Monday, June 25, 2012

The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm



Videographer Jonathan Jindra and I have been working on the first draft of what will be a promotional video for my Women In Jazz book project. The video will be around a minute and a half, and feature excerpts of music by some of the interviewees, including Brandee Younger, Pamela York, and Jane Ira Bloom. I'll post the video once it's ready to share with the world.

I am reading a fascinating essay by pianist Marian McPartland about the all-woman, sixteen piece band The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm, who formed in 1938 and were quite popular throughout the war years. The essay is from McPartland's book All In Good Time. Thought I'd share the video above of the Sweethearts which features some great ensemble playing and solos.

More updates to come. Thank you everyone for supporting this project.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

WIJ update, video, new interviews...

(Photo of Brandee Younger by Kyle Pompey)

Thank you again to everyone who supported my recent campaign on Indiegogo to raise funds to create a video to promote my Women In Jazz book project. Videographer Jonathan Jindra and I have started to plan out the video shoot. The final product will be stunning. I'll keep everyone updated.

A couple more campaign "perks" are going in the mail to donors next week.

I recently wrote two articles for Consumer Media Network about artists and crowdfunding. The first article profiles three artists, Houston string quartet Two Star Symphony, filmmaker Jesse Salmeron, and children's book author Mpho Otukile, who each used a different crowdfunding platform to raise money for their respective projects. The second article recaps my own experience with Indiegogo and my Women In Jazz book promotional video campaign.

Both articles may be helpful reading if you are considering crowdfunding to raise money for a creative project.

Recent interviewees for the Women In Jazz book include harpist Brandee Younger, who recently released a powerful track titled "He Has a Name," and cellist and composer extraordinaire Lenae Harris, whose music encompasses jazz fusion, classical, electronica, and hip-hop. Both interviews were very illuminating. Some themes are recurring in these conversations for the book, but there are also fascinatingly different perspectives on music, jazz, and life as an artist.

Next week, I'll be reaching out to more musicians to see if they'd like to be interviewed for the book. Thank you to those who have suggested musicians for me to contact, I really appreciate that. And feel free to be in touch with additional suggestions. beckermusic at yahoo dot com is my email.

More news to come. Thank you again for your support.