JULY 2011 • $5.00 JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
Clark Terry
‘Mumbles’ Makes Time for Mentoring
The Official Publicatio
The Official Publication of
Guest Editorial: The Cool Jazz Era
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
Lessons Learned: Determining Repertoire
The Official Publication The Official Publication of JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
The Official Publication of
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
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TION NETWORK
THE JAZZ EDUCATOR'S MAGAZINE
CLARK TERRY
"And they really have to practice more than other people in order to play better. It’s like putting money in a bank. You can only get out what you put in, and if you put enough in there, you can even get more with increased dividends."
contents
GUEST EDITORIAL: LIKE, COOL! 18
J U LY 20 1 1
Frequent JAZZed contributor Lee Evans discusses the appeal of the performance principles of the Cool Jazz era.
LESSONS LEARNED: ‘STANDARDS?’ – DETERMINING REPERTOIRE 20 Noted performer, recording artist, and educator Dr. Mark Watkins offers some thoughts and suggestions for crafting an effective repertoire for younger players.
CLARK TERRY – ‘MUMBLES’ MAKES TIME FOR MENTORING 24
One of the true legends of jazz, Clark Terry has been a top tier performer from the end of the Swing era through to the present day. JAZZed recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Terry about his legendary career as well as his thoughts on learning and teaching the music he loves.
ROUNDUP: GUITARS – SOMETHING TO FRET ABOUT 32
A review of some new and notable guitar and guitar-related product introductions.
THE LEADING EDGE 38
In this installment of her regular column, Anita Brown asks well-known lead players for some suggestions that might help younger players looking to follow in their footsteps
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JULY 2011
Volume 6, Number 4 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 MICHAEL FEINBERG: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST? 8 JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK SECTION 10 • PRESIDENT’S LETTER • NEWLY ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS • CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS • NETWORTHY NEWS
JAZZ FORUM 36 CROSSWORD PUZZLE 42 GEARCHECK 43 CD SHOWCASE 45
CLINICIANS CORNER 45 CLASSIFIEDS 46 AD INDEX 47 BACKBEAT: RAY BRYANT 48
Cover photograph: Archie Hamilton.
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. © 2011 by Symphony Publishing, LLC. Printed in the U.S.A.
Advertising Staff ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris Fox ifox@symphonypublishing.com CLASSIFIED & Display Maureen Johan mjohan@symphonypublishing.com SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Jason LaChapelle jlachapelle@symphonypublishing.com Business Staff CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@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
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JAZZed July 2011 3
publisher’s letter
RICK KESSEL
Hats Off to Clark Terry
W
e’re honored to have legendary jazz musician, ther King and others who were jailed for civil rights Clark Terry, as our featured artist on the cover of protests. If you dig into the musical archives on the this month’s JAZZed magazine. Few, if any, mu- web, you will even find a recording where Mr. Terry sicians have anywhere near as many recordings and Mr. Robinson’s paths indirectly crossed, which and performances to their credit as Terry, as he is was a recording called Jackie Robinson, Stealing known to have performed on over 900 sessions, Home – A Musical Tribute (Legacy Records, 1997). as well as received some of the most highly cov- Though Robinson had died many years earlier, this eted awards for jazz artists, including the NEA Jazz recording included some spoken voice parts by RobMaster and Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. inson and Terry’s name is listed, among many other Transcending his artistry was Clark’s joining the jazz greats, as a supporting artist. On another front, according NBC orchestra in 1960 with Doc to SFGate.com in San Francisco Severinsen (according to his webin 1948, a unique jazz club called site) which “broke the color barrier “Clark Terry is a Blanco’s Cotton Club opened in the to become it’s first African Ameriperson who we can Fillmore district in an area where can staff musician.” There had been black bands had previously not been several big bands that had opened all learn many allowed. This club was set up to have the door to all players during the lessons from.” “only black artists, waiters, and barswing era, most notably Benny tenders” where people from all races Goodman’s group, which as early as were welcome to dine, which was 1936 hired Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton (www.austinlindy.com). However, completely unique in this area. This club, which the difference for Terry, was that NBC was much had fought entrenched interests to allow it to open, more of a corporate type of gig, and unfortunately though short-lived, started a chain reaction of new slower to bring down the barriers to minority per- clubs opening in the area and established new opportunities for African American musicians. formers. Clark Terry is a person who we can all learn About 13 years before Terry joined NBC, Jackie Robinson, the great baseball player, broke simi- many lessons from and who, at 91 years young, is lar barriers. On “April 15, 1947 as he was the first still encouraging, teaching, and helping so many African American to suit up and play for a Major people in so many different ways. His involvement League Baseball team, breaking the color barrier as in breaking down of racial barriers, though seria member of the Brooklyn Dodgers,” according to ously understated, reflects a very pivotal moment groovenotes.org . Jazz begins to dovetail with base- in the history of our nation as well as a tribute to ball when Robinson planned a jazz concert at his the extraordinary power of jazz. Thanks Clark – home in 1963 to raise bail funds for Dr. Martin Lu- our hats are off to you!
rkessel@symphonypublishing.com
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noteworthy Jazz Journalists Association Presents Its 15th Annual Jazz Awards
J
azz fans, musicians, and writers crowded a New York City Gala and several satellite parties across the globe to celebrate the organization’s 15th Annual Jazz Awards last month. The group named Sonny Rollins “Musician of the Year” and presented its lifetime achievement to renowned saxophonist, composer and influential educator Jimmy “Little Bird” Heath. Other awards presented included Composer of the Year (James Moran), Up and Coming Artist of the Year (Ambrose Akinmusire), Recording of the Year (Joe Lovano Us Five, Bird Songs (Blue Note)), Record Label of the Year (Blue Note), Female Singer of the Year (Dee Dee Bridgewater), Male Singer (Kurt Elling), Large Ensemble (Mingus Big Band), and Small Ensemble (Joe Lovano Us Five). A Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism was also presented to longtime magazine writer Bill Milkowski, who wrote definitive Jaco Pastorius biography, JACO: The Extraordinary Life And Times Of Jaco Pastorius. For a complete list of winners and more info on the JJA, visit: www.jjajazzawards.com.
Jazz Professor Takes Minnesota Composer’s Masterpieces on the Road Winona State University professor Richard Hammergren will soon present a concert series of the ecclectic, riotous music of Minnesotan composer Thomas Talbert, which he kicks off with a concert this month at WSU. Talbert came to prominence in Minneapolis in the ‘60s with the Talbert Jazz Orchestra, in which Hammergren served as first trumpet. Talbert’s original compositions combined the modern harmonies of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, the complex big-band orchestrations of Duke Ellington and Gil Evans, and the spontaneous compositional genius of Fats Waller and Bix Beiderbecke. Talbert’s music has been performed in local institutions like the Old Log Theater and Walker Arts Center as well as Carnegie Hall. He passed away in 2005. Hammergren plans to have presentations of the music across the country with performances as well as master class educational presentations for each of Talbert’s compositions at high schools and major university jazz study programs. He hopes Talbert’s work will prove to be a powerful tool to instruct and advance music education for students and their instructors, adding that he also hopes to bring this great music to light for a whole new generation of music lovers. “Black Tie Jazz – the Music of Thomas Talbert” at Winona State University’s Somsen Auditorium; July 24, 2011: www.wsuartstickets.com.
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noteworthy Tim Veeder and Chris Godber Join the L.A. Sax Family
The L.A. Sax Company recently announced the addition of saxophonists Tim Veeder and Chris Godber to its list of endorsing artists. Veeder is a New York City-based professional saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist, composer, arranger and educator based in the New York, N.Y. area. He’s shared the stage with many world-renowned musicians such as Richie Cannata (Billy Joel), The NYPD Jazz Ensemble, Jake Hertzog (The Naked Brothers Band), Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow), Marc Ford (Black Crowes), and stick player Steve Adelson. He also teaches music at the White Plains Public Schools, ranked nationally as one of the “Top 100 Schools in Music Education” by the NAMM Organization and is a “National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence” winner. Chris Godber is a 25-year-old saxophonist, producer and multi instrumentalist whose fourth album, My Offering, hits this July. Godber has worked with a number of high profile musicians both in the studio and on the stage. He was a National Finalist in Gospel Music Association’s 2005 Music in The Rockies, Estes Park, Colo. and has also been an opening act for various gospel artists such as Seventh Day Slumber, KJ 52, and has performed for “Dancing With The Stars” on two occasions. Visit L.A. Sax at: www.lasaxophone.com.
Study Finds Aging Artists Living Active, Productive Lifestyles
A new study seems to have found yet another skill possessed by generations of performing artists – growing old gracefully. The Research Center for Arts and Culture (RCAC) at Teachers College Columbia University has found performers to be overwhelmingly active, engaged, and socially involved well into retirement age. According to the RCAC’s study, “Still Kicking,” aging artists belie stereotypes: They are passionate about their work, they feel validated as artists and rank high in life satisfaction and self- esteem (86% in New York City and 92% in Los Angeles would choose to be an artist again). Nor are aging artists isolated: More than half of them communicate daily or weekly with other artists, and more than half continue to be working artists and do not expect to “retire” until they are 90. Unlike aging visual artists, aging performers have made significant preparations in numbers that trump the general population: 92% have a will, 77% of NYC artists and 65% of LA artists have a health proxy and 67% NYC/66% LA artists have a power of attorney. Also unlike visual artists, performers have membership in unions. The news is not all good. The RCAC reports that ageism remains, and performers can still work many weeks under the jurisdiction of several different unions and not qualify for health or pension benefits. A typical aging performer is 73 to 75 years old, lives alone in rent-controlled or rent stabilized housing, earns money through his art, and has no plans to leave metro areas. Educated beyond high school with a Bachelor’s and maybe a Master’s Degree and a median income of $30K, she or he belongs to a performing arts union, has health insurance, takes more artistic risks and has a deeper creative experience than when younger. Read the full report at: arts.tc.columbia/rcac/Still-Kicking.
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Say What? Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life. —Art Blakey
Baltimore Celebrates Black Music Month with Exhibit on Local Jazz Superstars Though it doesn’t come up as often as New York, New Orleans, or Kansas City in discussions about jazz history, Baltimore has always served as an important source of some of America’s most treasured music. Jazz singer, author, and historian Tamm E. Hunt showcases this history at her exhibit at the Pratt Free Library this summer, “The Roots of Jazz Baltimore: The Movers, Shakers and Music Makers.” The exhibit provides glimpses of Baltimore’s historic jazz life from the 1920s through the present day. Visitors will experience a montage of exceptional Baltimore Jazz moments from local street musicians “Snow Ball” and “Tomb Stone” to world class performers like bandleader Cab Calloway (and his siblings Blanche and Elmer), drummer Chick Webb, banjoist Elmer Snowden, singer Billie Holiday and Ragtime piano king Eubie Blake. Images of Pennsylvania Avenue’s Royal Theatre, Charlie Tilghman’s Sphinx Club and performers Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Pearl Bailey, Louis Jordan, Ruby Glover, Mickey Fields, Roy “Tangle Foot” McCoy, The Left Bank Jazz Society all validate Baltimore as a major jazz center and contributor to America’s indigenous music called jazz. More info at the Pratt Free Library: www. prattlibrary.org.
noteworthy Chicago Jazz Festival Announces Full Lineup
The famed Chicago Jazz Festival has announced the complete schedule for its Sept. 1–4 event, and it doesn’t disappoint. Among the luminaries gracing the stage will be Roy Hargrove and Cassandra Wilson along with a saxophone summit featuring Joe Lovano, David Liebman and Ravi Coltrane. Trumpeter Orbert Davis will serve as the festival’s artist in residence. The free festival has continued to grow beyond the typical four-stage setup in Grant Park into nearby downtown venues such as Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Granz Hall at Roosevelt University and the Chicago Cultural Center. These events include Randy Weston and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble paying tribute to arranger Melba Liston at the Pritzker Pavilion on Sept. 1, which is also the closing night of the series Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz. On Sept. 4, drummer Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly will premiere a new project in Grant Park that resulted from an Experimental Sound Studio Commission. For more info go to: www.chicagojazzfestival.us.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FAMOUS TO
SOUND FAMOUS
Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition Winners Announced
Three high school jazz bands took top honors in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 16th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. Each band was chosen by a panel of judges composed of distinguished jazz musicians and historians including Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, composer/ conductor David Berger, and composer/arranger Rich Derosa. Essentially Ellington culminated at a concert in May where 15 top-placing bands performed with Marsalis as a soloist followed by a performance by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. All of these professional musicians served as mentors for each of the finalist bands during this weekend’s festival. The JLCO’s performance included pieces by Duke Ellington plus music composed by Dizzy Gillespie which will be distributed by Jazz at Lincoln Center for the 2011-12 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program. At the awards ceremony, Marsalis presented prizes and cash awards to each of the 15 finalist bands. Christopher Dorsey, Director of the Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Ensemble, accepted the first place trophy and an award of $5,000. Scott Brown, Director of Roosevelt Jazz Band accepted the second place trophy and an award of $2,500. Darin Faul, Director of Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Ensemble I accepted the third place trophy and an award of $1,000. New World School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble was named honorable mention band and received an award of $750. The remaining 11 finalist bands and winning community ensemble were awarded certificates of merit and cash awards of $500. All monetary awards go toward improving schools’ jazz programs. For a complete list of awards and honors, visit www.jlco.org/essentiallyellington.
