JANUARY 2013 • $5.00
THE JAZZ EDUCATOR'S MAGAZINE
Jazz Roots Larry Rosen
The New England Conservatory: Contemporary Improvisation at 40 Years Nat Hentoff: Justice for Jazz Musicians – and Pensions? The Official Publication of
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LARRY ROSEN
"I feel that we may be creating a new model for education."
contents
JANUARY 2013
GUEST EDITORIAL: JUSTICE FOR JAZZ MUSICIANS – AND PENSIONS? 24
Esteemed jazz journalist Nat Hentoff on the battle for musicians’ rights being led by the Justice for Jazz Artists organization.
LESSONS LEARNED: AMERICA’S CLASSICAL MUSIC 28
Longtime jazz educator Lee Evans takes a look at the arcs of jazz and classical music in the 20th century.
GETTING VOCAL: PROCESS VS. RESULTS 30
Vocal educator Lenora Zenzalai Helm explores ways to close the musical and cultural gap between jazz vocalists and the rest of the band.
JAZZ ROOTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH LARRY ROSEN 36
Legendary producer and prolific jazz man Larry Rosen talks about his latest live concert series and education hybrid, Jazz Roots, which is setting the stage for what he hopes might be a new means of cooperation for musicians and schools.
ANNIVERSARY: NEC’S CONTEMPORARY IMPROVISATION 42
As the New England Conservatory’s pioneering Contemporary Improvisation department enters its 40th year, JAZZed takes a look at its singular history as a home for all musical styles. Today more than ever, the CI program offers a uniquely accurate reflection of the ever-changing musical landscape outside its halls.
SURVEY: JAZZ FESTIVALS 50
JAZZed readers chime in on jazz festivals from an education angle – are these popular events a useful tool for your jazz students? ™
2 JAZZed January 2013
™
January 2013
Volume 8, Number 1 GROUP PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHER Richard E. Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com Editorial Staff EDITOR Christian Wissmuller cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR Eliahu Sussman esussman@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Parish mparish@symphonypublishing.com Contributing Writers Chaim Burstein, Dennis Carver, Kevin Mitchell, Dick Weissman Art Staff PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill lguptill@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com
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departments PUBLISHER’S LETTER 4 NOTEWORTHY 6 JOE ALTERMAN: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST? 12 JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK SECTION 16 • PRESIDENT’S LETTER • CONFERENCE BROADCAST • SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS • STUDENT COMPOSITION SHOWCASE • MENTOR PROGRAM • PEOPLE OF JEN • NEWS
JAZZ FORUM 54 HOT WAX 55 CROSSWORD 56 GEARCHECK 57 CD SHOWCASE 60
CLINICIANS CORNER 61 CLASSIFIEDS 62 AD INDEX 63 BACKBEAT: BOB FRENCH 64
Cover photograph: Daniel Azoulay. JAZZed™ is published six times annually by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494, (781) 453-9310. Publisher of Choral Director, School Band and Orchestra, Music Parents America, and Musical Merchandise Review. Subscription rates $30 one year; $60 two years. Rates outside U.S. available upon request. Single issues $5. Resource Guide $15. Standard postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send address changes to JAZZed, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. © 2013 by Symphony Publishing, LLC. Printed in the U.S.A.
Advertising Staff ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris Fox ifox@symphonypublishing.com ADVERTISING SALES Matt King mking@symphonypublishing.com CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY Steven Hemingway shemingway@symphonypublishing.com Business Staff CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com Symphony Publishing, LLC CHAIRMAN Xen Zapis PRESIDENT Lee Zapis lzapis@symphonypublishing.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rich Bongorno rbongorno@symphonypublishing.com Corporate Headquarters 26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300 Westlake, Ohio 44145 (440) 871-1300 www.symphonypublishing.com Publishing, Sales, & Editorial Office 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 FAX (781) 453-9389 1-800-964-5150 www.jazzedmagazine.com
Member 2013
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JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
JAZZed January 2013 3
publisher’s letter
RICK KESSEL
Understanding ‘The Business’ of Jazz
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here are legendary stories of great musicians being production studios, music retail, technology, and so cheated out of their earnings by less than ethical man- many others. The student who comes out of school agers, agents, venues, and record labels. Of course, armed with the knowledge of how to proceed in the most organized businesses don’t fall victim to these business of music is far more likely to have success pitfalls, but with musicians tending to focus their ef- than those who don’t. Our cover feature this issue on recording legend forts on learning and polishing their craft with hours upon hours spent wood-shedding, composing, and Larry Rosen spotlights an extraordinary individual gigging, they don’t always have the full depth of who has not only honed his chops as a great muknowledge on the business and legal end of music to sician, but also developed extraordinary business skills which enabled him to launch protect themselves and their assets. establish many new ventures, Only in recent times have some “Applying practical busi- and including those as a record and colleges of music begun to provide ness skills is essential television producer, recording classes in accounting, marketing, management, and other courses for the young musician.” company owner, and music education advocate. Rosen has been that are helping to create musicians able to combine his passion for with solid fundamental business skills. With tremendous shifts in the way that music jazz with a keen insight into market needs which is recorded, produced, performed and sold due to has allowed him to become highly successful in his increasingly fast technological advancement, it’s not business ventures. The key issue is that Rosen is now only important to have a good educational founda- focusing his skills on helping to build new audiences tion in business, but to have some type of continuing for jazz artists and increase the overall market size. If he is able to develop a plan that can be duplicated education. Applying practical business skills is also essential across the country, then it is certain that there will for the young musician and is invaluable to making be more folks listening to jazz in the future. I believe a living. Whether it’s learning to run a small record- you’ll find his story fascinating. As a final note, for those of you who are attending studio, selling rights to compositions, accounting for revenues and expenses from a tour, insur- ing this year’s 4th Annual JEN conference, we welance, budgeting, or many other critically important come and thank you for your support and are glad applications, these are essential tools to have in the to have you with us to help present this year’s outmusician’s “kit.” There are numerous examples of standing lineup of clinics, concerts, and exhibits! If musicians who have built highly successful compa- you’re not here this year, be sure not to miss next nies that have included instrument manufacturing, year’s big event in January 2014!
rkessel@symphonypublishing.com
4 JAZZed January 2013
Mastering music is more than a destination. It’s about all of the experiences you have along the way. We give you the freedom to experiment, find your own solutions, and evolve. But we also give you a structured and demanding curriculum that will test even the most talented musicians. You’ll be prepared to succeed in the world of music. Wherever it takes you. Learn more at berklee.edu
WHERE MUSIC TAKES YOU
noteworthy
Dave Brubeck, 1920-2012
I
nfluential pianist, composer, and bandleader Dave Brubeck died of heart failure on December 5th at the age of 91, one day shy of his birthday. Brubeck and his quartet were best known for their song “Take Five,” a jazz standard and currently the number one selling jazz single of all time. Brubeck was a pioneer of the California jazz scene, working with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond to create a new type of popular jazz that experimented with rhythms and time signatures. He delved into musical theater and foreign compositional devices. Along with “Time Out,” Brubeck was known for charming yet tricky songs such as “Blue Rondo á la Turk” and “It’s a Raggy Waltz.” They also performed popular version of standards like “You Go to My Head” and “Pennies from Heaven.” Dave Brubeck grew up in rural California near San Francisco and his father managed a cattle ranch. He performed at a local Lions Club as a teenager and played with the Army band at Camp Haan in Southern California for two years. He led a band in Europe during World War Two performing for troops. He went on to study with French composer Darius Milhaud at Mills College, using fugal and counterpoint styles to develop his own voice. That sound – relaxed, temperate, chordal, and patient – figured heavily in later recordings by artists like Miles Davis, whose Birth of the Cool launched a new genre of jazz. On the heels of a budding touring career focused heavily on college student associations, Brubeck became the first jazz artist ever featured on the cover of Time. A few years later, a program through the State Department took Brubeck’s quartet to the Middle East and India on goodwill programs. There he became interested in the types of odd time signatures that led to some of the group’s most recognizable songs. Brubeck refused to perform for college deans who requested that he play with segregated bands and later wrote large-scale works to focus on religious ideas and political conflicts. Brubeck was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1999 and his archives are in the possession of the University of the Pacific.
NAMM Launches 2013 Best Communities Survey The NAMM Foundation’s 14th annual Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) survey is now open for school districts and schools across the country. The survey acknowledges and celebrates schools and districts across the United States for their commitment to and support for comprehensive music education in schools. Teachers, parents, school administrators, and board members are invited to complete the 2013 BCME survey online, which is open until Friday, January 18, 2013. Many districts have reported that making the “Best Communities” list has had a positive effect on their ability to preserve music education for their students amid budget cuts to arts programs. In 2012, 176 communities were recognized, including 166 school districts and 10 schools. “The designation has helped to validate the work of the students, faculty, administration, and community in building a
6 JAZZed January 2013
music program of which we all can be proud,” said Brian P. Timmons, district music coordinator of Bergenfield public schools, in Bergenfield, N.J. “Through the economic crisis, we have been able to continue to grow and develop our program with unprecedented participation. Our designation has undoubtedly been a positive factor in that success.” The BCME survey asks detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and other relevant factors about communities’ music education programs. One application may be submitted per school or district, and community members are encouraged to work together to complete the comprehensive survey. www.nammfoundation.org
2013 Berklee Summer Programs 15 opportunities to learn, play, and improve. berklee.edu/summer
noteworthy Monterey Jazz Accepting Student Applications for 2013 Next Generation Fest The Monterey Jazz Festival has announced the 9th Annual Next Generation Jazz Festival Presented by Monterey Jazz Festival, featuring talented middle school through college-level musicians and vocalists from across the country. The Next Generation Jazz Festival will take place in historic downtown Monterey from April 5 - 7, 2013.
The Next Generation Jazz Festival is now accepting applications from middle school, high school, and college big bands; from high school and college level conglomerate bands; from open combos; and from high school combos and vocal jazz ensembles through January 18, 2013. Application forms may be downloaded at the Monterey Jazz Festival’s website, www.montereyjazzfestival.org. The application process is free of charge, as is participation in the prestigious event.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Gets $1 Million Gift From The Ammon Foundation Jazz at Lincoln Center recently announced a $1 million gift from The Ammon Foundation to name the R. Theodore
Free Jazz Saxophonist David S. Ware Dies at 62 David Spencer Ware, a notable saxophonist and bandleader who came to prominence in the ‘80s, died in October. Ware formed a quartet in 1989 with bassist William Parker and drummer Marc Edwards that became known as one of the most remarkable free jazz groups of the time. He signed a record deal with Columbia in the late ‘80s and continued releasing albums on independent labels until present day. His most recent record was Planetary Unknown—Live at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2011. Ware attended the Berklee College of Music, was taught by Sonny Rollins, and soon established a reputation in New York as a dependable musician, while earning a living as a cab driver. His debut album as a leader was Third World Awareness, released in 1971, and he soon found himself performing with Cecil Taylor and Andrew Cyrille. www.davidsware.com
Ammon Archives and Music Library. The organization’s archives and performance music library contains thousands of pieces of printed music, photos, archival recordings and videos from its rich history of concert and educational programming over the past 25 years. JALC hosted a private ribbon cutting in November for The Ammon Archives and Music Library followed by the New York City film premiere of Ammon’s documentary, 59 Middle Lane later that evening. Proceeds from the premiere event benefited Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. www.jalc.org
Freddy Cole Quartet and Rufus Reid to Appear at 2013 JEN Conference As part of an extensive lineup of performances and talks, jazz greats Freddy Cole and Rufus Reid will both make appearances at this year’s Jazz Education
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Network Conference in January. The Conference, which takes place in Atlanta during the first week of the year, gathers jazz educators from across the country to discuss education, develop teacher networks, and promote jazz performance. Cole, brother of Nat King Cole, is a jazz singer and pianist whose 50-year career
noteworthy includes a diverse series of composing, recording, and performing gigs, including the Grammy nominated 2010 album Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B. He’ll perform with his Freddy Cole Quartet, which includes guitarist Randy Napoleon, drummer Curtis Boyd, and bassist Elias Bailey. Reid is a lifelong educator and composer, know for bass performances with Dexter Gordon, Thad Jones, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris, and Bob Berg. He has recorded for the Motema, Sunnyside, Theresa, Concord labels and more, as well as participating in jazz education programs such as the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Lake Placid Institute, William Paterson University, and more.
Vocalist and Composer Aubrey Johnson Joins NEC Faculty New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies Department has hired vocalist/ composer Aubrey Johnson to join the faculty. Johnson, who has deep ties to NEC, is set to direct the school’s sixvoice vocal jazz ensemble. A versatile vocalist, arranger, and composer, Johnson is in demand as both a leader and side person. She can be heard on recordings with drummer Jimmy Cobb and Bobby McFerrin and has performed with Lyle Mays and Steve Rodby (of the Pat Metheny Group), and Mark Walker and Paul McCandless (of Oregon). Johnson directed the Vocal Jazz Ensemble in a December concert as part of NEC’s In The Mix concert series. www.necmusic.edu/jazz-studies
Say What?
CORRECTION: On page 8 of the November, 2012 issue of JAZZed, a photo of Perry Como was incorrectly identified as being of the late Hal David.
“It’s a shame that jazz is now being turned into dried fruit. It’s becoming quantized, diced and defined. It’s becoming an idiom.” – Pat Metheny
Steve Zegree
Vocal Jazz Camp Steve Zegree, Artistic Director
All camp participants receive four PRIVATE coachings and perform live solos with a professional jazz trio. Faculty: Duane Davis, Michael Wheaton, Ly Wilder, Tim Noble, Patrice Madura, Dominick DiOrio, AND MORE to be announced!
June 23-28
2013
Limit of 40 participants – sign up soon at music.indiana.edu/precollege/ summer/vocal-jazz-camp 10 JAZZed Janaury 2013
At North Central College, being well-rounded doesn’t mean losing your musical edge. When we say music is central at North Central College, it means we expect you to build a full and complete life around your music studies. Students choose from majors in Music, Music Education, Musical Theatre or Jazz Studies—but they also dance, act, explore, study abroad, volunteer, mentor, pole vault and pursue countless other passions. Jazz Faculty
*ANICE "ORLA 6OICE *OHN -C,EAN 'UITAR #HRIS 7HITE 0IANO Jim Cox - Bass -ITCH 0ALIGA 3AXOPHONE Marquis Hill - Trumpet *OEL !DAMS 4ROMBONE "RAD 3TIRTZ 6IBRAPHONE *ACK -OUSE $RUMS 3ET 0ROGRAM Coordinator
Our location, in downtown Naperville, is only 30 minutes by train from Chicago and makes it easy to enjoy, perform and do great works.
