Cadenzas – Edition XXVIII
Thank you! My sincere thanks to all of you who responded to the article in Cadenzas - Edition XXVII, “Who Reads This Stuff Anyway?” Many writers (real writers!) have reminded me that writing is a lonely profession. One never knows if anyone else reads his or her stuff. I am gratified to know that many of you do read Cadenzas.
Something Very Special
My friend, pianist Joyce DiCamilllo, sent me an email recently that contained the welcoming address by pianist and director of the music division, Karl Paulnack, to the entering freshman of the Boston Conservatory. These are some of the most moving words I have seen in recent years. Never have I read a clearer explanation of what music is, what the mission of the musician is, and music's place in our lives. Just click on the link below.
Common Courtesy
The lack of common courtesy in our inter-personal relationships, specifically our failure to communicate with one another, has become a real issue for me.
I am not “out of the loop” nor am I stupid, but too many peoples’ lack of response to others really gets to me. Yes, I know this thoughtless behavior has become a more or less acceptable part of today’s culture, and I am also aware that everyone is extremely busy just “trying to make it,” especially in the current economic environment. Everyone is stressed “to the max. But should we forget our humanity?
I, too, am a busy person. Touring six to seven months a year is, these days, grueling. And when at home, I still must deal with bookings, PR, and all the other things that being a working free-lance musician requires. I also have a family that I love and enjoy spending time with whenever I can.
I, like many of you, receive numerous telephone calls and emails from people who want to communicate with me. Most of my colleagues share that experience. Many of these messages come from people with whom I am acquainted, but others are from strangers. Some of these people have genuine needs; others, for one reason or another, just want to be in touch with me. Some truly need my help; others have intelligent and logical reasons to be in touch.
There are also those who write obscure questions or statements which are probably a waste of my time and effort, but the person at the other end seems sincere and may not realize the irrelevance of the request. For all of these, I manage to answer, even if all I can say is “I don’t know,” or, “You need to go elsewhere for an answer.” And, of course, some people are downright abusive, but they are the exception rather than the rule. I get to know who they are, and I have learned not to waste my time with them.
Here’s the thing: Are we becoming a disengaged society? Are we a people who now possess progressively more sophisticated means of communicating, but increasingly hide behind these technologies to shield ourselves from others? This is definitely what I have been seeing and experiencing for a while now - many people closing off to others, isolating and insulating themselves unless they can benefit directly.
The results of all this are myriad, but one of the most obvious is a lack of courtesy. And this lack of courtesy comes not only from the uneducated or the “great unwashed,” but also from those who ARE educated and who should know better. Here is a good example: I recently sent email to four faculty members of a university with an excellent school of music. I wrote to tell them about the Inventions Trio and to make them aware that I was working on a tour to their state; and, if they were interested, we would make ourselves available to visit their school to perform and/or teach in any capacity they felt might benefit their students. One, as he always does, replied to me. The other three, all with whom I have shared several very good personal and musical experiences in the past, failed even to acknowledge my email. I do not believe it was a collective decision, but rather an individual act on the part of each person.
Like any of my free-lance friends, I am very familiar with the many reasons for a negative response - everything from “no interest” to “no money.” That is a fact of our musical lives. But to be totally ignored, to get not even a short acknowledgement from people with whom I had worked closely in the past, is, I feel, rather offensive. And this absence of respect came from people who are not too much younger than I am, and who were taught by the same generation of “old school” teachers I learned from. But more than this, it speaks loudly about who we have become and reveals a lot about our society today.
I believe this lack of courtesy has greatly infected us. With all the other things that make us an angry and dissociative society, the lack of common courtesy is what probably affects us most directly. Is this how we deal with our neighbor (as we would have our neighbor deal with us)? Is this really the way we want to be? Are we letting the marvelous technologies we have invented steal our humanity? Or are we just less humane? Whatever the answer to this question may be, it is not who I am – nor do I ever want to allow myself to change and behave in such a manner.
New Management
I believe the most difficult component for most free-lance jazz musicians to acquire is excellent management - management that is competent and knows how to work positively with the many presenters with whom he must deal while at the same time having a real interest in the artist’s music. It is extremely rare to find someone for whom it is NOT “all about the money,” but truly about the artist.
The music business is not an easy one. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart. And it is not only about managing the artist. As any musician will attest, we have to deal with a wide range of personalities, from the most respectful to the most insulting. Having someone represent you who understands the business side of music, can deal with all kinds of people, yet knows - and cares - about the artistic side as well, is very rare. I have found these qualities in Jay Nachowitz.