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MADE IN THE USA JAZZed July 2011 7
What’s on Your Playlist? A vibrant young bassist and composer whose voice conveys a distinct musical vision, Michael Feinberg is a leading creative force among a protean group of improvisers in their mid-20s who are just coming into their own. A versatile player, Feinberg is sought after not only by jazz artists, but also by singer/songwriters and rock combos. It all ends up as creative grist for his music, which is unmistakably 21st century jazz, but unafraid of mingling in other musical neighborhoods. Though only 24, Feinberg has already toured widely and performed with a range of players ranging from Slide Hampton, Kenny Werner and Ralph Alessito to Jonathan Kreisberg, Jim Black, and Andrew D’Angelo, at venues including Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, the Kennedy Center, and the Berklee Performance Center. Feinberg has attained the crucial ingredient of a world-class jazz musician: a wealth of ideas and the knowledge that he’ll need a community of collaborators in order to define his vision. These collaborators, featured on his new CD, With Many Hands, include tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger, altoist Godwin Louis, pianist Julian Shore, drummer Daniel Platzman, and guitarist Alex Wintz. The CD is exciting, dynamic creative, and full of fertile musical ideas. 1. Swell Henry – Yeah NO There are so many great bands and records made by this consortium of musicians (primarily Jim Black, Chris Speed, Hilmar Jensen, Cuong Vu, and Skulli Sveressen) that it is hard to pick only one album, but this one is very unique in that the tunes are extremely heavy and folkloric and the musicians rely less on improvisation and more on composition. This record definitely plays a huge influence on my compositional style. 2. Sunlight – Herbie Hancock The quintessential roller-skating record. Hancock incorporates a lot of what I love harmonically about Stevie Wonder’s music while keeping dance-pop music fresh. “I Thought It Was You” is a must listen. 3. Adobe – Drew Gress, Paul Motion, Tony Malaby Being such a huge Drew Gress fan, it is amazing how long it took for me to discover this record. Drew is, in my opinion, a little under-appreciated, but after one listen to this record any doubters will become believers.
4. Crazy People Music – Branford Marsalis Two words - KENNY KIRKLAND!!!! 5. Heavy Heart – Carla Bley I found this record (vinyl) at a used record store in Denton, Texas and bought it on sheer impulse. I am so glad I did. This record is amazing in that it has the most dated sounding instruments but the compositions are so fresh they could have been written yesterday. The playing on it is also fantastic, and we see another appearance of Kenny Kirkland, which doesn’t hurt. 6. This is Our Music – Ornette Coleman 1961 - Ornette, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell. This record changed everything for me about my approach to playing music. Their version of “Embraceable You” takes standards playing to a whole new level. Also “Humpty Dumpty “and “Blues Connotation,” two of my favorite Ornette compositions, have been in my band’s repertoire for quite some time now.
Michael Feinberg’s album, With Many Hands (Michael Feinberg Music), was released on March 25, 2011. www.michaelfeinbergmusic.com 8 JAZZed July 2011
7. Shake Your Money Maker – Black Crowes One of the great rock and roll records of all time. This is a powerful, gritty record featuring amazing playing and great songs. Chris Robinson delivers great vocal performances throughout. I love how they channel the great rock bands of the ‘60s while being contemporary and creative, something I strive for in my bands. 8. Rapture – Anita Baker A guilty pleasure album for sure, but you can’t deny the songwriting and the grooves. I rediscover this album every 2-3 years and constantly find something new and surprising in it. My current favorite track is “Same Old Love (365 Days a Year).” 9. The Renaissance – Q Tip I’ve been a big fan of Q-Tip, Dilla, and Kurt Rosenwinkel for a long time, so when they all put their heads together to make this album I knew it would be great. I’ve had it on my iPod for two years now and never get tired of it. Norah Jones adds some beautiful vocals on “Life Is Better” as well as D’Angelo on “Believe.” This is a must own for hip-hoppers and jazzheads alike. Also, the “bass” lines are incredibly original and funky! 10. Shostakovich: The Complete String Quartets – Emerson String Quartet The premiere string quartet performing the music of one of my all-time favorite composers. They do an amazing job with their interpretations especially the 3rd, 7th, and 8th quartets. There’s a moment in the second or third movement of the 7th string quartet that still gives me chills every time I hear it. Shostakovich’s melodic and harmonic concepts are very important to my own compositional style.
JAZZed July 2011 9
SAVE THE DATE
THE 3RD ANNUAL
LOUISVILLE, KY
JEN CONFERENCE January 4-7, 2012 Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today! In the immortal words of one of jazz’ most notable innovators, LOUIS Satchmo Armstrong…
To Jazz or not to Jazz… There is no question!
Call it what you want, but by chance, through karma, serendipity, destiny, fate, providence, or luck…we are proud to announce the Third Annual JEN Conference in yet another city with LOUIS in the title... LOUISville, Kentucky… We think Three’s a CHARM! Come experience all Louisville has to offer, as we will be collectively Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today!
The Jazz Education Network
is dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance, and developing new audiences. For complete membership information/benefits please visit us at: www.JazzEdNet.org
Our network is growing JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
A MESSAGE FROM JEN PRESIDENT LOU FISCHER “Jazz is rhythm and meaning.” – Henri Matisse At the time of this writing…only 200 days, 11 hours, and 28 minutes remain until the next JEN Annual Conference! Much has been taking place as we begin to develop our rhythmic stride towards this event. Since January, we have successfully completed a Call for Board Nominations, the election of three new Board members including Rick Kessel, Darla Hanley, and Caleb Chapman, and the Board is presently in the process of this year’s Officer Election for Vice President and Treasurer. We have completed the submission process for clinics and performances for the 2012 Annual Conference. We guarantee there will be a jampacked array of talent and clinic topics for you based on the submissions, which are now in the review stage. Notification to the individuals selected to present or perform will be completed by September 1. Those selected will have until September 15th to confirm acceptance of their appearance. We Welcome our new Volunteer Web Master, renowned bassist/educator/technology guru Gene Perla, who has already put in countless hours on the JEN site. Watch for improvements! Our new part-time Office Manager, Larry Green, has been putting in full-time hours working through the membership files getting folks up-to-date and bringing in new members. Exhibitor sales are strong for ’12 running at about 44% occupied at this time. New this year will be the addition of a dedicated New “We’re here to Voices Stage, a vocal showcase, sponsored by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation (CA). Speaking of sponsoring a stage, we have multiple Sponsorship Opportunities have a ball!” available to you and/or your organization. Go to JazzEdNet.org and click on Conference – Art Blakey Central for more information. In addition, JEN has partnered with TI:ME (Technology in Music Education) to run concurrent conferences in Louisville. TI:ME will be handling all technology based presentations at both conferences and members of JEN will be able to attend all TI:ME events wearing your JEN Conference credential. Submissions have been gathered from the membership base of JEN and TI:ME, and will be announced alongside clinic and performance submissions in the Fall. Additionally, JEN has partnered with the Jazz Arts Group (JAG) of Columbus (OH) to explore data from a first-of-its kind study of current jazz ticket buyers across the country, and potential jazz ticket buyers in Columbus, Ohio. Funded in large part by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and conducted in late 2010, the Jazz Audiences Initiative (JAI) data is perfectly timed, and links well to the focus of our conference theme providing a platform for Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today. The JENeral Session on Thursday afternoon will feature a keynote address related to the study’s findings by Alan S. Brown, of WofBrown Consulting, a leading researcher and management consultant in the nonprofit arts industry. Read more about this fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas related to marketing and messaging, venues, and presenting and producing, and a Call for Research Papers in the following pages. As we build the varied offerings for the upcoming conference, we are excited that all can be handled under one roof at the fantastic venue we have chosen for you. Check out the video about the Official Conference Hotel, the Galt House, online now. We are also extremely excited to be able to make an early announcement regarding commitments for performances featuring the Army Jazz Ambassadors, and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra led by Byron Stripling! Further, we are honored that JEN has been chosen to present a 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Blues & the Abstract Truth! Presented by Jazz Lines Publications and Oliver Nelson Jr., this concert will feature an All-Star lineup I guarantee you will not want to miss... NEA Jazz Masters Benny Golson, tenor and Ron Carter, bass; Grady Tate, drums; Antonio Hart, alto; Gary Smulyan, bari; Terell Stafford, trumpet; and Roger Kellaway, piano! And in closing, let me remind you of the JEN Student Composition Showcase, JEN Scholarships, Cover Design Contest, Press, and Volunteer Applications online presently. All applications must be completed by September 1, 2011! Updates for all can be found at www.JazzEdNet.org. Click on CONFERENCE CENTRAL and stay informed! Bass-ically Yours; Dr. Lou Fischer JEN Co-Founder, President ljazzmanf@yahoo.com
JEN Board of Directors (2011-12): Rubén Alvarez, Paul Bangser, Caleb Chapman, John Clayton-Vice President, Orbert Davis, José DiazSecretary, Dr. Lou Fischer-President, Darla Hanley, Monica Herzig, Willard Jenkins, Rick Kessel-Treasurer, Mary Jo Papich-Past President, Bob Sinicrope, Terell Stafford, Andrew Surmani-President Elect. Office Manager: Larry Green; Bookkeeper: Mindy Muck; Webmaster: Gene Perla; Web Hosting: AudioWorks Group, Ltd./JazzCorner.com
JAZZed July 2011 11
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
Happy 3rd Birthday to JEN! “My dear esteemed colleagues in jazz, It was exactly three years ago today (and tomorrow, June 1) that we holed up in a small conference room by O’Hare...we started the morning with sharing WHY we were there and I went last, tearfully sharing my take on what truly happened in the former organization and how it had been the most devastating thing in my life. We took a lunch break and during that time I heard Paul C. in his call to Warrick Carter say, “well, we just had a long euology for IAJE and I think we are ready to move on.” We came back and boy did we move! Led by Bob Breithaupt and Gene Wenner, organizational experts, we choose a name, a mission, elected officers, and put a framework of by-laws together and JEN WAS BORN! My life changed when JEN was born, as has Lou’s and Andrew’s and many others of you who are giving your blood and sweat to this wonderful organization. CONGRATS to all of you for dreaming the dream with Lou and I and making it happen! It is not time to rest on our laurels tho....we have much to do! Members to recruit! Conferences to plan! Student and teacher programs to start and more! Please...everybody...continue to dig in and give Lou assistance in any way you can. I am honored to work with each of you and look forward to reaching many more JEN birthdays and milestones! From the heart, Mary Jo Papich”
“MJ/Lou - I will always be proud of what involvement I had in JEN at the outset. The two of you with the help of so many others have taken a dream, a mission, a framework...and have brought joy and purpose back to a segment of the business that many thought had been lost forever through a quick and shocking turn of events. The jazz education business will be eternally grateful to you for never losing faith and having invested your time, money (yes...) and tears for the benefit of many whom you will never know, but will know you through your actions. Sincerely, Bob Breithaupt”
“Happy birthday, JEN, and congrats to all involved, especially Mary Jo and Lou for taking those essential first steps! Best regards, Frank Alkyer”
“MaryJo, Most or ALL of us who were there in the beginning were there simply because you or Lou asked us to be. No explanation was needed. When you told us what was in the works, we couldn’t get to Chicago fast enough. Thanks to your and Lou’s vision and the dedicated work of a lot of people, we are here to stay! There is no turning back now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Louisville, here we come. Jim Widner”
“Greetings to all. I share the many sentiments and have been amazed at both the dedicated work of Lou and Mary Jo, but also at the incredible group effort that has made JEN the international organization that it is. I am privileged to have been a part of this, and wish everyone a Happy JENday!! Paris Rutherford”
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“MJ; I share your sentiments. It has been a wonderful ride thus far. Bringing the family together, sharing the love of this great music,, enjoying each other’s performances, and paying it all forward is the greatest motivator for all of our efforts. I too look forward to many more years of service. Lou Fischer”
“Congratulations to everyone involved with JEN - it has been wonderful to have such a great organization to fill the void and I look forward to conferences to come! Special thanks to MJ and Lou for their willingness to assume the leadership roles with all the incredible amounts of time and hard work involved. All best Ellen Rowe”
“I also would like to say thank you to all who have made JEN possible and especially MJ and Lou. I have also enjoyed getting to know you all and working with such a fine group of individuals who are also so passionate about the arts and specifically JAZZ. Daniel Gregerman” “Feliz Cumpleaños JEN Palante-Foward!!! Rubén P. Alvarez”
“Dear Colleagues of Distinction: Congratulations to all of you for your contributions to jazz education. Happy Birthday JEN!! What an exciting adventure to see JEN develop after the demise of IAJE. JEN is certainly filing a void in music education leadership today in these troubled and economically difficult times. What the world needs is LOVE and don’t know a better way to share it than through jazz music and the inherent creative instruction that separates it from other contemporary musical styles. Keep up the creative work as music education needs contemporary music inside of its core. And Jazz can indeed be the “Fountain of Youth” regardless of age, culture, geographical location, etc. Keep up your dynamic leadership and we will change the way the world views itself by sharing jazz as a positive manifestation of “life” itself. Our roots are deep and far reaching as you travel the world to better understand that jazz is a truly a “World Music.” In a class, by itself! Thank you for letting me be a part of JEN and look forward to the future developments in JEN and its impact on music education. Till next time, John Kuzmich, Jr.” “CONGRATS!!!!
