Un bel articolo pubblicato sul sito del Wall Street Journal, racconta come le signore Laurie Pepper, Sue Mingus, Maxine Gordon, Francine Bellson, mogli di quattro leggendari jazzisti deceduti, lottino e cerchino di investire per mantenere viva l'eredità ed il valore commerciale delle opere dei loro mariti, a differenza di tante altre mogli che non possiedono l'energia, le competenze o le capacità imprenditoriali per intraprendere una simile attività.
Ecco un estratto dell'articolo:
High on alcohol and drugs in 1981, alto saxophonist Art Pepper flew through a red light in Van Nuys, Calif., slamming his car into the one in front of him and sending his head through the windshield. Months later, as Pepper recovered from his injuries, his shaken wife, Laurie, insisted they have a talk.
Fearful that her husband's erratic behavior could expose the couple to a ruinous negligence suit, she shared with the musician their accountant's advice: By transferring ownership of the saxophonist's works and contracts into Arthur Pepper Music Inc., they could shield those intellectual assets from any third-party claims. Her husband agreed.
In the years since Art Pepper's death in 1982, Laurie Pepper has kept her husband's name and music alive world-wide while earning income from his works. She took music-business and music-law courses at UCLA, copyrighted Pepper's compositions, networked by email with global fans, and licensed his recordings.
In 2006, she started Widow's Taste, a record label that just released its fifth album of Art Pepper's music—"The Stuttgart Concert"—a double-CD set of the saxophonist's 1981 live performance in Germany.
In the jazz world, Mrs. Pepper's efforts are the exception rather than the rule. Aside from Sue Mingus, Maxine Gordon, Francine Bellson and a handful of other enterprising widows, most spouses of deceased jazz greats fail to leverage their husbands' legacies.
"Without an advocate in the marketplace, the commercial value of a jazz artist's name slips away," says Peter Shukat, an entertainment lawyer with Shukat Arrow Hafer Weber & Herbsman in New York. The firm represents the estates of eight deceased entertainers, including John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Nina Simone.
To be fair, many older jazz widows do not have the energy, expertise or entrepreneurial skills to take on such a venture. "Others don't have the financial means or help from family members," says Mrs. Mingus. "Or they may have better things to do with their time."
After her bassist husband's death in 1979, Mrs. Mingus founded three different repertory ensembles that routinely perform his music. She also produces their concerts and recordings on her Sue Mingus Music label, which just released "The Mingus Big Band: Live at the Jazz Standard." There are music publishing ventures and even a national high-school competition. "To support all of this, our nonprofit foundation constantly applies for grants," says Mrs. Mingus.
Maxine Gordon started planning years before husband Dexter's death in 1990. She had been the tenor saxophonist's personal manager since the mid-1970s. "After Dexter's appearance in the film 'Round Midnight' in 1986 and his Oscar nomination, I knew he was in a different royalty league," she said.
So did Dexter. He wrote Mrs. Gordon a 10-page checklist of suggestions to capitalize on his works and preserve his name and reputation. "Playing a helpless, destitute musician in 'Round Midnight' had a profound effect on him," she said. "Dexter said to me, 'I don't want my music ripped off or my life forgotten.'"
Years before the couple began living together in 1983, Dexter had founded Dex Music Co., which owned his music publishing rights. After the couple married in 1988, they held formal meetings every Friday at 9 a.m. over breakfast. "While Dexter had his two 3-minute eggs and black coffee, we talked only about business," Mrs. Gordon said. "Then I'd bring in our lawyer for implementation."
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Ecco un estratto dell'articolo:
High on alcohol and drugs in 1981, alto saxophonist Art Pepper flew through a red light in Van Nuys, Calif., slamming his car into the one in front of him and sending his head through the windshield. Months later, as Pepper recovered from his injuries, his shaken wife, Laurie, insisted they have a talk.
Fearful that her husband's erratic behavior could expose the couple to a ruinous negligence suit, she shared with the musician their accountant's advice: By transferring ownership of the saxophonist's works and contracts into Arthur Pepper Music Inc., they could shield those intellectual assets from any third-party claims. Her husband agreed.
In the years since Art Pepper's death in 1982, Laurie Pepper has kept her husband's name and music alive world-wide while earning income from his works. She took music-business and music-law courses at UCLA, copyrighted Pepper's compositions, networked by email with global fans, and licensed his recordings.
In 2006, she started Widow's Taste, a record label that just released its fifth album of Art Pepper's music—"The Stuttgart Concert"—a double-CD set of the saxophonist's 1981 live performance in Germany.
In the jazz world, Mrs. Pepper's efforts are the exception rather than the rule. Aside from Sue Mingus, Maxine Gordon, Francine Bellson and a handful of other enterprising widows, most spouses of deceased jazz greats fail to leverage their husbands' legacies.
"Without an advocate in the marketplace, the commercial value of a jazz artist's name slips away," says Peter Shukat, an entertainment lawyer with Shukat Arrow Hafer Weber & Herbsman in New York. The firm represents the estates of eight deceased entertainers, including John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Nina Simone.
To be fair, many older jazz widows do not have the energy, expertise or entrepreneurial skills to take on such a venture. "Others don't have the financial means or help from family members," says Mrs. Mingus. "Or they may have better things to do with their time."
After her bassist husband's death in 1979, Mrs. Mingus founded three different repertory ensembles that routinely perform his music. She also produces their concerts and recordings on her Sue Mingus Music label, which just released "The Mingus Big Band: Live at the Jazz Standard." There are music publishing ventures and even a national high-school competition. "To support all of this, our nonprofit foundation constantly applies for grants," says Mrs. Mingus.
Maxine Gordon started planning years before husband Dexter's death in 1990. She had been the tenor saxophonist's personal manager since the mid-1970s. "After Dexter's appearance in the film 'Round Midnight' in 1986 and his Oscar nomination, I knew he was in a different royalty league," she said.
So did Dexter. He wrote Mrs. Gordon a 10-page checklist of suggestions to capitalize on his works and preserve his name and reputation. "Playing a helpless, destitute musician in 'Round Midnight' had a profound effect on him," she said. "Dexter said to me, 'I don't want my music ripped off or my life forgotten.'"
Years before the couple began living together in 1983, Dexter had founded Dex Music Co., which owned his music publishing rights. After the couple married in 1988, they held formal meetings every Friday at 9 a.m. over breakfast. "While Dexter had his two 3-minute eggs and black coffee, we talked only about business," Mrs. Gordon said. "Then I'd bring in our lawyer for implementation."
Per leggere il resto dell'articolo visita questo indirizzo.
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