The JAZZ CULTURE
Bill Saxton, above, Dado Moroni, below at "Bill's Place"
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Shurkri on bass and Jason Brown, drums at Bill's Place, with Bill Saxton & Dado Moroni REVIEW
Bill Saxton Quartet with Bill Saxton, tenor saxophone, Dado Moroni, piano, Shurkri, bass, and Jason Brown, drums.
Caught the Bill Saxton Quartet at Bill’s Place, 148 West 133 Street between Lenox & 7th Avenue on Friday October 16, 2012. The phrase “the joint was jumpin’” must have been invented when some flames leapt off the bandstand, as when this band jumped into “Blues for Obama,” an original by Bill Saxton, at about 200=quarter note. Dado Moroni, an innovative pianist, ten years ago focused on a sensitive lyric sound, that night was playing epic, orchestral dramatic portraits in sound, using passionate, double fisted counterpoint, chording and intervallic lines. Moroni plays with a fearless quality reminiscent of John Hicks (though the two pianists are very different). Mr. Saxton’s bellowing big tone, almost scary on a modern 2
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voiced tenor sax wailing on his Review 1‐7 own stage (he told the audience British Jazz Intro by Doodlebug 8-9 he decided to “create his own Jazz Heritage Elmo Hope 1 0-1 8 gig” when he started Bill’s B. Hope/Comment by Dr. Harris Place) used a lot of effects, How To Improvise from screeches to screams, by Harold Danko 18‐20 multiple repetitions of four Jazz Around Town 21 -22 note motifs, bop treatment of Let's Link 23‐24 the scale, picking a simple info@newyorkjazzproject.com motif and flurrying up and info@thejazzculture.com down the range of his JazzCulture © 2012 instrument and resolving again to a simple three note motif to tell his long and complex story. Mr. Saxton is a veteran of the New York jazz scene, has put decades of his life into jazz, before he decided to open this jazz spot in the community where he was born, Harlem, the capitol of Black America. Setting a consistent swinging beat were Jason Brown on drums and Shurkri on bass. The drummer Jason Brown seemed to play in a trance, hypnotized by the music. The bassist Shurkri played with a solid tone and could be easily heard without an amp. “Beneath the Surface” another Saxton original was next, at about 140= quarter note, a tune with a pretty melody, matching the warmth of Mr. Saxton’s musical personality. Mr. Saxton’s solo started on 16th note triplets and then a lick on the rhythm (+triplet+) with adjacent falls and ascending arpeggios, breaking off the wailing on a short lick, with a whole note arpeggio down, and flurry of notes, combined into a voice that was both plaintive and demanding. Playing a solo that was mainly based on triplets, both 8th note and 16th note to high note wails, with elements of progressive, and modern streams of jazz, Saxton is one of our leading tenor saxophone players who continues the tradition of that instrument, and really plays the feeling and condition of his community. He finally quoted “Happy Birthday” wishing both The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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Bill Saxton, Dado Moroni, Shurkri, Jason Brown at Bill's Place
Dado and “George” a visitor, belated best wishes. Dado went back to the original tempo, swinging expansions of the theme, using runs, lots of triplets with some percussive repetition of single notes, and opening to whole tone colors, then chording with octave rolls with blue notes inflections, creating a powerful, panoramic effect. Remarkably good for someone who looked about 21, the young bassist doubled the time in his solo and infused it with 8th note triplets. The band then traded 8’s, ending the chorus with dramatic chording, leaving 4 measures tacet, before returning to the out chorus. The saxophone ended on a high note. Mr. Saxton next started off on “Estate” alone and rubato, as he must practice every day, with a pretty tenor sound right in the middle, earthy and affirmative of life with lots of trills, both low and high, and wailing calls for love. Then in 6/4, they played the classic “Simone” by Frank Foster (who was a Prince of Players), starting with the bass playing an introduction. 4
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Young Visitors to YC enjoy the ambience of Bill's Place
Rachel, the Hostess, with Bill Saxton at the bar, R-There's another level to Bill's Place filled with memorabilia ofAfrican American history and art
