Night is Alive Feature: Bill Cunliffe, Pianist

Upcoming Performance at Nighttown, Cleveland

Bill Cunliffe, his all-star octet, and jazz vocalist Andy James are currently in the middle of a multi-city tour. In addition to serving as James’ Music Director and arranger, Cunliffe is featured on the international Flamenco star’s recent EP “Mean to Me” (https://youtu.be/w0PqMxZlInQ). Be sure to catch the group’s dynamic performance at Nighttown in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, July 19, 2019, at 8:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at http://nighttowncleveland.club/. This is an evening you will not want to miss!

Honorable Mention

In June 2019, Night is Alive artist Bill Cunliffe was mentioned in the award-winning JAZZIZ Magazine. The article, which can be found at https://www.jazziz.com/prince-jimmy-cobb-quincy-jones-the-week-in-jazz/, praised vocalist Maggie Herron and Cunliffe for their co-produced, recently released album, A Ton of Trouble. The album won a high honor: Jazz Album of the Year at the The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, Hawaii’s equivalent of the Grammy Awards. Not only did Cunliffe arrange six of the album’s songs, but he also accompanied Herron on piano for those tracks. In a separate interview with Big Island Music Magazine, Herron stated, “Bill has the knack to speak for me stylistically with his arrangements after listening to my bare bones renditions at the piano.” https://www.bigislandmusic.net/big-islands-maggie-herron-turns-a-ton-of-trouble-into-a-jazz-album/

For more about award-winning pianist Bill Cunliffe and Night is Alive, visit https://nightisalive.com/bill-cunliffe/

Successful professional musicians have many things in common

1. They are confident and adventurous enough to dive into their music careers headfirst.

This applies to musicians playing in an orchestra or playing gigs on weekends. There are countless stories of musicians not having any alternate plans for success. You don’t have to sleep in a car for weeks to be successful, but the fact that you’d be willing to says it all

2. They don’t mind doing things in addition to performing to make their living.

Most musicians don’t sign record labels, ever. There are some that do and become very wealthy, but most do not. Many musicians become teachers of private students or even group workshops because they have bills to pay between performances. It’s always okay to dream big, but if the only reason you want to be a musician is because you think it will make you rich, you’ll quickly get weeded out of this business.

3. They have a patient, persistent can-do attitude.

This might be the most important out of the entire list. A music career does not appear overnight, and especially not one in any of the arts. Instead of becoming preoccupied with trying to get a “big break,” the most successful musicians focus on growing their careers gradually.

4. They’re willing to work very hard on their craft every day.

No matter which type of musician you want to be, it’s essential to practice your craft every day. By doing this, you will continue to improve while others stagnate, eventually being better than most others at what you do. It is a very competitive musical world, so it’s important to be on top of your game always and be consistently raising the bar for yourself.  You will have to learn to really enjoy the process of improving and practicing as well.  If you don’t want to put in time to practice, then you will never become a professional musician.

Whether you are a fan of Ralph Moore, Willie Jones III or Terell Stafford, professional musicians all share these traits. If you are interested in learning more about these successful musicians, feel free to contact Kathy Salem!

Great Bands Require Great Teamwork

At Night is Alive, we recognize that one of the biggest elements of success in any band is to show respect for your band-mates. Great bands require great teamwork, which means that everyone can’t be the leader, but all have vital roles to play in the band’s success. Being willing to show up to rehearsals on time and in tune is one of the first steps to achieving band greatness.

You need to truly listen to the input of your other bandmates and then have one person in the band who is the executive decision maker. On a basketball team you wouldn’t have 3-point guards all calling out different plays; same goes for a band, pick a leader and they ultimately make game time plays. One person will be responsible for making the ultimate decision after listening to others’ input. These can be simple decisions like how long a song intro should go or more complex ones regarding the tempo or key that a song should be played in.

Everyone should have a chance to contribute ideas to improve the sound of the band and the quality of the performance. Everyone should be able to try ideas, especially during practice, that might result in a better sound.

All band members have critical support roles to the overall team success. It isn’t just the playing of the music that will determine the band’s ultimate destiny. Someone in the band also must be the booking agent and the collections/money distribution person. These aren’t always the same person in a band, but the band does have to agree on who will do these functions, since without a gig being booked none of the magical performances can ever happen.

A fantastic example of teamwork and band performance can be seen with Ralph Moore‘s West Coast Band and Willie Jones III‘s WJ3 All-Star Band. Both groups travel the world together, selling out venues and attracting their loyal fan bases. They never could have got to this level of jazz stardom if it wasn’t for their exceptional teamwork and communicating skills.