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[Nashhlkq]

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[wooclosmercob]

I think you guys are missing the point a little bit about what exactly a CBC host's purpose and responsibilities are. The host is a liason between the music they are presenting and the general listenership of the CBC. In that respect, interviewing talent, genuine inquisitiveness and professionalism on the mic are probably more important qualities to have as a host than being a great historian or a great musician.

What I'm trying to say is... there's something about a show like Hot Air that really should be about grabbing the neophyte listener and bringing them into our world, for a minute. Its pretty tough to be a musician's insider and interview a colleague and not have half the interview go completely over the heads of the general listenership.

"So, Jared, could you tell me a bit about how you developed those pentatonic permutations on the diminished axis that you were playing on that recording there...),

Or if not over their heads, then perhaps a bit inauthentic...

"OK, Steve, I'm going to ask you this question now even though I already know the answer, because I've known you for 15 years and we just played a gig together last Thursday... er... is that a Super Balanced Action?"

Is it counter-intuitive to say that somebody who doesn't know as much is the best person to interview anybody? Doesn't that make at least a little sense? Michael Enright has been doing it for years.

In my opinion, Margaret Gallagher isn't going to be just "OK"... I actually think she's going to be great. I had never met her before she interviewed me for her audition, but she came in talking about the latest local jazz releases, her questions demonstrated some passion for and knowledge of the music, but she retained that almost naive inquisitiveness that I think a great interviewer kind of needs to make the interview mean anything.

Of course I don't mean any disrespect to my friends who interviewed for the gig... I thought they all did a great job and any of them could have easily been chosen and would do a great job. But I have absolutely no problem with Margaret Gallagher as a host. Its not a dumbing-down of anything. Lets all just be glad that Hot Air still exists.

[Vitoethiche]

Hey Morgan
You raise a good point. There is no doubt that musical knowledge or background alone would in no way be sufficient to make a good host or program and that there is a danger of alienating the general public with too much obscure information or 'challenging' content. These things are not mutually exclusive, though it takes real art and talent to combine them. Check out the BBC shows I mentioned to hear how a show can appeal to the lay-listener and to dyed-in-the-wool jazz people alike. For example, Alan Shipton’s Jazz Library recently featured a show on Cecil Taylor that even had my wife interested! He could put the music in a context and explain it in a way that made sense because he is not only musically literate but ALSO savvy to the listening habits and comprehension of Joe Public.

We already have shows (I’m thinking of ‘Tonic’) that present bits of jazz to the general audience in a completely bland and uncritical fashion in hopes of attracting new listeners. In my opinion, the quality and integrity of jazz and classical musical programming on CBC has been seriously watered down in the past few years and I hope Hot Air can maintain standards (especially in relation to programming of local artists) regardless of who hosts the program.

With regard to your ideas about interviewers….
When listening to radio interviews I am not a fan of the ‘naïve inquistiveness’ to which you refer. In fact I loathe it and find it embarrassing as a listener and as one being interviewed. I much prefer insightful intelligent questions from people with deep background knowledge and specific points of reference to the subject at hand. I suppose I am in the minority (again....). I was just watching a PBS re-broadcast of the famous Frost/Nixon interview and thinking that we very rarely see journalism of that level in the mainstream media nowadays. If you’re familiar with the interview, imagine how it would have gone if Frost had approached Nixon with mere naïve inquisitiveness or the ‘indiscriminate breathless enthusiasm’ Lazz so eloquently cites. This imaginary scenario is just like the real life one that plays out daily again and again on our beloved public broadcast network.

Of course I have no real idea of how Gallagher will do until I hear her. I’m certainly encouraged by your impressions of her and most sincerely hope Hot Air will keep rolling for many years to come.

[wooclosmercob]

I hear what you're saying... I want to check out those BBC shows. I guess I just felt like it was kind of like when people complain that there wasn't enough Warne Marsh clips in Ken Burns Jazz... its like... that wasn't for us... it was for my mom... you know?

