The JAZZ CULTURE
Dwayne Clemons & Sasha Perry confer and then hit at Small's
with Josh Benko, Baritone Sax, Murrary Wall Bass, & Phil Stewart, Drums
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2013 The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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REVIEW Dwayne Clemons-Sasha Perry Quintet by L. Hamanaka
Caught the Dwayne Clemons-Sasha Perry Quintet on Saturday December 30, with Josh Benko, Baritone Saxophone, Murray Wall, bass, Phil Stewart, drums, Sasha Perry, piano, Dwayne Clemons, trumpet at Smalls, which encourages formation of combos and has several house groups. They started off with “Riptide,” at about 175=quarter note. Clemons and Benko did a good job on the angular melody; and Clemons took the first solo, with a good sense of form and an angular style based in the middle register of the trumpet, a dynamic gifted player with something to say, committed to a bop outlook with a sharp aggressive attack, choosing where on the beat he lands or takes off. Mr. Clemons does have a tinge of street in his sound, but it never disrupts the sound or breaks up the pitch. Benko was not using a mike and played with a lyric fluidity unusual for the baritone, mixing from the top with his sound kind of spread. Sasha Perry has a light dancing touch, with most solos high in the upper register, good articulation. Mr. Perry did two choruses of scalar oriented comments before breaking into some chords close to the rhythm of the melody. They traded 8’s with the drummer, Phil Stewart. The played with fervor and got good support from veteran Murray Wall on the bass. They are an acoustic group that does not use a microphone. “Reverie” was next, by Debussy, as a walking ballad, which was made famous by Betty Carter, at about 106=quarter note, and Mr. Clemons played his feature without a mike and without a mute, playing the lovely theme over a swinging rhythm section. Mr. Clemons is a romantic with a dramatic style and was fluent, placing arcs and accents well. Mr. Clemons has a pretty, warm tone and he could experiment with the effect he gets further by using more vibrato at certain spots, on slow tunes such as this. 2
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Sasha Perry threw in a stride feel and tasty scalar ideas leading to his bright chording. Murray Wall played comments on a solo close to the melody. Benko’s solo used lower notes and was close comments around the melody.
Review 1‐5 How To‐Tips for Jazz Vocalists 6‐12 New Year's Eve at a few jazz clubs 13 Singapore Jazzman Mario Serio 14‐19 More NY Eve Photos 20‐21 info@thejazzculture.com http://theJazzCulture.com © 2012
Next was a bop tune about 240, Elmo Hope’s “Carving the Rock.” First a note about the song. “Carving the Rock,” is like a piece of modern art, a sculpture, tough, gritty, down to earth, a portrait of modern life for many less fortunate mortals. It starts with some hammering blows in the form of tones percussively delivered. Cont. p. 4
Open Singers Jam Every Fri. 6‐9 at Zeb's by Jazz Center of NY
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Elmo Hope is one of Sasha Perry’s idols, and like Mr. Hope, Sasha Perry focuses his solos high in the upper register, and has a similar outlook, being a bebop artist who uses primarily scalar lines-Mr. Perry is a fluent bebop pianist with his own sound and feeling. That feeling is young, lyrical and festive. But he does not use patterns. Dwayne Clemons and Josh Benko played enthusiastically but not consistently accurate in this particular song, that is their eighth notes did not always have clear articulation. Maybe their tone centers were too fat for the tempo. The articulation improved later in the song. It’s possible they did not have time to warm up before the show. It is interesting to note, most of today’s players had to learn to play super fast in their 20’s, whereas prior generations had already learned in high school, so it was like putting on a pair of sneakers or old shoes for them to play above 300. “Stardust” followed, a feature for Mr. Denko, who started this as a rubato duo with the piano as a walking ballad at about 96=quarter note, with a nicely played intro, including intervals descending and ascending like thirds, chords, playing a long intro instead of a cadenza at the end. Mr. Denko has offered a very pretty version of it, his sound is lyric and light for the baritone at times with a floating quality, sometimes using half steps between scale notes, sometimes bellowing up from a low note, and mainly using the major scale, giving a mainstream effect (which he could expand and insert substitutions), and with excellent phrasing. Clemons’ solo used triplets a lot, revealing emotionally a more wistful and disappointed feeling in the object of his “Stardust,” he attacked key notes with a marcato feel and paused more between phrases, using space well. Sasha Perry played full chords offering an orchestral type foundation for the horn players. Murray Wall played a solo like a series of heartbeats in a muted tone and understated but felt style. By the end of the song, Josh’s sound was much more focused and warmed up. The group then played a song with a Latin rhythm, a strange, 4
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twisted, inviting melody, sweeping into some rhythmic counterpoint by drums and bass, with full piano chords. Dwayne Clemons played the song like in a conversational manner. Sasha projects his own personal well lyrical and dancelike, playing chords and voicings quickly out over the keyboard, sometimes Monk-like in a percussive way, or accenting a pivot note and double timing was well. Clemons can wail on this tune, though he usually has a more controlled approach--like a boxer, and has 8th note figures developed the song well, which complemented his musical personality, which has a searching quality. Murray Wall played a solo with a woody tone, very pretty, well placed 8th notes and strummed some chords. The drummer Phil Stewart was sensitive and good, using cymbals effectively with good effect and support, but trying not to dominate but complement this group with its strong personalities. The trumpet and baritone had a very well voiced parts on this song, and it was an intriguing arrangement.
