SEPTEMBER 2012 • $5.00
John McLaughlin
Become Who You Are
Nat Hentoff: Jazz Revolution vs. Radio Stations Slashing Jazz Survey: College & University Jazz Programs The Official Publication of
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Mastering music is more than a destination. It’s about all of the experiences you have along the way. We give you the freedom to experiment, find your own solutions, and evolve. But we also give you a structured and demanding curriculum that will test even the most talented musicians. You’ll be prepared to succeed in the world of music. Wherever it takes you. Learn more at berklee.edu
WHERE MUSIC TAKES YOU
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN
"The young musician will need to discover how much he or she loves and cares about music, and the necessity of perseverance and patience."
contents
SEPTEMBER 2012
LESSONS LEARNED: CLOSING THE QUALITY GAP 14
Dave Marowitz investigates strategies and techniques to ensure your jazz ensemble isn’t hindered by skill disparities emerging between its musicians.
BASIC TRAINING: HELPING STUDENTS FIND THEIR VOICE AS A COMPOSER 28
Contributor Ezra Weiss discusses the delicate art of guiding students through their early years of composing toward a knowledgeable, open-minded, and original start to a lifetime of writing.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: “BECOME WHO YOU ARE” 32
Still going strong after a lifetime on jazz’s front lines with Miles Davis, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shakti, Wayne Shorter, and more, guitarist John McLaughlin talks to JAZZed about his experiences as a young student, a seasoned mentor, and tireless musical explorer.
GUEST EDITORIAL: JAZZ REVOLUTION VS. RADIO STATION SLASHING JAZZ 40 Esteemed jazz journalist Nat Hentoff reports on the recent clashes between Boston jazz activists and the local radio stations who’ve nixed the music from their programming.
SOUND ADVICE FOR THE JAZZ VOCALIST: AN INTERVIEW WITH KIM NAZARIAN OF NEW YORK VOICES 44 FOCUS SESSION: JIMMY RANEY’S SOLO ON “DOUBLE IMAGE” 48
Scott Mercer provides an in-depth study of Raney’s classic solo from 1954, mixing smiple motivic development with complex (almost dangerous!) lines.
SURVEY: JAZZ EDUCATION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS 51 ™
A recent survey polls over 150 instructors and faculty members at university and college jazz programs on everything from early skill development to enrollment trends.
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™
September 2012
Volume 7, Number 5 GROUP PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHER Richard E. Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com Editorial Staff EDITOR Christian Wissmuller cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR Eliahu Sussman esussman@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Parish mparish@symphonypublishing.com Contributing Writers Chaim Burstein, Dennis Carver, Kevin Mitchell, Dick Weissman Art Staff PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill lguptill@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com
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departments PUBLISHER’S LETTER 4 NOTEWORTHY 6 NATALIE CRESSMAN: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST? 10 JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK SECTION 20 • PRESIDENT’S LETTER • JEN'S NEW LOOK • JENERATIONS JAZZ FESTIVAL • 2013 CONFERENCE EVENING CONCERTS • TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL JAZZ PROGRAM • NEWS
HOT WAX 55 JAZZ FORUM 52 CROSSWORD 54 GEARCHECK 56 CD SHOWCASE 59
CLINICIANS CORNER 59 CLASSIFIEDS 61 AD INDEX 63 BACKBEAT: "UNCLE" LIONEL BATISTE 64
Cover photograph Sigi Baramsky. 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. © 2012 by Symphony Publishing, LLC. Printed in the U.S.A.
Advertising Staff ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris Fox ifox@symphonypublishing.com CLASSIFIED & Display Steven Hemingway shemingway@symphonypublishing.com Business Staff CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@symphonypublishing.com Symphony Publishing, LLC CHAIRMAN Xen Zapis PRESIDENT Lee Zapis lzapis@symphonypublishing.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rich Bongorno rbongorno@symphonypublishing.com Corporate Headquarters 26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300 Westlake, Ohio 44145 (440) 871-1300 www.symphonypublishing.com Publishing, Sales, & Editorial Office 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 FAX (781) 453-9389 1-800-964-5150 www.jazzedmagazine.com
Member 2012
RPMDA JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
JAZZ EDUCATION NETWORK
JAZZed September 2012 3
publisher’s letter
RICK KESSEL
Revolutions Within the Evolutions
I
t seems that music has evolved in ways that are who study certain periods of music to become wellsometimes linear, but often with significant revo- known experts, but the students should, perhaps, lutions within the evolutions. There are points in have enough exposure to gain a basic understanding time for all types of music that can be identified as of the various styles that have come before in order the sparks that took music off its steady path into to develop new, breakthrough ideas. Can the creunknown new realms that either gained recognition ativity be taught enough, so that students may come or quickly flamed out of existence. Beethoven and up with their own different style of music? Should Stravinsky shook up the classical world; the Bebop this even be encouraged? After all, being different movement took jazz on a significantly different path; just to be different isn’t always the answer. Our cover story this month is on one and performers like Hendrix, the of the early purveyors of fusion, Beatles, The Ramones, and Nir“Can the student be John McLaughlin, who deftly invana moved pop music off its cenencouraged to go off in tegrated jazz, rock, and forms of tered path. The establishment of radical new directions classical and Indian music with the our educational world tends to be short-lived but historically imporslower moving and usually takes without having a solid tant original Mahavishnu Orchessome time to recognize, absorb, foundation of the past?” tra: He sheds some light on this and then begin teaching music of difficult topic. the “new” genres, composers, and McLaughlin cites his early influences as a dispastyles. This is certainly understandable. It’s not always easy for people who have learned and grown rate variety of sources, including early Mississippi up with certain genres to make the horizontal or blues musicians, Flamenco guitarists, Miles, Colvertical leap to a new form of music and be able to trane, Bill Evans, the Beatles, and so many other historically important figures. He states that he help the younger generation adapt to it. The question that tugs at many of us is how to go “never, ever had the intention of making or creatabout imparting the knowledge of past styles while ing ‘fusion’ jazz,” but it appears that the happenings still encouraging and engaging students on not only of the world at the time, the “upheaval in society,” the cutting-edge styles, but also on how to go about and the coming together of various influences lead considering ideas that have yet to happen? Can the him to develop his style. Beyond reviewing the past, student be encouraged to go off in radical new di- students should be encouraged to open their eyes to rections without having a solid foundation of the what is happening in the world around them and past? And, if they need a foundation, how far back consider it, and allow it to seep into their musical and deep should it go? There are musical scholars ideas…
rkessel@symphonypublishing.com
4 JAZZed September 2012
noteworthy
Festival of New Trumpet Music Celebrates 10th Anniversary
T
he Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music), directed by Dave Douglas, is presenting its 10th Anniversary Festival this fall throughout September and October. The festival is a “multi-genre, multi-venue celebration of new trumpet music by the instrument’s most creative musicians.” “For our tenth festival we decided to go back to the full month model,” said Douglas. “It’s a blowout of creative music that spans generations and genres that is our biggest festival since the early days when we had a residency at Tonic. We’re book-ending the festival with two great free events: Stephanie Richards’ Rotations Rotations and Claudio Roditi with the West Point Jazz Knights.” The festival also includes newly-commissioned work from pioneers like Charles Tolliver, Tom Harrell, and Jack Walrath, as well as music from emerging talents like Adam O’Farrill, Alicia Rau, Bruce Harris, and Douglas Detrick. Douglas will also be presenting his own new project, which will feature singer Aoife O’Donovan. The festival is taking place throughout New York City, including performances at the Jazz Gallery, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Village Zendo, Smalls Jazz Club, Rockwood Music Hall.
www.fontmusic.org
Font Music director Dave Douglas.
30 Years of Jazz at the Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the creation of its jazz program during the 201213 season. In the 1940s and ‘50s, when jazz innovators such as drummer Max Roach, and pianist/composer John Lewis, were already creative forces in bop and post-bop jazz, they were students at Manhattan School of Music. In those years, long before MSM had a jazz department, or the internationally recogTrumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Obed Calvaire at a 2003 concert for the Manhattan School of Music.
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nized Jazz Arts Program, the school had the resources, faculty and atmosphere conducive to educating “the complete musician.” It was in the fall of 1982 that Manhattan School of Music became one of the first conservatories in the United States to acknowledge the prime importance of jazz as an art form by creating a jazz/commercial music department, which first offered courses toward a master of music degree in 1984. The awards and accomplishments of the MSM Jazz Community is long and growing. Its members include NEA Jazz Masters like Roach, Lewis, Joe Wilder and Yusef Lateef, as well as MacArthur Fellows like Miguel Zenon and Jason Moran. Many concerts are being planned to celebrate MSM’s Jazz Arts 30th Anniversary Festival. Highlights include performances by the MSM Concert Jazz Band, the MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and performances of masterpieces like Oliver Nelson’s Blues and the Abstract Truth and Miles Davis’ Miles Ahead.
www.msmnyc.edu
noteworthy NEA Announces 2013 NEA Jazz Masters The National Endowment for the Arts recently added four new names to the list of legendary jazz
Newly announced NEA Jazz Master Lou Donaldson.
figures with the announcement of the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters. Like the 124 honorees who came before them, these four individuals are recognized for their lifetime achievements and significant contributions to the development and performance of jazz. They will each receive a one-time award of $25,000. The 2013 NEA Jazz Masters are Mose Allison (pianist, vocalist, composer), Lou Donaldson (saxophonist), Lorraine Gordon (jazz club owner), and Eddie Palmieri (pianist, bandleader, arranger, composer). Lorraine Gordon is the recipient of the 2013 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, which is bestowed upon an individual who has contributed significantly to the appreciation, knowledge, and advancement of the art form of jazz. Full profiles of the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters are located on the NEA’s website (www.nea.gov).
Berklee Names Steve Bailey New Bass Chair
Berklee College of Music recently announced that Steve Bailey has been named chair of the college’s Bass Department. Bailey, six-string fretless bass pioneer, educator, and author, began his tenure this summer. He succeeds Rich Appleman, who retired in May 2012 after holding the position for 40 years. A partial list of Bailey’s extensive recording and performance credits include Paquito D’Rivera, Dizzy Gillespie, Victor Wooten, Claudio Roditti, the Rippingtons, Bassist and jazz educator Steve Bailey. David Benoit, Jethro Tull, Willie Nelson, and Mel Torme. Bailey brings to Berklee over 25 years of teaching experience, with faculty appointments at Musicians Institute, UNC Wilmington, and Coastal Carolina University. He is the author of six books and instructional DVDs on bass performance, and is an indemand clinician and performer. He holds a B.M. in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami, with additional study at the University of North Texas. Bailey was twice recognized as runner-up Bass Player of the Year by Bass Player Magazine, and is co-founder of Bass Extremes, a collaboration with Victor Wooten. www.berklee.edu
Montreal Jazz Festival
The 33rd annual Festival de Jazz de Montreal once again treated over two million people to an extraordinary show of jazz, folk, blues, world music, and several other genres. The Festival, which took place from June 28 to July 7, featured 10 outdoor stages where concert gatherers could enjoy a variety of music as well as state of the art theatres including the Maison Lady Linn and her Magnificent Seven at the Symphonique Montreal and Salle Wi- Montreal Jazz Fest. Credit: Frédérique Ménardfrid-Pelletier. Jazz legends like Stanley Aubin. Clark, Ron Carter and John Schofield performed on bills with singing stars like Liza Minnelli and James Taylor, while numerous upstart groups made the Festival perhaps the singular largest musical event in the world. A new chapter opened this summer as some of Miles Davis’ old brothers in arms assembled as the “Miles Smiles” collective and put on an extraordinary show which featured Wallace Roney on trumpet, saxophonist Bill Evans, bassist Darryl Jones, keyboardist Joey DeFrancesco, guitarist Larry Coryell, and drummer Omar Hakim. www.montrealjazzfest.com
LA Jazz Society Names Wayne Shorter Jazz Tribute Honoree The Los Angeles Jazz Society’s (LAJS) 29th Annual Jazz Tribute Awards Dinner & Concert is set for this October at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, where Wayne Shorter will be the 2012 Jazz Tribute Honoree. Leonard Maltin will host the eve-
JAZZed September 2012 7
noteworthy ning’s festivities and Herbie Hancock is this year’s Honorary Chair. LAJS’ 2012 Jazz Tribute awardees include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient John Pisano, Lifetime Composer/Arranger Award recipient Gordon Goodwin, Jazz Vocalist Award recipient Denise Donatelli, David L. Abell Angel Award recipient Jim
Barrall, Jazz Educator Award recipients Roger Neumann and Scott Whitfield, Teri Merrill-Aarons Founder Award recipient Terence Love, and Shelly Manne Memorial New Talent Award recipient Jamael Dana Dean. The Jazz Tribute also includes special guests, Jeff Hamilton, Larry Hathaway and Barbara Morrison. www.LAJazz.org
Marvin Hamlisch Dies Well-known composer and pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch recently
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What’s on Your Playlist? By the time she graduated from high school, trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman had already performed alongside luminaries such as Miguel Zenon, Joe Lovano, Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Josh Roseman, and Carlos Santana. Since moving from her native San Francisco to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music, Cressman has delved heavily into the world of composition, in addition to performing widely throughout the city with bands including Nicolas Payton’s Television Symphony Orchestra and Peter Apfelbaum and the New York Hieroglyphics Ensemble. In 2010, Phish’s Trey Anastasio invited Cressman to be part of his seven-piece rock band, TAB, with which she’s been playing sold–out shows in major venues. In May of 2012, she was a featured soloist at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in Wycliffe Gordon’s Jazz A La Carte. Sharing the stage with the likes of Savion Glover and Maurice Hines, Cressman was dubbed “the future of jazz” by Gordon, her mentor and host of the evening. On top of all that, she’s formed her own band, Natalie Cressman and Secret Garden. Unfolding, her debut CD as a leader, captures the 20-yearold’s rapidly blossoming sensibility, a sound shaped by her love of Cuban, Brazilian and West African music, indie rock, funk, and the post–bop continuum.
1. Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown – Sarah Vaughan & Clifford Brown Sarah Vaughan was one of the first great jazz singers I truly fell in love with, and this album is one of my favorites. When I was little, I sang along with “Lullaby of Birdland” on repeat, trying to mimic her incredible phrasing and attempting to emulate her rich, dark tone. Her finesse in her improvising was also something that particularly inspired me on this album. Adding the elegant voice of Clifford Brown on trumpet makes this one of my favorite Sarah albums. Another one of my favorite tracks is the obscure and heart-wrenching ballad, “Jim.” 2. Free For All – Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino is one of my all-time favorite trombonists, and I literally wore out this CD with repeated listening in high school. Frank’s vibrant, effervescent voice really comes through on this 1958 release, which also features tenor saxophonist Harold Land and Victor Feldman on piano. His rendition of “Stardust” taught me volumes about how to interpret ballads, and his rhythmic pocket on “Don’t Take Your Love From Me” was so captivating that I transcribed it and used to play along with him over and over.
3. Turbulent Indigo – Joni Mitchell It was incredibly hard to pick just one of Joni’s albums to put on my playlist because there are so many that I feel make up a significant part of my musical DNA. She is possibly one of my biggest influences as a vocalist and songwriter. But it’s Wayne Shorter’s interaction with Joni’s lyrics that really struck me about this album. On “Sunny Sunday,” Shorter’s interjections are literally evoking the words of the song. His sensitivity and unbelievable depth, demonstrated here in such a unique musical setting, makes him stand out to me as one of my favorite musical minds. 4. III – Walter Smith III This album contains some of my favorite modern jazz musicians/composers. I was first exposed to Walter Smith III through Ambrose Akinmusire’s release, Prelude to Cora (another one of my favorites), and this album features Ambrose along with Jason Moran, Joe Sanders, Eric Harland, and Logan Richardson, one of my favorite modern alto players in NYC. Every single musician on this release is stellar, and they deftly bring out the best qualities in each other’s playing. I love the lyrical nature of some songs, the subtlety of “Aubade” contrasting with the more brazen “Highschoolish” and “Himorme.”
Natalie Cressman’s latest album, Unfolding, was released on August 14, 2012. www.nataliecressman.com. 10 JAZZed September 2012
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5. GroundUp – Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy has been together for a while and they’ve been, in my opinion, largely underappreciated up until this most recent release. I am consistently impressed by their ability to make even the most complex, instrumental music danceable and appealing to non-jazz listeners. Their incorporation of more popular music styles and grooves with jazz is something that I do with my band, and bringing jazz to a broader audience is something that I care about as well. If you haven’t seen a live Snarky Puppy show, I strongly urge you to check them out. They are an incredible band. 6. Weightless – Becca Stevens This album is certainly one that has changed the way I write. She has a unique compositional voice, and her soft-spoken, earnest delivery really resonated with me. She writes beautiful lyrics and, coupled with her song’s great harmonic content and detailed textures,
I feel there is a great balance of honest simplicity along with musical complexity and nuance. I keep coming back to this album from time to time, which is why I attest to her greatness as a composer/ vocalist/bandleader. 7. How Bright A Shadow! – In One Wind I was first introduced to the group through my friend Steven Lugerner, who plays various woodwinds on How Bright A Shadow! It skillfully synthesizes so many different genres that the result is uniquely beautiful music. I love their graceful melodies and three-part harmony, but the contrasts on the album in terms of texture, groove, form, and harmony, are particularly brilliant. They are one of my favorite young bands, definitely a group of musicians to watch. 8. Signs of Life – Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble I remember going to see Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics live and
spending the entire set with butterflies in my stomach. Something about the profoundness of his melodies and the deeply grounded African rhythms was so exciting. I remember leaving the concert and thinking, “I want to spend my life playing music like that.” Since moving to NYC, I have joined the NY Hieroglyphics Ensemble, and it is one of my favorite groups to play with. Peter has acted as a great musical mentor to me over the years, and each time I play with him I’m struck by how soulful he is. 9. Personalities – Fabian Almazan Fabian is one of my favorite pianists. I first heard him when attending a performance of Terence Blanchard’s band, but I love his solo debut for its graceful lyricism. I love how he meshes his Cuban background with jazz and classical music. This release is definitely on the cutting edge of where creative music is going. His sound of a piano trio plus a string quartet is great: it gives such fullness to his pieces. The rhythm section of Fabian, Henry Cole and Linda Oh is a serious combination of some really inspiring players who have gained recognition for their unique voices in jazz today. 10. In Pursuit – Donny McCaslin I’m a huge fan of Donny McCaslin: he is one of my favorite tenor players today. I love this album particularly because of its incorporation of Afro–Caribbean rhythms within the aesthetic of modern jazz. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, my first professional gigs consisted largely of salsa, Latin jazz, and Brazilian music, so this album really spoke to me and encouraged me to let those influences seep into my own writing.
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lessons learned
ENSEMBLE PLAYING & JAZZ SOLOISTS
Closing the Quality Gap ENSEMBLE PLAYING AND JAZZ SOLOISTS IN THE SCHOOL ENSEMBLE
A
BY DAVE MAROWITZ
stute jazz ensemble directors are always looking for ways to upgrade the performing ability and musicianship of their jazz ensembles. This article addresses a vitally important and often-neglected aspect of jazz ensemble performing that is characteristic of professional and outstanding student bands, and is essential to truly effective performance. The Quality Gap It is not uncommon among school jazz ensembles today to find a disparity between the quality of ensemble playing and the quality of improvised solos. More often than not, the improvised solos are the weaker of the two elements, so this article will proceed from that point of view. Skillful ensemble playing juxtaposed to improvised solos that are relatively inferior in quality pose a problem of inconsistency and a lack of integrity in a band’s overall sound and effectiveness. Imagine a chic, upscale men’s suit worn with a bargain-basement tie. Not only does the tie detract from the visual effect produced by the elegance of the suit, but also it actually attracts attention to itself. In essence, the tie takes center stage and steals the spotlight from the suit! Likewise, superior ensemble playing does not cover up for inferior improvised solos and neither is the reverse true. In fact, the stronger of the two can actually highlight the weaker state of the other. In terms of quality, ensemble passages and improvised solos should be evenly matched, and transitions between them should be seamless. Jazz ensemble directors should assess this aspect of their jazz ensemble’s overall performance and if necessary, address it.
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Why the Gap? What could engender a quality gap between ensemble playing and improvised solo sections of jazz ensemble performances? Most commonly, it is that the ensemble’s soloists and rhythm sections do not receive adequate instruction and training in improvisation, while the ensemble gets the lion’s share of instructional and rehearsal attention. I was once a member of a nationally recognized college jazz band whose ensemble playing was admirable, but the caliber of the improvised solos did not measure up to that of the ensemble playing. The director was a brilliant jazz composer and rehearsed his ensemble well, but he left his jazz soloists to fend for themselves. They received no training in jazz improvisation neither did they practice or ‘jam’ with the rhythm section independently from the full ensemble rehearsal. If the director had ensured that his soloists got proper instruction and training, the band, as good as it was, would have ascended to yet another level. Since improvisation is the lifeblood of jazz music, improvised solos should be a highlighted and anticipated aspect of any jazz ensemble performance. This demands excellence on the part of improvisers and rhythm sections. Excellence here is not synonymous with complexity, but it does demand sound musical taste and listening skills, a good sense of timekeeping and style, sensitive soloist/rhythm section interaction, and adequate instrumental proficiency and improvising skill. Some students improvise basically by combining the indiscreet ‘throwing of notes in the air’ along with notes that they have found to ‘work’ through experience, in the hope that all will work out. In this survival approach there is usually no musical relationship between the improvised solo and the written arrangement or jazz tune. Others emphasize emotion and expressiveness at the expense of meaningful musical content. Both expression and musical content (melodic, rhythmic,
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lessons learned
JAZZed September 2012 15
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and harmonic especially as it relates to the jazz tune and arrangement) are equally important elements in jazz improvisation and should receive equal attention. Then there are those whose method of improvising is largely founded on crowd-pleasing hype techniques (extreme high register playing, fast-for-the-sake-offast notes, loud volume, showmanship, etc.) in an attempt to cover up for the lack of true improvisational skill, musicianship, and taste. Motivated students can learn to improvise skillfully, intelligently, and expressively through instruction and guided practice. They can, in fact, learn principles of improvisation that are not only applicable to jazz, but also will enhance their understanding of and approach to music in general. In addition, rhythm section players need to become proficient in the art of supporting and interacting with soloists, which is quite a different skill set than playing with a large ensemble.
“SINCE IMPROVISATION IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF JAZZ MUSIC, IMPROVISED SOLOS SHOULD BE A HIGHLIGHTED AND ANTICIPATED ASPECT OF ANY JAZZ ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE.”
Closing the Gap with an Adjunct Improvisation Instructor One means of upgrading the improvising ability of student jazz soloists is to have them study privately with qualified jazz musicians/instructors. Another more comprehensive approach is for the jazz ensemble director to enlist an experienced jazz musicians/instructor to serve as adjunct improvisation/ rhythm section instructor. On baseball teams, head coaches maintain oversight of overall team development while assistant coaches are employed to focus and train players on specialized aspects of performance
such as pitching and batting. Since jazz soloists too are specialists, they need specialized instruction and supervised practice in order to effectively grow and mature in their ability as improvisers. For this reason, recruiting an improvisation instructor would be a wise move, especially for directors who are not trained in and experienced in the art and craft of jazz improvisation. The addition of this “assistant coach” can significantly accelerate the overall progress of the ensemble. An improvisation instructor may be recruited either from within one’s school district faculty, or possibly from the surrounding locale or region. Directors may want to request that their P.T.O. or band parent’s organization fund the enlisting of an adjunct improvisation instructor, or perhaps ask the appropriate school administrator to consider earmarking funds from a school activities account to do so.
How the Instructor can Function Effectively A jazz improvisation instructor can meet with a jazz ensemble’s jazz soloists and rhythm section separately from ensemble rehearsals. In another sce-
lessons learned nario, a typical jazz ensemble rehearsal session could consist of a combination of the director working on ensemble playing with the brass and saxophones in one room while the improvisation instructor works with the rhythm section and jazz soloists in another room. This can be followed by a full ensemble rehearsal led by the director with the improvisation instructor observing, taking constructive critical notes on, and coaching the soloists and rhythm section. The job description of an improvisation instructor can include the following:
Closing the Gap through Wise Soloist and Music Selection Choices Another strategy in closing the quality gap between ensemble playing and jazz solos, is to, when necessary, reassign improvised solo sections to
• Instruct and train soloists and the rhythm section in practical principles of improvisation and style. • Instruct and train soloists and rhythm section how to make their improvisations connect musically with the tune and/or written arrangements. • Instruct and train soloists and rhythm section in the expressive elements of jazz improvisation. • Instruct and train soloists and rhythm section in principles of soloist/rhythm section interaction. • Instruct and train the rhythm section in the art of playing with a soloist in contrast to the art of playing with an ensemble. Application of these principles taught should be applied directly to current arrangements that the ensemble is preparing for performance. As students apply and internalize these principles in rehearsals and performances, they will intuitively carry them over and apply them in other and future musical situations. Another resulting benefit from this specialized instruction could be the emerging of a distinct performing jazz combo. This combo, by performing as a separate unit during jazz ensemble performances, could provide a very effective contrast to the large ensemble. They could even maintain an independent performance schedule.
players other than who is designated in any given arrangement. For example, an arrangement that includes a section for a jazz trombone improvised solo could be assigned to a stronger soloist in the band (regardless of instrument), if the trombone play-
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lessons learned ers are not strong improvisers or interested in becoming such. This is especially important when preparing for competitions and performances. Musically, this is consistent with the artistic license and extemporaneous spirit that is inherent in the nature of jazz music and, consequently, is not foreign to the professional music world. In an arrangement that I wrote for Buddy Rich and his Big Band in 1976, I had designated a section where the baritone sax player would improvise. The band recorded the arrangement in that way, but on a later date and different location, for whatever reason, they recorded it again with a tenor sax playing the solo rather than the baritone sax. In general, directors should take care to choose music that is within their soloist’s ability to improvise com-
fortably in the jazz solo sections, just as they would realistically consider their ensemble’s ability to play the written arrangements. Failure to do so could create a quality gap between the ensemble and the soloists.
Maintaining a ‘No-Gap Zone’ through a Feeder System Finally, a longer term and more far reaching strategy for elevating the quality of improvised solos, in the case of high school bands, is to set up a feeder system. This would entail identifying talent in grades prior to high school, and beginning the process of teaching jazz improvisation and rhythm section playing at that grade level. In this way, high school jazz ensembles can count on a steady incoming stream of trained jazz soloists and rhythm sections, by
n o r t h w e s t e r n u n i ve rs i t y
establishing an ongoing method of maintaining and helping to ensure that the quality of ensemble playing and jazz soloists will match.
Conclusion The principles and strategies outlined in this article, if applied, can go a long way in upgrading the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of jazz ensembles, and can catapult their performing prowess to new heights.
Dave Marowitz has worked as an arranger, trombonist, and euphoniumist extensively in the commercial, jazz, and classical fields of music, including with Lionel Hampton as a trombonist and Buddy Rich as a recorded arranger. He has taught music in the public schools since 1977 and is currently doing so in the Toms River (N.J.) regional school district.
Bienen School of Music The Bienen School of Music offers · Conservatory-level training combined with the academic flexibility of an elite research institution · Traditional BM, BA, MM, PhD, and DM degrees as well as innovative dual-degree, self-designed, and double-major programs · Close proximity to downtown Chicago’s vibrant cultural landscape · A new 152,000-square-foot facility to open in summer 2015 Jazz Faculty Victor Goines, director; jazz saxophone and clarinet Carlos Henriquez, jazz bass Willie Jones III, jazz drums Christopher Madsen, composition and arranging Peter Martin, jazz piano Bradley Mason, jazz trumpet Elliot Mason, jazz trombone John P. Moulder, jazz guitar
In addition to this 400-seat recital hall, the Bienen School’s new facility will include an opera rehearsal room/black box theater, a choral rehearsal/recital room, teaching studios, practice rooms, classrooms, and administrative offices.
