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In Response To:

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Cadenzas - Edition XXV

Burt Collins - Two Remembrances

Mr. Armstrong and Me

When I Was Your Age . . . .

Speaking Out

[Editor's note: Since most of the respondents to Cadenzas - Edition XXV have referred to more than one of the four articles, I have not listed their responses categorically to each individual article, but have ordered them according when each response was received.]

Jerry Ascione is a graduate of the excellent Youngstown State University program, working under Tony Leonardi, Bill Slocum, and Bob Fleming. His instruments are French horn and piano, although his 30+ year career in the U.S. Navy Band in Washington has led him to focus more on the piano and writing. Jerry was for eleven years leader of the Navy Jazz band, the Commodores, but in the last ten or more years has been working as piano soloist with the Navy Concert Band and with smaller ensembles. He also is first call solo pianist for every major function held by the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO and other of the “higher ups’ in that service. Jerry is an excellent arranger and does a great deal of writing for the Navy Concert Band; he also arranges for me and has contributed three of the most sensitive pieces in my symphonic library. Jerry is "family," a great cook, and shares my love of excellent wines! He writes:

Dear Marvin,

I want to address two articles in “Cadenzas” Edition XXV. First, Mike Metheny’s “When I Was Your Age….” and your article, “Speaking Out.”  Both of these articles have everything to do with being a mentor and the effects thereof. That having been said:
 

Mr. Metheny speaks eloquently and accurately of doing everything he can to “pass the torch” to keep our beloved art form alive. The moment we say “when I was your age” to our children, students or a young audience, we are “passing the torch”; we’re doing what ever we can to mentor young people. Sometimes it’s tough to get anyone to grab hold of that torch, but we never relent. Marvin, you told me great stories about people like Bernie Glow, Snooky Young, Ernie Royal and many others who took you into their fold to mentor you. Further, I related to you the great experiences of having Snooky Young, Milt Hinton and others as guest artists with the Navy Band Commodores and their words to me about “how things used to be.” They didn’t do that just to make idle conversation. They believed, rightly so, that their experiences and those of others were and will always be vital to the educational process.

In February, 1968, two friends and I (we were about 16 years old) went to hear Duke Ellington’s band in my hometown of New Castle, PA. Although bitterly cold and snowing heavily, he didn’t cancel the gig but played two full sets for those of us who braved the elements. We struck up a conversation with drummer Rufus Jones, who at the end of the first set said, “Come on back after the concert and I’ll introduce you guys to the Duke.” Duke came out of the dressing room looking really tired, but smiling and said “Boys, I have 15 minutes till the bus leaves. Let’s talk.” Not knowing what to say, we asked a few tentative questions and Duke then showered us with stories about what it was like to be on the road, different musicians, how he started on piano and of course the necessity of diligent practice. He could have told Rufus Jones to say to us, “thanks for coming to the concert, good night.” He could have, but he didn’t. The torch was passed.

I stated earlier that both articles were about being a mentor. Do we choose to be a mentor to someone? The answer is no. People choose, us to be their mentors whether as a conscious decision or otherwise. Why? Because they see those characteristics in us they feel will benefit them on a successful journey in life and I’m not speaking solely about vocation. But, even if we aren’t chosen to be a mentor, we’re still a role model and as such, without choice, we purvey our idiosyncratic behavior, beneficial or destructive, to everyone with whom we come in contact. I don’t remember who offered this gem of wisdom to me, but, upon learning that I was to become a father, the comment was, “What you say to your children is important. How you act in front of them is really important.

Marvin, I use the above paragraph to address your concern that many of us don’t express ourselves via your column.  Consider this: We read “Cadenzas” because we enjoy reading about the different musicians with whom you’ve worked, gigs that you play, etc. But more than that, we have a great respect for you. You have certainly been a most positive role model for many of us and indeed a mentor. So what does all of that mean except to sound like I’m offering empty flattery? It means that just like your airport incident, many people have been empowered by your words AND by your actions to speak out in a variety of arenas. Much of change, I believe, starts with a single event and someone addressing it one on one. This means stating concerns over the state of education while we’re doing clinics, convincing parents to challenge the lack of money allocated to the arts in public schools, even when your children have long graduated, writing letters to public officials over increasing crime and a plethora of other incidents that many are reluctant to address. Still, why do we not use your column as a sounding board? The truth is, I can’t give you an answer that is commensurate with your passion for standing up for the rights that we have but don’t exercise; rights that others want and are willing to risk all to have. We, as role models and mentors probably won’t see the fruits of our efforts right away. But, I’m going to tell you to believe that it is happening. I see it, I believe it.

Jerry Ascione
 

John L. Worley Jr. is a trumpet and flugelhorn artist who has been a member of many of the San Francisco Bay Area's creative music ensembles for last 25 plus years. John is the owner of Dancing Sumo Records and the leader of WorlView, which made its debut in 2004 at the San Jose Jazz Festival and recently played at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2006. John is on the faculty of “Jazz Goes To College,” a summer camp sponsored by the San Jose Jazz Society and, the Stanford Jazz Workshop and is a past faculty member of San Francisco State University. He is also a much sought-after clinician. You can learn more about John at: www.johnworley.com. He writes:

Hi Marvin,

I hope this email finds you in good health and spirits. I have just read your latest Cadenzas and found it moving in many ways. I was never fortunate to meet or hear Burt Collins. The first time I was made aware of him was in the ‘70s when I heard the recording you mentioned of Duke Pearson's with Burt taking that marvelous solo. In fact, it was around the same time I heard you play on a recording of Pat Williams. Both of you played with a fluidity and ease to be admired and striven for. While it has been a joy to have met and gotten to know you, it saddens me that I'll never get that chance with Burt and many others of that generation.

When I give clinics, I ask the students some of the same questions Mike Metheny does and yes, some of those answers might require more than one pitcher of beer, but, like his band director said, “play (or teach) to the one person who gets it.” I find that the ones who are informed have some depth in the knowledge of players, musicality, and desire to learn more. Sadly, the numbers seem to be shrinking year after year. Maybe someone needs to create a type of X-Box game to get it into the hands and minds of a new generation . . . .

Which leads me to speaking out: Most folks don't. Plain and simple. There is much fear of reprisals and/or of the responsibility of carrying the burden(s) that their feelings or possible actions will bring about. We all have to have take responsibility to make our voices heard whether we agree or disagree with what's happening around us. Ignorance is not bliss . . . it's a tool used by many to take away our freedoms for their own personal gains. Thank you, Marvin, for speaking out and bringing this forum for everyone to see and participate in. 

I look forward to seeing and hearing you play in the near future, my friend. Be well and keep the faith.

Peace,
John Worley
 

John Daniel has over 20 years experience, teaching college at Abilene Christian University and Penn State University; he began teaching at Lawrence Conservatory in Appleton, WI September, 2002. He has played as a sub on Broadway, with dozens of symphony orchestras, and appeared as a soloist in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and at numerous universities. He writes: 

Marvin,

In response to "Speaking Out".

