The CEA Awards - Cincinnati's appreciation to tri-state musicians

Cincinnati has an impressive number of bands and groups, covering many genres, that perform all over the tri-state. In addition to bars and restaurants who feature live music, there are various events that take place providing musicians with more opportunity to increase their visibility and notoriety. Such events include Oktoberfest, MidPoint Music Festival, and The World Music Fest, to name a few.

Consider a day in the life of a musician or band: Trying to coordinate schedules with all the other members to nail down a consistent practice time. Finding a "loud-volume-friendly" place to practice (don't dare call it "noise"). Contacting venue owners and managers to secure gigs. And there's a lot more than this; not even mentioning (in some cases) supporting a family, and holding down a steady day job to keep the heat on. In most cases, the budgets for bands are low, so groups mostly rely on self-sufficiency when it comes to PR, marketing, and booking.

There is a love for the music, and how its received by the community that is a driving force in the efforts of a Musician. From the sound of the crowd when the first chord is played of a popular song, to them yelling for an encore after the last tune, the energy from the show reasonates within the mind of a Musician, thus continuing the love affair between band and audience.

Musicians and vocalists of all genres deserve to be recognized for their efforts. Their level of talent and expression of their art is too significant to oversee. Fortunately, Cincinnati has such a forum for this recognition: The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (The CEA's).

In its 13th year, this year consists of 104 nominees, across 19 categories. Cincinnati publication CityBeat seeks input from Music Writers, promoters, venue owners, and more to compile a list of nominees. The awards include the best in various genres, as well as 'Artist of the Year', 'Album of the Year', and 'New Artist of the Year'.

The Jazz Half hones in on the Jazz category, observing a very worthy list of nominees including:

- The Wade Baker Jazz Collaboration

- Dan Faehnle- The Faux Frenchmen

- Dan Karlsberg

- The Northside Jazz Ensemble

Click here to place your vote for every category. But hurry, the voting deadline is Monday, Nov. 9th. The awards ceremony will be held Sunday, Nov. 22nd at the Madison Theater. For more information on the CEA's, visit citybeat.com. Cheers!

The Examiner

In keeping with the Jazz Half's mission of broadening the presence of Jazz music in Cincinnati, I have recently joined a team of writers for The Examiner, a local insider publication source. I will be writing 3 to 5 articles each week covering various stories surrounding Jazz in the Queen City.

The Examiner is a division of the Clarity Media Group, and covers thousands of topics across hundreds of cities and towns throughout North America.

When you have a moment, please visit my Examiner article page - http://www.examiner.com/x-27554-Cincinnati-Jazz-Scene-Examiner . Mind you, there are only a few articles at this point (and soon to be more), but if you like what you read, please subscribe to my page by clicking the "Subscribe to Email" link then enter your email address. You will receive an alert whenever I publish a new article.

Last (and importantly), please spread the word - tell ALL your friends about the Jazz Half Examiner article page. Share the link, and let's work together to keep the community informed with Jazz news in Cincinnati!

Cheers!

The Wade Baker Jazz Collaboration CD Review

Dynamic Trumpeter Wade Baker is a "Man about Town" - tearing through the Cincinnati Jazz scene like a double-time, 16-bar solo. He's holding down steady performances all over the city, from The Redmoor in Mt. Lookout, to The Cincy Grill in Greenhills, to Mr. Pitiful's downtown and more.

On October 17th, Wade Baker officially released his first CD from the group of his namesake, The Wade Baker Jazz Collaboration. The CD was recorded live at The Redmoor, and showcases the work of Wade on Trumpet, Ben Walkenhauer on Tenor, Brandon Meeks on Bass, Andrew Tooms on Piano, and Anthony “T” Lee on Drums. The CD predominantly consists of Wade’s original compositions. The craft and sequence of the tunes meticulously demonstrate the capabilities of every musician.

The review on Wade's debut CD was written by the Jazz Half in The Examiner. Click here to read the review. Cheers!

- jh