Jay is a former working musician who, since leaving music, has become a successful businessman. He is experienced in this crazy business and brings many skills to the table; he understands the value of good PR to help the artist get as much exposure as possible; and, as a business person, he knows how to work with all kinds of people in a non-adversarial way - a very important quality. His position is to benefit both the artist and the presenter at the same time he facilitates all the various details along the way.
Today, a good manager must have multiple skills. Management involves complete representation that exhibits an artist in the most favorable light, and an enormous amount of material must be brought together to serve everyone’s best interests. In the several months that we have joined efforts to bring things up to speed (a quite involved process), I have truly enjoyed working with Jay. He has a great attitude and is very enthusiastic. He also doesn’t mind the long hours and hard work involved - my kind of guy!
Jay also manages three other artists - trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, singer/pianist Dena DeRose, and vibraphonist Arthur Lippner. Jay says that this is a good number of artists to work with, and I believe the four of us offer a pretty wide palette with which he can work. If you’d like, you can check out Jay’s Web site to learn more at:
Touring
Russia
After taking July and August off to enjoy some family time, I returned to a hectic fall season of work and travel that kept me busy through most of December. Most of my touring was with the Inventions Trio and the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band.
In mid-September, I joined the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band for a tour to Germany, Russia, and Amsterdam. George always assembles a very good band, and this one was no exception. The band’s personnel for this tour were trumpets: Jack Walrath, Tatum Greenblatt, Tobias Weidinger, Marvin Stamm; trombones: David Bargeron, Gary Valente, Earl McIntyre, René Mosele; saxophones: Chris Hunter, Sal Giorgianni, Larry Schneider, Scott Robinson, Howard Johnson; piano: George Gruntz; bass: Arie Volinez; drums: John Riley.
The band met in Essen, Germany, where we rehearsed for two days and performed our first concert in the Essen Philharmonic Hall. The following day we boarded a flight to Moscow, returning to Russia for the first time since 1996. I remember clearly our first visit there. It was a very interesting tour, fairly soon after glasnost and the supposed end of the Communist reign. At that time, we found Russia to be mostly a poor country with a crumbling infrastructure. It was a country in disarray.
The 1996 tour visited four major Russian cities: Moscow Voronezh, Saratov, and St. Petersburg. Those of us coming for this second visit were very interested to see what changes had taken place. This tour, along with our return to Moscow, would take us to three other cities in central Russia: Arkhangelsk, Yaroslavl, and Tver.
We first played in Moscow at a very high-class jazz club. It was obviously an expensive restaurant and music venue that attracted some very good Russian groups as well as international groups that were touring the country. The following day we flew to Arkhangelsk, where we would perform one concert and use this city as a base to travel to Solovkin Island for another concert. At the last minute, the Solovkin concert was canceled by Premier Putin for reasons that were unclear to us, but which were, in my opinion, political though having nothing to do with us specifically. This meant that we were to spend the better part of three days in Arkhangelsk, once a very active and busy seaport to the north, east of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The port at Arkhangelsk was, unfortunately, greatly impacted by the modernization of the port at St. Petersburg, ending its use as a major location of import/export activity. This, of course, ruined the economy in that city, and everyone and everything was negatively affected. Drummer John Riley and I recognized this deterioration quite clearly because we always run/jog wherever we might be and, freely moving about as we were able to do in Arkhangelsk, we could clearly assess the local conditions.
After our time in Arkhangelsk, we traveled by bus to Yaroslavl. About half-way through the journey, it was very interesting to see how the physical environment changed. The countryside in and around Arkhangelsk was a dull shade of brown. As we got close to Yaroslavl, everything we could see seemed to become much cleaner, greener, and much healthier. We arrived mid-afternoon and, as the day was clear and sunny, I went for a jog. Yaroslavl is a beautiful city, one that has been rebuilt from the Communist era and has been beautifully restored. This transformation can be clearly seen in the faces and attitudes of the people there. We performed to a very enthusiastic audience and enjoyed our time in this city.
We next went to Tver, an older city three hours from Moscow, to play in their Philharmonic Hall. Tver seemed much like Yaroslavl, a city in rebirth. Between the rehearsal and dinner, we found an attractive coffee shop in which to relax. The hall, quite small by most standards, was not only lovely but also provided nice live acoustics. The audience loved the band. We drove to Moscow after the concert and had the following night off before flying to Amsterdam.