Without necessarily being entirely conscious of the process, we humans are constantly negotiating with one another about reality, truth, morality, and for lack of a better term:   social conscience. As young children, our concept of reality is vague and flexible. Authority figures who are responsible for our very survival begin to shape and define our concepts of reality into something closer to a singular concept of reality, one specifically designed to meet the needs of life on earth, perhaps for a specific time and place. As teenagers, we are virtually obsessed with definitions of reality as defined by our peer group. We know enough to know our parents don't have all the answers, and that leaves us feeling vulnerable. We look to our peers for support and guidance even though (or because) they are in the same boat.

Science has been in a centuries-long pursuit of defining reality as if it is a fixed entity. The results of this pursuit are all around us, so we must assume that reality is observable and predictable. But science, especially subatomic particle theory, has also advanced to the point of understanding reality to be a reflection of the observer. There is a great book, “The Hidden Messages in Water,” by Masuro Emoto which simply shows crystals formed by water under a variety of conditions. These photographs of water crystals seem to indicate that water responds to human emotions, thoughts, and intentions. They certainly respond to music. “The Secret Life of Plants” was another book indicating the same phenomenon.

Reality is constantly being formed as a result of the interplay of our collective thoughts and intentions. We know this to be true, but we do not know to what degree. Politics is the most obvious and verbal aspect of this interplay. Is it the most powerful?   In the short run, so it seems. Many “religious” people throughout the centuries behave as if they believe politics to have more power than religion.   As a musician, I believe music to often be more powerful than either politics or religion. Music can describe a multidimensional universe to most of humanity much better than math or Einstein. I know that most weddings, funerals or ceremonies of any kind lack emotional and spiritual focus without the right musical intentions.

Simply put, as artists we have an opportunity to affect human behavior, if not effect reality directly. I maintain that this happens with or without our conscious participation! I also maintain that much of the “negotiation for social conscience” that I’ve described is nothing more than a reflection of the fear that so many people have in life itself. So much of the robustness of political discourse is nothing more than people trying to insure their own needs get met, even if it is at the expense of others, as if “reality” has no investment in us as individuals. FDR said so much when he said “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”.

I think this country is at a crossroads. I think our place in western civilization is being written at this moment. Is this country about freedom?, the pursuit of happiness?, a structure of government (democracy) designed to maximize the potential of every individual? Or is our legacy, as our critics say, simply about money and greed. I don’t necessarily equate capitalism with greed, but history might. I can certainly see that it is often inspired by fear.

Should we speak out? Should we vote? Should we march in rallies? Of course we should. But know that the real battle isn’t for votes, it’s for social conscience, and as musicians we have unique abilities. We can describe any form of love we can imagine with our music. We can bring to mind any aspect of our personal reality that we think could be beneficial to others.

I recently completed my training to be a Reiki Master. When I asked my Reiki teacher about a potential career change she was very clear. Music and teaching are very noble pursuits. Anyone can learn to be a Reiki Master. Don’t give up your uniqueness, nurture it. Make your uniqueness a force of nature but align it with your highest and best intentions.

All the best,
John
 

Dr. Robert Kase has a wide background both as a performer and educator. He presently serves as Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Trumpet at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and is a regular clinician at schools and universities around the world. He is an international trumpet artist who is in constant demand in both jazz and classical ensembles. He has performed solo tours of Sweden, Norway, England, Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland, Canada, and across the USA.   As a recording artist he has performed on more than 200 recording projects, including four solo jazz recordings with his own quintet. His latest CD entitled “Those Paris Nights” for the Altenburgh Jazz recording label.   He appears regularly at International Jazz Festivals and as trumpet soloist with symphony orchestras and concert bands. He writes: 

Marvin:

Bravo! I agree with your point completely. However, you are always one to be assertive in your speaking out. There is a large difference between being assertive and being aggressive. Your scenario is one of assertiveness. State your mind and explain your plight and if the manager really cares about his customers, he will take care of things, as he did for you. I have also seen many times people who want what they want, when they want it, regardless of whether or not anyone can give it to them. They make a fool of themselves and are arrogant and not the least bit understanding when the answer to their query happens to be, “I am sorry, we can't do that.”

The world is full of very rude and aggressive people who ruin it for everyone else who simply want to speak out, but are afraid they will be grouped in with these very obnoxious people. I have seen tantrums, swearing, threats and even worse from people who don't get their way. While I know your article was about speaking up and simply being assertive about what is right, sometimes it isn't worth the hassle, and sometimes it is depending on what is at stake.

Keep up the good work Marv. I love your cadenzas (both kinds).

Bob
 

Kenny Berger - is a marvelous Jazz baritone saxophone player as well as a great doubler on bass clarinet and bassoon. He is one of the in-demand musicians in NYC and plays with so many of the most important names in Jazz. He writes: 

Hi Marvin: 

I just finished reading Cadenzas XXV and found it to be one of the most interesting and thought-provoking issues yet. In fact, I feel as though I am responding to three different articles at once. First, I would like to add my two cents worth in appreciation of Burt Collins. I had the honor of playing alongside Burt in both the Lee Konitz Nonet and the David Matthews big band back in the late 70's, as well as on studio dates and a few hits with Duke Pearson's band. To my mind Burt was the most underrated jazz trumpeter in the business and a   warm, generous man with a great sense of humor.

Mike Matheny's article hit home for me due to a similar experience I had just this past week. For the past few years I have taught a couple days a week at a private school, running three jazz bands. During a recent class devoted exclusively to listening, it dawned on me that not only was I charged with the responsibility of exposing them to the music of the jazz greats, but I first needed to teach them how to listen - period. To this generation of students, the idea of listening to an entire seven-minute long track with just the music happening and nothing to look at is tantamount to asking them to read “War and Peace” in one sitting. As you know Marvin, mincing words is not one of my strong points, so I explained to them that the ability to listen to a piece of music for more than two minutes and without any sort of visual enhancement is just as vital in preventing them from growing up to be idiots as is paying attention in English or math class. I went on to explain how the mass media and a certain political party have very strongly vested interests in making sure that they each grow up with the concentration span of a fruit fly and that engaged listening is one of the prime antidotes to this. Some of them got it and some of them didn't, but at least they heard someone say it.

Your views on speaking out are particularly relevant to today's jazz scene, what with the fear that so many musicians feel due to the scarcity of work combined with the sort of McCarthyism that is rampant in parts of academia and institutions like The House Un-American Jazz Activities Committee at Lincoln Center. I personally choose not to demean myself by being afraid to speak my mind, but, by the same token, I choose not to inflate my own importance by thinking that the powers that be have nothing better to do than to take the time 
to exact revenge on me for disagreeing with them. 

Finally, your story at the airline counter perfectly illustrates an old saying: “The 
squeaking wheel gets the oil.”

Hope I see you soon.

Love, KB

Melvin Gordy, like myself, was a John Haynie student. He was among the first group that John taught upon coming to the University of North Texas. Melvin, from the beginning, has been the Web master and organizer of events that bring John's students together year after year. Melvin has been flying since 1954, and was a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol (USAF-AUX). He now enjoys a career as a building designer and also teaches architectural and engineering drafting   at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, Texas. He writes: 

Marvin, 

You note in Cadenzas:

"Someone, responding recently to my urging my readers to participate, said that they found Cadenzas sometimes a bit long, taking a good amount of time to get through. I've thought about this and in this edition have tried for a bit more brevity without losing the passion and substance I feel about what I write. It will be interesting to discover your feelings."