[Yartonbler]

I've been meaning to put in a comment about the Hot Air position but I've been in and out of town this summer and pretty busy otherwise; after having a chat with Cory today on the A-Trane I felt like sharing some of the thoughts rolling around in my head...

For full disclosure, I applied for the position and did an audition, I've heard that there were 8 or 9 folks who got to the audition stage (you know who you are - and so do I mostly) all scheduled back to back on July 7th. The audition was to do a mini-hot air with intros/outtros, a musical selection, a calendar and a short interview; I was the last one of the day and it was all pretty relaxed, all the techies except Philip Ditchburn had gone home and I hung out afterwards and got a bit of a tour of some of the new cbc facilities and some still under construction.

(But what a luxury just to talk with your guest, at the A-Trane doing an interview means carrying on a conversation and asking questions, cuing up the next track, working the sound board/adjusting levels, answering the phones, buzzing people into the station - all live to air!)

Along with the sample script was a bit of a game plan for the show which talked about feature development, plans for increasing listenership and related activities for the host which would include cross-promotion on other cbc shows, introducing concerts etc. I realized after I'd heard that Margaret Gallagher was chosen for the position, that she's been doing that kind of cross-promotion for quite a while already so her choice wasn't a really big shock or anything.

So I'm somewhere in the middle on the selection of the host, I think I get where Morgan is coming from - I think the role of Hot Air is to draw people into the music - especially new people (Morgan's mom?) - and the host doesn't need to be an expert in order to do that. In fact the main features of Hot Air (the Gods and Goddesses interviews, the blindfold test, the introductory jazz stuff, the ability to edit interviews) are all set up to put the host at an advantage. Having a host who is enthusiastic, engaging and open can be as good or better as an ambassador for the music than someone who comes in with their own tastes and agenda.

The thing that I would be concerned about is where the expertise will come from to put the music into context because I think that's where the depth of the show will come from. I think that Paul Grant grew into the position nicely and he had Neil Ritchie to fill in the gaps while that was happening. I met Philip at the audition and, although he seems like a fine and capable fellow, I didn't get the sense that he has a deep grounding in the music or is particularly well-connected to the local scene - I may be wrong but I don't think so.

As for Margaret Gallagher, I don't know her other than what I've heard on the air. By coincidence I heard her interview with Seamus Blake on North-by-Northwest (I drive to the gym early Sunday mornings) and it was an interesting contrast with an older Paul Grant interview which was rebroadcast on Hot Air a couple of weeks later. Gallagher's questions to Seamus were largely generic/context-free (how does recording live differ from studio recording, how do you compose etc.) which was a marked contrast to the Gods/Goddesses interview that was on Hot Air. That's not to say it was a bad interview, I enjoyed listening to it but I was aware that the questions were quite different than what I would have asked. But I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and see where and how things develop.

My guess is that the decision had largely been made before the auditions were done but the application/audition process was a good efficient way of identifying some potential resource people and possible guest hosts to draw on. At least I hope so, I hope that the show remains engaged with the bc/vancouver jazz community and keeps drawing people in - a good gateway drug for the A-Trane!

This week is the last of the hot air flashback shows with Paul Grant and the new regimen starts next week - good luck to Margaret and Philip!

[ServiceColas]

Thanks for your insight and observations.....very astute and well thought out....but then I would expect nothing less from you (I hope the check is in the mail...lol). There is a small monkeywrench here however. I have heard on pretty good authority that Margaret is on maternity leave and won't be returning to the Corp and work until June 2010. What next????

[Yartonbler]

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Paolo Pietropaolo.

[Bugamerka]

Until Margaret Gallagher joins after maternity leave?

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[Nashhlkq]

Geez, everyone must have sucked at the auditions.

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[ServiceColas]

Colin Lazzerini (Lazz) was pretty well correct... it was an inside job. The C.B.C. has rarely hired "outsiders" as there are very strict union rules against that. Staffers who apply are given priority so the whole audition thing and call-backs were essentially a waste of money and a scam. I'm happy the program will survive the cuts and remain on the air and I'm sure that the staffers will do a fine job and take care of proper business. They are "pros" after all.

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[Yartonbler]

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