MAC JAZZ JITTERS
MAC JAZZ JITTERS
#0MAC JAZZ JITTERS
Posted: 8/3/05 at 4:41pm
I feel it’s safe to say here that no one is against entertainers making money, & no one is against instrumentalists, producers or clubs making money either, certainly not me, but I’ve got some serious & reasonable questions about “All MAC Jazz” shows. Questions that sprung to mind immediately upon reading the initial announcement of All MAC Jazz & all subsequent postings about the shows. However, for whatever reason, no one has posted these questions heretofore. So, here goes:
Is All MAC Jazz an actual MAC-sponsored event or not? If it is, & intended to foster Jazz in the MAC community, doesn’t it behoove the org. to be above reproach? Should the Pres. of MAC Barry Levitt get the gig? Scott Barbarino (MAC BOD VP) says that all the instrumentalists are getting paid. Should these shows take place (apparently exclusively) in the club of 1 of the MAC BOD VP’s, a club which also reaps financial benefit?
On the short end of the stick are the people supposedly getting the help: the Jazz vocalists. Their reward: they don’t have to pay to perform & they might get a little money, as well. Altho Jamie deRoy hosted the MAC/ASCAP shows when she was MAC BOD Pres. (& still hosts), I doubt she got paid to do the MAC/ASCAP shows at any time. Also, in contrast, the MAC/ASCAP Nights, which have established a working & successful model for MAC, charge only a token amount to MAC mbrs. And let’s not forget what the MAC org. gets out of it. Mr. Barbarino wrote in his post on Cabaret Hotline called “MAC is more than just about awards Response to Mr Glover” dated 7/18/2005, “Some of the proceeds will go to MAC to be used for other MAC member events, and yes, I too make money, but after all this is still America.” Exactly what is the percentage that MAC is getting?
Again, if this is a MAC-sponsored event, the design of the All MAC Jazz show flyers also makes MAC look bad. How was the Barry Levitt Trio booked for the gig? And why aren’t different Jazz bands booked to play for these Jazz performers on different dates? If the intention is to promote the Jazz singers, why is the Barry Levitt Trio the headliner? Why does the Barry Levitt Trio’s name come 1st in the flyer layout? Why are the vocalists simply “featured”? For that matter, why is it that the flyers say presented by Messrs. Barbarino & Levitt? Why does the flyer not say “Presented by MAC”? If some of those people that are featured are Jazz singers that Barry Levitt works for, especially so early in the series, doesn’t this look like opportunities may not be as fairly distributed to other Jazz singers who are mbrs of MAC? Isn’t it a chance for Barry to increase his professional visibility? Why does this smack of self-promotion? Doesn’t this give incentive to a MAC Jazz singer to hire Barry as their own musical dir. in hope of getting the visibility of a MAC gig, thus, hurting the likelihood that other MAC Jazz singers (who haven’t already worked with Barry Levitt) get those gigs?
More questions: Will the MAC Jazz Shows rotate fr club-to-club the way the MAC Nights Out have? How are the singers chosen? If this was truly designed to help Jazz vocalists, IMHO, other MAC Jazz musicians, instead of the Pres. of MAC, would get the gig, the vocalists would get the door, while the club would get the money fr food & drink. And if these are MAC-sponsored events, the payments to the singers, the Jazz band, & the amount of money that goes to MAC should be made public. Surely, the exact figures should be included in the Treasurer’s Report in the next annual mtg. But let’s face it: The fact that officers of the MAC BOD might be profiting from their affiliation w/MAC during their own administration is a MAJOR issue.
If all MAC Jazz is NOT a MAC-sponsored event, IMHO, the issues are even more troubling. If that’s the situation, then the Pres. of MAC BOD & a VP of MAC BOD is getting personal and professional gain out of using the MAC name & the MAC logo on their own personal promotional mat’l & using the MAC name to get people into the club when it is NOT, in fact, an official MAC event. If it’s not a MAC-sponsored event, should it be called something like “Iridium Jazz Night Out”? Certainly, the MAC name & logo should not be used at all. If this is not a MAC-sponsored event why is it listed on MAC’s website?
In my view, there are serious moral issues here, whether these are MAC-sponsored events or not, and they warrant serious consideration. These issues should not be ignored by the MAC BOD. I HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL REMEMBER THIS NOW THAT IT IS TIME TO REJOIN and COME ELECTION TIME because this seems like a questionable way to promote MAC’s Jazz & its Jazz singers.
Milla
rickyoleer
Swing Joined: 7/22/05
Videos