Visitors from around the world flock to Bill's Place; at right, a young lady brings her parents from France The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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The tenor solo started on 1+2+, in the extreme lower and extreme upper register, then played 16th note triplets and runs reminiscent of the 70’s, leading to a cascade of notes that accented the upbeats, with several measures of long tones for rhythmic contrast, and upward scalar runs seeming to depict the storm beneath the calm. Then starting with the rhythmic lick 1, 2+3, accented, created a vibrant bluesy portrait without playing a blue note, and quoting “Favorite Things,” on a trill. Dado Moroni’s solo was kaleidoscopic, with melodic hard bop contours, then exploding into double handed playing and switching the melody from right hand to left, with some back and forth of that, finally selecting some simple melodies that accented the upbeat. Uniquely, he seems to play equally with his left and right hands. His left hand was orchestral, with a real jazz vocabulary (similar to a classical pianist playing a concerto) he played some whole tone ideas, ending in a turbulent melodic chording. Mr. Saxton re-entered with a 70’s melodic line, ending in a cadenza, with drum roll from Mr. Brown, leading to a crescendo, a long tone trill and a flurry of notes to end the song. Mr. Saxton took the time to introduce Rachel, his hostess, with a smile, and talk rhapsodically about his wife, who led a writing group downstairs and was writing a book about the Harlem Renaissance. After that the set turned into a jam session, with David Gilmore, the tap dancer delighting the crowd with his version of the famous hit “Shiny Stockings” by Frank Foster. Then Hiromi sat in on “I Wish You Love,” David Di Gennaro sat in on piano on “Ask Me Now,” displaying some appealing stride, and a young student of Dado Moroni who is now at the New School, Andrea, was thrilled to play “Straight No Chaser” with the band. 6
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Saxton and Moroni matched each other's high pitch of expression and exhilaration. This must be what the "old days" were like. Bill’s Place has a lovely décor with intriguing objets d’art carefully arranged, in tune with its history in the Harlem Renaissance. It was formerly the Café Bohemia, where Billie Holiday once worked as a singing waitress before she was discovered by John Hammond at Monique’s, another Harlem boite. On the first floor of a brownstone laced with Christmas lights, the two story club (it has a sitting room in the basement with books by writers such as Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes, and photos of African American heroes). Full of historical memorabilia, from posters, photos to furniture and old instruments, the place exudes the charm of the Golden Age of Jazz. Bill Saxton said that “133 Street was once the home of half a dozen speakeasies, one of which was a church.” Bill’s Place, a beacon for the community, the jazz tourist and jazz musicians, is open on Fridays with sets at 9 and 11.
Artifacts on wall ofBill's Place; Bill, Dado and documentary film maker in garden; guest in lobby; Rachel guides people in
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A Short Introduction to Jazz in the UK by Doodlebug
Jazz reached England through recordings and bands right after WWI, when there were jazz influenced dance bands. During the 1903’s-40’s, most British musicians made a living in dance bands. Louis British dancers: Still swinging after Armstrong, Duke Ellington and all these years Coleman Hawkins played during residencies in Glasgow and England. Benny Carter also helped make jazz popular in England. The after hours scene was hot for musicians in the 1930’s, where musicians jammed for drinks. There have been many brilliant and unique jazz musicians from the UK, throughout its jazz history. Similar to music tastes in the US, some people preferred trad. or early or New Orleans jazz, played in England by musicians like Humphrey Lyttelton, Ken Colyer and George Webb. Art Pepper was another US musician who came to the UK and played with British jazz bands when his MOS in the army was as an MP during WWII. In the late 1940’s with the rise of bebop, UK musicians like saxophonists Johnny Dankworth (who was also famous for his Ellington interpretations) and Ronnie Scott, played bebop at their Club 11 in London, and later in the early 1960’s the much admired saxophonist Tubby Hayes toured in the States. Some British musicians like George Shearing and Victor Feldman moved to the US to work more. There was a British musician union’s ban on American musicians working in the UK, that was relaxed in the late 50’s. Ronnie Scott founded his jazz club in London in 1959 and set up a policy of exchange with 8