18 JAZZed September 2012
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“Simon is an important presence on the jazz and world music scene” Los Angeles Times
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER A Message from JEN President Andrew Surmani Dear JEN Members, We are close to 100 days out from the 4th Annual JEN Conference and are excited to announce some of the great musicians that will be performing at the Atlanta show. See the following pages for more details. The JEN Board of Directors held our semiannual meeting in early August at the site of our 2013 Conference, the Hyatt Regency Peachtree Center in Atlanta, Georgia. As you know, the Board is comprised of some of the most accomplished and respected thought leaders in jazz education today and I want to share with you some of the highlights of our many plans outlined by the committees that will help us fulfill the mission of JEN. 1. Education Materials/Curriculum: This committee presented many educational resources that we hope to deploy this year and beyond, to enhance member benefits and provide support for jazz education. 2. Finance: We approved the 2012–2013 budget, which will be used to present the annual conference and support our programs. As always, JEN prides itself on its transparency for our members and the financial information is available online for all members. 3. Fundraising & Development: We laid out plans to move forward on fundraising, registered on various grant sites and applied for some grants.
The JEN board at their August meeting in Atlanta.
4. Festival Development: We reviewed and approved plans for the 2013 JENerations Jazz Festival. 5. Marketing: We reviewed a detailed marketing plan and budget for this year that will allow us to communicate new developments with our existing membership, as well as reach new audiences. We are delighted to launch a brand-new look for the JEN website and streamlined communication to JEN members. 6. Mentoring: We evaluated the first year of this great program, which provides mentorship to young musicians from industry professionals, and are happy to be continuing it with improvements in the upcoming year. 7. Outreach: We solidified a plan to expand the Outreach Program beyond the annual conference. 8. Strategic Planning: We began the first draft of a JEN Strategic Plan, a vital and important document that we hope to complete and release some time next year. 9. 2013 Conference: We explored the beautiful Hyatt Regency Peachtree Center that will host our 2013 convention and are thrilled to welcome you there next January. As always, thank you for being part of JEN. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta. Together, we can serve the beautiful art form that is jazz! Sincerely,
Andrew Surmani | JEN President JEN Board of Directors (2012–13): Rubén Alvarez, Paul Bangser, Bob Breithaupt, Caleb Chapman, John Clayton (Vice President), José Diaz, Dr. Lou Fischer (Immediate Past President), Dr. Darla Hanley, Dr. Monika Herzig (Secretary), Judy Humenick, Willard Jenkins, Rick Kessel (Treasurer), Mary Jo Papich (Past President), Bob Sinicrope (President-Elect), Andrew Surmani (President). Office Manager: Larry Green; Webmaster: Gene Perla; Marketing & Communications: Marina Terteryan; Web Hosting: AudioWorks Group, Ltd./JazzCorner.com
20 JAZZed September 2012
JEN’S NEW LOOK JEN is Proud to Debut an Updated Logo and the NEW JazzEdNet.org
View organization info about JEN Apply for scholarships and awards
View detailed conference info Purchase or renew membership
Updated logo for strong brand recognition
Hear JEN member recordings Download logos and assets to help promote JEN
JAZZed September 2012 21
JENERATIONS JAZZ FESTIVAL Develop Your Ensemble at Our Unique Event JEN is extremely excited to present the JENerations Jazz Festival at the 2013 Conference. Piloted at last year’s conference, the event received rave reviews and excitement from all participants. Open to big bands, vocal groups, and combos, the JENerations Jazz Festival is unique because it truly focuses on students and directors experiencing jazz, performance, and mentorship in an innovative and educational format. The festival features: • A non-competitive format designed to encourage groups of all levels, including new groups and directors, to participate. • The perfect scenario to challenge accomplished groups to perform more difficult music without the pressure of only letting the best players improvise to highlight the group. • A performance format that includes a 10-minute setup/warm-up, 30-minute performance, and a 30-minute clinic. • World-class clinicians.
Ray Smith
Connaitre Miller
Jeff Coffin
• Big Bands: Ray Smith from Brigham Young University
• Vocal Groups: Connaitre Miller from Howard University
• Combos: Jeff Coffin, three-time Grammy-Award-winning saxophonist from the Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones • An additional surprise celebrity clinician, who will offer encouragement and feedback. • Full conference access for all group members. JEN is about music education and developing a culture of jazz music through nurturing and mentoring young musicians, teachers, and seasoned professionals. The JENerations Jazz Festival is a wonderful opportunity for student jazz groups of all skill levels and ages. Playing for and receiving focused attention from fantastic clinicians in a friendly and supportive environment is a unique experience not to be missed. Come join us and have an amazing time experiencing America’s musical gift to the world—JAZZ! 22 JAZZed September 2012
How to Have a Winning Jazz Festival Experience (Part 1: Musical Preparation) By Caleb Chapman
Maximizing ensemble growth at a jazz festival involves so much more than just rehearsing music! This article is the first in a two-part series that will help you create the best possible festival experience for you and your students. Showcase the Strengths of the Ensemble A great director will be very sure of the particular strengths and weaknesses of the ensemble. If you are a big band director you might ask yourself questions like: What is the range of your lead trumpet? Who are the soloists you would like to feature? Do you have a strong bass trombone? Directors of combos and vocal ensembles need to take stock in a similar manner. These questions and others need to be answered before the music selection process can begin. Once you have the answers, make an outline of characteristics the music should have. Knowing that information will make your music selection process much easier and more effective. You also should be aware of your ensemble’s weaknesses and work to avoid them. If, for example, you have an inexperienced bass player accompanying your vocal ensemble, a chart with an up-tempo double time section may not be a good choice.
JENERATIONS JAZZ FESTIVAL
Choose Music at the Right Level of Difficulty Resist the urge to attend a new music reading session, hear some exciting, very challenging charts, and then try to push them on your ensemble without thought for their ability level. There is a real difference between challenging your ensemble with music that is a bit of a stretch and setting them up for failure with charts that are simply out of reach at their ability level.
similar to the style of Neal Hefti’s “Li’l Darlin’” (as compared to a straight-eighth note feel). These are challenging for inexperienced musicians and provide a great vehicle for growth.
expect to see no more than 20–25 musicians on stage. More importantly, without limiting the number of musicians your students are not getting the unique experience of playing in a big band.
Another substitution worth considering is replacing the rock/ funk chart with a Latin chart or
Listen! Listen! Listen!
Finally, once you have selected your program its time to start listening to recordings of those charts (if available) and other great recordings in a similar style. Compile a list of these Too many directors fall and distribute it to into the thinking that students early in the simply because a chart is year. Design assigndifficult, it is automatiments that require cally better than easier focused listening. arrangements. This is This is a fantastic certainly not the case! opportunity to There is fantastic music improve your festival available at every ability Caleb Chapman’s groups have won numerous awards and set, expose the level. As a director, you performed in venues of all sizes. They will be performing in students to new Carnegie Hall next Spring. need to make an investartists, and grow ment of time to find the their listening library. best fit for your students. Take time other world music style (Celtic, This advice isn’t just for the to study the many demo recordings Reggae, Calypso, etc). For vocal ensembles this may mean tackling students. Just as you expect your that publishers release each year on a different language. This will this students to master intonation, CD and online. Also, utilize push the ensemble musically and dynamics, articulation, and style resources like online bulletin provide opportunities to explore on their individual instrument, a boards, social media, and blogs to other cultures! director needs to be able to do the get recommendations from other same at the ensemble level. This directors, educators, and musicians. For Big Bands, One to a Part! will only happen if you diligently As educators, we are naturally listen to the music! Demonstrate a Wide Range inclined to allow as many students of Styles Learn more about Performance as possible to participate in ensemPreparation and Educational Most festivals allow time for three bles. That means we often find our- Preparation in the upcoming issues. selections. With that in mind, selves with too many saxophones, the traditional formula for trumpets, or maybe guitars. Caleb Chapman is a saxophonist, programming is as follows: • A medium or up-tempo swing • A ballad, and • A rock, pop, or funk chart You may also consider replacing the ballad with a slow swing chart
It is important to remember that big band music is designed to have one player per part for proper balance. If you feel the need, let the players all be involved for home concerts. However, at festivals adjudicators
educator, author, and JEN Board Member currently residing in Utah. In 2011, he was named the John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year.
JAZZed September 2012 23
2013 CONFERENCE EVENING CONCERTS JEN Announces the Spectacular Evening Concert Lineup at the 2013 Conference WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2
Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra
Freddy Cole Quartet
Emory Faculty Jazz Quintet Rufus Reid’s Quiet Pride
THURSDAY, JANUARY 3 Christian Howes Group
Bria Skonberg Ensemble
Kris Berg & The Metroplexity Big Band with Chris Vadala, Wayne Bergeron, and Clay Jenkins
Booker T. Washington HSPVA Jazz Combo I
24 JAZZed September 2012
2013 CONFERENCE EVENING CONCERTS
Berklee Global Jazz Institute with Joe Lovano
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
The U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble with Wycliffe Gordon
Central Washington University VJE
The University of Manitoba Northern Alternative Jazz Faculty Ensemble featuring Steve & Anna-Lisa Kirby & Derrick Gardner
Kobie Watkins Group with Bobby Broom
SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
University of Miami Frost Concert Jazz Band featuring NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman
Karachacha featuring Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón
University of North Texas Jazz Singers
For more information about these artists, visit JazzEdNet.org. Artists and programming subject to change.
JAZZed September 2012 25
NEWS New Conference Sponsors JEN welcomes the following sponsors of the 2013 Conference. There is still time to sponsor additional stages at the event. Visit JazzEdNet.org for more information. Berklee College of Music is sponsoring the Visions Stage.
Emory University is sponsoring the Conservatory Stage.
New Dates & Locations Announced for Future Conferences January 2–5, 2013 Hyatt Regency Atlanta, GA
January 8–11, 2014 Hyatt Regency Dallas, TX
January 7–10, 2015
Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, CA
January 6–9, 2016 Galt House Louisville, KY Jupiter, Mapex, and XO are sponsoring the LeJENds Stage.
New Member Benefit Added
January 4–7, 2017 Hyatt Regency New Orleans, LA
JEN members will be able to sell their music and merchandise commission-free at the onsite 2013 Conference JENeral store. Artists keep all their revenue and will expose their music to the thousands of attendees at the event!
Connect with Us Online Join JEN’s social media community of teachers, artists, industry professionals, and more!
facebook.com/jazzeducationnetwork facebook.com/groups/jazzeducators
youtube.com/JazzEdNet
twitter.com/JazzEdNet
LinkedIN Group: Jazz Education Network
26 JAZZed September 2012
Networking the Jazz Arts Community …
… Local to Global! ATTEND OUR
4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JAN 2–5, 2013 ATLANTA, GA DIRECTORS Z Submit your group to the
JENerations Jazz Festival. Deadline: September 30, 2012
STUDENTS Z Apply for one of our many educational, composition, and design scholarships. Deadline: September 30, 2012
VOLUNTEERS Z Apply online now (first-come, first-served). Deadline: December 15, 2012
Become a member and register for the conference today at JazzEdNet.org
basic training
TEACHING COMPOSITION
Helping Students Find Their Voice as a Composer
W
BY EZRA WEISS
hen I was a student at the Oberlin Conservatory, I had the privilege of studying composition with the now late Dr. Wendell Logan. Even though Dr. Logan was a great composer, he did not try to make me (or any of his students) into a clone of himself. Rather, he helped me find my own voice as a composer. To me, that means having a personal and recognizable compositional sound, and having the skills necessary to craft the desired composition. This guidance from Dr. Logan was one of the greatest gifts I received from any teacher, providing the foundation for my musical career. As I teach composition students today, I strive to help them find their own voices, much as Dr. Logan helped me find mine. My students generally spend their first year writing lead sheets before moving on to writing for jazz combo, then big band, and then studio orchestra and traditional chamber ensembles. This initial emphasis on lead sheets allows us to focus on melody, harmonic motion, and form. These elements provide the foundation of a composition, so they must be strong before we build an arrangement on top of them. Otherwise, we are likely to end up hiding behind big-sounding arrangements that don’t “say” anything. The lead sheets also allow us to write many different types of tunes very quickly. I suggest students attempt to write a tune every day. While actually doing this for an entire year is nearly impossible, the goal is still worthwhile. It helps us develop the habit of always thinking about writing music. It also helps us learn to write without creative inhibitions, as composing becomes not some special event requiring perfection, but rather a simple daily practice like brushing our teeth. Further, it helps us get used to throwing away the 90 percent of our music that is not good (which in turn helps us feel grateful for the 10 percent that is). Most importantly, writing a lead sheet every day allows us to experiment with writing many different types of tunes. Students often find it helpful to keep a list of ways to write tunes. While this list initially may seem creatively limiting,
28 JAZZed September 2012
basic training our most creative ideas are often born out of these limitations. Here is a sample list: Some Ways to Write Tunes:
1. Sing a melody 2. Feel a groove 3. Come up with the rhythm first, then hear the pitches 4. Based on a musical concept: polytonality, set theory, mixed meter, etc. 5. Inspired by a mood 6. Inspired by a place 7. Inspired by an emotion 8. Programmatic music 9. Use words: text-painting, lyrics 10. Traditional forms: AABA, ABAC, Blues 11. Come up with the chord changes first 12. Bass Line 13. Use a phrase from the “stream of consciousness” exercise (see below) 14. Use elements of music from a different culture 15. Write for a specific performance space (concert hall, night club, football game, Broadway show, circus, recording studio, etc.) 16. Write with someone else’s band in mind 17. Imitate someone else’s style 18. Ask yourself, “What do I want to hear?” 19. Ask yourself, “What do I want to say?” 20. Ask yourself, “What do I want to play?” As students seek inspiration for new tunes, they may also find it useful to keep a notebook filled with other lists: 1. Musical ideas: melodic phrases, rhythms, chord progressions, etc. 2. List of words to look at while composing: melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, space, range, color, timbre, structure, form, etc. 3. Listening log: include title, composer, performers, year, personal observations about the piece.
