The bandleader places himself in a unique, and at times, awkward position. Hired to assemble a band for a performance, he is advocate to both the client who has hired him and his musicians, who he tries to insulate from the business elements of the job so that they may concentrate on their music. Placed in the middle, he delicately handles variables such as personalities and logistical challenges in order to pull off the performance smoothly. If he is successful, in the end, everyone is happy: client, client's guests, musicians, and bandleader. Because the bandleader has assembled the band of independent subcontractors (the musicians), he is also considered a musician contractor.
The term "musician contractor" can be applied to bandleaders, but sometimes the musician contractor may not wind up playing or even directing the musicians at the performance. Cases like these are often recording sessions where the contractor is simply hired to assemble the musicians and someone else will direct the session, or concerts where there will be another conductor.
A list of the bands I lead is in the live music pages.
