Provincetown.com
Bart Weisman at Muir Music
Interview with Bart
Weisman
The Man Behind the Provincetown jazz Festival
By Laura Shabott
July 25th, 2010
A busy man by anyoneŐs definition,
Bart Weisman agreed to meet me at Muir Music to talk about the 6th Annual
Provincetown Jazz Festival August 13th-14th at the Provincetown High School.
His band is a fixture on the Cape, with three weekly gigs, two festivals, and
concerts at PAAM. I was curious to meet this mover and shaker of a drummer and
producer.
Q: How did you develop such a passion
for Jazz?
A: I started listening to Jazz and
playing the drums when I was 13. In college, I performed with masters like Phil
Woods and Clark Terry. Then, I joined the Air Force Band and performed with a
jazz quartet called the Diplomats.
Q: What kind of jazz does your group
play?
A: My wife, artist Amy Heller, calls
it Ňnot Jammy JazzÓ. ItŐs straight ahead standards that appeal to a wide
audience.
Q. Why did you pick Provincetown for
your festival?
A: We decided to move here seven
years ago from Washington DC. ProvincetownŐs a beautiful place to have a
festival with its rich history in the arts, music and theater. I started the
Jazz Festival in 2005 so that concert attendees could see a number of musicians
in a few days. For the past five years, musicians from the United States,
United Kingdom and Europe have performed to an international audience.
Paul Sanchez from New Orleans
Q: You have quite a following; a
thousand strong on the Cape alone! And people come from all over for the
festival. How do you do it?
A: I play only on the Cape and bring
the worldŐs greats, like New Orleans Paul Sanchez, here for the festival.
People plan their vacations around this festival; creating a group that comes
annually to be with us.
Q. A portion of the proceeds of this yearŐs
festival will be donated to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. How did you get
involved with their community?
A: Bethany Bultman., founder of the
clinic, splits her time between Provincetown and New Orleans. Jazz musicians
are like a family and we rally to help our own. The Provincetown Jazz Festival
donates a portion of the proceeds to a worthy cause. This year, we picked the
New Orleans Musicians Clinic. I never could have imagined the massive oil spill
in the Gulf, so there is more need than ever to support New Orleans.
Q: Is this the first year that a
record label like Threadhead is participating?
A: Yes, and we are very excited to
have them join us! Bethany introduced me to Threadhead Records and they
suggested bringing up Paul Sanchez from New Orleans. It is great that three
non-profits from coast-to-coast (Provincetown Jazz Festival, New Orleans
Musicians Clinic and Threadhead Records, based in Los Angeles) work together.
Q: Muir Music is very supportive of
you.
A: Owner Nancy Yeaw loves to promote
local talent. She sells tickets to the festival and sells my CDŐs. ItŐs going
to be an amazing festival.