Hi, it’s me, Jonah, the baritone saxophonist. Remember?

This might sound crazy, but I believe that, in a perfect world, you would be able to listen to music for free. Oh wait! You CAN listen to music for free. In fact, you can listen to the 2nd single, released today, from my new duo album with Berke Can Özcan on like 12 different platforms including Bandcamp:

Sadly, I think we can all agree that the world is far from perfect. So what’s going on?

Well, to begin with, music is pretty much the only thing that you can get for free. Food, housing, healthcare, a sense of security, a life free from institutional violence, saxophone reeds. They all cost money. The result is what economists might call an imminent supply chain disruption.

Without raw materials like food and housing, the manufacturers of music (musicians) cannot exist. Now you may think that this is the moment where I pivot to saying that the solution is to pay for recorded music, but I actually have another solution in mind.

The crazy thing about music is that it doesn’t physically exist. You can’t hold a song. You can’t set it on fire, or hang it up in a museum.  Sure, there are recordings of music, but a music recording is basically like a framed photo of your best friend. You can look at whenever you want, it makes you happy, it looks just like them, but it’s not them.

Nevertheless, 100 years ago, people started calling musical recordings music, and then they started selling them. They made wax cylinders, tapes, cds, and digital downloads. They even made vinyl records into beautiful visual art objects that you can collect, look at, and enjoy. They did it for a good reason. They wanted a world filled with music. 

The problem is, somewhere along the way, music recordings became a widget. Something made to sell. A commodity. People selling the widgets started getting rich, and then they started competing over who could offer more widgets for less money, and pretty soon, we hit the bottom. Now you can listen to basically every recording ever made for $0. Goal not achieved.

I think of music recordings a little bit differently. To me, an album is a gift. An object that I created as a deep and joyful expression of my gratitude. Something lovingly crafted in order to thank you for paying to make my work possible. When you buy my records you’re not paying for music, you’re paying for a musician. The record is just a memento. What you’re paying for is….me.

So here is my invitation to you:

Stop paying for music and start paying for musicians.

Will you?

If a beautiful thank you present is up your alley, you can pre-order the vinyl version of “It Was Always Time”,  with striking artwork designed by Matti Nives. I hope when you receive it, you will feel how grateful I am that you helped pay to make my daily work possible.

Pre-Order “It Was Always Time” on Vinyl

For those of you who are not vinyl people, I’ve got something new. Starting today, you can sign up to be a paid subscriber to my Substack. I’ve set it up to cost $30/year, which is about the price of a record with shipping. You’ll still be able to listen to the new album for free on your favorite streaming services, but at the same time, you’ll know you’re paying for me, the musician to keep existing. I will be deeply grateful. If that sounds nice to you, you can do it right here:

Subscribe on Substack for $30/yr

Either way, if you find yourself receiving this email, it is probably because I met you at a show, which means you’re already part of the community of thousands of people who have paid to make my life as a musician possible. Thank you!

Here are some upcoming shows:

TONIGHT! (September 17) – Solo at Artifact Sound Series in Brooklyn NY 
w/Tatsuya Nakatani & Kirin McElwain + Alex Koi Duo

October 8 – Duo with Berke Can Özcan at Nublu in New York NY 
PLAYING THE NEW RECORD w/Adnata Ensemble & Jason Nazary Solo

October 23 – Duo with Nora Stanley at Three’s Brewing in Brooklyn NY
w/Madison Greenstone + Matthew Ryals Duo

November 9 – Twin Rocks Band at Borusan Music House in Istanbul TR 
This band includes Berke Can Özcan and Arve Henriksen and is in the same sound world as our new record

November 29 – Duo with Lau Nau at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki FI
w/Superposition 1+2+3

November 30 – Duo with Berke Can Özcan at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki FI
PLAYING THE NEW RECORD

More soon!
Jonah