The JAZZ CULTURE
JOH COLTRA E TRIBUTE: The Sugar Hill Quartet with cast of tap dancers and singers above, below, Toes Tiranoff/Megan Haung duet ofChuck Green's solo
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REVIEW
Tribute to John Coltrane at Zeb's by L. Hamanaka
Caught The Tribute to John Coltrane on Sunday, February 10, at Zeb’s. The cast included The Sugar Hill Quartet, including Patience Higgins, tenor saxophone, Marco Persiani, piano, Dave Gibson, drums, and Alex Hernandez, bass, Tap Dancers Megan Haungs, Toes Tiranoff, Michaela Lerman, Hank Smith, Kazu Kumagai, and Singers Carol Randazzo, Maki Matotsu, Kumiko Yamakado, Kyle Pettis, Michele Silva Slyde, Gail Sadi and Mahazi Roundtree, with Spoken Word, Angeline Butler. The show was the brainchild of Toes Tiranoff and his wife, Megan Haungs, who introduced tap dancing to the John Coltrane Church in San Francisco. The couple then wanted to transplant the idea to New York, and an interesting evening ensued. The program began with Tunji: a procession of musicians, singers and dancers, chanting “Coltrane, Coltrane, John Coltrane, over the rhythm section. An intro to “Giant Steps,” was a quote from John Coltrane who allegedly said: “I think music… can change the thoughts of people.” Then Toes Tiranoff did a tap dance to “Giant Steps” at about 150=quarter note, with light and happy accompaniment of Patience Higgins, Marco Persiani, who seemed to revel in the song, while drummer Dave Gibson stayed mostly pianissimo on the high hat so that the audience could hear the tap dancer. Then Hank Smith introduced “Out of this World,” by Harold Arlen, which John Coltrane did a distinctive arrangement of. Mr. Smith said, “Jazz to me is an expression of high ideas, …brotherhood is there, therefore there would be no poverty, and also there would be no war.” After which Patience Higgins played floating long tones, that cascaded down at rhythmic intervals in 6/8. 2
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The florid piano style with big chords suited the arrangement and put the audience on a cloud of peace. Mr. Higgins ended on a soft silky long tone. John Coltrane: “The audience by listening … in an active participant; when you know that someone is maybe moved …it is just like having another member in the group.” Cont. p. 4
Review 1‐5 How To Do A Jazz Festival 6‐7 Book Review V. Ponomarev 13 Jazz Heritage Lou Donaldson 14 Part II Ron McClure 14 Photos from Coltrane Tribute 24 info@thejazzculture.com http://theJazzCulture.com © 2012
