Miles Davis and John Coltrane: now available at Urban Outfitters.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. The best selling jazz album in history (and a great make out album). Photo by Tim Tamashiro at Urban Outfitters, Calgary, Dec. 2, 2011

The greatest thing happened to me this afternoon when I entered a little store that you may have heard of called Urban Outfitters. In this sheik, hip paradise for young urban fashion buyers... I found jazz.

Yes, I found jazz! Amongst the sea of young adolescent and stylish young people wearing toques and tights I found vinyl LPs of A Love Supreme from John Coltrane and Kind of Blue from Miles Davis. A little tiny gleam of hope sparked in my heart that jazz may be finding a new audience.

Urban Outfitters is a shop for the outer edge of cool. Sure it has plenty of plaid for sale and clothing that would never fit or even be appropriate for a guy like me. But in addition to clothing that would look good on my teenage children Urban Outfitters also has a vast array of quirky books, writing supplies, creative supplies, cameras (film cameras no less), strange party accoutrements and mustache kits. It really is a cool place… especially because they also carry to the most iconic jazz recordings in history… on vinyl! How cool is that? Very cool in my opinion.

So for those of you who are new to jazz, like those young people who are shopping at Urban Outfitters, I just wanted to say that this store has jazz right. If you're wanting to get into jazz then a great place to start would be with those 2 iconic recordings from Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Even if you don't have an actual turntable or what we used to call a record player, use some of your iTunes money you get for Christmas this year and by those 2 albums to get you started down the incredibly fascinating world of jazz.

You'll be cooler than the rest of the kids… because you know who "Miles" and "Trane" are. In fact, you might even be cooler for the rest your life just because you own these albums. Jazz is cooler than you think.

Thinky, Drinky and Slinky: the 3 kinds of jazz.

There has been a very interesting study released recently that indicates precisely what kind of people make up the Jazz audience. It's called the “Jazz Audience Initiative” and it's a study that has collected information from 19 different Jazz organizations throughout the US. These national research partners included Jazz St. Louis, Jazz At Lincoln Center., San Francisco Jazz, Chicago Department of cultural affairs and a consortium of 13 University jazz presenters with ticket buyers.

Looking through the key findings of the Jazz Audience Initiative study it becomes very apparent that what we might have thought a jazz audience was comprised of is not actually the case. Most surprisingly only 14% of a jazz audience is comprised of jazz musicians. Only 14%!? That was shocking!

Another group of the jazz audience is a group identified as “jazz omnivores”. These are essentially jazz fans who are not necessarily musicians but primarily listen to and support jazz music. The combined total of jazz's audience in terms of musicians and jazz omnivores only equals 31% of the total audience. That means 69% of jazz's audience is comprised of who?

It turns out that the remaining 69% might best be described as dabblers. This 69% of the jazz audience may have a mainstream music such as Michael Buble, Diana Krall or Rod Stewart in their music collection but have virtually no understanding of iconic jazz artists or new and up-and-coming jazz artists such as Miles Davis or Emilie Claire-Barlow. So it appears that the 69% dabblers are consuming jazz for different reasons than the jazz musicians and jazz omnivores. Jazz musicians/omnivores may be consuming jazz as part of their intellectual, professional or educational pursuits while the dabblers are probably utilizing jazz as an experience.

Thinking about this fact has brought me to come up with a simple check system that can help the 69% understand jazz better.

There are 3 kinds of jazz:

1. Thinky jazz

This jazz may be challenging to listen to. It may be incredibly clever and difficult to play as well. It has all the hallmarks of ingenuity, dexterity, complexity and virtuosity but may not appeal to an audience outside of jazz musicians or jazz omnivores. In a concert setting, Thinky jazz will required the audience to listen and limit  conversation so that the musicians on stage or on the recording can showcase their extraordinary abilities.

2. Drinky jazz

Drinky jazz is fun/toetapping jazz. It has a celebratory tone to it. Drinky jazz is music that you might associate to nightclubs, martinis, laughter and conversation. It's fun to have this kind of music as part of a party or a night out on the town. This kind of jazz may be the type of experience most dabblers would look for when seeking out a jazz experience.

