Brecker Extras VI: Catching Up with Jazz Video Guy
Updated: Feb 13, 2022
Longtime friend and colleague Bret Primack (we both wrote for JazzTimes magazine during the '90s and early 2000s) was so ahead of the curve on the computer tip that he really left all of us fellow jazz scribes behind long before we got hip to digital technology. A self-described "dotcom warrior," Bret self-published a 2003 e-book, "How To Make It Big in the New Music Biz: A Step by Step Guide," in which he addressed the possibilities of the digital age with advice for his readers to take advantage of what was clearly becoming a changing musical landscape. As he told JazzTimes at the time: "I believe the Internet is an incredible tool for empowerment, a way for musicians to take control of the marketing and distribution of their music. I wrote this book as a guide for musicians, explaining the nature of the medium and the digital tools available. My goal is to help musicians develop a global audience for their music.”
By 2006, Primack reinvented himself as the Jazz Video Guy, launching a YouTube channel of various performances and backstage interviews that he had done with jazz greats during his career to showcase, as he said, "My appreciation for, my love of, my knowledge of this music and the people who have played it."
A graduate of NYU Film School, where he studied with Martin Scorcese, he began producing websites for jazz musicians and in 1994 launched Jazz Central Station, the first dedicated jazz website. He also began documenting live gigs, including an incredible 1999 performance at Birdland by the Saxophone Summit (David Liebman, Michael Brecker and Joe Lovano with bassist Rufus Reid, pianist Phil Markowitz, drummer Billy Hart). By 2004, with the advent of mini-dv camcorders and more sophisticated computer editing capabilities, Primack began creating website footage for jazz artists like Joe Lovano, Sonny Rollins and Billy Taylor and EPKs for labels like Blue Note and Telarc. And when YouTube was launched in March of 2005, Bret was there. To date, he has posted nearly 3000 videos on YouTube as Jazz Video Guy that have attracted over fifty million views. His most recent film is the feature length documentary They Will Not Replace Us, about American anti-Semitism. The film made its online premiere on February 1, 2022: theywillnotreplaceus.com
Bret recently sat me down to talk about my book "Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker." We spoke for two hours and he later edited the footage into a dozen or more chapters, intercut with live footage of Michael and Randy Brecker in action. Here are Chapters 9-14:
The theme of making printed information clearer makes me curious about what people notice in their own everyday experiences. Readable spacing and a clear hierarchy can change how easily someone finds a detail on a page. For Mailandbros, I would use practical print design as a starting point for a closer discussion of the subject. That is the part I would keep thinking about after moving on to something else. What would you check on a printed draft before producing more copies?
When it comes to keeping personal care simple and thoughtful, one clear example can stay with me longer than a long list of general points. A small consistent habit can be easier to assess than several unfamiliar changes introduced together. That thought gives me a starting point for exploring personal care ideas in connection with Mafelicita. I would rather explore one useful example carefully than pretend that the whole subject is already clear. What would help someone decide which parts of a personal-care routine are useful to them?
There is something appealing about learning through hands-on creative projects, especially when the focus stays on the details people might otherwise overlook. Handling a material directly can suggest ideas that are hard to discover from a picture alone. The name Globosgladys gives this theme a memorable reference point, while creative craft projects keeps the subject in focus. I would rather explore one useful example carefully than pretend that the whole subject is already clear. What small experiment would you try before planning a finished piece?
A discussion of learning from gardens and growing spaces seems more useful when it connects an idea with something easy to picture. Returning to the same growing space can reveal changes that are easy to miss during a single visit. That practical perspective helps me frame gardening observation ideas as a theme for Givingtreegardenmarket. A simple comparison would help me picture the differences without rushing towards a fixed answer. What would you record to make those changes easier to compare?
When it comes to exploring visual ideas through observation, one clear example can stay with me longer than a long list of general points. A small choice of colour or viewpoint can change the feeling of an image. For Dp Danielpinheiro, I would use creative visual expression as a starting point for a closer discussion of the subject. I am still thinking through the practical side, because the context can change what seems useful. How would you describe that change to someone who has not seen the work?