“Mary Jo, I stand in line with my colleague/friends and salute you, Lou and everyone who contributed their blood, sweat, tears and cash to make JEN a reality. Thanks to you and Lou for planting the dream seed. I also feel honored to be working at your side. Warmly, John Clayton” “Dear Mary Jo and Lou, Belated congratulations on your anniversary! It is truly an honor to be associated with JEN. Thank you for your vision, your Herculean efforts and as John said your “blood, sweat and tears” to make JEN a reality. What a gift you have given to Jazz educators and to the children they teach! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Warm wishes, Madelyn Bonnot” “Thanks everyone...here’s to many more years! See you ALL in Louisville! MJ”
Dr. Sherrie Maricle”
JAZZed July 2011 13
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
Congratulations to the newly Elected Board Members of JEN! Terms are for 3 years and are effective July 1, 2011.
Darla S. Hanley Dr. Darla S. Hanley is Dean of the Professional Education Division at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts (which is comprised of five departments: Music Business/Management, Music Education, Music Therapy, Professional Music, and Liberal Arts). She is the former Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Professor of Music Education at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. She is also the former director of the Shenandoah Singers, a vocal jazz/show choir that performed internationally, in several states within the United States, and regularly on campus. Dr. Hanley received both a Ph.D. and a Master of Music in Music Education Research from Temple University and a Bachelor of Music Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Dr. Hanley is an active clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. She has presented numerous workshops and lectures on the topics of vocal jazz, elementary and middle school general music, educational assessment, and creative movement including presentations at international, national, regional, and state conferences, and individual school district in-service meetings. Dr. Hanley was a final educational adjudicator/reviewer for Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media, an organization that recommends educational resources for parents, teachers, and librarians and has awarded such artists as Sweet Honey in the Rock, Hap Palmer, and Phil Rosenthal. On campus, she serves as a Chief Adjudicator in the Vocal Jazz category for the annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival. Dr. Hanley is a contributing author to MENC publications: Strategies for Teaching K-4 General Music and Strategies for Teaching Middle Level General Music. She was a member of the Steering Committee to revise the Standards of Learning (SOL) for elementary/general music in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the VMEA Notes Editorial Board. Dr. Hanley is one of the primary authors of the elementary general music series, Music Expressions, by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. (formerly by Warner Bros. Publications). Her articles entitled, Comfort in
14 JAZZed July 2011
Knowledge: Preparing Students for Success in a Vocal Jazz Choir and Take the Repeat: Creative Reinforcement of Student Learning in K-5 General Music, were recently published in the Massachusetts Music News. Dr. Hanley is a member of the American Conference of Academic Deans, the National Association for Music Education: MENC, the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, the Jazz Education Network (JEN), the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Massachusetts ACE National Network of Women Leaders (NNWL), and Pi Kappa Lambda (Music Honor Society).
Caleb Chapman As the President of Caleb Chapman Music, Caleb directs over 150 of Utah’s most talented young musicians in six elite ensembles, including the Crescent Super Band, which has frequently been hailed as one of the best youth big bands in the world. Caleb’s bands have been featured at many of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals including North Sea (The Netherlands), Montreux (Switzerland), Vienne (France), Umbria (Italy), and Puerto Vallarta (Mexico). Most recently, the Crescent Super Band was featured with Toshiko Akiyoshi at the Telluride Jazz Festival. Caleb’s bands have also performed with nearly 200 guest artists, including Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, Peter Erskine, Kurt Elling, Wayne Bergeron, Dave Weckl, Jon Faddis, Kirk Whalum, Stefon Harris, Nicholas Payton, Wycliffe Gordon, Lenny Pickett, Jeff Coffin, Greg Osby, and Bob Mintzer. Additionally, his bands have been featured on the Sirius XM “Real Jazz” Channel and released 8 albums on the Big Swing Face label. Caleb’s students have been honored with four DownBeat Awards, including “Best Performing Arts High School Big Band” (2007 and 2010). The band has also won five consecutive “Best of State” awards for Utah and the prestigious Best of State Statue Award identifying Caleb’s program as the top organization in Arts and Entertainment in Utah, beating out every other professional music, arts, and film organization in the state for the honor. In 2011 Caleb received the John LaPorta
Educator of the Year Award, presented in tandem by the Berklee School of Music and the Jazz Education Network. In 2007 Caleb was the inaugural inductee into the Horne School of Music Hall of Fame and received the “Superior Accomplishment Award” from the Utah Music Educators Association. He is the 2006 recipient of the KUER FM90 “Voice of Jazz Award”. Additionally, Caleb serves on the Executive Board of JazzSLC, presenters of the Salt Lake City Jazz at the Sheraton Series. Caleb is a featured clinician and sponsored performer for Yamaha Saxophones and Rico Reeds.
Rick Kessel As publisher for Symphony Publishing’s music education group of magazines which include, JAZZed, SBO - School Band & Orchestra, and CD - Choral Director magazines, Rick is also the associate publisher for MMR - Musical Merchandise Review. Rick has over twenty five years experience in the magazine publishing field and was responsible for launching SBO magazine in 1998. Choral Director magazine in 2004, and JAZZed in 2006. As a staunch advocate for music education, Rick has continually encouraged support for music in the schools in his numerous magazine editorials. Rick’s extensive background as a professional clarinetist and teacher has included performances with Luciano Pavarotti and Henry Mancini.Rick is currently the principal clarinetist for Symphony Pro Musica in central Massachusetts, and is an active member of the American Bandmasters Association, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Jazz Education Network since its inception and currently serves as Treasurer. Rick grew up in central New Jersey and holds a bachelor’s degree in music and audio technology from Indiana University and an MBA from Clark University in Massachusetts. Rick resides in Worcester, Massachusetts with his wife Cynthia and sons Samuel and Nathan
Call For Research Papers The third annual Jazz Education Network Conference, January 4-7, 2012, Louisville, KY is calling for submission of research papers related to the conference theme: Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today. The research track solicits the submission of original, principled research papers dealing with topics related to audience development for jazz in particular, but also for the arts in general. The research track will run parallel with presentations by the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus on the Jazz Audiences Initiative. Such presentations will include various track offerings, i.e. Marketing and Messaging; Venues; and Presenting and Producing. During the past 18 months, the Jazz Audiences Initiative has studied fundamental questions related to how and why people engage with jazz. Jazz artists, producers, presenters, and educators nationwide will learn new ideas for building audiences, and infusing the art form with new energy. The research serves as a framework for testing new strategies for overcoming barriers to jazz participation and for building jazz audiences through more targeted marketing and programming efforts. For more information on the initiative and a review of the literature, visit: http://www. jazzartsgroup.org/jai The Jazz Audiences Initiative explored the following key research questions: • What does “jazz” mean to people? How do people relate to jazz as an art form? • How do people develop preferences for different forms of jazz? • What are the pathways into the art form? • How much “taste diversity” is there within the jazz audience? • What kinds of live jazz experiences do people want? • How does setting affect preference and attendance? • What are the connections between attendance and personal practice? Submission guidelines: Submit a 1-2 page abstract by August 15, 2011. Papers should directly relate to the research questions above and may include: • Historical perspectives on jazz/ arts audiences • Quantitative studies • Case studies • Literature reviews Submissions need to be Word documents in .doc or .pdf format. Presentations will be 50 minutes in length, including a minimum of 10 minutes for questions and answers. Presenters will also have the opportunity to present their findings in a combined poster/information session showcasing all accepted research findings. A projector and screen will be available, presenters will need to provide their own computers and projector adapters. Presenters agree to become members of JEN and attend the JEN conference. For more information, to submit an abstract, and join JEN go to www.JazzEdNet.org.
JAZZed July 2011 15
networthynews JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
Unveiling of Jazz Forever Stamp in Kansas City Dozens of aficionados lined up to buy new Jazz Forever commemorative stamps this spring during a special unveiling at Kansas City’s Jazz Museum. The U.S. Postal Service sold the stamps and other collectibles through a wooden teller window from the original Westport post office dating to the early 1800s. The Jazz Forever stamp was originally released in New Orleans in April, which made sense, said Barbara Thomas, director of visitor services at the Jazz Museum. She said New Orleans was known as the birthplace of jazz. “But jazz grew up in Kansas City, so why not have a second unveiling here?” she said. The postal service issues 25 to 40 commemorative stamps each year and produces about 100 million of each one. When the supply runs out, the Postal Service does not make more. BUY THEM NOW! Filmmaker and journalist Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn was a featured guest on two shows last month in the LA area to discuss her women horn players in jazz documentary film, … but can she play? You also might have seen Janice in action at the JEN conference in New Orleans. Littlejohn is a veteran journalist and co-founder of Woodshed 1936 Films, an independent production company based in Los Angeles, CA. …her first film, an EMERGE Fiscal Sponsorship project supported by the Pasadena Arts Council (PAC), a member of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors. All financing raised from donations by corporations, associations and individuals is eligible for tax deduction to the fullest extent allowed by law through PAC’s 501 (c)(3) status. Fiscal sponsorship has become increasingly common as a means by which documentary filmmakers secure the funds necessary to produce films. To donate to this worthy cause go to www.butcansheplay.com
In recent National Endowment for the Arts news NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman announced on May 17 the latest round of NEA funding. Among the supported projects are 23 that feature jazz and jazz organizations, a total of $680,000 in grants. In the NEA audio collection, there are downloadable podcasts on various NEA Jazz Masters, including Ron Carter, Randy Weston, David Baker, Hank Jones on the NEA website or Facebook or Twitter. Dean of the Conservatory David H. Stull is pleased to announce the appointment of two top jazz artists to Oberlin’s Jazz Studies Department. Robin Eubanks, Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone, will expand his current position to include Jazz Composition, and Sean Jones will join the faculty as Assistant Professor of Jazz Trumpet.
