NOVEMBER 2011 • $5.00
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Basic Training: The Official Publication of Melodic Syncopation
The Official Publicatio
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
A Conversation with Seamus Blake
The Official Publicatio
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The Official Publication of
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At Berklee, we appreciate who you are. And where you want to be. You’ll collaborate with students and faculty as you develop your original style. A lot will be expected of you. But you’ll get as much in return. You’ll become a better musician and problem solver in the ever-changing music world. So you can succeed in your career. Wherever it takes you. Learn more at berklee.edu/jazzed
GREGG FIELD
“I go to schools sometime and pick out a musician and go ‘What’s your dream gig?’ and they don’t have an answer. That’s a problem.”
contents
GUEST EDITORIAL: THE IRONY OF TEACHING ABOUT SWING ERA BIG BAND JAZZ 22
NOVEMBER 2011
Regular JAZZed columnist Lee Evans discusses the Swing Era – a distinctly popular time for jazz music, but one with very little true improvisation.
BASIC TRAINING: MELODIC SYNCOPATION – PART 1 24
Educator and performer Andrew Hare takes us step-by-step through how percussionists can organize their rhythmic content around a song’s melodies and, in doing so, better serve the music.
A CONVERSATION WITH SEAMUS BLAKE 28
Saxophonist Sean Murphy sits down with fellow sax-man Seamus Blake for a discussion about Blake’s influences and approaches to writing and improv.
GREGG FIELD – MULTI-TASK MASTER 32
JAZZed meets up with Gregg Field to discuss his celebrated and wide-ranging career which has seen him help guide the USC jazz program, perform alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra and Herbie Hancock, and helm Concord Records.
FESTIVALS: THE 2011 TANGLEWOOD JAZZ FESTIVAL 40 SWINGIN’ ON A STAR – AHS AT BERKLEE H.S. JAZZ FESTIVAL 44
We take an in-depth look at the Arlington (Mass.) High School Jazz Band’s experience at this year’s Jazz Fest at Berklee College of Music.
™
2 JAZZed November 2011
™
NOVEMBER 2011
Volume 6, Number 6 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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Photo by Tracy Love.
12
departments
PUBLISHER’S LETTER 4 NOTEWORTHY 6 TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST? 12 JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK SECTION 14 • PRESIDENT’S LETTER • 2012 JEN CONFERENCE • CONCERT SCHEDULE • EXHIBITORS LIST
JAZZ FORUM 47 HOT WAX 56 CROSSWORD PUZZLE 57 GEARCHECK 58 CD SHOWCASE 61
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
CLINICIANS CORNER 61 CLASSIFIEDS 62 AD INDEX 63 BACKBEAT: FREDDIE GRUBER 64
Cover photograph: Ralf Kemper.
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.
Publishing, Sales, & Editorial Office 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 FAX (781) 453-9389 1-800-964-5150 www.jazzedmagazine.com
Member 2011
RPMDA JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
JAZZed November 2011 3
publisher’s letter
RICK KESSEL
Gleefully Supporting the Arts
“A
new series on Fox is blissfully unoriginal in a witty, are dozens of other charities that were founded by imaginative way.” That’s what the NY Times said music related organizations, such as the Fender Muabout the launch of the subsequently highly suc- sic Foundation, The Smart Foundation, Tipitina’s, cessful show, “Glee,” back when it debuted in early Supportmusic.org, Keepartsinschools.org, Guitar 2009. Whether you like the program or not, it’s dif- Center Music Foundation, and too many others to ficult not to feel some affinity for it as Twentieth list in this space. It would seem that if there is so Century Fox, the show’s producer, has now part- much support that there would be plenty of external nered with NAfME (National Association for Music funding for school music programs, but it’s really a Education) to develop the GLEE Give-a-Note cam- tiny proportion of the needs for a country our size. According to an AP article on paign which will donate $1 million October 24, 2011, “In California, in amounts of $10,000 to $50,000 to 73 schools across the country. “It would seem that if a survey found that nearly half of all districts last year cut or reduced The money is being generated by a there is so much sup- art, drama and music programs” portion of revenues from the sales of DVD and Blu-ray disks of the port that there would and that approximately 284,000 in education have disappeared show going towards the Give a be plenty of external jobs since 2008. Even though our latNote charity. funding for school mu- est economic indicators show some It appears that television shows and movies about musical perforsic programs, but it’s growth in GDP, the level of increase is still small and cannot offset the mance have taken their content really a tiny proporreduction in tax revenues from the seriously enough, in recent times, to take the next step in moving offtion of the needs for a real estate crisis. “Even in a bestcase scenario that assumes strong screen to support the cause of mucountry our size.” economic growth next year, it sic education – and the list keeps won’t be until 2013 or later when getting more impressive each year. districts see budget levels return to We’ve seen the launch of the VH1 Save the Music foundation, Mr. Holland’s Opus pre-recession levels, said Daniel Domenech, execufoundation, and now, one of the country’s hottest tive director of the American Association of School television shows, “Glee,” is on board. Although the Administrators in Arlington, Va.” For now, the donations from these charities will content of this show is reviled by some educators for its negative stereotypes of students and teachers, go a long way to help struggling school music proas well as other questionable content and attributes, grams, but it is essential that we continue to push the program does have some redeeming features in our legislators to maintain as much funding for the that it is supportive of music in the schools. There arts as possible.
rkessel@symphonypublishing.com
4 JAZZed November 2011
noteworthy Havana Jazz Fest Open to Americans
F
or the first time in eight years, Americans can legally attend the Havana International Jazz Festival,p thanks to a partnership between JazzTimes and Insight Cuba. Visitors will rub elbows with jazz greats, learn from the locals, visit artists’ studios, and more this year from December 11 to 19. An all-access pass to this world-renowned jazz festival unites jazz legends and fans from around the world. Packages to spend six-days/five-nights experiencing the live Jazz and art scene of Cuba are now available which includes all meals, four and five star accommodations,
guided activities, entrance to all events, and all in-country ground transportation. For more information, visit www.insight-cuba.com
Juilliard Jazz Program Celebrates 10 Years This fall marks the 10-year anniversary of the Juilliard Jazz program at New York’s Juilliard School. It’s one of the newest programs of performance education inaugurated by the school, and has so far graduated ten classes of students, some of whom returned for a “Swingin’ Alumni Reunion” with Christian McBride and David Sandborn this past spring. As the school embarks on its tenth year, it boasts degrees at bachelor, master, and artist diploma levels. The curriculum combines tailored studio and coursework with professional performance opportunities designed to successfully integrate students into a thriving jazz environment. In addition, its faculty and students conduct national and international master classes and clinics. The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and its ensembles play more than 50 performances annually including appearances at the Detroit Jazz Festival and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and tour to destinations such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Japan, Spain, and Brazil. The ensembles perform regularly at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and the world-renowned Blue Note in New York City. For the past several seasons they also have enjoyed week-long runs at Jazz at Lincoln Center with guest artists such as Frank Wess, Kenny Barron, Lew Tabackin, Gerald Wilson, Bobby Watson, Ernie Andrews, Tom Harrell and Sean Jones. The school’s 2011-2012 anniversary concert calendar includes guest artists Wycliffe Gordon, Joe Lovano, Gary Smulyan, and Jane Monheit, but the whole thing will be topped off by a special tribute to faculty member and legendary bassist Ron Carter, who will turn 75 next year. For more information, visit www.juilliard.edu.
6 JAZZed November 2011
Wycliffe Gordon
T H E J U I L L I A R D S C H O O L Joseph W. Polisi, President
Laurie A. Carter Executive Director Benny Golson Artistic Consultant Christian McBride Artist-in-Residence Benny Green Visiting Artist SAXOPHONE Ron Blake Joe Temperley TRUMPET Eddie Henderson Christian Jaudes Joseph Wilder TROMBONE Conrad Herwig Steve Turre GUITAR Rodney Jones PIANO Kenny Barron Frank Kimbrough BASS Ron Carter Ray Drummond Ben Wolfe DRUMS Carl Allen Billy Drummond Kenny Washington
Juilliard
JAZZ
Pre-Professional Artist Diploma Master of Music Bachelor of Music Extraordinary Faculty
Tailored Curriculum, with Weekly Private Study Regular Performance Opportunities International Touring
World-Renowned Guest Artists Apply by December 1 each year; auditions follow in March for entrance in September
Applicants must meet Juilliard’s jazz audition requirements Artist Diploma (a post-graduate, tuition-free program) requires college degree and extensive experience M.M. requires bachelor degree B.M. requires high school diploma or equivalent Send Applications and Pre-Screen Recording to: Juilliard Admissions, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, NY, NY 10023 (212) 799-5000
CARL ALLEN Artistic Director of Juilliard Jazz
Statistics and other disclosure information for non-degree diploma programs can be found on juilliard.edu/jazz
Photo by Nan Melville
juilliard.edu/jazz
noteworthy Montreal Jazz Fest Simmers for Next Summer
As we enter another long, dark winter, memories of the Montreal International Jazz Festival last July are welcome around the office. The weather was incredible and the festival featured over 750 free outdoor concerts at multiple stages around the central city area in addition to 250 indoor concerts starring legendary acts like Chick Corea, Lean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clark Lenny Whitem and Frank Gambale. But things are already brewing for next year’s installation. Visitor’s can look forward to a completely new site thanks to Ste-Catherine Street’s new design as the Festival’s main corridor. A new venue, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s La Maison Symphonique, will welcome many events. Fans will also have a chance to browse a hall of fame with artefacts and Len Dobbin’s archives at La Médiathèque Jazz/La Presse, which houses thousands of documents and jazz magazines. The bistro Le Balmoral also plans to transform itself into a jazz club Thursdays through Saturdays after 9 p.m. And of course, the festival will boast a performing line-up that will spread in every direction of jazz’s diverse world. Visit www.montrealjazzfest.com for updates.
Percussionist Dafnis Prieto Wins MacArthur “Genius” Grant
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the new MacArthur fellows for 2011, a group which includes jazz musician Dafnis Prieto. Each of the so-called “genius” fellows receives $500,000 with no requirements over the next five years, according to the foundation. The money is meant to give the fellows room to fully explore a period of total creative freedom. Prieto is a Latin jazz percussionist native to Cuba with several recordings and compositions to his name, including “Taking the Soul for a Walk” and “Absolute Quintet.” Rieto plays as a solo artist, band member and sideman in various contexts, and has pursued the idea of melding modern jazz harmonies with Cuban clave rhythms, Latin and African influences, and funk-inspired arrangements. His non-standard ensemble for which he composes consists of organ, cello, violin, saxophone, and drums. He’s performed at venues and festivals like the Jazz Standard, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Modern Art, serving as well as an instructor at New York University. The foundation noted Prieto’s talent for infusing “Latin jazz with bold new energy and sound, dazzling technical abilities, and rhythmically adventurous compositions.” For more info, visit www.macfound.org 8 JAZZed November 2011
John Clayton to Lead 2012 Jazz Band of America The Music for All National Festival recently announced that Grammy winning bassist, composer, and conductor John Clayton will conduct its 2012 Jazz Band of America at next spring’s festival, presented by Yamaha, March 15-17 in Indianapolis. The Jazz Band of America, presented in cooperation with the Jazz Education Network, will perform Friday evening, March 16, at Clowes Memorial Hall. The band’s members, high school musicians, are selected each year by recorded audition. All members of the band will receive master classes, certificates, patches, pins, and eligibility to be nominated for the $1,000 Revelli Scholarship, which goes toward the study of music performance or music education. Clayton has enjoyed a successful career at the helm of various arts groups, including a run as Artistic Director for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Artistic Director for the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, as well as maintaining a teaching position at the University of Southern California. He’s also performed classically with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, while building years of jazz ensemble experience with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Monty Alexander Trio, and his own Clayton Brothers Group. To visit Music for All go to www.musicforall.org. For more on John Clayton, visit: www.johnclaytonjazz.com.
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noteworthy Pittsburgh Jazz Venue Reports Unprecedented Sales In the face of stagnant economy and struggling music business, Pittsburgh jazz venue MCG Jazz has recently reported sales over and above any prior year in its 25 year history. At the start the 350-seat venue’s annual concert season this fall, the venue reported that its entire series is sold at 78percent, with 47percent of concerts completely sold out and 70percent of shows sold to more than 90percent capacity. MCG Jazz also reports a subscription ticket renewal rate of over 90percent, an increase above 2010’s renewal rate and a 30percent increase in new subscriptions. MCG Jazz has one of the highest subscription retention rates in the music industry with over 93percent of subscribers renewing their tickets this season, and 90percent renewing from the 2009-10 sea-
son into the 2010-11 season. It isn’t just luck or great programming that have lead to the success, though those are certainly factors. MCG Jazz says that it also takes strategic advantage of free tools including calendar and venue apps, similar to what is generally available through music promotions company Reverb Nation. A celebrated arts organization which has pioneered many marketing techniques during its 25 year existence, MCG Jazz has taken a bold new step integrating a new jazz-focused shared database called the Jazz Commons. This interactive software allows the user to build a large following on Facebook and Twitter. The venue has operated in Pittsburgh since 1987. For more information, visit www.mcgjazz.org.
Letters Hi Rick, Your piece on YouTube [Publisher’s Letter, September 2011 JAZZed] was so right-on! Believe me... I enjoy the fine jazz spots as much as anyone, but you prompted me to think, “Well then, wouldn’t you gladly pay 10 cents per viewing ?” The answer is, of course: “Gladly.” Even your one-cent idea would give Joshua a decent taste. I think you have a monumental subject at hand... that could help many players with extra income (without the “road”). Thank you very much, Ed Shaughnessy Doc Severinsen Band
Monterey Jazz Festival Names Paul Contos as Director of Education
The Monterey Jazz Festival recently announced that saxophonist, jazz educator, and director Paul Contos has been named as the Festival’s director of Education. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Paul Contos has been an essential part of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Jazz Education Programs since their inception in 1984, and is active as a saxophone clinician, educator, and performer at various educational festivals, clinics, concerts, and workshops in the United States, Japan, Europe, Canada, and Brazil. The Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates the legacy of jazz and expands the boundaries of and opportunities to experience jazz through the creative production of performances and educational programs. The Festival recently completed its 54th edition with 38,000 fans visiting the Monterey County Fairgrounds, September 16 – 18. The 2012 Monterey Jazz Festival will take place September 21 - 23, 2012. For more information, visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org.
For more headlines and breaking news, sign up for the JAZZed e-newsletter on www.jazzedmagazine.com.
10 JAZZed November 2011
Say What? “Men have died for this music. You can’t get more serious than that.” - Dizzy Gillespie
At North Central College, being well-rounded doesn’t mean losing your musical edge. When we say music is central at North Central College, it means that we expect you to build a full and complete life around your music studies.
Performing Opportunities at North Central College
Big Band Brass Quintet Chamber Jazz Chamber Winds Concert Choir Concert Winds Gospel Choir Jazz Combos Musical Theatre Productions Naperville Chorus NCC Express Show Choir Opera Workshop Pep Band Percussion Ensemble Vocal Jazz Ensemble Women’s Chorale Women’s Chamber Ensemble
Students choose from majors in Music, Music Education, Musical Theatre or Jazz Studies—but they also dance, act, explore, study abroad, volunteer, mentor, pole vault and pursue countless other passions. Our location, in downtown Naperville, is only 40 minutes by train from Chicago and makes it easy to enjoy, perform and do great works.