The Jazz Culture Newsletter Salutes African American Heritage Month
JOHN COLTRANE The JAZZ CENTER of NY TRIBUTE to
At ZEB’s
223 West 28 Street, 2nd flr. (Bet. 7 &8 Aves.)
Above Greenwich Village Plumbing Produced by Megan Haungs & Toes Tiranoff February 10, 2013 at 7:00 P.M./Donation $18 Reservations: 516‐922‐2010
The Sugar Hill Quartet: Patience Higgins, Marcus Persiani, Alex
Hernandez, Dave Gibson, Singers Carol Randazzo, Maki Matotsu, Kumiko Yamakado,Spoken Word, Angeline Butler, Tap Dancers
Megan Haungs, Toes Tiranoff, Michaela Lerman, Kazu Kumaga
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The group then played “Equinox” at about 120=quarter note. A charming duet between Toes Tiranoff and Megan Haung ensued, a solo of Chuck Green they had memorized. The band played sensitively and the duet swung in a lilting way. The next song was a “Spiritual” performed by singers, Carol Randazzo, Maki Matotsu, Kumiko Yamakado, Kyle Pettis, Michele Silva Slyde, Gail Sadi and Mahazi Roundtree with original lyrics by Carol Randazzo. Some singers showed up at the last moment Megan Haung & Toes and they did not have a rehearsal. Tiranoffduet on Chuck Some had lovely voices, but lacking a Green's solo conductor, the cutoffs were not unified, and lacking an arrangement, that put the singers on shaky ground, since they did not have the form in mind. Even one soloist needs time to learn the form, for ten people, it might require ten times the time; also, the harmony was not known, perhaps as a consequence, some singers were out of tune, and because there was no conductor, the diction was sometimes sloppy. Some sang “free” obligato without being sure of the harmony or scales, and so pitches between the notes of the scales resulted. At the end they got louder and all the singers ended on the same note. Patience Higgins had a lovely tone. John Coltrane, a wonderful example for tenor players in that he practiced-12 hours a day; an excellent technique, constantly stretching his knowledge and mastery, and a careful study and transposition of his solos will reveal that he was always relating to a specific pitch and scale, even if it was Indian and there were quarter tone pitches involved. The Tribute to John Coltrane was touching, one of the most disciplined, hard working and knowledgeable players in jazz music 4
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Kazu Kumagai tapped a burning solo on "Impressions"
history, his technique as well as his joy dominated his performances, and he made many sacrifices to practice and perfect his craft. "Impressions� was next with Kazu Kumagai, starting alone laying down about 300=quarter note for the band, with an aggressive urban style, accenting the upbeat with a strong full sound. Patience Higgins duod well with Kumagai, who set an exciting pace. Mr. Kumagai stopped for 16 bars during the piano solo for some reason, but then danced a lot of triplets and then 16th note runs, showing off high speed strutting.
HOW TO-DO A JAZZ FESTIVAL
LADY GOT CHOPS
Kim Clarke, a well known New York bassist, was gigging at a club in Brooklyn, The Jazz Spot, owned by an African American mother and daughter, Lillithe Meyers and Tiecha Merritt in 2003. She said to them, “Hey, why not do something for The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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Women’s Month?” “Rachel Z was my first artist,” said Kim recently. “Anyone can apply by going to the website. A few years ago we got lucky and met a woman who was booking Zinc. So Zinc gives us three to five gigs during March. Then there’s a woman in Peekskill, New York.” Ms. Clarke has worked in the Kit McClure Big Band, so she knew a lot of female musicians. Since the beginning at The Jazz Kim Clarke, Bassist/Producer Spot, there have been 43 Making a Difference different venues (including museums, wine tasting venues, concert halls and libraries) that promoted Lady Got Chops, focusing primarily on female instrumentalists. As recognition for Kim Clarke’s contribution, she received the Golden Shakere Award. Ms. Clarke comes from a musical and jazz loving familyher grandfather was a bassist. Ms. Clarke studied with Barry Harris; and Ron Carter, Buster Williams and Lisle Atkinson, is a product of the Jazzmobile program and all the great musicianteachers there, and was house bassist at the Jazz Cultural Theatre. It was thus that the “Lady Got Chops” Festival came into the world, by hook, crook or enthusiasm. “Lady Got Chops” is an artist produced celebration of women’s creativity in the world of Jazz and other performing and visual arts. Ms. Clarke does this as a contribution to the scene, not taking any fee for doing the 6
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organizing work. Although Ms. Clarke has applied for a 501 c(3), it has not come through yet, so presently she works through Women In Jazz. Jazz will have a future as long as inspired devoted musicians like Kim Clarke care enough to go the extra mile. One manifestation of this caring spirit was in 2010 when Lady Got Chops contributed to Doctors Without Borders for Haitian Relief. The Lady Got Chops Festival honors great female musicians of the past as well as honoring the great men and women who influenced them. Lady Got Chops is a grass roots venture that for over ten years has existed within the budget of the host venues, and has involved hundreds of women artists of all ethnicities. To contribute, just go to womeninjazz-nyc.org/willcontribute.html. To see the artists involved, go to: Ladygotchops.com, or, http://thejazz.8m.com/fest.html MORE PHOTOS FROM COLTRANE TRIBUTE
Executive Producer Cobi arita at the door; Patience Higgins solos on "Out ofthis World" in the Coltrane arrangement; Saul Rubin and Toes Tiranoffset up production The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALERY PONOMAREV!!