Audition Days:
3ATURDAY &EBRUARY Music, Music Education, Theatre, Jazz
Call 630-637-5800 to discover more about our programs in music. Or visit us online at northcentralcollege.edu.
Saturday, March 2 Music, Music Education, Theatre, Jazz, Art, Interactive Media Studies
Performing Opportunities at North Central College
Freshman Visit Days:
s #ONCERT #HOIR s 7OMEN S #HORALE s #ARDINAL #HORUS s #HAMBER 3INGERS s /PERA 7ORKSHOP s .APERVILLE #HORUS s 'OSPEL #HOIR s #ONCERT 7INDS s 0EP "AND
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-ONDAY *ANUARY -ONDAY &EBRUARY &RIDAY !PRIL (for high school juniors)
s #HAMBER 3TRING %NSEMBLE s "IG "AND s 6OCAL *AZZ %NSEMBLE s *AZZ #OMBOS s #HAMBER *AZZ s 0ERCUSSION 'UITAR &LUTE 7OODWIND 3AXOPHONE AND Harp Ensembles
Transfer Visit Days: 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY 3ATURDAY !PRIL
To schedule an individual campus visit call 630-637-5800 or visit northcentralcollege.edu/admission/ visit-programs
30 N. Brainard Street
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Naperville, IL
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630-637-5800
What’s on Your Playlist?
1. Erroll Garner – Body And Soul
Photo by Fran Kaufman
Atlanta native Joe Alterman took New York by storm when he arrived in 2007 to study at NYU. He’s since earned his degree and is now working on a master’s (his teachers have included Don Friedman, Jean Michel-Pilc, Ralph Lalama, Joe Lovano and John Scofield), but in the meantime he’s toured the world and earned acclaim as a vibrant young talent. With a healthy admiration for the lyrical masters of the past, prodigious piano chops, and a strong compositional voice, Alterman is wooing audiences and critics alike. Critic Will Friedwald calls Alterman an “amazing new keyboardist” in the Wall Street Journal and NEA Jazz Master (and JAZZed columnist) Nat Hentoff says: “Talk about the joy of jazz!... It’s a pleasure to hear this music.” Alterman was recently selected by noted pianist Bill Charlap to be a participant in Charlap’s “Jazz Piano Masterclass” at New York’s 92nd Street Y, and was asked to perform at the “Marian McPartland Piano Jazz All-Star Celebration” at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, as well as at Jack Kleinsinger Presents “Highlights in Jazz” 2012, as a part of the “Next Generation All-Stars.” Alterman’s new CD Give Me the Simple Life on Miles High Records features Houston Person among others. His version of “The Way You Look Tonight” encapsulates everything that I love about jazz; it’s a perfect example of making the most out of an already beautiful melody, and swinging like crazy on it. I love how every note he plays during his improvisation is something that I can hum along to all day and get stuck in my head just as much as the melody. I love his feel, full of romance, so much, and every single thing he plays baffles me yet also feels so good. His playing is so amazing to me, so “free,” and, above all, so full of music.
reminded me of the feeling and sound that I had been hearing in my head when I imagined what I’d love to play like someday when I could hopefully be myself at the piano. His music, among others, has taught me the importance of having a nice, soft touch on the piano. His line playing is something very unique and special; he certainly has created his own logic to it and a lot of the things he is playing note-wise are very “out” or dissonant, but that doesn’t really strike most people because, in a way, his beautiful touch disguises those dissonances. I love that.
2. Ahmad Jamal – Complete Argo Sessions 1956-1962
4. Eddie Heywood – Eddie Heywood
I often wonder if I’d be playing music today had I never heard 1:26-1:27 of “Like Someone In Love” from Mr. Jamals’ Live at the Blackhawk recording. All it took was that twinkle; immediately upon hearing those few seconds for the first time, I fell in love with jazz and knew that that was exactly what I wanted to do. Mr. Jamal’s music has had a very deep and important impact on me. To me, what Mr. Jamal gets out of the piano is just as much magic as it is music; who else can make you hear the notes he’s not playing? No one can play a melody like Mr. Jamal!
Eddie Heywood is one of the first pianists who made me fall in love with melody playing. This is one of those records where I would listen to Heywood’s interpretation of the melody and love it so much that, just before it would get to the improvisation section, I’d start the track over and listen to his interpretation of the melody again, and again, and again. It helped instill in me that I want to, one day, be a great interpretor of melody, doing my best to honor the song. I really admire Heywood because to me, it sounds like his goal was to make that melody sound as beautiful as it possibly could, and for me, that’s about all I hope to do, too.
3. Bill Charlap – Written In The Stars Charlap was one of the first pianists whose music I fell in love listening to. Even when I was 13 or 14 years old and barely able to play the piano, there was something about his music specifically that struck me as something personal and
5. Les McCann LTD – But Not Really Mr. McCann’s music has had a very deep and important impact on me. His music really helped give me the confidence to be myself at the piano. Like him, I feel a strong connection to the blues. During my first couple of years in New York, I
Joe Alterman’s newest album, Give Me the Simple Life (Miles High), was released in July of 2012. www.joealtermanmusic.com 12 JAZZed January 2013
N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I VE RS I T Y
Bienen School of Music
In addition to this 400-seat recital hall, the Bienen School’s new facility will include an opera rehearsal room/black box theater, a choral rehearsal/ recital room, teaching studios, practice rooms, classrooms, and administrative offices.
The Bienen School of Music offers · Conservatory-level training combined with the academic flexibility of an elite research institution · Traditional BM, BA, MM, PhD, and DM degrees as well as innovative dual-degree, self-designed, and double-major programs · Close proximity to downtown Chicago’s vibrant cultural landscape · A new 152,000-square-foot facility to open in summer 2015
847/491-3141 www.music.northwestern.edu
Jazz Faculty Victor Goines, director; jazz saxophone and clarinet Carlos Henriquez, jazz bass Willie Jones III, jazz drums Christopher Madsen, composition and arranging Peter Martin, jazz piano Bradley Mason, jazz trumpet Elliot Mason, jazz trombone John P. Moulder, jazz guitar
felt a sort-of avoidance of the blues by many of my peers and the musicians who they listened to. I tried hard to relate, but I just couldn’t, and that experience only reinforced in me that deep love of blues. Les’ music not only always lifts my spirits and gets me dancing and smiling, but it has often served as important reminder that I should play what I feel that I should play, no matter what anyone says, just like Les did.
6. Hank Jones – Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume 16 Hank Jones is, to me, the perfect pianist. Every note he plays is, quite simply, the perfect note to play. I love his strong left hand, his frequent use of walking 10ths as well as his superb and unique stride piano feel. The solo lines in his right hand baffle me just as much as Charlie Parker or Art Tatum lines do. Like I mentioned with Charlap’s playing, some of his very dissonant or “out” line playing (there is lots of it!) is disguised by his beautifully warm and soft touch. McCoy Tyner once told me that Hank Jones had the “magic touch.” There’s nothing I could say that sums it up more perfectly. When it comes to pianistic excellence, Hank is my idol.
7. Oscar Peterson Trio – Complete London House Sessions It’s often hard for me to describe in technical musical terms what I love about particular recordings and musicians. This is because the reason I got into jazz in the first place was because I enjoyed listening to it way before I became a musician. There’s just certain things in music that fill you up inside and make you smile; Oscar Peterson’s music is one of those things. His piano playing is, of course monstrous, but what I love about listening to Peterson is that, unlike
When I make the scene I’m hip to the fact that the cats I’m jamming with expect me to groove. I dig my Rovner ligatures the most. Intonation? Solid. Tonal spectrum? Beautiful. Presence? You can’t miss me, baby. Rovner...it’s the copacetic choice for jazz!
some other monster pianists, I don’t automatically focus in on his technique and what he is doing pianistically. First and foremost, I am drawn into the feel of his music and how good it feels listening to it. The technique is a given, but I love that that’s not the first thing I focus in on; it’s all feeling. And swing. Some of my most fun and exciting moments have been listening to this trio play in a 2 feel, when you know that 4 is about to hit; you know that it’s coming, but you just don’t know when or how intense it will be. That tension and excitement is sometimes almost too much to handle!
8. Don Friedman – Circle Waltz Don was my private teacher for all four years of my undergraduate study at New York University. I learned more standing behind him and watching him play solo piano for those four years than I ever had. His influence on my playing and my harmonic approach is huge. He is a master of harmony and I often wonder where I would be today had I not had the wonderful opportunity to learn from him. He is one of the all-time greats of jazz piano. I sure hope he gets wider recognition because I cannot think of anyone more deserving.
9. Nat King Cole – After Midnight This is the record I recommend to people when someone asks what’s a good first jazz record to get. To me, it encapsulates everything that I love most about jazz. Beautiful melodies, lyrics, vocals, arrangements and playing. The tempos aren’t too fast (good toe-tapping tempo!), and just about every song will make you (or your date!) smile. One of the things that first attracted me to jazz when I was younger was its feel of romance - an important part of the music that I feel is almost being ignored today - and I love the fact that Mr. Cole played for the ladies (and knew how to do so!) and I am proud to say that this is the first record I’d put on during a date. As musicians, our goal is to make people feel a wide range of emotions, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with trying to make people want to feel romantic.
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10. Blossom Dearie – Give Him The Ooh-La-La Blossom Dearie has had a wonderful impact on me. Besides her unique, refreshing and beautiful voice as well as her superb piano accompaniment and playing, Blossom’s music really inspired me to dig deep into the vast repertoire of the Great American Songbook. When I first bought this record I was shocked at how beautiful all the melodies of these songs are, many of which I hadn’t previously even heard of or even seen the titles of on any of the thousands of records I’ve listened to or browsed in my lifetime. It made me realize how many great melodies must be out there and immediately after hearing this record I began a hunt (which I’m sure will last my entire life!) through all the songbooks I could find for more of those beautiful melodies. It’s obvious that she really did her homework and she inspires me to do mine, too.
©2012 Avedis Zildjian Company
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER A Message from JEN President Andrew Surmani Dear JEN Members, I can’t believe the time has finally come for us to present our 4th Annual JEN Conference this month in Atlanta, Georgia. This has involved over a year of planning, starting from the JEN Site Review Committee’s trips to various cities, including Atlanta, to scout out potential locations for our conferences. We are now at the point in our growth and development where we are being inundated with requests to go to certain cities, hotels, convention centers, and colleges. The challenge (or, really, the exciting thing) is that we have grown to such a size that there are literally only a handful of locations in the United States that can now handle our 5 performance venues, 6 clinic venues, an exhibit hall with over 125 exhibitors, the JENerations Jazz Festival, and over 3,000 reasonablypriced hotel room nights all in one convenient location so attendees are not running all over the city. As such, we have booked and confirmed locations for the next 4 years: 2014 in Dallas, 2015 in San Diego, 2016 in Louisville, and 2017 in New Orleans. What makes JEN great is the incredible level of volunteerism. This starts from your dedicated volunteer board that works very hard throughout the year at nearly two weeks of in-person meetings, countless e-mails back and forth, and tremendous ongoing committee work that pushes our organization forward into the future. It’s hard to imagine that an organization with over 1,500 members in 22 counties, every USA state, and 7 Canadian provinces does not have one single full time employee; just a handful of independent contractors and a lot of volunteers. I’d especially like to thank our Conference Coordinator, JEN Co-Founder and Immediate Past President Dr. Lou Fischer. He works extremely hard every single day for our organization and particularly for the annual conference, which involves ongoing negotiations with hotels, A/V companies, rigging companies, caterers, performers, manufacturers, and countless others to make this event a great success. Dr. Fischer has built an incredible volunteer conference coordination team consisting of stage managers, sound engineers, production, exhibitor liaisons, food and beverage coordinators, local outreach coordinators, and others. You will see that one of our amazing volunteers, Gene Perla, is being recognized this year as our Presidential Service Award winner. In addition to being a world-class jazz bassist, Gene has been heavily involved in our transition to a new website and in upgrades to our system to make your experience of visiting our website a positive one. Did you miss a great clinic or concert at the JEN 2013 conference? Well, there’s a good chance you can still see it, due to an arrangement we made with The RUSH to film and broadcast events at our conference. Assuming that permission was granted by the performers and licenses were secured with the publishers, you can now view concerts and clinics from the conference streamed online. A few other exciting developments are in the works. The JEN Board is currently working on our Long Term Strategic Plan, which will guide the organization into the future. This should be released in the upcoming months after the convention. I hope you enjoyed the conference and have a wonderful year ahead. Warm Regards,
Andrew Surmani | President JEN Board of Directors (2012–13): Rubén Alvarez, Paul Bangser, Bob Breithaupt, Caleb Chapman, John Clayton (Vice President), José Diaz, Dr. Lou Fischer (Immediate Past President), Dr. Darla Hanley, Dr. Monika Herzig (Secretary), Judy Humenick, Willard Jenkins, Rick Kessel (Treasurer), Mary Jo Papich (Past President), Bob Sinicrope (President-Elect), Andrew Surmani (President). Office Manager: Larry Green; Webmaster: Gene Perla; Marketing & Communications: Marina Terteryan; Web Hosting: AudioWorks Group, Ltd./JazzCorner.com
16 JAZZed January 2013
CONFERENCE BROADCAST
2013 Conference Available for Online Streaming Through the RUSH Stage Missed a clinic at the JEN conference? Want to see your favorite performances again? JEN is happy to announce a partnership with The RUSH Stage, LLC for the 2013 conference. During the conference, approved clinics and performances will be filmed and made available for streaming during and after the conference. Conference attendees and non-attendees alike will be able to purchase a subscription to The RUSH Stage, enabling them to stream content from clinics or performances, and replay parts they find intriguing, or experience sessions they weren’t able to attend due to conflicting concurrent time slots. Attendees will receive a special attendee promotional code allowing them to receive two months of online access to all recorded conference events for only $25. Non-conference attendees can purchase a two-month subscription providing the same access for only $75. In addition, anyone - whether they attend the conference or not - can purchase a performance of any individual group or groups to view online forever. Finally, as a special offer to help promote the educational value of the JEN performances to our next JENerations of Jazz musicians, K-12 schools can purchase a special access subscription designed to allow them to view and share all of this educational content with their students for a very special price. “We are thrilled to be working with JEN as a partner in this initiative,” said Mark Benson, President of The RUSH Stage. “It’s very exciting to be involved in memorializing every minute of such an entertaining and informative gathering of Jazz icons. The most rewarding part for us is that we can help JEN affect its mission by providing this content to a broader audience through the virtual access on The RUSH Stage.” The RUSH Stage is dedicated to the support of performing arts and affects its mission by expanding audience exposure and interaction using its proprietary web/smart-device based broadcast platform. It enables performance groups and organizations The RUSH Stage in action at Woodhaven High School, to capture their live performances, tag all relevant Woodhaven, Michigan information (in real time) regarding who did what/ when, and upload that content to its streaming servers, where subscribers can access the content. Most importantly, The RUSH Stage clears all required performance and synchronization licenses prior to “revealing” this content to viewers on our site, so you can rest assured that JEN is respecting copyright law by making sure writers and publishers are properly compensated for their creative work. Want to stream your own events? JEN members get a discounted rate! Find out how your school or organization can expand your audience and create your own RUSH Stage by contacting Mark Benson at mbenson@ therushstage.com. To view the 2013 conference on The RUSH Stage, visit http://JEN.TheRushStage.com.