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American musicians. In the 1960’s prior to and after the Beatles, as musicians like Dizzy Reece influenced younger musicians, in a European movement toward ‘free jazz,’ fusion with rock players, and the influence of South African musicians in England, British jazz formed an identity of its own with different branches. Joe Harriott, a Jamaican sax player, developed ‘free form’ jazz in the UK. There is the ‘free’ jazz branch, the rock/rhythm and blues fusion branch, the bop branch, the Coltrane/Rollins branch. A number of musicians immigrating from South Africa also influenced British jazz. There is a solid jazz community in England and important musicians who have developed their own voices, though originally their playing evolved from US jazz. Organizations like the Jazz Centre Society started by Stan Tracey and Ian Carr in 1969, and Jazz Services Ltd., in other cities helped secure a foundation for jazz. A number of jazz clubs and restaurants and hotels with a jazz policy flourish. Jazz FM is the main radio station, and magazines like JazzWise, Jazz Journal and Jazz UK keep the jazz community informed. There are also some charity programs in the schools like Yamaha’s program to give instruments to poor neighborhood schools. Certain universities and music colleges such as Guildhall have jazz studies. Barry Harris, an important educator and pianist, is an American bebop guru who gives annual seminars at the Pizza Express Dean Street on improvisation. Like jazz people everywhere, the British take their jazz seriously and work hard at expanding and maintaining the music’s influence. Whatever style of jazz will flourish in the UK, it will have a distinctly British flavor with many distinctive artists forming the UK jazz community and firmly rooted both in the jazz culture of the country overlapping and cross fertilizing with the world jazz community. Send comments to: http://thejazzculture.com The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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JAZZ HERITAGE
Elmo Hope/Bertha Hope
Bertha Hope, Interviewed/Edited by L. Hamanaka
Bio Notes: Elmo Hope was born June 27, 1923 in New York. He was a U.S. Army veteran, who studied at the Carnegie Hall Studios as a teenager. He was childhood friends with Bud Powell, and a contemporary of Monk. In New York Hope worked with Snub Mosely, a local bandleader. Then he worked with the Joe Morris Band, a territory band on the Bertha Hope Today road in the southern states. Johnny Griffin and Philly Joe Jones were apart of that band and so was Matthew Gee in 1948. When Elmo Hope resettled in New York, he recorded for Decca, Atlantic, and Alfred Lion. Elmo Hope went on the road with Chet Baker to LA and decided to move there from 1957-1961. Bio Notes: Bertha Hope: “My father, C. Clinton Rosemond, was a dramatic baritone who sang German lieder and Italian bel canto art songs. He was my major influence, because I started playing for him in the traditional concert repertoire that ended with what they called at that time ‘Negro Spirituals.’ My father was a contemporary of Roland Hayes, so he was on the same circuit as Hayes and Paul Robeson. He worked for the same agency and did the same command performances for kings and queens all over the world. So he was my biggest inspiration. My mother, Corinne Meaux, 10
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was a dancer in the Cotton Club before I was born. They met in New York in 1928, after my father had spent 15 years on the road in Europe. He put together the cast for “Showboat.” She was in “Blackbirds” in 1928 and they moved to LA about 1934. I started playing when I was 3 and took private piano lessons from about 8 till about 14. I had a lush (“deep, wonderful, great”) experience in the public school system. From 7th to 12th grade, I was in music lessons, orchestras, and jazz camps. I went to the equivalent of Music and Art High School in LA. They had a great music department and a great art department. [I’d been playing professionally] Since I was about 17. I was just really beginning to meet people and my ear was beginning to be a little more sophisticated. JC: Was there a big jazz community in LA at the time you met Elmo? Bertha Hope: In LA at the time, the Watkins Hotel was one of the clubs on the jazz circuit, the Hillcrest Club, and the Troubador, and there was a club on the beach, the Lighthouse. The “IT” club, the Purple Onion, The Oasis, is where I played with Johnny Otis. JC: When did you meet Elmo Hope? Bertha Hope: I met him at a nightclub when he was playing with Sonny Rollins in LA. I had been listening to Bud Powell and I immediately heard some similarities and I wanted to meet him because of that. I was working at the time in LA with Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophonist and alto saxophonist Vy Redd. The Oasis, is where I played with Johnny Otis. JC: When did you meet Elmo Hope? Bertha Hope: I met him at a nightclub when he was playing with Sonny Rollins in LA. I had been listening to Bud Powell and I immediately heard some similarities and I wanted to meet him because of that. I was working at the time in LA with Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophonist and alto saxophonist Vy Redd. We got married in LA in 1960. Monica [our daughter] was The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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born in LA. We took a road trip across country and instead of going back to LA, Elmo decided that we should come to New York because he had several record deal offers that they did not want to record in LA. So he decided it would be a good idea to move back to NY. That was the Riverside offer , the 1961 Homecoming on the Riverside label with Frank Foster, Percy Heath, and Philly Jo Jones. The second LP was Hope-Full; I was invited to play three tracks with Elmo, and it has become a collector’s item. JC: Who were his friends? Bertha Hope: He and Johnny Griffin were very close. He and Philly Joe Jones were buddies and the relationship to Bud Powell is one that I wish I knew more about. He and Thelonious and Bud were like brothers in the musical neighborhood. Thelonious, Johnny Griffin, Bud and Elmo spent a lot of time moving around to different people’s homes looking for a piano, looking to have jam sessions, looking to play together. They spent a lot of time in Elmo’s mother’s house. I guess that had to be in the ‘50s. I met Bud in LA about 1952 or ‘53. I met Monk in New York around 1961 or ‘62. When we returned to New York, Elmo introduced me to Monk. JC: Whose idea was it to have you on the album? Bertha Hope: That was Johnny Griffin’s idea. Johnny Griffin proposed the idea to Orin Keepnews. I was petrified. I’m on “Blues Left and Right,” “ Yesterdays,” and “My Heart Stood Still.” It’s two pianos. I think they thought that it was unique that we were a pair and there weren’t that many pairs playing jazz piano. I don’t know what they thought--I just know I was terrified. I would say that it has stood the test of time. I went to a secondhand shop to see if they had the original vinyl LP and he [the owner] wouldn’t put a price on it for me, he said, “This one is priceless.” He was very glad to meet me, but he wouldn’t sell it to me. 12
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JC: How did you feel about Elmo Hope at the time? Bertha Hope: I was absolutely--we were married by that time, we
had a daughter, I was completely in love with him.
JC: What kind of person was Elmo Hope? Bertha Hope: He was gregarious, he loved to have people all around all the time, he had followers, men who would follow him around from place to place; he had a very generous spirit. JC: Was jazz more popular in those days? Bertha Hope: I think it was, and more people were willing to share. That’s how Elmo acquired students, by offering to share his knowledge. He never gave a group class. If I had allowed it, the house would have been full of people all the time. I just couldn’t handle that. We had a small apartment and a baby. He was very interested in people and what they thought. We didn’t have a lot of sessions, but there were a lot of people who wanted to hear his story, and be around him. JC: What was the difference between LA and New York? Bertha Hope: Space, for one thing. If you were going to two nightclubs a night in LA, you better start at 5. A car is an essential in LA. Not in NY. You can walk from one club to another in this city and find jazz. You can be in the Village and walk from Point A to another, or hop on the train. JC: Were there more jazz fans in NY? Bertha Hope: Yes. Probably. Technology has changed the world so much. You can record simultaneously with people all over the world through sending files. But in terms of a fan base, still more fans in NY. JC: You were born into a show biz family. Were you aware you were meeting celebrities? Bertha Hope: I met so many people when I was in his company. All of it was a little daunting. I knew because I was already The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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listening to their records, most were musicians from the East Coast. I never met Dave Brubeck, Shelly Manne, people on Fantasy Red vinyl labels, who were LA musicians. I listened to the LP’s, never met them in person or live. The people who came to play the San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Vancouver circuit, Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, were the people who called Elmo to play when they came to the Coast. JC: Where did you live in New York? Bertha Hope: We lived in the Bronx, on Lyman Place, with Elmo’s mother and father, till we found an apartment on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. Then we moved to 71st Street in Manhattan. JC: Did you learn from him? Bertha Hope: I learned by listening. He wasn’t a teacher who wrote out a lesson in the traditional sense. He would write out a set of chord changes for you and you would