I'm not gonna lie: being a bandleader has its rewards. The fame, the money, the women, the Nike endorsements. . . (Oh, hang on—those are athletes.)
Nike endorsements aside, band-leading is a rewarding pursuit, and I’m sure every musician has dreamed of having his/her name in lights, or at least on a black and white flyer (this is jazz, after all) and being adored by handfuls of middle aged (if we're lucky) fans.
But there’s more to leading a jazz band than soaking up fans’ adoration and hanging out with famous people, like the time I met Willie Nelson! (Well, it could have been Willie Nelson; it might also have been a homeless guy.) Being a bandleader involves a lot of behind-the-scenes hard work.
Let’s not forget, you're leading musicians, not a group of accountants. Musicians: whose idea of getting up early means catching the brunch menu before it turns into the lunch menu. Musicians: whose idea of being organized means actually coming to the gig with their horn (yes, sometimes they actually forget). Musicians: whose idea of dressing sharp means to iron their shirt.
Being a bandleader involves playing several roles—part accountant, part nanny, part counselor, part communist dictator. Playing the music is the easy part.
So let's talk through the process for running a band in NYC:
Step one: Get your band a gig. In NYC, this often involves actually meeting
