Emerson Bran Management

2010-03-17T15:30:00.001-07:00

Listening to @MarkGhuneim, pretty interesting stuff.

2010-03-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

Really enjoying SXSW, listening to a marketing and promo panel @LarryWeintraub should have been in it!

Talk about stagnant

2009-12-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

So as I’m checking all my Google alerts, I get one that shows the current program for 2010 APAP Conference (Click here to read it), where I find that my concerns about the current state of the presenting industry in the Performing Arts world were completely dismissed. I had previously sent an e-mail to APAP, talking about the issues I saw with the panelists to the different forums:

“Ladies and gentleman,

I want to thank you in advance for your time and attention to my e-mail, especially at such a busy time, as I know that you are working hard on the upcoming conference.

We are excited about the programming for the conference because it touches on a subject that we are very passionate about. However, I’m a bit disappointed that it is not represented broadly. While we do understand that it is difficult to try and cover every form, I do feel that it is important to showcase some forms, and in this case I’m referring to Latin Jazz.

Based on the artists and speakers invited, I noticed that there are not any Latin Jazz artists invited to participate. I also noticed that it is the same “click” of individuals, and though we respect their career and the institutions they represent, they do not represent the current trend in the industry. We feel that the Latin jazz talent that’s out there is not being taken into account not only by APAP, but by the industry in general.

Take for example Track I “Jazz on the 21st Century” – though the artists are young and some of the newest talent in the scene, the other panelist represent the “old school” of programming.
On Track II – It is important to have the different directors, but why not listen to some of the professionals out there not only teaching but also performing? Need a suggestion? Well I represent Bobby Sanabria, whose latest album “Kenya Revisited Live” a project of the Manhattan School of Music – Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band, which he currently conducts, got nominated for a Latin Grammy. www.sonicbids.com/bobbysanabria or www.bobbysanabria.com

Meet the NEA Jazz Masters, well we too represent NEA Jazz Master Candido Camero, who is also on the afore mentioned album and someone who has recorded with the many others great masters in attendance. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement award by LARAS the Latin arm of the Recording Academy.

Please note that these is just our point of view, based on the fact that we are out there everyday working on the same issues that will be brought up and presented in the upcoming conference, and feel that the panelist and artists invited are not representing the current state of the industry.

Again, I personally thank you in advance and look forward to your comments, and of course the conference.

Sincerely,

–

Emerson F. Bran
o: (310) 295-4259 x703
c: (818) 943-5155
http://www.emersonbranmanagement.com/
skype:emersonbranmanagment
Booking the best Jazz, Latin Jazz, Afro-Cubanand World music performers”

I received a response from Scott Stoner who is the Chief Program Officer, which in my opinion is very dismissive:

“Scott Stoner wrote:

Dear Emerson – thank you so much for your email drawing our attention to Latin Jazz. It is certainly not our intention to overlook any aspect of the jazz field and we want all of the sessions to be as inclusive as possible. I believe the important thing for you to know is that these are not traditional panel discussions and the content is not to be limited to the particular background or area of expertise of the few resource people we identified as invited discussants. We tried to ensure a mix (primarily intergenerational) of artists, agents/managers, presenters, and producers to help stimulate the initial discussion for each session – but strive for a rich dialogue that will cover broad yet cogent issues in the field today.

So that said, we hope you will be in the room and invite others to join us who represent Latin Jazz and will encourage you to contribute to the discussion. These are interactive sessions – all rooms set with roundtables and the session begins with individual roundtable discussions, followed by remarks from a featured speaker, followed by a facilitated discussion with invited discussants and the audience in the room. There are no formal presentations by “panelists” because these are not traditional panel sessions.

Regarding the Meet the NEA Jazz Masters session, this is part of our partnership with the NEA Jazz Masters Program in conjunction with the 2010 Jazz Masters Awards and the purpose of the session is to introduce the new 2010 NEA Jazz Masters to our members and to all others who wish to attend the session.