learn those in all keys. Then he would write a melody on those changes the next week. I learned by listening to him play. He was very informal in that way. JC: In terms of composers and players of his era, where would you place him? Bertha Hope: If you listen to his compositions, they’re varied and very sophisticated harmonically. They’re a little crowded, and I think that’s why people don’t want to dissect them too often. His music is not played often and I think it’s because there’s a degree of difficulty to it that some people don’t want to deal with. I’ve been told there are too many changes for his melody and so you have to make choices and people don’t want to. I think he’s a great composer whose music did not get played except by the people whom Elmo chose for his recording dates. He wrote for the date, for the people he was recording with, for example, the things he did with Sonny Rollins. “Carvin’ the Rock” was a composition on a date with Sonny Rollins. He and Sonny Rollins co-wrote that song for that date. I think a lot of the compositions he wrote were 14
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in preparation for recording sessions. He was a composer who wrote long piano lines, melodically speaking. He would just tell the horn players, “Find a place to breathe,” I heard him tell Harold Land. “The note is not on my horn,” Harold Land said. “Well, find it,” Elmo said. He wrote what he heard. I think as Monk and Bud and Elmo wrote, they did not write with the idea of legacy. They probably would have written a lot more. Elmo left a lot of fragments of compositions. JC: Did it happen suddenly? [on May 1967 Elmo Hope died] Bertha Hope: He went to the hospital [with pneumonia] and was recovering, we thought, after about three weeks. The heart attack happened in the middle of the night. They called me very early in the morning. JC: Did you have a memorial? Bertha Hope: We had a funeral, but because the family was very involved, I acquiesced to his mother, and father. By the time he died, I was 31 or 32. The band, Elmollenium, is my testament and memorial to him, which I would love to resurrect. JC: Musically, you were able to interpret and record some of Elmo Hope’s compositions. What does that say about you? [given that they were so complex] Bertha Hope: I have no idea. I had a band called “Elmollenium” that never got a chance to record but played all of Elmo’s compositions, a sextet. Most of the gigs were at our home base, La Belle Epoque, a lovely Creole restaurant that went under in the year of Katrina. Leroy Williams, Charles Davis, Virgil Jones, me, Walter Booker, Ronnie Ben-Hur. We were all really interested in playing Elmo’s music. We didn’t play any other music except Elmo’s. The band was dedicated to keeping Elmo’s music alive. JC: Do you think there’s an international audience for his The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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compositions and recordings? Bertha Hope: I think there is an underground cult kind of following for him in places all over the world, especially in Europe. JC: Where in Europe? Bertha Hope: Denmark, France, Germany, England. JC: Did he play abroad? Bertha Hope: He didn’t. Dexter Gordon wanted Elmo to come to Copenhagen and relocate there also. He never really shared with me why he didn’t leave. Personally, it would have changed his life forever, and he would have enjoyed a lot of success there, because at that time, he would have been the pianist of choice for any of the groups Dexter was putting together, and for other groups as well. It would have broadened the idea that his music was loved and appreciated in other parts of the world. JC: As a musical couple, did you help each other? Bertha Hope: I know he helped me, he was so much more advanced in the music than I was. I don’t know how much I helped him. He did appreciate my ability to hear so keenly what he was doing. I was working in other directions. Sometimes I’d play a chord and he’d look over my shoulder and say, “What is that?” I did try to help him understand that he was writing lasting music and he should not take ownership so lightly, and those were things he didn’t understand—how valuable his contribution was. He made some bad choices along those lines. He didn’t keep his publishing rights. He was victimized at the time, as were so many others. But many Institutes of Jazz do incorporate some of his compositions in their library, so young students know who he is and play his compositions now. His contribution is being recognized in that way and the music is available to them. Elmo would take great pride in knowing that his music is still being honored by younger musicians. 16
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Musician Comments: Mitch: Everyone loves Elmo Hope. Who doesn’t love Elmo Hope?
