NPR has an interesting article tracking the amount of money a jazz musician makes in a typical year. One study shows the average being $23,300.  http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/02/16/146946188/an-average-income-of-23-300

I also found this study which shows a higher average of $25-40k per year if they are music school grads.  Notice on the chart below that only 20% of a jazz musician’s income is from live performances:

http://money.futureofmusic.org/going-to-music-school/

Since I no longer teach (I had 25 students at one time) and my jazz musician income is made solely from live performances, I find it interesting that I actually make much more money with live performances than the national average for jazz musicians across the country!

Thank you Salt Lake City, for appreciating jazz music and helping me feed my kids!

When I was in New York last summer performing with my friend Greg Diamond, he reminded me how great I have it out here in Salt Lake City . . . he said that the same jazz musicians are fighting for the same $50 gigs out in new york, jazz giants with multiple solo albums under their belts, great players who tour jazz festivals around the world.  The world capital of Jazz, and musicians making so little that according to him most of the musicians are married to someone who pays the bills, many jazz musicians in “the city” are taken care of by their sugarmomma/daddies.