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David White
Matt Nelson Trio
Nostalgiamaniac
Trombonist David White Gets Down To Business
Surprising shifts arise throughout trombonist
David White’s self-released Flashpoint.
He guides his 17-member orchestra through
a program of compositions that seamlessly
move from extended blues strut (“I’ll See You
In Court”) one moment to soft-focus serenity
(“First Lullaby”) the next. While White’s
formal education and on-the-job training sharpened
the organizational concepts to craft these
dynamic moves, he took it upon himself to
learn the skills of building an audience.
“Marketing has been a piece missing from
any conservatory education,” White said. “There’s
not much focus on the business aspect. The
record labels used to deal with that, but in the
21st century you have to do it yourself. But it’s
worth the effort to get the chance to hear your
own music and play with a bunch of great guys.”
New York-based White enrolled in the
city’s free business classes for budding entrepreneurs
and applied those lessons to his path
as an independent musician. He also read such
books as Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing
and mapped out how to use its principles about
six months before launching a Kickstarter campaign
to fund the production of Flashpoint and
maintain his website (davidwhitejazz.com).
“I went through my address book and wrote
each person individually and asked them, ‘May
I have your permission to send you a once-amonth
newsletter’” White said. “I found that
was more effective than a constant email blast
or an event invitation on Facebook every 10
minutes.”
White’s goals for audience building are
straightforward.
“If you’re self-produced, to be economically
viable, you need 1,000 people who will spend
$50 on your products per year,” White said. “So
my approach is to build that 1,000-supporter
database one person at a time. It’s arduous, but
it will pay off in the end.”
Even with the inherent financial difficulties
of big band leadership, White has a classic sound
that fits as naturally as his business model. While
he was growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., about 15
years ago, there were a number of large ensembles
in the area and he also played in the city’s
historic Colored Musicians Club. Bandleader
Macy Favor taught him section playing and even
let the teenage trombonist solo in his ensemble.
White began thinking about how to combine
jazz and symphonic textures while he studied
under such musician-teachers as Jim Pugh at
Purchase College Conservatory of Music.
“Generally, I’m looking for a more colorful
effect,” White said. “I want to use the full possibilities
of the orchestra. I like to get away from
the idea that the saxes always have to play as a
section, brass has to play as a section. What I
wanted to do on those two was mix choirs of
instruments. The reason for having an ensemble
of that size is to have that giant box of crayons
where there are so many possibilities.”
After White received his master’s degree
from Purchase, he taught briefly at a public
school in the Bronx. Deplorable conditions at
the school crushed his idealism and an altercation
with an unruly student tore up his knee.
But he was able to turn all of that into a fun
song, “I Have A Bad Feeling About This.” He
cites Duke Ellington’s example for standing
tall in the face of any hindrance (he arranges
Ellington’s “David Danced Before The Lord
With All His Might” on Flashpoint).
“I look at the dignity he always had: the
self-confidence, elegance,” White said. “There
had to be tremendous pressure on him in the 1930s,
but it never showed on his face. He was such
a supremely confident person, he just presented
his music—it was authentically his and he just
said, ‘I am a jazz composer.’” —Aaron Cohen
courtesy of david white
“On his impressive debut, Chicago
pianist Matt Nelson distinguishes
himself as a tasty player with a
penchant for uncommon lyricism….
The collection also includes three
introspective pieces that showcase
Nelson’s crystalline touch and
thoughtful approach to solo piano.”
—Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Available at CDBaby and iTunes
www.chicagosessions.com
Larry Gray Trio
three equals one
“Streaming three crisply delineated
instrumental lines into one river
of sound, the album captures
one of contemporary jazz’s great
guitar trios, in full force and
gorgeous glory.” —Neil Tesser
Available at CDBaby and iTunes
www.chicagosessions.com
SEPTEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 41