Hey, This Is Nice! (On Jazz Polls)
I am under no illusions that the Down Beat Critics Poll is an absolutely objective affair where artistic merit is the only factor (how would you even do that?)—so I absolutely am not getting the idea that I am in the "top" (whatever that means) 20 non-famous ("jazz famous," that is) trumpeters out there (since I can think of several even within a few square miles of here who regularly kick my butt all over the bandstand), but still—this is nice!
What I take it to mean is that at least a few people (somewhere between 5 and 27) who know this music very well remembered who I am, and that they enjoyed my playing, when filling out their polls—which in this day of hundreds of jazz records released every month is not something I take for granted.
However, I have to say that I'm pretty sure two very big factors contributing to my cracking this list for the first time were:
I released two albums in two years; and
I hired a very good publicist to promote them.
I know there are many outstanding trumpeters out there who either didn't release as frequently, or weren't able to hire someone to bug reviewers to seek them out in the deluge, and they're at a disadvantage. The whole publicity discussion is one for another time, but I've made my peace with the fact that even though a good publicist can encourage a reviewer to dig through his or her overflowing inbox and give a particular album a spin, it doesn't guarantee the reviewer will like it. (As a few reviews I could've done without can demonstrate.)
That said, I'm absolutely glad the critics remembered me (even though my last record came out way back in February—practically the stone age!), and I'm especially glad to see so many deserving friends, teachers & colleagues—Evan Francis! Dayna Stephens! Maria Schneider! Reggie Workman! Satoko Fujii! Donny McCaslin! Ben Goldberg! Howard Wiley! Kirk Knuffke! Jacob Garchik! Mike McGinnis!—showing up elsewhere in the poll. I hope we all get more gigs!
(P.S. For an interesting and very detailed breakdown on how one voter approached the ballot, read this.)