16 JAZZed July 2011
DAN GREGERMAN (IL) and Pam Hendrix of Niles North High School in Skokie (IL) participated in a Skype exchange concert with the Riad School in Morocco last month. The connection was provided by Michael Miles of Chicago and the students not only performed for one another they visited about culture, food, pop songs and utilized French as well as English. The CHRIS MADSEN (IL) trio’s debut album, “Chris Madsen Trio plays Bix Beiderbecke”, will be released in the fall of 2011 on JeruJazz records. The album creatively reimagines music by Bix and Co. including the Modern Piano Suite (Flashes, In a Mist, In the Dark, Candlelights) in its entirety for a unique instrumentation: acoustic bass, guitar, and tenor saxophone. The Chris Madsen Trio, formed in 2010, has performed mainly in the Chicago area at the Brookfield Jazz Society, Andy’s Jazz Club, Club 3160, Katerina’s, Highland Park FOCUS on the Arts, the Ridgeville Park Summer Concert Series, and the Des Moines Social Club. The group’s unique take on early jazz, Swing, and the Great American Songbook is turning heads from Chicago to New York and beyond. Chris is on staff at Northwestern University and directs the jazz program for Midwest Young Artists. BRET PRIMACK (AZ), aka The Jazz Video Guy, was awarded Best Short Form Jazz Video at the Jazz Journalists Association annual ceremony this weekend for his video Sonny Rollins – Getting It Back Together. Since he began working with Mr. Rollins as his website and new media producer nearly six years ago, Bret has produced over one hundred videos featuring the Saxophone Colossus and his associates. His latest video, Sonny Rollins Meets Ornette Coleman, is a trailer for “Road Shows, Vol. 2,” a compilation to be released by Doxy / Universal on September 13th. This one’s a bit different,” Bret explains, “because I’m going for a much more dramatic effect here, not using the music from Sonny Rollins@80, but instead something that recalls Carmina Burana. Since March, 2006, the debut of YouTube, Bret’s Sonny Rollins’ videos have generated 3,435,835 views from 142 different countries. View the Award winning video: Sonny Rollins - Getting It Back Together www.youtube.com/ watch?v=R2j7fJzqFsg For more info on Bret “Jazz Video Guy” Primack www.planetbret.com” JEN Communications Chair Gary Armstrong has been named VP of Marketing and Communications for The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
networthynews JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
DAWN DEBLAZE (MO) is publicizing the first University City Jazz Festival featuring an educational component with Washington University. The event will take place on Saturday, September 24 in the St. Louis suburb. DeBlaze and Associates is also educating folks on a new ground-breaking album “The Blue Lou & Misha Project: Highly Classified” on the Prima Vista label. This is Lou Marini’s third album as a leader, and his first collaboration with iconic composer Misha Segal who showcases 10 original tunes. Together they define a cutting-edge, urban cool jazz vibe that revolutionizes the soundscape with edgy concepts and cliche-free tones. The celebrated saxophone wizard takes listeners on an ultra-original, sonic adventure showcasing horn solos, along with Segal’s authoritative piano licks. Masterful compositions, programming and arrangements combine with smooth rap rhythms and hints of humor. Overall, this unconventional, yet accessible, collection transports the listener at warp speed into the future, fusing contemporary jazz, fusion, rock, straight-ahead jazz, rap and hip hop. New websites are www.blueloumarini.com and www.mishasegal.com. ARTHUR WHITE’S (MO) University of Missouri Concert Jazz Band’s album “Vertigo: The Music of Mike Mainieri” was recently recognized by respected jazz journalist W. Royal Stokes as one of the ‘Notable CDs of 2010’. Considering it is the university’s debut album, and that they are the only program of higher education to make his lists, this is significant. “Vertigo” is the first collaboration between Dr. White, the students of the M.U. Jazz Studies Program, and jazz icon Mike Mainieri. Mainieri visited Columbia, Missouri as an artist-in-residence at M.U. The award-winning producer/ performer and founder of the seminal jazz/fusion group “Steps Ahead” recorded an album of his compositions arranged in a big band format for the first time. Mainieri holds several Grammy nominations and has performed on over 100 gold and platinum recordings. He has recorded with pop and rock artists such as Paul Simon, Aerosmith, Billy Joel and jazz guitarist George Benson. CLARK TERRY (AR) recently completed the index to his autobiography, “Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry” that will be released on October 1 (University of California Press). Breaking barriers as the first African-American on the “Tonight Show’s” NBC Orches-
tra with Jack Paar, Clark Terry demonstrates how far our society has come. During this time, Clark was on the first call list, doing commercials for product endorsements. Ironically, Terry wanted to make more time for teaching students so he told the contractors to take his name off of all lists. Clark’s students continue to flock from around the world and study with him in Pine Bluff, AR. Soon the iconic trumpeter hopes to also teach from his home via Skype. Two students from William Paterson University are currently producing a documentary on Clark Terry. The eagerly anticipated work written by Clark Terry, Gwen Terry, Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby is available for pre-order on Amazon.com at a 34% discount. ROY PHILLIPPE (CA), Los Angeles composer and arranger, is among the ranks of Neal Hefti, Johnny Mandel, Quincy Jones, Sammy Nestico and many others who wrote for Count Basie. After hearing Jimmy Forrest perform a few times, Phillippe eventually approached him about arranging a solo feature. The result is “Night Train,” which was recorded by Count Basie and featured in the “Last of the Blue Devils” documentary. Phillippe has published other works that continue to garner great interest such as “Jive at Five,” (Editor’s Choice at JW Pepper Music) and “Beach Bossa” (Kendor). In “A Case History of a Film Score: The Thorn Birds,” authored by Henry Mancini, Roy Phillippe serves as editor of the project. On JVOICE www.facebook.com/pages/JVOICE-JazzVocalists-Offering-Instructional-Curriculum-for-Education/106379385885) , Chris Humphrey posted the Finalists in This seasons Jazzmobile Jazz Vocal Competition. They are Akua Allrich, Dean Bowman, Robert Brandt, Emily Braden, Laura Brunner, Terri Davis, Chris Humphrey, Karla Simmons. The finals will be announced soon and information will be listed at http://www.jazzmobile.org/
Submit your Networthy News items to NetworthyNews@JazzEdNet.org
ENJOY YOUR SUMMER and see you in Louisville for the 3rd Annual Jazz Conference!
JAZZed July 2011 17
guest editorial
THE COOL JAZZ ERA
Like, Cool!
T
o me the two most dissonant English language words, at least as they are spoken by many of my college students, are the ubiquitous ‘like’ and ‘cool’. My ears are constantly assailed by these utterances and they distract me to such an extent that I can barely concentrate on the sentences in which they appear with such regularity.
18 JAZZed July 2011
guest editorial The word ‘like’ has come to be used by many of today’s youth either to fill a pause or serve as a meaningless interjection, as in “Like, why didn’t you call me?” and “The food was, like, awful!” These sentences wouldn’t experience any deficit of meaning if the word ‘like’ were completely excised from them. In fact, one’s speech would become considerably more elegant and uncluttered without it. Further, the word ‘cool’ has become the standard positive response to anything said to someone that he or she may be delighted to hear; for example, following my saying something like “your assignment was played beautifully”, or “your written homework is flawless.” If you know me at all, you know that my speech and writing are completely devoid of faddish vernacular expressions, reflecting my desire to avoid acting “with it” or “cool.” The truth is that the only thing I like about ‘cool’ is the music of the Cool Jazz Era. Let me tell you why. Musical Traits of the Cool Jazz Era
Whenever I listen to recordings of such awesome nonCool Jazz pianists as Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson, or to Christian Jacob (his jazz trio’s recording, “Contradictions,” of the music of the late Michel Petrucciani – another incredible jazz pianist – is sublime), I silently think that these musicians are so inventive, can think so fast, are capable of playing with such enormous rhythmic diversity, are able to execute their musical thoughts so fluently and spontaneously, that I can never imagine myself being able to reach their exalted levels in my own jazz improvisational efforts. But then when I hear a recording of Cool Jazz Era pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, or a CD of George Shearing, I sometimes think: “I believe I may be able to do that!” In fact, whenever I have played one of my many commercial dance band gigs as a pianist/bandleader, I have unconsciously emulated their light touch, their clarity of sound, their lucidity and fluidity of musical ideas, their occasional melodic references and lyricism and their judicious use of silences, among other musical traits. In other words, I have incorporated into my playing several of the important hallmarks of the music of the Cool Jazz Era. The liner notes for the Lennie Tristano cut, “Crosscurrent,” on the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, refer to the Cool Jazz Era’s “low temperature approach to jazz improvisation,” and go on to say that this music was characterized by “flowing melodic lines that swept across the normally accepted breaks in phrasing,” and that “in terms of the dynamic level nothing was allowed to happen, and the rhythm section was only to play a time-keeping role. The drummers had to play brushes on their snare drum with an even attack throughout...the bass player had to follow the same procedure...so listeners’ attention is focused on the melody.”
I find that the Cool Jazz Era’s laid-back and economical manner of playing is consistent with my own personality and with my having grown mellower as I have matured. I also actually enjoy editing myself as I perform, and I take increasing pleasure in being able to thus express myself more effectively musically. As Miles Davis played it and stated it: “I always listen for what I can leave out...letting space become part of the configuration.” In a New York Times editorial on October 1, 1991, on the occasion of Davis’s passing, the following insightful and astute words were written: “Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the revolutionary architect, preached that less was more. Miles Davis used the same prescription with similarly dramatic results. He created a thoughtful, understated jazz” with his “spare, lyrical sensibility”, both “laconic and sensual.” Precursors of Cool Jazz could be heard during the Swing Era in the behind-the-beat tasteful tenor saxophone playing of Lester Young, and in Gil Evans’s subtle, inventive and distinctive arrangements for the Claude Thornhill band. Besides those Cool Jazz individuals mentioned earlier in this article, other distinguished luminaries of that era, which began in the late 1950s, included Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck, Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre, Art Pepper and Chico Hamilton, to name a few. End Note
I’m guessing that a return to the performance principles of Cool Jazz might again make jazz more popular with the general public. Doing so, I predict, will increase the size of audiences for that less abstract and calmer style than the more active type of jazz played during the 1940s bebop era, or the more frenetic hard bop and bop/rock fusion styles in which jazz is often played today.
BY LEE EVANS
Lee Evans, Ed.D., is professor of music at NYC’s Pace University. His most recent solo-piano publications for the FJH Music Company are the late-beginner level Color Me Jazz, Books 1 and 2, and the intermediate/upper intermediate level Ole! Original Latin American Dance Music.
JAZZed July 2011 19
lessons learned
“Standards”?
Determining Curricular Repertoire
Part 1
G
BY DR. MARK WATKINS
iven the extensive repertoire available to jazz musicians, it is sometimes daunting to know where to start, especially for the young player. Yet the responsibility remains for the university jazz program to prepare their students for the professional world in a sequential and timely manner covering appropriate styles and tune types. This is compounded when one considers that students may eventually reside in other geographical regions due to family, work opportunity, or graduate studies. Three parameters might be considered when developing a curricular repertoire: 1. Regional commonalities – which tunes constitute a unified and transferable foundation as opposed to those more common to one location than another 2. Sequential learning – organization into freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior levels 3. Exposure to styles – such as songbook standard, jazz standard, blues, Rhythm, bebop, ballad, Latin, fusion, avant garde, etc. With the ideal of discovering a universal repertoire in mind, a survey was initiated to ascertain convention. There are many publications where writers have included a list of recommended tunes such as those by David Baker, Mark Levine, or Hal Crook. These are wonderful resources based on the experience of great professionals. The present study is designed to assess commonalities across a broad topography. The survey statement is informal, as follows: I’m working on our jazz curriculum…and wondered if you could help me out. I’d like to refine our requirements for repertoire by comparing tune usage in various parts of the country. Would you be willing to jot down a quick list of tunes that are played a lot in your area? The number of tunes on the list doesn’t matter, just what comes to mind quickly as being the most called at gigs and jam sessions.
20 JAZZed July 2011
lessons learned Thirty-seven respected jazz educator/performers responded. Names and locations are listed.
Name
Location
Name
Location
Anderson, Steve Atkins, Victor Baker, Malcolm Lynn Bollenback, Paul Bowen, Ralph Calle, Ed Christiansen, Corey Cummisky, Tim Dotson, Dennis Flugge, Mark Foote, Gordon Gudmundson, Jon
Chapel Hill, NC New Orleans, LA Denver, CO New York, NY New Brunswick, NJ Miami, FL Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO Columbus, OH Houston, TX Columbus, OH Montreal, Canada Seattle, WA; Los Angeles, CA, et al Dallas, TX Seattle, WA Salt Lake City, UT Salt Lake City, UT Boston, MA Kansas City, KS Dallas, TX
Sielert, Vern
Seattle, WA; Waco, TX; Normal, IL Tallahassee, FL Tallahassee, FL Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA New Orleans, LA New York, NY Chicago, IL; New York, NY New York, NY, Denver, CO San Diego, CA Columbus, OH Portland, OR Austin, TX Washington D.C. Washington D.C. Indianapolis/Bloomington, IN Los Angeles, CA Pullman, WA
Hearle, Dan Jensen, Brent Larson, Matt Lawrence, Jay LeClaire, Shannon Mair, Jim Seaton, Lynn
Jordan, Rodney Kennedy, William Korb, Kristin Mark Levine Marsalis, Ellis Mays, Bill Phillips, Keith Rangell, Nelson Rekevics, John Rupp, Jim Stowell, John Temple, Brannen Vadala, Chris Vance, Mike Walsh, Tom Weir, Michele Yasinitsky, Greg
Six hundred and eleven different tunes were submitted. Of these, 263 are unduplicated, meaning the contributor included a composition that is used in their area but, since it is not on anybody else’s list, it may be considered regional or personal preference. Another 87 tunes are only mentioned on two submissions each. It should be noted that virtually every contributor emphasizes the profound significance of studying the blues and music based on “I Got Rhythm” chord changes. Concurrence exists for many tunes. These might be considered most significant. Results of the survey are included on two lists. The first list ranks submissions recommended by at least ten contributors representing a more universal repertoire. The next list includes those included on at least five, making them secondary in commonality. Numbers to the left indicate how many contributors’ lists contain the reference. List 1: Repertoire included on at least 10 contributor lists 29 28 27 26 26 26 26 23 23 22 22 21 21 21 21 20 20 19 18 18 18
All the Things You Are Autumn Leaves Body & Soul On Green Dolphin Street Stella by Starlight Take the ‘A’ Train There Will Never be Another You Alone Together What is This Thing Called Love? Have You Met Miss Jones? In a Sentimental Mood Blue Bossa Cherokee Just Friends Oleo I Love You Joy Spring Some Day My Prince Will Come Recorda me Softly as in a Morning Sunrise There Is No Greater Love
17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14
Billie’s Bounce Days of Wine and Roses Giant Steps Girl from Ipanema ‘Round Midnight Satin Doll Wave Yesterdays Confirmation Impressions I’ll Remember April Misty Night and Day Summertime Black Orpheus (A Day in the Life of a Fool) Corcovado/Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars Footprints In a Mellow Tone Invitation Lady Bird Like Someone in Love My Funny Valentine Bye Bye Blackbird
14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11
Donna Lee How High the Moon Night in Tunisia, A So What Solar You Don’t Know What Love Is Doxy Here’s that Rainy Day In Your Own Sweet Way It Could Happen to You Maiden Voyage Moment’s Notice Straight, No Chaser All Blues Desafinado Dolphin Dance Four I Can’t Get Started My Romance Speak Low St. Thomas Star Eyes Yardbird Suite All of Me Anthropology
11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Blue Monk Ceora I Hear a Rhapsody Lover Man Sweet Georgia Brown Tune Up Well You Needn’t What’s New? Blues for Alice But Not for Me Caravan Mr. P.C. My Foolish Heart Nica’s Dream Now’s the Time Ornithology Out of Nowhere Perdido Shadow of Your Smile, The Song for My Father Stablemates Triste You Stepped Out of a Dream
JAZZed July 2011 21
lessons learned List 2: Repertoire included on at least 5 contributor lists 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 08
Airegin Angel Eyes Back Home Again in Indiana Darn that Dream Embraceable You Foggy Day, A Groovin’ High Honeysuckle Rose Love for Sale My One and Only Love One Note Samba Scrapple from the Apple Sugar Tenderly Tenor Madness Whisper Not Beautiful Love Bluesette Don’t Get Around Much Anymore Emily Freddie Freeloader Georgia on My Mind I Thought About You If I Were a Bell
08 08 08 08 08 08 08 03 08 08 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07 07
Inner Urge Little Sunflower Prelude to a Kiss Skylark Song is You, The Sonnymoon for Two Stardust Take 5 Watermelon Man Way You Look Tonight, The Afternoon In Paris Along Came Betty Au Privave Bag’s Groove Cantaloupe Island Good Bait Hot House How Insensitive I Remember You Killer Joe Laura Lullaby of Birdland Meditation Nardis Over the Rainbow
Keep in mind that no list can be taken as conclusive. Contributors to the above lists were asked to submit what came to mind at the moment. Some included lists that they created for their teaching curriculum others only what they played regularly. Too many variables exist to be definitive. Another angle is that of “compositions most recorded.” A list is posted at www.jazzstandards.com that ranks standards in this manner. Many contributors added comments. These comments fall into ‘several’ categories: regional preferences, curricular considerations, venue demands, and personal preferences.
