Life in the Trenches
By Nick Drozdoff

Introduction:

In a previous article I wrote of my experiences on the road with Maynard Ferguson. While that was a significant event for me, over 24 years in the music business have passed for me since then and what I’ve learned and absorbed as a professional free-lance trumpeter since then could fill volumes. I want to share some of those experiences here in an attempt to achieve a few things. One is that I wish to see some validation of my work. Another is that as I embark on a new adventure (that of jazz soloist) I feel it is important to take stock of what I’ve learned as I try to bring that all to bear on what I am doing now. Finally, I want to share these ideas with younger players with the hope that I might, in some small way, help them streamline their own efforts.

This is being contributed to a website based in the UK. What I have learned of the UK music scene was most impressive. The ideas of music as art, culture and profession do not seem to be mutually exclusive concepts over there. In the US there are many who firmly regard things in a much more toxic light for serious musicians. However, I hope what I have done to survive there can help others.

Getting Work in the Chicago Area:

In the first article I explained in some detail how I got the Maynard Ferguson job. What I was armed with, at that point, was a very good demo tape – a blistering two and a half minute arrangement of Besame Mucho. So I was armed with a brand new “hot-shot” reputation (MF alumni) and a good tape. Now, what to do with them?

I had obtained several books on marketing and sales technique. I am a musician and an artist, and I consider myself to be a humble and sensitive individual. Selling myself was difficult because I had to wrestle with the idea of feeling a bit egotistical – I felt uncomfortable running around telling everyone “how good I was,” so to speak. I had to learn how to think of my trumpet work as a product I had to sell and that I simply believed in the product. While I have never been completely comfortable doing this, I did adjust to it.

Next I had to get a prospect list. Explaining how I did this requires an understanding of what the music business was like in the early 80’s in the Chicago area. While there were similarities to New York, there were dramatic differences. Let me list the various ways musicians could work back then.

Jobbing:

This is still the most vital field for free-lancers around here. Jobbing musicians play in bands that do weddings, society events corporate parties, etc. Most free-lancers work for a few of these folks, though it is prudent to find one who is quite busy and declare loyalty. This reduces the amount of effort required to maintain a decent work load.

The skills required to do this type of work are considerable. First, you must be able to sight read on the spot. You also must be able to read lead sheets – chords and lines. Transposing is also a must. Finally, and most importantly, you must know hundreds of tunes and horn lines from memory. More often than not if a band leader turns around and calls “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” in C, there is no chart. You are simply expected to know the horn lines to this old Temptations tune. The same can be said for “S’Wonderful” or “I Only Have Eyes For You,” etc. And you must be able to play them in any key, as singers on these bands are likely to want to play them in different keys from the RealBook.

Trade Shows or Industrials:

As a subset of jobbing we had trade shows in Chicago. The “City of Big Shoulders” is in the Midwest and that makes it a hub for commerce. We have many big venues where large tradeshows are held each year. Up until the late 80’s (more on the ominous tone here later) we had many bands playing these shows in which name acts would come and perform for thousands of salesmen or marketing executives on a business junket. These were lucrative gigs as they almost always involved a long paid rehearsal up front.

I worked hundreds of these events. In the capacity of free-lance sideman I worked for the following folks:

The Temptations
The Spinners
The Ojays
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Melissah Manchester
Bill Cosby
Rosemary Clooney
Della Reese
Pat Boone
Rich Little
Bobby Vinton
Frankie Avalon
Dionne Warwick
Dennis DeYoung of Styx
Bob Newhart
Sammy Davis Junior
Florence Henderson
Vic Damone
Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)
The Lawrence Welk All Stars
John Denver
Frank Gorshen
Cyd Charisse
Tony Martin Jack Jones

There were many more from the industrial circuit, as it was called, who had less recognizable names (though some on this list may already be too far in the past for some readers), such as Danny Gans and Julie Budd, but I worked for them all at various times. These were busy and lucrative times for free-lancers.

Jingles:

This was the most sought after and coveted work in the Chicago music scene. What made this work so desirable were the residuals. Let me explain.

For those of you who don’t know, a jingle is the music played behind a radio or television commercial. An ad agency would produce a little film or sound track for their commercial and then bid out a project to the various jingle producers for the music. When I left Maynard’s band there were about 30 jingle producers in Chicago. The bidding would go quickly depending on who was available. There was always an element of panic on these projects. The producers were often given extremely short deadlines and the business was rife with stories of copyists furiously scribbling out parts on their way to the studio in a taxi.

