More On The Revised JazzTimes

Here's the official news release about the welcome re-birth of JazzTimes:

Madavor Media Acquires JazzTimes

With the mainstream media swamped with stories of print magazines folding, the story of the re-launch of JazzTimes magazine under new ownership by Madavor Media is a positive tale of determination and vision. On July 10, 2009, Madavor Media, a market-leading enthusiast publishing and trade-show group based in Boston, acquired the JazzTimes brand and effective immediately will resume publishing the influential music magazine and its Web site jazztimes.com.

JazzTimes was founded in 1970 by Washington, D.C.-based record-store owner Ira Sabin, who started the publication as a newsletter for his store, eventually changing its name from Radio Free Jazz to JazzTimes. The list of contributors to the magazine during its nearly 40-year history reads like a Who's Who of modern jazz journalism-including Leonard Feather, Stanley Dance, Martin Williams, Ira Gitler, Dan Morgenstern, Stanley Crouch, Nat Hentoff, Gary Giddins, Amiri Baraka, Harvey Pekar, Nate Chinen and Ashley Kahn. The publication has won numerous awards for its content and design, and the All-Music Guide has called JazzTimes "arguably the number-one jazz magazine in the world."

"We are honored to have the opportunity to expand our portfolio with this remarkable and respected publication," says Jeffrey C. Wolk, chairman and CEO of Madavor Media. "Because of our experience and industry partnerships, we are well-positioned to serve jazz enthusiasts and to build on the impressive business started by Ira Sabin."

"As an established, quality-directed, enthusiast consumer media company, we feel that Madavor Media is the perfect choice as the new steward of the JazzTimes brand. Madavor Media is a successful, growing publisher with the resources and efficiencies that will enable our 39-year-old franchise to provide expanded services to our dedicated readers and advertising clients alike", says JazzTimes publisher and CEO Glenn Sabin.

"In each issue of JazzTimes, we will continue to deliver the news and information that readers and advertisers expect from the world's leading jazz publication," says Madavor Media's VP/Group Publisher Susan Fitzgerald. "With our experience in circulation, distribution, production, and promotion, Madavor plans to take the JazzTimes brand to new heights."

Current Editor-in-Chief Lee Mergner and Managing Editor Evan Haga will remain with the publication to maintain continuity and connection within the jazz community. "For Evan and I, this is a great opportunity to reinvent the magazine in the face of so many interesting challenges," says Mergner. "And we look forward to the synergy with the other titles in the Madavor stable of publications." Jeff Sabin and Eric Adams will continue as the magazine's advertising-account representatives.

The next issue will feature a cover story on saxophonist Joe Lovano, as well as a piece by investigative reporter Marc Hopkins on the effect of the current economic climate on jazz festivals. The first issue bearing the real imprint of Madavor will be the September issue, which spotlights jazz guitar including stories on John Scofield, Nels Cline and George Benson, plus lots more. JazzTimes also publishes an annual Jazz Education Guide, filled with valuable information and material for students, parents, and educators.

Madavor Media publishes other titles and manages trade shows that are number one in their respective fields in the sports and enthusiast markets. Through its print and digital magazines, trade shows, websites, e-mail newsletters, and other partnerships across the publishing industry, Madavor offers unique ways to communicate with passionate consumers who are eager to learn more about products and events that support their interests.

Magazine Bounces Back

As reported by Ben Ratliff in the New York Times, Jazz Times will soon be back in circulation, thanks to its purchase by a Boston-based publishing company.

Editor-in-Chief Lee Mergner says the deal includes provisions to pay contributors what they are owed for past editorial contributions.

Welcome back.

Canwest "Critics" Strike Again

A week after would-be music journalist Jeff Heinrich set off a viral storm with his hatchet-job on Maria Schneider, another Canwest writer has tried his hand at music criticism and come up sadly wanting.