Regional Preferences “For gigs – all the popular Sinatra tunes are a mustknow.” (Shannon LeClaire, Boston) “…For some reason certain tunes seem to be played more in some places at jam sessions than in other localities. …Lots and lots of original tunes were played there [Greely, CO], too. …Hoagy Carmichael tunes [Indiannapolis/Bloomington, IN].” (Jon Gudmundson, Seattle, Los Angeles, et al) “We play quite a wide variety of tunes here…. We also play a lot of Latin standards… In general, most of the stuff we play is ii-V7-I oriented.” (Ed Calle, Miami) “And of course many of the Motown tunes and older rock and roll standards take over half way through the event.” (John Rekevics, San Diego) “Really, any standard by Rogers and Hart, Harold Arlen, Porter, Gershwin, etc. Any tune recorded by John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and many by Monk….” (Paul Bollenback, New York) 22 JAZZed July 2011
07 07 07 07 01 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06
Peace Sophisticated Lady Speak No Evil Stolen Moments Four in One All of You Come Rain or Come Shine Freedom Jazz Dance I Got Rhythm It Don’t Mean a Thing It Had to Be You Lazy Bird My Shining Hour Once I Loved Our Love is Here to Stay Polka Dots and Moonbeams Seven Steps to Heaven Stompin’ at the Savoy Watch What Happens When I Fall in Love You’d be so Nice to Come Home To 05 Beatrice 05 Bessie’s Blues 05 But Beautiful
05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05
Countdown E.S.P. Equinox Fee Fi Fo Fum Half Nelson How Deep is the Ocean? I Could Write a Book I Mean You I Should Care It Might as Well Be Spring It’s You or No One Milestones (new) Moonlight in Vermont My Favorite Things Nearness of You, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, The Someone To Watch Over Me Things Ain’t What They Used to Be Walkin’ Willow Weep for Me Witch Hunt Witchcraft Yes or No
“There are two main jazz scenes in New Orleans. One of which is based on New Orleans Traditional Jazz, which we call Trad Jazz, and the other is an extension of the bebop tradition that was modified by modern New Orleans players from Ellis Marsalis and Alvin Batiste, among others, to Wynton, Terrence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Nicholas Payton, and others. Then there are the cats who work in both of these scenes and the New Orleans R&B Funk scene, like the Meters and the Neville Bros.” (Victor Atkins, New Orleans)
Curricular Considerations “Irrespective of where they are when you get them, if you are interested in developing or maintaining a quality Jazz program, the focus must be on the following: 1) creating a positive relationship with tonal music (i.e. major/minor scales; ii-V-I chord progressions, etc.) because many young people have no relationship with the popular music from the Gershwin’s, Porter’s, Kern’s and others from their period whose songs heavily influenced jazz players of the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s through the early to middle 1960’s; 2) whenever possible, acquaint students with the songs from musicals like The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and any other musicals which produced standards played and recorded by jazzmen like Hawkins, Davis, Evans and others; [and] 3) develop piano, bass, drum-set and guitar rhythm sections ASAP. Have them learn and play blues in selected keys and tempi. “ (Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans) “… Tunes I feel every player should learn to play, either because they are tunes everyone knows or because they are good for one’s development as a player.” (Dennis Dotson, Houston)
lessons learned “I don’t adhere to this [curricular repertoire] list religiously. Once my students get past the first two [foundational] groups we go somewhat based on their interest and somewhat based on the list.” (Tom Walsh, Indianapolis/Bloomington)
Venue Demands “A lot of these tunes are called during the dinner sets for wedding and corporate party bands. Then they get into the top 40/ classic rock stuff.” (Mike Vance, Washington, DC) “As far as tunes go they change from venue to venue depending on if it’s dinner music or concert music.” (Jim Mair, Kansas City) “Some of these songs are not usually played in a ‘straight ahead’ jazz club setting but seem to be popular choices in a setting such as cocktail hour on ‘casuals.’ I think the intent of your project is to prepare students for what they might encounter in the real world so I kind of selected songs with that in mind.” (Rob Verdi, Las Angeles)
Personal Preferences “More important, maybe, than actual tunes, I always play on any given program a piece by Monk, by Ellington, by Jimmy Rowles, a couple classic beboppers, in addition to my own things.” (Bill Mays, New York) “…The repertoire in an area is largely affected by whom the seasoned band leaders are and what tunes they like to play.” (Corey Christiansen, St. Louis, Atlanta, et al) A second goal is to organize the most commonly expected repertoire (survey) into levels usable in a sequential manner: freshman to senior, easier to harder, simple to complex. Eleven respondents included their curricular lists; other sources come from university requirements as posted on Web sites, including: University of Northern Colorado, Manhattan School of Music, Sacramento State, University of California Los Angeles, Indiana University, University of Idaho, McGill University, Florida State University, University of Southern California, University of North Texas, University of Denver, and Rutgers University. These graded lists are combined to determine agreement and then matched with the survey. Some tunes are found under multiple years. A few additional titles are allowed if they appear on at least one survey response and on multiple university charts. Dr. Mark Watkins has performed and lectured throughout the U.S., England, Wales, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Canada, Chile, Thailand, Singapore, and The Philippines with upcoming visits to Puerto Rico and Scotland in 2012. Comments regarding his latest CD, FOUR: On a Warm Summer’s Evenin’ include: “I need my Mark Watkins bop-fix! This is great jazz from start to finish - beautiful, intelligent, soulful, swinging and all done with the highest caliber of performance.” (Noah Peterson, Portland), and “… Watkins’s diversified, fresh, and engaging writing results in new discoveries with every listen.” (Ed Calle, Miami) Watkins received his doctorate in five woodwind instruments from Indiana University and presently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Brigham Young University–Idaho.
Curricular Repertoire Freshman A fternoon In Paris All of Me Autumn Leaves Bag’s Groove Blue Bossa Blue Monk But Not for Me Bye Bye Blackbird Cantaloupe Island Days of Wine and Roses Doxy Equinox Four Freddie Freeloader Good Bait I Got Rhythm Impressions Killer Joe Little Sunflower
Sophomore
All Blues All of Me All the Things You Are Alone Together Anthropology Back Home Again in Indiana Bessie’s Blues Billie’s Bounce Black Orpheus (A Day in the Life of a Fool) Blue Bossa Blues for Alice Bluesette Body & Soul But Not for Me Bye Bye Blackbird Caravan Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) Darn that Dream Don’t Get Around Much Anymore Foggy Day, A Footprints Freedom Jazz Dance Georgia on My Mind Girl from Ipanema Groovin’ High Have You Met Miss Jones? Honeysuckle Rose How High the Moon How Insensitive I Can’t Get Started I Could Write a Book I Got Rhythm I Love You In a Mellow Tone
Maiden Voyage My Romance Now’s the Time Perdido Satin Doll Song for My Father Sonnymoon for Two St. James Infirmary St. Louis Blues St. Thomas Straight, No Chaser Summertime Take the ‘A’ Train Tenor Madness Things Ain’t What They Used to Be Walkin’ Watermelon Man Yardbird Suite
In a Sentimental Mood Invitation Lady Bird Lover Man Lullaby of Birdland Maiden Voyage Meditation Misty Mr. P.C. My Funny Valentine My Shining Hour Nearness of You, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, The On Green Dolphin Street Once I Loved Recorda me Scrapple from the Apple Seven Steps to Heaven So What Softly as in a Morning Sunrise Solar Some Day My Prince Will Come Stardust Stolen Moments Stompin’ at the Savoy Sugar Sweet Georgia Brown There Is No Greater Love There Will Never be Another You Tune Up Watch What Happens Wave Way You Look Tonight, The When I Fall in Love Yardbird Suite
Part 2 in September JAZZed.
JAZZed July 2011 23
In the old times, they thought it was hip to tell you the wrong things. 24 JAZZed July 2011
‘Mumbles’ Makes Time for Mentoring A legend for generations, Clark Terry has spent countless hours with every willing student, translating a lifetime’s worth of experience into an invaluable resource for young jazz musicians everywhere.
The legend of the upstart jazz master takes many forms and carries with it a tempting mystique. Whether born out of Kansas City farmhouse or a tenement in New York City, jazz fans often like to imagine future jazz greats emerging fully formed, armed with nothing but their own scrappy intuition. Think of the dissonant harmonies of Thelonious Monk, the energy of Charles Mingus, and the nonchalance of Stan Getz. But none of these pioneers did it all on their own. Every master comes from a rich tradition of mentors and educators, and horn legend Clark Terry embodies that perhaps more than anyone today. A superstar performer by every measure from the end of the Swing Era to today, Terry’s story is one of both a devoted pupil and a proud teacher. It’s the story of an immensely talented kid who grew up looking for all the help he could get, and the story of a seasoned pro
Clark Terry JAZZed July 2011 25
who’s offered all the help he could give. In many ways, he’s changed the institution of jazz education, creating new standards for a performer’s generous relationship with students of all types, and a healthy respect for the place of a thorough education in the evolution of jazz. Terry was a trumpet and flugelhorn veteran of Duke Ellington and Count Basie’s bands by the time he became the first African-American staff musician at NBC, joining Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show band in 1960. There, he scored the hit “Mumbles” and grew to be a beloved member of the band. His discography is enormous, spanning over 900 known recording sessions, and he’s garnered pages of awards from around the world including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement and the NEA Jazz Master awards. Throughout, Terry fostered a strong relationship with an endless string of students, high school programs and university programs, ushering in more than a few notable careers in jazz. He’s set up lasting relationships with college music
jazz camps named in his honor. A jazz writer in 1971 declared him “The World’s Busiest Jazz Clinician.” “Emulate, assimilate and innovate” has served as his mantra, and it couldn’t be simpler. Success so often depends on a student finding the right teacher – we’re lucky that Terry has made himself so easy to find. Terry, who turned 91 this year, has a new autobiography – Clark (University of California Press) – due for release this fall. He recently spoke with JAZZed about his vast experiences in the world of jazz and education. You’ve always maintained a strong position as a leader throughout your career in music – what’s made you enjoy helping others organize and educate themselves about music? I was born in jazz in St. Louis, and have loved jazz all my life. My older sister was married to a tuba player. At Sauter’s Park in St. Louis, I would have to sneak into the park to hear the music because of segregation. When I wanted to learn about the trumpet at a young age, some of the older musicians told me the wrong answers to my questions intentionally. So, that made me want to help young kids get the right message of the ways and means of playing jazz. In the old times, they thought it was hip to tell you the wrong things. As a little boy I asked an old dude one time about how to getter a better sound in the lower register on my horn. He told me to sit in front of a mirror, up straight, then wiggle my left ear and grit my teeth at the same time while playing.
I consider the time while I was with Basie as “Prep School,” and the time when I was with Duke as going to “The School of Ellingtonia.” programs, holding adjunct professorships at schools like the University of New Hampshire and William Patterson University (home to the Clark Terry Archive). He’s otherwise taught classes at schools throughout the world and he’s had several
You were a big hero of East St. Louis native Miles Davis – what do you hear of yourself in his playing and writing? Miles was a kid when I was a professional. When he became professional, he played his own music, and I played my own music. We had a lot of respect for each other, and we loved each other. [Elwood] Buchanan was Miles’s high school teacher. He wanted me to come and hear Miles play in East St. Louis, and so I went to hear him. That was our first interaction. Another time I was hired to play in Jerry Lynch’s band for a celebration in Carbondale, Ill. A lot of pretty girls were there, you know, dancing around a maypole. So, I’m watching these foxy ladies, and Miles comes up to me and asks me a question about the trumpet. Now, all of my attention is on playing and watching the pretty girls, so I fluffed him off. I don’t remember what I told him – it might have been something nasty. The third time we interacted was at the Elks Club. It was a walk-up-club – stairs, you know – and they were featuring “Eddie Randall and the Blue Devils.” Before I could get up the stairs, I was digging the trumpet. Later on when they finished the set, I went up to the trumpet player to congratulate him. I didn’t know that it was Miles. Didn’t remember him. Well, he reminded me of that time in Carbondale when I had 26 JAZZed July 2011
been too busy checking out the ladies to answer his question. That’s when I promised myself to always take time for students. No matter what’s going on. We became great friends, Miles and I, and we mutually admired each other. I liked the way that he had his own ideas about things, practiced a lot, and pursued his ideas. He was innovative, and I liked his beautiful sound. Miles had the whole idea about how a trumpet should sound and he made it go that way. Before Miles passed away, we were in different hospitals at the same time. That was back in ‘91. He couldn’t talk, you know, so they would put the phone up to his ear when I called. They told me that he smiled at what I said. We were very close. I tried to cheer him up, encourage him to hang on, and things like that. Man, when they told me that he was gone, it really broke my heart. What do you remember about your earliest teaching experiences? I was at the Palomar Theater with Count Basie in Seattle, Wash. Quincy used to come by the club every night.
