Several weeks ago, Boo beautifully articulated the genius of some of the giants of the jazz world. He also captured the essence of the demons most of these incredible innovators faced. The best comprehensive applicable history I've found is "Reading Jazz" By Robert Gottlieb (Pantheon Books-1996).

A few months back, there were several posts which basically said that "good musicians are a dime a dozen...great entertainers are rare.". I happen not to agree with this at all, but I was wondering:

1. How do you personally decide which path to take?

2. How do you set the "mix" of entertaining well or playing well?

3. What brings you the most satisfaction?

4. What have you given up as a result of your musical choices?

5. What would you have done differently?

I'd really like to read contributions from people who have chosen each path. Obviously, there are only right answers for each individual, but, I think this is a benchmark area, where making the right individual decision is one of the most important an entertainer/musician will ever make.

What about it....?


Russ

Russ,
For me that mix is of equal importance, but the edge definatly goes to "entertainer" because I make a living in this business. Business comes before art, until the art becomes a household nesessity. Until then .... it's Show "BIZ", not Show "ART".

I don't belive one has to compromise one's art to become a successful entertainer, but it IS important to remember that any entertainer is in the "service" business, so one needs to put the needs of the client as top priority.

It's a blessing when I get to enjoy every song I perform, but it's a larger blessing when the mortgage gets paid each month by performing a service that I love to do.

I derive satisfaction from a great crowd inter-action, and I also get off on a great lick or technique that satifies my drive as a musician. The two are not mutually exclusive, but rather, go hand in hand.
I'd rather see an average musician play his heart out and please a crowd, than a terrific musician feed his own ego and drive the crowds home, or play so inappropriatly that no one likes it. The ultimate say comes down to the audience.

Simple truth of this biz:
You're only as good as your LAST success. You need to earn the respect of the crowd every 4 minutes or so.Luckily, it's a great way to earn your keep !

[This message has been edited by Uncle Dave (edited 03-15-2004).]

A musician is someone who can play a instrument. If he gets paid, we add the word Pro to his title.
Pro's need to have some entertainer ability. A pro is being paid to entertain, the better he is at entertaining the more he is in demand.
A musician with little abilities to play his instrument----but with great entertainer ablilities is better choice.
A good musician who can really play his instrument--but can not entertain well would be a poor choice.

My choice would be a fantastic musician who could really play his instrument, that would be enough entertainment for me.

I was a good schooled guitar player, I could play most anything--and do it well. It was not till I began to sing that I was in demand.Most people out there relate to voice and lyrics. They may feel the bass and drums and the solo instruments, but it's voice that's get their attention.
After ten years of singing and strumming my guitar I found I could no longer do what I did with my guitar. Hmmmm!

IMHO John C.

There is a third part to the equation--taking care of business.
I am, IMO, an pretty good keyboardist and adequate vocalist. I know at least four world-class guitar players that I can hire for $50. a night. They can play circles around me.

But I can offer the complete package--music, vocals and good sound. I show up on time, stay sober, don't burst their eardrums, and play until everybody leaves. Then I thank them for letting me play. Professionalism goes a long way.

DonM

As always, Dave and Don (and you too, John) have nailed it. A good entertainer does not have to be a great musician, but a good musician needs to be able to entertain. I like to feel that I am a good musician who can entertain. As a musician, I am sometimes dissatisfied with entertainers who are not very good musicians, but hey, they're keeping people in their seats and getting the bookings too. Today, I rarely see a great musician who can't entertain. Our media society has made most of us pretty savy in that area. If you're going to go out and play music in today's markets, you better be able to do more than say "my next selection is..."

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 03-15-2004).]

I agree with everything said above. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a good musician. Yes, I can play my keyboard, and I can still pick some pretty good tunes on my Yamaha 12 string, but it's my vocals and enterainment ability that keeps the money coming in week after week. I'm an entertainer--not a musician.

Cheers,

Gary