The required skills here were actually fairly simple. First, you had to be able to read anything and read it perfectly. If you caused more than two takes due to a missed note you were out. That sounds like a lot of pressure, but as a rule these weren’t the toughest parts to read. Next, you had to have decent chops. It was always considered a sign of weakness if you had to turn a part down. Finally you had to be available. You can’t turn these guys down too often or you’re out.

As might seem evident, there was a lot of political positioning on these gigs. This is easily explained when one considers the amount of money that used to be made here (again the past tense is a bad omen here – more later). For example, I was called for one session on which I was the only trumpeter. In fact, I was the only horn player. I was in the studio with my piccolo trumpet playing little spots, the longest of which was 30 seconds. I was in there for three hours. The parts were a bit strange and it turns out they were to be used in little comedy sketches about the product being sold (car parts is all I can say here). Well, for those three hours I grossed $11,000 in residuals in one year. This is why becoming a jingle player was so desirable. It was also a feather in ones cap. To be considered a jingle player was to be considered among the cream of the crop.

I did make it into the jingle scene for a while when I left Maynard’s band, but the bad omens alluded too already caused me much grief. Again, I’ll discuss that in excruciating detail in a separate section.

Theaters:

Unlike New York or London, Chicago as NEVER been known as a big theater town. There were several big musical theaters in Chicago that did employ full orchestras, though. This was also highly coveted work and the competition and politics involved rivaled that of city hall.

A sub set of big musical theaters were dinner theaters. Many of the acts listed in the trade show sections would tour these dinner theaters and do their acts there as well. There were many of these around Chicago.

Churches:

Churches were also good employers. Thanks to Princess Diana, trumpets were very popular around here for wedding ceremonies for a long time. Also many special services (Christmas and Easter for example) would bring lots of work.

Circuses:

Amazingly enough I feel the need to list the circuses here. Between Ringling Brothers and the Shriners, many musicians were employed for long stretches.

This was about the size of things as they were in the early 80’s around Chicago. We were not a big recording community for record dates – only jingles and the theater scene was weak even then.

Well, to build my prospect list I went to the stand yellow pages and the business yellow pages to find the contractors who served these various areas. I also used some special directories used by the commercial arts communities to find out who the busiest jingle producers were. I built a 3X5 card file of names and began trying to sell them my skills.

I started by sending out a copy of my demo tape to everyone with a slick little package with a resume in it. Then I followed up with periodic phone calls. In fact, this is how I filled my calendar so quickly when I left Maynard’s band.

The thrilling thing for me was that it worked for the jingle scene! I was getting two or three jingles a week, even though, as the new guy, I was third call.

A Word of Caution:

Even as a newer musician I had already become keenly aware of how political things were in the business. I had to be extremely careful NOT to offend my competition – the already established trumpeters. I was always careful to temper my sales pitch with how much I respected already existing relationships and that I was only offering my services if their regular players were otherwise occupied.

Other Means of Getting Work:

In addition to selling directly to the contractors, I needed to sell my fellow trumpeters. To this day the best source of work is as a substitute for established players. This also helps mitigate the danger of appearing to be trying to steal their work. A delicate balance had to be struck.

There were a few ways to get to know these folks. One was to go to jam sessions and sit in. The jam session has been a staple of the jazz community for decades. Next would be to go to hear so-called rehearsal bands and offer to sit in. By the 80’s, big bands were no longer a lucrative business. Most big band musicians around Chicago would play in bands playing on off nights for the “door,” or the cover charge collected as folks came into the night clubs and bars they were playing in. The pay was (and still is) dismal, but these bands only functioned at two levels: a means of maintaining skills and as networking unit for musicians. This was fine for jazz/commercial players. It has always been tough for trumpeters who are exclusively classical players around Chicago.

In summary of this section, this was how I developed my free-lance career in Chicago. At the height of my work here, I was doing as many as 300 gigs a year and I didn’t have to teach private trumpet lessons, though I did. This was a means of keeping the income up during the seasonal lulls in Chicago (the first quarter is very slow around here, for example). In any case, I was thrilled. It seemed that my life was going to be what I had envisioned and dreamed of as I left the road. I always wanted to be a busy free-lance Chicago studio musician/sideman, and I was – for a time.

