Chicago Standard Newspapers - Article - entertainment reviews

5/1/2003 Part of the BlackPressUSA Network <!-- // Begin IMAGE rollovers function newImage(arg) { if (document.images) { rslt = new Image(); rslt.src = arg; return rslt; } } function changeImages() { if (document.images && (preloadFlag == true)) { for (var i=0; i<changeImages.arguments.length; i+=2) { document[changeImages.arguments[i]].src = changeImages.arguments[i+1]; } } } var preloadFlag = false; function preloadImages() { if (document.images) { // name of variable does not matter blank = newImage("Images/Blank.gif"); arrow = newImage("Images/menu/Arrow.gif"); arrow2 = newImage("Images/menu/Arrow2.gif"); arrowClear = newImage("Images/menu/ArrowClear.gif"); preloadFlag = true; } } preloadImages(); // end IMAGE rollovers // --> HOME NEWS EDITORIAL LIFESTYLE health reviews religion arts women wheels SPORTS HISTORY ABOUT US CALENDAR REGISTRATION NETWORK SITES ENTERTAINMENT REVIEWS Checker Square Blues Club Credit: Owen Lawson III Black Artists Bemoan by Nisa Islam Muhammad Chicago Standard Newspapers Originally posted 4/5/2003 WASHINGTON-In the world of smooth jazz, there are those who sell records and those records that get played on the radio. Typically, in other genres, the artists who sell the most records are the ones that get airplay. Not so with smooth jazz and the artists are crying foul. ''There is a serious lack of Black participation on smooth jazz radio stations,'' said Marcus Johnson, an accomplished jazz pianist and the head of Three Keys Music. ''Smooth jazz radio stations are blocking Black people out of the market.'' Johnson has the only 100 percent Black-owned company that is charting music on the Billboard contemporary jazz charts. His partner is Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and the first Black billionaire. Together they have such notable artists as Bobby Lyle and Alyson Williams. Despite the success of the company, they have experienced huge problems in getting Black artists airtime on the predominately White-owned smooth jazz stations. Their White artists, Michael Lington and Jaared, get a lot of airtime but don't sell records. Bobby Lyle and Marcus Johnson sell records despite the lack of radio play. There seems to be a real ''whitewash'' of music in the jazz format, with Black artists seemingly relegated to limbo, explained Johnson. ''I need my artists played in Chicago, New York and D.C. where I get an automatic 'No' and we're shut out,'' he said. Lyle sees the issue as just a continuation of a historical problem. ''The attempt to bring White performers to the forefront is nothing new. It's typical of what goes on in the music industry. Michael Lington's getting the stations but not the retail sales that I get. It's a closed fraternity that's not beneficial to the music or the artists,'' he said. ''It happened in 1920 when Paul Whiteman was called the king of jazz while Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were more popular. For rock and roll, it was the promotion of Elvis Presley as the king, when Little Richard and Chuck Berry were popular,'' he told The Final Call. Ken Tobin, a radio consultant and the operations director at WJZF, Atlanta's first Smooth Jazz station, said it's about control. ''There is one entity that controls what gets heard in smooth jazz. That's Broadcast Architecture, a consultancy firm. The reason they have so much control is that they've managed to consult and control the major market smooth jazz stations,'' Tobin said. ''They're all about research. That's their claim to the industry. They've developed systems to help stations that have been successful. With that kind of influence, other radio stations just play follow the leader.'' In the early 1990s, smooth jazz emerged as a combination of jazz, rock, pop and rhythm and blues. It's considered easy listening music with a contemporary flair. ''This type of music won't disturb the politics of the office,'' said Final Call White House correspondent Askia Muhammad, who also is a jazz historian and radio personality at Pacifica's Washington, D.C., station WPFW. ''As a radio format, it competes with soft rock and other office music. The obvious symbol of smooth jazz is Kenny G. The advertising and promotion of it is him,'' Muhammad said. ''The Black artists that have had success with smooth jazz are the established artists who had audiences of their own who brought a strong following to the station in exchange for additional success and popularity.''With the help of Broadcast Architecture, ''the Smooth Jazz format has shown amazing growth over the past seven years. Its ability to bring ratings success in key adult demos is unsurpassed. With core artists like Kenny G, George Benson, Sade and Anita Baker, Smooth Jazz appeals to multi-cultural listeners.'' According to Broadcast Architecture, since 1994, it has assisted more than 20 stations in format flips to smooth jazz. In addition to their ongoing relationships with existing smooth jazz stations, Broadcast Architecture provides a foundation for introducing smooth jazz to new markets. ''Broadcast Architecture is so powerful that they mandate the sound. Their word influences the top markets and the artists' handlers are eager to respond to the manipulation by Broadcast Architecture. In order to get heard, the artists must provide what Broadcast Architecture is looking for,'' said Tobin. ''They also influence what artists get paid, concerts and jazz festivals. The concept behind smooth jazz is to have relaxing music. It has to be laid back, relaxing and non-offensive. They'd rather have a non-offensive tune than one that some like and others don't. This is wallpaper music, background sounds. It works for them but not the artists.'' Artists who follow the formula provided by Broadcast Architecture are rewarded with airtime explained Tobin. ''Airplay is most important, sales are after the fact.'' In the hip hop world, artists such as Master P, Cash Money and 50 Cent decided to avoid those control issues. ''Those folks came along and said we're not going to play that game of control. We're going to play outside of the gym,'' said Tobin. These artists began to sell, distribute and promote their own music. Thousands of records were sold literally out of the trunks of their cars. ''They get 100 percent of the profits and not the very small percentage that other artists get from their label,'' said Mr. Tobin. ''These artists own their publishing rights, they distribute their own music and the radio stations are coming to them for promotion.'' Back to Previous Page Email This Story to a Friend SEARCH Click here for anAdvanced Search Contact Us: Copyright 2003 All Rights Reserved :: Legal and Privacy Policy