I’m the manager, booking agent, and co-executive producer of Alex Nollan Music. My husband and I own a small business known as Nollan Keynote Concerts, and we as longtime residents of Memphis have been supporting the city’s jazz music community for many years. We have hosted house recitals for many prominent musicians, have championed the Memphis Jazz Workshop’s efforts since its start, and gathered various combos together at our house for rehearsals for their coming engagements.

On a regular basis, we have added our own personal funds to musicians’ honoraria if we felt that their compensation at a given venue was too low. Sometimes we have paid the full honorarium so that an extra musician could participate in a music event. Finally, we have fully funded the production, studio time, musicians’ fees, sound engineers’ fees, physical reproduction (artist design, liner notes, photography), and streaming services for two albums that featured nationally prominent musicians. We have found these projects fulfilling and important, for they contribute to the cultural life of Memphis, and document the creative journeys of the jazz musicians who have shared their talents on them.

Because we always seek the very best musical and sound talents for these albums, we often work with Grammy awardees and Grammy nominees. As a result, over the years a musical collective has formed in connection with pianist/ keyboardist Alex Nollan’s engagements and recording projects. Each album that we have produced and released has cost us between $20,000 and $25,000 in total. We have paid for them with our personal money, and have neither sought nor received any grant money.

Thus in this campaign we are asking for donations for the end costs for Alex Nollan’s third album __Humid Climate__. The album contains seven songs and features nine musicians besides Alex. Of the ten total performers, seven are from Tennessee and three are from the Gulf Coast (Alex has a relationship with jazz musicians of the Pensacola area).

The money collected will go directly to Memphis area businesses and two businesses outside the city that have done outstanding work for the first two albums. We have paid for production, rehearsals and recording, Alex’s travel and lodging in Pensacola, all musicians’ fees, and all studio fees. What we are requesting is some assistance with mastering, physical reproduction, design, and assorted costs associated with the final release of this major CD project.

We are committed to helping the arts grow and thrive in Memphis and beyond, and will be grateful for all donations made for the __Humid Climate__ release. No donation is too small! As an expression of our gratitude, all donations of over $100 will receive a copy of the newly-released CD.