Jazz Office Hours: The Cellar Music Group Podcast Cory Weeds & Will Chernoff

Life happened and I've missed doing it for months now, but Sunday School is back in session! We kick things off by talking about (among many things) the value of vinyl and the rich listening experience, plus some inside talk about manufacturing and selling vinyl records. Then, we get into the classic Jazz Office Hours topic of emailing venue bookers (32:10) with an emphasis on how important it is to be "cool to work with".
This is Sunday School: Cory Weeds opens up in a livestream format for Q&A about the business of jazz, artist career talk, and a chill hang. To catch the next one live and participate, follow Cory on Instagram.
This episode originally aired on Instagram @coryweeds on June 23, 2024.
Intro: "King of the Hill" from Jim's Bob by Jim Rotondi.
Credits: Hosted and produced by Cory Weeds. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. Theme music: "Blues de Troye" from Day by Day by Cory Weeds.
Jazz Office Hours: the Cellar Music Group podcast, together with Chernoff Music.

Alto saxophonist Nick Green will be performing as a guest with me for my Hank Mobley tribute at Frankie's and leading his own quintet at the club! Nick (who joins at 05:03) is Brooklyn-born and raised and made an album on Cellar called Green on the Scene. He has great stories and I talked to him about his journey in jazz.
Then, I talk about three of the finest pianists coming to Pyatt Hall in Vancouver this fall (32:30) and take a question (33:29) about how musicians like Nick and I went out to start getting our first gigs.
Find your tickets for my Frankie's shows on the Friday, July 5th or the Saturday, July 6th, as well as Nick's date on Sunday, July 7th through the links.
This is Frankie's Backstage: Tune in as Frankie's artistic director, Cory Weeds, sits down with upcoming performers to discuss their journeys & their music. Get to know some of the performers who will be gracing our stage at Vancouver, BC's premier jazz club.
This episode originally aired on Instagram @frankiesjazz on June 22, 2024.
Intro: "Red Cross" from Green on the Scene by Nick Green.
Credits: Hosted and produced by Cory Weeds. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. Theme music: "Blues de Troye" from Day by Day by Cory Weeds.
Jazz Office Hours: the Cellar Music Group podcast, together with Chernoff Music.

In this solo episode by Will, let's kick off the year in style and run down a highlight from every 2022 episode. Each highlight involves Cory teaching a lesson to, lighting a fire under, or provoking new thoughts from Will. We cover five episodes in under 20 minutes.
From Ep. 1 - Establishing a level of care (1:18), Ep. 2 - Comparing venues (5:35), Ep. 3 - Cory didn't have any recording experience (10:20), Ep. 4 - Being in control vs. being picked (12:44), Ep. 5 - Does Oliver Gannon need to apply to the jazzfest? (15:45).

In this episode:
Cory went to Pittsburgh, went on tour with Michael Weiss, and brought Jeremy Pelt out here for some big gigs (00:51), The venue incident (11:43), When people say "We can't make a living as full-time musicians in this city" (25:29), Not saying yes right away (0:32:04), The power of the checklist and setting up venue promotions (35:41), What you need to know when you apply to jazz festivals in Canada (43:21), Best-of-2022 highlight: Does Oliver Gannon need to apply to the jazzfest? (46:51)Getting nominated for the Grammys won't change your life, and no gig is career-changing (56:43).

In this episode:
Cory doesn’t know half the people in the house when he emcees Frankie’s, and interest in live gigs is up! (4:50), Is the Cellar Music label releasing too many albums? (9:00), Why monthly listeners is a bad statistic for comparing artists (22:35), The “keeping the lights on” view of social media (27:25), The danger of having multiple names for your projects / bands on streaming platforms (32:55), First question: Music grant organizations to follow as a Canadian musician in BC (38:15)What’s it like being on a grant jury? (44:05), Best-of-2022 highlight: Being in control vs. being picked (48:24), When you get rejected, it’s so often circumstantial, and so rarely a judgment on you (49:35), Second question: Thoughts on being a brand and branding for musicians (58:42).
Links:
FACTOR Artist Development grant: how I won it twice - Will's two applications to the programJuried Sound Recording program: FACTORExplore and Create: Canada Council - Includes Research and Creation, as well as Concept to Realization, programsAmplify BC Career Development grantMusic BC Travel GrantsWhat is the Spotify monthly listener figure? - Will's breakdown of what the often-misunderstood stat meansLegibility - Will's Rhythm Changes Update on what happens when you have many streaming profiles with slightly different names for your group

In this episode:
Cory uploaded never-before-seen footage of Hank Mobley and Dexter Gordon to YouTube (0:49), First topic: "I once booked an amazing pianist at a club in the UK where the promoter told me 'I honestly don't think I can sell more than 30 tickets for him but I love it and I can book on that occasionally.'" (4:28), Cory shared a pitch gone wrong and received over 150 comments back on Facebook (9:42), What do I need to know about how to present myself on stage? (15:09), I'm in jazz school, but I want to learn about audio production, recording, and mixing. How can I go about this, without having to go to audio school? (20:37), Best-of-2022 highlight: Cory didn't have any recording experience (21:41), How do you learn to hear what makes a good mix or master recording? (25:00), The Fraser MacPherson Jazz Fund is offering scholarships now to instrumentalist students in BC (30:59).
Links:
Fraser MacPherson Jazz Fund - Apply for scholarships if you're an instrumentalist student in BCNew Jazz Underground - YouTube channel of three people just going for it and having fun recording themselvesHow to approach a jazz bar or club owner as a musician - written by Cory from our websiteHank Mobley video - Cory's YouTube channelDexter Gordon footage - Cory's YouTube channelThese 110 words just went 4-for-4 on local gig bookings - Will's Rhythm Changes Update on his local gig pitches