I hope to meet you at the conference and we again welcome your participation in the sessions!

Best, Scott

Scott D. Stoner”

Well you can check out the program here:
http://www.apapconference.org/docs/APAP10_ProgramGuide_WEB.pdf.

Are you serious?! Are these the people that should know on how the business and especially Jazz Industry are supposed to know how things work now?! Are they supposed to know how technology, marketing and a segregated market are supposed to work?! The same people that don’t book or program any or very little Latin entertainment, mind you Latinos are the largest population in the US?!!

Come on! No wonder the entertainment industry is so screwed up!

2009-12-30T23:12:00.001-08:00

As usual Bob Lefsetz gets it right! Talent buyers out there, pay attention!! Jazz Alley, Anthology, Yoshi's, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola...really pay attention!!!
http://ping.fm/Ott10

2009-12-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

Press Release: Candido Camero Benefit Concert at SUNY Purchase on December 2nd | The Brick http://ping.fm/vQmPC

2009-11-19T11:40:00.001-08:00

Tonight - Inside Latin jazz with Rebeca Mauleon at Whittier College inside the Shannon Center! http://ping.fm/wWmUi

2009-11-10T22:46:00.001-08:00

Emerson Bran 2527Click%2Bthe%2BShare%2Bbutton%2Bto%2Bcreate%2Blinks%2Bto%2Bthis%2Bemail%2Bon%2Bpopular%2Bsocial%2Bnetworking%2Band%2Bbookmarking%2Bsize%2Blike%2BFacebook%252C%2BTwitter%252C%2Band%2BDigg.%2527%2B http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs024/1101135604039/archive/1102816741123.html?sms_ss=pingfm

2009-11-08T16:30:00.001-08:00

Getting ready for Inside Latin Jazz at Whittier College, and looking forward to Salsa Suite featuring our own Adonis Puentes!!!

2009-10-12T20:19:00.001-07:00

Latin Music USA going on across the US and the UK!!! Check it out on PBS or http://ping.fm/MceBO

2009-10-06T22:57:00.001-07:00

I'm tired, but so excited, 18 days left for the big day! What a blessing!

2009-09-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

We are so excited! Bobby Sanabria, Justo Almario and Adonis nominated for Latin Grammy, Candido Camero getting lifetime achievement Award!

2009-08-05T18:56:00.001-07:00

Hanging with Justo, Ndugu, and Patrice Rushen in downtown El Lay.

2009-08-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

At KXLU Alma del Barrio, Bobby Sanabria about to go on, listen at www.kxlu.com or iTunes - public stations KXLU!

2009-07-29T00:27:00.001-07:00

Lots of fun gigs coming up!!! Hope to see some of you at Grammy Museum on Friday then at Conga Room for after party.

2009-07-25T00:26:00.001-07:00

For those of you who may not know whom Israel Lopez "Cachao" was http://ping.fm/eZdE3
and Carlos "Patato" Valdes: http://ping.fm/Hw3yk

2009-07-25T00:06:00.001-07:00

Just saw "Calle 54" for the umpteenth time, I feel so blessed to have worked with some of the greatest! Ibae Israel Cachao Lopez, ibae Carlos "Patato" Valdes.

2009-07-19T00:53:00.001-07:00

The world is often unkind to new talent...

2009-07-17T17:20:00.001-07:00

Performance at California Plaza - Grand Performances was fun! Don't forget Bobby Sanabria tonight @Yoshi's

2009-07-08T22:17:00.001-07:00

Hey ya'll just blogged some thoughts about Aspen Ideas Fest. Check it: http://ping.fm/7z7Hy

The Wall

2009-07-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from the Aspen Ideas Festival, and it was an amazing experience. I feel so blessed, as something like this never crossed my mind. Being among the elite of the world, having dinner and sitting next to the CEO of Phillips, meeting Dana Perino and Bob Schieffer, walking and mingling with people like Michael Eisner, Alan Greenspan and many more notables, was so unreal. I mean here's someone that came from Latin America, not rich, small business owner, but so freakin' blessed!