Good Times:

The first couple of years after I left Maynard’s band were a thrill. Getting to work with those famous acts that come through town was both fun and exciting. My wife and I were enjoying the interesting life this sort of career can bring. She soon left her job as an assistant attorney general and became a law professor. We were going to fancy restaurants and enjoying theater and art films. In short we were the picture of quasi-yuppies in the early 80’s. I say quasi-yuppie because no true yuppie would be a free-lance musician. Even with the lucrative jingle business, musicians could never climb so high, particularly free-lancers. Also, yuppies could never be as hip as any musician, but that is my prejudice showing.

There were some interesting times and events in all of this. I remember the first time I played the Temptations show. We were going to be in Columbus Park for an outdoor concert in a predominantly African-American community. When I showed up for the rehearsal I discovered in my horror that the contractor, a fantastic pianist with a very warped sense of humor, had hired an all white band to back the Temps! Their conductor was a gentleman about it, but was obviously ticked off that the contractor didn’t have the courtesy or respect to hire one African-American player. It isn’t as though there aren’t enough great Black musicians in Chicago.

The rehearsal was in the park field house and there was quite a cloud-burst when we were there. My wife was with me (she likes the Temps) and was sitting in the gym across from us. The Chicago Police came in to get out of the rain and saw the rehearsal. A few other people tried to get in out of the rain, but the cops had put their billy clubs in the doors to block them. The folks outside were getting soaked and irate. Take a wild guess at the racial make up of the cops versus those neighbor folks getting soaked.

The potential for some bad vibes was quite high when the concert actually started outside, but the music transcended all frustration. Everyone just had a wonderful time and nobody was bugged by the slanted mix of the band. Heck the crowd was slanted, so it worked out, in a fashion.

In any case, when I played the Spinners I was designated the sub-contractor by the Waukegan Union Local. I made darn sure to hire a mixed band. I could never handle a gig for an African-American act like the Temps gig was handled. The Spinners show was also a thrill to play. The conductor was quite a trumpeter in his own right.

One particular gig that stuck out was a gig for a New York Society band leader – a pianist of the most florid style – came to town for a he gig at the Hyatt Downtown on Wacker drive. The general contractor hired a full big band for continuous music for a six hour gig. Since it was long we got overtime pay. Since it was continuous, we got paid double! What’s more, only the rhythm section actually played continuous. On alternate sets, they would stay up and do rock music. The big band played standards.

Here is an eye opener I had on this gig. I was still quite young and full of myself – Maynard alumni, and all. However, I had the presence of mind to set up on the 3 rd chair when I saw what the gig was going to be like. I was the only “young whipper-snapper” hired. All of the other musicians were seasoned Chicago pros – very good but MUCH older than I was. I had a bit of a reputation, I’m sorry to say, for being a tiny bit cocky, and this gig just flat out deflated all of that, for good.

You see it was completely faked – NO MUSIC for an entire big band. What’s more, these old guys, all Chicago free-lancers, not only knew all of the old charts, they could play and fake perfect harmony parts all around. I was hanging on by the seat of my pants trying to find a line to fit in. It was amazing. From the audience point of view, I’ll guarantee that there is no way you could tell that there weren’t full slick arrangements up there.

The experience was both humbling and enlightening. That was the first time I realized that just having strong chops is only a tiny and rather insignificant part of my being a trumpeter, musician!

There were many more neat experiences, but this article isn’t to be a complete autobiography. It is intended to give a flavor of what is was like and to educate a bit as to what working free-lance is like, in the US, at least.

Hard Times:

Alas, the good times weren’t to last forever. There were several gut wrenching experiences that I had to learn from. I outline them here with the hope of sparing some other young players similar trials.

Running Afoul Of Politically Powerful Players:

The first problem I had that stalled my career was running afoul of at least one of Chicago’s busiest studio trumpeters. Names will be kept out for reasons which will become obvious. In any case, there are several folks that could have fit this picture, and I want to plant the possibility that I might actually be talking about more than one person here.

I knew that I was going to have to be careful around one particular individual – a trumpeter who was liked by most producers and had “their ear,” so to speak. I didn’t want him to feel that I was nipping at his heels. His reputation as a fine player was well deserved – he was one of the finest musicians I ever knew. He was also the alum of another fine big name road band. I was hoping to become his peer.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get this guy to take a liking to me. I am a very sincere person. I never say things I don’t mean, and I always try to be kind to people. None of this seemed to make a dent. I had to be content with walking on eggshells all the time. I remember one busy week I had three recording sessions. This fellow was on them all. On the third session I was walking across Rush Street to get to Universal Studios when I saw him crossing Walton. He looked up and said to me in open disgust, “What? YOU again?” I can’t imagine being so rude to someone, even if I didn’t like them. In any case, this was the relationship I had to deal with.