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SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS
John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award Established in 2011 in partnership with the Berklee College of Music to honor Master Jazz Educator John LaPorta. Davey Yarborough, a native of The District of Columbia, has been performing and teaching for more than 30 years. He is a skilled flautist and saxophonist, as well as a distinguished composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. Davey has served as president of the DC unit of the International Association for Jazz Education and chaired the Instrumental music department for 14 of his 29 years at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. He is the cofounder and Artistic Director of the Washington Jazz Arts Institute. He is an MENC Lowell Mason Fellow, has received the Mayors’ Arts Award for Contributions to Jazz Education, and was nominated as a CNN Hero by famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. A graduate of Federal City College, UDC and Howard University, he studied flute with master Frank Wess and saxophone with the great Sonny Stitt. Davey has produced and performed on several recordings including the Stellar-Award-nominated In the Spirit featuring Vocalist Esther Williams, Royal Essence, a collaborative tribute with Sir Roland Hannah to Duke Ellington celebrating his 100th birthday, and Collaboration HD with Hilton Felton. Throughout his career, Davey has performed with some of America’s most notable artists in the jazz genre. In addition to leading his own quintet, he created the New Washingtonians Jazz Orchestra with satellite orchestras at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Washington Jazz Arts Institute.
Davey Yarborough (Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Artistic Director of the Washington Jazz Arts Institute, Washington, D.C.)
Davey performed background music for The Cosby Show, composed and performed on the musical soundtrack for the movie Uptown Angel, and composed/arranged musical tributes to Sonny Stitt and John Malachi. Davey is married to the famed vocalist and entrepreneur Esther Williams. Their daughter, Davie, is a devoted and enthusiastic English instructor at Duke Ellington.
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SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS
The Mary Jo Papich JEN Co-Founder Women in Jazz Scholarship Established and funded in 2010 by Mary Jo Papich to honor Women in Jazz at the university level. In August 2011, the JEN Board of Directors moved to fund this annual award in Mary Jo’s honor. Caitlin is a Senior Music Education Major at Grove City College, PA where she is actively involved in the music program and the student director of the Jazz Ensemble. She is passionate about sharing and teaching music and makes time to donate her time and talents to area students in the public schools.
Caitlin Bryant (Grove City College, PA)
The Dr. Lou Fischer JEN Co-Founder Scholarship Established in August 2011, this award recognizes an outstanding high school student. The JEN Board of Directors moved to fund this award for a high school student in Dr. Lou’s honor. Laila Smith is a vocalist, pianist, composer, and choir director. Her honors include: Presidential Scholar in the Arts; YoungArts Finalist in Jazz Voice; GRAMMY Jazz Choir; six Downbeat awards; three California All-State Jazz Choirs; two ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards; two JEN Composer Showcases; and vocalist for the Monterey Jazz Next Generation, San Francisco Jazz and San Jose Jazz Orchestras. She has performed at JEN conferences in New Orleans, Louisville, and Atlanta.
Laila Smith (San Jose, CA)
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SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS David Baker Scholarship, sponsored by Jamey Aebersold Established 2010 by Jamey Aebersold to honor the contributions of NEA Jazz Master/Educator David Baker, this award recognizes a university student who demonstrates talent, spirit, and commitment to the field of jazz studies. A Jazz Drummer from Branson, MO, Josh studies drum set and vibes under Steve Houghton and theory with David Baker at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His music career started at age 10 when he won the Ed McMahon’s Star Search young division. Josh has played many stage shows and before coming to IU was voted “Best Drummer in Branson” in 2010 and 2011. He was the youngest drummer to win this award and is thrilled to be advancing his studies at IU.
Josh Roberts (Indiana University)
Hal Leonard Scholarship, sponsored by Hal Leonard Corporation Established in 2011 in partnership with the Hal Leonard Corporation, a JEN Founding Corporate Partner, this award provides support to a deserving university student entering or continuing his/her collegiate jazz studies. Kelly Garner is a 2012 Student Downbeat Award Recipient and a DMA student/teaching assistant in Jazz Performance at the University of Miami. Kelly formerly worked in the music industry in Nashville for 20 years in various capacities, eventually operating a recording studio, publishing company, and production company. She also taught on the commercial voice faculty at Belmont University in Nashville and was a staff writer for a Nashville publisher. 4th Annual
Kelly Garner (University of Miami)
2013
JEN Conference
Program Cover Design Contest A deserving middle/high school art student has his/her artwork chosen to be featured as the cover art for the conference program. The winning artwork will be published as the cover of our 2013 Conference Program Book and the artist will be awarded a $200 cash prize. Amanda White lives in Skokie, IL and is a senior at Niles West H.S. She enjoys spending her free time with creative projects such as drawing and painting real life. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends as much as possible. She is very conscientious and enjoys a good book. 20 JAZZed January 2013
January 2-5, 2013
Amanda White (Skokie, IL)
Atlanta, GA
SCHOLARSHIP & AWARD WINNERS The President’s Service Award The President’s Service Award is given annually by the President, in consultation with the President-Elect, Vice President, and members of Advisory Council of Past Presidents. The recipient must meet the following criteria: maintained two years of continuing service to the organization; tirelessly provided his/her efforts, resources, expertise, and time, demonstration of commitment to the organization’s mission; and shown true examples of altruism. Gene Perla was raised in New Jersey, where he studied classical piano and trombone. After attending Berklee College of Music he moved to New York and began his musical career as a jazz bassist. He has performed and/or recorded with jazz legends including Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Elvin Jones, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, Joni Mitchell, Buddy Rich, Sonny Rollins, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Stone Alliance, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson. In the early 1970s, Gene further developed his music business experience by founding several music publishing and recording companies as well as managing and booking his musical group, “Stone Alliance” on South American and European tours. He was also a sound designer on Broadway – working on Tony-Award-winning shows including “City of Angels” and “The Lion King” – and continues to helm professional recording studios. He is currently playing his basses, producing records, running an Internet design and hosting company, and teaching music business and other subjects at Lehigh University and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. His musical performance activities continue with his ensembles: “Go Trio,” “Fine Wine Trio,” and “Funk Xpress.”
Gene Perla (Easton, PA)
In 1995, Gene’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to start an internet design and hosting company called CyberNet Communications. His company continues to flourish by providing services to numerous customers including musical organizations, municipal services, production companies, law firms, photographers, medical services, and more. For the last two years, Gene has served as the JEN Volunteer Webmaster, dedicating tireless hours to maintaining and improving our website. He also served on the committee that launched the recent JEN website redesign.
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STUDENT COMPOSITION SHOWCASE Student Composition Showcase Winners The JEN Student Composition Showcase is designed to spotlight young jazz composers, gives current students an opportunity to have their original composition recognized and performed at the international level. A total of 4 student compositions were chosen for performance at the JEN Student Composition Showcase Presentation during the Atlanta conference, with the composers invited to attend the conference and hear a professional performance of their music, this year featuring the Army Blues. All entrants receive a certificate and critiques from professional reviewers. For this event, Alfred Music Publishing supplied appropriate templates in Finale or Sibelius as needed, and may consider any of these compositions for publication. Dave Fodor served as the Showcase Coordinator for 2013, and the session is scheduled for Saturday, January 5th at 2:00pm in Embassy Hall C/D, International Tower Lower Level 2.
Jose Gurria-Cardenas Mexico-born/Los Angelesbased drummer Jose “Gurri” Gurria began playing drums at age 10. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Music from Berklee College of Music and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Gurri serves as Teaching Assistant at the Music Industry department at USC, and Musical Director of USC’s Thornton Outreach the Los Angeles Youth Jazz Ensemble. Gurri’s many projects have taken him to China, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, Holland, Germany, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Guatemala, and around the U.S. (Kennedy Center, Washington D.C, Notre Dame University). As a drummer/percussionist, he has played with the likes of Robert Gupta (LA Philharmonic), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Quartetto Fantastico, Peter Erskine, Mark Ferber, Sam Gendel, Mark DeClive Lowe, She-e-Wu, and Victor Goines. Gurri is an active composer/ arranger for numerous ensembles that range from orchestra and big band, to small ensemble and electronic media. His sponsors include Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads, and Sibelius. Gurri will be graduating with a Jazz Studies Doctoral Musical Arts degree on the fall of 2013 from USC.
Dave Stamps Dave Stamps is a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Othmer Fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At UNL, Dave directs the UNL Big Band, teaches jazz history, and studies jazz composition for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. An active trombonist and composer/arranger, Stamps has performed with/written for the Colorado Jazz Orchestra, Ninth+Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, Chuck Owen & the Jazz Surge, Jim Widner Big Band, and Wil Swindler’s Elevenet. He has performed all over North America, South America, and Europe, including several trips and residencies in Romania. His compositions have been performed 22 JAZZed January 2013
and recorded by university and professional jazz ensembles worldwide. He is a member of ASCAP, the AFM, JEN, the College Music Society, the Liberace Scholars, and Pi Kappa Lambda. His research interests include compositional profile mapping, using standard communication and listening skills to teach aural music develop through a case study approach, intellectual property vs. commerce practices, and new music publishing models and implementation. Dave is an alumnus of the University of South Florida, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Indiana University.
Laila Smith Laila Smith is a vocalist, pianist, composer, and choir director. Her honors include: Presidential Scholar in the Arts; YoungArts Finalist in Jazz Voice; GRAMMY Jazz Choir; six Downbeat awards; three California All-State Jazz Choirs; two ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards; two JEN Composer Showcases; and vocalist for the Monterey Jazz Next Generation, San Francisco Jazz and San Jose Jazz Orchestras. She has performed at JEN conferences in New Orleans, Louisville, and Atlanta.
Carter Broadkorb Carter Broadkorg leads the Brodkorb Simmons Guerrette (BSG) Trio, which has won the Gold Level honors at MusicFest Canada, performed at popular jazz clubs in Toronto, participated in Orillia Jazz Festival, and recorded numerous original compositions. The trio also is one of the performing groups at the JEN conference. Carter has participated in the Humber Community Music Program and is a member of the Jazz FM91 Youth Big Band in Toronto. He has studied piano for 10 years, composition for six years, and trumpet for three years, and is a previously winner of the prestigious Downbeat magazine award for Original Composition.
guest editorial
Justice for Jazz Musicians – and Pensions? BY NAT HENTOFF
I
n the evening of October 18, 2012, a jazz band of six members of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, followed by 50 supporters, demonstrated in front of New York’s most prominent jazz club, the Blue Note, as part of a continuing campaign to bring into being Justice for Jazz Artists that has caught and sustained the attention of the national American Federation of Musicians for a possible national campaign.
Of all I’ve written on jazz for some 67 years, this venture may seem, including to jazz players, very unlikely of fulfillment, though it would strengthen the very future lives of many jazz musicians. The unprecedented scope and importance of this campaign has been explained by Local 802 vice president John O’Connor: “We seek a national network of clubs where musicians can expect fair wages, a regular pension contribution – and this for AFM members and nonmembers, alike – and some ability to negotiate their working conditions, not to mention more ownership of their own music as recorded in the club, especially in regard to new and future use.” The concept of jazz pensions is not revolutionary. Pension agreements have been negotiated for players in Broadway shows, for example, and even with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, all of whose musicians are vested in the national AFM’s musicians’ pension fund through their own efforts. But – and this is a huge “but” – left out of these negotiations are jazz players in clubs. Says John O’Connor: “The vast majority of sidemen who appear in NYC clubs have no protection, no pension, no health insurance, no social security, and receive substandard
wages.” And dig this: “Busboys enjoy more job security and make more money than most jazz musicians! Busboys should be paid better, as well.” The reactions to the 802 jazz band in front of the Blue Note in October were similar to those at other Justice for Jazz Artists appearances. Also present was a major Justice for Jazz Artists strategist, Todd Bryant Weeks, who reported that as the parading musicians, “marched back and for the several times in front of the club, a supporting group of patrons was cheering them on.” Also clearly in their favor were the musicians working that night in the Blue Note who were performing a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie. I knew Dizzy very well and if he were still here, as his music internationally is, I would not have been surprised if he’d left the bandstand and joined the 802 marching band. But it’s also important to note, as John O’Connor has, that there are musicians, including some 802 members, “who are frightened by the idea of being involved in a labor dispute, as there is no real precedent for widespread organized protest among jazz musicians.” As Todd Bryant Weeks accordingly adds: “For the time being, the union also recognizes that some musicians need cover – the
“BUSBOYS ENJOY MORE JOB SECURITY AND MAKE MORE MONEY THAN MOST JAZZ MUSICIANS!”