4. List of “Moving Musical Moments”: specific points in a piece of music that the student finds personally moving. These are powerful moments that strike a nerve, give chills, or cause a sudden smile. For me, an example would be “The Beatles – ‘Golden Slumbers’ (0:32) – drums enter going into the chorus.” 5. List of titles for pieces to write someday In addition to writing tunes, other daily activities can help students find their compositional voice. Taking a few minutes each day for free improvisation can help us to find new sounds for our creations. Similarly, we can also practice a “stream of consciousness” composition exercise, where we write spontaneous musical phrase after phrase for about 10 minutes, filling several pages of staff paper. This exercise both leads us to new musical ideas and helps us to hear which direction the music wants to go. Studying the works of other composers also plays an important role in a student’s development. Listening to music
will likely occupy several hours each day, probably the equivalent of time spent practicing an instrument. That said, this is not about the quantity of pieces heard. Rather, we are listening to find pieces that move us, and then to get to know those pieces as intimately as possible. (For instance, I listened to Joni Mitchell’s Travelogue every day for a year.) We will probably end up listening to a single piece multiple times, taking notes on the compositional elements: structure and form, melodic and rhythmic development, harmonic motion, counterpoint, and orchestration. Students may also choose to study musical scores and fake books (available at most music libraries). When examining music, students ideally will first make discoveries for themselves before seeking analysis by others. This initial individual thoughtfulness will help foster the student’s unique compositional voice. Of course, reading books about music is also essential to obtaining necessary compositional skills. For example, Rayburn Wright’s Inside the Score and Samuel Adler’s The Study of Orchestration make ex-
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basic training cellent reading for any composer. As we help students to find their compositional voice, certain practical tips will prove invaluable: 1. Go for walks. Get out of the practice room and walk around somewhere that inspires the music in your head. Once you hear it in your head, then you can go back to the practice room, figure out what it is, and write it down. As Wendell Logan often said, “Music is not about music.” 2. Don’t push the music around. Rather than trying to force the music to fit our preconceptions, we will find much more success in trying to hear what direction the music wants to go. 3. Take risks. You will either discover a new musical possibility, or you will learn of something to avoid in
the future. Either way, trial and error is a valid approach to composition and learning. 4. Set specific goals with deadlines. Composition requires time, and time management skills will help give you that. 5. Have lots of staff paper handy. As you throw away 90 percent of your writing, you do not want to be worrying about running out of paper. Think bulk quantities. Finally, we as teachers can directly help students find their own compositional voice by asking what they think about their music. Ideally, we want our questions to help students steer themselves towards stronger writing. This means that we must pinpoint the specific aspects of a composition that need more attention, and focus our questions on those aspects. As we
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listen to their responses, we generally want to follow up with objective questions, such as: -“What effect does this have?” -“Is that the effect you were hoping to create?” -“How could we create more tension/surprise/continuity/etc.?” We want to avoid telling the student what we personally like or dislike about their piece, as the focus for the student should not be in gaining our approval. Instead, we can talk about a student’s piece in terms of “effectiveness.” (Similarly, we want to avoid the temptation to write the student’s pieces for them, although the occasional compositional example can prove useful.) By seeking students’ thoughts, we directly help them find their compositional voice. As I look back to my time as a music student, I am filled with gratitude for the help Dr. Logan gave me in finding my voice as a composer. My voice has evolved and changed in the years since that time, but the foundation for my approach to composition was laid then. In fact, I often still hear Dr. Logan’s voice in my head, asking me questions while I compose, and reminding me that “music is not about music.” Thinking of him, I feel honored and inspired to continue this tradition, and to help my own students in the search for their voices.
Composer/pianist Ezra Weiss holds a Bachelors in Jazz Composition from the Oberlin Conservatory and a Masters in Jazz Piano from Queens Photo by Vanished College. His recordings Twin. include The Five A.M. Strut, Persephone, Get Happy, The Shirley Horn Suite, and most recently Our Path To This Moment featuring Greg Gisbert and the Rob Scheps Big Band. He has won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award three times, and currently teaches at Portland State University. www.ezraweiss.com
There is still room for your group!
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John McLaughlin
Become Who You Are By Christian Wissmuller
O
ne of the truly iconic guitarists (of any genre) in the past century, an (unintentional) pioneer of what came to be known as “fusion,” and an enduring innovator and musical ambassador, John McLaughlin is… well, John McLaughlin.
No less than Jeff Beck has described McLaughlin as “the best guitarist alive,” and throughout the course of his five-decade-spanning career John’s services have been enlisted by the likes of Miles Davis, Alexis Corner, Georgie Fame, Brian Auger, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, the Rolling Stones, Carlos Santana (you’re getting the point, right?)… McLaughlin’s own work as a solo artist and as a band leader – most notably with Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti – has continually broken and redefined stylistic boundaries, seamlessly blending Indian, Flamenco, rock, traditional jazz, funk, R&B, (and many other) influences. As his ambitious upcoming album, Now Here This (Abstract Logix, October 16, 2012) amply demonstrates, at the age of 70 the man isn’t yet content to sit on his considerable laurels. JAZZed recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. McLaughlin about his own scholarship of music, how he approaches “teaching” (though he doesn’t consider himself to be much of a formal educator), as well his thoughts on life, jazz, “fusion” and music, in general.
“Upon taking it into my arms, I fell in love with the guitar, which endures to this day.�
Ja z z S t u d i e s at Indiana
JAZZed: Let’s start with your own early years as a musician. Growing up in a musical family no doubt had significant early influence – can you discuss? John McLaughlin: Without doubt, a profound influence. My mother being an amateur violinist had the radio tuned to mainly classical music, and our recordings were primarily of the same [genre]. I would say that my earliest experience in music was due to her and her affection for Beethoven. It was on hearing the final [movement] of his 9th Symphony that I experienced what music could do to me. I must have been five or six years old. I would say that this was a determining factor in me becoming a musician. JAZZed: You initially studied violin and piano. What prompted your shift to the guitar? Was there a particular artist or individual – or more than one – who served as the primary catalyst to take up the instrument? JM: Having three elder brothers who were at university around the
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2013 AUDITION DATES
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34 JAZZed September 2012
Joey Tartell
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Pat Harbison
Brent Wallarab
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All Photos, unless otherwise indicated, by: Ina McLaughlin.
time the “Blues Boom” hit the UK, the guitar was part of their life, particularly the eldest. However, he became sidetracked by his academic studies, and the guitar began its descent through the younger [siblings] till it arrived to me. Until then, the guitar was just another instrument, but upon taking it into my arms, I fell in love with the guitar, which endures to this day. Who knows why we love a particular instrument? It’s a mystery to me. You could also say that the guitar found me!
“I would not recommend a jazz player to take the R & B influence out of jazz…”
JAZZed: Who were your teachers in your childhood years? JM: As I mentioned, I was fortunate to have a mother who was a musician, and her influence was fundamental to me. Later, when I began piano lessons, my piano teacher was definitely “old school,” [and] used to rap my fingers with a ruler when I missed the notes or fingering. But I stuck to it for about three years until the guitar arrived and I dropped playing piano immediately. From that point I didn’t have a teacher. What I did have were the Mississippi blues players on the record player thanks to my elder brothers. This music blew my young mind: Muddy Waters, Bill Broonzy, Huddy Leadbetter, Robert Johnson. It was a revelation to me, and it happened at the same time I began playing guitar. I would say that for the next few years the record player was my teacher. I should mention that at 13 years old I was exposed to Flamenco music. This was another revelation to me since, for some reason, I was less interested in classical guitar music than classical piano music, and the Flamenco guitar players have done wonders in the evolution of guitar playing.
Photo credit: Sigi Baramsky.
Study jazz in the epicenter of Seattle’s vibrant, renowned jazz scene • NEW IN FALL 2012: Masters degree in Jazz and Improvised Music Teaching Assistantships available • BM in Jazz Studies program • Myriad performance opportunities from contemporary, electronic-based, free-form jazz to small group bop and fusion to big band tradition • Acclaimed faculty with extensive professional performance and teaching credentials Faculty: Luke Bergman (Bass)
Past guest artists include:
Michael Brockman (Saxophone) Tom Collier (Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion)
JAZZed: Did you take any actual lessons at any point? JM: I was 15 when I began taking guitar lessons from a teacher, but actually he was more interested in listening to me play my imitations of Muddy Waters and Bill Broonzy than teaching me! However, he did instill in me a certain discipline which has continued
Steve Korn (Drumset) Fred Radke (Big Band) Marc Seales (Jazz Piano) Cuong Vu (Improvisation/Modern Band) Welcoming in Fall 2012 Ted Poor (Drums) : Artist in Residence
Alex Acuña, Tim Berne, Ron Carter, Regina Carter, Larry Coryell, Bill Frisell, George Garzone, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Lee Konitz, John Patitucci, Craig Taborn
For details visit www.music.washington.edu
Or contact Jenni Campbell at: SoMadmit@u.washington.edu 206.685.9872
JAZZed September 2012 35
to this day. In high school, I kind of lost interest in my academic studies, and this was accentuated by the majority of the teachers who were somewhat cynical. Fortunately, our music teacher was of the enlightened kind, and convinced me to play in front of the class with whatever formation I could round up among my fellow students. This was a great experience for me and I thank him to this day. JAZZed: Early in your professional career you collaborated with some pretty iconic figures: Korner, Georgie Fame, Auger, Davis, et cetera. Can you talk about how you managed to connect with these folks and, also, the differences between “formal” learning as opposed to gaining an education through actually playing out? JM: In those days there were no jazz schools, particularly where I lived, which was a small town in North East England, not far from the Scottish border. Fortunately, by the time I was 15, I’d found friends who were as crazy about jazz as I’d become, so we basically listened to records of the greats, and tried to imitate what they were playing.
Photo credit: Thierry Campico.
36 JAZZed September 2012
It was later on in London that I got to play with Georgie Fame, Alexis Korner, and the “London scene” which was very active in those days. Even though I wanted to be a jazz musician, the groups I played with were primarily R & B bands. This was just fine for me since on any Miles or Coltrane recording, the blues is always there. In addition, at that time I was listening to Mingus, who for me had a strong rhythm and blues aspect to his music. I would not recommend a jazz player to take the R & B influence out of jazz... JAZZed: As one of the primary architects of what came to be called “fusion,” can you discuss your motivations behind combining elements of jazz and rock and other styles? JM: I should clarify that I never ever had an intention of making or creating “fusion” jazz. My heroes were Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, and all the musicians who were around them. My goal was to get to the point where I could actually play with them – even though I never imagined that I ever would. That said, I grew up in the 1960s, and a lot of social upheaval was going on at that time, particularly in the USA. As an avid jazz fan, I became acutely aware of the racial situation in the US with the Panthers, the civil rights movement, the assassination of Martin Luther King, and many other events. In the UK, it was the time of LSD, and its implications. By the mid-’60s, I was listening to the Beatles, from the time they also became under the same influences, as well as Indian music, Flamenco music (incidentally, I would remind you that Miles had already introduced elements of Flamenco into his recordings with arranger Gil Evans in the late 1950s. Just listen to Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain). In my opinion, my music “fused” itself through my love and affection for the particular styles you’ll find in my music. There was no conscious intention on my part. When I arrived in New York in early January 1969 to play with Tony Williams and Larry Young (Khalid Yassin) to form Lifetime, most musicians were undergoing a certain evolution. Lifetime was more radical, but the fact that Miles invited me to play on In a Silent Way, and even had me determine the musical direction that particular piece took on the recording, was, and is, indicative of the mood at that time. The decade of the 1960s was in many ways revolutionary. The music coming from Coltrane, (and his true integration of the spiritual dimension of the human being into jazz), Miles, Monk, Mingus, Rollins, Evans, “Cannonball,” the group of great Hammond Organists, like Jimmie Smith, Richard Holmes, Jack McDuff. And, from the funk/pop side, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, B.B King, and the Beatles, of course. They all played a significant role in the general music scene. Already around eight months after In a Silent Way, being in the studio with Miles recording Bitches Brew is another indication of the upheaval in music that was really an upheaval in society as well, and the coming together of various influences in jazz music, mainly funk and rock.
“Improvisation in jazz is a way of liberation and even emancipation.” work for me, and the result of 18 months of videotaping arrived in the form of a 3 DVD box set (This is the Way I Do It) that shows how I see music and how I work at it.
JAZZed: What types of “formal” teaching have you done, yourself? JM: Since the mid 1970s, I’ve done occasional master classes. Basically I felt that I was not really qualified to teach. It was only from 2004 that I had the idea to formulate what I’d learned over the years into a kind of coherent system that might be useful for today’s guitarist. This was a big
JAZZed: What’s your favorite aspect of teaching? JM: That’s the strange part, I still don’t see myself as a “teacher.” However, the fact that many people have written thanking me for the box set
is, itself, very satisfying in a global sense. What I really want is for people to become who they really are. It is my conviction that to improvise, you need to know to a certain degree who you are. When we improvise, what are we saying without words? We are singing about our inner life, which is not separate from our outer life, and our relationships with the people we play with, and ultimately, our relationship with the Universe or God, if you will. Of course, this implies asking the great questions in
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life, and searching for answers, but to me, this is why we are here: To discover who we are.
and about improvising. That said, to be spontaneous in music is not that easy. First we need to learn and master as much as possible, the many aspects of music. Then we go to the stage and we need to forget everything we’ve learned, and be ourselves individually, and collectively with the other musicians. This is a pretty tall order...