He’d come up to my room in the morning at five or six o’clock. He was persistent, eager and sincere. It made me feel real good because he wanted to learn from me. And then years later, there’s a story about you nearly missing a gig at the Kennedy Center because you had gotten so wrapped up in a lesson. About 10 or 15 years ago I was supposed to be performing at a Kennedy Center concert. When it came time to perform, they couldn’t find me anywhere. They only found me because they heard my horn in a stairwell that led to a basement. That’s where I was teaching a student who wanted to learn trumpet. I had gotten so involved with the lesson that I had forgotten about going on stage.
about jazz. I went to high school, elementary and junior high schools. I felt good talking to the kids – the way they would respond to me and try hard. Instead of teaching one, I could teach 20 or 30 at a time. Has your approach toward students changed much since when you first started teaching and donation programs? I always insist that if they really want to do it, then they really have to practice. And they really have to practice more than other people in order to play better. It’s like putting money in a bank. You can only get out what you put in, and if you put enough in there, you can even get more with increased dividends.
Was there any moment in particular you can think of when it became clear that you wanted to devote so much of your life to helping students of music?
How do you think you would approach music today if you were growing up all over again? Would you be drawn straight to jazz? Anything else you think you might try out?
Some of The Tonight Show staff asked us to go to schools and talk to the kids
I’d more or less be in the same thing. If you’re a kid, you’ve got to be a good
Clark Terry playing flugelhorn with the William Paterson Jazz Orchestra.
JAZZed July 2011 27
listener. Pay your respects and learn from the people first-hand. Look at the television and go to as many concerts as you can. Jazz should be taught in the schools in order for the students to learn it. I’d probably teach the students to learn their instruments and learn to apply it to jazz. My neighborhood and school influenced me. Today you can learn about jazz through [mp3s], YouTube, and internet services like Spotify and Pandora. We’re looking into Skype now to see how we can teach jazz more effectively in the schools. And I love my iPod. I’m never without it. Are there particular methods and techniques that you’ve always found enjoyable and essential to pass on to students? When my brother-in-law, Sy, played the bass tuba horn, he showed me how I could semi-suppress the valves and not let them come all the way up or all
the way down in order to get a different sound with the notes. This was right above or below the notes. He showed me how to flip the notes by letting the valves come quickly and how to bend the notes. This is fun and exciting to a young kid. I would teach circular breathing where you breathe both out and in at the same time. I’d also teach doodletonguing versus tonguing the traditional way. You can play faster notes just by using your tongue in different ways. It’s much more effective. Students need to learn to play a passage forward or backward, if it’s a difficult one. Start slowly at first, then gradually increase your speed until you can play it flawlessly. Students have to learn to use their ears to play in all 13 keys. What kind of ties do you maintain with St. Louis? I left St. Louis to join various bands
If you’re a kid, you’ve got to be a good listener. Pay your respects and learn from the people first-hand.
Jim Widner (bass), Student Ass’t., Clark Terry (flugelhorn), Tim Ries (sax), Scott Whitfield (trombone), Clay Jenkins (trumpet). Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival 2006. (Photo credit: Dawn DeBlaze)
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– Charlie Barnet, Basie, and Duke. It’s my hometown, and I love going back to St. Louis to perform. I don’t play much anymore, but I can still sing. I sang “Mumbles” recently at the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, and I enjoyed working with the students in the band. I enjoyed going to the Griot Museum to see the collection of my memorabilia. That life-sized wax figure of me is a gas! I also like to see my star on the Walk of Fame at Blueberry Hill. Last time, it was too chilly to go by and see it. No matter where your hometown is, the main thing to remember is that if you want to learn, you have to be willing to put in the time to practice, practice, practice. Who were some of your most important mentors when you first started learning to play? St. Louis was a jazz town. A whole lot of jazz came through there – riverboats came through there and celebrities and lots of folks played it on radios and graphophones (those were before gramophones, you know). So it was all around my neighborhood, and I heard it every day. My brother-in-law was my oldest sister’s husband. He played jazz bass lines with a tuba. They didn’t have a bass fiddle in their band, just Sy’s tuba (Boom, boompady, boom, BOOM) and things like that. Sy was in Dewey’s band – Dewey Jackson and His Musical Ambassadors. It was a very popular jazz band in St. Louis. I liked going to their rehearsals, and listening to them play around town when I was young. George Hudson was the leader of a great band. He had a real good band, a popular band. Everybody wanted George’s band to back them up at the Club Plantation because his musicians played the music so well. They took it to heart. Took the charts home with them to make sure they played it right. I was a member of his band, and I especially liked the fact that he listened to our ideas. I could say, “Let’s try it this way or that way,” and he would allow things like that. He allowed me to speak my opinions on how a passage should be played. You know, fifteen people would play it fifteen different
ways, but if I had an idea and I said, “Make this note quicker, or make this note louder, or make this note shorter,” he’d try it. In other words, he would let me “stylize” the band. So I felt respected. George was a great cat. Anyone else from early on? Another experience was when I was in Len Bowden’s band. He was a little older than the rest of us and his music
was a little different than what we had been playing, and I learned about different styles. Later on, he was head of the music scene at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. We used to play for the new guys at happy hour, played in some parades, and then occasionally we did some radio broadcasts. Then there were the Black Brothers, but I can’t remember their first names right now. Harold “Shorty” Baker was a wellknown and respected trumpet player
in Duke Ellington’s band. Not only was he a great soloist and leader, but he was also an excellent trumpet player with marvelous articulation. When I was around sixteen, I was a member of the Tom Powell Post #77 Drum and Bugle Corps. Doug Cloud and Pop Owens were the leaders of the corps, and I learned a lot while I was a member. Of course, with a bugle, you know, there are no valve tips, so when I played bugle calls – things like: [Clark mimics playing “Reveille”]. I learned a lot about my embouchure. I learned a lot about articulation, single, double, and triple tonguing on that bugle. And I learned about buzzing, which is tucking your lips inside and then blowing through a small hole in the center, and making them vibrate while you’re blowing. It’s like when you’re blowing into your mouthpiece, but you just use your lips. Count Basie and Duke Ellington were great bandleaders to begin with – two of the top band leaders in the world. Basie was more or less known
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for his swing. I learned a lot about “space and time” in music from Basie. Duke was more “siditty,” you know, more sophisticated. I consider the time while I was with Basie as “Prep School,” and the time when I was with Duke as going to “The School of Ellingtonia.” I learned so much from Duke. They were both dear friends, the greatest musicians, and they had the great musicians playing in their bands.
What do you tell kids to work toward nowadays as jazz musicians? Perfection, mastering their craft, playing lessons without flaw both fast and slow. Just stand out above all the rest of them, and do it better than all the rest. I’d love to hear more about one of your earliest gigs – working with the Navy
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Band during WWII outside of Chicago. How did you end up with so much responsibility early on? Did you perform music with the Navy, or just organize recruits for overseas bands? Well, when we first worked boot camp with “For Further Transfer” (FFT) in the Navy, we used to have jam sessions all day long. Just about any kind of music you could think of. We would put bands together, then ship them off to other naval bases. We had a marching band, concert band, radio band, orchestra, happy hour band on Sundays, etc.., We didn’t learn to shoot guns or sail ships. We were there as teachers for the new recruits. We worked at the ground level. We played charts for celebrities that came to the base and for concerts. I had to play charts for some visiting artists – Duke Ellington, Dorothy Donegan, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, and anyone else who needed a band to back themselves. It was a sensational band, the Navy band. Growing up with and working with so many musicians, you must know tons of unsung heroes throughout the business – you’ve mentioned the great Charlie Creath before in interviews, for instance, who seemed to lead a generation of St. Louis trumpeters around by the nose. Is there anyone else like that who comes to mind, either from growing up, playing in live bands, or doing recording session work? There are any number of those people scattered all over the world. Yeah, I guess my students are my unsung heroes: Josh Shpak, Ham Davis, Leon L., Justin Kauflin, Michel Petrucciiani, Stantawn Kendrick. My students have become grown, and I’m now teaching 2nd and 3rd generation students. Now you have teachers like Esperanza Spalding, the youngest staff musician at Berklee. What’s the most recent musical trick you picked up? “Shut up and lay out.” In other words, know when to keep quiet.
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Š2011 Avedis Zildjian Company
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roundup
G U I TA R S
Something to
Fret About... The Summer NAMM show in Nashville (often referred to as “The Guitar Show”) and the MIAC Convention in Canada consistently showcase a number of exciting new products from suppliers of guitars, basses, amps, effects, and other items relevant to the “fretted world.” JAZZed takes a closer look at some of these new gear and instrument introductions...
Eastwood Guitars Introduces the New Airline Bighorn Guitar Second in a series of new Airline models slated for 2011 is the Airline Bighorn. This new model draws inspiration from the original Montgomery Ward student guitars of the 1960s, re-imagined as a professional grade modern instrument.
