http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html Max Perkoff: Blog Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:34:29 -0700 http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/new_way_to_be_a_musician
I've taken steps to reactivate my teaching credential. It'll be done in a couple of weeks. I don't know if I'll end up teaching in the classroom again, but if I do, it'll be with deep commitment to student learning and success. In the meantime, it feels like the right thing at the right time.

My gigs so far this year with Caylia Chaiken & Linda Kosut have been rewarding. Especially at The Showcase Theatre with Caylia and The Rrazz Rm with Linda. The 1st Sunday gig in Pittsburgh continues to surprise and delight. And my duos with father Si are a true musical high. We'll be playing together with other great Marin players July 17. 142 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. 8pm. Be there. Jackie Ryan, Blake Richardson, Ian Dogole, many more.

One thing though, I am searching for a new way - new for me - to be a musician. I am determined to connect to my Jewish life with music more often, more deeply. I am also generally interested in making connections to listeners more directly. I'll be trying something new along those lines at the Throckmorton Theatre. Should be really marvelous!]]> http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/new_way_to_be_a_musician Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:34:29 -0700 trombonist, pianist, educator - Max Perkoff - Blog http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/music_is_for_life
Tonight I went to a dear friend's 50th birthday party, trumpet player and singer Stephen Saxon. There was a jam session with family and friends in attendance. Great fun, good music, food, company. Life is so much better when we share our joy.]]> http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/music_is_for_life Sun, 16 May 2010 23:31:15 -0700 trombonist, pianist, educator - Max Perkoff - Blog http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/world_peace_through_music
I'm looking for musicians in the SF Bay Area from Palestinian and/or Arab culture for a musical & spiritual collaboration. If you or anyone you know might be interested, my cell phone number and email are all over this web site. Please contact me. I'm envisioning something like The Afro Semitic Experience my friend pianist/composer Warren Byrd is part of, but there are other models and we can invent our own. The aim is to embody the world we want by combining our music into a sound that connects people to each other.

I'll be using other means besides this blog to search for the right people, but this is my first public announcement on the subject. I'm already excited about the possibilities. We could perform in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples of all types - engaging people in conversation about peace and the connections between us.

Hope to hear from you soon.]]> http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/world_peace_through_music Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:26:35 -0800 trombonist, pianist, educator - Max Perkoff - Blog http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/a_very_hot_gig
Playing music is so very much in the mind. All the years of preparation, and continued learning. Physical skill, memorized patterns of melody, harmony, song structure. Yet in order to swing, to play together in a groove, one needs to let go of that and listen, feel, breathe. I'm at my best when unaware of the Ego. I tried playing a whole solo with my eyes closed, ears wide open. Made it for quite a while, more than a chorus. Felt good. Keith Jarrett is one of my musical heroes. I'd like to try a concert like that sometime - no preparation other than the lifetime of preparation I've done. I'm getting to do something close for a recording of Chuck Bernstein's tunes with Chuck on drums and Sam Bevan on bass. We finish the recording this Monday. Don't know when it'll be out, I'll let you know.

As always, there are some people listening amid the din of indifference. That connection between player and listener is something I crave. More now than in the past, say in my 20s. I want to connect to my inner voice first and foremost, but I'm always feeling for that bond the music creates between us. It's as palatable as the chair I'm sitting in. Have you felt it? As a listener, what's it like for you?]]> http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/a_very_hot_gig Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:20:34 -0800 trombonist, pianist, educator - Max Perkoff - Blog http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/the_music_biz_in_the_21st_century
So do I make a living being a jazz musician? I make a life. I feel very fortunate to be able to make music & work with a number of extremely talented artists. The time we live in - and the place, San Francisco Bay Area - have quite a large effect on the business of the Music Biz in the 21st Century. Fewer places to play, & pay scale has gone down due to the economy. What to do? I practice, compose, troll the net for work, and stay positive.

Lessons Learned I Hope Help Fellow Musical Artists:
Ӣ Nothing replaces being the best at your craft. If you can't be the best, get as close as you can. Be one of the best. Practice a lot.
Ӣ Establish a bottom line pay scale for yourself. Don't sell yourself short. Remember, you can always lower the amount you need for a gig, you can never raise it.
Ӣ If the pay is low but the situation is too cool to say no to, go for it!
Ӣ Every gig has something worthwhile in it for you. Every single one. To paraphrase my high school drama teacher, Dan Caldwell: "There are no small gigs, only small musicians."
Ӣ Never talk money on the gig. If you said yes to the person hiring you, say thanks when you get paid. (The few times I've broken this rule I've come to regret it.)
Ӣ The net has offered great opportunity for networking, connecting worldwide, take advantage of it.
Ӣ Once you say yes to the gig, play your best, regardless of the situation or how many people are listening. Pay respect to your fellow performers that way, and to the music itself.

So what do you think?]]> http://maxperkoff.com/blog.html/the_music_biz_in_the_21st_century Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:24:59 -0800 trombonist, pianist, educator - Max Perkoff - Blog