In today's Ottawa Citizen, Bruce Ward decides to profile Ornette Coleman from the perspective that the saxophonist/composer hasn't really done anything since 1959.

The first sign that Ward is hopelessly lost on the subject is his assertion that Coleman's work in 1959 was overshadowed by Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue. In fact, Kind Of Blue barely caused a ripple in the jazz world at the time, while Coleman's New York City debut and the first recordings by his quartet dominated the music scene that year, with reviews—pro and con—by observers as diverse as Leonard Bernstein and Clark Terry.

To ignore Coleman's output of the past 50 years, which includes some of the most important artistic statements in any genre of music, and present him as some sort of musical anomaly is way, way below the standards a major daily should be setting.

RIP Len Dobbin

Sad news this morning that one of Canada's leading jazz enthusiasts and a passionate oral historian of music in Montreal has died.

Len Dobbin was involved in the world of jazz from his teens in the early '50s, and helped document the vibrant Montreal scene through photos, radio programs and print articles over six decades.

Always ready with a warm hug and a wry story from the jazz world, Len was one of a kind.

He died in hospital early today after suffering a stroke Wednesday night at Montreal's Upstairs Jazz Club, which he represented as a publicist.

You will be missed, my friend.

First Time, Best Time

I don't know what triggered this memory this morning, but I suddenly started thinking about albums I distinctly remembered hearing for the first time, and knowing I was hearing something special:

The Rolling Stones, Now: My friend Steve's basement. At 11, he immediately knew that he wanted to be a rock star, and actually achieved a small measure of fame.

Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited: First album I bought myself. Hooked from that amazing down beat.

Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced?: Beginning of a long obsession.

The Allman Brothers Band: Ditto. Another basement experience. My friend Myles this time.

The Stooges, Fun House: My friend Gilles had a knack for finding the gems. This was our summer music in 1971.

Miles Davis, Live-Evil: I knew Miles by reputation, but it was the album cover that sold me.

Miles Davis, On The Corner: Absolutely the hottest opening riff ever.

The Cars: Previewed this on a Sunday afternoon at the radio station with my girlfriend. Every track sounded like a winner.

Carolyn Mas: Shoulda been a star. Same preview room with my late buddy Brian Eagle. He'd already booked an interview with her after his first hearing of it.

Bruce Springsteen, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle: At my pal Jim's house. We must've played it 10 times.

Bruce Springsteen, Darkness On The Edge Of Town: Back in the days when FM stations would preview entire albums. Hot summer night at my friend Tom's house. Dominated the summer of '78 for me.

All of which leads me to conclude that these types of indelible experiences may be limited to your first quarter-century, since I haven't had a single memorable moment like this since — not for lack of listening to new music. Maybe having children (and pets, and debts, etc.) in your life has something to do with it, too.

The Travelling Jazz Community

My view of the 2009 TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival often seemed somewhat circumscribed by my duties in the media cube adjacent to the main stage, but, on reflection, a few observations seem universal.

Foremost, is the reinforcement of the idea that jazz musicians are open, curious and relatively non-hierarchical. Bassist John Geggie frequently distributes short reviews of his experiences leading the jam session the previous night, and a common theme is the spirit of community that exists. In addition to musical highlights like Trio M, Andy Milne and Benoit Delbecq, the Brian Blade Fellowship Band and the Charles Lloyd Quartet, the moments that stick in my mind are the conversations with musicians. There were remarkably few "star" attitudes exhibited offstage. Catching a few moments backstage with Pat Metheny, Gary Burton or Jimmy Cobb wasn't much different than hanging with local/regional musicians I've known for years. The odd logistical glitch or concern aside, everyone seemed happy to be on the road, making music, sharing their art with anyone who would listen.

Geggie had the same experience inside the Crowne Plaza bar, where players like Ethan Iverson and Javon Jackson were pleased to sit in with strangers after their own performances.