BOOK REVIEW: "The Flip Side of Sound" by Valery Ponomarev
Valery Ponomarev’s book, “The Flip Side of Sound,” is a must read for any jazz lover who wants to understand how deeply the thousands of international jazz musicians are committed to the music, and how much they have gone through to become part of the jazz world. Jazz is a world music that provides a great deal of income, joy and status to jazz musicians. This includes Art Blakey’s legendary Jazz Messengers, that Mr. Ponomarev was a member of. The communities that have sprung up around the world because of the music, keep the music alive. It is an intricate, honest and passionate description of Mr. Ponomarev’s encounter with jazz primarily through records and some visiting musicians, his growing involvement with jazz that led him to leave his mother, his country and all security behind him to escape as a “musical” refugee in a circuitous route to the United States. The book “The Flip Side of Sound” captures the charm and character of the Russian people, and the attraction that the most individual and “free” music in the world has for people from other cultures. As the work of a first generation immigrant, “On the Flip Side of Sound” gives new insight to theme of memoires about the American dream. Published by: www.authorhouse.com 8
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JAZZ HERITAGE
LOU DONALDSON'S WORDS OF WISDOM
Lou Donaldson, alto saxophone, at ational Endowment for the Arts photoshoot at Lincoln Center By Lou Donaldson to L. Hamanaka
Lou Donaldson, a superb artist who also took responsibility for setting up tours, recorded a number of jazz hits, helped scores of musicians succeed, and brought joy to millions of people here and abroad, is a great role model for all emerging artists. He recently shared some words of wisdom. Lou Donaldson was born in Badin, North Carolina into a middle class family, his father a minister and his mother Lucy Wallace a concert pianist and music director at her school. Mr. Donaldson never wanted to take piano lessons from his mother because, “She used to hit people with the switch [who made The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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mistakes]. She told me I had more talent than my other sisters and brothers. So she got me a clarinet and that started me on clarinet.” “I went to North Carolina A&T and I got into the band. I was not taking a music degree. When I got into the service I got into the Navy Band and I used to go to Chicago…and after I heard Charlie Parker that changed my whole direction.” “Actually what happened to me is that I became a travelling musician. You have to get out of NY to actually know what Joe Public is thinking about music. As long as you stay in NY you have an elitest approach to music, but when you go cross country… I had to play in a lot of ghetto clubs and they want to hear what they like. Like … [out there on the road] you don’t have to worry about jazz critics. I formulated a style to be compatible in the places I played. By doing so, I created a style. It’s a style that’s a cross between bebop and swing. What it does, it satisfies say, people that like to be entertained more than people in New York. “I worked at hard bop and bebop for years, so I had a good background, and I just added a little more compatible stuff for the general public. So I still am employed as much as I want, and I have a following in towns where most jazz musicians can’t play.” JC: A lot of musicians complain about not working, but you took responsibility for finding work. It must have been hard. LD: “It was tough, but we were lucky, we lived when all those clubs were available. On the road if we had two weeks off, we would call the clubs and towns, and we could fill up the opening. “You don’t have anything like that today. No ghetto clubs at all. All the clubs are gone, or they play hip hop… JC: Mr. Donaldson set up tours throughout regions in the US. Today he works locally at the Village Vanguard and Birdland, and 10
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Mona and Jimmy Heath in audience
performs at festivals, and special occasions, pacing himself and choosing his dates like the other great musicians of the world. JC: But the public schools stopped music in the 70’s. So all the public school kids have nowhere to learn to play or learn about jazz. LD: “Something is not right in the US because when you go overseas, the younger people (there) are much more informed about the music than in the US. The young people seem much more informed about jazz and jazz musicians than in the US.” JC: You were married to the same lady, Maker, for 56 years, and you had two daughters, one doctor in African American Success Foundation in Ft. Lauderdale. LD: “My whole family there is supportive there. My granddaughter is supportive, they put on their website what I do and stuff…and it helps me a lot.” “She [Maker] was … in my home town, I knew her before we The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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got married, so it was a pretty good relationship, and she didn’t play music but she knew all about it. She was there all the time because she took care of my business and was very supportive of what I was doing, so