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guest editorial saved would be applied to pensions for jazz players through contributions to the AFM and Employers’ Pension Fund. But as 802 has often disclosed, none of those clubs, including the Blue Note, Jazz Standard, and Birdland, have fulfilled that understanding. Several of these clubs, notably the Blue Note, will
not even speak or even communicate with Local 802 on the issue. By contrast with the club owners who make a living from jazz, an unexpected sign of support for justice to jazz came from police who were on hand for the October protest demonstration at the Blue Note. Reported Todd Bryant Weeks:
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ability to be involved in a union campaign while not revealing their identities to employers who might seek to blacklist them.” This should eventually be a documentary to be shown nationally on public television, as Weeks continues: “Dozens of jazz musicians have been working on Justice for Jazz Artists for years from behind the scenes. 802 plans to continue to keep those musicians, when necessary, our of harm’s way, while still doggedly pursuing its goal.” And Weeks emphasizes, as demonstrations and media support continues: “By law, the musicians’ union is forbidden from discriminating against non-union musicians, so all musicians – union and non-union – stand to benefit from the Justice for Jazz Artists campaign.” Also benefiting, I would add, are not only veteran jazz sidemen, who well know of colleagues in their age group who died alone in the quicksand of poverty. Younger players, including those who look to their economic future with anxiety, may be playing with more zest as Justice for Jazz Musicians keeps gaining momentum. Also heartened will be those around the nation and the world who don’t know one chord from another, but for whom jazz has become essential to their lives. As I’ve reported previously, an index of widespread support for Justice for Jazz Artists since the campaign began in 2009 is, “an online petition containing thousands of signatures from jazz musicians and their supporters.” Among writers on jazz joining the campaign are: Dan Morgenstern, Dr. Lewis Porter, Amiri Baraka, Stanley Crouch, Garry Giddins, and the person you’re now reading. New York club owners are not among them. This is despite the fact that in 2006, 802’s Jazz Advisory Committee successfully worked to get the New York State legislature to put an end to the mandatory entertainment tax clubs had to pay. There was an understanding among some key jazz club owners that because of 802’s role in removing the tax, money
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JAZZed January 2013 25
guest editorial “NYPD’s 6th Precinct office made its presence known and was highly cooperative, citing solidarity regarding the right for union workers to demonstrate.” Moreover, the “Community Affairs Liason for the 6th Precinct, Officer Martin Baranski, was on hand, and was very respectful and helpful to union organizers.”
The club owners obviously need much deeper re-education in jazz community relations at a time when, as Todd Weeks points out, “there are scores of ‘retired’ jazz performers here in New York… living hand to mouth and with no discernable safety net. “The musicians rely on direct assis-
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tance from entities like the Local 802 Musicians’ Assistance Program or the Jazz Foundation of America. Because there historically has been a lack of advocacy for jazz artists, a culture of charity has sprung up. But there are far more needy cases than there are charitable dollars to ameliorate suffering.” Characteristically, 802 is looking beyond its fully intended victory in New York City. That, says John O’Connor, “would only be the beginning. The union also intends to reach similar agreements with clubs in other major cities, creating a network of places that pay pension benefits. “That way, touring musicians could rack up credit in the pension system no matter where they played. But the key to the union’s long-term plans is persuading prominent clubs in New York to come aboard.” Coming, says organizing director Leon Bell, are: “Lobbying of elected officials at state and local levels and creation of committees of prominent supporters; political action committees; field captains to organize players at club levels; and, of course, target committees of those of us who patronize night clubs.” In the December 2011 issue of Local 802’s ALLEGRO, the most swinging labor union publication I’ve ever seen, O’Connor ends with: “Though there are no guarantees, we believe we can make this happen. The journey has begun. We call on all members and supporters of jazz music to join us in this just struggle… and help make history.” Since Justice for Jazz Artists is certainly an evolving story, I’ll update it from time to time for JAZZed readers.
Nat Hentoff is one of the foremost authorities on jazz culture and history. He joined Down Beat magazine as a columnist in 1952 and served as that publication’s associate editor from 1953-57. Hentoff was a columnist and staff writer with The Village Voice for 51 years, from 1957 until 2008, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, Jazz Times, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, among many other outlets.
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lessons learned
Jazz: America’s Classical Music BY LEE EVANS
J
azz has often been called America’s classical music; the word classical inferring a model of excellence – (think of Classic Coke, the Daytona Classic, and the concept of something having classical proportions) – and possessing enduring value.
Except for a handful of classical-music composers including Stravinsky, Bartok and Copland, the 20th century, 100 years from now, may likely be remembered more for the music of the century’s jazz idiom and popular-music composers than for the likes of Stockhausen, Berio, Boulez, Subotnick, Adams, Reich, Glass and other prominent composers associated with the era’s super-abstract, electronic, and/or minimalist music. I’m referring to such popular-music creative figures as Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, Arlen, Kern, Rodgers, Lowe and Sondheim and others of their ilk, as well as to the entire genre of jazz performance, composition and arranging.
centered in the port city of New Orleans, Louisiana in the American south, where blacks were brought as slaves and where began the tradition of improvised and blues-informed music that was played at social functions such as dances, parades and funerals. 2. Then came the geographical spread of jazz beyond the U.S. south from the 1920s through the 1950s, when jazz changed from a community based cultural phenomenon to a bona fide art form that influenced both popular and classical music worldwide, and also served as the dance music of that generation.
A Novel Perspective
Jazz history books usually approach the subject of jazz from the perspective of the evolution of various jazz styles: blues, early combo jazz, big band swing, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, etc. However, a novel approach is hinted at towards the very end of the excellent Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux textbook Jazz (W.W. Norton & Company.) As they see it, they describe four major phases of jazz history’s development: 1. The first phase was the period of jazz’s origins, from the 1890s through the 1920s,
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3. Next, the period from the 1950s through the 1970s saw the growth and development of jazz’s modernism, when jazz served less as a musical idiom for dancing and more as a pure listening experience. It was also during this time that high school and college jazz studies programs proliferated throughout the world, attracting and teaching an entirely new generation about jazz performance practice and jazz repertoire, such as the big-band arrangements of writers like Duke Ellington, Sy Oliver and Gil Evans, among many others.
“TODAY’S JAZZ TO A GREAT EXTENT HAS BEEN SHAPED BY APPRENTICESHIPS SERVED IN THE CLASSROOM, RATHER THAN ON THE PROFESSIONAL BANDSTAND”
lessons learned 4. Finally, the 1970s to the present has witnessed a decline in the general public’s interest in jazz. Many jazz devotees became disillusioned by jazz’s increasing abstraction and by what they considered to be the dilution of the idiom by rock musical influences. During this most recent period, jazz at times also appeared to enter a “neo-classical” phase, in which jazz musicians concerned themselves more with the accomplishments of its past history than with its continued evolutionary development. (Wynton Marsalis has been a successful champion of this approach.) This period has also been one in which jazz’s survival has been increasingly dependent on “an infrastructure of academic study and institutional support, including public and private grants”, according to the authors of Jazz. They also say: “In some areas of the United
States... people can live their entire lives without encountering jazz on television or the radio, in the movies or on jukeboxes.” Jazz has become “a specialty interest, like European classical music.” End Note
Today’s jazz musicians all speak the same musical language, one that is based mostly on the vernacular and lexicon of bebop, but also with an awareness of and respect for jazz’s past history. Today’s jazz to a great extent has been shaped by apprenticeships served in the classroom, rather than on the professional bandstand with mentoring by fellow players. This academic approach, say Giddins and DeVeaux, has produced “one of the bestequipped musical generations ever,” one that is likely to “continue to sustain jazz as a singular exciting and still surprising musical art.”
This would be an ideal outcome, but of course that still remains to be seen, because jazz has previously been a genre that has thrived by grass roots learning on the job.
Lee Evans, Ed.D., is professor of music at NYC’s Pace University. In addition to his extensive catalogue of Hal Leonard publications, his solo-piano books for The FJH Music Company include the late beginner/early intermediate levels Color Me Jazz, Books 1 and 2; plus the intermediate level Ole! Original Latin-American Dance Music and Fiesta! Original Latin-American Piano Solos. Also, Dr. Evans is a co-author, along with four other writers including Dr. James Lyke, of Keyboard Fundamentals, 6th Edition (Stipes Publishing), a formerly two-volume but now one-volume beginning level piano method for adult beginners of junior high school age and older.
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getting vocal
Process vs. Results: CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN VOCALISTS AND INSTRUMENTALISTS
BY LENORA ZENZALAI HELM
Lenora Zenzalai Helm
W
hen it comes to singing, just what is meant by: Process vs. Results? Let me explain. Vocalists are unencumbered with learning a song through an inanimate object – a piano, trumpet, guitar, et cetera – and thus can pretty much sing what they hear or see. If they desire to sing they simply open their mouth, and voila: instant sound! Results? On one level, maybe, but are there pros and cons to such instant gratification? Let’s look at how the brain works for both instrumentalist and singer. An instrumentalist learns differently. Because the instrumentalist must touch something – an instrument – to produce a sound, a process beneficial to the musician is set in motion. Through this process, the information is integrated more deeply for the instrumentalist in a natural sequence of events, activated as the brain records and retains information. Singers don’t require this extra layer to perform, so retaining, memorizing, recalling, and comprehending information are all more challenging because the musician is learning primarily by ear. By not touching an instrument while learning vocalists have a steeper learning curve, and are working against the natural functioning mechanisms of how the brain is wired. We can look to the research by
Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences and learning modalities (linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal). His arguments are compelling and proven in observing the impact on singers and instrumentalists taught using multiple intelligences as learning modalities. Educators incorporating the three most common learning modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) notice how Gardner’s research provides clarity for two distinctions. First, instrumentalists are not smarter or faster learners; second, the best results occur when tapping into the benefits of how the brain works and how we learn. When educators employ the aforementioned learning modalities, instrumentalists demonstrate consistent suc-
“WE MUST TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT ELSE LIES IN WAKE WHEN SINGERS MISS THE LEARNING CURVE OF ‘PROCESS,’ DIVING INSTEAD TOWARD AN IMMEDIATE ‘RESULT.’”
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getting vocal cess in designated competencies, and in a shorter time-span in comparison to singers. With this research in mind, we must take a closer look at what else lies in wake when singers miss the learning curve of “Process,” diving instead toward an immediate “Result.”
Impact of Process-Based Learning vs. Results-Based Methodologies Certainly, the instrumental instructor does not have a utopian situation. Instrumental educators face similar challenges as vocal instructors. Music teachers routinely meet resistance from developing musicians. Young students often prefer to learn by rote, dodge sight-reading exercises, struggle to develop ear-training skills, and ignore theory in performance curricula. Further, an important step in the development of jazz performance skills comes from a dedicated amount of listening to the recordings of the early masters. When a student realizes the success they desire is only achieved by committing to the steps necessary for mastery (marrying theory to practice, and hundreds of hours of listening), they surrender to a Process-based method. A serious musician should not avoid this method. The paradox is: better results are gleaned when educators focus on a Process-based learning method instead of a rote, Results-based learning method, and thus must have the determination to resist student unwillingness or lack of discipline.
Deficiencies in Vocal Pedagogy
with trying to survive the avalanche of information missed. Digging out from under the veritable snowdrifts of underdeveloped skills in music fundamentals is not the only challenge a singer must tackle. What is also at stake for the singer is the access to a natural progression of development garnering skills to improvise, arrange and compose. Most singers are rarely motivated to close this gap unless an embarrassing situation creates the impetus to make a change. Its not that once aware, the singer doesn’t place value on endeavoring to raise their level of musicianship. Often, they are not sure how to get from point A to point B. This gap is especially troublesome in jazz, where a singer can be “fronting” a band and be the least knowledgeable person on the bandstand. In an art form where one is expected to demonstrate the highest level of musicianship, singers are further sidelined by this gap.
The Domino Effect of Deficient Vocal Pedagogy Instrumentalists complain about the prevalence of jazz singers whose successful performance careers mask shaky foundations in music fundamentals. These singers are insulting to their instrumental peers who cannot have sustainable careers without these same fundamentals. Many educators share observations of prospective vocal jazz studies majors at universities who are at least two to three years (sometimes more) behind their instrumental counterparts when they arrive to audition. As discussed previously, we know how this gap came to exist. We also know that singers and instrumentalists learn differently. What is the impact for the singer, the educator, the jazz community of instrumentalists, and for the audience, of this difference?
If allowed, a singer will unknowingly follow a Processbased learning method and grow accustomed to Resultsbased learning. How does his happen? Most vocal teachers teach the singer material by playing the melody during the lesson. They do not require the singer to learn their material via a solfege and sight-reading based method. Maybe the singer will record the lesson to listen back and sing along to practice, but many do not even do this. The vocal student leaves the lesson with the directive of, “listen to this or that recording of the song,” fully trusting their instructor’s methods. In contrast, an instrumentalist is guided through the harmonic structure of the piece, fingerings of the melody, and directed to sight-read an assigned song; a singer may never go through these steps in their lesson. Additionally, the bulk of vocal jazz curricula does not require the singer to pass proficiency exams on piano, and offers piano only as an elective – if at all! As the gap begins to develop, like a snowball roll- North Carolina Central University Vocal Jazz Ensemble – Lenora Zenzalai & ing down a mountain, the singer is faced Arnold George, directors.