HOW TO-Tips for Jazz Vocalists
by L. Hamanaka Vocal tips: These are practical notes about various things singers may find of interest. Stance: A singer may move, and move parts of his/her abdomen, but should not lower the head. This bends the airway, and makes production of high notes difficult or garbled. Jaw: You can open your jaw three ways: 1. Lower the bottom half. 2. Raise the top half. 3. Open top and bottom at the same time. Don’t open so wide that you start hearing clicks, or it feels The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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unnatural. Have a natural mouth. Posture: You should try to have good posture, because a person with bad posture looks as if they lack confidence or have something to be ashamed of, and that impression will detract from your interpretation. at Jones-who's that bass?
Hands: Hands should fall naturally and never be tense. Gestures can be very helpful to the acting in singing, and sometimes to vocal production.
Eyes: Try not to close your eyes because people like to look at a person whose eyes are open. Think about it. The audience does not want to feel cut off from you. If you were having a conversation with someone, would you want them to close their eyes when they were talking to you? Also, most people look tense and tortured with closed eyes, and their faces screw up into a grimace. Try to let the emotion come out in your sound and the lyric, and let your face be a blank slate which the audience can relate to. Lisi Pakulski
Feet: Feet should be squarely on the floor; if you have to wear heels, make them as low as possible, and the heels should be sturdy, not pencil thin. Waist: You should not tighten your midriff with air. You don’t take a breath and hold it around the waist and gradually release it. Breathing is a constantly fluid process. If you want to know how to breathe, look at a sleeping baby. To learn how to inhale or breathe in, just exhale and empty your lungs. Then open your throat and 6
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relax your waistline. To repeat, do not hold air in the circumference of your waist. Do not raise your shoulders while inhaling. This creates tension and does nothing for your lungs. It is good to maintain a state of relaxed alertness when singing or playing. The main thing a singer has Chlothida that an instrumentalist does not, is words. Therefore, diction is very important, because if no one can tell what you are saying, they cannot be affected by you. There are 32 common vowels in English, from the long “E” to the “A” in father. You should go through the alphabet and slow down your pronunciation so that you know what actions your tongue and lips make to sound each letter of the alphabet. You should know exactly how you produce vowels, and what adjustments to make. For example, the word “love,” is pronounced with a short “U.” However that sounds dull when sung. For an important word like “love” you want a brighter sound. So you might raise the back of your tongue slightly for that brighter, warmer sound and it will also brighten the pitch. Clothes: If you have a choice, do not let your clothes dominate you as a person. If you are playing a role you may not have a choice. If you choose a style, be as unique as you can but you should choose clothes that allow your personality to flower and don’t distract from your voice. Microphone: When you hold a microphone, imagine you are singing to a person inside the microphone. If this makes you crazy, just try it once, for the sake of an imagination exercise. When you sing loud or a long tone that crescendos, pull the mike away or The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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back up from the mike so it won’t be too loud for the audience. You may not be holding the mike; you may not be able to hear yourself if you do not have a monitor. If you can’t hear yourself, don’t leave it to fate, but ask someone to give you feedback, and listen to the sound to see if James Malloy it is balanced. Arrive early enough to do a sound check with the band, and then appoint someone or ask someone to tell you if the sound is balanced. Microphones will sound different through a different sound system or amplifier. Don’t be afraid to return a mike to the store if you don’t like it on a gig. Don’t take for granted that because you have one sound at home or in your studio, the sound will be the same in a club or concert hall. State of Mind: Most of all protect your state of mind. Don’t quarrel with anyone before a performance or at a rehearsal. If there is someone with whom you have an issue, stay away from that person before a performance. Don’t invite them to come. If you are tired and are coming after work or a hard day at home, do some stretches and if possible wash your face. There is nothing more important than maintaining a positive vibe with the band and therefore, yourself. Music is a positive force, and you have to keep your energy focused and undivided for the music to come out well. The bandstand is like a shrine of the Muse. No matter how simple the circumstances, once you enter that circle of music makers and face the audience, there should be magic inside that circle. Don’t let anyone disturb you. When practicing, try to practice first thing, because there are a million distractions, and most of us don’t have great focus. Or 8