I was lucky to have her around all the time.” JC: Alfred Lion of the Blue Note Records asked you when he was playing at Minton’s to make a record with Milt Hinton. How did you feel about that? LD: “Of course I was very excited because he came up to Minton’s to listen to me play and he asked me did I want to make a record, so I said, “Of course.” Then he asked me would you like to play like Charlie Parker. I said, ‘I’ll do the best I can.’” JC: A leader in the true sense of the word Lou Donaldson “made” more musicians than almost any other musician through his generosity. LD: “At the time I was doing it, I didn’t really, really know what I was doing, but I recommended over 50 musicians. Some of them for my dates, and I recommended for other dates. “A lot of them had to fit into the scheme [of what] I was trying to play and make records. I was very lucky. What happened in the mid 60’s Blue Note Records was sold to Transamerica Corp. and had a lot of money--it was a big corporation. They had 10 or 12 record companies and they had A&R men, and they would come around wanting you to cover “songs” to get in a competitive market with commercial records. They wanted jazz to be competitive with commercial vein. Like “Who’s Makin’ Love,” “Billie Joe,” “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” so we were lucky. They were jazz hits. Jazz at that time didn’t sell that many records. We made a lot of records that sold [tens of thousands]. I was the most recorded person at Blue Note Records. JC: When asked about his records: LD: “Blues Walk” was mentioned as a favorite…”Alligator Boogaloo”…that was a big record for me financially. And I had 12
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Reverend Lind listens to Lou Donaldson; ditto, tenor saxophonist Eugene Ghee
George Benson and Lonnie Smith and Idris Muhammed and they were great musicians.” JC: “The Masquerade Is Over,” was another hit, and “Whiskey Drinking Woman.” Some of the musicians Lou Donaldson played and recorded with were: Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Grant Green, John Patton, Donald Byrd, Blue Mitchell, Horace Parlan, Al Harewood, George Tucker, Herman Foster, Tommy Turrentine, Jamil Nasser, Curtis Fuller. One group he had for a long time was: Herman Foster on piano, Peck Morrison bass, Ray Barretto, Dave Bailey on drums. Some of the clubs on Lou Donaldson’s touring circuit were: In Rochester, Birdie’s & Crawford Grill; the Sacred Mushroom in Ohio, Jilly’s in Dayton, Babe Baker & Modern Jazz Room, The Idle Hour in Kentucky, The Riviera, The Gaslight Club, Georgie’s, the Blue Note, the Blue Room in Kansas City, Bill Reeves Steakhouse, Twilight Club, the Lark Club in Texas, Magruders, the Flamingo, the It Club and the Zebra Lounge in LA, Mister Major’s, The KC Lounge in Denver, the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Vernon’s in New Orleans; Judge’s Chambers in E. St. Louis, Bakers’ Lounge in Detroit, the Blue note on Ridge Avenue The Jazz Culture, VI:42
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in Pennsylvania, Club Harlem and a few other places. JC: What about working with the Jazz Messengers? LD: “Playing with Clifford Brown was an experience I’ll never forget. I would have done it for free. It was just happy playing beside him to hear him play. Art Blakey was like…I didn’t hang with Art. He was great when he was playing, he was a great drummer and he was always upbeat. His sound was upbeat and he always had energy. Horace and I used to practice together at a little studio on 116th Street and we knew each other real well. It was a company date on Blue Note, but they made Art the leader, probably because he owed them more money than anyone else. It was a great date because all the musicians liked each other and they were compatible, which makes for a great record.” LD: “Of course being a veteran, I was in the Navy, a young guy just 18--it taught you discipline, how to organize your thoughts and actions, to make everything progressive. So you didn’t have any dead weight. Most of the musicians [I met when I came to NY] were my heroes, [but] they had problems with drugs and stuff. I did 100% opposite of what they did, because that’s a no win situation. You learn discipline [in the service] the way [things] are supposed to be done, and it’s a good pattern for your life afterwards if you really put yourself into it. Darrow was a pretty good school, and right next to it was Heart Net Studios, it was also a GI school. I [had already] learned theory and harmony in the service and at A&T. JC: How do you feel about the fact that jazz is an art form primarily created by African American musicians, and its meaning in the world. LD: “This is the only art form that comes from the US, the only art form the US has produced. I knew all about it because my father was a minister, and as a kid I used to hear the old Negro 14
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spirituals, so I had a great background.” JC: So what you’re doing is a continuation, of that background. LD: “That’s what it is. [And in my records] We have smooth rhythm, you never see no erratic rhythm. You got to have swing rhythm. “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” …You got a groove, you get into and that’s it, which is wonderful for me.”