Life in Russia had certainly changed from what we saw there in 1996. While most people seemed to have more of most necessities, there was definitely a great disparity from the “haves” to the “have not’s.” And the people we dealt with in the various hotels where we stayed still seemed stiff and “removed,” unlike the staffs in Western hotels. I only wish I could speak Russian so I could have communicated with ordinary citizens. In 1996, we were in contact with many of these people, much more than throughout this recent trip, and I had thoroughly enjoyed that experience. The Russian people as a whole are a very warm and passionate people, as their music reflects.
It was a pleasure to arrive in a western city like Amsterdam after our journey to the East. Am I spoiled? Yes! I had never spent much time in Amsterdam, so being there for two full days, one of which was a free day, was awfully nice. After arriving, I went for a run on the port side. It was so relaxing to have some time to “chill out.” For our night off, George and I enjoyed a delicious dinner with Harry and Leanne Smallenburg, friends from Los Angeles.
We were free the next day till the afternoon sound check at the BIM HAUS, a beautiful concert space next to our hotel. This was our final concert of the tour, so we had a well-deserved “hang” after the concert before we all flew home the next morning. Once again, it was a very nice tour with George and the Concert Jazz Band.
Traveling in Threes
Three days after returning from the tour with George, I flew to California with Bill Mays and Alisa Horn to begin a short two-week tour that included performing five days in California, a quick trip back to New York, four days in Washington State, a workshop at Indiana University and a concert at another very nice venue, also in Bloomington.
Playing with this group provides quite a contrast to the Concert Jazz Band. There is so much intimacy, so many colors with which to blend, great dynamic contrast, and unique settings from which to make improvisatory exploration. I do love playing with this trio. The tour had been designed to celebrate the release of our new CD, the Delaware River Suite, but it also afforded us the opportunity to play and refine a lot of new material Bill had written over the summer.
The five days in the San Francisco Bay area were comprised of five concerts and two university workshops, one at Stanford, the other at San Jose State. The five concerts were performed at West Valley College in Saratoga, station KRML-FM in Carmel, Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco, and two private concerts, one at the home of our dear friends John Sullivan and his dog BeBop.
As usual, we had a wonderful time working and traveling together for this tour. (We really are fun to be with!) The California portion involved a lot of driving; the various concerts we played were located all over the place. Our collective sense of humor is a “must,” so we laugh a lot. I would love for Alisa to write a book about the trio’s travels. She writes beautifully, with a great sense of humor and much fun. Maybe I can one day convince her to do this.
After a quick trip back to New York, we flew to Seattle to play at Bake’s Place, an excellent restaurant/club in an eastern suburb of Seattle. Following the gig, we drove the two-and-a-half hours to Yakima for a planned three-day visit to be, once again, one of the featured groups for the Seasons Festival. As part of the festival, each member of the trio gave a workshop at a different school. For the performance, Bill wrote an extended work that incorporated two members of the Finisterra Trio plus bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Jorgenson. This new suite was dedicated to the city of Yakima, home of Doug Ramsey, the famous journalist, biographer, novelist, and trumpeter. The concert, the first half by the trio and the second by the augmented group, was heartily received by an enthusiastic audience.
We had a day off in Yakima before flying to Indianapolis and driving to Bloomington. We left Yakima for the Seattle airport at 2 a.m., and arrived at 4:30 a.m. to check in for our 6 a.m. flight only to find that it was canceled. We were re-booked on a different airline for 11 o’clock that was to take us through Minneapolis and on to Indianapolis. Once again, the travel nightmare struck. For a variety of reasons, flights rarely leave as scheduled, allow sufficient time for connections, or arrive on time at the final destination as planned. One wonders how the airlines can so consistently keep their balls in the air like this. But when talking to ANY travelers, especially other musicians, this inconvenience has, over the years, become a fact of life. And a very frustrating one at that!!
We presented our workshop at Indiana University (IU) to a very interested and attentive group of young musicians. They had never heard a group like ours, and they were quite impressed. This was the third time I had done workshops at IU, and each time I have been struck with the depth of their questions and how musically advanced and savvy they are. Students like these always make it fun for us. IU has a wonderful faculty, and Pat Harbison, with whom we have always coordinated these workshops, is a fine teacher and excellent jazz artist.
We performed our concert later that evening and afterward had an opportunity to visit and “hang” with some of our close friends, among them Pat and Kris Harbison. Bloomington is composer Hoagy Carmichael’s hometown, and, after our concert, Bill and Alisa had all intentions of visiting his gravesite and memorial, but everyone was just too weary and wanted to grab a little sleep before returning home the next day.