Friday, November 11, 2011 Monday, January 16, 2012
Transfer Visit Day:
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Audition Days:
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - Music, Music Education, Theatre and Vocal Saturday, March 3, 2012 - Music, Music Education, Theatre, Art, Interactive Media Studies
Call 630-637-5800 to discover more about our programs in music. Or visit us online at northcentralcollege.edu.
northcentralcollege.edu
Freshman Visit Days:
Jazz Faculty Janice Borla - Voice John McLean - Guitar Frank Caruso - Piano Jim Cox - Bass Mitch Paliga - Saxophone Doug Scharf - Trumpet Joel Adams - Trombone Brad Stirtz - Vibraphone Jack Mouse - Drum Set/Program Coordinator
z
30 N. Brainard Street
z
Naperville, IL
z
630-637-5800
What’s on Your Playlist? Acclaimed drummer, producer, and composer Terri Lyne Carrington has been an in-demand artist and musical collaborator for nearly three decades. After stints with the likes of Pharoah Sanders and Lester Bowie in the ‘80s, Carrington gained widespread recognition – even outside the confines of the “jazz world” – towards the end of that decade as the house drummer for the groundbreaking and hugely popular “Arsenio Hall Show.” In addition to releasing her own Grammy-nominated debut CD (Real Life Story), she also received a Grammy nomination as a producer for Diane Reeves’s disc, That Day, and performed on Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning album, Gershwin’s World. In July of this year, Carrington released The Mosaic Project (Concord Jazz). The 14-song collection celebrates the contribution of female performers to modern jazz, with performances from the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Nona Hendryx, Dianne Reeves, Sheila E., and Cassandra Wilson, among others. Terri Lyne received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Berklee College of Music, in 2003 and is currently on staff at the school as a professor. 1. Lizz Wright – “A Lover is Forever” “Slayed” – best word to describe how I feel when I hear her sing this song. If I didn’t understand, I did by the time the song was over. What a rich, deep tone with so much body. Music is sound and vibration and about relaying a message. And that is what touches our soul, which is why I guess I am partial to (and envious of) vocalists. This goes straight to the heart, but also the subconscious. I want to be able to play every stroke on the drums with that same commitment, depth and beauty, like so many “roots” singers, from Mahalia Jackson to Lizz. I will work on that the rest of my life. 2. Miles Davis – “All of You” from My Funny Valentine Classic, brilliant, hip, soulful, and urgent. Thank you, Tony and gang. Many lessons in this one. I hear something different every time. There is something about a turnaround, to me, that says a lot about a musician, how they express themselves in this four-chord outline, how much freedom they feel and comfort in something that plays itself. Tony’s restraint and maturity on this is incredible, let alone all the other brilliant playing on this. Great jazz is timeless, sounds
Photo by Tracy Love.
fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. I listen in amazement at the perfection of the quarter note. 3. Maxwell – “Stop The World” from BLACKsummers’ night I think when I take my analytical mind out of listening to music, it boils down to how the chords, melody, and groove hit me – and in some cases lyrics, like this one. I think we all want the world to stop at some point, so we can let go, love, and be loved. This is universal. I really dig Maxwell. And this track fondly reminds me of “the king” of these kinds of sexy grooves – Prince. 4. Nona Hendryx – “Oil On The Water” from Mutatis Mutandis A commentary on “How we take more from the world than we need” and on “The human flaw – desire and greed,” from her new CD that speaks on political and social issues. I’ve been vibin’ with this track because it embodies how Rhythm and Blues used to be recorded and produced. You go in the studio, cut songs live – with vocalist – and call it a day, so everyone has to come with the goods. Nowadays some jazz recordings aren’t even done that way anymore. Her voice is so soulful and really makes you listen to what she’s saying. And when
Terry Lyne Carrington’s latest release, The Mosaic Project (Concord Jazz), came out in July of 2011. www.terrilynecarrington.com 12 JAZZed November 2011
you only have guitar, bass, drums, and Rhodes on a track, the song (as well as the singer and players) has to be really strong. Old school for life. 5. Q-Tip – “Blue Girl” from Kamaal the Abstract Makes me wanna say, “Hey!” and step as if I were at a smooth club, or super cool house party. Q-Tip has a way of melding the old and the new, so a track like this makes you think about Roy Ayers, Herbie, Patrice Rushen, the N.Y. Queens crew, and music at a time where extended jazz solos could be in R&B music. Unfortunately, now most of the harmony, melody, and rhythm have been stripped out of dance or popular music. Q-Tip is intelligent and his musical palette is wide and he really knows how to do “vintage” right. 6. Teena Marie – “Cassanova Brown” from Emerald City A friend and a talent I respect and admire. Honest, dedicated, purposeful and every note was heartfelt. I like this track because it was her way of doing jazz and she revered all the greats in jazz as well as R&B, and you can hear it in this song that she wrote. She uses her full range. I love the low notes. And her phrasing is amazing on this. Most talented one, gone too soon, R.I.P. 7. Kurt Rosenwinkel – “Heartcore” from Heartcore Edgy, raw, compelling, melodic, adventurous, unpredictable. I love the production quality of this entire CD. It sounds modern, yet possesses the perfect blend of meticulous composing/ arranging and “home recording vibe.” But it is the combination of the highlevel compositions, great playing, and non-traditional jazz production style that won me over. Mark Turner and Kurt playing unison melodies sound like a new instrument. The change in feel at the end, as well as the synth textures,
transports me. Would love to hear more like this, but different, of course. 8. Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette – “If I Should Loose You” from Standards, Volume 2 For me, it’s a perfect, personal improvised dance of three – how they follow each other, how they are free within the given set of boundaries of the standard, finding a way to make it sound like they are writing the tune as they go. I have always been inspired by Jack, his musical choices, and his level of openness. He sounds like a tap dancer to me on the brushes. The human spirit really comes through in everything he plays. I just wish I could press the mute button on Keith’s “vocalizing.”
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FAMOUS TO
SOUND FAMOUS
9. Roy Haynes – “Matrix” from Now He Sings, Now He Sobs I always find it amazing to hear the same thing over and over again and never grow tired of it. Maybe this is partially what defines brilliance. I’ve been listening to this track for nearly 30 years and have learned so much about ride cymbal playing from this it. I make sure all of my students listen to it as well. And I saw Roy live not too long ago and he still plays with an unparalleled enthusiasm. He is an idol of mine. 10. Duck Ellington – from the Baby Loves Jazz series I have a 5-year-old who loves Duck Ellington and sings along with the solos! Gotta love that. And what a great way to expose jazz to our babies! But the music is not played down in any way. Ali Jackson is the voice of Duck Ellington and the drummer and listening to him play on these vignettes is a reminder to me of why and how I got the “jazz bug” when I was young. They reference Monk and Coltrane and have a little bit of rap on there too. I highly recommend to those with children (and even those without)!
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Conference Update!
3
rd Annual
Jazz Education Network Conference
Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today!
SEE YOU THERE! January 4-7, 2012 • Louisville, KY •Click CONFERENCE CENTRAL on the JEN Home Page to review the COMPLETE listing of Performers & Clinicians! •Festival Clinic Room Participants JEN is launching a Pilot Program this year, adding a non-competitive Festival Clinic Room component to the Annual Conference offerings. Each participating ensemble will have the opportunity to perform a thirty minute concert, followed by a thirty minute clinic on how to improve your performance from a world-class artist! No need to worry about submitting an audition tape. School bands are being invited to attend and participate for a nominal fee of $15 per student participant. As the director of the ensemble, you need only to become a member of JEN. Plans are in the works to grow this program for next year! Visit the Festival Clinic Room Tab under CONFERENCE CENTRAL for details. • Bowling Green State University Jazz Singers • Capital University Big Band • Desolation Row of Western Michigan University • Morehead State University Jazz Ensemble • University of Kansas City Concert Jazz Band • University of Kansas City 11 O’Clock Big Band • University of Miami Frost Septet • and more to come!
Announcing the Jazz Arts Group/Jazz Audience Initiative Presenters, Panelists, Clinicians, and Facilitators VIRTUAL SESSION:
• A Conversation with APAP: Alan Brown, Facilitator DOCUMENTARY VIDEO:
• Miles Español - New Sketches of Spain: The Record as Narrative: Eli Cane, facilitator
PAPERS:
• Adult Jazz Education Classes: New Pathways to Expanding Audience Tastes: Henry Ettman • The Boise Jazz Society and the Gene Harris Jazz Festival : A Tale of Two Presenters: Mike Samball • Country Music and All That Jazz: Chris Long • Creating Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today through the Development, Implementation, & Evaluation of a Vocal Jazz Ensemble Curriculum: Connie Ironmonger-Mann • Developing Tomorrow’s Audiences Through Community-Based Jazz Education: Susan Helfter • The Expressive Performer and the Engaged Listener: Creating Connection in an Invented World: Christopher White • The Marketing of Jazz and Improvised Music since 2000 - A Literature Review: Dan DiPiero • Rebuilding the Base: Rebuilding the Social Capital for Jazz: John Morgan CLINICS:
• The Best of the Savory Collection - A Rare Peek: Loren Schoenberg WORKSHOPS:
• Engage Now! More Fans, More Tickets and More Money: Christy Farnbauch, facilitator • Engaging Audiences Through Theme-based Concerts : Bob Breithaupt & Byron Stripling facilitators • Building Young Audiences - JAG Jazz Academy: Carol Argiro:, facilitator PANELS:
• The Audience Wants Me to do What?” Eric Paton, Monika Herzig, Byron Stripling, John Clayton, panelists • Reminiscing in Tempo - NEA Jazz Masters: Willard Jenkins, facilitator • Venue is Key to Regenerating the Jazz Audience: Alan Brown, Faciltator • What’s New in Jazz Camps?? - Reaching New Audiences Through Innovation and Outreach: Judy Humenick, facilitator
Our network is growing JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
A MESSAGE FROM JEN PRESIDENT LOU FISCHER “Musicians should never forget that we’re blessed. We have a special gift that people can enjoy through us. We’ve had the good fortune to receive this and pass it along to others.”
– Ed Thigpen As I submit this writing to JAZZed, there are only 75 days remaining before the launch of the 2012 Annual Conference in Louisville, KY! I am very excited to let you know that our conference projections are right on target related to participation, exhibiting, attendance, scholarship & award applications, and housing goals at this time. You do not want to miss this event! Over 100+ concerts on 5 stages, 90+ clinics in 9 rooms and a major Music Exhibition featuring a plethora of products from an assortment of members…sheet music and magazine publishers, travel agencies, educational institutions, instrument manufacturers, service bands, video companies, record companies/labels, artist agencies, retail dealers, and artists just like you! Read up on the exhibitors that will be there in the following pages, along with the listings for the Jazz Arts Initiative Research Track clinicians and workshops, plus detailed Evening Concert Artist listings. And if that were not enough, I am proud to announce the newest JEN pilot program for this year… the Festival Clinic Room, which will feature 10-15 bands in an adjudicated performance environment at the conference. We are already making plans to expand this program for next year’s conference as a non-competitive arm of the annual event. We are here to work for you and the conference is your professional networking opportunity in your organization. And speaking of your organization, the recent August Board Minutes are now available online, along with our budget projection for the 2011-12 fiscal year. As a member you “Jazz washes are entitled to access this information in order to stay informed as to how we are putting away the dust your money to work. And to announce another new initiative, we will be installing the Inaugural 2012 of every day Class of the LeJENds of Jazz Education at the 2012 Gala Education Fundraiser. Literally life.” the A-B-C-D’s of Jazz! Check it out and purchase your ticket to participate online. The – Art Blakey festivities will include a set by the legendary Jamey Aebersold’s and his Quartet, a Silent auction, buffet feast-Southern Style, culminating with a LIVE Auction with some very interesting items for you to bid on! Speaking of auction, check out our new JEN Silent Auction online November 1st. Peruse some delicious restaurant offerings that you can bid on to use while you are in Louisville at the conference! It’s been a little over 3 years since JEN was created (Steering Committee Meeting: May 30 & June 1, 2008). We have painstakingly watched this organization move from a crawl to a walk, and now are enjoying watching it accelerate into a full speed run! But with that being said, there are still many people out there that honestly do not seem to know about JEN. How can that be you say??? Believe it or not, each day I hear from someone that just found out about us!! As your President, I want to appeal to each and every one of you as members of this great organization, to reach out and bring your friends into the family. Bring them to the conference! With all the passion you can muster, tell them what they are missing! Tell them not to miss out on the one event that can open doors for their career, young and old alike. Tell them how you were able to stop any one of the world-class artists in the hallway and talk to them, or converse as you ride along with them in the elevator. Tell them they are real people just like you and me! Tell them how exciting it was for you to hear them perform up close and personal. Tell them how much you learned in that one clinic that touched your life and/or changed your teaching, perhaps helping you get over a musical hurdle…or better yet, a life hurdle. Tell them how everyone treats you like family and how important that is to you! Now go back to the top of this page and read the quote from Ed Thigpen again. Personally, I am very proud of the fact that my extended family and my career have been built through associations of this nature, and I look forward to each and every opportunity to come together with those that share the same passion and life goals. I look forward to interacting with each of you January 4-7, 2012, where we will be Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today! A reminder: Updates are continually being posted at www.JazzEdNet.org where you can 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): Ruben Alvarez, Paul Bangser, Caleb Chapman, John Clayton-Vice President, Orbert Davis, Jose Diaz-Secretary, Dr. Lou Fischer-President, Dr. Darla Hanley, Dr. 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
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2012 JEN Evening Concert Schedule January 4-7, 2012, Louisville, KY Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4th • The Louisville Leopards – Diane Downs, director Featured in an HBO documentary, The Leopards Take Manhattan, the Louisville Leopard Percussionists are elementary aged student musicians from Louisville, KY. Performing classical, jazz, and pop tunes, while learning to improvise, compose, and arrange music on a variety of percussion instruments the group has performed in Tampa, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dayton, and Orlando, and with world-class artists including Dave Samuels, Victor Mendoza, Joe Morello, Louie Bellson, Ruben Alvarez, Harry Pickens, and Ndugu Chancler. • Jack Wilkin’s Blue & Green Project The Blue and Green Project features Jack Wilkins compositions musically rooted in Americana and inspired by elements of Appalachian Mountain life. The group features a front line of paired saxophones, trombones, and guitars plus vibraphone. The addition of violin, acoustic guitars, banjo, and variety of percussion instruments provide Appalachian colors. The group includes: Danny Gottlieb-drums, Jon Metzger-vibraphone/marimba, Sara Caswellviolin, Tom Brantley/Keith Oshiro-trombones, LaRue Nickelson/Corey Christiansen-guitars, Tami Danielsson and Jack Wilkins-saxophones, Per Danielsson-piano, Beth Gottlieb-percussion and Drew Wilkins-electric bass. • Harry Pickens Trio The Harry Pickens Trio, consisting of Harry Pickens-piano, Chris Fitzgerald-bass, and Jason Thiemanndrums, has performed throughout the Midwest for nearly a decade. The trio’s unique combination of deep lyricism and spontaneous delight breathes new life into repertoire spanning a wide range of jazz history. • University of Louisville Jazz Ensemble – John La Barbera, director Jazz Ensemble I is the premier big band of the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program at the University of Louisville School of Music. Directed by Grammy ® nominated composer/arranger John La Barbera, the ensemble has toured Brazil and England, and has backed guest artists such as
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Lee Konitz, Dave Samuels, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Slide Hampton, James Moody, Marcus Printup, Jerry Bergonzi, Bud Shank, Terell Stafford, and Wynton Marsalis, during their annual Jazz Fest. Populated by Graduate and Undergraduate students, the ensemble functions as an educational vehicle for students to grow as soloists, composers, arrangers, and instrumentalists. • Jamey Aebersold An icon in the Jazz industry, Jamey has been a driving force in America’s native art form and continues to kindle the fires of musical imagination in those with whom he comes in contact. An internationally-known saxophonist and authority on jazz education and improvisation, he has developed a series of Play-A-Longs now numbering almost 130 volumes, as well as various other supplemental aids for the development of improvisational skills. Jamey Aebersold was born July 21, 1939, in New Albany, Indiana. He attended college at Indiana University and graduated in 1962 with a Masters Degree in Saxophone. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Indiana University in 1992. He also plays piano, bass and banjo.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5th • The Phil Woods Ensemble at DePaul University – Bob Lark, director Performances by The Phil Woods Ensemble for the 2012 JEN Conference will feature a nonet, or as Phil calls it, a “Little Big Band.” Selections to be performed include original compositions and arrangements by student members of the ensemble, and Woods’ The Rights Of Swing suite. This student group/instrumentation recorded in the studio with Phil in November of 2011 for a forthcoming CD release on the Jazzed Media label.
