First Things First!
Welcome to the Rhythm Section One Blog! I am so excited to finally get this project off the ground! It took a year of planning, pushing, and going crazy, but it is finally here! First of all, a lot of you may remember my original company, Smooth Jazz Entertainment LLC. That was my first foray into the music business acting primarily as a promoter. It was a tumultuous journey that took me into the bowels of club management, marketing and promotion. Though, I wouldn’t say I hated the entire experience, I quickly realized that wasn’t where my strengths were. I enjoyed putting on events, and promoting my own shows, however, my skills and talents were better utilized around managing people. That’s not to say I won’t do any events (a lot of you have been asking!) but I would rather focus my energy on developing artists and their careers and writing stories that people want to read.
As a result I’ve spent this past year revamping this entire business concept. I started recruiting artists and working on ways to help promote their careers. I’m proud to say that in a year’s time we’re working with 5 top artists from Chicago, which cover a wide variety of musical genres. If you have a moment, please browse the website to learn more about them and what we they have in store. I promise that you won’t be disappointed! And of course you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well.
Now if you’ve read my stories before, you already know that I’ve interviewed some of the best jazz musicians in the world today. I had the opportunity to write for iRock Jazz; an outstanding music website dedicated to promoting jazz everywhere in the world today. (Check out www.irockjazz.com) I would like to thank its founder and CEO John Moultrie for allowing me to be a part of his vision. My door is always open, sir.
Titans like Sonny Rollins and Wynton Marsalis are just a few of the artists I’ve had the privilege to interview. However, this blog will not focus solely on jazz. My musical tastes are broad and free ranging. I like to go wherever the music takes me. I like to talk about topics that interest me; topics that I feel are relevant and thought provoking. I will still do interviews, but they will not be the only style of story exhibited. I just want all of you to enjoy what you read and come back for more each day, and every week. Please, stay in touch. I’m encouraging you to join our emailing list. I’ll keep you abreast of what we’re up to via newsletter. We’re going to have contests, prizes and giveaways as well. And we’d like to learn more from all of you too. Your opinion matters to us! This is a relationship, not a one-way street.
Variety is truly the spice of life. Knowing this, I will not be the only contributor to this blog. I have lined up a few great writers who will write concert and CD reviews, stories and editorials as well. And, I have a few guest writers lined up as well. As you can see, I fully expect this blog to grow and evolve. But more importantly, we want to you to keep coming back! Swing on by! Thanks for reading the first entry.
It has been a year in the making.
Stay tuned.