I know that he was mildly bad-mouthing me to the producers and this was stifling my progress. He really couldn’t denigrate my playing as I rarely caused re-takes. I also NEVER set up on the coveted lead chair over him. There were several things that I know contributed to the friction and I could do almost nothing about it. Let me list them here.

First, I had very strong chops. I was a lead player, and lead players can often act like a bunch of roosters in a hen house. I hate to admit that I was somewhat susceptible to this mentality, but I was trying not to as best I could. This fellow had good chops, but most folks knew that I could go one more, so to speak. Also, this fellow was also on many of the shows I was playing. That bugged him too.

Next, while I still stand by my technique of sending out demo tapes (jingle singers have been doing that for years!), with this fellow it came back to haunt me. On one session at Universal the producer came out and was nicely chatting with me before the tape began rolling. I was sitting right next to this other trumpeter who was close friends with the producer. Well, the producer said, “Nick, thanks for the great demo tape! I really enjoyed it!” Well, as the producer walked away the other trumpeter leaned over and said, malevolently, “So you’re sending out demo tapes, eh?” I tried to defuse things by explaining that it was simply by way of introduction and that I was looking only for sub work, but my protests of innocence were falling on deaf ears.

Finally, I was called to play a huge show a large venue near Chicago called Poplar Creek – a big open air amphitheater that had big name rock acts come in. This act was a huge name at the time and packed the place in. They had hired a full orchestra. Well, this trumpeter was on the gig, and I gladly sat on the second book and he played lead. He was unusually nice that day, and I was grateful. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was getting through – that he didn’t perceive me as a threat. Great! My feelings of elation were not to last.

We did a long rehearsal grabbed dinner backstage and then did the show. There were thousands in the audience. On stage, DURING THE SHOW, the lead player leaned over to me with a coke vial and a tiny coke spoon and said to me, “Wanna hit?” I tired to be polite but I know I was looking at him like he had guacamole leaking out of his ears and said, in a (unfortunately for me) rather uncomfortable tone of voice “No, thanks, man!” I recollect that I glanced around for a split second to see if anyone was watching us, like the CONDUCTOR for example.

This stunt on his part was in colossally bad taste but I was now branded in his eyes. For all practical purposes he never spoke to me again. I have no doubt that he was now bad-mouthing me worse than ever whenever my name came up.

I need to offer a brief explanation of my position on drugs. I don’t do them – period. However, I judge no man. My choice is both for religious and personal reasons, but I am not an extremist on these matters. If my buddies are smoking some pot around me, I don’t care. I don’t drink for the same reasons, but it doesn’t bother me in the least if my friends choose to do so. I am also not a choir boy with respect to all of this. This is a personal matter, and that’s all I’ll say here.

My point is that I judge no person by what he/she chooses to do along these lines. I just expect to not be judged one way or the other but what I choose NOT to do. I don’t think anyone is damned for smoking pot or anything like that. However, I am not “the enemy, simply because I choose NOT to. Unfortunately, in the case of one man who could hurt me, he didn’t see things that way. I had to deal with the fact that he was going to do what he could to slow me down and just live with it. My respect for him as a player never dwindled. He is still a stellar musician. I just hope he has found a better way of dealing with people if not me.

This wasn’t the first time something like this happened to me. Another trumpeter who was in a position of power over me threatened, very seriously, to get me fired from my gig if I didn’t get high with him! Fortunately, this didn’t happen, but I was quickly learning that I had to find more and more delicate ways of dealing with who I was with respect to others in the business.

Is there a lesson to be learned here? I’m not completely sure. In looking back there are some things I would have done differently. I would have tempered my reaction to the coke vial – be more nonchalant. I also would have started calling this player for sub work first. Beyond that, I don’t know what I could have done much differently.

The Death of the Jingle Industry and My Jingle Work Specifically:

The thing that happened had to do with my dream work, the jingle business. Let reiterate at this point that I am weaving a bit of a tale of woe here not to lament “something that happened to me,” in some way. I pulled through, in many ways, for the better. I just think that newer players could benefit from the history here.

After a year or so in the jingle scene I felt that things were going just great but a few things happened that had ripple effects for all. I’ll list them here.

