Sponsored discs: good or bad?

HenryMc · October-12th-2004, 04:25 PM

I've been wondering about this since I purchased Dale Barlow's Nomads "Where we Live"Cd - an average tenor sax and didjerido CD by a great player.

Perusing the cover I noticed that the disc was sponsored by the Arts Council of Australia and nearly every other Arts Council disc has a too studied feel - in reflection this CD has a bit of that.

Now the worst Lacy's I ever got were sponsored by someone as paid composition (Anthem springs to mind) and some of those radio ork gigs in europe are studious as well?

What do you think?

Any really good sponsored music out there?

Deke · October-12th-2004, 04:55 PM

A lot of Mike Westbrook's music was sponsored. How do you feel about his work?

Dan G · October-12th-2004, 05:00 PM

The British Arts Council has sponsored some good stuff - I can remember at least one disc on John Butcher's Acta label with their logo on it (maybe a Chris Burn Ensemble disc), and I think Paul Dunmall's Babu (on Slam) does too.

Many hat releases for years had Swiss bank support.

Some New World records were sponsored by the Lila Wallace Foundation - yes, the people behind Reader's Digest - including at least one of Cecil Taylor's records for them.

Not sure if the Dutch Arts Council sponsors recordings per se, but there's been some good stuff released from tours that they supported (Clusone 3's I'm An Indian and Houtkamp/vanHove/Prins Live in Canada 1997 both feature music from gigs in Canada that required gov't support to get them here, for example).

I guess maybe it depends on the funder. I can't think of muchsupported by the Canada Council or any of our provincial arts councils that blew me away, but then again, I'm sure I am forgettng some.

HenryMc · October-12th-2004, 05:09 PM

The early stuff ...or the later stuff?

Westbrook .....I've always had a thing for English Jazz (Phil Seaman, Stan Tracey, Harriot etc ) and English Avante (Lindsay, Fred Frith etc) so Im a bit biased .....I dont recall the early Westbrooks as sponsored (I could be wrong though) maybe the hatHUT stuff though

Deke · October-12th-2004, 05:33 PM

I've still not got the early stuff. I saw the CDs and nearly grabbed them, but some stupid voice inside me said "No, see if you can still get the vinyl." They're on the list!

My first Westbrook was the somewhat untypical 'Solid gold cadillac', but I tried to get anything else he released after that, including Metropolis, which I'm fairly certain was sponsored, and I read an interview with him in which he said he'd been commisioned to write two more pieces for some arts council or another. On a quick tangent here, I wonder what happened to that magazine? It used to be free from the Virgin 'Classics & Jazz' area, but now they've turned that area into an internet cafe (Except they don't do food and drink any more...) you can't seem to get it anywhere in Oxford.

I remember reading a news item in Jazzwise about the BBC commissioning some new jazz pieces, but they were on Radio 3 and I can never get used to switching to that channel...

HenryMc · October-13th-2004, 07:39 AM

Deke

I guess Im musing aloud and hoping to be dissuaded from a, quite frankly, silly preconception I've developed. I mean why should the artistic process be different because the State pays for it.

What's happening in the UK right now? Is the avante scene still (relatively) strong. Did that much vaunted Jazz revival of the mid 90's (Loose Tubes, the Arguelles, etc) just peter out into a mindless acid jazz conformity?

Deke · October-13th-2004, 03:48 PM

Largely it did. I believe some of the Tubes were involved with the mighty refrigerators of the 3 Mustaphas 3. I'm having a mental block right now, I can't recall the name of Loose Tubes piano player, but he was one of the people commisioned to write new material for the BBC. Captain Coincidence strikes again...

That reminds me. I seem to be one Loose Tubes album short, but I can never find all of them at the same time to work out which is missing....

Quote:

Originally Posted by HenryMc

I guess Im musing aloud and hoping to be dissuaded from a, quite frankly, silly preconception I've developed. I mean why should the artistic process be different because the State pays for it.

Well I'm not completely uncertain that the knowledge that you're going to get paid doesn't impact upon the creative process, but I guess Beethoven did OK...

HenryMc · October-13th-2004, 04:40 PM

The wonderfully named Django Bates perhaps?

Nathaniel Catchpole · October-13th-2004, 05:52 PM

rather have funded concerts.

Sergio Zamora · October-13th-2004, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathaniel Catchpole

rather have funded concerts.

What's the diff?

Deke · October-14th-2004, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HenryMc

The wonderfully named Django Bates perhaps?

That's the one. I can't believe I forgot his name only days after using him in the 'Name 3 people' thread...

Dang biorhythms...

mke · October-15th-2004, 07:12 AM

In Belgium, pretty much all jazz CDs (and even a lot of non-jazz CDs, I guess) are subsidised directly or indirectly (e.g. the country's biggest label, Igloo, is totally subsidised and I have heard that this discourages them from active promotion of the CDs they publish), generally by either the French- or Dutch-speaking Arts bodies. It's dificult to say how quality is impacted.