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getting vocal But when the instrumentalists play for fun, they are generally not calling the singer to jam with them. A musician’s learning curve and career development is aided by regularly performing and learning from peers in jam sessions. If singers are looked at as an annoyance, chances are they are not invited to participate in these inLenora teaching a vocal workshop at the Suva Conservatoformal jam sessions. rium of Music in Fiji. How does a singer learn to develop crucial performance skills and gain exWhat role can these entities play in afperience if no environment is fostered fecting change, and what will change conducive to a supportive informal look like? performance time together? And what if you are not in school and come to What Can a Singer Do? jazz outside of an educational setting? If it is in the how, we do a grave disWhat message is given in jazz circles service to a singer if we ignore the proabout a standard or benchmark one cess by which that individual learns. needs to reach in order to sing in the A singer must be made to work all style? How does the local singer atmaterial through an instrument and tending a community jam session the voice. Piano and guitar work best learn of this benchmark? Because they for this purpose. The most influential are in the trenches with the singers, insingers all have piano skills, even if strumentalists can have an impact. basic arranger’s piano. I recommend An instrumentalist can help by Michele Weir’s Jazz Piano Handbook. mentoring/coaching/teaching the singSingers must resist the temptation to er with whom they may be working. take short cuts of any kind. Dedicated Pianist and educator, Barry Harris, was singers must sit at the piano to learn a great example of this concept. He melodies and learn the core harmonic served the musicians’ community, (and structure to repertoire by singing evetched beautiful memories of my earliery chord change in the song. Singers est years of a 20-year stint in New York must engage through an instrument, City) with his six-hour Tuesday night to facilitate working with their brain’s workshops, teaching every young munatural functioning mechanisms, incorsician who dare enter the fundamenporating multiple intelligences. tals of improvisation. Instrumentalists: partner with a vocal teacher and host What Can a workshop, barter services, write a Instrumentalists Do? how-to handbook for singers! Is the instrumentalist happy to perform with a singer? Sometimes. Its What Must Educators Do? not that instrumentalists refuse to, or It is understandable that the presaren’t happy to, work with singers – sures under which music educators many instrumentalists pay their bills work may add to the problem. Whethby working on gigs, hired by a singer.
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er the culprit is a budget constraint or a well-meaning but misdirected administrator, often the deck is stacked such that the instructor cannot initiate meaningful and sustainable solutions. In some instances, a K-12 educator is doing well just making sure to keep the school principal and parents happy and are forced into a “get it done” mode. I had one high-school teacher tell me she had no time to teach sightreading! She hoped the college audition auditors would hear how great of a voice the student had and pass him or her based on talent, alone (Yikes!). The mis-educated singer basically is set up for a failure on many levels and this paradigm can be summed up to the arts education version of social promotion. Educators must create road maps using piano or guitar as the vehicle to infuse music fundamentals and jazz performance concepts into vocal pedagogy. Directors of Jazz Studies programs, and K-12 band and choral directors, are often in a predicament of not having jazz vocal faculty on staff. Though well intentioned, these directors are often at a loss for just what to do with the singers in their programs. The rationale is, with a budget that disallows hiring a vocal instructor for so few students, the most salient solution is to at least have the instrumental instructor or professor teach the singers. Directors must understand the full ramifications for the future careers of a prospective jazz singer in neglecting to program coursework specific to vocal jazz students or in not hiring a vocal jazz instructor. Now, let’s explore a little deeper into the instrumentalist/singer dynamic, and how this relationship impacts Jazz in the media and Jazz audiences.
Perception of Jazz Singers in the Media Can you imagine a young singer reading the paper one morning, and upon learning that the local opera
getting vocal company is scheduled to perform Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, he or she jumps out of bed exclaiming, “I’m gonna go and sit in! I know the song, ‘Summertime.’” Would not happen. Why? Because a standard and an expectation is perceived, understood and upheld by the classical genre of musicians and educators that, in order to sing opera, one must have training. One does not merely decide that because you learn the lyrics to an aria, you are now deemed an opera singer. But not so in jazz. There is no perception of a standard to meet for a potential jazz singer. The assumption is that anybody can sing jazz. You can learn the lyrics (even partially – just scat the rest if you forget…) and learn the melody from the record of your favorite singer (no matter if you have no clue to what the actual composer’s melody is) and – voila! – you are singing jazz! If you are a musician whose popularity was earned in another genre – pop, rock, hip-hop, et cetera – just declare that you, “always heard jazz growing up,” and you, too, can make a jazz record. Why? No standard to meet or benchmark upon which to be measured. On some level, many jazz musicians and audiences feel that vocal jazz has become another form of pop music. Oh, yes, it happens in the instrumental arena (Bill Clinton, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Alan Greenspan), but these aforementioned aspiring musicians are documented in saying what helped them quit was the level at which their peers were performing, and a fear of failing to measure up. With no or low standards, there are no expectations of benchmarks to meet, and the growth and development of this area of jazz – vocal music – ultimately suffers. Lets take it a step further.
Examples of texts useful for singers: • Sing Your Way Through Theory by Kris Adams • The Jazz Singers Guidebook by Dave Berkman • Jazz Conception - Vocals by Jim Snidero and Amy London • Jazz Ear Training by Jamey Abersold • Jazz Piano Handbook by Michele Weir • Sing it First by Wycliffe Gordon
Further study on the human brain and learning. • Who Switched Off My Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf • Your Brain at Work by David Rock • Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner pose, and endeavor to create a new standard for vocal jazz know such assertions are incorrect. What hurts us about comments like these, though, is the little bit of truth in the statement. Do we have to scramble to find recorded examples to disprove their opinions or theories? Why should Jon Hendricks, Betty Carter, Mark Murphy, and Bobby McFerrin be the exceptions? Who are our vocal equivalents of
How is the Audience Impacted? Is the audience affected if the singer is not as knowledgeable as the instrumentalists with whom he or she performs? Generally, no; the audience is focused on the overall experience of the music. Vocal jazz can be a conduit or an open door for cultivating new audiences. Audiences want experiences. They don’t care how much the musician knows. An audience wants to have an emotional experience when they come to a concert. Vocalists are accessible for audiences because the singer is the only one on the bandstand offering access to the story via the lyric. Stories sell and are vehicles for expression and connection. Shouldn’t we make sure the default “gatekeeper” – the singer – is a stellar representative of what’s possible once inside the larger world of jazz? Dizzy Gillespie was quoted as saying how important a bridge Ella Fitzgerald was to the Swing audiences embracing Bebop, specifically with the success of their 1947 Carnegie Hall concert of her performance of “How High The Moon.” When jazz journalists, musicologists, historians, or filmmakers imply by omission of singers’ contributions or flat out comments that vocal jazz offers no real contributions to the music, we get annoyed. Those of us who sing, com-
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getting vocal Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and Mary Lou Williams, and can we point to their body of work citing how that work changed the way we approach singing, vocal improvisation, and vocal composition? There are important contributions and recorded examples of many vocal jazz artists on the scene today – they’re just not known to the general jazz audience and media. We must ferret out those works, and share those contributions with our students, peers, and jazz listeners.
lective river of change in the prevalence of these attitudes. When we allow the singer to jet toward Results and ignore Process, everyone loses! It is my hope that in working together around this topic – of creating a standard to which vocal jazz musicians should aspire – we will uncover many layers of solutions to an issue affecting every aspect of Jazz music. I look forward to hearing from my fellow educators. Let’s brainstorm ideas for a solution to our shared problem with respect to vocal jazz pedagogy!
Why We Must Change This There is a substantial gap in learning methodologies between singers and instrumentalists, and this gap cultivates a “second-class” culture for the singer. If vocal jazz educators are the “hand that rocks the cradle,” we may be a col-
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Lenora Zenzalai Helm is an awardwinning jazz vocal musician, composer, lyricist, and educator who has garnered years of considerable international critical acclaim. She is a former U. S. Jazz Ambassador for Southeastern Africa through the auspices of
the U. S. Department of State and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is a MacDowell Composer Fellow and a recipient of the Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s New Works: Creation and Presentation Award in Jazz Composition. Since 2005, this Chicago native has been a member of the Jazz Studies Program and Department of Music faculty at North Carolina Central University, where she also directs their NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Zenzalai Helm earned her degrees from Berklee College of Music (BM in Film Scoring and Voice) and East Carolina University (MM in Jazz Performance/Voice). She is a leader in creating online courses in vocal jazz and globally networked learning environments, and will release a vocal jazz handbook in 2013. Information about her courses, her six recordings and more are at www.LenoraHelm. com or www.VocalJazzOnline.com. Reach her via email at LHelm@nccu.edu.
Manhattan School of Music Jazz Arts Program Justin DiCioccio, Associate Dean, Chair
R y an Kisor
Kim son T h o mp Yusef Lateef
T h e o ann Bleckm
Ma x Roach
Miguel Z en 贸 n
Bob r Mintze
Dick Katz
John Lewis
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Larr y Rosen
Dave Grusin
Chris Potter
John Benitez
Joe Wilder
Jon Gordon
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Joan Stiles
Hugh la M a s e ke
Luis Bonilla
Jon n Irabago D on y Sebesk
Chris Byars
Aaron Parks
Garr y Dial
Richard n a Sussm
Steve Turre
Ron Carter
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Steve Slagle
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Dave Berger
Jason Moran
Linda Oh
John Riley
Rich DeRosa
VISIT WWW.MSMNYC.EDU FOR 30TH ANNIVERSARY JAZZ ARTS EVENTS AND MORE MSM JAZZ GREATS Stefon Harris by Brian Hatton, Chris Potter by Tamas Talaber, Linda Oh by Vincent Soyez, Larry Rosen and Dave Grusin by Daniel Azouley, Joe Wilder by Professor Bop, Jason Moran by Bruno Ballaert, Jane Monheit by Brian Hatton;Jon Irabagon by Brian Murray.
Recording legend Larry Rosen inspires a new generation with old fashioned ideals
Jazz Roots
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Rosen with the Golden Horns on Legends of Jazz: (L-R) Roy Hargrove, Larry Rosen, Clark Terry, Ramsey Lewis, Chris Botti. Phil Ramone, Quincy Jones, and Larry Rosen. Rosen with Dave Grusin at Electric Lady Studio B, 1977.
A young jazz drummer could hardly ask for a better way to grow up than what Larry Rosen experienced, a Bronx native who found himself performing at the Newport Jazz Festival as a teenager. It was the late ‘50s, and jazz had begun to reach a new level of maturity and institutional awareness that would soon give rise to formal education programs across the country. As jazz grew up, Rosen found success as a producer and entrepreneur. It was that early period of learning and evolution alongside peers and mentors, though, that would always be Rosen’s model for effective education.
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Rosen continued to expand his caJersey Performing Arts Center. The first when we became part of the Universal reer through the Manhattan School of annual competition took place this fall, Music Group. I took the Decca cataMusic, tours with Andy Williams, and won by the Paris-by-way-of-New-York log, which had historic recordings by a role as record producer and label singer Cyrille Aimee. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella owner at GRP Records, which he startJAZZed called Rosen at his home Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellinged with friend Dave Grusin and went in Miami to learn more about his allton and all these legacy artists, then on to garner 33 Grammy awards for inclusive approach to the ideas of jazz the Impulse catalog, the home of John emerging artists. He pioneered online history, education, and maintaining an Coltrane, and the Chess records catamusic communities and e-commerce approachable aesthetic that invites fans log and created reissue packages and with N2K, which won him an “Entreof all levels to concert hall. campaigns. So presenting the music preneur of the Year” award from Ernst and bringing jazz history to audiences & Young in 1998. JAZZed: What was the vision for the was, and is, my passion. An acclaimed foray into television program when you got it together? programming came next with his PBS JAZZed: Does Jazz Roots work the same series, Legends of Jazz, which starred Larry Rosen: The vision was to in every city? pianist Ramsey Lewis in a weekly look present great artists in world-class at different elements of jazz music and concert halls and educate audiences LR: Each performing arts center has the ways in which they’ve all evolved. and students about jazz, our Ameritheir own perspective on what they’d He next moved onto a sprawling projcan art form. One way you learn very like to do for their audiences. But ect with Quincy Jones and legendary producer Phil Ramone of A&R ReKids listening to hip-hop music now need to know that cords, which has involved hundreds that music wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Louis Armstrong of hours of interviews with musicians and engineers from across the indusor Duke Ellington. You’ve got to connect all these dots. try – everyone from Dave Brubeck to Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. That project, still in the works after five quickly if you’re a musician, especially that’s okay – I have a ball doing it, so it busy years, is known as The History of in this genre, is to look at the history. doesn’t make any difference! Recorded Music. Who were the artists who came before? In the last five years, Rosen has Running the GRP Record label with JAZZed: How were you approached by done trailblazing work in music eduDave Grusin, we had our roster of new Miami to start the series? cation, forming in alliance with a and award-winning established artists handful of city performing arts centers that went on to have amazing careers, LR: The city had just built the new across the country. Jazz Roots began but we also produced catalog reissues Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Cenin Miami in 2008 as a way ter in Miami and they came to me to to meld world-class jazz ask if I would put on a jazz series in performances with all-intheir 2,000-seat Knight Concert Hall. clusive jazz education and My first reaction was, “I’m concerned mentoring-style outreach programs to young jazz students in the area, leading to life-changing opportunities to sit in on soundchecks with artists like Sonny RolWallace Rooney, Marcus Miller, Larry Rosen, Ron lins and Marcus Miller. Carter, and Christian Scott at a Jazz Roots concert in Meanwhile, Rosen has also Miami’s Arsht Center, 2011. begun collaborating with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to begin a new curriculum-based learning project that utilizes material from his History of Recorded Music interviews as well as the types of thematic performances that Jazz Roots has become known for. He’s also begun a brand new program called the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocalist competition, which was formed in alliance with the New 38 JAZZed January 2013
about being able to sell enough tickets to fill up a venue like that.” Especially in Miami, there isn’t a great history of jazz fans in this city. There are no jazz clubs at all. It’s not like in New York where you have like 30 jazz clubs, or someplace with a great tradition and history of jazz like Chicago, New Orleans, or L.A. I thought I’d create a brand – “Jazz Roots.” That brand would stand for the roots of the music of the Americas. Not just American jazz – the history starts with African slaves coming to the new world bringing the drums and call-andresponse and all the ethnic elements that became part of the music. When those slave ships ended up in places like Brazil, it became the basis for samba and the bossa nova. In Cuba and Puerto Rico it became rumba, son, mambo, and cha-cha. In the United States and New Orleans, it became the roots for blues, gospel, jazz, swing, R&B, rock ‘n roll all the way to hip-hop. It all came from the same root. Kids listening to hip-hop music now need to know that that music wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington. You’ve got to connect all these dots. In the public school system in Miami, we found out that 900 kids play in jazz bands in high schools. We wanted to bring every one of those kids to a concert. We raised money, so we could have a program that sent a bus to the various areas to bring 150 students per show to the performance. They would attend the sound check, they can participate in a Q&A with the artists, get onstage to play, and then a professor from one of the universities – either Florida International University or the Miami University Frost School of Music – will talk to them about the theme and who these artists are, why they’re important, and play examples of their music, give them a boxed dinner, and take them in to see that actual performance. This became a very successful thing in Miami. The kids wrote essays about it and made videos about their experiences and shared it with other students in school. Before I knew it, performing arts centers across the country started calling me and asking me to bring the Jazz Roots program to their cities.