at Jones: Elmo didn’t copy Bud. Everyone else was copying Bud. He [Elmo] was original. I got to hear him because he played in the Miami area at one time. He was nice. He sort of played his body, thin, mostly in the upper register. I thought he got away from the left handed piano playing [that I was used to]. Barry Harris: Elmo Hope was very good. I hung out with him one time at some person’s house on 110th street. I got along with him well. His songs were hard. That’s why that record is called “Take 12.” Clifford [Jordan] and I got it [his songs] on the first take, but it took Lee Morgan 12 takes until he finally got it, so they called it “Take 12.” Elmo missed out. [One reason was] Monk and Bud wrote stuff on the blues and standards. Elmo wrote all original all the time…he was one of the highly respected cats. I wish I could have hung out with him more. Pub. Note on Bertha Hope: Hear Ms. Hope on: Nothing But Love (Reservoir), In Search Of, (Reservoir) and Elmo’s Fire, (Minor Music)-Between Two Kings. Bertha Hope is an esteemed member of the NY jazz community. She studied theory and harmony at Los Angeles City College, and privately studied piano with pianist Richie Powell, a member of the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet and brother of Bud Powell. She was Artist in Residence at NJ Council for the Arts, where she played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderly, Frank Foster and Philly Joe Jones. She received a Barry Award from Dr. Barry Harris. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C, She was in the first women's quartet to play for George Wein's Kool Jazz festival in Carnegie Hall, and she was a member of the first women's ensemble to open for Jimmy Heath for the Jazzmobile Festivals in New York. Bertha Hope plays around the NY area. Listen to Elmo Hope: The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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In 1949, he recorded for Decca, and in 1951 Mr. Hope recorded for Atlantic with Winone Harris.In June 1953, he recorded with Jackie McLean (Lights Out); Introducing the Elmo Hope Trio, (Blue Note 1953); Meditations (Prestige 1953); Hope Meets Foster (Prestige, 1955); Informal Jazz (Prestige 1956); Trio and Quintet (Blue Note 1957); Meditations (OJC 1958); Homecoming (OJC, 1958); Plays His Original Compositions (Fresh Sound, 1961); The Final Sessions (Evidence, 1966) ; Memorial Album (Clifford Brown, 1953); Two Tenors (Prestige, Coltrane 1956); The Fox (Harold Land, 1959); Moving Out (Sonny Rollins, Prestige, 1959); Jazz from Rikers Island (1963); Two albums for Herb Albertson Festival Records(May/August 1966) Note: Elmo Hope is survived by Bertha Hope, Daughter Monique, sons, Kevin, Daryl, and grandson Cory.
