[Wheldcobchoto]

With regard to CBC's Tonic: It's obvious that the egg-heads within the CBC bureaucracy wish to create 'eclectic' programing to appeal to the 'younger demographic'. This is so misguided and so out of touch with reality that it would be laughable if it didn't affect the lives and recognition of so many great players in this country who DO play all styles of what most of us recognize as "Jazz". The music on "Jazz Beat" WAS varied and reflected the Jazz philosophies of the players and as usual some styles were more preferable than others depending on one's taste.These great studio sessions are now lost. With 'Jazz Beat' one KNEW where to go on Sunday night etc. Now poor Katie,who wants to keep her job with the Corp. must kowtow and make excuses for this new 'outlook' of the CBC brass. It's sad because whether one is a fan of Malloch or not......she is a dedicated Jazz lover and I know will always be. I'm sorry but block programing is the way to hold on to listeners and keep them and maybe turn them on to a Jazz style that they may have dismissed. I know with my show on CITR, people who don't like Jazz know that from 9pm to Midnight on Monday's don't tune in and people that DO like Jazz do......simple as that! CBC would do well to revert to simple block programing and forget this 'eclectic' bullshit.

[PapsEdisa]

This chasing the 'youth demographic' never works. It's been a disaster for the newspaper business, because it alientes 'adult' readers and young people are, for the most part, too smart to fall for transparent, corporate attempts to be 'cool.' (I guess the contemporary term would be 'hawt'). Trying to be all things to all people is a mugs game.


The choice of the name 'Tonic' for the show is especially ironic. I'm in NYC at the moment, and the talk of the downtown 'outski' set here is the recent demise of the club of the same name.

Guitarist Marc Ribot has an interesting article on the inanity of chaising market forces and demographic when it comes to high art.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/revi...t.php?id=25889

[jq0AFTTC]

Yeah, it never made sense to me, either, even when I was in the target audience. Are young people going to be putting down their iPods and tuning out commercial radio just to hear the odd hip (to them) tune mixed in with the old people music? And there's no hyper announcer. All that normal talk would put them to sleep.

I think there need to be places where the young people can graduate to once they hit a certain age. I wasn't interested in anything on the CBC or reading the books and magazines I read now when I was in my 20s. And now my rock friends, at the age of around 40, are starting to ask me about what they should listen to in jazz.

But now it's like graduating into high school and there are still elementary school kids running around.

[Ubgvuncd]

From what I"ve heard and read, the traditional CBC demographic (up until 2-3 years ago) was over 65. They realized that, honestly, their primary demographic was going to die off soon and that younger people (everyone under 65) weren't checking the CBC out. It you look at a lot of the CBC trends over the last few years (CBC Radio 3, Podcasts, The Hour etc...) they are making a lot of really successful strides in drawing in a younger demographic (the CBC R3 podcasts are among the most popular on the internet worldwide). Having said that, change in all areas is not good and the loss of Jazz Beat (et al) is a bit of a tragedy. And while I lament the loss of these shows, most of me applauds the CBC for recognizing that change was needed acting on it , for the most part successfully. Now bring back Jazz Beat!

[wiweimeli]

I think what people look for in radio is personality and how that personality is expressed through the music. When people who haven't heard my radio show ask what kind of music I play, I usually say that I play what I like. This avoids differences in definitions about what jazz is or isn't but it so happens that a lot of what I like is what many people would call jazz. (Actually there's a lot of stuff I like that I wouldn't play on the show but that's another story.)

Gavin's got a personality that comes through in his show, most of the people on co-op radio do too (volunteers tend to be passionate about that kind of thing), so do the cbc radio 3 podcast guys, Andre Rheaume on espace musique and so did Katie Malloch on Jazz Beat.

Unfortunately, Tonic sounds like it's programmed by committee for a non-existent demographic. It sounds like it's trying to be eclectic and hip but it ends up being soul-less. Katie Malloch sounds like she's trying to make the best of a bad situation; Tim Tamashiro just sounds completely out of place and Tonic is not a show that I've managed to listen to for more than about 15 minutes at a time.

The loss of the Jazz Beat recorded sessions at both concerts and in the studio is tragic too. That's how you hear a jazz performance stretching out, get some depth in your programming, build an audience - and give some of the performers across the country some national exposure. I was hoping that this new live show on radio 2 might pick up some of the slack, but it's no replacement for tuning into a regular show that you know is going to have some great stuff every time you listen to it.

Bad move all the way around, bring back Jazz Beat.

N.

[Roamsaffots]

john thanks for the article you posted above with marc ribots thoughts.. it is especially interesting when one juxapositions it to the g&m article on cbc and katie malloch... both seem to involve an issue around funding although with the cbc is it perhaps less obvious. i think cbc which is gov't funded is looking to capture a younger generation.. are they having their funding cut back? i may be mistaken on that, but it seems free market types don't like gov't funding to support something and the cbc has been used as a kicking ball for this political debate.

a quote from john doheny's linked article >> It's necessary at this point to acknowledge a counter argument to public arts funding. Even those of us with no taste for “magic-of-the-market” rhetoric will admit that competition at clubs forced to live off door receipts has sometimes produced a dynamic energy we (and our audiences) like, while the lack of competition at some large or very long-term well funded public institutions has sometimes produced a lethargic, self satisfied 'in-group' that books its own friends for its own friends, with little incentive to reach out to new musicians or audiences. In addition, the funded 'institutions' can be slow and bureaucratic while the 'private' can be less so.
"And we can play John Coltrane, and we can play Joss Stone and Remy Shand and Poncho Sanchez. We want it to be music viewed to that time of day" - suppertime.

[uranbigis]

I can't honestly say that Im a fan of the new format but I certainly don't hold Tim or Katie or the producers for that matter responsible for what has occured. Its sad that we have for the most part lost a lot of the live shows as those were a really part of what made CBC so unique not only in Vancouver or Canada but in the world. There was nothing more exciting than the CBC trucks rolling up to The Cellar to do tapings or hearing about a Jazz Beat session that was going on in the Vancouver studios. It has decreased so much in the last few years. Oh well.....

[Appeselve]

People listen to the radio (other than sports talk radio)?

CBC does marketing?

I never realized ...

[jq0AFTTC]

People listen to sports radio?

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[Appeselve]

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[PapsEdisa]

Ellrod wrote:

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[medio]

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[Appeselve]

"Mainly, the notion that there is a 'demographic' (over 65) of CBC listeners that is 'going to die off' and must be replaced with younger, presumably 'hipper' listeners."

I think the "younger, presumably hipper" listeners might be surprised to learn that they even own radios.

e

[JeremyBalll]

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[Roamsaffots]

hi al.. i hope you are well! do you still connect with bart? i am doing the show with kerrilee today.. it is from 6-7pm. the station dial is 101.7 fm.. i will play some of the recent cds from brecker, redman and seamus blake, so if you are a sax player you might want to tune in...al, i will play a track from ray barrettos cd time was - time is for you as well. regards-

[Squeernemergo]

It's interesting that National Public Radio hasn't taken the same approach as the CBC. There are many jazz-oriented NPR stations playing great music (KPLU is a mainstay for me, but so is WBGO in Newark and WGBH in Boston). NPR's demographic is likely similar to CBC's (I'm guessing), and as a network has come under even greater pressure than the CBC, thanks to the dominance of right wingers in government.

Only problem with those stations: not a lot of Canadian content though ;-)

I miss Jazz Beat, but also the After Hours show -- in fact, that was a very enjoyable couple of hours at a time that I could listen. Who's sitting down to listen to the radio at 6:00?