How Jazz Was Subsumed Into The Nonprofit Arts-Industrial Complex (And Lost A Lot Of Its Mojo)

Dale Chapman, author of The Jazz Bubble: “Jazz is presently understood less as a commercially viable expressive form in its own right than as a symbol of something else: as an artistic practice that is seen as both ‘legitimate’ (in other words, as inoffensive to established institutions), and as contributing to multiculturalism, through its links to communities of color. Thus, jazz becomes the kind of genre that can give an imprimatur of both respectability and social inclusivity to a large redevelopment project, even while it may be of little interest to a prospective for-profit club owner.”

Hat & Beard, ‘Reinventing The Small Press For The Post-Crash 21st Century’

“It’s hard to avoid noticing that J.C. Gabel, a tall, almost burly transplant from Chicago, is — among other things — a bit of a ranter. … But the difference between Gabel, 42, and most people who declaim loudly on the patios of bookstores is that a) he’s generally — or at least arguably — right most of the time and b) he’s managed to put his money where his mouth is. … Surviving in the current publishing climate is impressive; thriving and expanding is almost bizarre. And Gabel and company have done it.”

It’s Time For British Arts Orgs To Prepare For ‘Catastrophic’ Hard Brexit, Warns Industry Group

“Creative organisations and businesses must now prepare for the ‘catastrophic’ possibility of losing employees, facing higher costs when trading goods and services and being denied access to European Union (EU) funding through a no-deal Brexit, the Creative Industries Federation (CIF) has warned.” A new guide distributed by the CIF warns arts organisations to carry out an audit and, if they find themselves highly dependent on the EU, to set up a branch in another member country.

What Hollywood Could Learn From Success Of “Crazy Rich Asians”

Studios today gravitate more toward sequels and established franchises because they tend to be safer box-office bets. But audiences aren’t nearly as narrow-minded as the Hollywood development process might suggest. Time and again, films that appeal to a broader demographic range, or that belong to under-sung genres, sell many more tickets than predicted. Which is to say that multiple times every year, a film like Girls Trip, or Black Panther, or Crazy Rich Asians is dubbed a “surprise” success. But moving forward, industry experts—whether studios or box-office analysts—will have fewer reasons to be caught off guard.

This Is A Critical Time For LA’s Museum Of Contemporary Art As New Director Steps In

There’s been a lack of clarity in terms of the museum’s vision for 20 years now—it’s time for a plan that moves the institution forward. There’s also a critical mass of institutions of high ambitions now that makes for a very challenging and competitive landscape—Lacma is more engaged with contemporary art than ever before, and the Hammer [Museum] is at its most energetic and creative.

Have We Locked Ourselves Into Funding Only The Same Old Arts And Institutions?

“In Australia,” she told me, “we continue to have the debate about whether putting the majority of our cultural subsidy into the same 30 or so companies for more than 30 years, to produce works for the same audiences, in same venues, often with the same artists, is a good idea. It raises the same level of disbelief as our recent ‘referendum’ on marriage equality or whether the country should boot out Her Maj as our head of state and become a republic.

Nashville Is Becoming A Serious Place For Jazz

A couple of years ago I did some recon at ground level, meeting with players like Spivey, guitarist Andy Reiss and saxophonists Jeff Coffin and Evan Cobb. Everybody told me the same thing: that Nashville has always nurtured a small but serious jazz culture, and that its constituency, like so much else in this booming city, is growing at a prodigious rate.