My response to the above:

I appreciate your thoughts about articles being a bit long at times and how you've tried to shorten them without losing their passion and substance. My feelings are that you can't shorten some articles without losing something. 

I find if I'm short of time, I just print that article in question and read it later when I have more time. Some things have to be read and re-read to get their full meaning. To just read something thru at fast pace doesn't work for me.

My suggestion to you is don't change anything; you've got a winner in your Cadenzas as written.

Thanks,
Melvin Gordy

Marvin “Doc” Holladay was the baritone saxophonist on the Stan Kenton Orchestra during the two years I was with the band. He currently lives and works with young musicians in Cumbayá, Ecuador. After leaving Kenton’s band, Marv played with a number of great bands, including the Duke Ellington Alumni Band, and those of Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, and Woody Herman. He was the original baritone player with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (1965-66). Marv did graduate studies at Yale and Wesleyan Universities and taught sixteen years at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, as an Associate Professor of Music, Director of Jazz Studies and resident Ethnomusicologist, and adjunct professor to the International Studies Department. He is now a Professor Emeritus of that Institution. He writes:

Yo! Marv,

This may well come to you as a major surprise, and although you keep posting Cadenzas to me regularly, I have never responded to your request for our collective input.

I’ve decided, after reading your and Garnett’s piece on Burt, that maybe it is time for me to open up a main artery and bleed all over your Web page.

There is a history behind my current residence, outside of the US, in Cumbayá, Ecuador, which I do not need to go into nor would it be appropriate to do so. Suffice it to say, we are living here largely due to many of the reasons that I read in your rants about what is, and has been, going on in the States, besides my old age retirement.

First, let me get the decline of the essence of what jazz has been about and what remains of that essence, as I see it, today

You and I were very fortunate to have come into the business at the very tail end of its greatest days; in fact, you were probably hanging on to the last hair follicle of that tail. We have disagreed many times over our, respective, evaluations of our experiences with Stan and Woody, which I still relish as they were, and probably are, relevant to those personal experiences. I still regret not having recorded, with you, those great charts that Don Sebesky wrote for us. C. T. and I did play them, once, on a gig that we did at the old Village Gate. I just recently played them again, here in Quito, with a former student of mine, Walt Szymanski, who came to visit me and, subsequently, fell in love with this country.

What was the standard by which one’s command of the language was evaluated has changed dramatically and not for the better, I’m sorry to say. The industry has set the criteria by which this is to be done by instituting technical mastery and high energy, and aggressive expression as a substitute for beauty, soulfulness, and elevation of the spirit. Those qualities were the lodestone of jazz musicianship during both my formative years,which I found prevalent during the earlier days of my professional career. In this regard, I have a fond memory of your insistence that the Ray Charles band was the best band out there, when you joined the Kenton band following your graduation from NTS. Actually, I greatly appreciated that observation as those attributes were precisely the qualities that were the hallmark of all the great bands of the history of this music, Duke, Lunceford, Chick, Lucky Millinder and later Dizzy, Q, Gil, D. Pearson, etc., and continues today with orchestras that hardly anybody knows exist because of that infamous criteria, previously mentioned.

As a player, my claim to fame, if such exists, was my sound and the ability to lock into any stylistic interpretation by putting a bottom on any sax section that I was honored to be a part of. I don’t put myself in the category of player/soloist, even though many well-intended folks try to do so [probably because of my age]. However, we were all moved by the irrepressible impact of Ben Webster, Hawk, Roy Eldridge, Bird, and Diz, etc., upon all of us in formulating our eventual expression. This was monumental and came by association and not from a pedagogical formula which seems to prevail at most of the institutional jazz programs around the country. 

It used to be that after a few notes or a couple of bars at most, we could all tell immediately who was playing. Today, the young players, with a few notable exceptions, all sound alike [the cookie-cutter syndrome], and it becomes a guessing game as to who is playing or why. As I mentioned, there are a few exceptions that I know about and probably a lot more that I don’t know about, since I’ve been out the loop for a number of years now. Chris Potter, Joshua Redman and Roy Hargrove stand out as shining examples of the continuation of those qualities previously mentioned. Fortunately for Chris, he was picked up, upon his arrival in the City, by Red Rodney and the rest, as they say, is history so he was never influenced by the pedagogical folks who proliferate the institutions. Joshua had Dewey as his mentor, so how could he lose.

My second point is that there is a great deal of interest here in Ecuador by young musicians to learn about this music and, more importantly, what it takes to make it expressive the way they hear it. My simplistic guidance for them has been “It’s not the notes you play, but the way you play those notes.” I realize that it may be an over-simplification of what its all about, but it does encourage these young, aspiring, players to pay attention to the basic essentials instead of following the guidance they get from the abundance of printed materials explaining what jazz is and how to play it. In addition, I would like to suggest to all who may be asked to travel to other countries, around the world, as exponents of this unique art form associated with the USA, to come prepared to leave as much as you can during your brief visit. So many groups come here, and elsewhere, play a concert, and essentially leave with having left an impression of “see how great we are,” but without leaving any of the “how and the why is it great.” The other shoe of this rant is: So many, when given an opportunity to share with the local folks, present such advanced permutations of the process that it might as well be gibberish. The need is for the basics, with an emphasis on what the music is about, not how to play like John Coltrane, or similar great modern exponent. That might be relevant to a Master Class at a major university in the US but not here. Think about where you are and listen to the performance level of those to whom you will be speaking before formulating a presentation. 

Finally, patterns and all their permutations, will not communicate the essence of who you are and what you feel. Wasn’t it Bird who said, “What comes out the end of your horn is who you really are?” In addition, and equally important, was the statement made to us by Dizzy on the bus extremely early one morning as we were leaving San Sabastian, Spain, on our way to the airport. After asking the question, his answer was, “The difference between a Bebop musician and all other musicians is that they play so that everybody else sounds good.” That we should never forget no matter what our mode of musical expression may be.

Marv, I know that you know what I’m saying and you may be able to better express it than I can, however, I wanted to endorse your efforts to make things clear through your Web page. I will send you an addendum to these comments, which were published here in Quito by the Franz Liszt conservatory as a statement for the edification of their students and faculty alike. If you would like to paraphrase anything from it, feel free to do so.