In San Francisco there was a music house that was doing many big jingles all on a buyout basis and they had a staff of musicians employed full time. In retrospect, it seemed like a good idea, but it most certainly ran afoul of the unions by doing buyouts and paying no residuals to anyone. The problem was they were getting a lot of work for obvious reasons. Jingle houses around the country began to ask why they couldn’t look into this sort of operation. The musicians union began some desperate moves to try to keep things alive. To a limited extent, they succeeded, but the upshot of it was that the reuse for MUSICIANS became so watered down to non-existent that the once lucrative business was a mere shadow of the old days (remember the auto parts jingle I played on? No more!). As an interesting side note, the SINGERS are protected by not one but TWO unions much more powerful than the musicians. They did not see an impact on their reuse. However, there were developments soon to come that would impact them as well, as a result.

Next, on a more personal note, I was surprised to find out that one jingle house that was using me rather regularly suddenly quit calling with no explanations whatsoever. I didn’t really know how to handle things, so I asked a buddy – a trombone player – to tell me if there was anyone new on a session I was being left out on the next day. When I saw him on a big band gig the day after the session he told me that the legendary Buddy Childers had just moved to Chicago and had contacted all the producers and put the word out he was here.

That was it for me. “Last in, first out,” is the motto. I was out on my ear to make room for Buddy, alum of virtually every big name big band and many top Hollywood film sessions. I certainly don’t begrudge him the work. He is a phenomenal player, and if I had to loose my work to someone, I was grateful it was to him and not to some hack.

Thus ended my brief jingle career. I was devastated and I needed a plan to survive. I came up with one, which I’ll discuss later. It was pretty difficult for me. My self-esteem was quite low.

As a sidebar, this was about the same time samplers were become affordable and popular as well as sequencing computers. It was only a short while before most of the local spots were canned with only a sax and/or guitar added for sweetener. The situation worsened as the technology became cheaper to record as well. Before there were only 30 jingle producers. Now there are over 600 small companies all producing commercial music and recording right at home. It has not only been brutal on the musicians put out of work by samplers, sequences, loops and looping software, but it has also been tough on the studios. Many have indeed closed.

On top of it all a lot of the business that used to keep many US musicians has been outsourced to other countries. It’s a world market now. I was present at the end of one era and the beginning of another.

Theaters:

I was never a big part of the theater scene. I occasionally “walked” a gig. Being a walker was a strange job, required by union minimums. A walker was hired to be on deck if one of the musicians was suddenly unable to play the job. You showed up and sat in the band room till the show started. If everyone was there and you got the ok from the conductor, you could leave at intermission. It was the musician’s equivalent of an understudy. This was costly though, as we were paid just like the musicians who played the show! I also was occasionally hired at a few of the smaller theaters as a sub.

The theater scene began to suffer from the impact of technology as well. The orchestras were cut down and supplemented with big synthesizer sections. In some cases tapes and CD’s were used. Now, virtual orchestras are a threat everywhere. The number of musicians surviving in the theater scene in Chicago is very few and it is very tough, with long stretches of down time between shows. The Chicago theater scene is a mere shadow of NYC and virtually non-existent compared to London!

Trade Shows and Industrials and Downsizing:

An expression that became “popular” with corporate America during the late 80’s was “downsizing.” On the surface this could be thought of as the prudent “cutting of fat” from the big corporations. However, there were smaller industries that had evolved around some of the things to be phased out.

Trade shows and industrials were soon to vaporize. With downsizing in full swing, big corporations were not going to send some many salesmen out to business conventions and they certainly weren’t going to bring in Jack Jones or Dionne Warwick to perform for them at great expense.

Well, in Chicago, cottage industries had evolved around these shows for various small businesses that serviced these shows, including many music contractors. For those businesses, downsizing spelled doom for them. Many a musician found themselves looking at dramatic reductions in their work load.

Summary of Gloom:

In summary, we lost trade shows, industrials and jingles as a major source of work around here. Theaters were soon to loose jobs to electronica. It wasn’t long before musicians who were too proud to play wedding gigs were clamoring for the jobs. Only the few more seasoned musicians who had strong pension funds vested seemed indifferent to things going on. Even the circus gigs became self-contained as the number musicians available for the gigs went through the roof. For folks like me, with new families, things were pretty scary.

What I Did in the Face of Changing Times:

There was one area that was still quite lucrative, and this was jobbing, but not as a sideman; as a leader. I formed my own contracting business and embarked on a 12 year career as a free-lance jobbing band leader. Now, this is a brutal business, and much of it has little to do with being a musician. However, as tough as it was, I learned a great deal that has come to bear on my work as a musician.