The trio performed four concerts in the New York City area in November and December at the Austrian Culture Center, the Music Series at the Monmouth Public Library in New Jersey, the Barge (BargeMusic) in Brooklyn, and the Taft School in Connecticut. All were high-profile venues and the audiences musically sophisticated. Year 2008 proved quite successful for the trio - a number of excellent performances and the release of our second CD.
Education
Since October, I have visited a number of schools - some with the Inventions Trio (IT) and others alone. Every one was a pleasure for me, and I have found each of these events to be most gratifying. Many of you have read in some of my past newsletters about my experiences involving education in recent years, much of it very disappointing. But since last October, 2008, through the month of February, 2009, I have found myself heartened and reinspired by the educational endeavors in which I have been involved.
In early October, the IT performed recital/workshops at Stanford and San Jose State universities. Both workshops were open to the public, and the attendees at each were musically well-informed and came prepared with many intelligent questions. This open forum is what we enjoy, because in answering their questions we immediately get to what most interests our audiences. Stanford students led by Dr. Fred Berry are a special group; having to be in the top 4th percentile in the nation is required even to apply for admission. To say they are brilliant is an understatement. Stanford has no real music school but, rather, a small music department. Therefore, the students who perform in Fred’s groups are not music majors but play in his ensemble for their own enjoyment and recreation. Be aware that these are highly motivated young people, and they don’t hold with mediocrity. They have in Fred Berry someone cut from the same mold. I have performed with this group several times over the years, and I always come away inspired by their spirit. Fred and the students never disappoint!
I first met Aaron Lington when he was a graduate student at the University of North Texas. He invited the IT to perform a recital/workshop at San Jose State the evening following our Stanford date, and we appreciated the very attentive audience he was able to attract. As we played and talked about our approach to the music, this group also asked many interesting and incisive questions. The IT is a unique ensemble that is an anomaly to most audiences – and understandably so. But when we demonstrate to them what we aim for musically and explain our thought processes to achieve these goals, they readily grasp what we are saying. Again, it was a very enjoyable evening for us.
In Yakima, Washington, we engaged in individual workshops as part of the Seasons Festival. Bill did an arranging workshop at the community college, Alisa went to a high school to present a clinic with eight cellists, and I performed a workshop with music students from a large elementary and middle school. I am never certain how I am going to be met when doing something like this with very young students. It’s always a challenge. But band director Maegan Ley had prepared the students beautifully, telling them about me, playing them some of my music, and organizing the event. From the moment I arrived onstage, I was deluged with all sorts of questions about music and performing. Before I knew it, an hour had passed before I played a note! These young people were wonderful to spend time with.
The Trio’s next endeavor took place at Indiana University (IU), again as a recital/workshop. Trumpeter Pat Harbison has had me visit IU three times, first as a soloist, once with Bill Mays, and this time with the IT. The IU students are very serious about music; IU is one of the premiere music schools in America, and they really come to play and learn. Pat and the other faculty members - such as drummer Steve Houghton, pianists Monika Herzig and Luke Gillespie, and others - are a dedicated crew of fine players and teachers. It is always a pleasure to visit at IU and communicate with such dedicated people.
In fact, everyone I have dealt with in this “Education” section is a dedicated player and teacher. This is no less true for Antonio Garcia, Director of Jazz Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). My visit there was initiated by a repeat invitation from my friend, Rick Boyko, who runs the advertising school, BrandCenter, at VCU. He has people come in to do seminars with his advertising students, and my subject both times has been creativity. Rick thought that, together, Tony Garcia and I would give a double-barreled presentation.
When Rick invited me, I asked Tony about doing a concert with his VCU Jazz Ensemble; he thought it would be an excellent idea if we could do the seminar the week of his fall concert. Rick made all the arrangements and everything worked out as planned. While there, I gave an improvisation clinic to the students and we rehearsed and performed the concert. This ensemble is another fine group led by outstanding teachers. Tony Garcia and his crew, including trumpeter Rex Richardson, have done a superb job building the program at VCU. The day after the concert, we presented our seminar to both advertising AND music students. Tony and I talked at length about ways to incorporate thinking “out of the box,” and Tony had two groups of students come up on the stage for a lesson about improvisation. He had these young people doing things to demonstrate improvisation and “call and response” on such a basic level that it was easy for them to understand the process. I had never seen anything like it. Tony is a remarkable musician, composer, and teacher. And, lest one forget, he was the editor of the Jazz Educators Journal for many years.