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meditate, and call upon that meditative state when you start practicing. You have to protect your right to practice from everyone, and give them something to do. If you have a child, you need a babysitter or relative, or project for that kid to do. Then afterwards you can give them your undivided love and attention. Practice every day unless your voice needs to rest. Divide your practice time. If you have 15 minutes, you can warm up, do a scale exercise and practice a song in 15 minutes. However if you are practicing for performance, you should plan your repertoire well ahead of time and go through at least Maggie Malone a set a day, until you feel secure with that set of songs, then start on the next set. Then before the performance, at least one or two weeks ahead, you should go through all the songs every day that you will perform. You don’t want to go into a situation where that will be the first time you go through all the songs. You need to pace yourself for the entire performance, both physically and mentally or emotionally. The songs should be in an order that you can switch from one to the next, and make the emotional switch or development. There are hundreds of standards that every jazz singer must know. You must know the words, the melody, the key and the changes to all these tunes, or not expect to work at all. You can keep books of your repertoire, by composers or sets, and keep one for piano or guitar, and one for bass and one for drums. These books can be black or dark colored with plastic covers for each song that attach to the center of the folder or cover. We could have an on-going debate on which standards must be learned. But it The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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should consist of Swing, Ballads, Latin songs, most of which are songs that every musician knows, and not in the keys of “A” or “B.” There should be about 8 songs per set, and most of them have to be swing or up tempo. If you do not have enough time to do them all, you can use them later. Some singers sing 20 songs a set; I once went to hear Barbara Cook and she sang 40 songs in an hour. Pacing is Joe Gimpel very important, and tempo is very important, so you should experiment and find tempos (ask for help). Keep in mind that a tempo does not just mean faster or slower; there is an emotional state or message you are delivering with that tempo. You can record a prospective set and see how it works. Sit back as if you were an audience member, and ask a close friend or relative their opinion also. Unless you are singing the repertoire of a certain band for a special occasion, most of the time you will be in charge of what to sing, and how fast or slow. Then there’s your voice itself, keeping it in good working condition. So if you are allergic to milk, you can’t eat cheese and drink milk if you want a clear tone. A good warm up is the hum. You can hum in the morning, afternoon and evening, for a few minutes, up and down your range, on the “e” and “ah” vowels, and not use up your singing voice. You can hum on the subway platform, walking down the street, practically anywhere. Don’t sing without warming up. You want to do your whole range every day, but never strain your voice. Remember you are always mixing registers. In the top note there is some bottom register, and in the lowest note, some of the top. In that way, you don’t break your voice in two, or lose your top or bottom. Keep yourself hydrated by drinking 8 glasses of water a day. Look at water as the center of your diet, the part that cleans out the 10
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inside of your body so you do not get sick. Some singers have a drink they prefer, like a certain tea or something, with honey. Having common sense helps. You can’t expect to sing well if you are loaded with drugs and alcohol, got two hours sleep, or get no exercise. As alive as you want your music to be, you have to be. You can’t go out and buy a voice, like a Steinway or Stradivarius—so take good care of what you have. On a certain level, look at your voice as a car; you want to keep it in good running order.