I had visions of becoming one of the Windy City’s top society band leaders. As with the jingle scene, this sort of thing was fast becoming a thing of the past. There are few who can claim that title these days, if anyone. What happened was that I became a wedding band leader, pure and simple. The tough part was getting caught in between brides who often didn’t know a saxophone from a spare tire and who wanted to “rock the house” and their uptight parents who didn’t want the band to be too loud and wanted nothing but Glen Miller music.

I’ll skip the many stories of drunken fathers stiffing the band leader or bouncing checks or of horrifically rude club managers or of brides and grooms treating the band like dirt. After the 12 years, I knew I was going to be closing that part of my life soon. It was sucking the life out of my trumpet playing. I dreaded picking up my horn because it had become associated with the grimness of this sort of business.

What did I learn? I learned how to be a band leader. One has to unabashedly stand in front of top musicians and tell them what to do. This can and should be done with dignity and respect for these people and what they had to achieve to be able to do the job, but lead I had to do, nonetheless. I developed an ability to maintain composure in the heat of battle, and battle is the correct word here, for that is what it was often like once the mom and dad and their spoiled kids got a snootful.

Two Things That Changed My Musical Life For The Better:

There were two things that had a serious impact on what where I was to go as a musician. One was becoming involved with the jazz scene. The other was graduate school. I’ll begin with jazz.

Chicago ’s Jazz Scene:

As a sideman, I had always considered myself a jazz musician, but deep in my heart I knew I was only a lead player. As a true jazz musician, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I dabbled at piano lessons and messed with the Jamey Aebersold records, but I was a dilettante at best. The big change came about when I got on Marshal Vente’s band.

Marshall Vente is a well know jazz pianist, composer and arranger in the Chicago area. He had a wonderful 9 piece band that played regularly at a Lincoln Park night spot called The Bulls, a strange little basement night club near Clark and Armitage. Marshall hired me to play lead, a position I still relished. However, his charts were extremely sophisticated. As a lead player it was more about endurance and ears than high notes and grandstanding. His band is also soloist driven, something I was only slightly used to.

On Marshall’s band I got to work with stellar soloists like Jim Mascot on tenor sax, Merle Boley on trumpet and valve trombone, Steve Berry on trombone, Richie Corpolongo on alto, Frank Dawson on guitar, Scott Mason on bass, and Isi Perez on drums. Marshall, in addition to being a very inventive and imaginative composer of the Duke Ellington and Bill Evans ilk, is also a fine pianist.

Listening to these guys filled me with the urge to learn how to improvise and create music on the spot. I was totally lame at it. I began studying with Joe Daley at that time. Later I studied with Richie. They took me well beyond where I was able to get messing with the play along records. I also started going to jam sessions more often. I was learning what I could and couldn’t do. In short, I was waking up to meaningful music.

I played on two of Marshall’s albums. We eventually had a falling out, but have long since mended our fences. I have had occasion to work with Marshall since our split and he is every bit the musician he was when I first met him – more.

Ever since that experience, I have been growing more and more to appreciate that jazz is the way to go, for me. Sure I like being a high note lead player, but I personally need something different. I gradually began developing more of a reputation as an improviser. It has been very slow going for me as old habits die hard. I am still in the process of making this transition at this writing, but I have come a long way with the help of many fine artists I get to work with each week.

The Brother’s Drozdoff – A Jazz Subset:

During the early part of the changing times and as I was gradually waking up to the need to learn jazz, my little Brother, Pete, and I decided to form a fusion band. Pete is also a fine trumpeter, though a jazz player as opposed to lead player. We did a lot of work together and we both ran small contracting businesses and would sub out to each other when double booked. Pete was also a sought after arranger and was an excellent composer (he still is, though he is no longer in music).

The band consisted of two trumpets, trombone, tenor, drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. The band was excellent, made up of some of the best musicians in Chicago. Pete’s charts were fantastic and everyone loved playing them. We began playing in night clubs around town, all for the door and booked a few prime gigs, now and then. The culminating gig was at Chicago Fest on Navy Pier. We gave a generous tip to the sound man (a union guy designated by the Pier) BEFORE the job and gave some hints of the mix we like. All of our friends were there and our wives. The place was packed and we brought the house down. It was a thrill.

During all of this we went into a studio and spent our last dimes putting together a killer demo tape. I even had it released for a while on a mini-CD called the Brothers Drozdoff. The tape was simply excellent – some of the finest instrumental jazz rock adult listening out there. I know I had dreams of becoming a successful brother/partner team like the Grusin Brothers or the Brecker Brothers. We almost did it.

