THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC Presents
STUDENT JAZZ COMBO THE MUSIC OF ART BLAKEY Rodney Jordan, Director
Monday, October 12, 2020 Seven-thirty in the Evening Opperman Music Hall Live: wfsu.org/fsumusic
PROGRAM The C.O.R.E.
Freddie Hubbard Joe Goldberg, tenor saxophone; John Dupre, trumpet Sam Dingle, bass; Jayden Richardson, drums
Moanin’
Bobby Timmons Joel Perez, trombone; Sam Dingle, bass Matt Boyd, piano
Along Came Betty
Benny Golson
Rhys Bennett, alto saxophone; Chris Minami, guitar Jayden Richardson, drums
INTERMISSION
A La Mode
Curtis Fuller
Rhys Bennett, alto saxophone; Joe Goldberg, tenor saxophone Matt Boyd, piano Body and Soul
Johnny Green Chris Minami, guitar
In Case You Missed It
Bobby Watson
John Dupre, trumpet; Joel Perez, trombone Jayden Richardson, drums
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members. Thank you for your cooperation.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR Professor of Jazz Studies Rodney Jordan joined the FSU faculty in 2001. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi where he studied with Dr. London Branch, Alvin Fielder, and Andy Hardwick. Mr. Jordan was the Assistant Principal bassist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Principal Bassist with the Albany Symphony Orchestra (Albany, GA) and served as string instructor in the Dougherty and DeKalb County School Systems in Georgia. He has also served as the bass instructor at Darton College in Albany, GA and Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Jordan continues to maintain an active performance schedule here in the United States and abroad and has performed and recorded with some of America’s finest jazz musicians. Recent performances include: Wigmore Hall with the Marcus Roberts trio in London, England; The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Rene Marie in Washington DC and The Monterey Jazz Festival with the Scotty Barnhart Band in Monterey, California. Recent recordings include: Pivot with Melvin Jones (Turnaround Records, 2011); Celebrating Christmas (2011) and Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert (2005) with the Marcus Roberts Trio; Black Lace Freudian Slip, Voice of My Beautiful Country (Motema Records, 2011), and Experiment in Truth (Independent Release, 2007) with Rene Marie; Say It Plain with Scotty Barnhart (Unity Music, 2009); Keep it Simple with Curtis Fuller (High Note Records, 2005); When Cooler Heads Prevail with Bill Anschell (Summit Records, 2002) and Ethnomusicology Volume 1 with Russell Gunn (Atlantic Records, 1999), which received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary jazz recording in 2000.
ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTIST Art Blakey was born on Oct. 11, 1919 and died October 6, 1990 in New York, New York. His band, the Jazz Messengers, founded in 1954 with pianist Horace Silver, sought out talented young musicians and encouraged them to compose. The Jazz Messengers recorded and toured for about 35 years. Blakey was known for this energetic and hardswinging drumming style. He became one of the major artists to shape what is known as “Hard Bop” which mixes bebop with a more personal approach to improvisation. Elements of church music and blues are also key components of the style. Blakey’s first musical education came in the form of piano lessons; he was playing professionally as a seventh grader, leading his own commercial band. He switched to drums shortly thereafter, learning to play in the style of Chick Webb and Sid Catlett. In 1942, he played with pianist Mary Lou Williams in New York. He toured the South with Fletcher Henderson’s band in 1943-1944. From there, he briefly led a Boston-based big band before joining Billy Eckstine’s new group, with which he would remain from 1944-1947. Eckstine’s big band was the famous “cradle of modern jazz,” and included (at different times) such major figures of the forthcoming bebop revolution as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker. When Eckstine’s group disbanded, Blakey started a rehearsal ensemble called the Seventeen Messengers. He also recorded with an octet, the first of his bands to be called the Jazz Messengers. In the early ‘50s, Blakey began an association with Horace Silver, a particularly likeminded pianist with whom he recorded several times. In 1955, they formed a group with Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham, calling themselves “Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers.” The Messengers typified the growing hard bop movement – hard, funky, and bluesy, the band emphasized the music’s primal rhythmic and harmonic essence. A year later, Silver left the band, and Blakey became its leader. From that point, the Messengers were Blakey’s primary vehicle, though he would continue to freelance in various contexts. Notable was the recording A Jazz Message, a 1963 Impulse record date with McCoy Tyner, Sonny Stitt, and Art Davis; a 1971-1972 world tour with “the Giants of Jazz,” an all-star venture with Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, and Al McKibbon; and an epochal drum battle with Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Buddy Rich at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival. Blakey also frequently recorded as a sideman under the leadership of ex-Messengers.
Blakey differed from other bop drummers in that his style was almost wholly about the music’s physical attributes. Where his contemporary Max Roach dealt extensively with the drummer’s relationship to melody and timbre, for example, Blakey showed little interest in such matters. To him, jazz percussion wasn’t about tone color; it was about rhythm – first, last, and in between. Blakey’s drum set was the engine that propelled the music.
– artblakey.com
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM The C.O.R.E. – Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) The C.O.R.E. was written in honor of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The composer, Freddie Hubbard, was impressed with the organization’s ability to work towards meaningful equality with a focus on the youth segment of the population. Hubbard also said the piece allowed the musicians to get to the core of the music. This piece is a lot like the trumpet itself. It’s bold, bright, and commands your attention! Moanin’ – Bobby Timmons (piano) Timmons would often play the opening statement of Moanin’ at the close of a set of music. This morphed into a full-fledged anthem. This piece has been played by several iterations of jazz messengers and it remains a staple in the jazz repertoire. The great singer John Hendricks wrote lyrics for the piece and recorded it with his group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. Here you will hear the essence of the blues. Along Came Betty – Benny Golson (saxophone) One would not dare to program a night of music from the Jazz Messengers library without selecting at least one piece by Benny Golson. He also penned Blues March, Whisper Not and Killer Joe, among many others. This is a smooth lyrical piece that combines soulfulness with intellect in a most satisfying way.
A La Mode – Curtis Fuller (trombone) This tune is classy and demonstrates the elegance of the four-horn front line which includes trumpet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and trombone. A la mode means “in fashion” or “up to date.” Or perhaps Fuller was referring to a desert topping. Either way, A La Mode swings gracefully. (I had the pleasure of recording this with Mr. Fuller on a record called Keep It Simple.) Body and Soul – Johnny Green ( Jazz Standard) Written by a former stockbroker with an economics degree from Harvard, Body and Soul is the quintessential ballad and is admired even today. It was made popular by the great saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. This performance features the very talented Chris Manami on guitar. In Case You Missed It – Bobby Watson (saxophone) Bobby Watson served as the music director of the Messengers from 1977 until 1981. This music gives us an updated view of the Messengers where there is a hint of funk music buried inside of the harmonies and horn lines. – Notes on the program by Rodney Jordan
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL ASSOCIATES 2019-2021 Gold Circle Drs. Charles and Sharon Aronovitch Glenn Hosken * Tom Denmark Jelks Family Foundation Avon and Louie Doll * Emory and Dorothy Johnson Patrick and Kathy Dunnigan * Bob Parker Maximilian and Gale Etschmaier Jerry and Ann Price Kevin and Suzanne Fenton * Charles and Persis Rockwood Fred and Linda Hester Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers
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