3. Slinky jazz

Slinky jazz is subdued/quiet jazz. This is the kind of jazzy you may listen to as a part of a quiet dinner party, romantic evening or with candlelight and champagne. Slinky jazz is music that might be associated with background music.

This handy checklist may help the audience understand what kind of jazz they might expect in any live jazz situation.

 The goal of this checklist is to help different audiences understand more about jazz. Jazz musicians and jazz omnivores may be primarily interested in Thinky jazz while the remaining 69% of the jazz audience might be more inclined to take in Drinky jazz and/or Slinky jazz. This is only a theory but I'm certainly willing to bet that the jazz audience is going to better understand what their in store for if this checklist is put into practice.  Go ahead and make up some checklists of your own with these 3 categories and post them at your next gig. The audience will act accordingly.

Above all, the jazz audience needs to grow. Jazz musicians and supporters of jazz need to understand that audience development is the number one priority for the survival of jazz. Without growing the jazz audience it will become increasingly difficult to celebrate or resuscitate this incredible music. There is a lot of joy in the jazz. We just have to embrace the fact that we have to help the rest of the world love it as much as we do.

It should be noted however that jazz artists and jazz omnivores should be wary about criticizing the 69% dabblers. Being critical of a large percentage of the jazz audience may be deterring growth in the jazz audience.  Jazz has the answer to its own predicament... in other words, jazz can solve its own problems.  But how?

Simple. Have it both ways.

Maybe Duke Ellington said it best when he said, “Jazz is music, swing is business.”  The great thing about jazz musicians is that they can do it all. They can play extraordinary and challenging jazz that they enjoy immensely yet they are also extremely well-equipped to perform on a regular basis for the 69% dabblers… if there egos could just get out of their way.

Now... let's see if this checklist idea works. Check out the video below after the checklist:

  

Around the world in five gigs.

I've been looking for some jazz clubs to perform at around the world. The criteria that I am looking for includes intimate, interactive, “looks like a fun place”, and it has to serve booze. It's a bonus if the joint serves really good food. That's my criteria… I'm sticking to it.

I've always been fascinated with jazz clubs and New York City, Chicago and Paris… I've even been fascinated with a couple of jazz joints in London England. So over the past few months I've been sniffing around trying to find my top 5 jazz clubs that I would like to perform at. I've come up with this short list of jazz stages that I am making part of my mission to perform on in the next 5 years.

Now, I know I don't perform that often but I've been wondering if maybe what I've been missing is the adventure of jazz. Jazz can take you anywhere in the world so I guess I better get out there and do some more gigs, meet some more people and put my money where my mouth is. As I've said many times before, “we are all in the proof business”. Like anyone, I'm going to have to prove that I have the chops to perform on these incredible stages for audiences who are looking for extraordinary talent.

Here's a list of the 5 jazz clubs I intend to perform at:

1. Smoke jazz and supper club, New York City

This tiny little jazz club only has room for 50 people. It sounds small, but has a big reputation. Trip advisor describes it as “Manhattan's most distinguished jazz venue with an addition very uncommon to jazz clubs–great food.”

I like the idea of such an intimate place where you can see the customers eyes. Nothing is better in my opinion than a delicious dinner, fun friends, great wine and an evening of fun jazz. And from what looks like, Smoke jazz and supper club is a place where all that is readily available.

2. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, Seattle, Washington

Look at how beautiful this place is!!

Jazz Alley is a beautiful restaurant jazz club/drinking establishment where legendary jazz artists such as Chick Corea play at. This is a supper club with incredible sightlines, great food, superb sound and a reputation second to none.

I personally love that this club is in Seattle where Quincy Jones and Ray Charles got their start so many years ago. This jazz venue is probably one of the most beautiful performance spaces/eating establishments in the world. In fact, the Seattle Times calls Jazz Alley: “a world-class jazz club where music and food, musicians and audience garnered equal respect.” It's always great to see that the audience is included as part of the reason why a jazz club has earned respect.