JAZZed: Part two of the same question: What’s the most frustrating part of teaching? What do you like least? JM: Probably running into musicians who know a bit, but believe they know much...
JAZZed: Any words of advice or observations to pass along to our readers?
JAZZed: What challenges do you feel that “jazz” – in the broadest possible definition – presents to scholars or teachers, which other styles of music perhaps do not. JM: I mentioned that jazz integrates in the most dynamic manner, improvisation. Improvisation is the art of spontaneity, and being spontaneous is the way of being our true selves. I would say, further, that improvisation in jazz is a way of liberation and even emancipation. These are ideals,
but they are real. It took notoriously many years (for me) to realize that I know very little about almost nothing, but this is the real beginning of discovery about yourself, about playing
JM: I think we’ve covered most things, but the young musician will need to discover how much he or she loves and cares about music, and the necessity of perseverance and patience. I think it could be summed up in a sentence once told to me by Alice Coltrane, which goes: “How much are you ready to suffer for love?” I could say that this is one of the most fundamental questions of life that we all have to address sooner or later.
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guest editorial
Jazz Revolution Vs. Radio Station Slashing Jazz BY NAT HENTOFF
I
n the history of jazz, as far as I’m aware, there’s never before been a sizable jazz community in an American city waging war against a public radio station gravely slashing its jazz program. On July 2, Boston’s prestigious WGBH FM, a co-creator of a number of national NPR programs, entirely removed Steve Schwartz’s show (on the air for nearly 27 years) and cut the Dean of New England jazz radio, Eric Jackson - a major WGBH asset for more than 30 years - from 8 PM to midnight Monday through Thursday, and 9 PM to midnight, Friday through Sunday.
In a protesting editorial, the Boston Globe (“Hot Air, Not Cool Jazz”), quoted Wynton Marsalis that jazz, “is music that really deals with what it means to be American” to justify the Globe’s stinging conclusion: “WGBH diminished its soul” (June 30, 2012). What made this so shocking a decision to the jazz community in Boston and its environs is – as I documented in “Make Room for Boston in Jazz History” (JAZZed, July 2012) – the vigorously growing jazz interest throughout the city in its cultural and educational institutions. WGBH’s management axed jazz to make more space for news and public affairs programming in its competition with Boston’s WBUR FM’s abundant focus on that fare. As John Poses warned in “Crying the Blues” over cutbacks to jazz radio (the Columbia Daily Tribune, July 15, 2012): “in herd-like manner, (this move) could give license to smaller-market stations from around the country to do the same; ‘If WGBH is doing it, maybe we should, too.’” A very early sign of the reactions ahead in the ancestral home of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere was a jazz funeral held outside the Boston Studios of WGBH by jazz musician and
bandleader Ken Field. With only a week’s advance notice of the funeral he had posted on Facebook, “there was,” he told me, “a lot of press, a lot of instruments, a lot of people. Passing drivers honked their support.” Making this Boston boy, who grew up on Boston jazz many decades ago, envious I wasn’t there now, Field added that he began the funeral with “a slow dirge-like performance of ‘Just a Closer Walk With Thee,’ featuring solos by local jazz luminaries and ending, as in New Orleans, with a rousing up-tempo finale of the same piece with a little hope for [these musicians’] work continuing somewhere, somehow, into the future.” There’s a lot more than little hope for this Boston jazz rebellion to gain momentum while acting as an inspiration for jazz families in other cities where public and other radio stations will have stopped or greatly reduced swinging. Heralding a powerful force for the continuation of this rebellion, on June 20, at Wally’s Jazz Café in Boston’s South End, the national Jazz Journalists Association named “JazzBoston jazz hero,” executive director of JazzBoston, Pauline Bilski for her leadership – as
“YOU CAN’T KEEP THIS MUSIC DOWN AS LONG AS PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO HEAR IT.”
40 JAZZed September 2012
guest editorial I reported here – “in shaping JazzBoston into a unifying force and powerful advocate for greater Boston’s entire jazz scene.” I was among those who nominated her for the award. She had already scheduled an open meeting on July 31 at the prestigious Boston Public Library, already involved with JazzBoston, “to bring together” not only the city’s jazz family, but also “our national allies in the broader arts community, and potential allies outside the arts world,” as well as “potential allies in Boston’s academic, business, and city and state government sector.” What actually happened at that July 31 super jam session wasn’t just jive. A Boston Jazz Radio Master Plan came into being with the infectious thrust of a Dizzy Gillespie solo. My source for this news of that historic jazz regeneration is Richard Vacca, author of the first ever history of Boston jazz which I reviewed in my debut column for JAZZed. First, dig who was there: “The room was crowded with musicians, educators, writers, broadcasters and representatives of cultural organizations, including the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, Harvard’s Office of the Arts, The Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, the Boston Music Coalition, Boston Free Radio, and others with a stake in the health of Boston jazz.” (news.jazzjournalists.org August 2, 2012). I expect the management of WGBH was somewhat disturbed at the range of such multidimensional concern over what was “just jazz.” My sense, however, is there isn’t too much optimism that WGBH will change its mind. I’ve had extensive experience in and about the radio business, including public stations, to expect that the anticipated higher ratings for more news and public affairs programming will prevail at WGBH. But what was vital about this planning session were such longer-range goals as: “bringing live music into the schools, and sup-
porting the music teachers working there (including JAZZed readers).” There was a generational divide, with older members there wanting one or more radio stations taking the place of WGBH, while “some in the crowd spoke to the need of having music, and the jazz talks the go with it, streaming to their digital devices.” After all, even this 87-year-old reporter who still writes on a typewriter realized that, as Dick Vacca reported, most of the attendees probably heard “about the meeting in a blog post, or on Facebook, or by e-mail.” So, “if JazzBoston or anywhere else, wants to identify and mobilize supporters for events such as this, they’d best do it through social media.” No, through any and all media. If I had carrier pigeons, I’d use them, too. Vacca ended the report: “The Boston jazz community – there is no doubting there is one – has the right to be proud” of this jazz rally. “Now the work starts, and people in other cities where music programs are under fire will be watching the Hub’s progress.”
A blogger, John Carroll (“Campaign Outsider”) focused on what he called “threads in the room” during what was also a tribute to those present, Eric Jackson and Steve Schwartz: “One thread was the sheer love of jazz in the room. As one audience member said, talk radio (now increasing at WGBH) focuses the day-to-day and makes us all live inside our own heads. Music makes our life different, humanizing and connecting us.” Later, jazz musician and bandleader Ken Field observed: “I don’t see the logic in having two NPR stations here in Boston both broadcasting primarily news and talk. There’s an opportunity here for one of these stations – or another – “to take on the arts and culture part and really focus on it… The community is not served by having two stations doing the exact same thing, leaving huge gap when it comes to jazz music, which is, after all, a uniquely American art form.” Interestingly, in an indication of the intensity rife in the room, Vacca recalled that “Tom Lucci, president of the Board of Directors at WICN-FM in
JAZZed September 2012 41
guest editorial Worcester (a National Public Radio station) noted he’d bring his station signal into Boston if the FCC permitted it, and
he’d be open to finding ways to bring some programming in via some other arrangement.”
JazzStudies_QTR hrz_JazzStudies_QTR hz 2012 7/18/12 3:41 PM Page 1
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SCHOOL OF MUSIC
What struck me as I dug into this story is the contrast between the members and supporters of the continually growing and multidimensional Boston jazz community with the looming obituaries of the jazz scene, not only in Boston, that I continue to hear and see. Such regrets as: “The audience is diminishing, evidenced by the decrease of sales of jazz recordings.” (Check Amazon and other websites for contrary results). Also, complaints that, “there are fewer and fewer of the young interested in jazz.” How, then, do we account for the large and rising numbers of high school, college, and university jazz courses and bands and such numerous student ensembles are across the nation competing in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual Essentially Ellington contest and the similarly enthusiastic national student involvement in the Charles Mingus jazz rivalry sponsored by the Manhattan School of Music? As Sidney Bechet told me many years ago, “You can’t keep this music down as long as people are able to hear it.” Certainly WGBH unintentionally is proving just that. Through the years, wherever I was invited to talk about jazz and bring some recordings into schools – including elementary schools – the kids, though the music was new to most of them, got excited. Some got up to dance. In one 2nd grade New York classroom, so did the teacher. I‘ll be very interested in hearing about the reactions of jazz communities in other cities to how their sisters and brothers in Boston are refusing to allow jazz just fade away from the air there.
Nat Hentoff is one of the foremost authorities on jazz culture and history. He joined Down Beat magazine as a columnist in 1952 and served as that publication’s associate editor from 1953-57. Hentoff was a columnist and staff writer with The Village Voice for 51 years, from 1957 until 2008, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, Jazz Times, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, among many other outlets.
crossword 1
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Across 1. Slow tune 4. Bose equipment 9. Jazz player’s instrument 10. Creator of Time of the Sun (2 words) 13. Slow tempo 15. It was blue in a John Coltrane album 16. “....___ Blackbird” 17. Ultimate 18. “What I ___” by Miles Davis 20. Short composition 21. “Tea for ___” by Ella Fitzgerald 22. Character of a chord given by its third, fifth or seventh 26. Hearing distance 30. Roman 51 32. Old music box 33. Jazz standard written by Earl Brent and Matt Dennis (2 words) 34. Jazz Count 36. Live at The It Club performer, first name 39. Jazz band of three 40. Michigan lake
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41. Roy Eldridge’s nickname (2 words) 42. Grief
Down 1. “Massive Transit” jazz top 20 number, by Cindy ____ 2. The Sidewinder performer, first name 3. _____ Branker & Word Play’s Dialogic 5. Produce a melody (3 words) 6. Adapt musically 7. Snakelike fish 8. For that reason 11. Bright Size Life creator 12. “Botswana Bossa Nova” player 14. Discouraging words 16. Sessions from Miles Davis (2 words) 19. ___ that jazz! 22. Based on fourths 23. Larger by a semitone than the corresponding major or perfect interval, ______ed 24. “___ Remember April” jazz standard 25. Link (2 words)
27. Afro-Jazz, for short 28. The name for a Rolling Stones Tuesday 29. Calypso alternative 31. ____/Signora by Acker Bilk 35. Arouse 37. Painter’s medium 38. “___ who?” 39. Musical scale note
For the For the solution to solution to this issue's this issue's crossword, crossword, visit: visit:
www.jazzedmagazine.com www.jazzedmagazine.com JAZZed September 2012 43
sound advice
JAZZ VOCALS
Sound Advice for the Jazz Vocalist: An Interview with Kim Nazarian of New York Voices BY JENNIFER SCOTT MICELI, PH.D. JAZZed: Kim, you have an extensive background as a vocal soloist, voice teacher, and as the soprano with New York Voices, the internationally acclaimed vocal jazz quartet. In your experience, what are the basics of healthy singing? Kim Nazarian: I believe healthy singing is based on the sound being connected to the body and supported by the breath. That is the mantra that I have adopted in our work with the young singers of the Pittsburg Children’s Choir and the participants at the Bowling Green State University New York Voices Vocal Jazz Camp. JAZZed: Please share your exercises for developing a core sound. KN: First, we need to allow the larynx to relax to its lowest position, and then we can build the head voice on a straight tone through the use of “hoot” exercises. Put your hand on your
Adam’s apple or larynx. When you inhale, it should relax down. Now, yawn and feel it go to its lowest position. The back of the tongue and the soft palate will separate, creating space. Keeping the larynx in the low yawn position, take a breath through the yawn and exhale on a vertical, spoken “AH” vowel. Allow the vocal cords to massage each other as you reference the vocal fry register, which is the lowest register in the voice. It sounds like a rattle. When we reference the vocal fry, it is evident that our larynx is in its lowest position, creating the most space for sound. When the larynx is high, we hear the breaks between vocal registers rather than one continuous sound, top to bottom and bottom to top. We want to smooth over the registration and create a seamless sound by pulling the head voice down on the “OO” vowel. We are working to build a sound that moves through an unobstructed column. To create the hoot, form the “OO” vowel and make the sound associated with blowing air across the opening of a bottle. The “OO” vowel is the healthiest vowel, the most closed vowel sound, and the easiest vowel upon which to make a vertical sound. Imagine now that the “OO” shape you are forming with your lips extends through the back of your head creating the “OO” tube. The resultant sound is similar to the horn of a big ship coming into dock.
“SINGERS NEED TO LEARN TO LISTEN WHILE THEY SING.”
44 JAZZed September 2012
sound advice
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JAZZed: When is it important for you to use straight tone when you perform with the New York Voices? KN: When the arrangement calls for me to sing a dissonant chord voicing such as a major or minor second, seventh, or ninth, it is imperative that I sing with a straight tone in order for the chord to tune and ring. The use of straight tone also allows us the opportunity to explore harmonic overtones. Unless there is a written shake, I also need to sing with a straight tone when I am emulating a first trumpet sound, which is a common role for the soprano in a vocal jazz ensemble. JAZZed: What is the best way for a singer in a vocal jazz ensemble to sing in a vocally healthy manner when using a microphone? KN: The idea is for the singer to sing with the same healthy vocal technique whether they are singing acoustically or with amplification. Here are
three tips to remember: 1) When a singer is performing on microphone, they need to hold the microphone two inches away from the mouth in order to get the full color of the voice and properly utilize the diaphragm of the microphone. If the microphone is too far away, the tone gets thin, and if it is too close, the sound gets muddled. Both of these situations cause the singer to manipulate their vocal technique in an unhealthy manner; 2) The singer or director needs to make sure that the monitors are not too loud, which causes the singer to back off from the microphone and sing without engaging the whole body; and 3) The singer or director needs to make sure the rhythm section is not playing too loudly causing the singer(s) to over sing.