Even though it was an amazing experience and such a blessing, it was also something that continued to confirm the huge gap between the hard working citizens and the elites. This festival is supposed to be a think tank on how to help our society get better and be better, but something that resonated in my mind was, "how can they come up with ideas when they don't really know what's going in the trenches?" It's parallel to what's going on in the music industry, where they are trying to solve the issues on monetizing new media, but yet they have no idea on what's going on with the audience and/or the artists.

Furthermore it also made me realize that even though these people always talk about diversity, their group is not really diverse. Though I was having a good time, sometimes I could feel the pressure of being Latino. We have to find a way to brake "the wall" that keeps us from uniting, the wall that says "we are too colored for mainstream, and too mainstream for the colored".

This is something that many of us struggle with, and I experience it everyday with all the talent buyers out there. It's never enough to be able to book the artists that we represent, if it isn't "they don't draw enough", then is "they don't have a new album" or the classic "I'll think about it, I like the artist, I'm just not sure". Since when is it about the talent buyer? Isn't it supposed to be what the customer wants? Isn't the customer always right? If so then why is it that talent buyers, record labels, radio, print and TV media don't deliver to their audience? Do they really know what they're doing?

Yes is a different kind of wall, but could that be because our artists are Latinos playing Jazz or Latin jazz?

The quest continues, I just pray that God helps me to eliminate or at least help me get around the wall. Our artist are worthy of working on any stage in the world!

2009-07-01T01:15:00.001-07:00

I'll try and update and perhaps even post videos of the conference, meanwhile you can check out: http://ping.fm/M32Cr

2009-07-01T00:58:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for Aspen Ideas Festival and the Latin Music USA panel with Bobby Sanabria, Pam Aguilar and Elizabeth Deane!

2009-06-29T20:51:00.001-07:00

This goes to all the talent buyers, and promoters out there that continue to buy the same artists year after year, and for artists complaining about the business: http://ping.fm/ilchK

2009-06-27T23:11:00.001-07:00

Grand Performances has a great line up this year, then again it always does. This year focused on Colombian Music, check out www.grandperformances.org

2009-06-25T07:46:00.001-07:00

Justo Almario playing with Andy Garcia tonight at the Conga Room in L.A.

2009-06-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

Looking forward to Aspen Ideas Festival and the promo for Latin Music USA featuring Bobby Sanabria and NEA Jazz Master Candido Camero!

2009-06-22T23:09:00.001-07:00

Some more thoughts, check out my blog...http://ping.fm/4GYzH

2009-06-22T22:23:00.001-07:00

So after reading Bob Lefsetz and Jim Markunas today, it got me thinking. How can Latin Music be completely ignored by the music business?

I mean we have some amazing talent, especially in the arts and yet we don't get the respect to what we call the big boys? I mean we have bands like Spanish Harlem Orchestra, The Latin Giants of Jazz (Tito Puente's Band), Sonora Ponceña, El Gran Combo, and of course many more. However, you will rarely see these bands in a performing arts center, or a jazz festival. This year for example Playboy had Oscar Hernandez but with Los Angeles based musicians, you look at Monterey Jazz fest and they have Conrad Herwig with Joe Lovano and Randy Brecker? Playing the music of Wayne Shorter? Is that the best they can do under the Latin Jazz field? The only band that I can say plays Latin jazz is "Forro in the dark", which they don't even bother to put a link to their site to even try and help promote the band!

Oh wait! My mistake they're also having "Alfredo Rodriguez Trio", he was "discovered" by Quincy Jones. Again, does it take a noteworthy US American (yes I have a gripe with people in the US calling themselves Americans, if they haven't noticed America is an entire continent), to make it happen? Are we looking at Q's version of "Buena Vista Social Club" phenomenon?

