Our clients tend to prefer acts with professional-quality promotional materials; often times a small investment in a videographer or video crew for your video can be a deal breaker. Keep in mind that our clients receive hundreds of submissions and inquiries each week – they are likely to give their fullest attention to the videos and other promotional materials which look the most sleek and polished. This is not to say the band’s performance isn’t also valuable to them, however. Yours definitely must stand out above the rest. Some of these gigs are very competitive, with many bands submitting promo kits – your best bet is to emphasize your group’s unique personality and strong points (musically and visually), while still fitting within the parameters of the job description. Also remember that you are being hired to put on a show, so clearly demonstrate your ability to do just that. Our clients tend to opt for bands that have a clean-cut and classy, yet fun appearance - so be sure to dress as if you are performing for a wedding reception or other high-end function as opposed to a bar or club in your video. Basically, stay away from untrimmed facial hair, tattoos, multiple piercings, and outlandish hair styles and you should be OK. The cruise lines seem to prefer bands that have 3-4 musicians playing live as opposed to with sequencing. Usually, our clients like groups that have a “look” and a musical “style”. It’s easy for jazz musicians to show up the day of the video shoot, never having played together before, and throw together sloppy versions of the same old standards they’ve played 1000 times with 1000 other bands. Don’t let this be you…arrange your tunes! Our clients are looking for super-tight and well rehearsed ensembles, not 4 jazz musicians calling tunes from memory and sounding generic. Unique arrangements of commonly played tunes will make your group stand head and shoulders above the rest. If you have one particularly strong soloist in the band, don’t be afraid to feature them in the video. Mix it up with the soloing however (this is important, as the solos will account for 50% or so of the band’s time on stage) – trade “4s”, do some scatting, or have the soloist repeat a riff several times and the band join in with the same lick, or cleverly insert quotes from other popular tunes in your solos…audiences love jazz when those things are going on! Don’t make the mistake of many (out of work) jazz musicians by playing for yourself - play for your audience! If soloing, don’t just bury your head in music or look at the floor while playing, but are be charismatic and engaging. Of course, you shouldn’t show more than 30-60 seconds or so of solos – make your band’s versatility the focal point of your video. The biggest reason why bands don’t get offers from our clients is the lack of versatility – they’re either a “jazz combo” or a “Top 40” band. The ideal ensemble for this position is about 75% of the former and 25% of the latter. Of course, do not take the advice in this section too literally. Before you do anything else, it’s most important to identify and develop your band’s “shtick” (or that of the individual members), then sell it, sell it, and sell it some more.