• Millikin University Vocal Jazz Ensemble OneVoice – Steve Widenhofer, director OneVoice is the flagship ensemble of the vocal jazz program at Millikin University. The group has been invited to perform at various educational conferences and collegiate jazz festivals in the United States including: the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) international convention [2008], Jazz Educator’s Network [2012], ACDA Central Division Conference [2002 & 2012], IAJE international convention in New York City (2001) and San Diego (1989), and four times at the Illinois State Music Educator’s Association state conference in Peoria. Over the years, OneVoice has consistently been recognized as one of the outstanding groups at jazz festivals in the Midwest • Sherrie Maricle & Five Play FIVE PLAY is Sherrie Maricledrums, Noriko Ueda-bass, Tomoko Ohno-piano, Jami Dauber-trumpet, and Janelle Reichman-tenor/clarinet. The quintet was formed in 1999 as a sister group of the world-renowned DIVA Jazz Orchestra. Have performed at many of the world’s most prestigious music venues, including: Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and major festivals in Israel, Japan, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, their premier recording, On the Brink was voted #1 by Nat Hentoff in Jazz Times’ 1999 Year in Review. Five Play…Plus was voted one of the Top 10 CDs of 2005 by Coda Magazine. In 2008, What the World Needs Now was released to critical acclaim. • Afro Bop Alliance Grammy ® Award winning Afro Bop Alliance will be performing music from their 2011 release, Una Mas, featuring an all-star big band with original music by Luis Perdomo, Dave Samuels, Mike Pope and Vince Norman. Based in the Washington DC area and led by drummer Joe McCarthy, Afro Bop won the 2008 Latin Grammy for Latin Jazz Album of the Year and was nominated in the same category for the 51st Grammy Awards for the recording Afro Bop Alliance, released in conjunction with Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project. • Ray Vega A multi-talented trumpeter, percussionist, composer, and arranger, Ray has established himself as one of the innovators of the international Jazz and Latin music scenes, presenting Jazz from a refreshingly original and contemporary perspective. Having performed or recorded with a virtual Who’s Who in American Jazz, South Bronx native Ray Vega is a veteran of the bands of Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Mario Bauza, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, Hector LaVoe, Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harlow, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez and Louie Ramirez to name a few.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6th • Music Academy of Gauteng (MAG) Youth Jazz Orchestra - Johnny Mekoa, director MAG is a community based music program, founded 1994 by Dr. Johnny Mekoa. It came about as a result of a concern subsequent to his observation that most youngsters in South African neighborhoods were unemployed and roaming the streets. Upon his graduation from Indiana University through a Fulbright Scholarship, he turned down lucrative performance offers and came back home to establish MAG. Since its inception, MAG has achieved distinctive progress in the arts in South Africa. MAG has over the years produced some of the finest young musicians and is acclaimed as a custodian of the Big Band tradition in South Africa. • Jason Marsalis Quartet Jason is the son of pianist and music educator Ellis Marsalis and his wife Dolores, and the youngest sibling of Wynton, Branford and Delfeayo. Together, the four brothers and Ellis comprise New Orleans’ venerable first family of jazz, all being inducted as NEA Jazz Masters in 2011. Well known for his prodigal drumming, with the release of 2008’s Music Update, listeners are now recognizing Jason for his unique sound on the vibraphones. A mainstay on the New Orleans scene as a bandleader from the vibraphone chair, his group has performed at Snug Harbor, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, The Jazz Playhouse, and The Satchmo Summerfest, in addition to jazz venues throughout the US and Canada, having toured Europe on the summer festival scene. Uniquely drawing from a wide range of influences, Jason performs original music as well as hidden gems in the jazz literature and beyond. • Bass Extremes featuring Victor Wooten & Steve Bailey From the Lowest of Lows to the Highest of Highs, Bass Extremes deliver bass to the Extreme. Dynamic Jazzy-Funk delivered by a Grammy ® Award winning, innovative, and creative, Bass Duo, like nothing you’ve ever heard! Victor Wooten is a 5-time Grammy ® Award winner and a founding member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. He has been called the most influential bassist of the last decade. A pioneer of the six string fretless bass, Steve Bailey has played with Dizzy Gillespie, The Rippingtons, Jethro Tull, and Willie Nelson, to name only a few. • The Army Jazz Ambassadors The Jazz Ambassadors—America’s Big Band, is the official touring big band of the United States Army. This 19-member ensemble, formed in 1969, has received great acclaim both at home and abroad performing America’s original art form, jazz. Concerts by the Jazz Ambassadors are designed to
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JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
entertain all types of audiences. Custom compositions and arrangements highlight the group’s creative talent and gifted soloists. Their diverse repertoire includes big band swing, bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz, standards, popular tunes, Dixieland, vocals, and patriotic selections. • Ernie Watts Two-time Grammy Award winner Ernie Watts is one of the most versatile and prolific saxophone players on the music scene. In a diverse career that has spanned more than 40 years, artists ranging from Cannonball Adderley to Frank Zappa, always exhibiting his unforgettable trademark sound, have featured him on 500+ recordings. “After hearing saxophonist Ernie Watts, it’s easy to imagine that he possesses superhuman talents similar to those held by members of the fictional Fantastic Four. He breathes fire, can cool with ice, whip up a storm, and shape his sax sound in ways otherworldly. This is a powerful, yet sensitive, technically Herculean, yet human, complex yet elegantly beautiful player--no, a marvel.” Nicholas F. Mondello / All About Jazz
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7th
• University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band – Charles Chip McNeil, director The University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band under the direction of Professor McNeill has performed at numerous jazz festival performances including The North Texas Jazz Festival, The Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, The Elmhurst Jazz Festival, IAJE performances in NYC and Montreal, and the Northern Colorado Jazz Festival to name a few. The ensemble has numerous CD recordings, the latest of which is a double CD titled Freeplay and has garnered critical acclaim. All arrangements and compositions are by members of the ensemble and some compositions have won awards including a 2011 JEN Student Composition Award. The band will feature several DownBeat student award winners in jazz vocal performance and jazz instrumental performance for 2011. • Foolish Hearts Peter Eldridge and Matt Aronoff will play together as the new duo Foolish Hearts, a collaboration of voice, piano, acoustic bass and percussion.
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Their repertoire varies from evocative original compositions to arrangements of standards and pop tunes, conceived by the duo with an organic sensibility. Currently finishing up their first studio project, the duo frequently performs in NYC, having toured the west coast and Europe, including a week in Estonia last Spring. Peter is a founding member of the grammy-winning New York Voices and MOSS. Matt is a very in demand sideman on the New York scene and can be heard as a member of the electro-pop band Xylos. • Ken Peplowski/Shelly Berg Quartet Ken Peplowski is one of the worlds most acclaimed jazz clarinetists and saxophonists. Mel Tormé said of him, “The man is magic”. Ken recorded over 20 CDs as a leader for Concord Records and has appeared on hundreds of CDs and on the soundtracks for Woody Allen’s films. The All-Music Guide says, “Shelly Berg is one of the finest pianists around in the early 21st century playing modern, mainstream jazz”. Shelly’s 2006 Concord CD, “Blackbird” reached #1 in US jazz radio. Additional members of the quartet include Lou Fischer-bass and Steve Houghton-drums. Ken and Shelly have two recent CDs on the Capri label, “Noir Blue” and “In Search Of”. • The Blues & the Abstract Truth Celebration Band! Jazz Lines Publications and Oliver Nelson Jr. present a concert celebrating the music from The Blues and the Abstract Truth. The compositions of Oliver Sr. will be performed from engraved arrangements taken directly from the original parts used at the recording session 50 years ago. The Blues and the Abstract Truth Celebration Band features Dr. Larry Ridleybass; Shelly Berg,-piano; Leon Ndugu Chancler-drums; Terell Stafford-trumpet; Chip McNeill-tenor; Glen Wilson-bari, and Antonio Hart or Bobby Watson-alto. It is our mission to present this timeless music to as many students and JEN attendees as possible, and to further make it possible for the songs to be played forever by musicians everywhere through publication.
Exhibitors List
January 4-7, 2012, Louisville, KY Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today!
The JEN Exhibition features a array of products from an assortment of sheet music and magazine publishers, travel agencies, educational institutions, instrument manufacturers, service bands, video companies, record companies/ labels, artist agencies, retail dealers, and artists just like you! We are very proud to announce our 2012 Exhibiting Industry and Institutional Partner Members who support the growth and future of The Jazz Education Network by participating in the Exhibition at the Conference.
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Advance Music
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Aebersold Jazz Aids (C)
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Alfred Music Publishing, Inc. (F)
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American Classic Tours and Music Festivals (F)
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Antigua
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Avedis Zildjian Company, Vic Firth, Inc. (C)
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Berklee College of Music (C)
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BG Frank Bichon
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Buffet Crampon (F), Antoine Courtois Paris (F) , Besson (F), Keilwerth (F), Schreiber (F)
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Cannonball
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Capital University (F)
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Judy Chaikin / Girls in the Band)
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Chamber Music America
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Columbia College Chicago (F)
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Conn Selmer, Inc.
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Cultural Tour Consultants, Inc.
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Bob Curnow (F) / Sierra Music, Inc.
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Dansr, Inc. / Vandoren
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D’Addario Strings, Inc.
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Miles Davis/Miles Ahead Music
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Ron DiSalvio / Meadow Run Music
(F) Founding Member (C) Charter Member
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DownBeat
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Eastman Music Company
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ejazzlines / Jazz Lines Publications (C)
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Em Bee Ideas
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Gemeinhardt Music Instruments, LLC.
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George Mason University
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Getzen
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Grammy Foundation
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Mark Gridley/Jazz Styles
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Brian Horner / Sound Artist Support
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Daniel Israel / AMI
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Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (F)
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Jazz at Lincoln Center
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JazzHeaven.com
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JazzTimes Magazine
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Jody Jazz
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Jupiter (C), Majestic, Mapex (C), XO (C)
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Kendor Music Publishing, Inc. (F)
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Neil A. KJOS Music Company
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Hal Leonard Music, Inc. (F)
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Fred Labayle Mouthpieces
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L.A. Music Academy
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Dana Legg (C) / Dana Legg Stage Band
• Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau •
Manhattan School of Music
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Marshall University
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P. Mauriat/St. Louis Music
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McNally Smith College of Music
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Monterey Jazz Festival
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Motema Music
(F) Founding Member (C) Charter Member
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Music For All, Inc. (F)
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National Jazz Museum of Harlem
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National Jazz Workshop (C) / Shenandoah University
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New England Conservatory
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Rising Software
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Sabian Ltd.
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SaxQuest Inc.
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Sher Music Inc.
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Snow College
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Stanton’s Sheet Music, Inc. (C)
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Billy Strayhorn Songs Inc.
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Symphony Publishing, Inc. (F)
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University of Kentucky (C)
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University of Miami Frost School of Music (F)
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University of Michigan
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University of Louisville School of Music
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USC Thornton School of Music (C)
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University of North Texas
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University of Toledo
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U.S. Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors (C)
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U.S. Army Recruiting
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Friends of Big Band Jazz
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Warburton Music Products
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Western Michigan University
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Victor Wooten’s Center for Music & Nature
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Yamaha, Inc. (C)
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Susumu Watanabe/ Tokyo Brass Art Orchestra
(F) Founding Member (C) Charter Member
JAZZed November 2011 21
guest editorial
SWING ERA JAZZ
The Irony of Teaching About Swing Era Big Band Jazz BY LEE EVANS
T
he word ‘irony’ is defined on one Internet dictionary as, “the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.” Teaching my college class in jazz history about the Swing Era – also known as the Big Band Era – contains a large element of irony, so let me explain wherein the irony lies.
The Role of Improvisation
Improvisation is considered by jazz experts and by authors of jazz history textbooks to be the sine qua non of jazz, the essential ingredient without which many might question whether the music is even jazz at all. An example to illustrate this point would be the ragtime piano music of the 1890’s and early 1900’s. Because this was a body of composed rather than improvised music, many consider it to be a precursor of jazz rather than jazz itself. (At my first Pace University jazz history lecture of the semester, I play a Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz piano roll recording of Scott Joplin playing his own Maple Leaf Rag, followed by Jelly Roll Morton’s SCCJ recording of the same work played in a more improvisatory manner, in order to make the important distinction to my students between a “straight” rendition of a composed jazzy piece and an improvised rendition of the same piece.) The same may be said of George Gershwin’s 1920’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Piano Concerto in F,” as well as the “Blues” movement from Morton Gould’s 1945 ballet score, “Interplay”. All are composed pieces devoid of even one note
of improvisation. Nevertheless all are quite jazzy sounding, as they contain an abundance of musical elements ordinarily associated with the jazz idiom, such as blue notes, syncopated rhythms and offbeat accents, and jazz harmonies. The Swing Era, the most popular jazz era of all with the general public during its heyday in the 1930s, featured the least amount of pure improvisation of any period in jazz history. For the most part, at that time the general public couldn’t care less about the jazz inventiveness of a big band practitioner’s execution of an occasional short improvised jazz solo within the band’s written arrangement. Yet most, if not all, jazz history textbooks concentrate their attention on those relatively few bands that featured more than a modest amount of improvisation - including such bands as those led by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman. The outstanding textbooks I employ in my jazz history course – Jazz Styles by Mark Gridley (Pearson Prentice Hall), and Jazz by Mervin Cooke (Thames and Hudson) - are two such examples.
“THE GENERAL PUBLIC WAS THUS EXPOSED TO JAZZ ELEMENTS IN VARYING AMOUNTS PLAYED BY ALMOST ALL OF THE ERA’S BIG BANDS.”
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guest editorial My Letter to the Author
In 1993, I wrote a letter to author Gridley in which I stated that his then 5th edition of Jazz Styles did injustice to the Swing Era by omitting serious discussion of some of the most prominent big bands of that era: Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Harry James, to name but a few. His reasoning was that those bands didn’t feature improvisation to the extent that other bands such as Ellington’s, Basie’s, Goodman’s, Herman’s, and Kenton’s did. Apart from the question of how much improvisation these bands had, they all featured jazz-styled syncopated phrasing, jazz harmonies, and other important jazz elements such as call and response, antiphonal effects, riffs, etc., which gave the entire era’s popular music a jazz sound and flavor. The general public was thus exposed to jazz elements in varying amounts played by almost all of the era’s big bands, and came to love their music to such an extent that his book referred to jazz and America’s popular music as being one and the same thing during this period in music history. I told him that I felt that by downplaying some of those important names, he provided a somewhat skewed impression of the Swing Era. During that period one could hear big band music on almost any radio station, one could walk into several major big city theaters and hear live big bands alternating with films and even appearing in some of those films, and one could walk into many dance halls and convention centers and hear big band music, all played by those people who received limited attention in his book. Moreover, I added, a good deal of the popularity of this genre of music derived as much from those bands as from bands featuring greater amounts of improvisation. In a later edition of Jazz Styles, Grid-
ley did in fact add a couple of pages (under the rubric “Popular Appeal”) in which he addressed this issue. In those pages he pointed out that “jazz improvisation might not have provided the primary appeal of the pieces”; that “swing fans were far from unanimous in their awareness and appreciation of jazz improvisation”; and that “for most big bands of the swing era, even the jazzoriented ones, improvisation was not necessarily a first priority.” He also stated that “for a large portion of the public, the improvisations were incidental, perhaps inconsequential, segments of the performances... Most jazz fans... were more entranced by the overall effect of big band music and its rhythm than by the inspiration and skill with which solo improvisers devised their lines,” and by the visual and dance appeal of a big band’s performance. End Note
So, when I say that there’s a certain irony in teaching my jazz history stu-
dents about swing era big band jazz, I’m implying that despite the era’s great popularity with the general public, there was not all that much pure jazz being played by those groups in those days; certainly nowhere near the amount of improvisation (both solo and collective) that characterized the playing of the many early small combo Dixieland jazz bands that existed immediately preceding the swing era, and the fantastically inventive solo improvisations performed by the innovative bebop groups that followed on the heels of the glamorous big band era. Lee Evans, Ed.D., is professor of music at NYC’s Pace University. His latest solo-piano books for The FJH Music Company are the late elementary/early intermediate level Color Me Jazz, Books 1 and 2; the intermediate/ late intermediate level Ole! Original Latin American Dance Music; and the intermediate/late intermediate level Fiesta! Original Latin American Piano Solos.