Bassist Kim Clarke, out for inspiration, listens to Lou Donaldson
JC: You have such a recognizable sound. One note, and you know it’s you. Did you work at that or did it just come naturally? LD: “Whenever you play music you want to have an ID, an identity, so that when people hear you play. I worked it hard to get my individual sound and that’s what I use.
JC: Lou Donaldson had four organ bands, including: Dr. Lonnie Smith, Mel Lasky, trumpet, Idris Muhammad, drums; Earl Spencer, Charles Earland, Baby Gardner and Billie Willette, one with Jimmy Ponder. [to LD] I notice you use the organ instead of the piano. LD: “Now I use the organ because I had several records that were popular with the organ sound. I initially started using the organ because when I started travel cross country, a lot of clubs didn’t have a piano and you couldn’t rent a piano. If you rented a piano you couldn’t make any money. [It was like $1,000 a week]. The jobs we played wasn’t paying that much. So we got us an organ. So we’d set the organ up, take the organ behind a car and put it in a trailer…[Then] After Jimmy Smith showed up everybody started to love the organ sound.” JC: I notice when you are playing, it seems like everyone could The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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dance to it. LD: “No, years ago all of the big bands played jazz for dancing. That’s where I got the idea from, and that’s how I play. We try to get the people to planting their feet swinging and that does it.” JC: Are there any young players who inspire you? LD: “I see a few around but not as many as I would like to. Most of the young players today seem to be over educated. They’re a little too technical and mechanical and not enough soulful to maintain the standards that you have to do to be a jazz musician. “We try to be soulful and melodic. That’s the problem….they forget that if you play “Bye Bye Blackbird” as long as you play it it’s supposed to sound like [it] but if you get too involved with chord changes, technique, sounds like they’re practicing, I don’t hear the song anymore. And you’ve got to avoid that when you try to be a jazz player. That’s the way I try to play…The way the great jazz musicians played. Which is very hard to do, unless you understand the song, and I memorize the words and when I’m playing [I think about the words], I try to make the saxophone talk to the audience, say: “This is ‘Body and Soul’ and this is what I’m playing.” “Most of the people sound like they are playing concert, a concerto or something and they forget about swing and rhythm which they’ve got to have to retain the jazz beat and jazz music.. Overblowing a song, playing too much, is just as bad as not playing enough. [There’s a] Happy medium they have to find and I found it for myself and that’s it. JC: Receiving the NEA Award, did that mean anything special? LD: “Well it’s a recognition that you have contributed something…If I had received 15-20 years it might have meant much more to me, when my wife was alive and stuff like that. You got to put in the time and effort to [become a great musician] and she knew that, but now, it doesn’t excite me that much. The only 16
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thing that keeps me going is playing. Music is good for all sorts of stuff. You got some ailment, it will ease the pain.” Mr. Donaldson got an Honorary Doctorate from North Carolina A+T University, and an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2013. Mr. Donaldson said, “I appreciate the response I have seen over the years from people that have listened to and bought my records. I still do, and that makes me very happy, it didn’t make me rich, but I’m comfortable.” See: Lou Donaldson.com
ROMA JAZZ WORKSHOP Featuring Barry Harris, March 11-15
Contact: lucianofabris@hotmail.com 33933831 39 annapantuso@hotmail.com 3396748724
Call Anna
Email Luciano
Barry Harris Workshops Every Tuesday at 6, Pianists, 8, Vocalists, 10:30, Improvisation at 250 West 65 Street, between Amsterdam and 11th Avenues all welcome. See Barry Harris.com
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JAZZ HERITAGE RON McCLURE PART II
Ron McClure at a gig