At first glance, the Bighorn appears to be a short-scale guitar, but the neck is a full Fender scale length of 25 ½”. The stripped-down Bighorn features the popular Airline Argyle Diamond pickups, 3-way switching, dual volume/ tone controls and a fixed adjustable bridge. Its simple design has a solid basswood body and a maple bolt-on neck with the raised metal Airline logo on the headstock. It is available in Green, Red and Sunburst. Deluxe Airline hardshell cases are also available. Retail price: $399. www.eastwoodguitars.com
32 JAZZed July 2011
roundup Providence® DLY-4 Chrono Delay from Godlyke Godlyke, Inc.’s Providence® DLY-4 Chrono Delay replaces their highly sought-after De-
BPM delay times are displayed with metronome accuracy. Tap Tempo – Delay time is precisely set by the tempo tapped on the TAP switch. A/B Preset Memory – The A/B preset memory allows two different delay time settings to be memorized and recalled via the footswitch. Beat Split – With the specified delay time as a quarter-note reference, seven delay time variations ranging from half notes to eighth-note triplets can be directly selected via the Beat Split knob. Rhythm-based delay time settings that previously required tedious calculations can now be made in an instant. External TAP Input – A momentary type footswitch (sold separately) can be connected to the EXT.TAP jack to allow remote tap delay operation. When this function is used, the A/B – TAP footswitch on the Chrono Delay unit is dedicated to A/B preset switching, so that tap delay and A/B preset switching operation are simultaneously available via separate footswitches. A 12-volt DC power supply is included. www.godlyke.com
lay-80’s model, and is a feature-laden digital delay in an extremely compact, user-friendly package. Not only does the Chrono Delay provide precise tap-to-delay settings, but it can also memorize two separate delay times and toggle between them. The direct signal stays in the analog domain from input to output, passing through the Providence Vitalizer® switching circuit so that no signal degradation occurs. A high-performance analog mixer circuit then recombines the direct signal with the delayed signal. After the DLY-4 delay signal is converted back to analog format it is processed via analog Echo Hardness, Feedback, and Mix controls for a totally natural blend with the direct signal. The net result is a high-resolution delay effect that has extraordinary depth. In addition to refined sound, the Chrono Delay features a simple interface that allows fast, intuitive user control. Chrono Delay Key Features: Delay time is adjustable from 1-2700 milliseconds Delay time is accurately displayed in milliseconds (mSec) or beats per minute (BPM). The BPM display is not simply a “rough estimate” –
Randall Amplifiers’ Minion Series Randall Amplifiers debuted the latest addition to their product line-up earlier this year at Winter NAMM. The Minion Series combos are available in 10-watt, 15-watt or 15-watt with spring reverb versions. Each practice amp offers two channels, volume and overdrive and traditional black cosmetics. The MR10 will retail for $89.98 and features a 5” speaker and 2-band EQ at 10 watts. The MR15 will retail for $104.98 and comes with an added Gain control, 3-band EQ, larger 6.5” speaker with 15 watts of power. The upgraded MR15R adds in spring reverb and will retail for $134.98. All three models will begin shipping to dealers at the beginning of Q3 2011. www.randallamplifiers.com
JAZZed July 2011 33
roundup Gretsch G6120DE Duane Eddy Signature Hollow Body Guitar Gretsch honors original-era hit maker and true rock ‘n’ roll innovator Duane Eddy with the introduction of the G6120DE Duane Eddy Signature Hollow Body guitar model. The instrument is a singlecutaway beauty with classic styling and full, resonant sound that combines features based directly on Eddy’s original 1957 G6120 model with modern Gretsch features that all together pay fitting tribute to the undisputed King of Twang. On a string of late 1950s and early ’60s instrumental hits, he used dramatic single-note melodies on the lower strings of his guitar, pronounced tremolo and vibrato, and liberal doses of echo on distinctive hits including “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road,” “Cannonball,” and “The Lonely One.” The G6120DE’s bound single-cutaway hollow body has three-ply maple back, sides and arched top, with trestle bracing and bound oversized f-holes. The three-piece bound maple neck has a brass nut, lacquer finish and slim profile based on Eddy’s original 1957 G6120, and is topped with a bound headstock. Other features include a 12”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium frets and hump-block pearloid inlays; dual DynaSonic™ single-coil pickups with threeposition switching; gold plexi pickguard bearing Gretsch logo and Eddy’s signature; modern Tru-Arc™ bridge and Bigsby® B6CBDE vibrato tailpiece with Duane Eddy-style “DE” handle and extra-long string-retainer pins; gold Garrow control knobs and gold-plated, chrome and polished aluminum hardware; gold-plated Grover® V98G Sta-Tite™ tuners; Dunlop Straplok® system; Western Orange Stain lacquer finish; and deluxe hard shell case. www.gretschguitars.com
34 JAZZed July 2011
New Electric and Acoustic Sets from D’Addario Developed with a flexible feel that also maintains a quick attack response, an essential feature for all flamenco players, the new Flamenco Sets from D’Addario are available in black and clear nylon, providing tone and appearance options for both traditional and progressive flamenco players. The EJ25C and EJ25B Flamenco sets will retail for $17.99. D’Addario True Medium acoustic guitar sets feature a smaller diameter in the 3rd, 4th and 5th strings than the traditional medium set. These strings are for players looking for a welldefined, balanced sound and tension across their medium setup. These gauges are also optimal for DADGAD tuning, which was originally popularized as an alternative tuning in Celtic music but extends into contemporary folk, rock, and classic finger-style guitar. The EJ24 True Medium set will retail for $13.99. Developed for the electric guitar, the EXL111 Balanced Tension Set was designed using scientific formulas that create an equal feel between all of the strings. This kind of separation allows for each string to be played with the same downward force and flexibility across the set. The Balanced Tension set will be available in .010 - .046 gauges and will retail for $10.79. In addition to these five new sets, D’Addario announces line extensions. EJ26 Phosophor Bronze Round Wound acoustic guitar strings will be available in a 10-pack (EJ2610P) which will retail for $118.89. The EJ22 Nickel Round Wound Jazz Medium set will be available as a Pure Nickel Round Wound set, EPN22, to provide a warmer, vintage tone. The EPN22 Pure Nickel Set will retail for $15.99. www.daddario.com
Harris Musical Products Distributing Timber Tones Picks Harris Musical Products has inked full distribution rights for Timber Tones Exotic Wood Picks within North America and Canada. Timber Tones hand-finished picks are crafted from 18 different exotic woods utilizing unused end cuts from guitar manufacturers. Timber Tones appeal to any musician who is attracted by the craftsmanship and beauty of fine wood. Every pick is the same size
roundup
Kala Solid Body U-Bass Kala Brand Music Co. has introduced the Solid Body U-Bass. The solid body design is the next step in the evolution of Kala’s line of 21-inch scale bass instruments equipped with Kala’s proprietary polyurethane strings that are noted for their incredible bottom end. The new basses are being manufactured in California and assembled in Kala’s custom shop. Kala Solid Body U-Basses are available in four and five string models, and with the option of a fretted or fretless fingerboard. There are four color options that include Translucent Satin Black, Skyline Red, Espresso, and Natural Ash. Other specifications include Custom Hipshot Tuners, Mi Si Align Active Preamp system with battery free technology, volume control and 2 band EQ and a Graph Tech Black TUSQ nut. A
or recording device. Kremona’s ukulele pickup works the same way, fitting on the bridge of most all sizes of ukulele. Now ukulele players can quickly and affordably amplify their instruments without modifying or drilling any holes. The saddle-mounted design also avoids the sometimes troubling task of installing a pickup through the sound hole of a ukulele. The violin/viola and cello/bass models feature a clip design that mounts under the bridge. Like their guitar and ukulele counterparts, they require no modification to the instrument and can be installed or removed at any time. Retail price: $79 (Guitar/Ukulele/Vioin/ Viola), $149 (Cello/Bass). www.kremonausa.com
Kremona Piezo Pickups Kremona Trade has just introduced newly upgraded versions of their bestselling piezo pickups for guitar, ukulele, violin/viola and cello/bass. A simple and affordable pickup solution for nylon string guitarists that sounds great and requires no modification, Kremona UPPB-4 piezo pickup fits virtually any classical or flamenco guitar. When changing strings – or with an existing set loosened – the guitarist places the
BobbyMcFerrin Circlesongs
and thickness, however each different wood has its own sonic characteristics and variations in tone, reflected by the wood’s grain, beauty and density. All Timber Tones Luxury Wood Plectrums are manufactured to strict tolerances and sealed with wax, ensuring a firm, non-slip grip. They are sold to dealers in trays of 108 picks (6 each of 18 woods) or Players Packs of 4 picks of the same wood as refills. Timber Tones also sells a full line of pendants, keychains and other gift items using Timber Tones Exotic Wood Picks hand chosen after passing their strict quality control process. www.harrismusical.com www.timber-tones.com
deluxe logo gig bag with plush padding and hidden backpack straps is included with each bass. Kala U-Basses meet all airline carry-on size requirements. Kala introduced the original U-Bass design in 2009. Since then it has found its way into studios and live performance in the hands of many notable artists that include Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon), Ira Coleman (Sting), Jim Mayer (Jimmy Buffett), and Reggie McBride (Keb Mo).It has also been featured in the popular TV series, Glee www.ubass.com
August 28 through September 2, 2011
pickup on the tie block with the input facing down. The strings loop around the bridge and tie block holding the pickup in place after being tuned to pitch. The supplied cable can connect the guitar to an amplifier, sound board
Join 10-time Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin for a rare 5-day workshop in Circlesongs, a technique invented by McFerrin to harness the energy, individuality, diversity, and community spirit of group vocal improvisation. Singers of all levels, from beginners to professionals, are invited to learn this exciting new way to participate in the creation of music.
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JAZZed July 2011 35
jazzforum
www.aajc.us
The Legacy of Don Redman Compiled by AAJC Executive Director, Dr. Larry Ridley. To many, mention of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia typically calls to mind historical events such as John Brown’s raid and the civil rights “Niagara Movement” conference that was held during the summer of 1906 at Storer College. While both events are significant in the evolution of our nation, attention must also be drawn to the role that Harpers Ferry and by extension, Storer College played in the establishment of one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States that provided freed slaves and later, African Americans with advanced education degrees. Founded in 1865, Storer College until 1955, graduated several accomplished and talented musicians. Today, summer in Harpers Ferry brings many wonderful things – tubing down the river, picnics and long strolls down shaded walks. But, one of the most anticipated summertime favorites is the outdoor evening concert honoring one of Storer College’s own, Don Redman – one of the leading composers and musicians of the 1920s and 1930s. This article pays tribute to the accomplishments of “The Little Giant of Jazz”.
studies at the Boston Conservatory; He then joined Billy Page’s “Broadway Syncopaters” in New York City. In 1923 Don Redman joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, mostly playing clarinet and saxophones. He soon began writing arrangements, and Redman did much to formulate the sound that was to become big band Swing. It is significant to note that with a few exceptions, Henderson did not start arranging until the mid-1930s. Redman did the bulk of arrangements (through 1927) and after he left, Benny Carter took over arranging for the Henderson band. His importance in the formulation of arranged hot jazz cannot be overstated; a chief trademark of Redman’s arrangements was that he harmonized melody lines and pseudo-solos within separate sections; for example, clarinet, sax, or brass trios. He played these sections off each other, having one section punctuate the figures of another, or moving the melody around different orchestral sections and soloists. His use of this technique was sophisticated, highly innovative, and formed the basis of much “Redman’s importance in the big band jazz formulation of arranged hot writing in the following dejazz cannot be overstated.” cades. In 1927 Jean Goldkette convinced Redman to Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an join the Detroit, Michigan-based American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer. Redman was band McKinney’s Cotton Pickers as born in Piedmont, West Virginia. His father was a music teacher, his mother their musical director and leader. was a singer. Don began playing the trumpet at the age of 3. Considered “a He was responsible for their great child prodigy” he joined his first band at 6 and by age 12 he was proficient success and arranged over half of on all wind instruments ranging from trumpet to oboe as well as piano. their music (splitting the arranging He graduated from Storer College in Harper’s Ferry in 1920 and continued duties with John Nesbitt through
36 JAZZed July 2011
jazzforum 1931). Redman was occasionally featured as their vocalist, displaying a charming, humorous vocal style. Redman then formed his own band in 1931 (featuring, for a time, Fletcher Henderson’s younger brother Horace on piano), which got a residency at the famous New York City jazz club Connie’s Inn. Redman’s band got a recording contract with Brunswick Records and a series of radio broadcasts. His orchestra also provided music for the animated short I Heard, part of the Betty Boop series produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount. Redman composed original music for the short, which was released on September 1, 1933. The Brunswick records Redman made during 1931-1934 included some of the most complex preswing hot jazz arrangements of popular tunes. Redman’s band didn’t rely on just a driving rhythm or great soloists, but it had an overall level of arranging sophistication that’s unlike anyone else of the period. Notable musicians in Redman’s band included Sidney De Paris, trumpet, Edward Inge, clarinet, and singer Harlan Lattimore, who was known as “The Colored Bing
Crosby”. On the side Redman also did arrangements for other band leaders and musicians, including Paul Whiteman, Isham Jones, and Bing Crosby. In 1933, his band made a Vitaphone short film for Warner Bros. which became available as of 2006 on the DVD of the Busby Berkeley feature film Dames. Redman recorded for Brunswick through 1934. He did a number of sides for ARC in 1936 (issued on their labels Vocalion, Perfect, Melotone, etc.) and in 1937, he pioneered a series of swing re-arrangements of old classic pop tunes for the Variety label. His use of a swinging vocal group called “The Swing Choir” was very modern and even today, a bit unusual, with Redman’s sophisticated counter-point melodies. He signed with Bluebird in 1938 and recorded with them until 1940, when he disbanded. In 1940 Redman disbanded his orchestra, and concentrated on freelance work writing arrangements. Some of his arrangements became hits for Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James. He appeared on Uptown Jubilee on the CBS Television network for the 1949 season. In the 1950s he
was music director for singer Pearl Bailey. In June of 1962 he played piano for the Georgia Minstrels Concert and soprano sax with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s band in September of 1964. Don Redman died in New York City on November 30, 1964. He was the uncle of saxophonist Dewey Redman, and thus the great-uncle of saxophonist Joshua Redman and trumpeter Carlos Redman. The brilliant and innovative Don Redman was inducted into the Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009. In 2002 the National Park Service established the Annual Don Redman Heritage Awards & Concert in Harpers Ferry National Park . The award is presented annually by the Harpers Ferry Historical Association, the Jefferson County NAACP and the Don Redman Heritage Society to modern legends of jazz whose individual musicianship, humanity and dignity serve as an asset to jazz in the tradition of Don Redman, and whose work in music and education illuminate his spirit.
Recipients of the Don Redman Heritage Award are: 2002 - Benny Powell; Joe Wilder
2007 - Curtis Fuller; John Handy
2003 - Sonny Cohn; Snooky Young
2008 - Jimmy Cobb; Jymie Merritt
2004 - Cleveland Eaton; Clark Terry
2009 - Charli Persip; Phil Woods
2005 - Vince Prudente; Frank Wess
2010 - Harold Mabern; Mickey Roker
2006 - Jimmy Heath; Hank Jones
2011 - Dr. Larry Ridley; Larry Willis
JAZZed July 2011 37
The Leading Edge BY ANITA BROWN
I
n this installment our friends start to give us the inside scoop on their thinking about youthful jazz development. In subsequent issues through 2012, they will discuss definitive attributes of a lead player, experiences that shaped their concepts and conviction, lead chair vs. second chair, interacting with the rhythm section & the other lead players, what to learn and listen for, artistic contributions, and responsibilities and equipment. ~AB
Please cite some of the ways in which you honed your craft as a young adult, and/or some suggestions for young players to hone their own.
Dave Pietro, Alto; Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band:
Steve Wilson, Alto; Maria Schneider Orchestra, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks:
I started by learning how to play the saxophone well with regard to all the important qualities and skills: sound, technique, intonation, phrasing, reading, etc. The experiences of playing in a big band in high school, the many I played with at North Texas, and later going on the road with the bands of Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Lionel Hampton all contributed to my growth as a lead player. The best advice I could give any player is to get in as many playing situations as possible, particularly with players that you want to emulate. Listen to recordings, listen to live gigs but play as much as possible.