HOW TO-EXPERT ADVICE
“You don’t learn to improvise, you improvise to learn.” HD “Jazz music is characterized by improvisation and further defined by repertoire.” HD The premise of my “Improvising Composer/Composing Improviser” workshops and classes is a product of almost five decades of performing, teaching, and composing. I feel strongly that improvisation is a Harold Danko natural tendency if it is not impeded Photo: Julia Radschiner by one’s education, and I have always been an improviser, in music as well as life. Years ago I made the statement “You don’t learn to improvise; you improvise to learn.” in a magazine interview, and 18
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this idea continues to motivate my personal and public educational efforts. My current teaching methods bring this to the forefront by using my own works to facilitate the integration of improvising and composing into performance practice. My book, The Illustrated Keyboard Series, maps out basic patterns of scale usage, and many of my own compositions are used as examples of how this process unfolds. Reprints of my published articles from Keyboard Magazine help to clarify and expand the concepts presented. In my teaching I have compiled many checklists to structure and facilitate individual learning, and “Strategies for Improvisation” is a short list of important skills and content that I developed specifically for this course in order to encourage discussion as well as individual exploration. In 2011 during a semester-long pilot course at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, with the original title “The Composer as Improviser/Improviser as Composer” I came to see in no uncertain terms that for me improvising leads to composing and the resulting compositions then provide even further exploratory opportunities for improvisation. Thus my course title was simplified to “The Improviser as Composer” and can take on several formats, based on the level of participants and time allotted. In a college level course of one semester’s length (14 weekly meetings) we explore historic aspects of improvisation in western classical, ethnic/world, popular, and jazz styles and analyze works from all genres as to content, performance practices, and possible interrelationships. Depending on the background of students, performance demonstrations and even ad-hoc ensembles can become a part of the course structure. Examples from masters in all styles, my own works, and most importantly the works of students in the class, make the processes relevant to all. Research papers and performance/analysis of original music are also The Jazz Culture, VI:28
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assigned. Students will explore the relationship of improvisation and composition in a variety of musical styles. Topics will include jazz improvisation and theory as it relates to its history, and an examination of the works and methodology employed by the instructor, Harold Danko, in research, study, practice routines, improvising, composing, rehearsals, live performance, and studio recording. Student projects will include composition and performances/presentations of at least two short pieces and a midterm paper to be revised during the remainder of the semester and due at the final class. Attendance, preparation and active classroom contribution are expected throughout the course. I Discussion of the role of improvisation/composition throughout history in various music genres as it relates to members of the class and the instructor; variation principle; recreation vs. formal disciplines; performance practices, with examples from western classical, jazz, popular, and world musics; group and solo improvisation; Concepts/Process/Results. Traditions and Innovations. II “Strategies for Improvising� – discussion. Strategies for Improvising for the Composing Improviser/Improvising Composer By Harold Danko. General principles. Photo: Jay Anderson, bass, Jeff Hirschfield, drums, Harold Danko, piano: Unriched. Harold Danko is well known for his singular voice on piano, and he has worked with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, and in the Woody Herman, Chet Baker and Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Bands, and recorded many cd's as a leader.
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Jazz Around Town
Albert "Tootie" Heath, left, Jimmy Heath, center, Mona Heath, right. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY HEATH!
Choir at Japanese Christian Church, below, Rev. & Mrs. Takahashi, fans ofJohn Pastor Takahashi,new reverend of Coltrane the Japanese Christian Church
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Rick Stone Trio with Tom Pollard, drums, Marco Panascia, bass, and Rick Stone, guitar, preparing to go on at La Laterna on Friday, October 26
Views ofBill's Place, including the lower level with artwork featuring heroes ofAfrican American history and the Harlem Renaissance
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Let's Link
Mark McGowan: coming next week: How to be a Jazz Trumpeter
Harold Mabern & George Coleman
Connie Mac amee, Singer
Dr. Frank Foster Photo: Brian McMillen
David Pearl & Rodney's jam at Thalia
Kuni Mikami "Hamp's Boogie" on CD Baby
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Tap Dancer David Gilmore
Kim Clarke, Bassist
See BarryHarris.com
Gene Ghee, Saxophonist; Right, Toes Tapping at Cobi Jam
READERS: Please note that in the November issue, The Jazz Culture will start accepting ADS that start at $25. Therefore, if you have an event, cd, venue, program, book that you want to advertise, please send an email to: info@ thejazzculture.com for a rate sheet. The deadline is October 30, 2012.
Subscribe Free to the Jazz Culture ewsletter, that has been seen in 33 countries across the world and across the USA, online at http://thejazzculture.com. Help draw the world jazz community together. Š2012 The Jazz Culture, ltd. Address: West Park Finance Sta, PO Box 20023, 700 Columbus Avenue, YC Lionelle Hamanaka, 10025 Tel: 646-312-7773 Publisher
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