Artists

CREATIVE CONSULTING

The profound changes occurring in the music industry in recent years have created great challenges for all creative artists, especially jazz musicians. My decades of experience in the business as artist manager, booking and publishing agent, label executive, and record producer have given me an intimate knowledge of its workings and in particular the current prevailing  climate as it affects jazz artists.

Over the years I have tapped into this knowledge to support the careers of my management, booking, and publishing clients. Former and current clients include Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Ron Miles, Tin Hat Trio, Myra Melford, Dafnis Prieto, Yosvany Terry, and Edward Simon, and count among them a MacArthur Fellow, four Doris Duke Artist Award recipients, three Guggenheim Fellows, a Rome Prize recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist, and three Grammy Winners.

I am now making my expertise and resources available to the wider musician community on a more flexible basis and offer consultation services based on your individual needs in the following areas:

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Assess status, establish realistic goals, identify priorities, and create agenda. Identify suitable industry partners, e.g. record labels, publishers, licensees, managers, and booking agents.

BUSINESS
Advice on Recording & Performance Contracts, Publishing Administration, Licensing, Grants, Commissions.

MARKETING  
Help create effective Marketing Tools & Demo Material: Videos, One-sheets, Press Releases, etc.

RECORD PRODUCTION
Recording & Post Production Supervision (Discography)

SPECIAL PROJECTS
Advice on Special Projects, from Recordings and Soundtracks to staging Multi-Media Projects.

OUTREACH
Help design and formulate Master Classes, Workshops, and Community Outreach Activities.

COMPENSATION
My rates are reasonable and can be project-based or hourly, to best meet your needs. Brief initial exploratory discussion is gratis.

TESTIMONIALS

It has been a great honor to work with Hans Wendl for 20 years. Hans is a rare individual in that he has experience at the highest levels as a producer of some of the music’s seminal albums, as head of Gramavision Records, as an agent, and now as a leader in music licensing. Throughout his work in these different areas he has consistently been a strong advocate for music and musicians. Hans is creative, honest and visionary in his approach to working with artists. And because of his myriad experiences in music he can offer invaluable career advice to composers, performers, presenters, producers and label executives. —Ron Miles

Three things told me I needed to work with Hans Wendl: 1) he produced one of my all time favorite records, Peter Apfelbaums’s Luminous Charms, 2) his extensive work with and appreciation for guitarists, and 3) his storied history with great artists I did not get to work with, but who I neverthe-less feel a deep connection to: Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Dewey Redman. Working with Hans helped me focus on the values these artists represent, and the record we made, Actual Trio (Tzadik, 2015), is enriched by their spirits. That record was recorded in one day, but for every hour in the studio we spent fifteen hours listening, discussing, rehearsing, sequencing, and finding the story in the music. For me, that kind of collaborative work and achievement is the supreme reward of being an artist. —John Schott

Perhaps of most importance to me has been the complete ease of working with Hans Wendl. His reliability and fairness make life a lot less stressful, not to mention his extensive experience as artist manager, publishing agent, and record producer. He is absolutely dedicated to jazz and jazz musicians, and the Jazz Bakery has enjoyed working with the artists he represents for many years.
—Ruth Price President & Artistic Director, The Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles

I have been fortunate to know and work with Hans Wendl on various projects since the mid-1990s. In the past few years, he has been the producer for several recording sessions I’ve been on, including my most recent ensemble effort, Snowy Egret (Enja 2015). He has also given me invaluable artistic and production assistance for Language of Dreams, a mixed-media, evening-length work. In every instance, Hans has taken care of all the details: interfacing with studios, engineers and venues, sensitively providing constructive feedback during and after the sessions and handling post-production issues.  His enthusiasm and love for the music, as well as his years of experience working with artists in the music business, make him an ideal partner. —Myra Melford