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basic training
S Y N C O P AT I O N
Melodic Syncopation PART 1
T
BY ANDREW HARE
he great drummer and educator John Riley divides the artistry of drumming into four basic elements: groove, technique, musicality, and creativity. Groove is your individual sense of time and where you place the beat; technique is your physical facility; musicality is how you respond to your musical environment; and creativity is the spark of imagination that makes every drummer as unique and identifiable as a fingerprint. These articles are not intended to be technique primers although they are technically demanding. My main purpose is to help put technique into musical context, uniting technique with groove, musicality, and creativity and thereby improving overall musicianship.
“PUTTING TECHNIQUE INTO A MELODIC CONTEXT ENCOURAGES THE MUSICIAN TO MAINTAIN A STEADY GROOVE, AND TO RESPOND TO THE TENSION AND RELEASE OF THE MELODY WITH MUSICAL SENSITIVITY.� To develop all these artistic elements, most jazz musicians organize their technical exercises around the melodies of jazz standards. This melodic approach to technique goes beyond simply developing physical facility. Putting technique into a melodic context encourages the musician to maintain a steady groove, and to respond to the tension and release of the melody with musical sensitivity. In addition to the benefits to groove and musicality, this approach plants melodies so deeply in the creative imagination, that improvising soaked in the feeling of the jazz tradition emerges. As a result of
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basic training this melodic approach and of the holistic interrelation between the four artistic elements that it cultivates, musicians are better able to weave their improvisation into the fabric of the music. Unfortunately, because drummers are not required by their instrument to be intimately involved with melody, often no such connection between technique and the other artistic elements exists. Instead of using melodies as the basis for technical exercises, many drummers use arbitrary rhythms that bear little resemblance to the elegance or sophistication of a melody. Because of this narrow focus, drummers have become notorious for a sort of athletic approach to playing that is divorced from any musical feeling. These articles work to bridge the gap between the rhythm-centric world of drummers and the melody-centric world of other musicians by organizing their rhythmic content around the melodies of jazz standards. Each of the exercises in these articles is designed around a melody and requires you to both have the melody memorized and be able to sing it while playing. In this way, you can develop all the artistic elements and engage more deeply in the music. A recording of each melody is listed in each exercise, so if you are not familiar with the melody, find a copy of that recording and learn the melody before continuing with the exercise. The primary benefit of these exercises comes from putting technique into a musical (melodic) environment, so if you do not practice these exercises while singing the melody, you will sabotage your own development. In addition to being designed around melodies, these exercises are each devoted to an important drummer, starting with Papa Jo. The drummers in these articles represent the evolution of jazz drumming and are all worthy of study and emulation. Each
exercise will help develop an ability that corresponds to a significant element of that drummer’s sound. Step 1: This exercise is a great way to begin working on simultaneously singing and playing the melody, while also learning about Papa Jo’s style and an important phrasing technique. Listen to the suggested recording, memorize the melody, and then sing the and play the melody on the snare drum with the snares off for a more “Latin” feel. One of the main differences between Latin and traditional jazz is that, in general, the rhythmic feel of Latin jazz is straight eighth notes as opposed to swung eighth notes. Unlike what Papa Jo plays on the recording, be sure to sing, feel, and play this melody as straight eighth notes. Also, with your feet play beats one, the “and” of two, three, and the “and” of four with your bass drum and beats two and four with your hi-hat (Bossa feet). Guide
R.H. and L.H.= The melody on the snare drum (snares off) with straight eighth notes and alternating sticking R.F.= Softly play beats one, the “and” of two, three, and the “and” of four L.F.= Crisply close hi-hat on beats two and four (R.F. and L.F.= Bossa feet)
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Step 2: When you listen to the recording of this melody, notice how the piano makes a statement and then responds to that statement with the band. This musical structure is known as call and response, and it is a very potent musical technique featured in much of the music during Papa Jo’s time. In fact, Papa Jo would often use this technique in his own improvising to help create musical structure. Once you feel comfortable playing through step 1, try playing through the exercise again, but this time in the A sections improvise your own response to the piano’s call. Play your response exclusively on the snare drum while continuing to play Bossa feet. Even though you are improvising a new rhythm, try to sing the same (or similar) notes of the response from the original. Also, stick to one improvised response throughout the form, and the next time through, improvise a new one. Try to make your response feel like a natural reaction to the response rather then trying to force rhythmic complexity. Notice that you will repeat your improvised response two times starting at measure 34 (tag ending) before returning to the original melody in the last measure.
JAZZed November 2011 25
basic training Playing Tips
Guide (A sections)
R.H. and L.H.= Play two bars of the original call and two bars of improvised response using straight eighth notes R.F. and L.F.= Bossa feet Guide (B section) R.H. and L.H.= The melody with straight eighth notes R.F. and L.F.= Bossa feet Example #2
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Suggested Recording
Jo Jones – The Essential Jo Jones (Vanguard Records)
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In addition to showcasing call and response, this melody also helps outline the form by breaking from the call and response structure on the bridge. The 32-bar AABA form of this song is one of the most common and important in jazz, so always knowing where you are in this form without needing to count is a critical skill to develop. Also, if you listen to what Papa Jo is playing in the A sections you will observe that he is playing the response note for note on the drums. The idea of playing the melody on the drums has been around for a long time! Once you feel comfortable doing this with sticks, try it with brushes with the snares off, aiming for a clean, clear sound. Try starting on both hands to develop your weaker hand. Remember to play with a light touch, or as Papa Jo put it, “When it comes to percussion instruments, you don’t beat the drum, you play the drum” (Modern Drummer).
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26 JAZZed November 2011
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Andrew Hare received a music degree from Michigan State University, where he played in the school’s award-winning Big Band, as well as an array of small groups. In addition to touring Japan and the United States with the MSU Big Band, he was also selected to participate in the prestigious Jazz Aspen Academy under the guidance of Christian McBride. Hare has also had the opportunity to perform with the likes of Rodney Whitaker, Jon Faddis, Frank Morgan, and Hank Jones. Since moving to the D.C. area, Hare has been teaching at the Levine School as well as playing and recording with a number of local jazz musicians.
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JAZZed: Each great saxophonist has developed his own personal sound on the instrument. What has gone into the development of your tenor saxophone sound?
A CONVERSATION WITH
Seamus Blake
S
BY SEAN MURPHY
Saxophonist Seamus Blake is widely considered one of today’s most outstanding saxophonists, and has been hailed as one of the finest purveyors of contemporary jazz. In 2002, Seamus was awarded first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. As a leader, he has released six albums on Criss Cross Records, including his 1993 debut, The Call. He has also released one album on the Fresh Sound label, the critically acclaimed Live in Italy on the Jazz Eyes label, and most recently, Live at Smalls. In the interview, Seamus Blake discusses his improvisation, compositions and influences.
28 JAZZed November 2011
Seamus Blake: I began, as most saxophonists do, by imitating all the great masters. I learned solos by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Ben Webster, and many more. Even today, my sound has varying degrees of influence from all those players, but earlier on it was much more derivative. Sometimes I would play entire phrases lifted from Parker or Coltrane, but after awhile I began to edit myself. Instead of playing recognizable licks, I would try to improvise a melody. Part of wanting to be different was sometimes choosing not to play something. Composing also helps to form an individual style. By working to develop your own repertoire, you inevitably put yourself in a more personal framework. Your songs reflect the kind of music you want to play, the drama you wish to create, and the kind of person you are. I also think my sound has been influenced by other instruments and other music besides notable saxophonists. The Bach Cello Suites, Jimi Hendrix’s guitar, and Shirley Horn’s singing and sense of space are some examples that have influenced me as much as Charlie Parker. JAZZed: What types of techniques do you utilize to develop your harmonic and rhythmic concepts during improvisation? SB: Like every player, most of my harmonic and rhythmic language comes from the tradition of jazz. Jazz is a language that we all learn to speak, and my playing techniques are built from studying the styles of my favorite musicians. I also incorporate classical harmonic and rhythmic concepts into my improvisation. When I play, my main concerns are melody, rhythm, and mood. Am I singing through my horn? Can I make peo-
ple dance? Am I playing drums with my saxophone? I want people to connect to the emotions I put into my music. JAZZed: Of the saxophone players that have influenced you the most, what specific aspects of each individual’s playing do you either try to emulate or hold in high regard musically? SB: I have learned many things from the saxophonists that have come before me. From Sonny Rollins I took rhythm and motivic development, and from John Coltrane I took tone, dedication of practice, spirituality, and his volcano of erupting ideas; Charlie Parker’s sound, the sheer inventiveness, endless melody and rhythm; Wayne Shorter’s composition, melody, zen; Stan Getz’s finesse, sound, romance; Dexter Gordon’s tone, melody, laid-back feel; Joe Lovano’s warmth of tone, incredible rhythm and pure improvising; Michael Brecker’s technical genius, pushing the limits of the saxophone and ewi playing; and Kenny Garrett’s beautiful tone and “outside” playing.
these skills beyond a basic blues and AABA structures? SB: Composing takes as much work and practice as soloing. As I mentioned above, I have dedicated a lot of time to studying the works of many different artists. By starting with simple forms, I gained confidence and then tried more complicated forms. It’s a basic evolution that occurs in all art forms. A figure skater masters their ba-
sic turn before the triple reverse flip. It’s a natural outward expansion of technique. If you take a look at Wayne Shorter’s compositions over the years, his early songs have simpler forms. In later years, he uses more intricate and developed forms that are similar to classical music. A song like “The Three Marias” from his Atlantis recording is a good example of his more complex, masterful use of form.
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JAZZed: What musicians (of any style), excluding saxophonists, have impacted your sound, style, writing, improvisation, etc? SB: I studied classical violin from age seven until fourteen, and to this day I am influenced and inspired by composers like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Mozart and Bartók. Growing up in the 1980s, I listened to the pop music of the times. The impact of Michael Jackson, The Police, Prince, and countless other bands and artists that were on MTV have also influenced me. Although I didn’t discover them until my early 20s, The Beatles made a huge impression on me. I have spent many hours learning their songs and studying their music. I have done the same with artists such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan.
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JAZZed: How have you been able to successfully integrate electronics into your music as a jazz artist? Do you want to see more use of EWIs and other electronic sounds in jazz music today? SB: So far, my only successful contribution electronically has been the processing of my sax. I have mainly used it for color and timbre options. For so long, guitar players have used pedals to change their sounds. Other saxophonists like Eddie Harris and Michael Brecker have also used effects. One of my favorite effects is the wahwah on the tenor. It can sound like a plunger mute on a trumpet or a funky guitar. As far as the EWI goes, I’m still developing my ideas on it and haven’t recorded anything yet. Computers and software have become faster, more
powerful, and more accessible, so in the future, I think we will see more EWI players and more jazz musicians experimenting with electronics. It will be interesting to see what people come up with. JAZZed: What direction do you see jazz moving toward in the near future? Does your music embrace this trend? SB: I have no idea where jazz is headed. So many people are doing different things. However, some general trends do prevail at the moment. Rhythmic complexity and the use of odd meters are big trends now. Sometimes I find a composition may suffer because too much attention is being focused on the use of odd meters. But I do think the interest in exploring new rhythms is great. Another trend is mixing in more pop and rock elements. Jazz
musicians are playing music with backbeats, doing covers of contemporary pop, such as Radiohead, and writing with forms closer to rock and pop as opposed to the AABA standard jazz song form. These are all good things that can help jazz in the long run. I think of it as diversifying the genre. Jazz has always grown with the help of other kinds of music. As far as my own music is concerned, I try to write the best melodies I can. I want to create forms and harmonies that are inspiring to improvise on. I’m not worried about being innovative or a genius. I just want to create music that I like and hopefully some other folks will like it too. JAZZed: Last year you performed at the US Navy International Saxophone Symposium. What was this experience like in regards to working with the Navy
You are
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Commodores, playing new arrangements of your compositions, and interacting with the larger saxophone audience? SB: I had fun playing with the Navy band and performing at the saxophone symposium. It was a thrill to play arrangements of my tunes. The band and audience were great and it was a fun concert. JAZZed: What is one of the most profound musical lessons you have ever learned while either performing, practicing, studying the saxophone, or listening to other artists? SB: I think the biggest lessons I have learned from music is that “you reap what you sow”, “practice makes perfect”, and in order to transcend mediocrity you must “let go of your ego.” JAZZed: What are some lesser known recordings that have influenced your artistic direction, beyond classics like Kind of Blues and Giant Steps? SB: Cannonball Adderley’s Live in San Francisco was one of the first albums that got me into jazz. Some others are: Miles Davis's Jazz at the Plaza, John Scofield's Meant to Be, Michael Brecker’s first solo album, Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio, Joe Henderson's Live at the Village Vanguard, Thelonius Monk's Solo Monk, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw's Double Take, Mulgrew Miller Wingspan, and Weather Report's 8:30. JAZZed: What is your advice to the younger generation of musicians on having success professionally as a saxophonist today? SB: Having a career in jazz is difficult and not everyone is able to be so lucky. If you want to be a successful musician, you must love music, play it all day, and prefer to be playing your instrument rather than doing anything else. Your playing should be distinctive, personal, at a high level, and you must be dedicated and hard working. Be honest with your abilities and be realistic with your goals. Saxophonist Sean Murphy is currently pursuing his Master of Music Degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of North Texas. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. As an active performer, he is both an accomplished jazz and classical musician. His articles on saxophone pedagogy and performance, as well as interviews with composers and notable saxophonists, have been accepted for publication in numerous distinguished music magazines and journals in North America, Europe, and Australia. For more information visit www.seanmurphysaxophone.com.
Master...
Gregg Field
Multi-Task
32 JAZZed November 2011
. Lifelong Jazz Man Gregg Field Has a Career That’s Touched on Every Aspect of the Music Business. Here’s Why Young Musicians Should Try to Do the Same. Gregg Field’s recent itinerary was a doozy. He started things off with a latesummer stint in Florida with the Disney All American College Band, then he took a trip back to California to work in the studio on the new Gypsy Kings record. He took to the sea for the annual Dave Koz Jazz Cruise in Alaska, then flew to Brazil to perform at a concert with his wife, Monica Mancini, later hopping up to Buenos Aires to produce an album with Cuban legend Arturo Sandoval with Argentina’s Teatro Colon Orchestra. After a few days of down time, he caught a plane to London to record with the Shelly Berg Trio and the Royal Philharmonic. JAZZed November 2011 33
Do you want this job yet? Field laughs it off. “It looks great on paper, doesn’t it?” he says over the phone from Los Angeles, counting the hours before his next several project deadlines. “It’s always a double-edged sword. Right now I’m wondering how I’m ever going to have time to get my records done.” Nevertheless, Field knows that his broad career in performance, education, production, and record label management serves as a constant beacon to young jazz acolytes trying to find a foothold or two in a job market that’s more competitive than ever. The advice he gives to students all the time: find as many things as possible that you love doing and do them. Diversify. He certainly leads by example. Field grew up in California, in the Bay Area, obsessively listening to jazz records and going over drumming patterns in his home and hanging around jazz clubs in the city to see legends perform whenever he could. He attended music camps as early as he could as a teen-
34 JAZZed November 2011
ager and began teaching drums in high school. After a few chance encounters, he found himself working regularly as the drummer in Count Basie’s Orchestra, parlaying contacts through that gig into session jobs and, whenever possible, audio engineering assignments. He’s since performed with a long list of jazz and pop stars like Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Liza Minnelli and more. He’s held positions at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles since 1983 and currently holds a place on the school’s board of directors, watching the its jazz program grow exponentially. In the meantime, he helped take the mantle of Concord Records from founder Carl Jefferson and turn it into one of the most widely-visible labels in the world through a partnership with Starbucks Coffee and a steadily impressive list of new releases by classic artists like Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderly, Paul McCartney, and James Taylor. In 2009, the com-
pany received a record 38 Grammy nominations. He has pioneered new techniques in recording by jumping onto digital audio workstations like ProTools when they were in their infancy, and has made waves with innovative new album concepts. Throughout, he points to a passion for music as the only thing that continues to make any of it possible. JAZZed caught up with Field recently to talk about the lessons he’s learned while on the job and in the classroom throughout his career. JAZZed: Great to speak with you, Gregg! Let’s start off with your work at USC, which began in ’83 right after you left Count Basie’s Orchestra. How’s the landscape changed since then, in any aspect? Gregg Field: It’s completely different. In 1982, there never would have been a thought of a pop music curriculum and the jazz program there was pretty limited. It was still really a classical school and an opera school. Over the next ten years
it started to grow a little bit, then Shelly Berg came in and everything changed really quickly in terms of the respect of the jazz school. He made vast changes and when you got ten years on, the program had really found its stride. But the larger question I think you were asking was how things have generally changed in teaching. It’s the opportunities for working as a musician that are a challenge for us to prepare students for. The same types of opportunities just aren’t there like they were when I first started at USC. So we see that and we’re adapting our curriculum to stay ahead of the curve. Part of that is expanding the awareness of the music business outside of just being a creative instrumentalist. That’s worked wonders for me because I have a career as a music producer, musician, and business person with Concord, which keeps me really busy. I encourage students to move beyond their instruments to expand their opportunities. They might say, “Yeah, I love playing sax, but talk to me about producing,” or “What is it like to be an engineer on a session and learn ProTools?” JAZZed: So you think the key is just getting students involved in any fields that they can? GF: Where they’re attracted, at least. For me, opportunity comes where your passion leads you. I had a real amazing thing happen when I was a kid – I was obsessed with Count Basie’s band in junior high school and high school and I’d go see them any time they’d come to San Francisco. I would come home and practice to the records for hours and hours and hours, every song I could find on a recording of Basie. I was a senior in high school in ’73 and the band was playing in San Francisco. I found myself backstage and I got introduced to Basie. And the band’s getting onstage and Sonny Payne, the drummer, didn’t show up. And
Arturo Sandoval, Chris Botti, Jorge Calandrelli, Gregg Field.