Why can't talent buyers take their time and learn more? I mean we are in the 21st century and most jazz buyer feel they're the only ones that know and have an eye for talent. What will it take for them to realize that pretty soon their regulars will no longer sell? Do they really know the fans? How many of them actually attend?

Most Jazz clubs complain about attendance, but yet they fail to realize their food and drink prices. Then they forget about the people that come, they try and target the "high end" clientele, but reality is they don't really care about music. Then we get into the ticket pricing, yes I know that they have to price it according to artist price and what it would cost them to open the door. But what about when the artist takes the risk? We still have to share a percentage with the venue!

Some of the old timers ask for top pricing, but question remains can these guys deliver the audience? And we ask why is the business aspect of music doing so bad...

2009-06-21T22:23:00.001-07:00

I've succumbed to the iPhone evolution.

2009-06-20T13:14:00.001-07:00

Grammy Nominated Drummer & Percussionist, Bobby Sanabria Participates and Performs at the Latin Music USA Panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival on June 29 - July 5
http://ping.fm/A0nEu

2009-06-03T22:35:00.001-07:00

Added a couple of blogs!! Check them out by going to http://ping.fm/eH8at

Why do talent buyers always get the same artists?

2009-06-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

So we've been doing this for about 10 years now, and it wasn't until about 4 years ago that we got really serious about making it a full blown business.

We've been blessed to be able to work with some of the greats in Latin Music, I'm talking about people that have not only made a difference in music, but "THE" people that made Latin music the way it is now. We are talking about greats like Israel Lopez "Cachao", Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Candido Camero, Los Papines and many others.

Our current roster is still an up to date who is who in Latin Jazz and the Jazz world, along with a couple of new comers that are quite successful with what they do. However, every time that we approach a talent buyer and talking about Latin Jazz their first response is "we love Poncho Sanchez" or "do you have Eddie Palmieri?". Don't get me wrong these guys are known and have made a career for themselves, but let's be realistic, listening to Poncho Sanchez is like listening to Kenny G!

OK I know that they've gotten great with the marketing and their publicity, but all this work has been done through their labels and the money they throw behind them not necessarily because the artists has taken their time to build their audience.

So that's one side of the problem, now on the jazz side, how many times will an audience go see Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, George Duke, Chick Corea and tons of others that do the same festivals year after year?!

Whatever happened to the opening acts? Whatever happened to building your audience?

It seems to me that the cliquish powers that be that used to attend IAJE, or go to APAP, WAA, and all the other buying related conferences just have these parties to pat themselves in the back and find out how they plan to sell the same guys under a different gimmick the following year.

Let's face it the music industry sucks because of these same people, the ones that only think on how they can fill an auditorium without having to do so much work. The work that was left for the record labels, it was their job to find the audience, market the artist, whore them around to radio station and parade them around TV shows so that the buyers could be happy without having to the work.

We are going through changing times that requires for all of us to work together, from the talent to the talent buyer/presenter to build audiences, to be audience friendly, and embrace the wonderful technology we have.

Another Rumbero laid to rest - Jesus Alfonso Miro, Ibae

2009-06-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

In two weeks we've heard of the death of a couple of the best quinto players from Cuba. Last week we mourned the death of Ricardo Abreu aka "Papin", which for us at EBM was quite a loss. "Los Papines", a world known Cuban Rumba group, was the first show EBM produced.