Steve Anderson, the executive director of the Brubeck Institute (BI) at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, invited me to be part of the Library of Congress Open World program in which BI participates. Two groups were included this year: the five Brubeck Fellows (musicians chosen by audition to study and perform as part of the BI at University of the Pacific) and a quartet of accomplished Russian musicians, all from different places in their country. Two of the Russians spoke English and two did not. These groups were both extraordinary. Coaching them for three days and presenting and participating in concert with them became an extraordinary experience. These young musicians were just superb; they left me feeling totally energized from the experience! If anyone would like to know more about the Institute, click on this link to the Brubeck Institute.
Returning to New York, I was to do several programs with two groups in December. The first was Jazz Band Classic, a division of the New York Youth Symphony. This group of talented high school and college players has been led these past four years by talented trumpeter Chris Winans. I rehearsed and performed three concerts with them in New York City, one at The Garage and two at Symphony Space. Once again, I was in the company of an inspired group. There were outstanding players in every chair and, despite their challenging program, they acquitted themselves beautifully. Chris Winans is to be congratulated; he does a marvelous job with these talented youths.
The best-kept secret in the Metropolitan New York area is New Jersey City University (NJCU). Why this is so is beyond me. What a faculty! Led by reedman Ed Joffe, the faculty at NJCU is comprised of some of New York’s best musicians. Among them are saxophonists Bob Malach, Bill Kirchner (also a great composer), and Jim Snidero; trumpeters Earl Gardner and Joe Magnarelli; trombonist/arranger Pete McGuinness; pianist Alan Farnham; bassist Andy Eulau; drummer Tim Horner; vocalist Roseanna Vitro, arranger Anita Brown. Fantastic!
Ed Joffe has been a fixture on Broadway and the New York music scene for a number of years. He is a man of experience in both performance and teaching. His expertise became apparent as I watched him work with his band and experienced his preparation of my music. The students are a dedicated group, and they come to play! I loved working with these people - Ed, Pete, Earl, and the students - and their concert exemplified our great fun performing together.
I recently returned from the University of Nebraska/Omaha (UNO) - another special place to perform! I had met Jazz Studies Director Pete Madsen a number of times before, but we never have had the opportunity to work together till now. Soon after arriving, I had the pleasure of dinner with Pete and Barry Ford, the orchestra conductor and leader of Jazz Band Too. Pete is also the Professor of Trombone at UNO, and Barry is a former trumpeter. The following day, I was to listen and coach a combo and Jazz Band Too before rehearsing later in the day with two different groups. I was picked up and delivered to UNO by the newly-appointed professor of trumpet, David Hunsicker, who is also a very experienced orchestra and solo player. These three musicians are excellent performers and dedicated teachers.
The combo I worked with - three saxophones, bass, and drums - knocked me out! They started with their arrangement of some Radiohead music and then moved into their original compositions. The group held my interest throughout the period and, when asked for my opinion I had little to recommend except a bit about dynamics and colorations. These guys were really playing - using all the musical elements of composition and improvisation to express their music. I would love to see these five musicians record and tour. They’re ready!
Next, I listened and offered suggestions to Barry Ford’s Jazz Band Too, a group comprised of mostly freshmen. Barry accentuates all the musical principles, and the group’s musicality reflects his efforts. They played some very intricate music and carried it off well.
My first performance rehearsal was with the Metropolitan Area Youth Jazz Orchestra (MAYJO). I was scheduled to play two pieces with MAYJO and three with the University of Nebraska Jazz Ensemble. MAYJO is an all-star ensemble comprised of area high school students. Unlike many groups like this I have heard, this one is excellent, each chair filled with a talented youngster. I enjoyed very much working with them.
The UNO group was likewise very talented, and the thing that most impressed me about both groups (as with all the afore-mentioned groups) is their serious approach to the music. They were obviously having fun with the music, but - as my friend George Gruntz says - it was “serious fun.” Both groups dug right in and got deeply into the music. It was an exciting concert and I was thrilled to play with these two groups.
One other thing about the UNO group: These university students are not only hard workers. They are team players. Their attitude reflects the work ethic and demands laid down by teachers who are also their mentors. And the faculty doesn’t just “talk the talk;” they also “walk the walk!” I was proud to be with them during my time there.
Closing Thoughts
As President Obama and others have emphasized, education will be one of the most important elements in our recovery from this the current economic crisis. But this is more than a just a financial disaster. It is a crisis of spirit and will. What I saw in Nebraska is very heartening. It was a window to the old-fashioned ethics of hard work and responsibility that have stood the test of time. And our having expectations of each other as citizens and our response to the behavioral expectations of hard work and social responsibility are part of any healthy society. If we return to these core principals, we will survive. If not, we will be, as some are declaring, in a permanent state of decline. I refuse to accept that. I hope you do, too.