Dom Minasi/Europe and America

This article on guitarist Dom Minasi is quite interesting in detailing what the life path of an ordinary musician can be. As you may have gathered by now, I like that kind of thing.

Minasi dryly claims:

Don't kid yourself. A lot of jazz guys do weddings. They just don't talk about it.

That reminded me of what Belgian bassist Nic Thys, who spent several years living in NYC, said in an interview published in the March/April/May 2003 issue of the Flemish Jazz Mozaïek magazine:

One day you're in a club such as Birdland, the next you'e in a bar, a pizzeria or a coffee-house. I do it all, and it's nothing to be ashamed about. I know musicians who make lots of money playing in Europe, but play for $30 in a New York café. Jeff 'Tain' Watts, David Kikoski, Brian Blade, Brad Mehldau are all on that circuit.
(translation from Dutch mine)

I'm always highly amused when American musicians continue to entertain the cliché that Europe is such a welcoming place for jazz. Welcoming to touring Americans, perhaps, but much less so for the average (or even, very good) local player or long-time US expats (ask Steve Lacy about how much he played in Paris during his 30 years there). I got to see the Dave Holland Big Band for 13 euros in Antwerp, but to see an upcoming Paris Jazz Big Band gig in Paris, I would have to shell out well over double that amount.

Sales lists suggest that European publics consume pretty much the same things as their US counterparts (with some local flavour thrown in, of course) and jazz probably has a similarly low market share.

The main difference seems to be that European countries (Belgium and, despite recent legislative reform, France, at least) have better benefit systems for musicians (and others working in artistic fields) and more government subsidies (but far fewer private grants).

I really want the myth of Europe as the great haven of jazz lovers and more educated audiences to die.