You, Unforgettable, etc...). During the dinner we would play jazz songs (All Blues, This Masquerade, Satin Doll,...) and when we would build the dance party to fever pitch with some New Orleans Mardi Gras music (Iko, Iko), I would dance out onto the floor with my horn and trade licks with the guitarist. The crowd would make a circle, the bride would bust a serious move and the energy levels would be higher than high.
I am a businessman who sells musical service. The wedding trade has been good to me because I make it an art. Events for jazz audiences make up such a small part of my annual sales that I couldn't begin to make a living. However, my community considers me their jazz musician, entertainer and music educator.
Weddings can be fun, profitable and musical. Sorry you have a bad taste about the business.
First of all congratulations on a fantastic site! I am a professional trumpet player living in London, England and I have had great fun playing with your ear training tool and am very interested in your really well informed comments about learning improvisation. It's so refreshing to find a site from a US trumpet player who isn't just obsessed with "Dubba high C" (Dubya high Bush??) etc. but obviously considers playing the trumpet to be about art, not just sport!
With regards to your disappointment in your teacher's gig, I have to say that in this country it is practically impossible to make a living just playing jazz. Although I regard jazz playing as my main love and living I teach and play in pit bands for musicals, do recording sessions, do weddings, etc. as well. Quite apart from the financial neccesity of this I really enjoy the variety and crucially I think that all the mundane stuff can be approached creatively and feed in to the next jazz gig - even if it's only by adding greater tension as you express your frustration at having just played "In The Mood" for the millionth time last night!! Cheers, Mark
Mark,
You're absolutely right... playing (jazz) music is a form of artistic expression to me. I may not be a very good "artist", but that doesn't make it any less important to me than it might be to a fantastic musician. And that's where the wedding gig really struck a nerve. I felt that to compromise my "art" for the sake of others would destroy my love of jazz. Couple that with the fact that it's extremely difficult to make a living playing jazz, regardless of how much you compromise, and I knew it wasn't worth it to me.
Of course, compromise is a part of life and just about everyone has to do things they don't want to do at their jobs. But, those day-to-day compromises aren't nearly as severe to me as compromising my music. Or, looking at it another way, those day-to-day compromises are easier to make as long as I still have total control over my music.
Thank you (Mark) and Arnett for writing and for sharing your experiences as professional musicians.
-Rick
Glad I came across your site! I look at it this way. You can either:
1) Work a regular day job to pay the bills and spend some of your free time on nights and weekends playing gigs for fun and/or artistic expression (but not too late with that job).
or
2) Play one wedding per week to pay the bills and spend the rest of your time composing, practicing, playing with friends, recording......growing musically.
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