A 2001 session with the Gypsy Kings: Manolo, Gregg Field, Jorge Reyes
I ended up playing the concert as a senior in high school. It was incredible. The synchronicities that had to line up for me to be at that moment in time were remarkable. But what I’ve learned is that I had a lot of passion to play that music and what I’ve learned is that wherever I find myself really getting excited and passionate over wanting to do something, I find the doors starting to open up. I wanted to work for Sinatra, wanted to work with Ella, wanted to record for Luther Vandross, wanted to work with Arturo. You can keep naming them – before I worked with them, I wanted to work with them. I was a fan. And I tell students that. You’ll find that opportunity doesn’t knock once – it’s always knocking. If your passion is there, that will drive you to opportunity and I’ve seen it over and over for many years.
It’s a technique for me. If I have my sights on something, the success will come. JAZZed: At the same time as starting out as a teacher, you were also beginning to learn the ropes in record engineering, right? GF: They were both coming at the same time. I was always attracted to the recording process and production. In the early ‘80s, I had a little computer with a little sequencer and I would try to recreate with the sequencer hits that I was hearing on the radio. Around that time, my recording career starting taking off a bit and I was actually making R&B records. My first real record session was with Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds. It was Wah Wah Watson on guitar and Greg Phillenganes playJAZZed November 2011 35
“I go to schools sometime and pick out a musician and go ‘What’s your dream gig?’ and they don’t have an answer. That’s a problem.”
Gregg Field(R) with engineer MIke Hatch(L) at Air Studios in London.
ing piano. I was so unprepared. I was 21 years old and suddenly found myself on a big session in L.A. My drums sounded horrible and I was fired off the session almost immediately. But it was the best thing that could have happened! I learned a lot and fortunately those guys both stepped in and helped, especially Wah Wah. I was curious about recording. When the predecessor to ProTools came out, called SoundDesign, I learned it. I got it, took it home, really woodshedded it, and then would just asked engineers, you know, “How do you get this reverb to work,” or “What mic do you use on the vocal?” I was just being a curious guy and a pain in the ass to a lot of engineers! Bit by bit I developed a little skill and was hired to produce my first record around ’83 or ‘84, somewhere 36 JAZZed November 2011
in there. That led to Concord records founder Carl Jefferson and John Burk sending some producing work my way. It was a great opportunity! JAZZed: Is that how you first got involved with Concord, then – producing? GF: Oh no, I actually go back with Concord longer than anybody else. Carl Jefferson, who started Concord Records back in the 1970s, was a Lincoln-Mercury dealer in Concord, Calif. – Jefferson Motors. My dad used to buy cars from him. In 1972, he did something that was so cool – he hired Louis Belson and Barney Kessel and Mill Hinn (bass player, drummer and guitar player) to do a jazz camp in Lake Tahoe for a week. They took ten drummers, ten bass players and ten guitar player
students. I got to study with Louis and Grant Geissman, the great guitar player. So that started a relationship with Carl Jefferson. As time went on, the relationship kept up and I would call him once in awhile or he’d call me – he was a really wonderful guy. This went on for a long time. JAZZed: How did you become a label owner? GF: Concord was sold by Carl in 1994 to a conglomerate that ultimately had financial difficulty. Concord was a pretty small label at that point and came up for sale. My friends Norman Lear and Hal Gaba loved music, so I introduced them to Glen Barros and John Burk, who were running Concord. We put together the financing and I became one of the owners. Norman and Hal along with Glen and John and our
general manager Gene Rumsey, have really been responsible for the growth of Concord. JAZZed: How did the deal with Starbucks come about? GF: It was our chairman Hal Gaba, about the nicest guy anyone has ever met, who was at a party with Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. Starbucks was basically selling CD compilations out of the stores. You know – music that had been released already. Hal approached Howard and said we could do a better job with his in store CDs and Howard was intrigued. He said if we could sign Ray Charles, we’ll do a deal with you guys. We approached Ray Charles with the idea of doing an album and of course I’m sure you know the history – it sold 8 million copies, won every Grammy it was up for, and we were suddenly a real record label with serious growing pains. Everything changed at that point. We started acquiring other labels and it brings us to today, and I’m happy to say that in spite of the challenging environment we actually had our best year to date!
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JAZZed: That’s not something too many labels can claim.
JAZZed: What do you tell students now, after getting all these serendipitous breaks – playing with Count Basie in high school, getting involved with Concord as a teenager, meeting Phil Ramone – it can’t possibly be that easy for people anymore, can it?
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GF: Yeah. One of the reasons is – we embrace artists that major labels don’t see a value in anymore. We have the new Paul Simon record. Frankly, I don’t think Warner Brothers knew what to do with him anymore. Ray Charles, James Taylor, Carole King, and Paul Simon are legacy artists that we value! That’s proved a really good formula for us. And we’re still making as many or more jazz records than we’ve ever made.
JAZZed November 2011 37
GF: It wasn’t that easy back then! [laughs]. I’m telling you, if you’d asked me in high school, “Who do you want to play with?” I could have named five guys instantly. I go to schools sometime and pick out a musician and go “Who’s your dream to play with? What’s your dream gig? What do you want to do?” and they don’t have an answer. That’s a problem. That’s not the passion that you need to drive the success and keep you hanging into the game. Honestly, I think the opportunities are there, but it’s sort of how you’re wired and where you put your efforts. JAZZed: What attracts you to new artists or students? GF: Virtuosity will certainly get your attention. I had a meeting with a singer yesterday named Barbara Padilla. She’s an opera singer who on the 2009 season of America’s Got
Gregg Field, Arturo Sandoval and Jorge Calandrelli at the Grammy Awards.
Talent where she came in second place. 15 million people voted for her. She’s this beautiful woman who is unbelievably talented and is so ex-
cited about making a great record. And that enthusiasm has helped her get on a major television show and get a lot of attention! So the talent
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is one thing and then the reality of can I create a successful recording with all the external forces at play with a new artist is also a consideration. Are they in a position to tour? Do they have management and an agent, etc? It’s a combination. As for students, I look for the talent and enthusiasm and try to evaluate can I be effective in helping their development as a musician. JAZZed: On the other hand, is it becoming more difficult to get younger artists interested? GF: It’s a challenge. But our young artists like Christian Scott, Spencer Day – they’re working. They’re out there making noise. Listen, it’s a challenge no matter what level you are, but as long as you’re creative, you can figure out a way to be successful.
to design his own clothes. He was living life with an expanded awareness that I found that intriguing and attractive. And then certainly from the business aspect, my good friend Hal Gaba. I really knew nothing of the business world and Hal was a huge mentor and was really helped me understand the record business and just business in general. And
of course from producing, Phil Ramone. Without a doubt a huge mentor and friend! I always felt mentored by Basie. He was a really wise human being. Watching the way he would go about his life was a lesson. There have been so many lessons and I am so fortunate to have been around people that have guided and helped me along the way. I hope I can do the same!
“The Sound”
JAZZed: Does it seem like more now than ever you have to have a good business background? GF: Absolutely. It really helps. You know if you’re a musician and you want to play a gig and you go to negotiate your salary with the club owner or label, it doesn’t hurt to have a little business background. And the other side of that is that it’s not just about what you can get out of it. It’s how you can also make it good for that guy? That’s kind of how I come into business deals. I know that if I make it a winner for the person across the table from me, then it’s usually a winner for me too.
as requested by you.
You asked for the playability and sound of the early Otto Links. We listened. With structural changes both inside and out, “the sound” of yesteryear has been recaptured.
JAZZed: What about your mentors growing up? GF: I’m still growing up! Louis Bellson was such a mentor, not just as a drummer but as a guy – an example of a guy that was so loved and so willing to help people. I ended up producing his last three records and learned SO much watching a guy operate from a creative place in his life. He just thought differently. He used
Otto Link Vintage for tenor sax.
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Mouthpieces for clarinets and saxophones
JAZZed November 2011 39 jjbjazzed.indd 1
11/16/09 2:39 PM
festivals
TA N G L E W O O D
The 2011 Tanglewood Jazz Festival:
Its Whole, Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts BY EUGENE MARLOW, PH.D.
The program of the 2011 Tanglewood Jazz Festival, held September 2-4, 2011 (its 24th year) on the verdant campus near Lenox, Massachusetts (and the usual summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), was a veritable smorgasbord of jazz styles. Programmed by Tanglewood Jazz Festival Manager Dawn Singh, the three days of main stage concerts, jazz cafÊ showcases, and educationally-tinged interviews deftly handled by veteran jazz journalist Bob Blumenthal, offered audiences a compact impression of the range of styles in jazz’s portfolio. From this perspective, the 2011 Festival was an educational experience.
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Photos: Jan Sileo
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festivals Whether deliberate or not (and I perceive it was not an accident), the Festival’s programming juxtaposed the traditional with the contemporary, presented a strong Latin-jazz thread, and a made a statement about the importance and contribution of women in the world of jazz.
The Traditional/The Contemporary For example, the Saturday afternoon offering in the vaulted Ozawa Concert Hall – with its designed rear opening so that fans on the lawn could not only hear, but also see the performers on the stage – was stride pianist virtuoso Judy Carmichael. Her choices of tunes were traditional. The playing by bassist Neal Miner, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, and guitarist Chris Flory was highly accessible, and Ms. Carmichael was her usual entertaining self during her two-hour set – that included an interview with friend and actress Blythe Danner (as part of Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired radio program), and special guest pianist Mike Renzi who backed up Danner for her two “vocal” presentations. The Sunday afternoon concert in the same venue featured the CoastTo-Coast Septet with 82-year-old NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb (plus female vocalist Mary Stallings). Earlier, Cobb had been interviewed by journalist Blumenthal at the Highwood, one of the buildings within walking distance of the main stage. Cobb’s group was also out of the traditional mold, as were the structure of the solos: statement of theme, then each performer having a turn at the material. These two aforementioned more “traditional” groups constrasted sharply with several of the showcase performances in the Jazz Café and the performance of the Mingus Orchestra conducted in part by NEA Jazz Master Gunther Schuller (also interviewed by Blumenthal earlier in the day). Sue Mingus, his widow and champion of 42 JAZZed November 2011
Photo: Jan Sileo
“It was a powerful evening that transcended many social and political boundaries.” his music since his passing in 1979, introduced the orchestra. The Mingus offering – featuring Peruvian harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda – was selections from Mingus’s Epitaph, a 2 ½-hour magnum opus for over 30 instruments that Schuller reduced to a nonet (plus Castaneda for the occasion). Although written several decades ago, the selections from this work sounded quite contemporary, not only because of the melodic lines, harmonies, and sharp turns, but also because of the instrumentation, which in this case included bassoon, bass clarinet, and French horn, in addition to the usual instrumental suspects: bass, guitar, drums, saxophones, and trumpet. Clearly, what emerged from the performance was not only the performers’ virtuosity, particularly from bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz, but also Mingus’s voice. He studied jazz and classical music. He wanted to a double bass player in the Los Angeles Symphony but, at the time, no African-American would have been allowed this kind of position. His
classical background never left him, of course. In the selections performed at Tanglewood, and in much of his music, you can hear the anger, the aggressiveness, and the “power” of his virtuosic musicianship. Other “contemporary sounds” were to be found in the Jazz Café, a tent venue where you could purchase a limited selection of food and drink. Regardless, the main attraction was the music. Of note were the Sarah Manning Quartet and the Cedric Hanriot Trio. Manning is an alto saxophonist whose control of her instrument reminded me of trumpeter Dave Douglas. She perused the range of the instrument with ease. There was great clarity in her playing choices. Her compositions, moreover, reflect the world around her. One piece is based on the sounds of an owl she heard one evening; another, the sounds of a gate going up and down at a railroad crossing. She received a standing ovation at the end of her set. As did another contemporary group: The Cedric Hanriot Trio, featuring Hanriot on keyboards, drummer Terri Lynn Carrington, and bassist James Genus – pushed the contemporary envelope even further. First, each performer is a high-level instrumentalist in his or her own right. Second, the combined energies and drive of these
festivals performers lifted the entire audience out of its collective seats. While Hanriot’s arrangement of “Dolphin Dance” sometimes made it teasingly difficult to find the original melodic line, it didn’t matter. There was so much energy and virtuosic attack coming off the stage from these three players, they could have been playing “Three Blind Mice” and it still would have dropped the audience’s collective jaws. All three players toyed with odd meters and polyrhythms. Drummer Carrington especially mixed things up rhythmically, moving from straight-ahead, to funk, to Latin at a moment’s notice. Many contemporary-style (young) drummers (especially) often play as if their presence on the set is cause for a constant solo. Their playing is often loud with flat dynamics. Not so with Carrington. She played with taste that fit the trio and, when required, high and low energy that matched the other two players perfectly.
The Latin-Jazz Thread The second constant of the 2011 Tanglewood Festival was the presence of Latin-jazz. You could hear it in the Hanriot Trio. Peruvian harpist Edmar Castaneda’s appearance with the Mingus Orchestra was another instance. It was even more blatant with the Saturday evening offering of the Federico Britos Sextet and the John Santos Sextet, an evening dedicated to Cuban bassist Israel Lopez (1918-2008), affectionately known as “Cachao.” Like Cachao, Uruguayan violinist Britos has excelled in both the classical and popular realms. San Francisco-
based percussionist Santos, with roots in Puerto Rico and Cape Verde Islands, has been a bandleader in and scholar of both traditional and more visionary Afro-Cuban styles for many decades. The Britos ensemble performed first (for almost 90 minutes) and then invited the Santos Sextet to perform with them. The highlight of the evening was a samba version of “Over The Rainbow.” Here was a group led by a jazz violinist from Uruguay performing with players from various parts of Central and South America, performing one of the standards of the American Songbook in a style born out of Brazil! A mixing of cultures, indeed. The audience loved it. The Latin jazz thread throughout the weekend’s proceedings (including Santos’ interview with Bob Blumenthal earlier in the day) is in sharp contrast to the Recording Academy’s decision earlier in the year to eliminate the Latin-jazz category (and 30 other categories) from 2011 Grammy contention. The top executives of the Recording Academy would have done well to have heard the various iterations of Latin-jazz at the 2011 Tanglewood Jazz Festival and the enthusiastic response from the audience.
