Tag Archives: Dawoud Kringle

Editorial: Songtradr Takes Control of Bandcamp

Songtradr Takes Control of Bandcamp

An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle

In 2007, a new musician’s service called Bandcamp began. This was a revolutionary service that allowed musicians to release digital music. Since its founding, Bandcamp provided a place where musicians can cultivate loyal fan communities and receive 82% of every transaction (compare this to Spotify and other streaming services, which pay a fraction of a cent per stream).

Bandcamp was sold to Epic Games in March 2022. Many artists, music lovers, and industry groups were concerned that a uniquely artist-centric platform might change for the worse. Epic managed to keep Bandcamp operational.

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Carla Bley

RIP: MFM Salutes the Memory of Legendary Jazz Lady Carla Bley

Text by Daowud Kringle

Pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer Carla Bley’s death was confirmed by her longtime partner, collaborator, and MFM member, Steve Swallow.

Born Lovella May Borg in 1936 in Oakland, California, Bley was introduced to the piano at the age of three. She left school at 14 and began her musical journey playing piano in Bay Area jazz clubs. At 17, she moved to New York and worked for a short time at the iconic jazz club Birdland. She met pianist Paul Bley, who encouraged her to start composing. She toured with him under the name Karen Borg before changing her name in 1957 to Carla Borg. She married Bley and took his name the same year. They divorced in 1967, but she continued to use the surname in a professional capacity.

Bley would become known as a composer. Some of the musicians who’d recorded Bley’s compositions included George Russel, Jimmy Giuffre, and Paul Bley (whose album Barrage consisted entirely of her compositions).

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Peter Grant: an Historical Retrospective Part 2

Three Managers: an Historical Retrospective. Part 2: Peter Grant 

By Dawoud Kringle

Peter Grant was perhaps the quintessential artist manager of his era. The legendary manager was equal parts savvy businessman, loyal caretaker, and protector for his clients and friends, as well as fearsome swashbuckling rock & roll behemoth (he stood 6’5” and weighed more than 300 pounds) who nobody in their right mind would ever cross.

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Brian Epstein

Brian Epstein: an Historical Retrospective Part

Three Managers: an Historical Retrospective. Part 1: Brian Epstein

By Dawoud Kringle

The artist managers presented in this three-part series are Brian Epstein, Peter Grant, and Michael Jeffrey. The 60s and 70s were a time of volatile transformations in the music business. A retrospective of these three artist managers from this period can be instructive.

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