Keep on Keepin’ on,

Marv

Dr. Robert Kase has a wide background both as a performer and educator. He presently serves as Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Trumpet at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and is a regular clinician at schools and universities around the world. He is an international trumpet artist who is in constant demand in both jazz and classical ensembles. He has performed solo tours of Sweden, Norway, England, Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland, Canada, and across the USA.  As a recording artist he has performed on more than 200 recording projects, including four solo jazz recordings with his own quintet. His latest CD entitled “Those Paris Nights” for the Altenburgh Jazz recording label.  He appears regularly at International Jazz Festivals and as trumpet soloist with symphony orchestras and concert bands. He writes:

Marv,

Sorry to not have responded earlier to the letter of John Daniels.  With the verbosity of the Cadenzas getting more and more, I have less and less time to read let alone respond.  I can say that one of the problems with some professional trumpet players turning to college level teaching is they make the mistake of believing that all of their students want to become just like them.  The reality is that very few will choose the same path.  While in some higher level conservatories trumpet students will attend a particular school specifically to study with the specialist (orchestral, jazz, baroque etc.), the large majority of college trumpet teaching gigs will be for the wider trumpet studio of a mix of music education majors, performance majors, jazz majors, Bachelor of Arts, music business etc.  Therefore, it is important for a trumpet college teacher to understand that a comprehensive approach to trumpet performance is imperative to undergraduate students.  Both you and I studied with John Haynie, and one of his greatest strengths as a teacher is that he didn't try to turn his students into a clone of himself.  He taught fundamental trumpet skills, a wide (very wide) concept of trumpet literature, and wasn't afraid to encourage his students to perform in a very large array of trumpet concepts knowing that they will play every possible kind of music.

When I was asked what was the most significant thing I learned from John J. Haynie, I responded that I learned how to teach trumpet at the college level.  Sure, I learned how to become a much better player, but the skills most important (as I later found out) had to do with the pedagogical structure of a comprehensive trumpet studio.  I learned the structure of a course of study, pedagogical philosophy, the physics of trumpet performance, study of pedogogical techniques, a huge amount of literature, fundamentals of brass playing etc.  I find too often the pros that want to become trumpet teachers basically teach the way they were taught with little or no understanding or appreciation of other schools of performance.  That is fine if that that is the final goal of the student, but not many will ever reach that end.  The same is true for those "lead players" who are only going to teach students the "secrets" of lead playing.  Teachers who think getting a DMA in trumpet isn't necessary are missing the point.  The DMA may not be necessary to become a great trumpet player, but it is very significant in becoming a good trumpet teacher.  Hopefully, the DMA program will be about more about the study of trumpet pedagogy (which it should).  The days of the specialist are just about over.  Most trumpet players as well as trumpet teachers are expected to do it all.

A truly successful undergraduate trumpet teacher will be one that can teach remedially.  After 30 years of college trumpet teaching, I find most of what we do best is fixing all of the bad habits in the fundamentals of brass playing that have occurred after eight years of playing trumpet in schools bands with poor concepts of air support, articulation, tone, hand positions, and musical styles, etc.  Teaching at the college level is all about understanding not only how to play well, but how to fix the problems and bad habits that students invariably bring with them.  It is very frustrating to a student to have a teacher pick up the horn and say do it like this and just blow through it perfectly.  While modeling is very important, it is just as important to know how to communicate to the student a structured course of study and remedial exercises that helps them to understand how it works.  I can't begin to tell you the number of students that attempt to play trumpet with little air support, and they had all kinds of teachers who told them to use more air.  That just isn't enough!  A successful trumpet teacher must be able to have a large library of pedagogical solutions to finding the way to make that light bulb go on.  That often takes a great deal of teaching experience and pedagogical study with students possessing all kinds of problems.  Students with a beautiful sound that can't count, students who have amazing technique but a small thin sound, chops problems, teeth problems etc.  Many college students who play very well simply come to school never having listened to a classical trumpet recording before. 

I vividly remember once when working on a concerto (I can't remember which one.  It may have been the Giannini) with Haynie, I kept fracking a G# on the top of the staff.  After two weeks of making the same error, Haynie took his pencil and crossed out the G# and wrote an Ab.  I never missed it again.  That kind of pedagogical comprehension takes experience.  Many outstanding players have never gone through any of the pedagogical trials that many trumpet students have had to deal with.  They may never have had an embouchure problem or a tonguing problem, or flexibility issues.  One may teach quite differently if they themselves have had to deal with multiple embouchure problems only to finally discover the issue had nothing to do with the embouchure.

My point is that successful teaching trumpet, just like professional trumpet playing, requires a great deal of comprehensive pedagogical study and experience.  I believe that in teaching...there is no teaching, only learning.  It doesn't matter how well you teach; what matters is how well the student learns.  A successful teacher learns more from the students than the students learn from them about how to teach trumpet well.  Being able to perform well, while vital, isn't enough to become a successful trumpet teacher.  Just like trumpet playing, the world is full of mediocre teachers, but few masters.  True understanding of trumpet pedagogy is really not that old.  Before that time, teachers tended to only teach how they performed, and what they thought was musical.  That is why the baroque performance practices of the 1960's and 70's were based on the European romantic concepts of the day instead of sound historic knowledge and study.  The empirical concept of trumpet teaching still exists in conservatories around the world.  That is fine if you can simply throw out any student who doesn't hack the professional standards that a particular conservatory demands.  In today's undergraduate liberal arts college or university that equation will have a very low success rate and your job will depend on the numbers of successful students as well as the quality in your studio.  Today (and hopefully far into the future) continued dedication to trumpet pedagogy will reinforce the dedicated study of teaching and the pragmatic understanding of how to reach student's understanding of performance practice.

Well, enough for today.  Thanks for the soapbox.

Bob

Bob Curnow is a graduate of West Chester State University (PA) and Michigan State University, having completed two Master's degrees and his doctoral studies. As a trombonist, Bob joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra and toured the United States, Great Britain, Scotland, and Wales. In 1973, he became the A & R Director, arranger, composer, record producer and general manager for Kenton's Creative World Records, producing over 30 LPs for Kenton. His arrangements and compositions can be heard on six Stan Kenton albums. Bob has also served as an adjudicator and clinician at jazz festivals in over 40 states and Canada. Bob is a past-president of the International Association of Jazz Education (IAJE) and in January, 1999, was inducted into the IAJE Hall of Fame. Bob lives with his wife Darlene in Liberty Lake, Washington where he runs Sierra Music. Sierra is the exclusive publisher of the Stan Kenton Orchestra Library, along with the music of many other great jazz artists/composers. He writes: 

Hi Marv:

My reason for writing ... I just finished reading John Daniel's remarks about teaching. I was stunned by how parallel our careers have been. Although I haven't been an active educator for almost 20 years now (I now spend all my time on Sierra Music Publications), our early days, our development, our professional experiences, our schooling, our degrees, etc., etc., are all very similar.  I did teach at the university level for 23 years (as you know), and have had a fair amount of success as a professional player (trombonist) and composer/arranger, as has John.  His feelings about teaching, and the desires of others to teach really hit home for me.  There wasn't one thing he said that I disagreed with. There it is, simply stated.  I had the feeling (between the lines) that, perhaps, he has even stronger feelings about the poor teaching that is going on all throughout this great land. Who wouldn't? 