The Women The last major theme of this Festival was the women: not just a few “token” women, but several major voices. Apart from the Robin McKelle Quartet, the Sarah Manning Quartet, and the Rebecca Martin Trio at the Jazz Café, and Judy Carmichael at the main stage, the major highlight and fitting climax
of the weekend was the appearance of vocalists Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright performing a non-stop, high energy, audience engaging two-hour performance (yes, no intermission) with an all-star ensemble under the direction of drummer Terri Lynn Carrington, with pianist/composer Geri Allen, Brazilian guitar master Romero Lubambo, virtuoso bassist James Genus, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson. In a way, this final concert of the weekend reflected not only the “voices” of women from many lands, but also the multi-cultural musical values, Latin-jazz, and the blending of the traditional and the contemporary “themes” of the Festival. Kidjo, Reeves, and Wright's “Sing The Truth” concert originated at a 2004 Carnegie Hall concert honoring the music of Nina Simone. The trio toured with the concert in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The vocalists then decided to expand the initial idea to honor the many great women of jazz, folk, R&B, and gospel, with an emphasis on the recently departed Abby Lincoln, Miriam Makeba, and Odetta. The mixture of cultures works. Kidjo originates from Benin and has been blending the music of West Africa with funk and jazz for the past three decades. She has also served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador campaigning for women’s rights in Africa. Reeves is the dominant female jazz singer of her era and is the only vocalist in any musical style to win a single Grammy category three years in a row. Lizz Wright brings a foundation in gospel music into ever-greater play on her four popular recordings. It was a powerful evening that transcended many social and political boundaries. The standing ovation was long-standing. It was a fitting close to a weekend of jazz-oriented music of various styles whose whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
Photo: Jan Sileo
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Swingin’ on a Star ARLINGTON, MASS. HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND AT THE BERKLEE HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ FESTIVAL
BY CARLA DEFORD
T
he Hynes Convention Center, located in the heart of Boston, is a city within a city. Spanning an entire urban block, it’s a huge structure filled with hundreds of meeting rooms, ballrooms, and auditoriums connected by miles of hallways. On March 5 the building was transformed into a bee-hive of activity, surrounded by tour buses and teeming with people riding up and down escalators and rushing through corridors, trying to get to the right place at the right time. It was a purposeful crowd, and everywhere you looked were teen-agers in performance attire, all of them carrying, pushing, pulling, hefting, or otherwise hauling musical instruments. Welcome to the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival, the largest competition of its kind in the country.
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Into this maelstrom descended the Arlington (Mass.) High School (AHS) Jazz Band led by director Sabato (“Tino”) D’Agostino. Decked out in tuxes, instruments in tow, they headed for Room 312, and when they got there, they knew exactly what to do. With only 25 minutes to set up and 18 minutes to perform, the band members went to work like a well-oiled machine, putting their equipment in place and playing a precisely timed warm- up. D’Agostino then announced the pieces they would be playing: Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” “Some Skunk Funk,” by Randy Brecker, and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Birk’s Works.” Three months of unrelenting practice were about to culminate in the performance of a lifetime. Seated at the back of the room were four adjudicators, three of whom would provide written commentary and score the band on eight criteria: solos, intonation, time, articulation, balance/blend, dynamics, style/interpretation, and presentation/programming. The fourth would offer verbal feedback at the end of the performance. Festival organizers had divided the participating groups into “classes,” and the AHS band, being a large combo (22 pieces) from a mid-sized school (1,263 students), was in direct competition with 14 other ensembles.
Giving a performance the judges described as “a pleasure to listen to,” “superbly rehearsed,” and “very mature,” AHS finished second in its class. Although they came in one point behind the first-place winners, D’Agostino was thrilled with the results. “When we finished our songs, the audience was clearly excited. Then we got a standing ovation; that was impressive,” he noted. “The performance was fabulous,” said Pasquale Tassone, director of performing arts for the Arlington public schools. “Everything just clicked. They had a great, cohesive ensemble sound,” he noted, “and it was clear that the band members were listening to each other. We haven’t done this well in a major competition since the late 1970s, when we had several students who went on to become professional musicians.” For the band members, the overall experience was gratifying. As alto sax player Ryan Salocks observed, “It’s unsettling to think that after all these months of preparation, someone’s going to judge you on 18 minutes of playing. The question will come into your mind about a thousand times: ‘What if I mess up?’ Also, you’re walking into a building you’ve never been in before, and it feels foreign to you. It’s hard to find that place in your mind to perform well in front of judges. I think we really found that in our performance. The venue might not have been ours, but the music was ours.” “It’s one thing when I tell the band how well they’re doing,” D’Agostino observed; “it’s another thing when an adjudicator tells them. I could see the joy in their eyes when the judge was talking to them — saying things they had only heard from me. To hear it from somebody else was great.” Tenor sax player Andy Winslow agreed: “The best part of the competition was right after we finished playing because up until then anything can go wrong. You’re thinking, ‘What if something bad happens? What if we don’t play the way we do at school?’ But after we got a standing ovation, we all knew
we had a good chance of doing well, and we did.” “Having participated in the competition in 2009,” said D’Agostino, “I learned about the logistics of the event, including what the judges are looking for and how to take advantage of the time we’re allotted. Now I’m supermeticulous about balance, attack, sustain, and overall sound. Normally, I don’t like rehearsing just three pieces for such a long period of time, but the competition offered us the opportunity
not a rock-band sound. We finally got to that.” “Birk’s Works,” a Latin-influenced swing piece, featured a piano solo by keyboardist Chris Hamblin, who noted, “I really like Latin music, and I asked to take that solo. It’s all improvised; every time it’s something different.” To bassist Otto Briner, who won the Judges’ Choice Award (given to one musician in each ensemble), “Birk’s Works” offered an opportunity to master some stylistic nuances: “When all
"I COULD SEE THE JOY IN THEIR EYES WHEN THE JUDGE WAS TALKING TO THEM — SAYING THINGS THEY HAD ONLY HEARD FROM ME. TO HEAR IT FROM SOMEBODY ELSE WAS GREAT.” to study these pieces in such depth. The students were able to master not only the repertoire, but also the process of getting to the highest level they can.” “I chose music that was challenging, but doable,” D’Agostino continued, “and based on the skills of the students. In ‘Blue Rondo,’ we wanted a controlled, gentle sound that imitated the Brubeck ensemble. First we had to master the rhythm, which is so incredibly difficult, and at the same time we were working on the dynamics, which compared to the rhythm, was the easy part.” Tenor sax player Bart Buurman agreed, “‘Blue Rondo’ is in 9/8, which is unfamiliar to a lot of people. The judge said we played it in a ‘relaxed way,’ and by that I think he meant that it sounded as natural as 4/4 is to most people.” “Some Skunk Funk,” a funk-fusion piece, also needed to be controlled. “We could have played it fortissimo from beginning to end,” D’Agostino noted, “and nobody would have said anything, but the judges - and me. On this song, the band could rock out more, but I was looking for a big-band,
the notes in a swing-style piece make sense to you, then you know what swing feel is. When you go on to the next piece, you no longer have to relearn it. You just think, ‘What did ‘Birk’s Works’ sound like?’ You already have that intense natural feeling of a certain style inside you as a musician.” Although preparing for the competition was arduous for all concerned, especially since jazz band rehearsals take place outside of school hours, D’Agostino said he would definitely do it again. “It was an excellent educational tool. By the end of the process, the band was functioning like a chamber orchestra. My students learned so much about music and about life,” he noted. Participation in the festival seems to have clear benefits for students, but mounting an event of this size and complexity is an enormous undertaking. What’s in it for the Berklee College of Music? According to Jennifer DeCicco, director of operations for the festival and chair of its executive committee, “This event is one of the best recruitment tools we have. We showcase the college in as many ways as
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possible,” she said, “and offer the participants a taste of what it would be like to go to Berklee. We get to see so many high school students and give them a chance to do what they do best.” Accomplishing all that involves the time and effort of over 300 faculty, staff,
AHS Principal Charles Skidmore, who accompanied the jazz band on its concert tour of Italy in 2007, is similarly appreciative: “A competition like this is not a pressure cooker, but it does hold students to high standards. The band’s success represents the standard of excellence
and students, including 52 judges and, DeCicco estimates, hundreds of thousands of dollars (including the cost of partial scholarships to Berklee summer programs given as prizes to first-, second-, and third-place winners in each class). So on the one hand, the festival is an investment in the future of the college. On the other hand, it’s a community service: “We’re giving back to the music educators who send so many of their students to us,” DeCicco said. The value of offering this opportunity to AHS students is not lost on Kathleen Bodie, Arlington superintendent of schools: “Competitions like this are important touchstones; they teach affirmation, competence, and mastery. These are important skills for 21st-century learning. We’re very proud whenever we have students performing at the top of their game. It helps the morale of the school when students know their peers are doing well. The community also feels proud, and that means more support for the school system.”
we want to achieve across the board. We have a top-notch music program, and we have to protect and nourish it.” As director of a department that has had to raise fees and cut classes because of budget constraints, Tassone is of the same opinion. “It’s nice to see the band come up to this level. Outside of schools, where do you hear jazz bands any more? It’s important for our students not to lose that heritage. Jazz is America’s true music, and it’s imperative that we keep it alive for future generations.” Trumpet player Ben Matlack noted that playing jazz creates not only a musical, but also a social bond: “These days jazz is almost gone. When I walk down the halls at school and tell my friends we’re playing ‘Some Skunk Funk,’ they’re like, ‘What?’ We’re the only 22 people in the school that play jazz, and it’s good to be a part of that community.” Jazz may have brought them together, but it was hours of intensive practice
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that solidified the students’ esprit de corps. “Being new to the band, I wasn’t close friends with some members, but now I’m friendly with everyone. Rehearsing a lot brought us closer and made our music sound very, very good,” said trombone player Harry Mintz. “Doing something like this is really a bonding experience for the band,” agreed trumpet player Matt Davis, “and that shows in our performances. It makes us more awesome.” Along with altered group dynamics, some students noticed changes in themselves. “Usually I’m not a confident performer,” said baritone sax player Tina Kambil, “but in this competition I was very confident in myself and in the entire band.” The selfassurance seems to have been contagious. “Even though it was a really formal event,” noted Salocks, “we had our own little bubble of fun. We were cheering each other on, and although we were wearing tuxes, it was probably the most fun I’ve had performing.” For D’Agostino, who directs three other ensembles at AHS in addition to one at the Ottoson Middle School, the months of hard work paid off. “I think the jazz band is a better and more confident ensemble because of the competition,” he said; “I don’t think of it as a student band anymore because they don’t sound like students.” To see and hear the AHS Jazz Band at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival, go to ahsinstrumentalmusic ma Click on “Bejazzled,” then click on “Photos and Videos” (left-hand column). Carla DeFord is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Mass. Her work has appeared in such publications as the Boston Globe, Patriot Ledger, Arlington Advocate, Tab newspapers, Diverse:Issues in Higher Education, School Band and Orchestra, Ballet Review, and ballet.co. A graduate of the City College of New York and Columbia University, she is especially interested in education and the arts.
jazzforum
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A Focus on N.E.A. Jazz Master Randy Weston Excerpted by Dr. Larry Ridley, AAJC Executive Director from the legendary Jazz Drummer Arthur Taylor’s book, Notes and Tones, Musician-to-Musician Interviews, Da Capo Press Edition, 1993 (originally published in New York, 1982). Wherever African people have settled, they have created a new music, which is based on African rhythms. There is a great West African influence in Brazil, also very much in Cuba and in Puerto Rico. Gospel music, spirituals—they’re all African. A.T.: Where were you born, Randy? R.W.: I was born in Brooklyn, New York. I’m a real, authentic Brooklynite! JAZZed November 2011 47
“African Rhythms.” Randy Weston: “Drums have always been my favorite instrument, and I’ve always been very close to drummers. I think my style is quite influenced by drum rhythms. So since I’m going to Africa, I think I’m going to study and learn drums based on the tribal system. It will help me in my composing, because I’ll have a greater knowledge of rhythms.” Arthur Taylor: “Would you like to make your home in Africa?” R.W.: “Oh, yes! I think that by settling in Africa I’ll have an opportunity to learn more about myself, my family and my ancestors. I also think I’ll learn a little more about the music I play, which is called jazz.” A.T.: “Do you believe our music originally came from Africa?” R.W.: There’s no doubt about it. I’ve listened to African music and I’ve heard everything from old-time blues to avant-garde. Africa is the creative source. It is the whole power of the music in the countries that have been influenced by African culture, such as Brazil, Cuba and the United States.