JAZZed September 2012 45
sound advice JAZZed: Sometimes we see singers pull the microphone away from their mouth when they sing a high note. Is this a good idea? KN: Singers need to learn to control dynamics in all parts of their range. In other words, we should not have to sing loudly simply because we are singing in a higher range. In some recording instances, however, it may be necessary to back away from the microphone so as not to distort or over load the recorded sound. JAZZed: What are your favorite techniques for achieving a beautiful blend and appropriate tone colors in a vocal jazz ensemble? KN: First off, singers need to learn
to listen while they sing. I recommend breaking down the larger ensemble into quartet and sectional rehearsals so that vocal colors may be identified. After the quartet and sectional rehearsals, the full group should come together with a new appreciation for careful listening and blending. Once the singers are achieving a blend through careful listening and adjusting, it is a good time to add the sound system, and finally, the rhythm section. This layered approach to rehearsing is an effective process. The result will be a genderless sound and the group will eventually identify its own unique vocal quality. Tone color should change according to the style of music the group is performing. If the group is performing a blues or gospel chart, the tone has more edge and more vibrato. If the
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group is performing a Latin chart, the tone should be straighter and lighter. Another important consideration is the imitation of instruments. Vocal jazz charts are often arranged like a big band chart such that the vocal parts are intended to portray the saxophone section, trombone section, trumpet section, or individual rhythm section members. In these instances it is important for singers to know which individual rhythm section instrument or horn section they are trying to emulate, and how to go about reproducing that particular color with their voices. JAZZed: What are your steps for learning and memorizing a new song? KN: First I decide whether or not I like the song and/or arrangement. I won’t be motivated to learn it if I don’t like it. Next, I read the text and learn how the text fits with the rhythms. For example, in a swing arrangement, if it is good lyric writing, the lyric will swing with the rhythmic setting. It is also important at this stage to make connections to the instrumental function of the rhythmic text setting of the part. In other words, I determine whether my part is simulating a piano comp figure, a drum kit figure, a bass figure, a trumpet figure, and so on. Next, I learn the pitches and also mark my chart according to voicings. I determine where, for example, I am singing a minor second with alto, Lauren Kinhan; a seventh with tenor, Darmon Meader; or an octave with bass, Peter Eldridge. I also teach this way. I tell my students at Bowling Green State University to “learn the chart, not just your part!” You want to sing your part like a melody without losing sight of your harmonic relationship with the other parts. Learning the written instrumental bass part is important as well because it provides an understanding of the chord changes, which the singer must anticipate in rehearsal and in performance.
sound advice The harmony can be a surprise for the audience, but should never be a surprise for the singers in the ensemble. JAZZed: How do you feel about part learning tracks for singers? KN: Ensemble singers are different from instrumentalists in that we memorize all the music we perform. The New York Voices work with part learning tracks, which have the rhythm section parts recorded with each member’s part, as well as without. This gives us an opportunity to memorize our part with harmonic support, away from the piano. It would be very difficult to memorize and bring to performance level a 90-minute program of new music without the benefit of part learning tracks. Part learning tracks make learning more efficient. Then you must continue to bring the music to life as you create the musical environment with your live band. JAZZed: With regard to vocal health, please share the personal practices you have adopted in the thirty years you have been singing jazz. KN: I eat papaya and take papaya tablets to avoid acid reflux, and I’m Armenian so I drink plain yogurt with water–a drink called “tahn.” I treat my instrument with care. When I am on the road I avoid alcohol, stay out of air conditioning and smoky rooms, and prevent over singing by keeping the band volume, monitor, and stage volume to a minimum. For more information on vocal health, readers are invited to visit Kim Nazarian at http://www.myspace.com/kimnazarian.
Jennifer Scott Miceli, Ph.D. is director of Music Education and Vocal Jazz at Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus.
EASTMAN JAZZ and CONTEMPORARY MEDIA FACULTY Jeff Campbell, department chair, double bass Harold Danko, piano Bill Dobbins, composition/arranging Clay Jenkins, trumpet Mark Kellogg, trombone Charles Pillow, saxophone Dave Rivello, ensembles Bob Sneider, guitar Dariusz Terefenko, theory Rich Thompson, drumset
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JAZZed September 2012 47 12Eastman_JazzEd.indd 1
8/6/12 8:36 AM
focus session
G U I TA R T R A N S C R I P T I O N
Jimmy Raney’s Solo on ‘Double Image’ BY SCOTT MERCER
“D
ouble Image,” which was recorded in 1954 and released on the Jimmy Raney A album features the very familiar changes from the standard, “There Will Never Be Another You.” From the opening passage played over the break, Raney clearly demonstrates his stunning technical and musical mastery. The solo has a nice balance of inside and outside sounds that gracefully weave their way through the changes, and the inclusion of varied phrasing and effective use of rests provides a great deal of interest and really propels the solo. Diatonic material manifests itself in the form of scalar and arpeggiated passages, and the use of superimposed triads and other well-placed chromaticism create a nice sense of tension and release. Raney had a knack for mixing simple motivic development with complex and almost dangerous lines into one well-crafted solo. The solo break opens with an AbM7 arpeggio and immediately moves into a whole-tone pattern suitable for a II augmented dominant (V7+/V) that Raney moves down by a half step which establishes the sound of the V+ chord. The first time I heard this brief statement, I was hooked. Simplicity defines the material that is heard in the first four bars of the form, with its short ideas and space concluding with the tasteful B natural to identify the G7 chord. Raney elects to not address the Cm7 in the fifth bar of the form, instead superimposing a B minor scale passage in bar six that serves as a nice chromatic link to the B♭mM7 arpeggio in bar seven. Over the E♭7 in measure eight, Raney uses chromaticism in an
48 JAZZed September 2012
focus session Double Image Guitar Solo by Jimmy Raney
b & b b 44 Ó
Gtr
Transcribed by Scott Mercer
œ œ bœ nœ œ nœ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Œ
œœœ 3
1
&
bbb
b &bb
Eb
œ
Œ
Eb
D m7( 5) œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ J ‰ œJ œ
b
Œ
Ó
B b m7
C m7
Œ nœ #œ œ nœ #œ œ œ bœ œ nœ Ó
5
! Ab
œ bb b œ œ ‰ œ n œ œ œ ‰ œJ n œ Ó & F7
F7
Eb
(") bb ˙ . b & bb œ . b & Cm
21
Ab
b &bb œ
25
E b7
œ œ #œ œ ‰ nœ bœ nœ
B b7
F m7
" œ œ œ œ ‰ #œ nœ œ œ nœ œ nœ
13
D m7( b 5)
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
17
œ œ J
Œ
! A b m7
bœ ˙ œ œ œ œ bœ bœ œ
enclosure figure resolving to the 3rd of the chord followed by the ♭9 and bebop ♭7-7 figure targeting the chord root. Bars nine through 12 feature arpeggiated and scalar passages with chromatic passing tones. The B natural #7 used over the Cm chord in bar 12 anticipates a series of chromatically ascending major triad arpeggios (G, Ab, and A), which creates tension that builds throughout the phrase and concludes on the 9 of the I chord. In Bars 19 and 20, Raney introduces a simple idea that launches a longer phrase in mm. 2324, which adheres to the tonal center of
Œ
G7
!
B b m7
B m7
Ó
C m7 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ ‰
3
3
‰ œJ œ œ n œ
Eb
b
A m7 bb b œ b œ œ œ œ œ n œ b œ œ œ b œ Œ Ó &
9
G7
Œ
œ œ. ‰ J
œ J
b
œ b œ œ œ ‰ œ Eœ7 œ œ œ œ ‰ œ bœ œ œ Œ
Eb
œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
Ab major. When the A♭ (IV) chord arrives in m. 25 the Raney very quickly switches tonality from A♭ major to A♭ minor in anticipation of the minor iv chord in the following bar. Finally, Raney’s good use of space and interesting phrasing of diatonic material brings us to the end on the first chorus. The I chord in m. 33 gets a Lydian treatment through the use of arpeggiated F major and G minor triads, and Raney again uses a raised 4 in the form of an F# over the C minor chord in bars 37-38 and A natural over the E♭7 in m. 40. Bars 39-
œ œ
40 provides a clear example of the use of chromatic passing and neighbor tones. Over the IV-♭VII-I progression in mm. 41-44, the arpeggios A♭ major, A♭ minor, and Gm7 do a nice job of outlining guide tones, and the line C–C♭-B♭ creates a cleverly imbedded melodic step progression of chord tones. Bars 45-48 give us a very brief glimpse of the Lydian concept with the B natural over the F7, and the chromatic passing tone that leads to the third of the B♭7 chord is another common use of the language. For three measures beginning in m. 49, Raney creates a very JAZZed September 2012 49
focus session “STUDYING THE WORK FOR ANALYTICAL PURPOSES IS A VALUABLE LEARNING TOOL, BUT WHEN YOU PICK UP THE INSTRUMENT, JUST MAKE MUSIC.” F7
b &bb œ
29
B b7
œ œ Ó
Eb
Ó
!
Œ
Eb Eœb œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ Œ b œ nœ œ œ &bb
b œ œ #˙ &bb
#œ œ œ Œ
œ
C m7
Ab
D b7
D m7( b 5)
Ó
b œ b œ Eœ7 œ œ œ œ b œ n œ #œ
œ
Ó
œ œ œ œ
G7
!
B b m7
Eb
" b œ ‰ œ j œ œ œ bœ b œ œ œ œ bœ œœ œ Œ & b œ
‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ
41
3
œ œ ‰ œ
œ œ œ œ Œ
33
37
B b7
F m7
3
B b7
3
œ nœ œ œ œ 45 œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ b nœ Œ Œ œ #œ œ œ œ Œ Œ ‰ œ b & b J F7
C7
Eb
C m7
b œ &bb
53
Œ
œ
Œ
Ab
b œ œ œ Œ &bb
57
Eb
œ œ
b œ &bb œ ˙
49
F7
b &bb œ œ œ œ
61
œ J œ.
˙
ΠD b7
Œ
˙
œ
50 JAZZed September 2012
œ B b m7
bœ
Œ
œ
G7
nœ œ Ó
ΠE b7
Œ
Œ
œ ‰ Jœ
œ bœ
bœ œ bœ bœ œ bœ
œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ J C m7
Double Image p.2
œ œ œ Ó
œ
D m7( b 5)
Eb
B b7
Eb
b &bb œ
F m7
Œ
Eb
Bb
F m7
œ bœ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ
Ó
Œ
Œ
nice 3 against 4 feel using a simple motive which also outlines a melodic step progression from E♭ up to the A♭ in bar 51. The chromatic passing tone Fb at the end of bar 52 leads to a beautiful idea the repeats the respective 3rds of the chords for three measures using the simplest of rhythms. The six note figure used over the E♭7 chord in m. 56 includes a ♭13, #9 and ♭9 and the E♭ quarter notes in m. 57 are a nice nod to the one note motive that began the 5 measure phrase. In m. 58, Raney again finds the C♭ that so clearly defines the sound of the harmony, and in the following measure, he revisits the chromatic passing tone up to the 3rd of the I chord. Measure 61 has a simple, diatonic passage that seems to imply that the solo is winding down. After a final descending passage in m. 64, which includes chromatic passing tones and a ♭9 over the B♭7, Raney comes to rest on the 5 of the I chord. While the note choices in this example are excellent, some of the larger scale ideas are also of great interest. It is most important to recognize that the solo is still greater that the sum of its parts. It is music! When the great artists play something like this, it is instinctive. Studying the work for analytical purposes is a valuable learning tool, but when you pick up the instrument, just make music.
Scott Mercer is an associate professor of Music in his 23rd year at Vincennes University, where he teaches Music Theory/Skills, Music Technology, and Audio Recording. Mercer holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Indiana University and a B.S. in Music: Concentration in Merchandising from Indiana State University. Since 1984, Mercer has performed as a guitarist professionally and semi-professionally in the Midwest. He has performed as a guitarist with jazz greats J.J. Johnson and Frank Vignola, and comedian, Rich Little. Currently, he performs jazz and popular styles with the Two Tone Express and the Steve Greenwell trio, both based in the southern Indiana area.
survey
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY JAZZ EDUCATION
Jazz Education at the Highest Levels
J
AZZed recently polled over 150 instructors and faculty members at university and college jazz programs from around the country to find out about current trends, challenges, and methods. The results are, for the most part (and quite literally), all over the place. While there are certain areas which seem to yield similar replies from all participants (most feel that enrollment in jazz courses is up or, at worst, level, when compared to previous years), other questions got responses from some educators that were fundamentally contrary to those supplied by others. “Students are better prepared than they have ever been, especially guitarists,” enthused Keven Johansen of University of Utah in Salt Lake City. However, Peter L. Cho of Delgado Community College in New Orleans declared that, “[the] level of musicianship of incoming students has declined drastically in the last 10 years.” Well, that clears things up... There may be few absolute “truths” to be gleaned from these survey results, but read on for a brief overview of the current climate of jazz education at the highest levels…
Compared to previous years, enrollment in jazz-specific courses is…
Level 36%
Up 47%
Down 17%
“The administration is pouring money into government funded programs that will result in jobs. Traditional music is not one of them. [This] city and county lead the nation in unemployment. Enrollment is down 15 percent across the college.” Charles Iwanusa CS Mott Community College Flint, Mich. “Last year the Music Department changed some of the theory courses to be jazz-specific, added small combos which are credit/non, created a path for a jazz minor (working towards getting the jazz major), and added more jazz instrumental instructors.” Paula Zeitlin Wellesley College Wellesley, Mass. JAZZed September 2012 51
survey “We are in the process of initiating a jazz guitar specialization in our school of music. Currently we offer jazz classes as an elective and included in our primary instrument requirements.” Vince Lewis Liberty University Lynchburg, Va.
“Advertisements, participation at jazz festivals, workshops and clinics by faculty members, and scholarships.” Keven Johansen University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah Are there any student-organized/student-run jazz ensembles at your school?
How do you/how does your program approach recruitment?
