… In Santa Barbara. Four shows in a row and it just keeps getting better and better. Another standing ovation after a 90-minute set. Thanks to Joe Woodard’s feature in the local paper we had a very good crowd. So grateful to be playing with these transcendent musicians: Putter Smith, john Gross, Billy Mintz. Tomorrow is our last night – Alva’s showroom in San Pedro.
What is “Accessible”?
Doug Ramsey has written a wonderful review of Mintz Quartet in his exemplary Rifftides blog. Interestingly, he uses the word “accessible” to describe the CD, which features only Billy’s originals. The recording has a few free pieces and one thirteen-minute power-vamp in 7 + 5; and at least one tune starts with a quiet drum solo. In theory, according to all the criteria of industry “experts”, this should not be an accessible recording, at least not in the way the word is traditionally used. However, Doug’s description rings completely true for me. “Accessible” is a great word to describe this album.
Billy’s writing and playing has a rare straight-forwardness about it; it’s completely lacking in artifice. The same goes for the playing of John Gross and Putter Smith. Such focus and clarity of thought. (It takes a long time to attain that kind of mastery and it is why I feel privileged to be on the CD and to be playing all this week in southern California with them.)
At first it seems counter-intuitive that in order to be accessible, one needs to reach the highest level of accomplishment and expression but it actually makes sense. Musicians often discuss how jazz was more popular “back in the day” and of course this has a lot to do with the music having been more danceable (as well as the general decline and corporatization of American culture). However, not being danceable didn’t stop sensitive laypeople from listening to Bird or Miles.
I wonder if the decline of jazz’s popularity is more about the fact that jazz has become glutted with incredibly competent players who have memorized all the rules and can regurgitate with ease, but do not have that quality of directness that Billy, John and Putter have. It used to be called “telling a story”. Some people associate that term with pre-bebop jazz but I personally don’t think it has anything to do with genres. However, that’s for another post.
Just saying.
RIP Marian
I just found out that Marian McPartland passed away last night. I can’t even begin to say what a good friend and wonderful person she was, in addition to being a great musician and radio host of course. The last time I saw her was a few months ago when Huey and Paul DeBarros held a screening/book reading in her honor and asked me to play a few of her tunes, mostly in the background while Marian and the authors autographed DVDs and books. It was her day, and yet she expressed concern to me (twice actually) that someone should announce me before I played, and offered to do so herself! Such thoughtfulness and generosity.
Another great thing about Marian: she could swear with the best of them. It was hilarious to hear her cursing with her proper British accent.
I will miss her.
Playing Jazz: Forget Your Scales and Patterns
Young musicians are often very concerned about what scale or mode they are using. While it’s important to have a strong knowledge of theory, at some point in the maturation process one must get beyond thinking about scales to the concept of playing musical ideas.
The title of this post is admittedly a bit sensationalistic. I’m not advocating that you literally “forget” the scales and patterns that you’ve learned (Okay, maybe most of the patterns, except for the really hip ones, which are probably the ones you came up with on your own. Just lose the ones you were fed from a play-along record.)
Improvising using specific melodic material or motives, without worrying about “making the chord changes”, is a practice device for learning to think motivically and develop your ideas in a logical progressive manner, as opposed to playing a sequence of unrelated “jazz patterns”, which all too many musicians (even some professionals) lean on.
To begin practicing, pick a very short motive or phrase from the tune on which you’re working. Don’t worry about playing the changes for now; begin with a series of three-note phrases.
Here’s an example of a solo that is completely “motive-based”. What I mean by that is that I am ignoring the changes altogether. When I play this introduction to Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Dream”, my goal is to squeeze as much as possible from these short, simple motives.
As you progress, focus on varying the patterns through transposition, inversion, retrograde, diminution, augmentation, etc. (If you don’t know what these terms mean in a musical context then look them up.)
When you feel ready, you can try this exercise over the chord changes of a tune. I suggest you start with a tune that has simple changes that are easy to navigate so you don’t have to think about too many things at once.
This is a practice exercise. At first you will sound forced, mechanical and awkward, just as you did when you first tried to play over changes. As the process of motivic development becomes more intuitive your playing will develop in maturity and coherence, and you won’t be just another purveyor of licks.
Citizen Jazz – Op Der Schmelz – Op Der Schmelz Live
Nice Review of Op Der Schmelz Live in the French Citizen Jazz:
For School Band Directors: How Can I Maximize the Impact of a Visiting Clinician at My School? Part 2
In Part 1 of this post, I talked about how to maximize the positive effects of having a visiting artist give a clinic or master class at your school. I’d like to discuss some other thoughts I’ve had on this subject over the years that I’ve been an educator and clinician.
3. Start on time. If at all possible, prepare the room where the clinic will take place ahead of time. If the artist has to stand around for 30 minutes while the previous class clears out, chairs are being moved, and amps are plugged in then you are wasting the artist’s time and your money.
In some circumstances it may not be possible to set up in advance of the class time – if, for example, there’s another class in the room immediately before. However, there’s no reason the artist should have to be around for that. This is not a matter of the clinician being a prima donna, but more of a practical matter. Usually visiting artists are on a tight and often grueling travel schedule. They may be performing in a local club until 2am, and then getting up bright and early to be at your school (hopefully) on time. Respect the artist’s scheduling and sleeping needs by being realistic about what time the clinic will really start. An artist who is well-rested and feels that her time is being respected will be a better clinician, and more willing to stick around after the “official” clinic has ended to answer questions.