A.T.: How long have you been playing and composing? R.W.: I decided to make music my life in 1955. A.T.: That late? I thought I had played with you before then. R.W.: You had, but I still wasn’t sure I had the talent to do it then. It wasn’t until 1955 that I made up my mind that music was going to be my life. I actually started when I was around fourteen or fifteen years old. I took piano lessons to keep off the streets. I didn’t want to play the piano. It was like forced labor. A.T.: I guess you must have come up with guys like Cecil Payne, Max Roach and Ernie Henry in your early playing. They all lived in Brooklyn. Can you think of anyone else? R.W.: There were a number of guys. There was one guy called Harold Cumberbatch, who played baritone saxophone and was a fantastic musician. There was Leonard Hawkins, who I thought was one of the greatest trumpet players I
jazzforum ever heard. He stopped playing his horn. At one time the jazz in Brooklyn was unbelievable. We had Tony’s, we had the Baby Grand on Sunday afternoons. Lem Davis and I used to give concerts and we would feature Monk, Bennie Green and J.J. Johnson in the early forties. The Putnam Central was the spot, because everybody was there: Dizzy, Miles, Leo Parker, John Lewis, Milt Jackson. Max had a studio at the Putnam Central Club. The owner was a fellow called Johnny Parish, a real West Indian. Somehow it all got together, and it was sort of like a center. A.T.: I had the impression that musicians were promoting the sessions at Putnam Central. R. W.: They may have, because at that time musicians were doing a lot of things on their own. A.T.: Do you think musicians should produce their concerts and records? R.W.: I believe the musician of today and of the future has to own everything. He should own his own nightclub, even if it’s no bigger than a small room. He should either have his own record company or be able to record his own material and lease it to record companies. I am convinced that it’s the only step for us to take now. Considering our experience and how artists are exploited, particularly black artists, we must forget about working for other people and start working for ourselves. A.T.: Do you think the popularity of our music has diminished in recent years? R.W.: That seems to be the situation. I think there are many reasons for it. Most of the clubs are owned by people who have no love or respect for musicians or for the music. The closeness is
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not there anymore. There used to be a time when a musician would get five cents off on a drink, and even that would give him a certain degree of respect. In other words, our tradition called for us to play in clubs. We would work, and we would get basic considerations. Then it stopped. I think one reason was the club owners, but the main reason is that the musicians refuse to organize themselves. People who are unorganized usually get stepped on and walked on. The problem is really our own. Because of our own egos, we have not been able to get together as a force, so that anybody can take advantage of us. The problem we face today is that there’s a great emphasis upon commercial music. I call it nonthinking music, because they don’t want people to think too much nowadays. Everything is headed more and more toward the robot stage, when people will have numbers and be robots. And jazz is creative music. In the past few years there’s been a great emphasis upon avant-garde music, free music or whatever you want to call it. It’s usually writers, not musicians, who create this type of attitude. We don’t control anything. We should control our own press. We have to depend upon the white status quo to judge us and gauge us with everything from polls to popularity contests to decide who gets this, who gets five stars, who gets one star. I mean it’s a combination of all these factors. And again, the reason behind it all is racism. A.T.: Do you think young musicians today have the same opportunities we had? R.W.: Not really, because today, with so much emphasis upon rockand-roll music and with so many white men playing jazz and playing the blues, the average black child
doesn’t have a chance to be involved with other black musicians. You see, it’s like a tribal thing with us, a thing that we have to communicate to each other and learn from each other. When we were coming up, there were rehearsals three, four, five times a week. We would go to rehearsals and listen to the bands. Or I could go by Monk’s house and all the guys would be there. We would all sit and listen to him play. We had that tribal thing going. It wasn’t planned like that, but it was something that happened. It was our culture. I look upon this music as our folk music, as the folk music of the Afro-American, this music that they call jazz. A.T.: Do you think the clubs have outlived their usefulness? R.W.: Without a doubt. Music has got to be played now to get to the people, because it is a universal music. We have no limitations with this music, and we can use any other form of music in jazz. It’s the only really universal music I know. It’s the only new thing that’s happened in music for centuries. So I think all we need to do is map a campaign. We’ve got to get to the young children. We have to play in schools in particular. I’ve always felt very strongly about taking our music into the schools. We’ve done a program which covers the history of jazz in a number of schools, from elementary schools to colleges. We must go into the churches, invade territories that are alien to us. In other words, we’ve got to do a mass campaign to get to the people. A.T.: We were talking about Birdland the other night. Do you remember? R.W.: Well the vibrations there just cut me off completely. To me, it was a house of evil. What I mean is that it once symbolized the best. It was supposed to have been consid-
jazzforum ered all over the world as the greatest spot for our music. If it hadn’t had that reputation: all right, maybe just another funky club, but that was my greatest objection to Birdland. A.T.: What about that record you made that you showed me last night? I had never heard it or seen it or read anything about it. When I saw the back cover, it looked like a Who’s Who in music to me. Who was in the trumpet section? R.W.: Clark Terry, Richard Williams, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Bailey. We had only two trombones: Jimmy Cleveland and Quinton Jackson. Julius Watkins was on French horn. Cecil Payne, Yusef Lateef, Budd Johnson, Gigi Gryce and Jerome Richardson were in the reed section. Les Spann was on the gui-
tar. Max Roach, G.T. Hogan, Charli Persip, Armando Peraza, Candido Camero and Olatunji were the drummers. Ron Carter and George Duvivier played the bass. A.T.: When did you make that record, and for what label? R.W.: It was the Roulette label, and we did it around early 1960. This particular record is kind of hard to describe. First of all, the purpose of the record was to show that all the black people of African descent are related to one another. So we deliberately got musicians from Africa, Cuba and the United States. We got people from different fields of music and entertainment. We had Brock Peters and Martha Flowers, who is a concert singer, to show that there was a
connection between us. The connection was the African rhythms. Langston Hughes wrote the lyrics for a composition of mine called “African Lady”. Melba Liston wrote the arrangements and conducted. We also used Swahili to show the beauty of an African language and how the African language is also part of the African rhythms. It came out during a time when we could see things going down. It was not as bad as it is now, but we could feel it happening. We wanted this to be a symbolic gesture by AfroAmericans, to show our pride that some of the countries in Africa were getting their freedom. So the album was called “Uhuru Africa”. Uhuru means “freedom” in Swahili. This particular album was packaged and put together in 1961. At
AlAn BAylock JAZZ COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE Leader of the Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra. A Shenandoah Conservatory Alumnus of Excellence, Alan enjoys an active career as a composer and arranger. He joins the distinguished faculty at Shenandoah Conservatory, where he combines his love of jazz with a passion for teaching. Read all about Alan at www.su.edu/jazz 800.432.2266
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jazzforum the time it was a bit unpopular, especially with white people—even white people who were friendly to me. They would hear it once and they wouldn’t want to hear it anymore. Especially the first part, where you have the poem. The
other problem was with Roulette Records. They wanted to make some sort of a deal where I would be giving them power over my music. They promised to do a big promotion on me, but I have learned one lesson: Never sell a song. Never
give the rights of a song. I don’t care how sad you think it is. Never sell a tune! I refused, and therefore the album got buried. There was no publicity put behind it. So because of that and because of the message on the record, it was very hard to find. A.T.: To my knowledge, Gigi Gryce and Horace Silver were some of the first musicians to form their own publishing companies. Were you involved in that? R.W.: Yeah, also Ray Bryant, Art Farmer and Hank Jones. Benny Golson and Gigi were the key figures. A.T.: Can you tell me some more about that? R.W.: Well, again it goes back to the fact that what we were doing wasn’t too advanced. Let me go back a little further: I’ve always been interested in history. I’ve always been interested in the history of myself and my people, wherever they may be. I guess maybe it’s because I’m a sort of half-breed in the black community. My father was from Panama and my mother came from Virginia. At that time black people were going through their own bit. Divide and Conquer had gotten to them. They put each other down. But I always noticed there was a similarity between them, that there were certain basic things which were very much alike. So I discovered it was Africa. But to get to the point we were discussing—in the twenties and the thirties, black artists had a lot of power. They had a lot of strength. They had a hotel in the neighborhood of Sixth Avenue around Fiftieth or Fifty-first Street. It was called the Clef Club. The Clef Club was worth a million dollars. It was a place for black entertainers. Black entertainers and musicians were organized. If you were hungry, if
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jazzforum you were a musician or an artist and you came to New York and you didn’t have a place to go and didn’t have anything to eat, you could go there. Our ancestors in this business used to give their own vaudeville show, because segregation was so rough in those days that they had to do a lot of things on their own. And that’s how powerful an organization they had. But when they started to build the Sixth Avenue subway, they tore it down. Harlem started to happen, and everybody got split up. So what happened is this: The old-timers let us down, and the reason is because they didn’t keep records. It’s very hard to find. I’ve got a book on the history of our people in show business in this country. It’s just unbeliev-
able what was happening in the twenties and the thirties. But the old people let us down by not having enough written data on this material. A lot of us grew up playing this music not knowing its history, not knowing how the old people used to work together, support one another and feature each other. And we got away from it more and more. The white man took over more and more, and now he’s also pushing his artists. See, in those days we didn’t have to worry about that too much. A.T.: Well, Randy, you said yesterday, “Let’s go and take a swim.” Would you explain that? R.M.: I think the more complete we get as musicians and artists, the better we will accept the relation-
ships of certain things. Our music is so powerful, so domineering. It is the whole source of creativity of the greatest country in the world. We don’t even realize our own power. We haven’t had an opportunity to use it yet. While we’re going through the changes, while we’re finding ourselves and finding our way and getting more and more together as brothers, we should realize that it’s important for us to stay healthy. We must keep our strength and keep our minds clear, because we have so many battles to fight. We have to try to create, we have to study, we have to be men and maintain our dignity. So I think we are going to develop our own code more and more. For example, I’m working on a book of what I have experienced as a musician—the
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jazzforum things I didn’t like, the things that could improve me, what could get us in tune with each other. So myself and Bill Wood, who is a health addict, attempt to go to the gym at least two or three times a week. A.T.: A lot of musicians seem to feel that way. I know many who go for exercise. Miles trains all the time, and Walter Bishop likes to swim. Can you think of anybody else offhand? R.W.: I know Freddie Hubbard is a very good basketball player. So is the drummer Roy Brooks. He’s a beautiful basketball player. He shoots that ball like it’s nothing. We played together. In fact, we had a gym for musicians, but some of us left town and it fell through. A.T.: Did you ever want to become an athlete? R.W.: Not full-time. I just love to play ball. I play basketball in New York at least once or twice a week. I found out I feel better.
A.T.: Do you ever think you might hurt your hands, or doesn’t it enter your mind? R.W.: Yes, it does, but it enters my mind in such a way that I always prepare myself mentally to cope with it, and I don’t get careless. It can happen. I would like to do two things in my life: First, I would like to have a museum of jazz in Africa. Why Africa? Because Africa is the source of our music. Second, I’d like us to have a building somewhere with a gym, a masseur and courses on everything from Arabic to Swahili. Kind of a cultural center for black artists, where we could do everything, keep our bodies healthy and develop our own philosophy. Once we develop a philosophy of togetherness, nothing can stop us, because the power of music is just unbelievable. When we called our organization the Afro-American Musicians’ Society, some of the cats were scared because we were saying Afro-Amer-
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ican. Ornette was the only cat of bandleader status who showed. I consider myself a natural philosopher. I try to look at nature as it is. I try to look at life as I see it. Wherever we go we’ve got a serious problem in America and Europe. We even have problems in Africa, and also in South America. I’ve read about how our ancestors came here in chains, how they had to work for nothing to build America and other parts of the world. Their culture, their music, their language: everything was taken away from them. And yet they managed to survive and multiply, which is fantastic. So I feel that somehow our destiny as Afro-Americans is to help draw all the other people of African descent together. I think this is our purpose. For me this is a spiritual answer; I didn’t get it from anywhere, it’s just something that I feel deeply. I believe that the cats who play the music we call jazz can play a great role in this. The question is what do we do about the situation? I’m chiefly concerned about the role I can play to help knock down that wall of bigotry, prejudice and lack of contact among ourselves. I’m convinced that we have to have a homeland. We’ve got to have a place where there are people who look like us; we’ve got to have leaders who look like us; we’ve got to have a president or a king or whatever who looks like us. We have contributed enough to the world to deserve this, and I think that Africa is the place. I don’t know which part of the continent, but I feel that this is where we should all start aiming for in many ways. We can live in America or Europe. But invest in Africa. Not everybody has to go and live there, but we must start developing those ties. I’m studying African art. I want to learn more about it, and I want to go and live in Africa. Live with the people
and communicate with them as best I can, and perhaps help establish a place that we can call home. A.T.: What do you think about freedom music? R.W.: Well, the first thing I object to in that music is the fact that it is completely built up by white writers. Ornette Coleman was opposite me at the Five Spot when Leonard Bernstein, who was in the audience, jumped up and said this was the greatest thing that had ever happened in jazz, and that Bird [Charlie Parker] was nothing. That sort of thing. I don’t know about analyzing music. It’s a pretty wild thing to do. I didn’t like Ornette when I first heard him and now I love him. I think freedom music is doing several things. First of all, it is very
descriptive of what’s happening today. My objection is that I don’t see how this music is more free than another. I’ve heard Monk take one note and create unbelievable freedom. You don’t need a lot of notes to create freedom. One note can be a whole composition. This is my point of view. There have been musicians throughout the years who have protested musically and also protested in other ways than in their music. In other words, this freedom thing is not something new. I heard some Jelly Roll Morton that turned me around. I heard some Fats Waller which is as free as anything the avant-garde can play. Freedom is a natural development. I don’t know what’s going to come out of it, but I think you’re also going to get a stronger African influence in our music. It’s happen-
ing at the same time, though it may not be getting as much publicity as the avant-garde. A lot of the avant-garde I hear reminds me of early European modern classical music. But I haven’t heard enough of it to break down one artist from another, because the music I hear disturbs me. A.T.: Do you find that the music is not completely developed? Could that be the reason it disturbs you? R.W.: No, because I don’t think the blues is completely developed, either. I haven’t figured out Bird yet. A.T.: What did you think of Bud Powell? R.W.: Well, I was in business with my father, and we built up a little jazz gallery at a restaurant which was open twenty-four hours
JAZZed November 2011 53
jazzforum a day. One of the reasons I did that was because I was frustrated. I wanted to play, But, I didn’t have the confidence to think I could play. Duke Jordan was the top pianist in Brooklyn at that time. Everybody would go and listen to Duke and talk to him. He was working with Bird, and he kept saying: “Wait till you hear Bud Powell.” Believe it or not, the first time I heard Bud Powell was at the United Service Organization in Harlem, and it was just him and Cootie Williams, a duet. It was for the soldiers. I think Bud Powell is … you know, you try to find new words because there are so many words put in jazz magazines to describe where a cat is. Without a doubt he is one of our leaders. A.T.: Do you play for yourself or for the audience? R.W.: I think I usually do both if there is a good ambience between the band and the audience. Some places just have atmosphere, and it’s almost like the people and music become one. I like to play for myself and for the people at the same time, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes you play something and the people don’t dig it. But tonight, for example, we played and the people were dancing, so we were participating with each other. I thought it was nice. A.T.: Have you ever played music you didn’t like just to get money? R.W.: I made one compromise in music—not really in music but recording. I was with United Artists at the time, and we did the Little Niles album with Johnny Griffin, Ray Copeland, Idrees Sulieman, George Joyner and Charli Persip. At that time I had met Melba Liston and we had collaborated on the Little Niles album; we started to work on a Freedom Africa Suite.
54 JAZZed November 2011
It was going to have a big orchestra, voices and lots of percussion, a sort of a high-price recording date. I asked United Artists if they would let me record this album. They said: “We don’t know yet, but would you consider recording a Broadway musical?” If I did the musical for them, they would let me record Uhuru. The musical turned out to be Destry Rides Again. Melba Liston and I did the arrangements with Bennie Green. It had four trombones and a rhythm section. We couldn’t get anything from the music itself. It wasn’t a challenge for me and I wasn’t interested, but I did it because I was hoping to do Uhuru Africa. A.T.: Do you have any peeves about the word jazz? R.W.: I’m often sort of on both sides of the question you’re asking. First of all, I’m only going on my instinct, the things I’ve read and being around musicians. I don’t have any factual proof on this issue and I don’t know if I really would accept any. When I think about jazz, I think about my own experience with the word, what it’s meant to me. When I had no idea of being a musician, jazz for me was the music of the black people and it was free, creative and swinging. A.T.: You say was the music of black people? R.W.: Well, yes, it’s true, it was. I somehow get the feeling the word “jazz” describes a certain stage in the development of our music, a period when there was a thing that really was jazz. Where people would go and get lifted spiritually. When I think of jazz, I think of people coming into nightclubs and hearing music that would make you feel very sad, very tender. Like Billie Holiday singing the blues, for example. She could bring tears to
your eyes, make you feel very sad, but at the same time you would feel spiritually good. While when you hear somebody like Basie or like Duke, it makes you want to swing. Today the word jazz doesn’t describe what’s going on in music. Music has become more modern, more rhythmic. It’s more influenced by modern classical music. I think music now has become more personalized. I have been searching for a title to describe my own music and I thought of African Rhythms. Because I play calypso, I play jazz, I play spirituals, I play Latin and I play African music. So how can anybody just call me a jazz musician? What I do is use the root of all this music, which is Africa and the rhythms of Africa. A.T.: Have you modified your material or style in recent years? R.W.: In a sense. I believe that our music is one of the greatest phenomena in the world and that it can hold its merits anyplace on earth if given the proper chance and atmosphere, the proper people handling it, whether in nightclubs or at concerts. I have decided to search for the roots of jazz, of gospel music, of calypso and of Latin music: all the different music by different people with dark skins spread out all through the New World, producing everything from Bossa Nova to Aretha Franklin, from Ray Charles to Charlie Parker. There is a definite link between all those people. They’re all black, but there is another something else, too, and I think that other link between them is rhythm, a beat. There’s a certain something which identifies you with an African drummer. For example, an African drummer would not have any difficulties playing with you, and vice versa. I’ve been listening extensively
to African folklore music from the Congo, from Nigeria, from Ghana, from Morocco, and the more I listen to this music, the more I’m influenced by it, the more I realize that it contains the elements of all the musical forms of modern Africa and the New World. My style is very definitely being more and more influenced by African folklore, because I think this is the key to everything we’re doing. I’ve heard singers who sang things that were rhythmically just like Charlie Parker playing his horn. I’ve heard cats who sound like Coltrane. The music of the tribes is just unbelievable. A.T.: Is there any protest in your music? R.W.: Any protest? No, there’s no protest in my music anymore
because I’ve been in Morocco for two and a half years. Historically, especially in Africa, musicians have been the messengers, the storytellers, the people who influenced their society. I now want to aim my music toward seeking a better way of life. I think this is one of the problems. It’s not protest anymore, it’s almost like another step, beyond protest. I don’t know how to describe it.
about. I’ve reached the point now where I think these people served a purpose as far as getting jazz known to the public. A good musician will perform as much as any human being can perform, as well as possible most of the time. But there are times when we just don’t feel right, when something is wrong spiritually… anything can happen to stop us from sounding good in a performance. But, if you get together with the musicians, ninety-nine percent of the time you’re gonna produce good music. So whether it’s necessary to sit down and write a criticism I don’t know.