Rosen and Grusin at a Jazz Roots concert.
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Grusin and Rosin with an RCA engineer at RCA Studios, 1972.
JAZZed: Have they been selling out from the start? LR: Right from the first show. Every one of the shows in Miami sold out every ticket per performance. We are now in our fifth year! It’s amazing! JAZZed: What are some of the effects on the students that you rope into the program? LR: They get a chance to be up close and personal with world class artists, ask them questions, even perform with them, see how a sound check works, and learn about the history. The kids in the audience will ask anything. When
we did the Sonny Rollins show, we got to the Q&A part and one kid asked, “Mr. Rollins, do you still practice?” He said, “Not as much as I used to – now I only practice about eight hours a day.” JAZZed: How does the public school curriculum component work? LR: The curriculum really has to do with each school system. Each one has its own approach when it comes to being part of their music program. There’s no cookie cutter solution that’s going to fit all schools. It has to do with financing, politics, boards of education, principals, teachers – it gets very complex.
The first annual “Sassy Awards” finalists with Rosen at NJPAC in 2012: (L-R) Left to Right - Sandra Booker, Alexis Cole, Hilary Kole, Larry Rosen, Cyrille Aimee, Ashleigh Smith, Jazzmeia Horn.
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JAZZed: When you were coming up, was there anything like this? You went to Manhattan School of Music and I don’t think there wasn’t even a jazz program there yet. LR: You’re absolutely right. There was no jazz program at that point! But I was very lucky because the last year I was in high school, I auditioned for the Newport Youth Band. It was part of the Newport Jazz Festival, which was trying to foster these kinds of programs for students. This was the earliest period that I can remember that happening. We were all between 15 and 18 years old. We played at the Newport Jazz Festival and had rehearsals every weekend. We had Cannonball Adderley play with the band and we had the best writers like Ernie Wilkins, who wrote for Basie, Don Sebesky, and Bill Russo. It was a great band with great instruction. We played at Carnegie Hall, recorded for Decca, and made a number of live albums at the Newport Jazz Festival. So I felt like I grew up and was mentored in that environment. The players that came out of that band are Mike Abene, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber, Eddie Daniels, Jimmy Owens, and many more. I look at music students today and can picture myself being in the exact same situation. It’s very personal! JAZZed: As the new generation of jazz stars have emerged over the last 10 or 15 years, have you seen a difference that you might attribute to the difference in the way jazz is taught now? LR: From a technical playing point of view, each generation keeps getting better. But on the other hand, the way folks learned to play jazz years ago was really through an apprentice program. You went out on the road and you were the youngest guy in the band. You learned what the guy next to you was doing and you listened to the records and you picked up from there. When you listen to the key players from early on, their styles became so identifiable because their playing styles weren’t academically taught. It was very organic. I think, if anything, you find today young musicians who are incredible
players, but finding any with unique styles becomes more difficult. JAZZed: Do you think the combination of Jazz Roots and your work in school curriculums could lead to new ways of educating kids? LR: I feel that we may be creating a new model for education, which is something that is beyond what I expected. Over the last 10 or 20 years, school budgets got tighter and tighter. Even before any economic downturns, arts programs got cut all the time. While all that was happening, there are performing arts centers being built all across the country. These centers were once really for the aristocracy – it was about the opera, the ballet, and the symphony orchestra. What’s happened with performing arts centers today with the changing demographics in America is they now have a mission to present arts to the whole city. Jazz does exactly that, because it’s an art form and it also has a great American history. So the new business model is that the performing arts centers, and their potential constituents and their funders, are now playing a role of creating education programs for the arts that could actually be presented to the local school systems. JAZZed: How does your work with the Brooklyn Academy of Music play along with the Jazz Roots as an example of a more in-depth, curriculum-based program? LR: The BAM program includes an education center that they’ve just built – the Fisher Education and Humanities Building – and they have an amazing VP of Education and Humanities. This is much deeper than what you’d find in the usual performing arts center. They have a group of people who write curriculum for schools – people with Ph.Ds in education and they work closely with the NYC school system. They came to me and said that they wanted to do a major project for education and arts and they wanted to teach about American music and culture, and then present performances related to the program. I showed them the History of Recorded Music project
that I’d been working on with Quincy Jones and Phil Ramone for all these years. They thought it would be perfect to do a whole curriculum around it and bring it into the school systems. That way, they could teach American history and American culture and then bring in 1,500 students at a time for live performances around a particular subject. It’s going to go into a beta test program this year. JAZZed: Once you got out of the Newport band, it wasn’t long before you were involved in a professional band setting, right? LR: I was at the Manhattan School of Music when Dave Grusin came to New York working as the pianist/conductor for pop star Andy Williams. They were looking for a drummer to go out on the road and they’d pick up the orchestra wherever they were. Somebody recommended me because of the Newport band. Then they hired me and I stayed with Andy and Dave for six years, doing every kind of recording and playing. So working major concerts, clubs, stadiums, and major performing arts centers with somebody like Andy Williams, who at that point was at the top
of his game as a pop star – what an education that was from the standpoint of learning how to relate to audiences and present that kind of a show. JAZZed: That seems like a lesson you carried over into your success with Grusin later on with GRP, reaching new audiences with jazz artists. LR: There’s no question about it. We always focused on increasing the market size of the audience. To me, that was a very big thing. How do you take people who are not aficionados of the music and who hadn’t heard every Bud Powell record or every Charlie Parker solo, and bring them into the music? I have that experience all the time now. We did one show that was about the 50th anniversary of bossa nova. Now, everyone’s heard that song “The Girl from Ipanema.” But how many people knew the artists that I had on the show, like Ivan Lins, Oscar CastroNeves, or Eliane Elias? Probably a small percentage of the audience. But the music got across to them – that was the key element. A lot of the lessons I learned through the record business, I’m applying here through every area of promotions and marketing and presentation.
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anniversary
NEC
Contemporary Improvisation
40Years
at
The New England Conservatory’s groundbreaking Contemporary Improvisation program opened its doors in 1972, but it may be more influential now than ever.
M
andolin player Sarah Jarosz spends a good deal of her year on the road, performing at folk and bluegrass festivals and headlining tours of her own that meet a growing love for heartfelt American roots music. The Austin native is currently in the middle of recording her third album for Sugar Hill Records. Her debut (Song Up In Her Head) was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2010. But at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she’s currently a senior, she’s likely to be studying jazz melodies from Abbey Lincoln, learning classical theory, and practicing free jazz ensembles in the style of Ornette Coleman. It’s all part of the school’s Contemporary Improvisation program, and while it
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anniversary may seem like a culture clash – and in many ways, it is – Jarosz says it’s eye-opening and unforgettably constructive. “It’s all about the freedom to explore,” she says. The NEC Contemporary Improvisation program is in the midst of its 40th anniversary this year. Begun under the fiercely adventurous Gunther Schuller as an extension of his “Third Stream” ethos – essentially an initiative to blend jazz and classical music – the program has evolved into one of the most versatile in all of music education. In its existence, it’s gone from musical curiosity to an honored incubator for musicians looking to follow in the footsteps of musicians like John Medeski, Anthony Coleman, and Don Byron. As current chair Hankus Netsky explains it, the program draws on as many disparate sources as possible to lead students toward a full career (not to mention a more assured sense of their own musical identity). “What we do is train young musicians to be able to navigate a musical world where anything might happen,” says Netsky. “The music world is diverse, rich, and multicultural. If you’re going to engage in it, you might do it better if you have some sort of manual for it.” The Newest Sound Around
The Contemporary Improvisation (or “CI”) department began in 1972 as the Third Stream Department. NEC president Gunther Schuller had gradually amassed a wide variety of musical and academic contacts who shared a similar belief in combining seemingly disparate styles of music. Schuller coined the term at a lecture at Brandeis University in 1957 and went on to explain that he looked forward to “a new genre of music located about halfway between jazz and classical music.” Schuller himself was already known as a pioneering performer and composer. He performed with orchestras across the country, played French horn on Miles Davis’s The Birth of Cool, and taught at the Manhattan School of Music and Yale. In New York, he was an avid follower of all forms of music – he had work performed for the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orches-
HEARING FROM CI LIFERS Anthony Coleman
Around the midpoint of my time in school, I was torn between people like Ellington and Monk on the one hand and Webern and Bartók on the other. I couldn’t quite figure out how it all made sense together. I was really looking out for a music that wouldn’t wear its genre references so clearly. I was also very interested in post-Cagean music, and I also worked with a lot of rock people when I went to New York, people like Glenn Branca. But I already knew that this was my task when I was in school – a lot of people realized that in CI. There was a task to take all of this stuff and create your own voice. How does all this disparate material come together to make a body of work and an individual voice? Every person on the faculty has diverse backgrounds, so there needs to be something we can look at that’s not genre-based but based on musicianship. What’s musicianship? There are some kind of chops that transcend genre that have to do with listening, interacting, and understanding aspects of time, transitions, and proportions. A class we teach is “Development of Personal Style” that everyone has to take. Hopefully by the end of the program, they can achieve that. What does this mean for them? And maybe it won’t really become manifest for them until ten years down the road, but at least they have that kernel. That’s always the clear goal. Sarah Jarosz
Growing up in a bluegrass background, the improvisation I had done had all gone through that filter. I would improvise over those songs and melodies from bluegrass. It was good to start improvising over different things – a free improv ensemble with Joe Morris doing Ornette Coleman, for instance. That’s not something I’d necessarily include in my own set, but learning about that language pushes you further. I think that has made its way into the songs I’m writing now compared to what I wrote when I first got here.
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44 JAZZed January 2013
As with a lot of musicians who grew up playing music, I spent a lot of my life separating myself into different categories and genres. I could be a jazz violinist, a classical violinist, an Appalachian folk fiddler, or an Eastern European fiddler. It’s difficult to balance those identities. Coming to the CI program provided a great basis to create one identity for myself that drew on all of those different elements. I feel like that’s been the best part of my experience – becoming the composer/improviser/performer that I am as one person. We’re often taught to play, but not reminded enough to listen. For a long time, it didn’t occur to me to think, “How does this sound? How do I want it to sound?” [CI] is about becoming aware of things I’ve always known, but never taken the time to do. We all know we should exercise more or spend time outside, but that can get pushed back. The great thing about this program is that those things come first – listening comes first and creativity comes first. Technique and theory are so important, but only in the sense that they serve the music. Dominique Eade
Even though I was pretty much always a jazz singer, I had plenty of other influences on my music from being a singer-songwriter studying different musics all over the world and classical music. The Third Stream department gave me a home from which I could investigate all those of things without feeling like I had to sit squarely in one camp or another. I picked the program initially because I heard Ran Blake play. To me, that was the logical extension of Thelonious Monk. It really was a jazz reason. Little did I know that the terrain of jazz would change and become, in some ways, more conservative. I teach in both the Jazz and CI departments and that’s reflective of how I feel. In one way, there’s something about the jazz tradition that I love. If you want to even attempt to become conversant in it, you have to pay some dues through that music and its tradition. You can’t just pay lip service to it. The biggest issue with the CI department, for me, is to make sure that the students do find some way to really engage. That’s difficult, honestly. A shared repertoire creates a meeting place. So if you don’t have that shared repertoire, how do you build that meeting place to come together and engage and create together? It’s intimate and it can be embarrassing if people feel, “Oh, I didn’t know you meant for me to not play that drone that long.” People can feel very self-conscious. At the graduate level, we make sure they have these seminar classes where they really get to know each other and each other’s backgrounds, so that they can find common ground.
anniversary tra and composed for Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. Soon after he came to NEC, Schuller established the first-ever degreegranting conservatory jazz program in 1969. Three years later, he named the iconic pianist Ran Blake as chair of the new Third Stream department. Blake had turned heads with an incomparable playing style that seemed to deconstruct Thelonius Monk’s idiosyncrasies with an ear toward the thorny dissonances of European Modernist composers. As a student at Bard College, he developed a groundbreaking set of duets with vocalist Jeanne Lee that materialized in 1961 as The Newest Sound Around, which still stands as one of the most unique jazz recordings ever. Blake composed and performed on the basis of an expansive background, a dependance on ear training, repertoire, and musical narrative. Under his immediate direction, the new program at NEC was able to take that approach and create a pedagogy out of it. Blake still teaches in the department and remains a key figure in its development, which long ago grew out of its “jazz meets classical” roots. “The whole program brought together so many things,” Blake says. “It was my interest in the ear plus the diversity of Gunther, who loved everything from Webern to Scott Joplin, and perhaps the vitality of the late ‘60s in general. It was so lively.” Blake remembers a variety of phases that the school went through – times that focused on John Cage’s music, rock music, jazz, and American folk music. “These are all memories, though,” he says. “What I say about the program now will not be true in two years.”