As long as I'm writing, please allow me to address a couple of other things.  The state of our educational system, from kindergarten through the 4th year of college, is seriously disfunctional. Two areas, in particular, come to mind. The first is teacher preparation. It just isn't happening as it should. All three of our children are teachers, and I and my wife were teachers. All of us, I believe, had wonderful preparation for the profession.  However, the horror stories I hear from all three children are very depressing. On one hand, I'm glad not to be a part of it anymore. On the other hand, I wonder if I shouldn't have tried to do more, teach for a longer time. So many teachers are only there for the paycheck and couldn't care less about their students.  Most of this miserable attitude is due to the fact that they don't really want to be there, and they are usually ill prepared for being there.

The second area of deep concern is expectations and discipline issues, particularly on the junior high through high school level (where most of the serious work must be done). The inability of faculty to properly discipline students, due to limitations from "society" or administration, is pathetic.  The results are easy to witness.  We see a growing problem in our society every day. To this end, I believe that the teachers are as much the victims as are the students. In fact, we're all victims. The same with expectations. What is expected from the students in our current system? Nada.

Now, this does not have so much to do with music education, but it obviously has a tremendous impact on it.  I know one of the very few bright spots in education, on all levels, is what is happening in Arts education.  We all know that.  Don't get me wrong.  The best teachers are more often than not in the Arts. And certainly those students who are lucky enough to have had good Arts education seem to do very well in life. No secret there.

So, hurrah to John, and hurrah to you as well for creating Cadenzas.  It's always fun to read the thoughts of others.

Stay well.  See you soon, I hope.

Bob Curnow

Bob Bush is married to a dear friend of mine, Winnie Carson-Bush, with whom I played in our high school band. We have recently become reacquainted after many years – a source of great pleasure for me. Bob and Winnie now live in California. Bob received a BS in English from the University of North Dakota and an MS in Administration from Chapman University. After serving two years in the US Army during the Korean War, he worked for Bank of America, then went back to school, taught high school English for four and one-half years, but then went to work for IBM to support his family. Bob got back into teaching at the four through six grade level, then moved to the middle school area, teaching grades seven and eight English, Drama & Physical Education. Now retired, his teaching career totaled thirty-seven years in the classroom. He writes:

Marvin - Sorry I didn't respond earlier to John Daniel's piece on teaching. I know he was essentially talking about the teaching of music, but the idea of using music in the regular classroom is also of significance. Both Winnie and I used music throughout our careers. Age differences meant we used music for different reasons, but we both feel that, if for no other reason than simply enjoying it, music aided kids in learning. I used lyrics of contemporary songs to teach poetry, while Winnie used it to put on plays, such as the "Three Pigs Opera." This was quite a production and Winnie and the kids always followed the play by serving a meal of "wolf 
Stew" that she and the kids cooked for their parents - and for us, too, of 
course!!

Neil Diamond had a great song titled "Done Too Soon." In it he named 20 plus people who died before they had accomplished all they could. I assigned each person named in the song to individual students as research projects. The slowest young man in my class that year, a kid who was truly troubled, and didn't get much support from home, gave a report on Jesus. I kept asking him if he was having any difficulty on his research, and he always said it was going okay.  On report day, his oral presentation consisted of "Jesus Christ was the Son of God." That one didn't come out as well as I had hoped, but the rest of the reports came out fine, except for the young lady to whom I had assigned Russ Colombo. She and both parents hunted for information on him at the Base library and both county libraries and could find nothing.(This was waaayyy before the internet!) I always thought that the family attempt was probably worth more that her actually writing a report. I think John's e-mail to you hit my hot button because he reiterated the base of a philosophy  both of us believed.  He mentioned a teacher he had who treated each student, and cared for each student, individually. Listening to the solos helps hearing the entire symphony

Bob

Mark Morganelli, trumpeter and flugelhornist is Executive Director of Jazz Forum Arts, a 22-year-old not-for-profit arts presenting organization which produces jazz concert series at Tarrytown Music Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Jazz Forum Arts will present fifty free concerts in Westchester County, NY for a seventh consecutive summer. Morganelli owned and operated the Jazz Forum, a musician's loft/club in Greenwich Village from 1979-1983, before becoming Music Coordinator of Birdland from 1988-1993. He has also produced concerts at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, The Beacon Theater, Town Hall, Tilles Center, and NJPAC. He writes:

Thanks, Marv, for another excellent edition of Cadenzas. It was great to see and hear you, and even hang out a bit, at IAJE. As you know, I was in the audience at the Sheraton, and it was pure musical magic. Kudos to you and the other members of the group.

A brief comment on your NYC Jazz Club rant (pardon the expression)...

I totally agree with what you've said, and want to offer my own perspective, having owned and operated the Jazz Forum loft/club from 1979-1983 (almost ancient history at this point I dare say). 

Of course being a musician first put me in an advantaged perch when I decided to invite groups to perform in my space. First off, they had to be groups I wanted to hear. Secondly, they had to be willing to work within my rather limited budget. Thirdly, I had come to add the element of being able to market the music effectively so that both parties enjoy a successful outcome. 

Having said that, I do relish the memories of having our house rhythm section (actually lived there btw) collaborate with great artists such as Dizzy Reece, Clifford Jordan, and Pepper Adams, to name a few from the very start in 1979 at 50 Cooper Square. From there, I began to hire groups that I enjoyed and actually continued presenting through the second incarnation at 648 Broadway. Some of these groups included the Louis Hayes/Frank Strozier Quartet, the Bill 
Hardman/Junior Cook Quintert, featuring Walter Bishop, Jr., the Bob Berg & Tom Harrell Quintet, Kenny Barron (in any format), the Barry Harris Trio, George Coleman, Woody Shaw, Red Rodney, and many others. Many of these groups I mention did not draw well initially, as you alluded to in your piece, but with the investment of time, energy, limited resources, and great word-of-mouth, they wound up developing a strong following, allowing me to rebook them many times over the four years of the Jazz Forum in Greenwich Village.

Anyway, you struck a note with me, and I just wanted to reminisce a bit on the good ol' days.  Thanks again for your keen insight and articulation of what many of us feel but do not say. 

Best always, 

Mark

Marty Erickson was for twenty-six years principal tuba with the U. S. Navy Band in Washington, DC. Marty currently teaches the tuba-euphonium studio and directs the tuba-euphonium ensemble and brass choir at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, as well as serving as tubist with Millennium Brass and the Brass Band of Battle Creek. He also teaches the tuba-euphonium studio at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Marty has two current CDs - Smile (upon which I had the pleasure of playing) and My Very Good Friend with pianist John Sheridan. Soon to be released is a new CD in duo with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. You can learn more about Marty Erickson at his Website: www.martytuba.com.

Hi Marvin,

Thanks for the note. I just read Edition XXIV from “cover to cover,” and enjoyed it immensely. Great to hear about your activitites, joys and concerns, and very nice of you to include my dear colleague John Daniel's letter. He is a passionate and caring teacher who brings much to the table with respect to not only artistry and caring pedagogy, but the deeper thinking that many of us rarely engage in with any regularity.

Wonderful to spend the brief time together with the Brass Band of Battle Creek ... terrific performance on your part ... AS USUAL!!! Sorry we didn't have as much time to visit but we always look forward to the next possibilty of hearing you and visiting. 

