Jazz Office Hours with Cory Weeds

In this spontaneous 15-minute hang I talk about a unique weekend involving Jacob Chung , a wonderful young saxophonist who came out to play in BC for the first time. Jacob brought his band of Tyler Henderson on piano, Caleb Tobocman on bass, and Hank Allen-Barfield on drums. The quartet came through Frankie's Jazz Club for two unforgettable nights, among other shows. We also recorded the piano tri...

Alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo is coming to town to play with a Vancouver quartet at Frankie's! Mike (who joins at 01:50) is a soft-spoken, phenomenal musician. The New Haven, Connecticut native studied at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, the school known for Jackie McLean's jazz program. He's now based in New York. I brought him to Vancouver in past years to play with Larry Willis,...

I'm talking New York With Weeds 2025 (March 16-23, 2025) , the next edition of my annual trip to the Big Apple, because you can get $100 off registration for the trip until July 30th! Learn more about it here on my website coryweeds.com . In this spontaneous 15-minute hang I got into some New York with Weeds stories from past years' trips, including: getting banned (sort of?) from the Village Vang...

On this hot summer Sunday School: rest in peace Jim Rotondi - the instrumental teachers I had in my early years,and how Jim was part of the connections I started making (2:49), Has the ship sailed on making a living from just jazz gigs? (17:55), My NYC plans in fall 2024 (30:00), a preview spin of The Heavy Hitters' record made last December (31:12). Plus more topics like gigs with Hugh Fraser and...

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...

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 i...

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...

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 f...

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 pla...

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...

Fear. It shows up throughout our musical lives as we book gigs and work to bring people out. But too often the attention drifts to numbers like, 'What's your draw ?' while the meaning rests in the music's impact. Maybe promoters aren't as cynical as you think. And it's not all about results from one show; you can always get the promoter excited for next time, too. First question : Fear of playing...

It's summer! We're on vacation, so please enjoy this top highlight clip from episode one. In this answer, Will & Cory discuss the secret to connecting with local music venues and booking agents: know what you want to do! It breaks down into three steps: Clearly define what you think your band is. Look at venues and figure out which ones you could potentially fit into. Make your best demo, and...

Making a jazz album, from demo to distribution to performance, is a game of expectations. Whether artistic, financial, or personal, expectations keep you on track and help you remember why you're in the game. Topics: First question : How to release a jazz album (01:17), What are realistic financial expectations for making an album? Taking entrepreneurial risk, investing up-front in production, and...

Here we go! Stay tuned for Jazz Office Hours.

Wayne Escoffery picked some great music and gave such in depth and insightful thoughts on all his picks! We snuck a track in from his latest Smoke Sessions Records release The Humble Warrior which currently sits at #1 on the JazzWeek charts.

During the past two decades, Jeremy Pelt has established himself as a resourceful trumpeter, bandleader and composer with an expansive repertoire that embraces everything from post-bop to fusion.

Hailed by All About Jazz as "wise beyond his years", saxophonist Sam Taylor lives and performs in New York City. A Philadelphia native, Taylor has released two recordings on Cellar Live, with his second, Along The Way, featuring Philadelphia saxophone legend, Larry McKenna, In support of the release, Taylor performed two nights at the 2018 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Past performance hi...

Join me for an hour (and a bit) with New York-based trumpeter John Sneider. He talks about his new record on Cellar Music and talk about growing up in Brockton and how he made his way to NYC! He’s originally from the New England area and he has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Jazz. Over the years, he has performed with Max Roach, Larry Goldings, Curtis Fuller, The...

Jason Tiemann is a New York City-based jazz drummer, where he maintains a busy schedule as a freelance performer and educator. Admittedly drawing influence from the great(s) Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins, Tiemann is quickly forging his musical voice on the New York scene by fusing his depth of historical foundation with crisp technique and propulsive, intuitive swi...

Since his arrival on the New York scene in 2005, Ken Fowser has continued to steer traditional harmony in uncharted directions. His lyrical approach to line construction and depth of harmonic sensibility allow him to record and play all over the world with such master players and burgeoning stars as David Hazeltine, Ugonna Okegwo, Donald Vega, Willie Jones III, Rick Germanson, Quincy Davis, David...

She’s “Sweet and Funky,” she’s “Cute and Bad”. A Composer. A Performer extraordinaire. The legendary Dr. Lonnie Smith describes her this way: “Akiko's playing is like watching a flower blooming, a bird spreading her wings in the music world. Akiko is here to stay.”Join me and get to know Akiko Tsuruga a little bit better!

Since moving to New York in 2001, Frank Basile has been fortunate to establish himself as one of today's most in-demand baritone saxophonists. Dubbed a "prized sideman" by The New Yorker, Basile has been called upon to perform with, record with, and tour the world with many of jazz's finest musicians and ensembles. Among this distinguished list are The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Dizzy Gillespie...

As a young immigrant who has brought the real richness of her heritage together with her love for what is truly American, Lucy sounds out the best expression of the American dream. Since arriving from Armenia sixteen years ago at age 12, Lucy has enriched American jazz with a voice that is clear and strong, and with the release of her debut album Blue Heaven on Cellar Music, critics and musicians...

Pianist and organist Nick Peck talks about his background, selects 8 tracks, and explains why he picked that music.

Featuring saxophonist Grant Stewart