A.T.: Have you ever had any bad writeups? R.W.: I’ve gotten a few, but not very many. I’ve been lucky with critics. At first I don’t like and then maybe I look at it again and listen to the recording. Sometimes I think the critic is b.s.-ing. Sometimes I think he knew what he was talking
(This interview was conducted by Arthur Taylor in Paris, February 7, 1968 and Casablanca, May 17, 1970)
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HotWax November 8
New & Notable Music Releases All dates are subject to change
Michel Portal – Bailador (Universal)
Tomas Dan Schlaeppi Sauter –
Thirteenth Assembly – Station Direct (Important)
The First Day of Spring (Cavi)
The Joel Frahm Quartet – Live at Smalls (SmallsLIVE)
Christian McBride – Conversations with Christian (Mack Avenue)
Elizabeth! – Brainchildren (Canopy)
Ernie Watts Quartet – Oasis (Flying Dolphin)
Antoine Lang/Rodolph Loubatiere/Vinz Vonlanthen – VLL678 (Leo UK)
Corey Wilkes – Kind of Miles (Kata-
lyst)
Scoolptures – White Sickness (Leo Mark Weinstein – El Cumbanchero
UK)
McCoy Tyner – Sahara (Original Jazz Classics)
Tino Contreras – Jazz Mexicano de Tino Contreras (Jazzman) Wayman Tisdale – The Wayman Tisdale Story (Rendezvous)
Flippomusic – Tao Tunes (Oppilf) Rick Braun – Rick Braun Sings
(Jazzheads)
(Vinyl) (Artistry)
The Temperance Seven – 33 Not
December 6
Out (Upbeat)
Various – It’s Trad Man! (A Collection of British Traditional Jazz Classics) (3CD
Gianluigi and Gianni Coscia –
Frere Jacques: Round About Offenbach (ECM)
November 22 Laura Dreyer – Free Flying Bird Etta James – The Dreamer (Verve) Dark Chocolate – Caper (Mega-
(Premium Latin)
Chris West – The Surprise Trilogy Disc 3 (Chris West) Jean Prosper – In the Moment
(Prosper)
December 13 Luis Gasca – Collage (Beat Goes
wave)
Public)
Cameron Pierre – Radio Jumbo
Cal Tjader – Agua Dulce (Beat Goes
(Destin-E)
Public)
November 15
If you have information on an
Michael Wintsch – Metapiano (Leo
upcoming album or music DVD
UK)
release which you’d like to have
Francois Carrier/Alexey Lapin/ Michael Lambert – Inner Spire (Leo
included in the next issue of
UK)
Hal Galper Trio – Trip the Light Fantastic (Origin)
56 JAZZed November 2011
JAZZed, please e-mail editor
Steve Day – Song of the Fly (Leo)
Mathew Parish at: mparish@symphonypublishing.com
crossword 1
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Across 1 Boney James single 3 “Botswana Bossa Nova” creator 7 “Casablanca” pianist 10 “Goodbye Pork __ Hat” 11 “Encantadora” player 13 “Bye Bye _____” - John Coltrane got an Emmy for his rendering of it 14 Working 15 Dave Holland Octet number 16 “A Whiter Shade of Pale” instrument 17 Signal 18 “Time Will ___” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers 19 ___ Morgan, member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers 20 Sides 22 Joe Pass album (2 words) 27 “___ Water Blues” - Louis Armstrong 29 Lane for short 30 Musical notes segment 31 “It’s Impossible” singer 32 “Close to __”, Bacharach song 34 Yesterday You Said Tomorrow creator
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36 “Still in Love with You” singer 39 Radio band 40 Blues versions 43 Musician behind 1000 Rainbows 45 Opposing 46 Cycle 47 Percussion instrumenr (2 words)
Down 1 Piece from Nils (2 words) 2 “Take Five” was an _____ meter experiment by the Dave Brubeck Quartet 4 “Chicago” lyricist 5 _____ and Blue by Al Di Meola 6 Herbie Hancock album (2 words) 7 Popular Drew Davidson single (2 words) 8 Melody 9 Musical compositions consisting of a series of songs or pieces from various sources 12 High C, e.g. 16 “How Deep is the ___” jazz standard 21 A pensive lyrical piece of music 22 Take flight 23 “Walking on Thin Ice” singer
24 Measure of sound intensity, abbr. 25 Album from Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden 26 Rainbow shape 27 ___ and don’ts 28 Having superior quality and value 33 Start for a Spanish count 35 “Midnight at the ____ ......” 37 Pappy 38 ___ be alright 40 Early modern jazz 41 Interstate sign 42 Alien too good for earth... 44 Not for love __ money
For the solution to this issue's crossword, visit:
www.jazzedmagazine.com JAZZed November 2011 57
Gearcheck Alfred Introduces Vocal Complete Series with Jazz Standards for Male and Female Singers Los Angeles, CA — August 12, 2011 Vocal Complete is a unique new series of songbooks that pair piano/vocal sheet music with orchestrated “minus-vocal” tracks to provide singers handy rehearsal tools. The first two releases in the series are Vocal Complete: Jazz Standards (male and female voice editions, each sold separately). Each feature 16 of the world’s most enduring hits arranged and recorded in the style of the legendary jazz singers. Male singers can belt out “Cry Me a River” in the style of Michael Bublé and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” à la Frank Sinatra, plus 14 more. Female
David Baker: A Legacy in Music from Indiana University
In this richly illustrated volume accompanied by a full-length CD, with a foreword by Quincy Jones, Monika Herzig explores Baker’s artistic legacy from his days as a jazz musician in Indianapolis to his long-term appointment as distinguished professor and chairman of the Jazz Studies department at Indiana University. Baker’s credits are striking: in the 1960s he was a member of the George Russell Sextet and performed with Quincy Jones, Slide Hampton, Stand Kenton, and many more. By the late ‘80s, he was in the Jazz Educators Hall of Fame. Featuring interviews with Baker and CD of unreleased performances as well as a variety of samples of Baker’s compositions, this book brings a living legend into clear view. www.iupress.indiana.edu.
58 JAZZed November 2011
singers will dazzle with songs like “At Last” in the style of Etta James, “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” Ella Fitzgeraldstyle, and channel Sarah Vaughan with “Whatever Lola Wants,” plus 13 more. The sheet music included matches the original key and form of the backing tracks. The Tone ‘N’ Tempo Changer software included on the CD allows for alterations in song speed and key when played on a computer (PC/MAC), for accommodating the singer’s rehearsal and performance preferences. Retail price: $21.99. www.alfred.com
Fostex AR-4i Audio Interface for iPhone
The AR-4i is designed to provide professional stereo audio recording for videos taken using the iPhone 4. Featuring two removable cardioid plug-in microphones that swivel for placement and can be mounted vertically or horizontally, the AR-4i serves as a cradle for the iPhone4 and is ergonomically designed for comfort. Also included is mounting hardware for a tripod or other professional camera mount devices. The AR-4i’s high quality microphones and professional stereo AD converter dramatically improves the audio recorded into iPhone4 videos thereby increasing the professionalism of videos for streaming, live performance videos, home videos, or even ENG applications. An LED Level Meter is provided for input level monitoring, and a headphone jack facilitates monitoring of the stereo input. Recording input levels and EQ can be further adjusted using the dedicated iPhone App. www.fostexinternational.com
Gearcheck Jazz: Then & Now from Music Alive!
Written for young musicians and listeners, this new book describes the personalities, cultural conditions, musical influences, and technologies that helped jazz emerge and evolve. Each of the book’s 13 chapters covers an era in jazz history by focusing on the people who shaped the music, from originators like Buddy Bolden and King Oliver to 21st-century stars like Joshua Redman and Esperanza Spalding. In addition to the 224-page student edition with CD-ROM, there is also an edition for teachers featuring 13 lesson plans and an audio compilation CD for classroom listening. Retail price: $24.95 (Regular edition), $39.95 (teacher edition). www.musicalive.com
Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry
This new autobiography traces the life and career of renowned jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player Clark Terry. Terry grew up in St. Louis and went on to become one of jazz’s most influential voices, performing with Count Basie and Duke Ellington’s bands before joining Doc Severinsen at The Tonight
Show. Terry is known as a leading jazz educator throughout the world, as well. This book is written in a light, episodic tone which touches on all of Terry’s wide-ranging experiences, and it comes with a preface and forward from Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, respectively. Retail price: $34.95 www.ucpress.edu
Bonanza: Insights and Wisdom from Professional Jazz Trombonists from Advance Music This new collection of interviews provides a relaxed way to investigate the broad scope of experiences among some of today’s top trombonists. Similar questions are posed to 30 musicians here, including topics like advice on listening, early steps in improvisation, appropriate sequences to take in learning tunes and chord progressions, approaches to playing ballads, and strategies for playing uptempo tunes. In their own words, such jazz luminaries as Hal Crook, Bill Watrous, Jiggs Whigham, Josh Roseman, Conrad Herwig, Jim Pugh and many others discuss their careers and lives in music. Available in the US through Kendor Music. Retail price: $35. www.kendormusic.com
Northern Illinois University
A Legacy of Jazz Artistry Greg Beyer, Latin Jazz
Fareed Haque, guitar
Ron Carter, director of jazz studies
Rich Moore, saxophone
Robert Chappell, piano & theory
Willie Pickens, piano
Art Davis, trumpet
Kelly Sill, bass
Tom Garling, trombone
Rodrigo Villanueva, drumset
Lynn Slater Coordinator of Admissions, 815-753-1546, lslater@niu.edu
Graduate Assistantships Available
JAZZed November 2011 59
Gearcheck TASCAM iXZ Mic/Instrument Interface
The iXZ Mic/Instrument Interface turns an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch into an instant recording studio. Plug in a microphone, guitar or bass to interact with the latest guitar amp, sampling, recording and DJ apps. The iXZ supplies phantom power for condenser microphones and input setting sets the gain. There is also a headphone output to monitor from an iOS device. www.tascam.com
Michael Pluznick Shows You How to Play Afro-Cuban Congas This DVD from Earthcds Partners features conguero Michael Pluznick’s instruction of conga fundamentals. Viewers will learn how to play traditional and original variations of many of the most popular Afro-Cuban rhythms and rhythm arrangements including Rumba, Bembe 6/8, Mozambique, Guarapachanguerro and Songo. Pluznick offers comprehensive instruction for each and every part of a rhythm, including bells and palitos. He employs group ensemble demonstrations and slow-motion sequences for hard-to-learn parts. Pluznick lived in Cuba in 1985 and 1995, studying from Cuban percussion masters, and he has 35 years of performing, recording and teaching experience. www.earthcds.com
D’Addario Zyex Double Bass C-Extended-E String This Zyex C-extended-E string will augment the standard Zyex set. Like the standard set, the string uses a synthetic Zyex core that provides gut-like rich and complex tone, combined with power and clarity. Pitch stability is excellent after minimal break-in time, and a thicker string diameter and an overall lower tension make this set ideal for baroque, jazz and free styles. Zyex bass strings were developed primarily to offer outstanding pizzicato attacks and sustain, as well as superb bowing response. Zyex Double Bass sets and individual strings are available in Light and Medium tensions and ¾ size. All strings consist of Zyex core with the G string (DZ611) titanium wound, D string (DZ612) stainless steel wound, and the A string (DZ613), E string (DZ614) and C-Ext string (DZ615) tungsten wound. The Zyex Double Bass Set (DZ610) consists of standard tuning strings. Retail price: $125. www.daddariobowed.com
A Cool Approach to Jazz Theory: A Step by Step Guide to Improvising with Scales, Chords and Progressions New York saxophonist and flautist Erika von Kleist introduces her first instructional book, a tool designed to help kids of all ages learn the basic concepts behind jazz harmony. Kleist uses a step-by-step lesson plan on how to play chords on any instrument and decipher their symbols, understand progressions, and create improvised melodies that fit the harmony of a song. Students with intermediate ability on any instrument, know some major scales and the chromatic scale, and have had an introduction to jazz are great candidates to tackle the material in this book. www.jazztheoryiscool.com
60 JAZZed November 2011
ALON YAVNAI
CliniciansCorner
BILL GOODWIN Drummer Educator GRAMMY winner
Pianist, composer and Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music
• Member of the Phil Woods Quintet since 1974 • Faculty at William Paterson • Playing with musical legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Mose Allison, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Bennett, Tom Waits and many, many more.
“Mr. Yavnai is a unique and brilliant artist.” - Yo-Yo Ma
• Now booking the “70/50 Celebration Tour”
To listen to music and for information about workshops & clinics please visit
Photo credit: Lauire Samet
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For Sale
Merchandise
ESTATE MUSIC SALE
Arrangements (Dedrick, Leeds, Stocks, Combo). Music for piano, guitar, band instruments, Karaoke tapes and CD’s. List available
(402) 729-5418 For sale: Heckel bassoon, 11,000 series and recently overhauled. Fair market price for purchase andflexible payment plan. Inquiries at danbassoon2@aol.com
www.JAZZedmagazine.com
Instruction
RickLawn.com
New Power of 10 CD Earth Tones with Play-Alongs & Free Download Big Band & 10 Piece charts Sax Quartet Music & Jazz Books Visit RickLawn.com
www.JAZZedmagazine.com
Learn Instrument Repair
Schools
Online or On Campus
LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRAZILIAN MUSIC WITH ANTONIO ADOLFO
www.ciomit.com Advertise in the Classifieds! Call Maureen
1-800-964-5150 ext. 34 mjohan@symphonypublishing.com 62 JAZZed November 2011
Author of Brazilian Music Workshop and Phrasing in Brazilian Music, published By Advance Music.
www.antonioadolfo.net
AdIndex Company
Email/Web
Page #
Alfred Music Publishing
www.alfred.com/jazz
37
Alon Yavnai Musicishing
www.alonyavnai.comler
61
J.J. Babbitt Co. Inc.
www.jjbabbitt.com
39
Bari Woodwinds
www.bariwoodwinds.com
13
Berklee College of Music
www.berklee.edu
George Mason University
www.gmu.edu
38
Jack Cassidy Music
www.jackcassidymusic.com
61
Jamey Aebersold Jazz Aids
www.jazzbooks.com
cov2
Jazzheads
www.jazzheads.com
61
Jody Jazz
www.JodyJazz.com
5
John Fedchock
www.johnfedchock.com
Juilliard School of Music
www.juilliard.edu
Market Development for the Arts
www.marshawalker.com
61
McNally Smith College of Music
www.mcnallysmith.edu
50
North Central Collegel
www.northcentralcollege.edug
11
Northern Illinois University
www.vpa.niu.edu/music
59
Pearl Corp.
www.pearldrum.com
PJLA Music Products
www.pjlamusc.com
29
SaxQuest, Inc.
www.saxquest.com
23
Shenandoah Conservatory
www.su.edu
49
Sierra Music Publications
www.sierramusic.com
53
U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies
www.StLouisMusic.com
51
University of Illinois - Urbana
www.uiuc.edu
52
University of the Arts
www.uarts.edu
30
USC Thornton School of Music
www.usc.edu/music/jazzg
38
Vic Firth Company
www.VicFirth.com
31
Avedis Zildjian Co.
www.zildjian.com
9
1
60 7
cov 4
JAZZed November 2011 63
Backbeat
Freddie Gruber 1927-2011
Jazz drummer and longtime educator Freddie Gruber recently passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 84. Gruber was just this year presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Winter NAMM show, given in honor of his excellence in educational service. Freddie had taught at the famous Drum Channel Studio and worked with a long line of innovative drummers including Vinnie Colaiuta, Neil Peart, Steve Smith, and Dave Weckl. Gruber grew up in New York as a part of the fledgling bebop scene and performed with architects like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s and worked with Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman and Billy Higgins, later teaching drums at a music shop owned by vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. At one point, he lived as roommates with Buddy Rich, whose style he gradually assimilated and translated into a teaching method that he used for the rest of his life.
64 JAZZed November 2011
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
THE
START ACADEMY SERIES OF SOMETHING BIG.
The Ultimate Entry Level Instrument Starting at $895. The Xstand adjusts to 3 playing heights and locks securely into place to safely cradle the instrument. Easy to move with built-in carry handle.
Academy Series brings the World renowned quality and sound of Adams to the student percussionist. Available in a 3.0 octave marimba and a 3.5 octave xylophone for school or home use. Adams All New Academy Series maximizes the learning experience with quality from the very ďŹ rst note. Adams Academy Series is The Start of Something Big.
AMPD30 3.0 Academy Padouk Marimba
AXLD35 3.5 Academy Light Rosewood Xylophone
Please scan the QR Code to learn more about Academy Series.
www.pearldrum.com Adams Instruments are proudly distributed in the U.S. by Pearl Corporation