Last updated on February 14, 2023

Read Bill Anschell humorous story Careers in Jazz

People who enjoy — or can even tolerate — listening to jazz are outnumbered by the musicians who want to play it. For that reason, less than 1% of jazz artists are able to support themselves playing the music they love. How do the rest survive? That, and much more, in “Careers in Jazz,” a story that’s generated unanticipated controversy. Humorous or slanderous — you decide; thick skin required. With more than 40,000 reads and a long thread of impassioned responses, “Careers in Jazz” was the #1 most read story in 2009 on www.allabout jazz.com, the leading jazz website. It’s also been posted on countless other jazz sites and gone explosively viral via email. 2012 update: “Careers in Jazz” has now topped 100,000 reads on allaboutjazz.com and was the centerpiece of a story that the Wall Street Journal ran both online and in print.

Seattle native Bill Anschell returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, composing, and performing across the country and around the world.