....arrangement of “No Show” down to to 5:11 for the recording. I was accustomed playing jazz where a tune can go on for much longer.“ Ron McClure has 28 cds under his own name of mainly original music. 15 of them for Steeplechase Records in Kalmbenborg, Denmark, produced by Nils Winther, who he met In 1988 on recording session with guitarist, David Stryker. He had been turned down by Fantasy Records, but Nils said: “Give me a call” when I told him I wanted to record my own music. My first Cd was “McJolt.” Nils has enabled me to do document my music and the people I’ve played with for the past 22 years. In 1997, I did “Pink Cloud” on Naxos Jazz, which is no longer in existence. I also recorded CDs “Descendants” and “Inspiration” for Ken Music, a Japanese label, and “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” for EPC, a 18
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French label. JC: Do you like being record producer? RM: “I love the process of putting music together. I’ve record most of my Cds in New York City. I have two sextet records, but the others are smaller groups, from quartets, quintets, trios and two duo recordings. I’m told that the average jazz record sells 2,0002,500 over a period of ten years. Unfortunately, Cd’s don’t sell so well anymore. iTunes and YouTube have taken over the market. “I met Paul Chambers when he at the end of his illustrious career. He was so depressed and sick. He was 34 years old when he died. He was one of my greatest influences. I played opposite him for six weeks at the Consulate Hotel in the mid 1960s with the Mike Longo trio. Paul played with the Ross Tompkins trio, who was the bandleader on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. There were gigs like that then. There’s nothing like it now.” JC: Do you want to talk about your own past habits? RM: I quit everything on September 28, 1993. It was time, and I finally came to my senses, and got some help. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I drank from the age of 18. Did a lot of beer and pot. It starts small, but it escalates. Part of it was peer pressure. Two guys I’d played with in Maynard’s band, for instance, later in died from overdoses. You’re working in bars and you want to be accepted by your peers. It was fun for a while, but I’m lucky I stopped when I did. I talk about it openly because I couldn’t care less about being “Anonymous”. I like help other people through my personal experiences. In 1964, before I really did a lot of drinking or drugging, my friend, Maynard Ferguson, warned me: “You better be careful, because you like to get high”. Most everybody in and around the music world was doing something. I was lucky. My daughter said, ‘I always knew I had a father but didn’t really know him, but now I do”... That was very moving to me personally. My therapist insisted I go to AA, which taught me how to live my life on day at a time. They should teach The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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the principles of AA to kids in High School.” JC: When did you start to solo? RM: “I started to solo right away, because I had been improvising melodies on the accordion. Paul Chambers and Mingus were my first influences on the bass. Paul Chambers was the number one bass player. … That was when you listened, transcribed solos and lines We talked about music and compared notes. It helps your improve your ear. Ron McClure in coffee shop on west People buy solos in books side now, but that isn’t like doing your own transcriptions. Your musical personality comes from your personal work and experience, mostly from discovering things on your own and trying to figure out what you were hearing. It’s a lifelong process. Some jazz students expect a teacher to give it to them because they’ve paid for it, but it doesn’t work like that. “ About amplification: “Some people turn a sound system on and as long as there’s no feedback, think it’s okay. When I subbed for Dennis Erwin with Mel Lewis, he taught me: “The louder you play the louder everyone else has to play.” About recording: The jazz scene is much smaller [now]. The record companies want to know how many units you will sell. If you don’t sell product, you’re gone.” On Luck: It’s all about timing. There I was, only playing bass for ten years, and listening to Paul Chambers, and I got lucky 20