We shopped the tape to over 100 different A&R guys. Only a few listened. One responded with a phone call. All rejected. Of the few that listened, the problem was they didn’t know how to categorize it. They were afraid to sign us simply because they didn’t know what to call us, even though they liked our music.

Most of the rejections were brutal. We would get a big envelope stuffed with our original envelope, UNOPENED stuffed into it with an unsigned Xeroxed rejection form letter stuffed in as well. It was tough to be rejected, but to refuse to listen to us at all was more than we could bear.

We kept going in the clubs, but the atmosphere was a bit toxic. Sure the folks like hearing us, but most of the club owners were skimming us at the door, so we had to hire someone to take the door for us. The guys were getting frustrated and the failure of the demo took a toll on morale. We finally disbanded in the late 80’s.

Most kept going as musicians, but it was really tough on my brother. It was HIS compositions that were rejected, and that is difficult to take. He kept at the music business for another few years, but then he left to go into business and marketing.

There are some details left out, but this is the gist of it. It was a great ride, but didn’t quite take off. In hindsight, our music was definitely “Smooth Jazz,” but it hadn’t been invented yet. We were ten years too early,

Pete is still a wonderful musician, though he has devoted his spare time musically to working with his sons in their music. This is as good a place as any, I suppose – a wonderful place. They’re good kids.

Graduate School :

The other event that shook me was the decision to go to graduate school and get my music masters (I already had a BS in Electrical Engineering – another story). I was able to get a free-ride at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago. It took me two years to complete the program in classical trumpet performance.

During those two years I played lead in the big band, co-principal in the orchestra, the brass quintet and the theater orchestra. We were doing music by Ellington, Richard Strauss, and Dukas as well ad musicals such as man of LaMancha, and more. I was learning about classical and baroque music history. I was also learning about composition and structure. All of this simply fueled my desire to develop into a better improviser.

It also was the driving force behind closing my contracting business. I woke up to why I played trumpet – to make great music. I was not very good at being a businessman. I was a musician. During those two years, my trumpet playing turned around (it had deteriorated to a dangerously low level for my reputation). I sadly gave my musicians notice. They were very supportive and all could see it coming even before I could!

Day Gig:

Now, I was about to go back to being a sideman, but times were desperately different. Trumpeters who hated teaching were now building studios in their homes. I could read the handwriting on the wall for me. I had to get a day gig.

I figured I could get my DMA and getting a college professors gig. However, the research indicated that there was nothing for me in the Chicago area if I tried that. We would have to pull up stakes. My wife was well situated as a law professor, and we had just had our first child, so I had to stay here.

Next, I considered getting certified to teach music in high schools. The prospects here were much better, but all of the band directors within 50 miles of my house were younger than I was. I was looking at some horrible commutes and that didn’t seem right for our young family either.

I was playing a show, Sondheim’s “Into The Woods” at a local community theater. The drummer was my old friend, Don Shupe from a big north suburban high school. We were having a few drinks after the show and I told him what I was looking into. He said, “You’ve got an EE degree? Right? Why don’t you teach high school physics? Then you can play at night. You don’t have to worry about marching band or band parents!” Another friend, Bill Conway, an experienced physics teacher informed me that getting hired as a physics teacher is much easier than as a music teacher.

They were both right and it seemed like an epiphany. As long as I have to have a day gig, it might as well be something that I can believe in (helping kids), enjoy (I’m fascinated about physics) and will allow me to practice (I play better now than I ever did on Maynard’s band – and I’m still growing!).

Life in Chicago as a Trumpeter in the 21 st Century:

This brings me up to date. I have left out volumes (some of the lesser known bands and ballroom groups I started out with, many specific experiences with various musicians, and much more). However, this article isn’t intended to be autobiographical as much as instructional. I want to outline very recent experiences.

I would like to add another sidebar, here. Many of my physics students are also musicians. These kids are good enough to consider a career in music. Often, when they hear me play, the ask with an air of incredulity, “Why do you teach? If you could do you music full time, would you?” The answer to the latter part is a resounding YES! Of course I’d quit my day gig, if I could do my music full time. I then tell them I fully expect to, someday. However, I have a family (two children) and a home with a big mortgage. I have to hold up my have of the bargain my wife and I have agreed to as life partners. In return for this mutual support, she supports my music totally. I explain this to them as I don’t want them to give up their dreams, I do want them to approach the business with wisdom. A career in culture in the US is VERY tough. However, I make sure that they know that I will never let MY dreams go, either. What kind of teacher, of physics or music, would I be if I dashed their hopes when I won’t dash mine? Besides, I firmly believe my music career is going places I’ve never dreamed of. “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor entered into the hear of man the things God hath prepared for them that love him.” Forgive the religious quote but this best describes my sense of wonder about the possibilities that face us all.