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this issue of Cadenzas. The club scene in NY has been repeated all over the States, of course. I gigged in Washington D.C. and Baltimore for nearly 30 years and can echo your sentiments. It was so sad recently to drive a friend around D.C., someone who had never visited there. I essentially drove him past places which were great memories for me, The Cellar Door, Charlies Place (Charlie Byrd’s jazz club), Bohemian Caverns (where I saw my first jazz performance in D.C. -- Bill Evans with Eddie Gomez and Shelley Manne -- one of his rare east coast appearances), and others. They are ALL closed or have morphed into comedy clubs, shops, or whatever. One or two bastions of jazz continue -- Blues Alley, of course, and I think that One Step Down is still active, but with the ambient noise you referred to in the letter. Even when my kids and Alison and I came to see you several years ago at the old jazz club The Green Mill in Chicago, there was some of that noise. We were only able to get seats crammed near the back and while the jazz club has great ambience and provides the opportunity to hear folks like you and Ed Soph that night ... it was STILL difficult to simply enjoy the great music making.

Also - regarding Bob Curnow’s post, you should know that I was Bob’s  bass player for two years at Michigan State University: 1965-66, about the time his piece “Passacaglia and Fugue” won some awards. He was a great leader and teacher, and it's so nice to find out where he is now. One thing I can appreciate more now than I did then was that we knew Bob had been with Kenton and done some very significant things, but the band was about the students. He was patient, professional, and all about teaching, helping us find the appreciation, excitement, and importance of jazz education. It certainly left a positive impression with me and helped shape my life, at least in part, for the future. Kudos and warm wishes to Bob.

Regards,
Marty

Harold Zinno is a trumpet player, currently residing in Connecticut. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas in 1978 and went on to play with the bands of Ray Mckinley, Tommy Dorsey, Sonny Constanzo and Lew Anderson. Harold has also done show work with Mitzi Gaynor, Wayne Newton and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. He writes:

Hi Marv:

In reference to your article on New York Clubs:  Well Said!!!

I was invited to a New York Jazz club a few weeks ago by the club's booking agent to see “A Jazz Tribute to Sinatra.” Well, the place was packed on a Thursday Night having taken in a $30.00 music charge and a two-drink minimum per person. The presentation was mediocre at best, and when I approached this subject with my host, his retort was, “The club is making money, and I'm making money.” So, as you said, it is not about the music anymore!!!

Best Wishes,

Harold V. Zinno, Jr.

John Daniel has over 20 years experience, teaching college at Abilene Christian University and Penn State University; he began teaching at Lawrence Conservatory in Appleton, WI September, 2002.  He has played as a sub on Broadway, with dozens of symphony orchestras, and appeared as a soloist in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and at numerous universities. He writes: 

Marvin,

In response to your "rant"/"confession" against the vast majority of "jazz" singers, I would like to share a conversation I had with Noah Harmon last week.  Noah is the son of a great jazz pianist, John Harmon, and a very fine jazz pianist himself.  We were on our way to a gig, making small talk, when we were reminded that we were going to have a singer sitting in for the gig.  I mentioned that I didn't listen to much "jazz singing" and Noah started to inquire.  I made the bold statement that one reason I love jazz so much is that it is primarily an instrumental art form.  I asked him to name one singer who influenced jazz in a progressive direction.  I'm talking about the great innovators, (Louis, Dizzy, Coltrane, Miles, Monk) the ones who gave direction to jazz and opened new passages in order to enrich the music.  All of the usual names came up, and quite a few more.  There have been quite a number of great singers in jazz, and quite a few great jazz musicians who sing.  And in many cases, ala Louis, their singing has influenced the art of singing profoundly. But singing is such a universal form of expression, as soon as someone sings a jazz tune, jazz tends to be of secondary importance to what's going on. Of course we all love the great ones who can sing jazz and let the music be more important than the singer. But even at it's best, jazz singing somehow isn't in a position to guide and direct the art form progressively.  Or at least it has yet to do so.  Think about it. It is a difficult concept to articulate, but I really think one's "voice" in jazz is something that is easily obscured by the act of singing.

For example, Bill Evans made the piano a beautiful voice in a way that was unique.  We often say that he made the piano sing.  So I think jazz is primarily an artform for the voice of the piano, trumpet, saxophone, drums etc.

Of course time could prove me wrong, and I may be wrong as it is.  But I think there is enough truth to these words to consider them on some level.

We have a regional favorite in WI named Janet Planet.  She sings in tune, in time, with great feeling, and a very earthy/sensual voice.  She sings in many jazz styles and formats.  She was singing with John Harmon the first time I heard her live, and I noticed that she didn't try to draw attention to herself on stage.  When I mentioned this her eyes lit up.  She said that all she's ever wanted was to be a great "sideman."  And I think she got to the heart of the matter.

John

Melvin Gordy, like myself, was a John Haynie student. He was among the first group that John taught upon coming to the University of North Texas. Melvin, from the beginning, has been the Web master and organizer of events that bring John's students together year after year. Melvin has been flying since 1954, and was a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol (USAF-AUX). He now enjoys a career as a building designer and also teaches architectural and engineering drafting  at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, Texas. He writes:

Marvin,

I've been wanting to write this note for your "In Response" section of Cadenzas to you for years.  My problem is that I have a hard time getting my thoughts down on paper; anyway, here goes.

I first heard your "Risk Taking" comment about four five or more years ago when you were giving a lecture/performance at College of the Mainland, Texas City, Texas. That was the one Dale and Diane Olson and I attended. 

I was so impressed by that statement that I have been telling all my students about "Risk Taking" ever since that day. I assume you know I teach architectural and engineering drafting (adjunct faculty) at Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, Texas.

 I want to thank you for all the help and advice you've given to the young student musicians that attend your seminars you give at the various Colleges and Universities around this United States. What impressed me most was your "Risk Taking" statement. Meaning, as I understood it, that if they wanted to succeed, they would have to be willing to step out and take risks (not stupid ones either). Why, because if they just sit and wait and to be discovered, the truth is that they're possibility in for very a long wait. Also, don't give-up if you don't do well in a performance; but, find what went wrong, correct it (practice and improve) and try again, just don't give-up!!! 

Then there is the "I could have done this or that" group. These are the ones that could have but didn't. Why, because they were afraid to take a chance (Risk Taking) and possibly fail; so, they play it SAFE and never do anything. These are the same folks that you hear say, "You know that guy got all the good breaks in life and etc." They spend their entire life feeling sorry for themselves and envious on the ones that do "MAKE IT".

Anyway, this what I read into your "Risk Taking" comment and why I feel that is such an important statement that these students need to pay attention to.

After reading your recent article about Mr. Haynie, I realize what an influence Mr. Haynie had on you and your presentations to these students; because, you too care about young people also,

Thanks, Melvin

Steve Swanson is a trumpet player who has performed with Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton. Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders, Lou Rawls, Johnny Mathis, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Frank Sinatra, and others. He has recorded umerous commercial, TV and radio ads in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York. Steve currently lives in Port Angeles, WA with his wife Linda and three cats. Most recently he played lead for Princess Cruise Line ships, but also teaches and does clinics in the Pacific Northwest. He is a graduate of  Berklee School of Music (1976) and has studied with Jerry Bergonzi, Bobby Shew, Wes Hensel, Roy Stevens, Floyd Standifer, Gary Peacock, Roy Cummings, and Herb Pomeroy. 