Reference the recordings. Young players nowadays don’t get the opportunity for apprenticeships, so first go listen to a lot of recordings. There are specifics there – valuable information regarding articulation and phrasing. Players should do that first. If you’re playing Thad’s music in high school you need to hear it first in order to execute it. Take every opportunity to go hear this music live, by established players, if not the original band. As a teenager I got to be around some people who had been with some military bands and although they hadn’t played with Thad’s band they were consummate players. Listen to elder statesmen. For every Jerry Dodgion there are ten
38 JAZZed July 2011
guys in every community who know who Jerry is and you can learn from them. So, use what’s available to you.
Dick Oatts, Alto; Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band: Experience is, by far, the most important learning tool. It teaches you how to teach yourself as well as to prepare, listen, blend, use articulation and dynamics, understand form, structure, harmony, sound, orchestration, balance, and especially teaches a player to understand various rhythms and styles.
Mark Patterson, Trombone; Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra, Dennis Mackrel Big Band: The tradition of jazz is that the music has been learned and passed down aurally, on the bandstand and by listening to and transcribing recordings. You have to develop a sound and a time feel in your ear. Conception of this comes from hearing the great players who have it, either live or on record. Both are valuable. But there is no substitute for sitting next to someone who is a great lead player, feeling first-hand how the time feels, how their sound sings, how they move a phrase. I think that is an essential step, and if you get the chance to play with a great lead player, take it with an eager ear and an open mind.
Keith O’Quinn, Trombone; Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bob Mintzer Big Band: As a young player I listened to thousands of hours of music on records and at clubs. I think hearing
great players on all instruments is extremely important to developing the kind of player you want to be and the style you want to develop. That was the greatest learning tool for me. I loved listening to J.J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller, Frank Rosolino and Carl Fontana. But I spent just as much time listening to players like Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Kenny Durham, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones and Tony Williams. The music that you love shapes you into the player that you become.
John Fedchock, Trombone; John Fedchock’s New York Big Band, Woody Herman Orchestra: In addition to listening to tons of big band music, much of my lead playing concept came through practical application. Two of the more influential musical experiences came with Woody Herman’s band and Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band. My early playing was inspired by the great trombonists that went through Woody’s band over the years, specifically Urbie Green and Carl Fontana. They, along with Bill Harris, were Woody’s all-time favorites. Because Woody was comfortable with my voice I was able to grow and evolve as a lead player over my seven years with the band. There was always an element of excitement in Woody’s bands, and he wanted that present in every chart. He wasn’t specific about how to achieve that. He was more interested in the end result. Since I was never told how to interpret the lead parts, I had the freedom to develop my own approach. Gerry Mulligan was extremely
fastidious about interpretation, giving explicit instructions to the smallest nuance. Because of this approach, his band’s unique sound was strongly based in nuance and phrasing subtleties. I learned a lot about how to shape a chart from my time with Gerry. He wanted the band to reflect the sound exactly as he had envisioned it in his head.
Jon Owens, Trumpet; Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra, BMI New York Jazz Orchestra: I think it is important to absorb as many different sounds as you can. Get out there and hear some live music! Listening to a broad variety helps you to develop your own sound. Study and listen to recordings of all the great trumpet players going back 100 years, and all types of music. Listen to Maurice Andre, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Bud Herseth, and Conrad Gozzo. Eventually, I started working with some of those players I admired growing up.
Tony Kadleck, Trumpet; Maria Schneider Orchestra, Gotham Jazz Orchestra: I think I was 15 when I started playing 1st trumpet in jazz band. My high school band directors were great and we had a terrific band. We were playing Kenton, Buddy Rich and Maynard charts, because we had the ability to do so. They had a great library and just let us play stuff without too much input. Later I played in the McDonald’s All-American Jazz Band, directed by Bob Curnow. He was the first director to make stylistic suggestions to me: “OK. Two comments for you. I want you to lose the ‘nanny goat vibrato’ immediately and I want you to start cutting things off with your tongue. I want real precise cut offs.” I was about 18 and no one had ever said anything to me like that. I was thinking, “That’s kind of a cool sound; no vibrato and very precise cut-offs.” He was the first guy that ever told me what he needed from me. It was as though the faucet JAZZed July 2011 39
had just gone from hot to lukewarm to cold. I thought, “Wow, there are actually other temperatures here, not just hot!” There’s a great class at North Texas that Jay Saunders teaches; a Lead Trumpet class. It’s amazing. Last year they studied several players; Wayne Bergeron, Craig Johnson, myself, and some others. Jay asked us to send him some mp3s of some things that we thought would be worthwhile to check out. The students study each lead player. He encourages them to listen critically, asking “What are they doing? What do you notice about the time, the feel, the vibrato?” They examine as much as possible from recordings and he makes them think about it. He also has them transcribe lead parts without
making the charts available to them. He gets it and he’s training these kids to pick apart this stuff, which is great. It’s exactly what you need to be doing: emulating good players.
Earl Gardner, Trumpet; Mingus Big Band, Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra: In high school and college, I listened to and played all types of music including rock‘n’roll, R&B, classical, salsa and jazz. This exposure to a wide variety of musi-
cal styles has been invaluable to me during my career and I think it is an essential component of being a wellrounded, knowledgeable musician. Another important thing to focus on is sight-reading. If you can read well, you will be able to play any type of gig at a moment’s notice.
For further discussion, clinic and commissions bookings, please visit www.anitabrownmusic.com. Visit www.standsymphony.com to learn about Anita’s piece in commemoration of September 11, 2001. Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra is a Charter Partner of the Jazz Education Network. Photo: Matt Dine, Photographer
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crossword
Crossword by Myles Mellor
Across 1 Album from Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden 5 One of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, ___ Tatum 7 Pianist and vibraphonist, ____ Miller 8 Single, prefix 10 Hot singer and songwriter in the current jazz scene, Diana 11 Suffix with clarinet 13 Great jazz drummer who helped put together We Insist!-Freedom Now 15 __ his wits’ end? 17 Twangy, as a voice 18 Elton John’s “Cage the Songbird� was a tribute to this French singer (first name) 20 Group of eight 23 “I did it __ way� 24 _____ “Fatha� Hines, pianist and bandleader 25 Disappears gradually 28 “Somebody Stole my ___� song recorded by Bix Beiderbecke
42 JAZZed July 2011
30 Hagen of Broadway 32 The __ Band: (funk band) 34 “Whatever Happened to Love� singer, Betty _____ 35 “Lady Day’s� first name 36 Mr. Charles of the blues 38 Delayed broadcast, for short 40 NY railway 41 Drum rhythm 43 Master cornetist, King ______ 44 “Blame it on ___� song 47 Important contributor to bebop music amd creator of “Epistrophy� 49 He was called “the heir apparent to Duke Ellington� 51 Orchestra’s place 53 Paul ____’s Lost in a Dream 54 Song on Richard Elliott’s album Rock Steady
Down 1 First name of the creator of Patterns
2 Clarinetist and bandleader who had a big hit with “Frenesi� 3 “Canteloupe _____� 4 Brazilian bossa nova singer, Eliane ____ 5 Drummer and bandleader, ____ Blakey 6 “Cold ____,� a John Lennon tune on Freddie Hubbard’s album Red Clay 7 Little Havana 9 Negative vote 12 Composition often used in repertoires 14 “Told ya!� 16 Singing style 19 Drink that can be hot or cold 20 Body of work 21 She sang “Ain’t No Sunshine� with Buddy Guy, ____ Chapman 22 Jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, ___ Di Meola 23 Manuscript, for short 26 __ before beauty 27 Old record 28 Trumpet player who influenced Miles Davis 29 Empty promises 31 “Blues in the Night� composer, Harold ______ 33 Refined sound, in its day 37 Voice range 39 Instrumental version of blues 42 Small combo 45 Well-liked 46 Singer Redding 47 Mother 48 Squirrel ___ Zippers, swing band 50 Song list 52 Arts Degree
For the For the to solution solution to this issue's this issue's crossword, crossword, visit: visit:
www.jazzedmagazine.com www.jazzedmagazine.com
Gearcheck Rovner ‘Next Generation’ Products Now Patented Rovner Products recenty announced that all four Next Generation products – the Star Series, Legacy and Platinum ligatures, and the TurboCharger Kit – have been granted a U.S. patent. Rovner’s unique and unprecedented Mass-Loaded
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The Charlie Parker Legend Series Mouthpiece from RS Berkeley and Drake
The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes from Alfred
As a result of extensive planning and labor intensive meetings, the Legend Series Mouthpiece project has added one of the most recognizable mouthpieces and names in jazz. The Charlie Parker Legend Series Mouthpiece is the latest model to pay tribute to one of America’s most prestigious musicians. “With the support and confidence of Charlie’s daughter, Kim Parker, we are able to bring a piece of Charlie’s history back for all to enjoy,” stated RS Berkeley president, Les Silver. “Upon opening Charlie Parkers saxophone case, I felt as if we had found the Holy Grail,” according to Aaron Drake. “Highlighted by Parker’s King alto saxophone and famous white mouthpiece, we tried to carefully document our findings, which we plan to show in the near future,” mentioned Silver. The Charlie Parker Legend Series Mouthpiece is the first alto saxophone mouthpiece added to the series. Legend Series Mouthpieces are handmade in the USA by Drake and combine state of the art technology with hand finishing tradition to create a precision reproduction of Charlie’s original mouthpiece. Drake is the first mouthpiece maker to utilize ceramic material to enhance the acoustic properties of his mouthpieces. Drake mouthpieces are revered for their accurate, immediate response and their incredible intonation stability and projection qualities. www.drakemouthpieces.com www.rsberkeley.com
Alfred Music Publishing’s The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes is an instructional method book by Florian AlexandruZorn. The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes is a comprehensive study for playing with brushes on the drumset. The book contains proper drum notation with detailed illustrations on every exercise eliminating the guesswork of brush movement in a clear, concise method. Beginning and advanced players will equally benefit from this course with topics including rudiments, sweeping motions, exercises in straight and odd times, and grooves for genres such as jazz, Latin, funk, and rock. To help foster proper brush technique, the included DVD features all of the book’s exercises for playing along. Every lesson is recorded in split screen with two camera angles (front and overhead perspectives), yielding a complete performance display. As part of Alfred’s ongoing commitment to improving our environment, this book is printed on 100 percent recycled paper stock. The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes book and DVD set is now available for $29.99 at music retail stores and at alfred.com/drums. www.alfred.com
JAZZed July 2011 43
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Audix has announced a similar product for hand percussion instruments – the Micro-HP. Attaching to the drum using the
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1. What is your primary educational institution/business: (check one)
3. What type of ensembles are you responsible for: (check as many as apply)
q 01 Senior High
q BB Big band
q 02 Independent teacher
q SE Small ensemble
q 03 College/University
q JO Jazz orchestra
I would like to receive/continue to receive JAZZed.
q 04 Manufacturer of musical instruments
q ZZ Other_____________
Yes q
q 05 Retailer/dealer of musical instruments
4. What is the total enrollment of your school:
q 06 Music Publisher
q A 0-500
Signature _____________________ Date _______________________________________
q 07 Other_________________________ 2. What is your position: (check one)
q B 501-1000
Name ________________________ Title________________________________________
q 11 Jazz director
No q
School/Company Name ____________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State ____________ Zip Code __________________ Tel. (_______)______________________ Fax (_______) ___________________________
q C 1001-2000 q D Over 2000
q 12 Band director
5. Are you a:
q 13 Orchestra director
q E Public school
q 14 Choir director
q F Private school
q 15 Assistant director
q G Private teacher
q 16 Music teacher/instructor
6. Total number of music students:__________
q 17 Owner/executive q 20 Other______________________
Email_____________________________________________________________________ Web site __________________________________________________________________
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JAZZed July 2011 47
Backbeat
Ray Bryant 1931-2011
Pianist Ray Bryant, who performed with all-time greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Rollins while in residence at his home town of Philadelphia’s Blue Note Club, passed away on June 2. Bryant, born Raphael Homer Bryant in 1931, grew up playing in rhythm and blues bands and gradually worked that style into his work with the luminaries stopping by the Blue Note. He moved to New York in the late ‘50s and began a successful writing and recording career there, scoring his first ever hit with the breezy, bluesy “Little Suzie.” He went on to write many more hits, including “Monkey Business,” “The Madison Time,” and “Cubano Chant,” which was eventually recorded by musicians like Art Blakey and Miles Davis. His influential first album, Alone with the Blues (Original Jazz Classics), was released in 1959 and featured Bryant performing unaccompanied solos. Bryant was also well known for accompanying singers Carmen McRae and Aretha Franklin. Bryant leaves behind a legacy of blues and gospel-influenced jazz and an extensive set of recordings, ending with 2008’s In the Back Room (Evening Star). He also leaves behind a lineage of musicians including niece Jennifer Bryant (singer-songwriter/producer) and nephews Robin Eubanks (trombonist), Duane Eubanks (trumpeter), and Kevin Eubanks, guitarist and former Tonight Show bandleader. Bryant grew and adapted successfully to several eras of styles, trends and innovations, but remained devoted to his roots. “I played with some great bluesmen, and it rubbed off on me,” he once told the Los Angeles Times. “No matter what you play you retain some of what you have been around.”
48 JAZZed July 2011
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