ESSAYS

This section includes essays on various jazz subjects, written by a number of writers. Contributions are welcome. Writers interested in contributing are welcome to contact the editor by filling out the form in the CONTACT tab. Photographs to illustrate those essays are welcome. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF AUSTRALIAN SESSION MUSICIANS AND THEIR UNFORTUNATE LICENSING RIGHTS

by Pete Thoms

Music Industry Inside Out, May 28, 2018

As I have been active as a session musician in the UK for over 30 years and at the Musicians Union for 15 years I can give you a perspective from here and other countries I have recorded in. In London, there has always been a tradition of freelance session players contributing to adverts, films, TV shows, library music and records. The UK is heavily unionised, with the British Musicians Union’s 30,000 members creating a powerful bloc to ensure fees and rights are respected.

A STORY OF JAZZ IN SYDNEY: THE SHORT VERSION

by Peter Boothman

February 9, 2008

The 1970s and 80s were a unique and exceptional time for jazz in Sydney Australia. In the inner city area there was jazz everywhere. Every pub, club and restaurant had a jazz group and it wasn't all watered down jazz for the average punter either. The music was new, fresh and vibrant and the people came to hear it in droves…

PETER BOOTHMAN: GROWTH & BALANCE

by Bruce Johnson

Jazz Magazine, Summer/Autumn, 1984

Feature articles dealing with musicians frequently ooze a rather oily complacency, as though the subject has now completed the growth process, answered all the questions (… got his shit together … found out where his head is at…). The finished, self-congratulatory tone of such interviews causes one to squirm. It is a relief to find that such a style is not always appropriate. As in the present instance, the picture is not finished; the account remains ambiguous and open-ended, it finishes with “… er…”