MUSICIA S WHO WROTE FOR THE JAZZ CULTURE EWSLETTER The Jazz Culture Newsletter Thanks Contributing Writers in 2012: Clarence
Banks, Cecil Bridgewater, Harold Danko, Luciano Fabris, Barry Harris, Bertha Hope, Joe Magnarelli, Adriano Mazzoletti, Mark McGowan, Kuni Mikami, Dado Moroni, Paul Pace, Rick Stone, Gloria Ware, John Watson Contributing Photographers: Brian McMillen, Richard Williams Contributing Proofreaders: Connie MacNamee, Maggie Malone
Clarence Banks & Cecil Bridgewater The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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Connie Mac amee, Harold Danko, Dado Moroni, Rick Stone, Gloria Ware, Paul Pace, Luciano Fabris, Mark McGowan, Bertha Hope, Barry Harris
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Kuni Mikami is music director of "Kikki Grandpa & Baby" at American Actors Theatre, Jan.5-30
Kuni Mikami, John Watson, Adriano Mazzolletti, Joe Magnarelli, Julie Cohen with Dawn Hampton and their Emmy Job Opening: Advertising Director for The Jazz Culture Newsletter, 50% commission basis; email: info@thejazzculture.com
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New Year's Eve at some NY Jazz Spots
Charles Davis at the 11th Street Bar- ew Year's Eve in the Richard Clemons at the 11th Street Bar 'hood
Bassist Don Moore celebrates at 11 Jules says "Happy ew Year" with St Bar balloons
The Jazz at Lincoln Center band will go on national tour in January with excerpts from Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven arr. by Wynton Marsalis Johnny O' eal stepped out in a tux, starting his ew Year's gig at Fat Cat
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SINGAPORE JAZZMAN MARIO SERIO
Intro: A musician with a unique style that reflects all piano literature, from classics to now, Mario Serio, a jazz pianist, accompanist, musical director, arranger and educator born in Manhattan, attended the School of Performing Arts, Mannes College of Music, the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan has a successful career in Singapore. He moved there in 1995. He plays most styles of music, and is known as one of the most versatile pianists in that region. As jazz is a world music, Singapore has a lot of jazz, and Mr. Serio is one of the leading jazz pianists there. Of Filipino heritage, second generation American, Mario got his love of music when he was four. He did his first gig at age six on TV. He maintained his classical lessons through the High School of Performing Arts, maintaining private lessons under Stanley L. Friedberg, and after inquiries, went to SIR studios (where he studied under Walter Bishop, Jr.) then Barry Harris, a Teddy Wilson master class at Mannes College of Music, Fernando Laires at the National Music Camp, Interlochen Michigan, and Mildred Waldman at the Mannes College of Music. Mario Serio has a great ear, can sing any line back in solfeggio, effortlessly knows the voicings blindfolded of groups as they are playing, and is a phenomenal reader, having fluency transposing heavy classical pieces to keys like B. By Mario Serio
I started doing more gigs after college, after I left Mannes, working more regularly. I’ve had the honor and joy of working with some great groups and individuals like “The Platters, The Coasters, Nestor Torres, Shirley Bassey, Kenny Washington, Mike Clark, and Lea Salonga. I originally came out for a four month performing contract at The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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the Singapore’s premiere jazz club (at the time), Somerset’s Lounge at the Westin Plaza Hotel in 1994 backing jazz vocalist Nancy Kelly. I liked Singapore, …the weather, the cleanliness, the orderliness, the safeness- all though it did seem a bit antiseptic at the time, as compared to NYC, that is. It’s tropical all year round. Although I do miss the 4 seasons (I can travel to get my fix of that), I like the monotony of the weather. Also, it’s a progressive city, cosmopolitan, from a developmental standpoint, infrastructure all here, all the big names in shopping are here. Of course my lovely wife, jewelry designer SuLin Serio, is the main reason I stay here. She has her own boutique in the Tanglin Mall called SuLin Serio, since the mall opened, some 18 years ago.
What I do here is perform at various clubs and venues, teach privately during the daytime, give occasional lectures and/or workshop classes and provide musical entertainment for private or corporate functions.
