A sprinkling of teenagers may be attracted to jazz. Many pop artists, using jazz arrangers, have indoctrinated them, almost unconsciously, to hearing a sound.
Amsterdam must have more than a million people. But the only area where jazz is really profitable and successful in an economic sense is in Japan. That's because they haven't been exposed enough.
As long as we're in a democracy, I have to give what I think the majority of people will enjoy.
Ella can work nightclubs that Duke might not be able to work, because of having the big band. Where they go now is strictly a matter of their own names and talents.
Ellington is a writer and arranger, as well as a musician and leader. He does movie sound tracks.
Fats Navarro made a tour with me. And Monk made a tour with me in 1945, before people ever heard of him. There were a lot of people that I was in a position to display.
For years, Jazz At The Philharmonic albums were the only ones of their kind.
Germany is probably the richest country in Western Europe. Yet they wouldn't take any television with Duke and Ella, their reaction being that people weren't interested in it.
I allowed artists to play for as long as they felt they could justifiably continue to create.
I don't know who's 18 years old today that, 20 years hence, is going to be a jazz fan.
I don't say that the supposed Civil Rights development is a myth, but it's a matter of dealing with reality. It's purely peripheral and, in many cases, it's just a facade.
I don't think I will ever do any tours again in the United States. I rather think that that's over with.
I don't think that jazz, as any kind of an art form, has any permanence attached to it, apart from the practitioners of it.
I don't want to sound as if I'm doing something tremendously special. But I am a jazz fan.
I find myself more at peace when I live in Europe.
I had people come to my jazz concerts in 1946, who were then 18. Now they're 38, but they still stick with my shows.
I made it easier for many artists to play in certain areas.
I never did know how people defined jazz as being or not being a big-selling item. I don't think it's a growing item.
I still continue to do at least four concert tours a year, and in many cases, as many as six.
I still manage Ella and Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson. I still give concerts.
I still travel a great deal. I go to the States, not for too long periods, but I make frequent trips because of my management problems with Ella.
I'm concerned with trend. I don't know where jazz fans will come from 20 years from now.
I'm not going to put down other artists. I think that's a form of bigotry. It's a matter of doing what I want to hear.
I'm talking as a professional impresario. I'm not judging anybody at all.
If I were to put on Barbra Streisand and Duke Ellington, one might say the combination isn't good.
If you look at my audiences, even in Europe, they're hardly teenagers.
In 1958, I decided that I was going to live in Europe permanently. So in 1959 I moved to Lugano, Switzerland.
Jazz was uplifted by what I did.
Many movie people, who would never have dreamt of using jazz arrangers for scores, are doing it frequently now, even though they water them down.
My function at Verve was that of a genuine producer in artists and repertoire.
My juices needed restoring. I needed a sabbatical from the record business.
Of the newer people I would like to display to the public, I find it almost impossible to get them to agree to the jam session form.
Sponsors and networks will really go all out and simply evaluate people on the basis of talent.
The economic picture in the States today doesn't allow for jazz concerts in a tour fashion. People now are too used to the Festival, which gives them more names for the same price.
The history of all big jazz bands shows was, first they played for dancing, and then they played for singing.
The new, younger artists today are too insecure to be willing to face that kind of musical competition afforded by the jam session.
The public, hearing pop music, is, without knowing it, also soaking up jazz.
The record companies are interested in the kind of sales they can get from the rock groups.
There are many artists that I present that I admit I like less than I do others. But I think that they warrant being presented by my own, personal standards.
There are very few groups that really stay together. The leaders of groups make enough money to be able to afford to work a maximum of 35-40 weeks a year.
To play today in London, next week in Madrid and the week after that in Warsaw is a bit better than playing Newark and Baltimore and Philadelphia. I've been doing that for 20 years.
Today it's rare to find a major artist that would be willing to break up his own group. They need the musical security their own groups give them.
When I was doing jazz concerts in America, I would use the biggest names I could find.
You can't have a finale that runs one hour. So you give each man 40 minutes or so, and you say: Let's do a jam session at the end with the leaders.
You will always find a few people in any area that would like things done completely their way.
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