I have many tales from my daze working at the Strand.
Here’s one:
Here’s me pony tail and all performing an important task at the Strand
When I worked at the Strand Book store way back in the early 1970s one of my jobs was to go around to all the magazines and pick up review books and galleys from the different magazines (btw- the Strand had contracts with most if not all the magazines and many writers too to purchase all their review copies. They pretty much had a lock on that market). Life magazine was one of my stops. I’d hit maybe 10 or more different departments from their Sixth Ave headquarters. My last stop was Loudon S. Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III’s father. He was the editor for the popular ‘Miscellany’ feature that always closed every issue of Life Magazine. His office walls were covered with the original photographs they used. He always gave me a ‘tip’ of free records and books.
I also picked up from Nat Hentoff.
I’d go to his West 12th St apartment through the service entrance. I could here him banging away on his manual typewriter.
He had books and records piled up outside his service entry door…tons of stuff.
After I announced myself he told me to take everything on the left and help myself to whatever records I wanted on the right as a tip.
Jazz Promo Services President and Founder Jim Eigo’s passion for music has been his lifelong driving force for as far back as he can remember. At an age when some kids had paper routes or mowed lawns to earn a few bucks, Jim worked for a jukebox distributor in his native Brooklyn. His salary? Used records. “I thought I’d stumbled into a pot of gold,” he recalls with a laugh. Since then, Jim has held jobs in retail, record production, marketing, distribution, and publicity, as well as event production.
He’s been a rock record buyer, a jazz department manager, and general manager of record stores great and small. Jim has served as the house publicist for venues including the renowned Iridium jazz club. He also founded an all-jazz mail order record business, served as a sales rep for several labels and distributors, as well as handled sales and marketing for international labels. Plus, he’s an experienced record producer, awards show producer, and concert and events producer.
With his “right place at the right time” knack, Jim worked at the Strand bookstore the same time as Patti Smith and Tommy Verlaine, and held the jazz manager job at the well-known Happy Tunes record store — right across the street from Electric Ladyland Studios — which was frequented by musicians of all genres.
From the get-go, Jim was plugged into what was happening in clubs and concerts, and was on hand for the birth of the loft jazz scene of the 1970s, which fueled his zest for all things jazz-related. His eyes light up as he describes in detail concerts he attended over the years, from band configurations to repertoire to the order of solos. Jazz Promo Services offers that same level of attention to clients, making sure that your information is directed to the right people in the right way.
In an ever-changing music business, Jim is too smart and realistic to waste time trying to reinvent the wheel, but creative and resourceful enough to constantly look for new ways to roll. As such he was among the first jazz entrepreneurs to develop an email data base and mailing list, which led to Jim being crowned “The King of Jazz Email.”
As president of Jazz Promo Services, Jim Eigo puts his data base to good use in promoting new releases, live gigs, special events and more, for a clientele that includes artists, promoters, venues, producers, festivals, labels, educators and others.
Jazz Promo Services is not just a business for Jim Eigo, it’s also a calling. With patience, dedication, sense of humor and a good ear for music and stories, he spreads the word on jazz, one email blast at a time.!!