Carl Allen, Artistic Director Laurie A. Carter, Executive Director
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As the students and faculty grew under Blake’s collaborative spirit, the musical and academic direction continued to shift and play off of other departments in the school. Netsky first arrived at NEC as a student in 1973,
Richard Termine
Beyond Third Stream
JAZZed January 2013 45
anniversary along with a steady stream of musicians from all sorts of backgrounds. One of Schuller’s original concepts was to develop improvising string quartets which could also perform contemporary classical pieces better than any other group. As time went on, the original concept of Third Stream became almost quaint – by the ‘80s, the jazz meets classical combination was simply one of hundreds of combinations that new musicians were exploring. Blake says this was the vision from the beginning. “Gunther’s definition was ‘classical jazz,’ but he’d be the first to admit that it wasn’t going to stay like that,” he says. Pianist and early Third Stream student Anthony Coleman had graduated from NEC with a composition degree and moved to New York City by the early ‘80s. He found himself entrenched with a gang of downtown musicians led by John Zorn in a movement that would bring together far-flung practices of new music, “game piece” improv guidelines, jazz, world music, and a love of cinematic forms that rivaled Ran Blake’s careful attention to Hitchcock-ian noir. By the early ‘90s, NEC alums Medeski and Chris Wood had teamed with Billy Martin to use jazz chops and contemporary sensibilities to forge a groundbreaking career at home in rock clubs and jam band festivals. Luciana Souza was building an identity with Brazilian jazz with new classical music. Times were changing. Meanwhile, the school was trying to be sure to get across the notion that it wasn’t trying to mold every student into wildly esoteric artists obsessed with difficult realms of blended styles and irreverent genre-hopping. To the contrary, it was aiming to create what Netsky calls “a complete musician.” “We’re not trying to produce ‘Third Stream’ musicians,” says Netsky. He points to the popular folk work of Jarosz, who is able to create music without blatant elements of contemporary new music or improv traditions. “She’s approaching this work as a composer and arranger. It’s not like I’ll suddenly demand, ‘Where’s the Indian music in this!’ [laughs]. That’s not what we do.” The department officially changed its name to “Contemporary Improvisation” in 1992 and gradually saw its enrollment and influence within the school grow. As early students became settled in as long-standing faculty members – singer Dominique Eade, Coleman, and Netsky himself among them – an academic identity started to become a realworld attitude. “One thing that’s made a very big difRan Blake Seminar.
46 JAZZed January 2013
Eden MacAdam-Somer performs.
ference since the earlier days is that the musical scene has come to resemble our department more and more,” Netsky says. “When we started, we were thought of as really odd for teaching the way we did and making the statements we made about musical categories. The scene has evolved since then and I think our faculty and our alumni have had a lot to do with that.” The CI Approach
Nowadays, the program has caught on. Though relatively small (this past fall, there were 36 students enrolled in the department out of NEC’s overall enrollment of around 800), the number of applicants has increased dramatically. Blake’s pedagogy has hit its stride and CI enjoys a new position at NEC as one of the school’s signature programs. The goal is simple – to create adept composer/performer/improvisers who are comfortable in as many situations as possible. There
anniversary Hankus Netsky performs with Marty Ehrich.
are several factors that play into the unique methodology of the CI program today, including intensive ear training, an open-minded student admissions program, immersive studies in complementary styles, and a rigorous approach to fundamentals. “Our bottom line is that we insist on skills,” says Netsky. “That’s the legacy of Ran Blake – he would never just give a student a piece of music. He’ll assign students Shostakovich and they’ll ask where the sheet music is. He would just say, ‘Here’s the recording.’ He’d do the same for Mompou or Bach or James Brown. How would you write down James Brown, anyway?” “The concept is that improvisation is based on the idea of music as an oral tradition. And I would say that’s true all through Bach and Beethoven and Chopin and Paganini – if you got any of those guys together at a party, they’d probably make up some pretty good stuff!” Netsky says the key to establishing that kind of sensibility in students requires very careful ear training, something many technically advanced students starting out at the school can lack. He points out young prodigies who can fly through “Giant Steps” at
breakneck tempos yet stumble at simple exercises like singing specific notes and then playing them on their instrument. CI students therefore undergo strenuous ear training programs (in addition to core NEC courses in solfege and theory). Course offerings include “Development of Personal Style,” “The Development of Long-Term Harmonic Memory,” “The Properties of Free Music,” and “Issues and Trends in American Music.” An intense focus is given to students’ individual backgrounds and an ever-diverse influx of diverse musicians keeps that interesting. Blake’s 2010 book, Primacy of the Ear, carefully lays out the methodology that includes deep listening and a development of musical memory. “A lot of our growth is propelled by Hankus’s probing thought and how he recruits people from around the globe,” says Blake. “We’ve become very international with incredible students from India, Israel, Chile, and Bogotá.” To that end, the types of music coming out of the school tend to reflect the backgrounds of the musicians calling it home at the time, such as the Appalachian and bluegrass music championed by Jarosz and violinist Eden MacadamSomer, who also performs a deep rep-
ertoire of jazz and Eastern European and “gypsy” tunes. Netsky himself has helped usher in a new era of improvisational Jewish folk music as a founding member and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. This type of focus and flexibility allows the program to constantly shift to fertile musical ground as well as encouraging students to engage in music through channels outside of simply studying sheet music. Younger generations of musicians like Aaron Hartley, a trombonist and CI faculty member who co-produces an annual Film Noir concert with Blake in Boston, have continued the practice. “Ran always says that if he wanted to see Picasso, he’d go to the Louvre,” says Hartley. “If I want to hear great music, I’m going to listen to it. If I want to taste great food, I’m going to eat it – I’m not going to look at a menu with pictures on it.” The Continued Importance of Jazz in Improvisation
Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary came out in 2000, encapsulating a “classicist” attitude toward jazz headed by figures like Wynton Marsalis. While Blake acknowledges that Marsalis is doing a great job preserving the ideals of masters like Duke Ellington (one of Blake’s idols), he also welcomes the freedom to explore beyond the limits of easily defined categories. Blake himself never made an effort to identify as a strictly jazz pianist. “Years ago, jazz people cut me down because I’m not the greatest swinger,” he says. Netsky puts it starkly: “I think that when jazz had its retro moment with all of the discussions about where the boundaries were, it helped us a lot. It freed up [some of our musicians] to say, ‘Okay, I guess I’m not a jazz musician. Yay!” When Coleman returned to NEC in 2006 as a faculty member, he noticed a distinct change in new students’ backgrounds. “I noticed that for a lot of peo-
JAZZed January 2013 47
anniversary Anthony Coleman in class.
in jazz – sharp nines, flat nines, flat 13s. I think it may be even better prescribed to learn those things in a jazz piece because they’re broken down in such fundamental ways.” But he goes further – why not use music from any genre as a learning tool? “Why not look at a Beatles tune self-declared. Charles Mingus or a Queen tune or was known to refer to his own a Dillinger Escape style as “Mingus Music” and Plan tune to teach Duke Ellington never called his something? Let’s music “jazz.” He was known to learn something Dominique Eade prefer the term “American Mufrom Deerhoof. performs at NEC’s Jordan Hall. sic.” Both studied contemporary That’s the difference classical composers and were with this program.” Indeed, much of the categoriza- known to be avid fans of music of all tion of many of the jazz greats is rarely stripes. Charlie Parker was known to have been keenly interested in new European classical music and is said to have contracted the German composer Stefan Wolpe as a teacher shortly before his death (Eric Dolphy went on to study with him). But it might be the genre’s history of informal training, one-on-one interactions, and searching for independent voices that the CI program most hopes to emulate. “No one ever handed Charlie Parker no Charlie Parker Omnibook,” says Netsky. “Nor was he ever given a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Lester Young Omnibook. He had to sit Contemporary Music with there and figure it out and sing it and concentrations in vocal or instrumental performance play every note that Lester Young ever MAX BENSON AYLIN BAYRAMOGLU played before he dared to go back to (B.M., 2012) (2010-2012) that club.” Bassist with Jamie Cast member, Glee Netsky says that for all the exploraLono from The Voice Project II tions in every style imaginable, the students in his program graduate with the Study with accomplished faculty, who include Chicago Symphony and chops to improvise over swing and beLyric Opera orchestra members, Metropolitan and Lyric opera sensations, bop changes. What they do with those renowned soloists, Grammy-winning jazz musicians, and award-winning composers. Enjoy opportunities to perform in professional venues. Live, skills, in the end, is up to them. learn, and perform in downtown Chicago. “I’m looking for two things,” he says. “I’m looking for someone who can play their own instrument and I’m looking roosevelt.edu/CCPA to see if they have a creative spark. I (312) 341-6735 think that’s the essence of jazz.”
ple there, jazz was not a really big part of their makeup,” he says. “I had to take the lay of the land. It took a minute. For me, it was always about the jazz binaries – whatever things I put into my music, jazz was always a really serious basis for it. But lot of them were coming from noise improvisation or different World traditions or even the outer fringers of singer-songwriter music.” And yet, as a program based on improvisation, the school will always use jazz as a cornerstone to understanding any musical language. “You can’t skip the major improvisational language of the 20th Century,” says Netsky. “It just has to include jazz.” Hartley also sees the genre’s inclusion as necessary. “The thing is that jazz is in everything and everything is in jazz,” he says. “The chords that Schoenberg uses that are in a lot of other classical music are the same ones
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48 JAZZed January 2013
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survey
JAZZ FESTIVALS
Let’s Get this Party Started! EDUCATORS CHIME IN ON THE BENEFITS OF ATTENDING JAZZ FESTIVALS
J
AZZed recently polled over 300 of our subscribers – teachers, administrators, and performers all directly or indirectly involved in jazz education – to get their thoughts on jazz festivals.
The results were, in some cases, pretty conclusive: with over 96 percent of respondents having personally participated in a festival and over half reporting that they regularly take their students to such gatherings (or encourage them to attend), it’s safe to say that jazz festivals are both popular and widely considered to have educational value. In other instances, the message was less clear: “Some [festivals] need to be reminded how important it is to have an education component visible and participating in the event,” noted Rob Klevan of UC Santa Cruz, Monterey Peninsula College, Hartnell College, and York School. While Barry McGinnis of Newberry College in Newberry, S.C. observed quite the opposite, stating, “I have noticed that [jazz festivals] seem to be directed more towards education at all levels.”
50 JAZZed January 2013
Many of those who participated in this survey opined that – perhaps understandably (these events don’t pay for themselves, after all) – many festivals that are ostensibly dedicated to “jazz” or “jazz & blues” are increasingly fielding artists who fall well outside even the broadest definition of the term. “Large Jazz Festivals are becoming increasingly commercial,” said John Mahoney of Loyola University New Orleans. Tim Olsen of Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. put it even more simply: “Too much music that most would not consider jazz!” Read on to learn more about what instructors find beneficial (or frustrating) about jazz festivals today and what trends are being observed regarding such events…
survey UC Santa Cruz, Monterey Peninsula College, Hartnell College, York School Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz, Calif.
Do you take students to any jazz festivals, or do you encourage them to attend, independently? No: 10%
“Opening up their ears. Opening up their minds to the cultural value of jazz.” Eugene Marlow, Ph. D. Baruch College New York, N.Y. Yes: 52%
I have, on occasion: 38%
Have you performed, taught, or otherwise participated at any jazz festivals, yourself? No: 4%
“The exposure to professional artists, excellent university bands, and a wide array of musical styles.” Jim Ketch UNC – Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, N.C.
“For local, educational festivals, any type of immediate feedback from the clinician/judge. Not necessarily a big name who is brought in to help sell tickets, but by a seasoned jazz educator who knows how to get to the heart of a problem and fix it. For major international festivals, being able to listen to the best players.” Colin Mason Temple College Temple, Texas “I believe that seeing prominent artists performing live is one of the best teachers a student can have. Recordings are great but there is nothing like live performance.” Joseph Ott Augustana College Rock Island, Ill.
Yes: 96%
Do you plan to attend or participate in a jazz festival in the coming year?
For a jazz student, what do you consider to be the biggest upside to attending a jazz festival - be it one of the larger, national/international gatherings, or a smaller, local festival?
“I think it is a good way for jazz students to listen to the various levels of playing and singing. They can also gain new ideas or concepts regarding performance as well as repertoire.” Jan Shapiro Berklee College of Music Boston, Mass.
Maybe: 18%
No: 14%
Yes: 68%
“The experience of hearing jazz music live, the energy and excitement portrayed in a live performance, networking and just being with other jazz fans in a positive and joyful setting.” Rob Klevan JAZZed January 2013 51
survey
Manhattan School of Music is pleased to announce the publication of a major new Jazz arranging text by faculty members Richard Sussman and Michael Abene.
What trends have you been noticing with respect to jazz festivals, overall? Any trends with respect to the connection (if any) between jazz festivals and jazz education?
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“To pull larger audiences, pop and other genres are being included [in jazz festivals].” Gene Perla The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music New York, NY
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“They mostly seem like multi-day concerts… [I] don’t see or hear about clinics/educational value from them.” Jeremy Smith Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, Iowa
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“As our society seems to become increasing liberal, many festivals that used to have a competitive component no longer do so. Although music is NOT about competition, I think it is prudent to realize that competition encourages greater participation, and also helps directors to secure funding when they can point out their ‘wins’ to administration...” Brian Gorrell University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, Okla. “The trend to move away from competitive school festivals that are awardoriented to festivals that are more focused on education is fantastic! After listening to bands play, having the clinicians give creative input immediately after a performance is extremely helpful.” Lynn Seaton University of North Texas Denton, Texas “I notice more pop oriented acts being brought in to help pay for the jazz. There could be more clinics offered at festivals.” Bruce Gertz Berklee College of Music Boston, Mass.
52 JAZZed January 2013 12Eastman_JazzEd.indd 1
8/6/12 8:36 AM
jazzforum
Dr. Larry Ridley, Executive Director. Bill Myers, President
www.aajc.us
Jazz History in Newark, N.J., circa 1930-1970
by Keith D. Wright, executive vice president and COO for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF).
