November 01 2008
We're heading into awards season. In music, the big ones are the Junos (Canada) and the Grammys (U.S.)
It's great to win an award. Any musician who says they wouldn't want to be a winner, has never won one. I've never won one. I'd love to win one (two would even be better.)
Why? Does an award betoken merit, greatness, top-of-the-heapness? Uh, no. Talent, as with all the metrics in the music biz, is the least part of success. An award is neither a sufficient nor necessary condition for renown.
Not that fame excludes greatness. Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday were genuine monsters. But how many people have heard of the pianists Art Tatum and Phineas Newborn? Of guitarist Lenny Breau? Or of trumpeter Valaida Snow? True geniuses, whose merited fame was sucked into the black hole of the forgotten by the gravitational mass of their talent.
Of course, everyone who doesn't an award spouts the same spoutosities. Do you know how brilliant I am? I'm so brilliant, I didn't even win an award!. The call of the Loser.
As we go into award season, I hope my new CD, The Bestseller (please check it out elsewhere on my website) does win me my first award. It should help my career. It certainly couldn't hurt.
And if you see that I'm coming to play in your town, and the publicity says "The Award winning Ron Davis", don;t let that discourage you from checking me out. Notwithstanding the award, we'll make some great music.
I'd love to see you at my shows.
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A brilliant adventure. On his latest recording, My Mother's Father's Song, Ron Davis embraces both his family's rich cultural heritage, and boldly re-engages with the jazz standard.
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