Having a good publicist saves a lot of work for instrumentalists and singers. Being a jazz writer, I deal with many publicists regularly, as opposed to promoters who work with radio. The best publicists in jazz have killer mailing lists, communicate well to writers (usually being familiar with their musical tastes) and know how often to call. Sending out a CD and then never following up is almost as bad as calling excessively.
Listed below are some of my favorites to deal with. These are all independent publicists who are not associated exclusively with one particular label, including Terri Hinte who did such a great job with Fantasy for many years. Whether these publicists are right for a particular artist is up to the performer. I can't vouch for their prices or current workload, but I do know that I enjoy hearing from them. E-mail them and find out if they are for you. Tell them that Scott Yanow sent you, though I can't guarantee any discounts!
And my apologies in advance for anyone who I left out.