“Talking with students who are interested in jazz. The reputation of our program within our state generates a good number of interested students to recruit.” Barry McGinnis Newberry College Newberry, S.C.
No 46%
“We recruit through several means. Among them, Office of Admissions plays a large part. They use print ads, attend conferences, et cetera. Our performances and recordings [also play a large part]. So does ‘word of mouth.’ Many additional factors are involved here.” Chris Rosenberg Manhattan School of Music New York, N.Y. “We hold a jazz festival each year, and we perform in various high schools. I personally take a combo to do performances each year. I also clinic quite a bit throughout the year at a number of high schools.” Dr. Craig Treinen Washburn University Topeka, Kan.
“MANY STUDENTS ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN HYBRIDS OF MUSIC: JAZZ AND R & B; JAZZ AND GOSPEL; JAZZ AND POP ET CETERA...” “We host a festival, we visit schools with student and faculty ensembles, visit schools to give clinics, release recordings, use our website, send out posters and flyers – you name it!” Greg Yasinitsky Washington State University Pullman, Wash. “We have a full staff that is centralized, focusing on recruitment for all of the arts. They travel, as do faculty and administration, representing the school in various settings. The school has cut down on costly print ads because of increasingly tight budgets. They continue to pursue other electronic ad possibilities and employ an external branding and messaging company.” Richard Lawn University of the Arts Philadelphia, Pa. 52 JAZZed July 2012
Yes 54%
“Several jazz small groups organized by students plus a weekly student-run jazz jam session in the student union. Our new ‘Jazz Workshop Ensemble’ will serve as an outlet for music education majors seeking conducting and pedagogical experience.” Fred Sturm Lawrence University Conservatory of Music Appleton, Wis. “There are some student organized groups, but they are not specifically jazz groups. They will usually combine jazz with rock songs in their programs.” Barry McGinnis Newberry College Newberry, S.C. What initiatives have you taken – or do you plan to take – to generate increased interest in jazz at your college or university?
“Guest Artists performing with ensembles, and doing clinics, etc. Off campus concerts. Tours.” Aaron Lington San Jose State University San Jose, Calif. “None now. All funding has been cut.” Charles Iwanusa CS Mott Community College Flint, Mich.
survey “[I] toured last year to Memphis, Chicago, and St. Louis with the Jazz Band. The Brian Blade Fellowship Band will be the guests for the 2013 Loyola University Jazz Ensemble Festival. The Student Jazz Club gets SGA funding to bring in guest artists. JEN application.” John Mahoney Loyola University New Orleans, La. “Primarily by performing concerts at local schools. We also do a big jazz festival in the spring, inviting bands to campus for a day of clinics and an evening concert.” Dean Sorenson University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. “Not much, so far, but something that should be considered…” Albert Alva Chapman Universty Orange, Calif. The number of jazz-specific faculty at your school is…
Growing 11% Declining 17%
“Prospective students and parents are ‘shopping’ even more than they used to.” Chris Bruya Central Washington University Ellensburg, Wash. “Many students are interested in technology. They want to produce. Many students are also interested in hybrids of music: jazz and R & B; jazz and gospel; jazz and pop et cetera...” Connaitre Miller Howard University Washington, D.C. “Many more types of ensembles including pop, rock, world, roots music, et cetera – not just traditional jazz ensembles. More opportunity for collaboration.” Paula Zeitlin Wellesley College Wellesley, Mass. “There is little or no support from our department heads for growth within the jazz portion of our music department, but as more students enter in, there has been talk of adding a jazz concentration to our degrees to satisfy the desires of students.” Stacey Houghton Clayton State University Morrow, Ga. “[The] level of musicianship of incoming students has declined drastically in the last 10 years.” Peter L. Cho Delgado Community College New Orleans, La. “Poorer quality players coming to us. [There is a] smaller field of music students period.” Joseph Ott Augustana College Rock Island, Ill.
Level 72%
What other trends have you noticed lately with respect to jazz studies at the college level?
“Students are better prepared than they have ever been, especially guitarists.” Keven Johansen University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah
“It seems more difficult to recruit students to major in music. Not just jazz, but any music-related degree.” Aaron Lington San Jose State University San Jose, Calif.
JAZZed July 2012 53
jazzforum
www.aajc.us
Celebrating Abbey Lincoln AAJC Executive Director, Dr. Larry Ridley; AAJC President, Bill Myers Reprinted by permission of Ms. Jo Ann Cheatham, publisher/editor in chief of PURE JAZZ Magazine, Spring 2011 Issue. Written by award-winning journalist, Mr. Playthell Benjamin. From the first time I ever heard of Abbey Lincoln, she was associated with the struggle for the freedom and dignity of black folks. Since I was a boy, I had been a fanatic for her husband Max Roach’s drumming. Growing up in a community where mastering a musical instrument was considered a heroic deed, and playing the drums was a manifestation of manly prowess only slightly less masculine than playing football - which was a civic religion in Florida - Max Roach was both a manly role model and artistic icon, a God-like presence with mythical powers. When Max married Abbey, she instantly became something of a Goddess in my mind. And since I had already rejected the God people “Abbey was committed to higher goals, around me worshipped, I was free to pick and like the liberation and elevation of her choose my own Gods. So oppressed people.” why not them? I had never heard of Abbey before she married Max, but they quickly became the “first couple” of the Black Arts Movement. Teasing brown and strikingly beautiful, she was well spoken, a talented singer and actress, who carried herself like an African warrior Queen prepared to do battle in defense of her own freedom and dignity, and by word and deed that of her people. Although her fame would have been restricted by white racism - a white girl with her attributes would have blown up as big as ice cream - she still could have found commercial success. But Abbey was committed to higher goals, like the liberation and elevation of her oppressed people; once you experience that “freedom high” nothing can compare with it. Many years later Abbey was still unrepentant about her decision. In a 1992 Essence Magazine interview she told Jill Nelson, “People make you over, they give you other songs to sing, you wear the clothes they choose, they find you a personality they think will sell. It’s all about prostitution, when you come down to it.” Abbey was one of the first black female stars, following the great folk singer and freedom fighter Odetta, to wear her hair “au natural.” Unlike Odetta however, Abbey had the look that could have made her a famous glamour girl a la Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge. It is enough to see her in that red dress in the 1956 movie, “The Girl Can’t Help It” starring Jane Mansfield, to know that this is no exaggeration. This dress had been previously worn by Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, but I prefer Abbey, honey brown and gorgeous with more curves than a country road in the hills of Jamaica. However, unlike Lena and Dorothy, who allowed their images and career paths to be molded by white producers and public relations experts, Abbey chose a different role for herself and rejected the superficiality of pop fame in favor of becoming a serious artist in the complex African American art music called Jazz. This was a risky business compared to the instant stardom and the spoils that come with it, if one achieves success in pop music or the movies. When Abbey joined Max and the Braithwaite brothers, Kwame and Elombe, in creat-
54 JAZZed September 2012
ing the “African Jazz Art Society” in Harlem during 1958, it was the beginning of the “Black Arts Movement”. She caught the zeitgeist and moved with the spirit of the times. The result was one of the most interesting collaborations in Twentieth Century American Music. the apotheosis of that collaboration was the “Freedom Now Suite,” which was recorded as “We Insist: Freedom Now!” in 1960. It was a prophetic work of art that presaged the militant struggles that would mark the decade and scared a lot of the white cultural critics to death. With music by Max Roach, who had a degree in composition from the Manhattan School of Music, and lyrics by the great Chicago song poet and musical dramatist Oscar Brown Jr., the album was electrifying. Listening to it now, I hear echoes of the era, a sound portrait of one of the most dynamic periods in American history. It is no exaggeration to say that the events of the 1960s reshaped the way millions of Americans view their country. Everything from the way we treat the environment to gender relations, and even the definition of gender itself, were called into question as a result of the African American assault on the racial caste system and the cultural redefinition inspired by that movement. The Freedom Now Suite gave artistic expression to that ferment. On compositions like “Driva Man”, “Tears for Johannesburg” and “Triptych: Prayer / Protest / Peace”, the power of Abbey’s soulful contralto voice gives life to Max’s music, and power to Oscar’s poignant lyrics. The dramatic timbres and dark indigo colors of her voice embody all the pathos of the experience the compositions describe in words and music. Given her talents as an actress Abbey was the ideal artist for this project, which often required her to assume the dramatis personae suggested by the lyrics she sang. “Triptych”, which is just Max on drums and Abbey’s vocalese, is blood curdling; no one can listen to it and not be moved.
jazzforum The testimony of the New Orleans writer and college teacher Kalamu ya Salaam’s description of his response upon first hearing it when Max and Abbey came to New Orleans and performed at Dillard University - a black school - mirrors what many of us felt: “I just stood next to the stage, holding my camera in my hand but not raising it to shoot. I was mesmerized. Abbey Lincoln was riveting. I was stunned. I literally just stood there. I’m sure my mouth was hanging agape.” He goes on to explain, “Abbey and Max made me believe in time travel, believe in the power of a secular Holy Ghost, a terrible Shiva-force that destroyed you to renew you. I was afraid for her – and for myself also. It seemed as though she might hurt herself. It seemed as if I should do something helpful and not just be a stationary stump while she was going through this. This was not just jazz. This was a religious experience. A new way to live.” Max and Abbey split up after a decade of marriage and an even longer period of collaboration. Max never worked with a singer on a regular basis again and Abbey went her own way, but she has been clear about the role Max played in the artistic path she took. In a 1970 interview with Gallery 41, Abbey recalled, “I was in New York, miserable because I was working supper clubs but I wasn’t expressing myself. I was really unhappy with my life. I saw Max again and he told me I didn’t have to do things like that. He made me an honest woman on the stage. I have been performing in that tradition since. I feel that I’m a serious performer now, whereas then, I wanted to be but, I didn’t know how.” Abbey would appear in two memorable movies: “Nothing But A Man” with Ivan Dixon and “For the Love Of Ivy” with Sidney Poitier. Although these films did not lead to a rash of roles for Abbey – which is par for the course where black actresses are concerned, these performances do display her versatility as an actress. In the former film, she is a proper daughter of the middle class, and in the latter she is a working class woman, and is quite convincing in both roles. She also became an essayist and a powerful lyricist. Born in Chicago in 1930, during the Great Depression, Abbey Lincoln, whose
given name at birth was Anna Marie Wooldridge, was raised in rural Michigan as the tenth of twelve children. She was a woman who reinvented herself several times before she finally became Aminata Moseka. In an interview with Lara Pellegrinelli, she explained her fantastic journey from Anna Marie to Aminata. “I’m Aminata Moseka. I got a bunch of names. Anna Marie Wooldridge was the name I was born with. Then I took Gaby because the people at the Moulin Rouge in Los Angeles wanted me to have a French name. They didn’t know I already had one. I didn’t either. Anna Marie is as French as it gets, and Wooldridge is English. They gave me Gaby and kept Wooldridge so I had a German and an English name. It’s America! [laughs] And then Bob Russell named me Abbey Lincoln, because we used to sit and talk about life. He understood how I felt about my people because he felt the same way about his. He said to me, “Well, since Abraham Lincoln didn’t free the slaves, maybe you could handle it.” He named me Abbey Lincoln and I laughed, but that’s the name that I took. Abbey for Westminster Abbey he told me, and Lincoln for Abraham Lincoln. He was aware of himself and of his people – so-
cially aware. He’s the first socially aware person that I met, Bob Russell. Roach is socially aware. Duke Ellington, all of the great ones”. It goes without saying that she too is one of the great ones. The marvelous saga of her life is evidence of it. It is not often that we witness a performer walk away from the glamorous life of fame and fortune to stand on principle and devote her life to the service of others out of sheer love for her people. Aminata Moseka was a great lady and cultural warrior who used her art as a weapon for the oppressed. The last two times I saw her perform was at the funeral of Betty Carter, where she gave a soul stirring rendition of “Land of the Midnight Sun.” She healed the spirits of the refugees from the destruction of Katrina in the great celebration/fundraiser for the Crescent City at Jazz@Lincoln Center. I shall always remember her voice as a healing vibration - a salve for wounded spirits. There are not nearly enough of such generous people in this world. If there were, the world would be a better place. We shall miss her, for we shall not soon find her equal...if ever. Aminata Moseka - A Cultural Warrior to the End!!!