In this time of diminished sales, declining audiences, the death of clubs and jazz magazines, it's reassuring to know that the personalities behind the music are as strong and creative as ever.

And Then The Sun Came Out

Just hours after I joked that The Bad Plus should change their name to The Bad Weather (the air was chilly and the sky dark during their soundcheck Saturday; the reverse of the last time they visited Ottawa, when it was so hot and humid that steam was rising from the grass) the clouds parted and gave way to a beautiful evening. A huge crowd gathered for TBP and Al DiMeola, and the memories of gray days and pelting rain vanished. Of the festivals I've attended around the world, few can offer a venue as compelling as Ottawa's Confederation Park on a clear night.

The sun is back today, Charles Lloyd's quartet is soundchecking, and the world seems pretty good right now.

Festivals are funny beasts; they really do take on a personality over the course of their run. Ottawa was a mix of great music and disappointing weather.

Of course, there was also plenty going on indoors, including some exceptional concerts like Trio M's show, which still has people buzzing. Some memorable jam sessions, too. Ethan Iverson and Reid Anderson joined drummer Nick Fraser for a strong mini-set last night, and some students got a thrill by performing with Iverson on drums.

Oscar and Ron are Smiling

Nothing gets under my skin much more than people who diss music criticism without naming names. Oscar Peterson and Ron Carter are two high-profile musicians who have repeatedly objected to the practice of jazz journalism without citing any examples, but they are only the best known among legions of people who dismiss my field.

I have long suspected that the "jazz criticism" they hate is written by people who don't actually work in the field, such as this example that is burning up the Web today.

Full disclosure: I used to know the author when he lived in Ottawa. Even fuller disclosure: His brother is my financial advisor. All that inside dope informs me that Jeff Heinrich is no music journalist, but his strange, repugnant and ill-informed hatchet job on Maria Schneider and her audience will fuel the fire that jazz journalists attend concerts with an agenda, reflect their own failings as musicians, and don't know anything about the music being reviewed.

So, on behalf of professional jazz journalists everywhere: Thanks, Jeff. You just set back our cause beyond measure.

Rain Outdoors, Music Indoors

The rain continues to fall in Ottawa. The ongoing downpours throughout the week and the rising water table can be measured in the area adjacent to the row of porta-potties closest to my office. At first the grounds crew put a few wood chips down on the wet grass. Then larger wood chips. Then plywood planks. Now, a couple of the planks are completely awash. Not pretty, but not exactly Woodstock, either. One can only wonder, though, how big a crowd might've turned out to hear Wayne Shorter last night had the weather been more stable.

I stayed indoors to catch a magnificent set by Trio M, a somewhat one-dimensional Canadian début by the Finnish band Ilmiliekki, and the performance by the festival's composers collective. The latter had more than a few sonic train wrecks, but also some compelling improvisation on pieces by guitarist Michael Occhipinti, saxophonist Petr Cancura and pianist Andy Milne—three of the seven participating composers.

Later, at a somewhat lower-key jam session than Monday night's blowout, Andy and Petr combined for a rapturous Coltranesque excursion. Always good, too, to hear drummer Matt Wilson sitting in. His generosity and the sheer joy he takes from being a musician always shine through.

Torn Between Two Drummers

Ah, decisions, decisions... whether to catch Trio M with Matt Wilson, Myra Melford and Mark Dresser or the Wayne Shorter Quartet with Brian Blade on drums.

Yeah, life should be so tough every day.

Take Five

I finally took some time away from the media trailer to sit down and listen to an entire performance last night, and was rewarded with a beautiful concert by my friend Andy Milne and fellow pianist Benoit Delbecq. Playing a pair of prepared pianos in the sonically excellent Fourth Stage, they performed most of their new album, Where Is Pannonica?, in the original order.

Their interplay, and the communication between them, was at an exceptionally high level, with multiple rhythms and melodic strands flowing and bouncing. A lot of humour, soul and, most of all, imagination.