Online Music:

A few years ago, as part of my drive to learn more about creative music, I began writing. A sub-set of my work as a band leader saw the development of a small 16 track tape based recording studio in my home. As I started writing I began recording my first overdub work. I first did a legit CD called Junk Yard Brass. I still have some left, but have abandoned selling them, for now.

I later discovered online music as I got into working on the internet. My first location was Mp3.com. I was excited about their royalty program. At one point I was making between $100 to $300 per month in playback royalties. Now, if you’re Paul McCartney, this is laughable, but for an obscure free-lance trumpeter from Chicago, this was a sign. The sign I read was telling me that the internet could very be a level playing field for small-time independents.

Now, I don’t support the thievery that was rife with file-sharing going on with early Napster and the like. I still can’t abide those who feel that artists don’t have a right to make a living with their music. However, the internet was providing a forum by which the independents could market and sell their products without having to wait for a record company to sign them. In the case of creative art music (as opposed to the various pop idioms), the major record labels in the US simply had no interest.

Now, all online music providers were forced to kill their royalty programs due to cheating (ah those who would kill the goose laying the golden egg…). However, in an effort to keep the faith, I stepped up my involvement and have been recording and posting my music in a variety of places. I allow most of it to be available for free, at least for a time. At Ampcast.com, I have it available on a pay-per-download basis, though I have yet to receive a check from them. I don’t have enough paid downloads yet to trigger a payment. It is too easy to simply do a “file-save” and get my music for free. Sadly there are too many folks who are just fine with that.

I have been very active with a UK site known as Mp3unsigned.com. The name alone screams “Independents!” My music has been enjoying a following there that I did not anticipate. I allow folks to have it for free for two reasons. I can’t seem to fight the fact that they’ll get it for free if they really want it.

The second reason is much more important. I have reached a conclusion that success via the internet will yield income in ways which are much more indirect, but wonderful, nonetheless. What I get directly from all of this is the reduction of anonymity! I’m finally being heard, and every musician needs to be heard.

With my name getting around a bit, with more and more people listening to and enjoying my music, I have gained a bit more respect as a trumpeter. One direct result of this is two endorsement opportunities that have proven to be mutually beneficial. First is the line of mouthpieces that I use – Asymmetrics. I have never met the designer, yet we have made a great deal of contact via the internet. I enjoy some further exposure via his sites and he gets exposure through mine. Next, I was approached by the New York Trumpet Company earlier this year. They were interested in having me look at their trumpets. I did so, and found them to be exceptional instruments. Ostensibly, I was asked by owner, Felix Vayser, if I’d be interested in endorsing them. Given the quality of product, I heartily agreed. Again, this has been a mutually beneficial relationship that was a direct result of my being an independent musician using the internet as his performance venue for the whole world.

More and more little opportunities are gurgling to the surface for me as I continue to explore the World Wide Web as a venue for sharing my art. I feel, now more than ever, that the internet will be the level playing field I originally thought it would be. It is just being manifested in a far different way from what I had expected. I also expect this manifestation to continue to mutate and evolve for each of us, and I would heartily encourage, no, URGE all young instrumental musicians leaving the music schools to see how they can build an internet presence for their art.

Concluding Remarks:

I have no idea what the future will bring, but I look to it with great anticipation. Will I continue teaching high school physics? So far, I have been enjoying a symbiotic relationship between the two careers and they don’t seem to be mutually exclusive. Yet, I would relish the opportunity to be a musician exclusively as I feel I would have more time to devote to writing and recording. However, I love teaching physics, too. I’m not sure I wouldn’t miss it. The point is, there are infinite possibilities for one’s future, not only a few. This can only be a joyous thing to ponder. I would invite new musicians looking on the world facing them as they finish their initial studies in music schools, universities, academies to contemplate this with joy and anticipation as opposed to any trepidation or anxiety.

I hope this brief outline of over 24 years of professional experience can give some of the newer musicians things to ponder. For the seasoned readers, I hope it brings back some fine memories of your own. Thanks for reading this far.

Peace.

Nick Drozdoff
http://www.mp3unsigned.com/NickDrozdoff.ASP