Dear Marvin,

I believe the concern is real. I just recently played for a cruise line with many international employees and heard first hand how we (US citizens) are perceived. I knew this many years ago as well, while touring with Buddy Rich in Europe and Asia. Although this time, it is much different. My embarrassment for our current Government goes without saying, as well for the citizens who re-elected King Bush. Just today I saw on CNN John McCain being endorsed by Jerry Falwell! But the beauty of this was that their speeches were delivered at a university where hundreds of young people/graduates held signs in protest to this hypocrisy. I am so glad that this generation can see through the BS that has, for some reason, eluded the “yuppie generation”. 

Mr. Bush and his cronies have done more to destroy this country in less than 6 years than any administration in history. Maybe President Hoover, but maybe not. We may never recover in our lifetime the damage, in so many arenas. The divide between the “haves and have-nots’ has never been greater. I see it musically as well due to our “dumbing-down” of society perpetuated by the media (Murdock/FOX) in regards to the exposure of quality music and broad-minded journalism. Especially in the rural areas of our country where little, if any, exposure to the arts exists. USA news has got to be the most biased paper in this country. Consolidation of all monopolies seems to be the name of the game. Corporate consolidation in all aspects of business. Transportation, communication, manufacturing, human resources, etc. - all without little regulation, and mostly encouragement in the form of tax exemptions, no taxes or union-busting. All in the name of free enterprise or the open market.

In the movie “Network” Howard Beal said it best. “I want you now to go to your windows, open them up and yell…I’m as mad as hell, I’m not going to take it anymore”.

Best,
Steve Swanson 

Ed Annibale has played the trumpet for 37 years, ten of those years in both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army band systems. He has performed in Hollywood with the likes of James Stewart, Milton Berle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Vikki Carr, Brock Peters, and Christopher Reeve. He also played lead trumpet for Cab Calloway and split-lead for Bill Watrous.  In addition, Ed has performed with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and in a special brass ensemble directed by Mel Broiles for New York's Metropolitan Opera. Opting for a steady paycheck, excellent benefits package, and retirement plan, he is currently employed as a Correctional Sergeant in a maximum security prison where he has been a "prisoner of the system" since 1995.  At the present time, he is working on organizing a show band and is accepting trumpet students.

Hi Marvin,

I have read your article, "So - How Do I Really Feel?" and have to agree with you on this.  If anyone wants to claim that you are just some liberal spouting off, I can tell you that I am not what most people would consider a liberal. Please allow me to address this from a little different standpoint. As you know from our conversation in Evanston, Illinois, I am a Correctional Sergeant employed at a maximum security prison. In addition, I have served my country for a total of 10 years (7 years in the US Air Force and 3 years in the US Army). I now work for a state government. I have seen from both sides the abuse of authority and the non-accountability from the upper echelons of the government. Those employed by the government and hired or appointed to these higher governmental positions think that their decisions are always right and that they can do as they please without fear of repercussions because they feel they are untouchable. I have seen this many times within the federal and state governments. If the superiors of the powers to be support their every decision and refuse to hold them accountable, it is the lower ranking, working person that gets harassed, disciplined or discharged with no recourse. 

Do I sound bitter? Yes, because I have worked as a professional musician, but accepted a government position in order to feed my family and take care of them. I am, however, not in a position where I can say I am proud to be a Correctional Officer. When I first started working for the state, I was told, "You will be working with some of the dirtiest, filthiest, piece of crap scumbags that you'll ever meet - - - - and some of the inmates are bad too." I have seen firsthand how supervisors will hold a subordinate accountable for some minor infraction, but the supervisors themselves are in violation of policy more than the officers. The problem is that the officers (guards) have no way of having the supervisor disciplined for their unprofessional and unethical behavior, because as the old adage goes, "$#!+ rolls downhill." Our government has increasingly become a type of fascist society. Those up top give the orders and we follow.  If not, well, all I can say is to read the comment from Bobby Lewis. If people don't think the government acts this way, they are living in a dreamland and need to wake up. 

I do love my country, but I love the principles that it was founded on, not what modern-day society and the government is doing to it. I have found that it is not the people who truly care that get appointed to positions of great authority - - it's the people that have a need to feel the power of being in charge. Last election, we had squat to choose from for a President, the person who runs the entire country. I don't agree with what happened on 9/11, but I don't believe getting our soldiers killed in a foreign country is solving the problem. All it is doing is resulting in lost lives and broken families. We have enough broken families in this country without the President helping out. I say we do what Korea did years ago. Close off our borders to everyone. No trading, no exporting or importing. No giving government assistance to other countries. Become a self-sufficient country and worry about cleaning up our own problems here in the United States of America and rebuild our country to be the greatest nation in the world once again. 

Ed Annibale

Jay Leonhart (as described by his resume') "is a bass player and singer/songwriter and constant letter writer to the New York Times, which does not print him most of the Times." But Jay is much more than that. Yes, he is an extraordinary musician - one of our finest bassists - but he is also one of music's great lyricists and satirists. Maybe an apt description of Jay Leonhart would be that he can swing like crazy while telling you "like it is!" Jay, his wife Donna, and their children Michael and Caroline all are wonderful musicians and beautiful human beings. Jay writes: 

Marvin,

I walk around these days feeling like an accomplice to a great international crime. I watched us try to assassinate Saddam Hussein by dropping bombs all over Baghdad-aw shucks, missed again. Murder was a video game. Our government, my government, was trying to murder a country's leader. I know Saddam is a bad guy. He murders and tortures his own people. We murder and torture other country's people. But to attempt to assassinate another country's leader is an international crime. No wonder we don't support the international courts.

When one starts to understand the political conditions that bred Hitler, Stalin, and other such despots, you find that fervent religious nationalism is always at the core. Some form of racial and religious zealotry is always present. And ignorance is always is great supply. These charismatic and sociopathic leaders are always convinced that their race is the one chosen to lead humanity to the its true greatness. But inevitably it is to keep themselves in power and enslave as much of the rest of the world as possible. 

I know these are strong words to apply to that nice man from Texas and his buddies, but through their ignorance and total lack of philosophical insight, we find ourselves trundling down the road to Fascism. But I think Americans may be sensing this, guilty as we all are of benign, criminal neglect.

Jay Leonhart

Jack Cooper is Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Memphis. He served six years in the U. S. Army, then went to school and achieved his doctrate at the University of Texas at Austin. He is not only one of the best teachers I know, but is also a very fine saxophone player and woodwind doubler. Jack is a very fine and special musician. He writes:

We are are living in a very delicate and pivotal time in this country's history. Marvin, what you have said about the present state of things in Washington D.C. and around the world is sad commentary, and I am amazed at how we actually arrived here. I wish we all would be asking more questions in regards to the greater good. My formative years 
being raised were spent watching and understanding the errors of the Vietnam War and the happenings of Watergate; these two events shaped a great deal of my thinking as to how we see ourselves as Americans. I was not alive during WWII or during the Joseph McCarthy years or the Korean War. My perspective might be different than certain of your older writers making commentary on our present circumstances, I do understand about the safety of Americans here and abroad.

