Grammy adds to jazz label’s legacy
The Daily Mail
Jan. 14, 2009

ATHENS — Last Sunday, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for their live recording of “Monday Night at the Village Vanguard.”

The album was produced by Athens resident Tom Bellino and his Catskill-based record label, Planet Arts.

Local artist Gary Bielskie created the design and packaging for the double CD.

Bellino did not attend the ceremony, which took place nearly a week before the televised award show. Bass trombonist Douglas Purviance accepted the award in California while the rest of the orchestra performed once again at the Village Vanguard in New York.

Although every award nomination is exciting, Bellino said, and Slide Hampton received a Grammy in 2005 for an arrangement of “Past Present and Future,” which the band played, this year’s win was particularly special.

“It is for the band and for the legacy of the Village Vanguard,” he said.

He hopes the recognition that comes with winning the award will help the company advance current projects and expand over the next year.

Federal and state funding for arts programs and companies will be dramatically lower this year than in years past, he said.

He does not expect to receive any money from the State Council on the Arts.

Nevertheless, Planet Arts will continue to showcase new and established artists who create music across a wide musical spectrum.

In the past, Bellino has brought artists to perform at the Athens Cultural Center, and he hopes to bring more groups to Greene County this year.

The region — and Athens — he said, is very attractive to musicians from New York City.

“They love doing gigs close to home,” he said.

While they are in town, performers get the added perk of tasting pasta made by Bellino’s wife at their home in the Limestreet area of Athens.

Bellino has a studio on the property, where he is able to do a lot of work. He said technological advances over the last few years have made conducting business overseas easy.

“I can e-mail my manufacturer and have them send something to Spain,” he said.

Bellino and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra have a greater presence around the globe that reaches farther than simply selling music. Planet Arts works on projects that should be backed but may be too esoteric to interest more mainstream producers, he said.

Bellino scored a digital story project designed to educate people about health and safety issues surrounding the spread of HIV in Africa. This project was actually launched by a group of friends who commute together from the region to New York City on an Amtrak train.

The group visited villages collecting stories from children. Each section of the project ended on a positive note, he said.

“It was an important thing to do,” he said.

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has participated in many cultural diplomacy excursions with the United States Department of State.

They recently held workshop with students at the Cairo Conservatory, in Egypt, where at first, students resisted joining the group.

“All the kids sat there,” Bellino said, mimicking a look of fear, “one brave soul got up to play the drums.”

Then, he said, other students joined the ensemble.

The orchestra is planning a trip to Tunisa to work with musicians there.

Closer to home, Bellino has a history of working with schools in New York City to develop music programs. Planet Arts works with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which connects people with a shared American cultural heritage.

Planet Arts has developed a composition and songwriting workshop that integrates music and a number of other subjects taught in schools.

Bellino also worked with Sony/BMG to create a scholarship.

Bellino knows that musical education does not end when a student leaves school.

The Planet Arts Open MIC, which stands for Music Industry Connection, project helps artists understand how to navigate the changing industry.

With Internet clients that allow customers to buy one song at a time, as opposed to an entire CD, music production cannot just be about creating records. He said the biggest business in the music industry is actually in television and film. Artists who are featured in hit shows and movies automatically reach a huge potential market.

Artists must tap into multiple revenue streams, he said.

He advises artists to promote themselves and their music on networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

“You have to be there,” he said.

He said he has also seen a trend of smaller musical groups are springing up and filling any gap left by larger musical groups.

Planet Arts, too, is looking to venture into new avenues.

Although it is known for working with jazz artists, the company has begun working with a new rock band located in Albany.

“The nature of the beast now is you have to diversify, you have to be creative, you have you look a few years down the road,” he said.