As the chief operations officer of the CBCF, Keith has worked tirelessly for a number of years aiding in the implementation of Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) Annual Jazz Initiatives/Panels/ Concert presentations. The year 2012 marks 28 years that these events have occurred at the Annual CBCF Conference in Washington, DC. Kudos to the astute leadership of Congressman Conyers. The following is an edited abridged capsule version of a term paper written for Professor Ridley’s “Evolution of Jazz” class (1978-1979) when Keith was a Rutgers University undergraduate student: When interviewing jazz artists, or any artist, one obvious question is consistently asked, i.e. “What is the place you call home?” Many artists have answered (with pride, I might add), Newark, New Jersey. If this answer surprises you, Keith Wright you’re in for a treat. By the 1930s Newark was well known as a host city to the bands and musicians traveling throughout the country. Noted jazz arranger Gil Fuller – well known for his collaborations with jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie, among others in the BeBop era – notes that “there were 15 to 20 big bands traveling throughout the country and all of them played in Newark, be it Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, et cetera, they all came and performed in Newark.” “Newark was a theater town”, explained Fuller. “We had the Orpheum, the Adams, the Paramount, the Empire Burlesque, and more, totaling 63 theaters in all”. Fuller traveled with some of the elder statesmen of Newark while he was learning and developing his craft as an arranger. (LR note: This was affectionately termed the “Chittlin’ Circuit” in the African American Communities.) Pancho Diggs, tenor player, band leader and organizer says, “When Fuller went on the road with my band in the mid 1930s, he wasn’t doing much arranging, but we would give him work to look at, and ‘MAN’, when we returned that ‘cat’ was a qualified arranger”. Pancho spoke enthusiastically about Newark musicians, “Between 1930 and 1932 there was a band known as the ‘Alabams’, Leon Eason played trumpet in this band. Prior to being known as the Alabams, this same band was called the Mellmore Stars. The Stars went on the road with “Danny Small’s (Small’s Paradise) Harlem Review” and they were excellent bands similar to the bands of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway; and there was Sonny Murray and a host of other small bands in the area, e.g. “Hal Mitchell’s” , the “Barows of Rhythm”, Al Cooper’s “Savoy Sultans” and the “Savoy Dictators”. Diggs says further, “That was the beginning of what was happening musically in the area.” Diggs’ band is talked about to this day as being one of the best bands of its time. Dizzy Gillespie notes in his book, To Be Or Not To Bop, “We made the mistake coming over from Philly to play a dance with Frankie Fairfax’s Band and Pancho Diggs was there. We made the mistake of showing up, and they ‘washed’ us”. Dizzy speaks warmly of Newark and the musicians such as trumpeter Willie Nelson, alto saxophonist Rudy Williams,
54 JAZZed January 2013
bassist “Brother” Grachan Moncur Sr. (LR note: Father of trombonist, Grachan Moncur heard on Jackie McLean’s 1960’s album, Destination Out, et cetera)” – End of excerpt by student writer Keith Wright. (LR note: This is but a small and edited sampling of my former student Keith Wright’s excellent term paper which documents and speaks to Newark’s role and place in the segregated early Twentieth Century African American Jazz Band Circuit and Communities.) One LR suggestion for further Newark Jazz history is: Swing City, Newark Nightlife, 1925-50 by Barbara J. Kukla, Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122; ISBN 0-87722-874-4. Testimonials to her book: “Barbara Kukla’s Swing City is very important because people who know where they come from find themselves in a healthier condition mentally and physically. People who don’t know where they come from find themselves sort of afloat. Swing City is a giant step toward coming home.” – Bill Cosby “A fitting tribute to a city that for far too long has stood in the musical shadow of New York.” – Sheldon Harris, author, . “Kukla has revived an era of Newark history that should never be forgotten.” – Bob Queen, editor, New Jersey Afro-American. “Barbara Kukla has captured the richness and vibrancy of Newark’s nightlife as many of us remember it from days gone by. Readers are sure to appreciate the historical importance of an era which produced magnificent musical talents against a unique social, economic, and cultural backdrop.” – Representative Donald M. Payne, New Jersey, 10th Congressional District.
HotWax January 8
New & Notable Music Releases All dates are subject to change
Joe Blesset – Changes Everthing
Johan Orjansson – Melancholic Melodies for Broken Times (Rootsy. Nu)
Ek Safar – One Journey (Double
(Pacific Coast)
(Blesset)
Moon)
February 5 Amanda Brecker – Blossom (Emarcy)
Lori Williams – Eclipse of the Soul
Erin Boheme – What a Life (Heads Up) Saffron – Dawning (Palmetto) Kandinsky Effect – Synesthesia (Cuneiform)
Ruff Sound Quartet – Peace: Ode to
the Music of Ornette Coleman (Challenge)
Floriaan Wempe - Flo’s Flow (Chal-
lenge)
January 23
Mostly Other People Do the Killing – Slippery Rock (Hot Cup) Jose James – No Beginning No End (Blue Note)
If you have information on an upcoming album or music DVD release which you’d like to have included in the next issue of JAZZed, please e-mail associate editor Matt Parish at: mparish@symphonypublishing.com
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crossword
Crossword by Myles Mellor
Down
Across 1. She sang “Feeling Good” 4. He said: “There are four qualities essential to a great Jazzman. They are taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.” (2 words) 10. Singer of “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” Meshell _____ 11. Regret 12. “What You won’t Do For Love” singer, Caldwell 14. He handles the instruments 17. Yo! 18. “This Guy’s in Love with You” singer, first name 19. Jazz trumpeter, Cherry 20. Rapid passage on the piano 22. “Let’s ____” from Nils
56 JAZZed January 2013
23. Right this minute 25. ___ king 27. Fundamental pitch a chord is based on 28. “Comfortably Numb” by ___ Morrison 29. Trendy 30. Earth, Wind and Fire song 31. Tyson blow 32. Without rule 33. “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” singer, James 34. Scale note 36. Fresh 39. Jazz alto sax, _____ Blythe 40. Pulsed 42. Jazz vocalist, Gloria ____ 43. Vocal arrangements 44. Conclude
1. Kenny G hit 2. Actress, West 3. Strapped 5. “Don’t ____ I’m gone” Count Basie and Duke Ellington (5 words) 6. Modern: Prefix 7. ____ “Fatha” Hines 8. Worked with Miles Davis on “Birth of the Cool” in 1948, Mike ____ 9. Written form of musical composition 13. “Breezin’” singer 15. Sphere 16. New musical developments 17. Santa syllable 19. ____ Markley jazz guitar 21. Additional section in a tune 24. Janis Joplin’s “____ is Losers” 26. Went up the musical scale 27. Girl from Ipanema was from this city 31. “Let’s Fall in Love” singer, Diana 35. Blow away 37. Alien who was too good for earth? 38. Wind instrument 41. “I’ll stay on the bus, forget about __ “ lyrics
For the solution to this issue's crossword, visit:
www.jazzedmagazine.com
Gearcheck Roland BK-3 Backing Keyboard
Completely self contained, the BK-3 features a 61-note keyboard, a global array of intelligent music and rhythm accompaniments, and a built-in stereo sound system. Master programmers from around the world have created special rhythms for the BK-3, putting a wide range of colorful, authentic music under the user’s fingertips. The BK-3 is outfitted with a top-level Roland sound engine (compatible with GM2, GS, and XG Lite formats), which provides over 800 sounds and dozens of drum and percussion kits to choose from. An intuitive front panel makes navigation easy, with clearly labeled buttons, dedicated controls, and a LCD display. Users can play a variety of external backing formats via convenient USB memory, including WAV and MP3 audio, SMF, and Roland rhythms (BK, E, G, and VA series). The playback tempo can easily be adjusted with all formats, including audio. A Center Cancel function reduces the volume of vocals in commercial WAV/MP3 audio files, ideal for karaoke singing and minus-one playing. It’s also easy for players to record their performances directly to USB memory. The BK-3 is compatible with Roland Wireless Connect, which allows users to communicate with an Apple iPhone or iPad over a wireless network via the optional WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter. The free app for iPhone/iPad offers fun and useful integration with the BK-3, including Air Recorder, music sharing on social networks, and a lyrics display for SMF songs (with embedded lyrics) played on the BK-3. The BK-3 at the University of Washington School of Music comes in two different finishes: black Study jazz at the epicenter of Seattle’s vibrant music scene (BK-3-BK) and white (BK-3-WH). www.rolundus.com
Ovation 2098 and 1798 Figured Koa Elite Ovation’s new 2098 and 1798 Figured Koa Elite acoustic-electric guitars are koa-topped takes on traditional Ovation design. Both instruments are handcrafted in Ovation’s New Hartford, Conn. facility using a harmonious blend of natural and alternative materials. Production for each model will be limited to 30 pieces. The Ovation 2098 and 1798 feature striking 5A flame koa tops with unique Ovation quintad “T”shaped spruce top bracing. The 2098 features a deep-contour cutaway Lyrachord® body, while the 1798 features a mid-depth contour body. Premium design appointments
• Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies • NEW IN 2012-13: Masters degree in Jazz and Improvised Music Teaching Assistantships available
• Acclaimed faculty with extensive professional performance and teaching credentials • Myriad performance opportunities from contemporary, electronica, free-form jazz, bebop, and groove-based ensembles, to big band tradition • Home of the student-run Improvised Music Project Welcoming Bill Frisell and Eric Revis for IMPfest 2013
Faculty
Recent Guest Artists
Pat Metheny, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, John McLaughlin, Alex Acuña, Ralph Alessi, Bad Plus, Marc Seales (Jazz Piano) Tim Berne, Ron Carter, Regina Tom Collier (Director of Percussion Studies) Carter, Larry Coryell, Andrew D’Angelo, George Garzone, Michael Brockman (Saxophone) Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Luke Bergman (Bass) Ted Poor, Eric Revis, Antonio Steve Korn (Drumset) Sanchez, Mike Stern, Craig Fred Radke (Big Band) Taborn, Ernie Watts, Matt Wilson
Cuong Vu, Chair
(Improvisation/Modern Band)
For details visit www.music.washington.edu
Or contact Jenni Campbell at: SoMadmit@ u.washington.edu 206.685.9872
JAZZed January 2013 57
Gearcheck include a 10”-radius ebony fingerboard with a koa oval inlay at the 12th fret, tortoise-shell body binding, and a contrasting gloss black headstock with gold tuners. The Ovation OCP-1K Compensated pickup and OP-PRO preamplifier feature convenient ¼” and XLR outputs for live and studio applications. www.ovationguitars.com
DW Collector’s Series Concrete Snare Drums
Available in 5.5x14” and 6.5x14” sizes, the unique Concrete drums are designed for both live and studio applications and provide a different tonal quality than either wood or metal. The thin, cast 1mm shell includes a standard
LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRAZILIAN MUSIC WITH ANTONIO ADOLFO in Hollywood, FL, USA
Author of Brazilian Music Workshop and Phrasing in Brazilian Music, published By Advance Music.
45 degree cut bearing edge and snare beds. The Custom Shop drum includes standard features such as: MAGTM throw-off system with 3P™ (3 position) but-plate, True Tone™ snare wires, True Pitch™ stainless steel tension rods, 3.0mm steel True Hoops™ and DW Heads by Remo® USA. Each concrete drum is made to order and can be combined with any DW Custom Shop drum set order. www.dwdrums.com.
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SIGN UP NOW an initiative of ICP, Bik Bent Braam and dOeK
58 JAZZed January 2013
CDShowcase See jazz vocalist
Paulette Dozier at the
APAP Conference NYC spotlighting her new Jazz release
In Walked You.
Velvet-voiced Leslie Brown debuts on the Bmakin Music label with
Tenderly, January 11 - 15, 2013 Booth #225 - DOMENICI Enterprises Inc.
www.PauletteDozier.com
a soulful, old-school quartet performance of sparkling jazz, latin and blues featuring Grammy nominated pianist Art Lande. On sale now at CD Baby.
www.cdbaby.com/lesliebrown
Announcing the New Release by
The South Florida Jazz Orchestra directed by Chuck Bergeron Featuring Trumpet Soloists:
Brian Lynch Wayne Bergeron Greg Gisbert Jason Carder Alex Norris CD, charts, solo transcriptions, digital downloads and more available at these sites: www.southfloridajazzorchestra.net www.summitrecords.com [MAMA RECORDS 1043]
University of Miami jazz studies professor Chuck Bergeron is available for concerts and clinics with this music. Contact Chuck at: www.southfloridajazzorchestra.net
60 JAZZed January 2013
“a masterpiece recording”
Julie Michels’ “soulful, hugely powerful voice” & Don Braden’s “virtuosic saxophone and flute playing” are a perfect match - The CD Features featuring hip arrangements of jazz standards & original compositions, and funky covers that will “make you move”.
Ed Blanco - All About Jazz
www.jhumenickproductions.com 613-721-6157
CliniciansCorner
Dan Haerle teaches jazz piano and improvisation lessons online. Get info at danhaerle.com.
Attention Music Colleges: Set Up Your Free Listing On
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JAZZed January 2013 61
Classifieds Instruction
Merchandise
4000 Years in the Making... Tone Note速 Music Method for Guitar. www.12tonemusic.com/ guitar/tonenote
Miscellaneous joesaxwoodwinds@gmail.com
LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRAZILIAN MUSIC WITH ANTONIO ADOLFO Author of Brazilian Music Workshop and Phrasing in Brazilian Music, published By Advance Music.
www.antonioadolfo.net
Merchandise
equatone@earthlink.net
Feature Your CD on CD Showcase For Maximum Exposure! Call: 1800-964-5150
www.JAZZedmagazine.com
62 JAZZed January 2013
Sidney Davis x13 Richard E. Kessel x14 Iris Fox 954-973-3555 Steven Hemingway x34
Classifieds Print Music
Smart Chart Music: “ The Place ”
for
19 Playable “ Thad Jones Classics ” New For 2012:
Check out Scores & Mp3's on the Web
SCM – 1077 “What Is That? (Driving Funk Rock) SCM – 1078 “Big Dipper” (Thad Jones- Blues) SCM – 1079 “Mr. GK” (Gene Krupa Tribute) SCM – 1080 “The Christmas Spirit” (Traditional- Jazz Style) SCM – 1081 “At The Oasis”\ (Latin / Swing /Jazz) SCM – 1082 “Space Junk “ (Modal / Rock / Latin) SCM – 1083 “Reciprocity” (60's Blue Note Groove) SCM – 1084 “Two As One” (Thad Jones - Ballad) SCM – 1085 “Bad Ol' Blues” (Slow- then Med Tempo) SCM – 1086 “New Mambo Loops” (Hot Jazz Mambo)
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Backbeat
Bob French 1938-2012
Legendary New Orleans drummer Bob French died in November at the age of 74. The leader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band and Louisiana icon had maintained a profound influence over New Orleans jazz artists from Harry Connick, Jr. to Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. French inherited the Tuxedo Band leadership in 1977 from his father, Albert “Papa” French, during that group’s 100-plus years in existence and he led it until his death. Bob French began drumming as a child and formed a band in high school that included notable musicians like Jamess Booker, Art Neville, Charles Neville, Kidd Jordan, and Alvin Batiste. He had a minor recording career, working at times with Earl King, Fats Domino, and Dave Bartholemew, but his fame was greatest in his hometown of New Orleans. The most well-known recording of his music is Branford Marsalis’ 2007 tribute, Marsalis Music Honors Bob French. Bob French was also a radio host at WWOZ New Orleans.
64 JAZZed January 2013
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