4. Live music is the best teacher. My final suggestion for clinics may seem self-serving: If the artist is performing in your town, whether at a concert in your school or at a local venue such as a jazz club, encourage your students to go to the performance. There’s no substitute for hearing live jazz, and seeing the artist put his words into practice is an invaluable learning experience for your students that simply cannot be duplicated in the classroom.
As in Part 1 of this article, comments, especially from clinicians and band directors, are welcome.
Roberta Piket in Huntington on 6/15/13
Kennedy Center to end Women in Jazz Festival
So apparently Jason Moran has decided women have reached parity in the jazz world:
Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival begins final year as women-only showcase
For School Band Directors: How can I Maximize the Impact of a Visiting Clinician at My School? Part 1
Over the years I’ve done many clinics and masterclasses at the high school and college level. Sometimes the students are very advanced, sometimes they’re practically beginners. No matter what level your students are at, there are certain steps you can take ensure that they will get the most out of a clinician or guest artist. Whether you hire an artist for an hour, or for an extended residency, these tips should help your students get lasting benefits (which translates into more value for your limited clinician budget and better performances at concert time.)
1. Be there . Frankly I’m amazed I even have to point this out, but a surprising number of instructors simply treat a session with a professional artist as an opportunity to catch up on their paperwork or take a coffee break.
Your presence at the class is essential for several reasons. For one thing, it shows students that this is a worthwhile endeavor and they should pay attention.
Secondly, you may just learn something. As professionals, whether as musicians, teachers, or both, we owe it to ourselves to never stop growing and learning. I have team-taught clinics with other musicians who said things I would never have thought of. This has made me a better teacher. Even if you are unable to afford a frequent clinician visit, you can pass on that artist’s wisdom to your future students, but only if you’re there to hear what she has to say! In particular I have seen many school band situations where the band was simply not set up optimally. Maybe the bass player was on the opposite side of the room from the drummer, or the singer wasn’t properly miked. The clinician can correct these problems in his visit, but if you aren’t there to hear about it, the same errors will continue in the next rehearsal.
Here is the third and probably most important reason for you to attend the class. We all need repetition to learn anything new. Only by knowing what was said to your students can you reinforce it in the coming months and years. That talented young drummer may need to hear twenty times, not just once, that he needn’t play so loud; the sax player may need to be reminded regularly of the importance of doing long tones.
2. Plan Ahead. In advance, encourage your students to think of questions. You may ask them individually or collectively to make a list of questions or items they are struggling with such as a particular tune or an instrumental problem.
Next week I’ll post further suggestions on getting the most from a band clinician. Are you a visiting artist or a school band director? Comments welcome.
Saturday May 25th: Three Solo Performances in One Night: Sam Newsome, Billy Mintz, Roberta Piket
This will be a great show! Three solo sets by three different improvisors in one night!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Three Sets Starting at 8pm:
Sam Newsome: Solo Soprano Saxophone
Roberta Piket: Solo Piano
Billy Mintz: Solo Drumset
Ibeam 168 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY www.ibeambrooklyn.com
$10 requested donation for the whole night, all ages admitted
Press release follows:
Saturday May 25th will be a special evening in Brooklyn as three musicians explore the challenging and rewarding art of playing solo.
Since deciding to become a soprano saxophone specialist in 1996, Sam Newsome has established himself as one of the leading voices on his instrument. Nate Chinen, in his New York Times review of one of Newsome’s solo saxophone concerts, described him as having an “outsized command of the horn.” He has developed his own brand of solo saxophone that successfully intertwines modern jazz vocabularies, extended techniques, and West African and East Asian sensibilities. Writer Michael Jackson, who gave Newsome’s Blue Soliloquy the coveted five star (masterpiece) rating in Downbeat, lauded him for his “succinct survey of the world outside, as well as the world within.” In addition to placing every year in the Downbeat Critics Polls in the “Soprano Saxophone” category, the Jazz Journalist Association (JJA) has named him as a nominee for “Soprano Saxophonist of the Year” in 2011 and 2013. http://www.samnewsome.com/
Roberta Piket has played professionally as a sidewoman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Michael Formanek, Lionel Hampton and the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, and has three times been a featured guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, on National Public Radio. Her 2012 release, entitled simply Solo, has garnered rave reviews and was on the “ten-best list” of two jazz writers. For video visit: www.tinyurl.com/robertayoutube “[Solo] displays a mastery that is frequently striking and always engaging. It’s hard to believe this is Roberta Piket’s maiden voyage on solo piano…. Her playing reflects various influences but it’s her own stunning and singular voice that makes this album so memorable.”– New York City Jazz Record
In an extraordinary career spanning nearly 40 years, Billy Mintz has played with Lee Konitz, Eddie Daniels, Harold Danko, Mose Allison, Mark Murphy, Bobby Shew, Charles Lloyd, Vinny Golia, Mark Feldman, Ellery Eskelin and the Alan Broadbent Trio. In recent years, Mr. Mintz has taken on new roles as a bandleader and a composer, performing his own compositions with various ensembles. He has been performing solo drumset concerts for over a decade. “[Mintz’s solo performances are] a form of holy worship for many musicians and drummers. Forget what you know about the drums and solo drums. This is no boom-chakka-lakka affair. Mintz is painterly and understated in his singular approach to music.” Willamette Week, Portland, Oregon