Today we learned that Jesus Alfonso Miro passed, here's the info:

A las 6 y 45 minutos del día de hoy, 3 de junio
de 2009, a los 60 años de edad, falleció en su ciudad natal, Jesús Alfonso Miró,
director musical de Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, compositor y percusionista
excepcional. Hijo de padres matanceros, único varón de la familia Alfonso Miró y
padre de 8 hijos, todos dedicados a la rumba como músicos o bailarines. Dos de
ellos han sido parte de esta agrupación y en la actualidad Freddy Jesús Alfonso
Borges, dotado también de la destreza de su padre, es el quinto del grupo y ya
comienza a seguir también su camino como autor de sentidas rumbas.Como músico de
Los Muñequitos Jesús conoció casi todos los continentes; donde quiera que estuvo
sembró amigos, discípulos, brilló en cada escenario, pero nunca olvidó su raíz y
vivió toda una vida orgulloso de su estirpe rumbera, saboreando cada esquina de
su barrio: la Marina. Desde los siete años hasta la fecha, participó como músico
y bailarín en la Comparsa La Imaliana, fundada por su padre y por Félix
Vinagera. Por un tiempo fue integrante de la Orquesta de Música Moderna de su
ciudad y el grupo de Papa Goza. Desde 1967 es Director Musical y quinto del
grupo Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, agrupación a la que amó profundamente y dedicó
la mayor parte de su vida.Como compositor fue imprescindible en el repertorio de
esa agrupación, siendo conocidas sus obras en el mundo entero, como autor de
Congo Yambumba, la Llave, Chino Guaguao, Lengua de Obbara, Saludo a Nueva York,
y muchas otras que ya son clásicos de la rumba cubana. Muchos intérpretes
prestigiosos como Eddy Palmieri dan cuenta de la sabrosura y popularidad de sus
obras, incluyéndolas en sus discos y mencionándolo como un imprescindible en la
música de nuestro continente.Siendo aún muy pequeño de edad, junto a otro de los
grandes de Los Muñequitos: Ricardo Cané, Jesús Alfonso partió a las montañas de
Cuba para alfabetizar a los campesinos, graduándose más tarde como joven maestro
revolucionario. Por sus grandes aportes a la música y a su pueblo, le fue
conferida la condición de Hijo Ilustre de la Ciudad de Matanzas.Jesús Alfonso,
perteneciente a la sociedad matancera Efí Irondó Itá Ibekó, respetuoso portador
de la regla de Osha, será recordado por todo su pueblo y muy especialmente por
los rumberos de todo el mundo. Su nombre nunca será olvidado, su recia voz
indicando cómo tenía que vibrar la música y el sonido de sus manos en el cuero,
perdurarán en la memoria de todos los que le conocimos y le reconocemos como uno
de los más insignes músicos de todos los tiempos, porque Jesús fue a la rumba
como Cuní o Chapottín al son. Jesús le dio a la rumba su vida toda. Su nombre
está sin lugar a dudas, junto a Chano, Tata, Papín y todos los grandes de la
música cubana.Su cuerpo se encuentra expuesto en el lugar donde cada día ensayan
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, en la calle del mismo nombre de la ciudad, número
7906, entre Contrera y Milanés. Se le honrará como merece hasta que sea
sepultado en horas tempranas del día de mañana.A su esposa Dulce María Galup, a
sus hijos y demás familiares, a Diosdado Ramos y todos sus compañeros de rumba
que tanto le han admirado y hoy están sintiendo profundamente su pérdida, les
expresamos nuestras más sentidas condolencias.

2009-06-02T21:52:00.001-07:00

Just started my blog http://ping.fm/nZQlK
Check it out and let me know what you think!

I'm not a writer, but maybe is time to blog.

2009-06-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

For a while now I've been reading other people's blog and I've found some very amazing stuff out there. My good friend and quite savvy marketer Larry Weintrub turned me on to Bob Lefsetz and a sleuth of other people and articles that are just mind blowing. Especially to me because I enjoy the "art of business", though I can easily learn to be disappointed, but yet not to the point of hating it.

Anyway, I'm just writing this as a warning to let you all know that if you are reading this and you find many typos, mistakes in writing and other crap that may come along, please forgive me. As stated on the title "I'M NOT A WRITER"

So sit back relax, or not, and enjoy or not... Your choice.

Emerson Bran