JC: Your career might be considered an example of how jazz has flowered and become a world music with roots far from the US, and has been successful in Singapore. MS: In the sense that I keep busy, a lot of people know me, so they call me because of my particular abilities, so I’m constantly working. If the frequency of my work constitutes exercising my craft, the answer to your question would be “yes”, although sometimes I feel there are not enough hours in the day as I’m so busy with my business (and my wife’s business) that I find it difficult to do personal projects such as record my own CD, my own recital or compose. I've seen the jazz scene in Singapore grow enormously in the 18 years I’ve been here, partially because the ex-pat community’s influence - people from the US or other countries who settle here, whose presence influence the jazz scene. Also, there are the local musicians adventurous (and fortunate) enough to study in universities in NYC, Boston, and other countries as well, bringing back valuable knowledge and first-hand 16
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experience from countries where jazz was either born or greatly developed. Then you have the technological leaps and IT platforms such as YouTube, iTunes and the Internet itself. We used to have to do research at the library, borrowing books. Now you simply type it into your computer and voila, you’re looking at (or listening to) pretty much anything you need. So these have contributed to the accelerated evolution of Singapore’s jazz scene and "world music" scene. In fact, the immediacy of information has accelerated the music of the world music scene en masse, or at least the potential is there. JC: So it’s pretty international in Singapore? MS: Singapore is considered a business hub, it’s nestled within south east asian countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, etc…so it’s a pretty central launch point. That’s reflected in Changi Airport, touted as being one of the finest in the world. JC: Have you been recording. MS: Not really, I haven’t done much in the way of personal projects. JC: Do you think Singapore has become an international jazz city like London or Paris. MS: An international city, for sure. An international jazz city like London or Paris, I couldn't say because I don't know the essence of those cities. I do know something about New York though. “Singapore is an island city-state country geographically 714.3 square kilometers, just about the size of New York City (the combined 5 boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island totalling 789.4 square kilometers). Singapore although slightly smaller than NYC has done quite well to put itself on the world map as a world class player. The F1 is here. The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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Two integrated resorts (casinos) are here. Although these type of entities elevate Singapore’s profile (from certain perspectives), the soul of jazz is in the blues. Granted, human emotions are international and span all walks of life and social classes. But certain social conditions allow scenarios of desperation to emerge. Desperation causes the human spirit to sink or swim and in these type of extreme circumstances, certain individuals digs deep to pull themselves out and rise above their immediate circumstance. This is the place where the sheer will to survive, to supercede that which was previously done and push the envelope of your art form, to throw caution to the wind and sacrifice everything you have because you're at the point where you have nothing more to lose, comes from. Now, I'm not an authority on Singapore but it seems the standard of living (for the young musical students I've experienced thus far) looks like desperation is not so likely, which is a blessing from an overall viewpoint but again safe and secure. And in art, you never get far playing it safe and secure. That being said, there is an increasing number of homegrown artistes doing great work and making their mark on the local and international scene. Regarding the jazz venues in Singapore, the hotel scene used to be good but that has changed. The hotel is no longer a venue known for its jazz, though there are a couple that still maintain jazz artists. There are only five to six major jazz clubs or venues here presently. Mr. Serio’s clarity, his beautiful style and open personality have been embraced by the people and musicians in Singapore and he has performed at the following venues in Singapore: The Westin Hotel (Somerset's Lounge), Pan Pacific Hotel’s Lobby Lounge, 1 Altitude (1 Raffles Place), Cocotte, Raffles Hotel (Bar and Billiard Room), The Fullerton Hotel, the Regent Hotel (The Bar), the St. Regis Hotel (Astor Bar), Saxophones, Harry’s Boat Quay, Harry's Esplanade, Jazz@Southbridge, Blu Jazz, L'Opera, The Sultan Jazz Club, B28, The Kallang Theatre, Esplanade Concert Hall, Esplanade Recital Studio, Jubilee Concert Hall, Victoria Concert Hall, Transit Hall of Changi Airport. We 18
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anticipate that his future recordings will attest to his triple threat talent as pianist, composer and arranger. See: MarioSerio.com on google. Best regards, Mario Serio +6592728953 www.marioserio.com
MORE NEW YEAR'S EVE PIX FROM NY
The band at Jules
Jon Roche and Clifford Barbaro set up at Smalls, & ew Year's Eve revellers celebrate outside the club The Jazz Culture, VI:37
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Trumpeter Joe Magnarelli at Smalls, where Alex Cowings the virtuouso swinging tap dancer finds a gourmet treat New Year's crowd at Small's bring in 2013!
House cat on piano, Left Spike Wilner Right
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