We were lucky to catch up with Dennis Lichtman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dennis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

After graduating from conservatory with a music degree, I found myself in dire need of a job. I had very few gigs performing, and it turns out they don’t just give out “music jobs” to anyone with a degree! After applying for every type of job imaginable, I found myself working as an entry-level assistant for a small law firm in my hometown near Boston. My bosses were very kind, the work was easy, and I was good at it. It was supposed to be a one-year position, but as the year came to an end the partners offered me a big raise and a promotion – a golden ticket to an easy life. The offer was enticing, but I wasn’t ready to give up the music dream yet. I politely declined, packed up my apartment, and moved to New York City with no plan, no job, no prospects, and meager savings. Flexible cater-waitering jobs fetched me enough money for rent (I already had a tuxedo left over from my college orchestra days), and I scrounged up whatever small music gigs I could find. I made the commitment to turn down ANY catering gig for ANY music gig – even if the catering job paid literally 10 times as much. As I honed my craft as a musician, more and more gig calls came my way, and eventually I was able to phase out the catering, though it took several years. The move to New York was the most stressful, humbling, and risky experience of my life, though I don’t for one second regret turning down the law firm’s job offer and uprooting myself to plunge into the unknown.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and composer with a focus on 20th century American roots music – early jazz, bluegrass, western swing, ragtime, etc. I perform, record, compose, and teach. My aim is to present high-quality music as a current, living, breathing, growing tradition, not a museum piece or a show-biz novelty. As a performer, I tour the world under my own name and as a member of several bands. I’ve appeared on TV shows such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Succession, The Plot Against America, Good Morning America, and more. My recording credits include 150+ albums, 11 of which have been my own projects. I assemble, organize, and contract live music performances for private and corporate events. Several week-long music camps/workshops hire me as an instructor throughout each year. And perhaps most importantly, for the past 16 years I have led a weekly Tuesday night jam session for early-era traditional jazz and swing at Mona’s Bar in New York City that has become a crucial hub, central meeting point, and “breeding ground” for musicians of all ages who are interested in this music.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

For every hour you see me on stage, there have been countless hours of practicing, composing, emails, phone calls, logistical organization, and/or travel. That’s what you pay for when you buy a ticket or an album or hire a band to play at your event or venue. And it gets more difficult all the time as the world becomes conditioned to placing less monetary value on music as the result of streaming platforms. To anyone who might think “well if it’s so hard, just go get a real job,” I would say this IS a real job. I play music and people pay me for it – that’s not the issue. But it’s important for people to realize that real work and struggle goes into this job for the sake of providing joy, pleasure, and community to others. It’s hard to put a dollar value on that the way you can put a dollar value on an item at the corner store, but I wish more people would think of music as having real value in their lives because I know in my heart that it does.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Creating and nurturing COMMUNITY. Music brings people together, and it always has and always will.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dennislichtman.com
• Instagram: @dennislichtman
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dennis.lichtman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/dennislichtman
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/MonasTuesdayJazz

Image Credits
both photos: credit Aidan Grant