The news is almost too dire to contemplate. Clubs and bars closing. Venues shuttering. The nation’s largest performing arts organization, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, is laying-off its union workers. On the jazz side of things where almost everyone is a freelancer without the protection of a contract, things are even more dire. Could the news get any worse?
Yet even at this darkest hour, it seems there is a possibility of hope.
Bandcamp, a digital music sales and streaming platform, announced that tomorrow, March 20, it will forgo collecting its share of revenue, typically 15 percent, from sales on the site. This is a laudable gesture, and a necessary one considering that most jazz artists have few other sources of revenue at the moment (don’t get me started about streaming, which pays even top-charting pop artists fractions of pennies per stream).
So now–or from 12 a.m. PDT tonight to 12 a.m. PDT tomorrow–load up on the notable releases below and whatever else you might want. You’ll be the artists a great service and stocking up on great music for those long hours at home.
- Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered A majestic new CD that’s only available on Bandcamp and, at $15 for 125 minutes of incandescent music, might be your entertainment bargain of the season. Watch for my review on Friday.
- Chris Dingman: Embrace A record with a back story that’s almost as compelling as the music
- The Necks: Three A hypnotically engrossing new outing from the venerable Australian sound wizards
- Jeff Parker: Suite for Max Brown Chicago’s old pro guitarist for all seasons catches the fresh vibe of his International Anthem labelmates
And if you find music that you want to talk about, the comments are open below.