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enough to be taking his place at the age of 24.” JC: Do you feel jazz is America’s greatest contribution to world culture? RM: “Yes. Jazz is probably our only cultural contribution to the world. It is only a four letter word, but people it’s influence can be felt all around the world. Today, young musicians have access to everything and anything. Being able to swing used to be an American thing, but now people anywhere can swing, because they’ve grown up hearing it. It’s not about what race you are, it’s what you’ve heard that gets you the right feel.” JC: What do you do to keep fit? RM: “I go to the gym at the YMCA where I have a personal fitness trainer, as well as doing the Jenny Craig diet. Together, it helped me lose 30 pounds. I’ve always played sports, and for the past 35 years I’ve played tennis. In the winter I try to play once a week, but in the summer I play a lot in the NYC parks.” JC: What do you think of the future of jazz? Do you think swing is important? RM: (nods) “It’s the hardest thing. “Rhythm is the most important thing in life.” JC Why? RM: “It’s the hardest thing for people to do. The time feel—that’s why. It’s more syncopated, accents on the offbeat. Rhythm, the feel, the placement. It’s like learning a French Accent. You have to live it.” JC: Do you feel you’ve made a contribution? RM: “To some people. My student at NYU just quoted an article by Tom Kennedy, a fine younger bass player, who said he was influenced by my playing. I’ve tried to make a contribution to music through my work, but the effect it’s had remains to be seen. I think I’m a good player and writer but acceptance is a bitch on The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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Ron McClure Trio in garden concert on the upper west side
wheels. I’ve been teaching for 40 years. I try to teach them how to figure out stuff on their own. I think American education in general doesn’t focus enough on teaching kids how to learn.” Ron McClure played with Charles Lloyd till 1969 along with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. He worked with Wynton Kelly taking Paul Chambers’ place with Jimmy Cobb and Wes Montgomery; with Carla Bley, George Russell, Julian Priester and Herbie Mann. He also worked with George Coleman and Miles Davis, where he met Joe Henderson, whom he subsequently toured with. An outspoken person and leading musician who has carved out his own voice as a bassist, composer, arranger and teacher, Ron McClure currently lives in NYC with his two cats, Ulala and Nana, teaches at NYU, and records for Steeplechase Records. Mr. McClure is a good role model for students on how to use hard work, discipline and devotion to evolve in this most individual of 22
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art forms. According to him, it was mostly being at the right place at the right time, but you also have to deliver, even if you are at the right place at the right time. He has performed all over the world, and even plays solo piano at a McDonald’s in Manhattan a couple afternoons a week. Ron Ron McClure at Concert displays arco technique McClure did a tour in October 2012 with Quest, led byDave Liebman, with Richie Beirach & Billy Hart. Overv Thanksgiving he went to Toronto, Canada to perform at The Rex Jazz Club, The Jazz Room in Waterloo, and taught 3 jazz workshops at Humber University, Mohawk University and The University of Toronto with Toronto drummer/educator: Ted Warren, who teaches at Humber. The other players were Brian Dickinson (piano) & Ted Quinlan (guitar). When asked about the future, Ron McClure says, “I’m always looking for what hasn’t been done. What it is and where it might The Jazz Culture, VI:43
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go. I like to play quality music with quality players.� See Ron McClure.com; also, Steeplechase.com
More Photos from John Coltrane Tribute
Michela, Saul, Toes, and Tracey watch as performing space is set up, above; below, Megan and Toes share tapping as well as married life, Kumagai warms up before performing, and the Sugar Hill Quartet strut their stuffon John Coltrane's legacy
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