3. Body and Soul, Tokyo, Japan

There is a funny little jazz club in Tokyo called Body and Soul. It's been open since 1974 and it looks like a place that is community jazz club that has mostly Japanese jazzers but it looks like they sing in English. It's considered a large jazz club with capacity for around 50 to 75 patrons. I guess in Japan that's big!

Now I've never been to Japan, so don't really know what to expect. I am taking some Japanese lessons out of respect in case I do go to Japan someday (which I will) but all my best jokes are in English… and I wonder how they will translate?

I would say that the Blue Note jazz club in Tokyo would be another place that I would like to play at but let's be realistic… I ain't Blue Note material!

4. Le Baiser Sale, Paris, France

A friend I met in the summer told me up about this place in Paris. He said it's the place to go if you want to go experienced jazz in a relaxed setting in Paris. Sounds good to me! Upon further research I learned that this venue is open all sorts of jazz including world, fusion, experimental and even evenings of jazz standards.

This place looks like somewhere Toulouse-Lautrec would have come out at in Paris. There's neon, wooden chairs and that orangey kind of light that makes everything look warm. Pictures of snazzy/jazzy performers hang on the walls and there's a feeling of history combined with fun. And you know how I am one that comes to combining fun with jazz… the more the better.

5. Pizza Express jazz club, London, England

The 5th place that I would like to play at is a place that might not sound like a jazz venue. It might sound like a local pizza joint… because it is. Pizza Express is a restaurant chain that puts its money where its talent is. On its website, it says: “Pizza Express is been championing a live music on the high street for 40 years with some of the most important live music venues in the country…”

Jamie Cullum got his start ten years ago playing at Pizza Express locations throughout London when he would get paid 50 pounds and a free pizza. Now Jamie is an international jazz superstar, has a record deal and hangs out with Clint Eastwood of all people on a regular basis (Clint is a big jazz fan if you don't didn't already and his son Kyle often plays with Jamie).

Pizza express jazz club in London, England… save a spot for yours truly in the years to come! I'll be there someday soon and how do I know that will happen? Because the difference between a wish and reality is doing the work to achieve it!

The Beautiful Shift.

Steve Jobs was a man with an incredible ability to make things simple and have them mattered to us. He was a different. In fact, it was Apple that coined the phrase “Think Different”. The iPhone, iPad and iPod are all devices that were beautifully made and simple to use. Even my dad has an iPad and he's eighty eight years old. It took him about five minutes to learn how to use it so how's that for an example of simple to use?

But in order for my dad to even consider touching an iPad he had to make a small shift that took him from "I can't use a computer" to "I can use a computer". When you think about it, all he did was get rid of one “t” and that was a beautiful shift for him because now he enjoys his news, games and snooping on the internet every day. It helps him pass the time which is his biggest challenge but the shift from "can't" to "can" was up to him.

My Beautiful Shift

My Beautiful Shift came one day in high school. From that day on, life felt like 20,000 volts of freedom, responsibility, expression and possibilities were passing right through me. It was exhilarating. Each day was met with an endless current of joy and anticipation because there was no possible way I could make a mistake or find defeat. Every moment was just as electric as the next. I was free to do anything. I could be anything. I made the choice to shift.

Choice. The Beautiful Shift is so incredibly simple anyone could do it. The results from the shift were unlike anything you could imagine. It was like getting super powers. It took me from "vicTim" to simply being "Tim". It made me who I am today.

I'm a different. I still feel like everyday has endless potential. It still feels like I can do anything or be anything but now I understand what "anything" means for me. I won't be a CEO of a powerful oil company because it's not who I am. I won't be an entrepreneur or an accountant. I'll never be a millionaire because of an invention I created. I won't even be an international jazz singer because I know that would mean time, energy and commitments away from my family and they are just way too important to me. They are my "why".

