Ellery Eskelin wrote: Just for the record, Chamber Music America's Jazz Grant (Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project - New Works: Creation and Presentation) does NOT do this. They did it the first year but have since stopped doing so. That's really dumb for so many reasons, but in this regard CMA an exception to nearly every other funding agency in the field. Also, to be eligible to apply one must be a Chamber Music America member at the organization level which costs about $120. That's a pretty stiff application fee for many people. Also pretty dumb for a program that should be a kind of outreach to a new constituency for them, though I sort of understand why it makes sense to them for the categories of support for the "traditional" chamber groups they've served in the past. They should at least waive the membership fee for bands that haven't dealt with them previously. My experience on both sides of this (having sat on panels and having been an applicant) is that it's a pretty brutal process as far as music goes. It's great for the folks who've gotten one and it's good for the audience who gets to experience new works that otherwise might not get produced, but it's kind of indicative of the inherent unfairness of our capitalist system with respect to the arts that it takes something barely more effective than a lottery to try and remedy it. I'm not sure the grant process is much more brutal than getting club gigs or record contracts, & I certainly don't think of it as any kind of remedy to those situations. It's just another option that's somewhat more clearly public and, because in most instances, the panel makeup changes periodically, more open to some kinds of vagaries that I guess you're referring to when you use the word "lottery." As I tried to be clear earlier, I don't think any funding option, whether it's the slightly more business-related model of gigs and record companies, or some kind of grant application, is going to work for everyone and for many artists, unfortunately, none of them will work very well at all. As I also tried to be clear earlier, I don't think it's reasonable to expect otherwise. It may be the case that everyone has the right to express themselves, but that doesn't mean that any one else is obligated to buy a particular self-expression. -- Herb Levy P O Box 9369 Fort Worth, TX 76147 herb@eskimo.com