A Note From Bob

Please accept my apologies for being remiss on staying current with the column. I have been imersed in writing an orchestra commission along with traveling with the Yellowjackets and some big band projects as well.

Last week the Jackets recorded two nights (4 sets) at a club in L.A. called the Mint. I think that we really captured the heavy burn and spontanaety that the band is capable of. The CD will be available exclusively on Yellowjackets.com some time in the next few months. We are putting this one out on our own without a record company. This is primarily due to the fact that our experience with Warner Brothers Records was such a disaster. They actually discontinued Club Nocturne a few months ago, and destroyed all remaining copies. Real nice! You would think they might check with us to see if we wanted to buy any remaining copies. But noooo. Shred those cds!!!

So here goes. I'll keep you posted on how things go. We are all quite excited at the prospect of controlling our own destiny a bit. Both GRP and Warner Brothers have basically discontinued most of the recordings the band has done in the last 20 years. This is unfathomable to me! A lot of nice music evaporated into thin air. Fortunately you can get most of the Jacket catalogue at our web site. It seems that record companies are behaving in such a way that it becomes imperative that some artists sell their product on their own, even bands with a huge track record! This concept of "out with the old, in with the new" is bizarre. Anyway, I think it will wind up being all for the best. Time will tell.

Peace,
Bob Mintzer

Archived Notes
January, 2001
March, 2001
April, 2001
May, 2001