Family Ties

Those of us who toil on the jazz fest circuit know that there are few better people to encounter on the road than the musicians in the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Several of them have close ties to Ottawa and its musicians, so the jam session on Monday night promised to be a good one.

It didn't disappoint. In fact, it more or less defined the jazz tradition, prompting house pianist Nancy Walker to Facebook that the room was like "one big, extended, happy, musical family" and bandleader John Geggie to blog that "it seemed as though the (room) was a gigantic tour bus with the heaviest all-star band on the planet."

I was deep in conversation with fellow journalist Mark Miller and Schneider pianist Frank Kimbrough, but we all had half-an-ear on Donny McCaslin as he played chorus after chorus after chorus on "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and Ingrid Jensen burned on "Invitation."

Best Laid, And Other, Plans

Not blogging from the festival site as much as I'd hoped due to a dodgy wireless connection, but storing up lots of interesting experiences.

Most of all, and I think I've blogged this before, I hit the bed at the end of the long day trying to recall the myriad conversations — long and quick hits — that occur.

The pace slows somewhat after today's second of two panel discussions, so there'll be more to come.

Inside The Media Trailer...And Out

I only dip into the world of full-time media relations once or twice every couple of years, but it's always akin to trying to maintain your equilibrium while bouncing and churning around the bowl of a Cuisinart.

Friday. Out late the night before, I'm still dozing when I'm bolted awake by a gorgeous saxophone solo on my bedside radio. I'd completely forgotten that I'd booked former Ottawan Petr Cancura to appear on CBC Radio. He sounds great, and the interview is entertaining and informative. A solid start to the day.

On the drive in, I get a call from the producer of a noon-hour AM talk show I've agreed to go on to promote the jazz festival. I ask her for an overview of what ground she'd like to cover. "I thought we could spend some time talking about Michael Jackson." Cool, but not part of my agenda. At least I can relate how the musicians I was surrounded by the previous night responded to the news.

It's pouring rain on the walk back from the radio station, making Ottawa feel like one big sauna — being shared by a few hundred thousand of your closest friends.

Grabbing a fantastic organic Mennonite sausage in the park, I spot my former drum teacher, a lovely guy I never see often enough. Brief hang while my sausage is going cold.

The sounds of doom fill the air. We all look up to see if another storm is imminent. No, it's just Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten soundchecking. I catch a few minutes in front of the stage, then duck into the trailer to encounter the situation that will dominate my afternoon. Al Green's flight from Memphis was cancelled, meaning he will not be in Ottawa in time to do a live radio interview that had, so far, been the best achievement of our media relations efforts. I spend the next three hours on and off the phone, trying to find the good reverend, who is neither at home, in his office, or anywhere close to his cell phone. A lot of stuff goes on, but Mr. Green remains my focus, and concern. The odd thing about media relations is how much you want the story to work out for the journalists at the other end of the relationship. It goes beyond promotion at that point, especially if you've been a journalist yourself. Many calls back and forth to the radio producer — I would not want that job – Green's record label and manager, I write it off as a lost cause an hour after the show is underway. I leave a message for the singer to call directly to the producer and move on to some other issues. Miraculously – hey, he is the Rev. Al Green – he calls in right on time and, according to a later backstage conversation with host Adrian Harewood, the interview goes well.

Nice sets by Jane Bunnett's current touring unit featuring the sweet-voiced Grupo Desandann and Jimmy Cobb's tribute to Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, and then I hook up backstage with saxophonist Javon Jackson for a pre-arranged dinner. We decide to catch a couple of songs by SMV, which turns out to be a bad move, because we miss the close of the kitchen at the Japanese restaurant we had chosen. We're on Jazz Time, Javon has to check out of his hotel at 3 a.m. to make a flight to Saratoga via Philly, and Ottawa suddenly seems like the provincial town that so many people claim it is. Not the finest moment for showing off my city to my New York friend.

