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City News

Community Profile: Lisa Bautista, Owner, JFM Presents

Roger Brigham
Connection Staff
November 2007

^{A year ago, Lisa Bautista had a major decision to make. She was pursuing a graduate degree in pscychology, but was having second thoughts.}

“I was a little apprehensive about relocating,” Bautista said. “I have a lot of friends in the music industry so starting my own firm made sense. It’s something I’m passionate about.”

Thus JFM Presents was born and celebrated its one year milestone Oct. 1. JFM (it stands for “Just For Musicians”) handles publicity and gigs for 11 musical clients ranging from jazzists such as Pete Escovedo to soul, blues, funk and a cappella artists.

“The artists on my roster not only are people I may have known for several years, but they play music that I like,” Bautista said. “So I get to help share their music with other people and let others appreciate the quality of their music.

“The most rewarding aspect is to get feedback from people and hear how much they enjoy it. Maybe they have never heard of some of these artists before, but then they hear them and enjoy.

Recent gigs for JFM clients include an all day a cappella clinic for high school kids put on by SoVoSó in Castro Valley in mid-October to the appearance of the Pete Escoveda orchestra at special concerts the final weekend in October. That weekend is when Escoveda received the Beacon Award, presented by the nonprofit organization SFJAZZ, for his “vital role in preserving the traditions and fostering the growth of jazz in the Bay Area.”

Escovedo has been represented almost a year by Bautista, who submitted his name for Beacon Award consideration.

“It was through a friend of mine who had moved out to Florida to Miami that we met,” Escoveda said. “We had a concert out there in a club. He brought Lisa Bautista out to meet us. She was very professional and asked us if we had any publicity people who booked special events for us.

“She seemed to be very sincere about taking us on as a publicist and event coordinator. It’s been working out fine. She’s doing an excellent job.”

Bautista said she would like to cultivate the sense of music community Emeryville already has for its visual artists.

“I’m trying to get artists into events: concerts in the park. We have a huge community in Emeryville and live music would definitely enhance it.

“Every day is a new experience for me. My primary effort is to get exposure for my artists and my ultimate goal is to get them signed (by recording studios). It hasn’t happened yet, but I think it will.”

Information on JFM Presents may be found at www.jfmpresents.com.

Roger Brigham is a writer for The Emeryville

Connection. If you have a question or comment, please contact him at ecocnews@gmail.com