JAZZed September 2012 55
HotWax September 4
Greg Lewis – Organ Monk: Uwo in
New & Notable Music Releases All dates are subject to change
Brandi Disterheft – Second Side (Justin Time)
the Black (Lewis)
October 2 Sebastian Sternal – Sternal Symphonic Society (Traumton) Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola – Not Getting Behind is the New
Chick Corea & Gary Burton – Hot
House (Concord)
Getting Ahead (Charlie Hunter)
Tangolando – Tangolando (Lilihouse)
October 9 Nils Wogram – Complete Soul Septet (1-2-3-4 Go) Jeremie Ternoy Trio – Bill (Circum
September 18 Urban Renewal Project – Go Big or
Ezra Weiss – Our Path to this Moment (Roark)
RJ & The Assignment – Deceiving
Eyes (RJ)
Disc)
Zodiac Trio – Acid (Traumton) Toulouse Engelhardt – Martian
Go Home (URP)
Lust (Lost Grove)
Joe Fiedler – Big Sackbut (Yellow
Carol Vanwelden – Sings Shake-
Sound)
Dan Block – Duality (Miles High)
Jaume Vilaseca & Ravi Chary –
speare Sonnets (Jazz ‘n’ Arts)
October 16 Polarity – King of Hearts (Tapestry)
Coming Home (Discmedi)
September 11 Michael Feinberg – The Elvin Jones Project (Sunnyside)
Pepper Adams – Joy Road (Motema) Anat Cohen – Claroscuro (Anzic) Christ Bates’ Red 5 – New Hope
(Technecore)
KLANG – Brooklyn Lines . . . Chicago Spaces (Allos Documents)
Graham Dechter – Takin’ It There
Paulette Dozier – In Walked You (PF&E)
Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo – Ancestors (TUM) Bobby Hutcherson – Somewhere in
(Capri)
the Night (Kind of Blue)
September 25
Hermine Deurloo – Glass Fish (Challenge)
Kurt Elling – 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project (Concord)
Medeski Martin & Wood – Free
Magic (Indirecto)
Jerome Covington – Shadows of the
Fall (Covington)
Studintzky – KY Do Mar (Sonar Kollektiv)
Elizabeth Shepherd – Rewind
Neil Cowley Trio – Face of Mount Molehill (Naim)
56 JAZZed Septmeber 2012
(Linus)
Diana Krall – Glad Rag Doll (Verve)
If you have information on an upcoming album or music DVD release which you’d like to have included in the next issue of JAZZed, please e-mail associate editor Matt Parish at: mparish@symphonypublishing.com
Gearcheck The Forgotten Chords from Advance Music
This book from German composer Peter Herborn delves into obscure chord constructions from harmonic minor and harmonic major, addressed to advanced musicians with a strong theoretical foundation. The book engages in a close examination of those scales and chords that precede “forgotten chords” – the church modes and the melodic minor system. It’s a valuable resource for anyone interested in exploring the idea of jazz harmonic theory. As grounds for further theoretical discussion, the book also includes printed versions of nine compositions from Peter Herbon’s Music for Question Quartet. www.kendormusic.com
The Last Balladeer: the Johnny Hartman Story from Scarecrow Press This biography by Gregg Akkerman examines the life of baritone singer Johnny Hartman from his origins with Earl Hines and Dizzy Gillespie to his time as a featured soloist in prestigious supper clubs throughout the world. Through exclusive interviews with Hartman’s family and fellow musicians (including Tony Bennett, Billy Taylor, Kurt Elling and others), Akkerman expertly recollects the Hartman character as a gentleman, romantic, family man, and constant contributor to the jazz scene. For many, Hartman was the “last balladeer” as his kind. This is the first full-length biography and discography to chronicle his life. www.rowman.com
Denis Wick American Classic Trumpet Mouthpiece
The American Classic series is based on some of the most well known American style mouthpieces but modified to perform to the standards that all Denis Wick products achieve. Available models are the 1.25C, 1.5C, 1.5CH, 3C, 5C, and 7C. The numbering system was designed to correspond with the standard American mouthpiece sizing established by Bach. Wick’s improved design includes a more comfortable rim and a unique throat and backbore design for each mouthpiece. The American Classic mouthpieces undergo an extended CNC machining process, resulting in less polishing and metal removal after the initial cut. This refined process provides a very accurate and consistent mouthpiece that has a beautiful finish and is extremely comfortable to play. ww.deniswickusca.com
JAZZed September 2012 57
Gearcheck Meisel Accessories Chromatic Metrotuner
clip’s unique design and extra wide opening, the COM-250 will fit virtually any musical instrument, including a violin or viola body. The COM-250 has many features: color display; reference pitch adjustable from 410Hz to 490Hz; built-in mic or clip transducer; visual metronome, speed: 30-280 beats per minute; +/- 1 cent accuracy. The Meisel COM-250 weighs only 1.25 ounces and is powered by one 2032 3V coin battery. www.meiselaccessories.com
Developing a Jazz Vocabulary from Jamey Aebersold
The Meisel COM-250 Metrotuner features a special clip designed to fit violin and viola scrolls. Because of the
Author, musician, and educator Joe Riposo has devised an effective method of teaching the concept of jazz language over his long and successful career as an educator. Developing a Jazz Vocabulary equates the art of proper note choice and phrase-building to the process of learn-
ing the alphabet for word-building. Chord tones and non-chord tones are assigned vowel and consonant status and, as in grammar, simple rules dictate which notes to use (and which to avoid) to develop effortless and flowing lines that make melodic sense. This book is for all musicians wishing to have a better understanding of connecting chords and developing phrases. www.jazzbooks.com
Vandoren Hygro Reed Cases
The new Hygro Reed Cases are compact enough to fit in an instrument case and include a humidity control system to offer advanced performance. Each reed case offers space for six reeds, a sponge to maintain optimal humidity, and a disc that indicates when it is time to add water. There are two models: the HRC10 which holds clarinet or alto sax reeds and the HRC20 which holds bass clarinet, tenor, or baritone sax reeds. www.vandoren.com
58 JAZZed September 2012
2.185” wid
Spotlight On University Jazz Programs
Outstanding
The Colorado State University Jazz Studies Program develops the knowledge and skills required to excel in performance and education. Dynamic faculty are leading educators, maintaining national and international performance and recording schedules. Renowned international artists are regularly in residence, collaborating with faculty and students. Scholarships available.
Jazz Scholarships Available at the Frost School of Music. Inquire Today. Email: admission.music@miami.edu Application deadline: December 1
Saxophonist and flutist Gary Thomas chairs Peabody’s Jazz Studies program
www.peabody.jhu.edu Office of Admissions 1 East Mount Vernon Place Baltimore, MD 21202 800-368-2521
Information/Visit & Audition Dates » music.colostate.edu » (970) 491-5529
www.music.miami.edu
Searching for a college music program will never be the same… CSU 2012.indd 1
8/22/2012 8:35:47 AM
.com The Publishers of School Band & Orchestra, JAZZed, Choral Director, and The College Search & Career Guide are proud to present a comprehensive website for music students and colleges to connect. yopus.com will be a dynamic, up-to-date online music college research resource where prospective students and parents can find information about their own geographic, instrument and program preferences to learn more about the music programs that are most relevant to their individual needs and desires. Find a Music School - Compare and track your favorite schools and be the first to know when new reviews, photos and other media are posted
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Your Music. Your Education. Your Opus. Symphony Publishing | 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 | Needham, MA 02494 | (781) 453-9310 | FAX (781) 453-9389 | 1-800-964-5150 YopusFullPageCSCG Half Hoz.indd 1
4/3/12 3:28 PM JAZZed September 2012 59
CDShowcase
CliniciansCorner
Announcing the New Release by
The South Florida Jazz Orchestra directed by Chuck Bergeron Featuring Trumpet Soloists:
Brian Lynch Wayne Bergeron Greg Gisbert Jason Carder Alex Norris CD, charts, solo transcriptions, digital downloads and more available at these sites: www.southfloridajazzorchestra.net www.summitrecords.com [MAMA RECORDS 1043]
“a masterpiece recording� Ed Blanco - All About Jazz
University of Miami jazz studies professor Chuck Bergeron is available for concerts and clinics with this music. Contact Chuck at: www.southfloridajazzorchestra.net
Feature Your CD on CD Showcase For Maximum Exposure! Velvet-voiced Leslie Brown debuts on the Bmakin Music label with
Tenderly, a soulful, old-school quartet performance of sparkling jazz, latin and blues featuring Grammy nominated pianist Art Lande. On sale now at CD Baby.
www.cdbaby.com/lesliebrown 60 JAZZed September 2012
Call: 1800-964-5150 Sidney Davis x13 Richard E. Kessel x14 Steven Hemingway x34 Iris Fox 954-973-3555
Classifieds Instruction 4000 Years in the Making... Tone Note速 Music Method for Guitar. www.12tonemusic.com/ guitar/tonenote
Merchandise
Lowell Jazz Day Camp July 15 - 26, 2013
Monday-Friday 9am-4pm www.inthespace.net click JAZZ CAMP tel. 978.459.4755
150 Western Ave. Lowell, MA 01852
April 28, 2013, 3-6pm - 3rd Anniversary Celebration/Open House with special tuition offer!
joesaxwoodwinds@gmail.com
LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRAZILIAN MUSIC WITH ANTONIO ADOLFO Author of Brazilian Music Workshop and Phrasing in Brazilian Music, published By Advance Music.
www.antonioadolfo.net
Merchandise
equatone@earthlink.net
Instruments
www.JAZZedmagazine.com
Advertise in the Classifieds! Call Steven
1-800-964-5150 ext. 34 shemingway@symphonypublishing.com
JAZZed September 2012 61
Classifieds Miscellaneous
NATIONAL PRESS CAMPAIGNS Down Beat Voting Critics, Jazz Journalist Association, Bloggers and More. EMAIL CAMPAIGNS Promote your gigs, live music events, festivals and newsletters. MAILINGS Save yourself time, money and aggravation and let us do your fulfillment.
www.JAZZedmagazine.com
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services 269 State Route 94 South. Warwick, NY 10990 Ph: 845-986-1677 • Fax: 845-986-1699 • Cell / text: 917-755-8960 Skype: jazzpromo • jim@jazzpromoservices.com • www.jazzpromoservices.com
Print Music
Smart Chart Music: “ The Place ”
for
19 Playable “ Thad Jones Classics ” New For 2012:
Check out Scores & Mp3's on the Web
SCM – 1077 “What Is That? (Driving Funk Rock) SCM – 1078 “Big Dipper” (Thad Jones- Blues) SCM – 1079 “Mr. GK” (Gene Krupa Tribute) SCM – 1080 “The Christmas Spirit” (Traditional- Jazz Style) SCM – 1081 “At The Oasis”\ (Latin / Swing /Jazz) SCM – 1082 “Space Junk “ (Modal / Rock / Latin) SCM – 1083 “Reciprocity” (60's Blue Note Groove) SCM – 1084 “Two As One” (Thad Jones - Ballad) SCM – 1085 “Bad Ol' Blues” (Slow- then Med Tempo) SCM – 1086 “New Mambo Loops” (Hot Jazz Mambo)
www.smartchartmusIc & www.barnhouse.com
Feature Your CD in our CD Showcase For Maximum Exposure! Sidney Davis x13 Richard E. Kessel x14 Steven Hemingway x34 Iris Fox 954-973-3555
Attention Music Colleges: Set Up Your Free Listing On
.com Reach Thousands of Music Students! The Publishers of School Band & Orchestra, JAZZed, Choral Director, and The College Search & Career Guide are proud to present a comprehensive new website for music students and colleges to connect.
We Need Your Help! yopus.com will be a dynamic, up-to-date online music college research resource where prospective students and parents can find information about their own geographic, instrument and program preferences to learn more about the music programs that are most relevant to their individual needs and goals. Please go to the site, request your log-in, and enter your school’s information.
Go to yopus.com today to sign up to receive launch announcements and have your school listed.
Your Music. Your Education. Your Opus. Symphony Publishing | 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 | Needham, MA 02494 | (781) 453-9310 | FAX (781) 453-9389 | 1-800-964-5150
62 JAZZed September 2012
AdIndex Company
Email/Web
Page #
American Classic Festivals
www.amclass.com
31
J.J. Babbitt Co. Inc.
www.jjbabbitt.com
17
Bari Woodwinds
www.bariwoodwinds.com
16
Ben Mackin (Bmakin Music)
www.benmackinen.com
59
Berklee College of Music
www.berklee.edu
Bob Sheppard
www.bobsheppard.net
47
Cannonball Music Instruments
www.cannonballmusic.com
13
Capital University
www.music.capital.edu
30
Colorado State University
www.CSUSchooloftheArts.com
59
Eastman School Of Music
www.esm.rochester.edu
47
Five Towns College
www.ftc.edu
29
Frost School of Music
www.music.miami.edu
59
Frost School of Music
www.music.miami.edu
5
Indiana University Jacobs School
www.iu.edu
Jamey Aebersold Jazz Aids
www.jazzbooks.com
Jazzheads
www.randyklein.com
Jody Jazz
www.jodyjazz.com
John Fedchock
www.johnfedchock.com
55
Juilliard School of Music
www.juilliard.edu
15
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
www.jazz.uiidaho.edu
12
Longy School of Music
www.longy.edu
45
Manhattan School of Music
www.msmnyc.edu
39
Northwestern University
www.music.northwestern.edu
18
Peabody Institute
www.peabody.jhu.edu
59
Pearl Corp.
www.pearldrum.com
PJLA Music Products
www.pjlamusc.com
8
Roosevelt University
www.roosevelt.edu
46
RS Berkeley Musical Instruments
www.rsberkeley.com
45
SaxQuest, Inc.
www.saxquest.com
42
Saxz Inc.
www.saxzinc.com
58
South Florida Jazz Orchestra
www.southfloridajazzorchestra.net
60
University of Cincinnati
www.ccm.uc.edu
37
University of Nebraska Lincoln
music.unl.edu
42
University of the Arts - Communicatio
www.uarts.edu
38
University of Tennessee,Knoxville
music@utk.edu
41
University of Washington School of Music
www.washington.edu
35
Western Michigan University
www.wmu.edu
19
Avedis Zildjian Co.
www.zildjian.com
11
1
34 cov 2 60 9
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JAZZed September 2012 63
Backbeat
“Uncle” Lionel Batiste, 1931 - 2012
Legendary New Orleans jazz and blues personality Lionel Batiste passed away recently at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans. “Uncle Lionel,” as he was affectionately known, was the “face” of the Tremé Bicentennial and an unavoidable personality in the New Orleans jazz scene. Batiste “dedicated his life to entertaining locals and visitors alike,” said Toni Rice, president of the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network. “Uncle Lionel was one of kind and represented the very essence of New Orleans.” Batiste grew up in Tremé across the street from Craig School. He began his music career at the age of 11 playing bass drum with the Square Deal Social & Pleasure Club. Batiste went on to become the drummer, singer, kazoo player, and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band. Lionel Batiste spent his career entertaining audiences and inspiring young musicians at home and around the world.
64 JAZZed September 2012
Networking the Jazz Arts Community …
… Local to Global! ATTEND OUR
4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JAN 2–5, 2013 ATLANTA, GA DIRECTORS ✺ Submit your group to the
JENerations Jazz Festival. Deadline: September 30, 2012
STUDENTS ✺ Apply to one of our many educational, composition, and design scholarships. Deadline: September 30, 2012
VOLUNTEERS ✺ Apply online now
(first-come, first-served). Deadline: December 15, 2012
Become a member and register for the conference today at JazzEdNet.org
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