We catch dinner, in the gracious company of longtime jazz festival board member Judy Humenick, and manage to twist Javon's arm into sitting in at the jam session.

The session room is packed when we get there, lots of people to talk to, and when Javon finally hits with Dave Restivo on piano and Jim Lewis on trumpet – now about three hours before his lobby call for the Saratoga trip – he sounds fantastic, flying on tenor like he's playing alto. If anyone can capture the sound of John Coltrane in his mid-'50s period, it's Javon, and he's brimming with nice melodic ideas.

Two great sax solos. Perfect bookends.

Blanchard Beats The Odds

How fast can you turn out a huge crowd of jazz fans for a free concert by arguably the world's best trumpeter? Twenty-four hours is plenty, it seems.

My sometime-colleague Doug Fischer has the background details in this crisply written story.

As media advisor for this year's TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival, I got word of Wednesday night's final lineup at 10:10 p.m., Tuesday. I posted something here and on Facebook, and began wondering if social networking and good-old word-of-mouth would work fast enough to draw out a crowd that probably already had plans the night before an 11-day run of solid jazz. As luck would have it, I was already booked to do a radio interview for one of the two local campus/community radio stations at 6:40 this morning, and I sent an early-morning email or two to the producers of the morning drive show with the largest audience. My colleague Suzan was working another set of media contacts.

We lucked out with the weather — a sweltering day that gave way to a balmy, clear evening — and the jazz-ready spirit of Ottawans, who love a free concert as much as the next guy.

While not as full as it has been for shows by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Return To Forever or Brad Mehldau's trio, the park was pretty full and the vibe was great.

The Real Sound Of Surprise

The stage in Confederation Park is ready to go, so why wait?

Why, indeed. That's the thinking at the TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival, which is kicking off a day early with three free concerts on our mainstage, featuring:

Terence Blanchard Quartet – hot off his win last week as Trumpeter of the Year at the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards.

Pavlo – terrific flamenco guitarist from Toronto.

Souljazz Orchestra – hometown favourites to start things off.

Nothing like three surprise concerts and a media blitz to get the adrenalin pumping. Stay tuned for posts from backstage until July 5.

Four Days To Go

With just four days to go before the launch of the 2009 TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival a few trends have revealed themselves.

Al Green is far and away the most requested interview, and thankfully the good reverend is doing his best to accommodate requests. Canada Customs permitting, I'm hoping to have him live on air at the local CBC Radio studio on Friday afternoon.

There is no shortage of good stories among this year's artists, including the new models of music distribution pioneered by Dave Douglas and Maria Schneider, the New York City and Boston breakout of homegrown talent Petr Cancura, our focus on the miracle that was the year 1959, and the Polaris Prize nomination of the astounding young talent Coeur de Pirate.

Surprisingly, no one has yet requested an interview with Pat Metheny. Arguably the most-popular musician just 90 minutes away in Montreal, Metheny hasn't generated one media inquiry yet.

The weather forecasters are predicting temperatures above 30 Celsius by week's end. That sounds like jazz weather to me.

Another Perspective

When I'm not writing about music I make my living in corporate and government communications—marketing, for lack of a more inclusive term. Now, for the first time since 1989, I'm bringing the two parts of my life together to take on the role of media advisor to the 2009 TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival. I served on the board of the festival during the latter part of the 1980s, during a time that I was out of journalism, and have been co-ordinating a set of panel discussions at the festival the past two years, so it's familiar ground.

This opens up some interesting blogging possibilities from now until the festival wraps up on July 5, and I plan to post here some of what I see and hear to provide some insight into what goes into making a large jazz festival run.