So I still get to feel that 20,000 volts of electricity surging through me everyday because I'm a different who is a radio host / jazz singer / ukulele playin' / fingerstache wearin' / lover of lunch / speaker / dog lovin' / dad and husband. Will I change the world? You bet I will.

So, with that in mind, what is The Beautiful Shift and how can you experience it yourself?

Here's your answer:

The Beautiful Shift is the choice you make from "Nobody likes me" to "Nobody's like me". Just move the “s”. It’s that easy but it's a huge shift.

Maybe that’s why the letter “S” is on Superman’s chest?

So here’s to you. You’re going to change the world because when you make The Beautiful Shift you’ll be in great company. For those of you who do experience The Beautiful Shift... this video is for you.

You're Weird!

There’s no doubt about it. You’re weird!

That person sitting next to you is weird too. Your spouse... weird. Your kids... weird. If you don’t have kids yet just know that they are going to be really weird. They are going to smell weird sometimes too.

Don’t worry about being weird because everybody is weird. Think about it: weird is really who you are. We all have our own little weirdnesses. I have a fingerstache. I have a friend who licks his dinner plate. My wife likes to hold my feet with her feet when we are in bed. Everybody is weird but doesn’t that make us who we are?

Think about your family and friends. How about your co-workers? They are all really weird when you think about it... but because you’re around them all the time they seem normal don’t they?

You’re weird. He’s weird. She’s weird. That guy on the street you passed on the way to the office is weird (the bum and the banker) and all your neighbors are weird too. So why do we automatically think that weird is bad?

Here’s the thing: the world tells us to fit in. Don’t stand out from the crowd... be part of the crowd. If you don’t draw attention to yourself then you won’t be put in a position to lead. Yes, it’s the REALLY WEIRD ONES that lead so in other words your boss is weirder than you are. Go ahead... tell your boss that they are weird.

Now that you’re back (and you’ve explained yourself to save your job) let’s get back to the question “why is weird such a bad thing?”  

Being weird is part of who everyone is. Chances are your weirdness helps you pay the bills. Yes... your weirdness helps pay your bills. I’m no accountant but I’m thankful that there are those weirdos out there because they help me do things that I’m not geared to do. Garbage men are weird  (thank you for your weird acceptance to pick up my garbage). Engineers are weird (thank you for knowing how to do weird math things so my family and I don’t collapse on that bridge we are driving on). Politicians are weird too (‘nuff said).

But all your little weirdnesses are part of who you are. We like them! Life would be so boring with out you and your weirdness. Your family loves you because of your weirdnesses... and sometimes they hate you for them too but you are who you are... and your weirdy-ness is nobodies problem but yours.

That’s the best thing about being weird: your “weird” is exclusively YOURS. If other people have a problem with you being weird then it’s THEIR PROBLEM, not yours. How cool is that? Nobody else gets to have a say in your weirdness so if anyone else has issues with you then it’s up to them to fix it for themselves because you get to be you... so get over it. The sooner people figure this out the easier life becomes...  for them.

Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Pierre Trudeau, Wayne Gretzky, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Elvis are weirdos too. They don’t conform... they lead. They make the world interesting. So do you.

Everything and everyone is weird. There is no normal. Sure you have a house and a car and clothes and shoes and you read books and have a cell phone and and and... but those don’t make you normal. They make you special. They make you weird. If you like to eat ice cream off a spoon slowly you’re weird. If you like to tuck love notes into strangers pockets then you’re weird. If you play ringette instead of hockey... you’re weird.

Your world is getting exactly what it needs from you being as weird as you are. Your friends, family and co-workers are getting exactly what they need from you... from YOU. Why would you deny them that? I love seeing my friend lick his plate... I can picture it now and it makes me smile. Sure my wife loves to hold my toes with her toes when we lay in bed... that will be one thing that I will miss most about her if she dies before I do... and if I die before her her feet will stay cold and she will think of me.

So embrace the fact that you are weird. Wear your weirdness like a gold medal. You’re weird and that’s exactly what makes you so special.