These are interesting times, to say the least. It seems now that the rumours about the demise of JazzTimes are indeed true, and it's anyone's guess what the future holds for jazz festivals in the wake of JVC's decision to pull out of New York and various other blows to U.S. festivals. Here in Canada, the festival circuit remains strong—thanks in large part to the ongoing sponsorship of TD Canada Trust—but we're not without a few cracks in the foundation: witness the decision by General Motors not to renew its substantial support of the Montreal jazz fest, even before the company's current re-structuring.

It is evident that a new model is in order on several fronts. In many ways, the current situation reminds me of the mid-'70s, when the popularity of rock had pretty much decimated the established jazz scene. The bloom was largely off the jazz-rock fusion movement, as the innovation of John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, et.al., began to give way to less-creative efforts, and the club circuit was in ruins. Commercial jazz radio had started its long death march. Things were grim; just ask any jazz musician who was trying to make ends meet back then. But those doldrums gave way to a long upward cycle, which saw the spread of the jazz festival concept to cities like Montreal and Vancouver (and Ottawa), and the rise of a new generation that included the people who grew JazzTimes into a slick publication that could hold its own with anything else on the newsstand.

So, I'm holding out for another upward swing, which will bring a new model for many parts of our industry. What format will those things take? I don't think we can safely guess, any more than we might've predicted 15 years ago that digital, broadband technology would mean the destruction of the music industry as we knew it then. We'll just have to wait and see. But, meanwhile, stay tuned, and I'll take you backstage at one of North America's largest jazz festivals, where we'll likely hear a lot more about where we are and where we might be headed.

Sign Of The Times?

The rumoured demise of JazzTimes — as yet not addressed by anyone associated with the venerable jazz magazine — is probably the worst news that anyone in the business needs to hear. The story, broken by Howard Mandel this week, created an instant storm of response on Facebook because industry insiders realize that the failure of a linchpin like JT can have wide-reaching effects... none of them good.

A followup piece by Howard speculates that Jazz Times itself fell victim to the death of yet another industry linchpin, the JVC-sponsored New York City jazz festival.

What impact this might have on Jazziz — already down to four issues a year — and DownBeat — currently celebrating its 75th anniversary with a commemorative issue — remains to be seen. Clearly, instrument manufacturers and electronics companies — the bread and butter advertisers for these publications — will re-direct some revenue to the remaining magazines, but experience tells me that when a big tree like JazzTimes falls in the forest it's a sign that something is deeply wrong in the woods.

National Jazz Awards

I was unable to be in Toronto at noontime on Thursday to accept the Journalist of the Year award at the National Jazz Awards, so I wanted to use this space to thank everyone who voted for me and, particularly, the editors I have worked with in the past year: Pete Gershon, who welcomed me into the family at Signal To Noise in 2008; Aaron Cohen, associate editor at DownBeat; and Jason Koransky, who has edited DownBeat for the past decade. Jason is leaving his post this week to pursue a career in law, so I want to make special mention of him for giving me some great assignments over the past 10 years.

The jazz community in Canada is small enough that it's possible to have at least a passing acquaintance with almost everyone in it, and that extends to the journalists who report on the music. Several of the contenders for the award are friends. Len Dobbin always greets me with a warm hug when we meet, and his stories from the heyday of bop are welcome touchstones to earlier generations of jazz musicians. I shared the jazz columnist duties at the Ottawa Citizen with Peter Hum for 10 years and have watched happily as he has gained a larger audience for both his writing—his blog is one of the best in the business—and his piano playing. Mark Miller is one of my personal heroes—not just for his keen critical eye/ear and elegant writing, but for his tireless ability to get jazz into the editorial mix at the Globe and Mail for decades.

Thanks, as well, to Bill King, who has worked very hard to transform the National Jazz Awards into a truly pan-Canadian awards program. Clearly, there is still a lot of room for more recognition of artists from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the western provinces, but with more than 7200 online voters the NJAs have taken a big jump this year. Bill is a strong cheerleader for jazz in this country, and his annual showcase covered a nice arc of generations, from Montreal icon Vic Vogel to bright light Darcy James Argue.