I served in the armed forces for six years (by my choice, my parents were not really for this at the time BTW) and you will find no better supporter of that entity; no one is more patriotic than myself. I am deeply saddened and disturbed to the point of tears in my eyes when we get more reports of American service personnel severely injured or 
killed in Iraq. I am turning 43 years old this weekend, and it really makes me think a lot about all this. I am thankful I have been afforded a life of writing, playing, and sharing music with people around the world.  Americans are now numbering in the thousands of casualities in a war that has no end, initiated by a government who is out of touch and down right corrupt in thier actions. Many of those killed in Iraq are half my age or less and were never able to fulfill the many dreams and aspirations they were thinking about. This is blood on the hands of George Bush, Paul Wolfowitz, and Donald Rumsfeld (et al). Is this all worth it? Are we truly safer? Oil? Judeo-Christian American values? Democracy in the Middle East? We need to question it all and start finding answers fast so no more Americans die without cause. 

Jack Cooper 

David Greene is an old friend from my NYC recording studio days, before taking up residence in Toronto. He is one of the finest recording engineers and producers, a musician with great ears. He has recorded many of the leading Jazz and pop artists in the U. S. and Canada a well as have worked extensively in television and the movies. In 1980, he came down to NYC to work with me and composer/ arranger Jack Cortner to co-produce my CD, Stammpede. His is one of the most respected names in music and audio production. He writes: 

Hi Marvin...

I felt compelled to write you and let you know that, from my point of view, there's no lack of solidarity or passion on this issue. To put it a little more bluntly, the current administration could easily be subtitled "The Manipulation of America for Profit, Fun and Profit."

While I agree with everything you say, my readings indicate that the issue goes far deeper. I would recommend reading "State of War - The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration" by James Risen. He's the Times reporter who broke the NSA domestic spying story. One of the most disturbing things in the book is that the invasion of Iraq was at or near the top of the to-do list from day one, and September 11 was a blip on the Iraq timeline that has been used to maximum advantage ever since.

I would also recommend reading "Terror in the Name of God - Why Religious Militants Kill" by Jessica Stern. Among other notable credits she is a lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. I found it a fascinating and at times a surprising read.

A few years ago I worked on a CBS mini-series that chronicled Adolph Hitler's rise to power from the end of WW1 through the point where he assumed supreme power by combining the offices of President and Chancellor. That was a result of the burning of the Reichstag by a Dutch terrorist. The parallels between that era in Germany in 1933 and the corresponding period following September 2001 and disturbing to say the least, and we all know the history that followed 1933.

Rest assured that you're not alone. Unfortunately, the political system that is currently in place has been crafted in such a way that it no longer works the way it was intended to work. It will not be an easy fix. I applaud you for speaking out on the subject. Perhaps if more of us did we could play a part in the beginnings of change. I'll step down from my soap box now and close by saying that I hope you and your family are all well.

Cheers,
David

Dr. Robert Kase has a wide background both as a performer and educator. He presently serves as Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Trumpet at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and is a regular clinician at schools and universities around the world. He is an international trumpet artist who is in constant demand in both jazz and classical ensembles. He has performed solo tours of Sweden, Norway, England, Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland, Canada, and across the USA.  As a recording artist he has performed on more than 200 recording projects, including four solo jazz recordings with his own quintet. His latest CD entitled “Those Paris Nights” for the Altenburgh Jazz recording label.  He appears regularly at International Jazz Festivals and as trumpet soloist with symphony orchestras and concert bands. He writes:

Marv,

I couldn’t agree with you more.  Your points are right on the target and get to the real issue which is one of integrity.  While I have always had my opinions regarding politics, (don’t we all) this is the first time I have actually been worried about the future of this great nation.  I have done quite a bit of international traveling and I have seen first hand the damage this President has done to the integrity of the USA in rest of the world.  I truly hope that history treats Mr. Bush in the manner for which he deserves.  He is an embarrassment.  The world continually asks the question, “Is George W. Bush the best democracy has to offer the USA for leadership?”  Are we not the ones responsible for electing him?  The first term, they would forgive us, but to do this twice is stupidity and the world simply blames the American citizens.  If we are to be the keepers of democracy then WE must accept the responsibility for the leaders we elect.  The world is watching to see if we are stupid enough to do this again.  Isn’t it time for us to take the responsibility for who we elect?

Bob Kase

Bob Bush is married to a dear friend of mine with whom I played in our high school band. We have recently become re-acquainted after many years – a source of great pleasure for me. Bob and his wife now live in California. Bob received a BS in English from the University of North Dakota and an MS in Administration from Chapman University. After serving two years in the US Army during the Korean War, he worked for Bank of America, then went back to school, taught high school English for four and one-half years, but then went to work for IBM to support his family. Bob got back into teaching at the four through six grade level, then moved to the middle school area, teaching grades seven and eight English, Drama & Physical Education Now retired, his teaching career totaled thirty-seven years in the classroom. He writes:

Marvin, 

Truly enjoyed the "Cadenzas" pieces, both musical and political. Reflecting on both sets gave me paradigm I'd not thought of before. Bart Marantz talks of you giving him the "time" to discuss his musical dilemma, and Bob Freedman talks of kids seeing themselves "as stars of-literally-tomorrow," meaning time of a different order now. Craig Gibson mentioned the "cry of poverty" in school districts, the implication being that when money gets tight, schools cut back on the arts. Another responder made a comment about “some of the problems in music are "pan-social." Time, poverty, and pan-societal issues in music? Aren't these issues facing our nation, also? We do not have enough money to fund this program, but we do have enough to fund that program. We want "something" done immediately about energy costs, when the problem arose over a period of years. Our needs in North Dakota are more important than your needs in South Dakota. The concepts of red state/blue state, right wing/left wing, neo-con/progressive, fiscally conservative/big-spender all seem to me to be predicated on "I want what is mine, right now!"

I know little of the state of music education in America. I do know that music, in all its forms, is and has always been part of the soul of our nation. People of all backgrounds enjoy the beauty of those sounds, be they opera, Broadway, New Orleans, Monterey or MTV. Though there is a vast diversity in genre, music has a certain unifying effect. What we need is some unifying effect in our nation, and I can see one way of starting that unification.

If both of the major party presidential candidates were to tell all the competing interests in our country to kiss off, tell them they are not going to fill out any questionnaire, not going to take any litmus test, but were simply going to do what is in the best interest of the greatest number of people in our country, and not be beholding to any group other than the populous, we just may stop the bleeding. Then we all might start taking the time to look at the needs of our nation, not our own narrow needs, and take the time to solve problems, and deal with extreme issues in a timely manner, truly improve the security of 
our country, help alleviate the needs of the poor, and bring our society back so some semblance of civility. I know this is incredibly idealistic, but cynicism is what has brought about many of the conditions that need to be fixed!

Peace,
Bob

Bobby Lewis is a long time friend of mine from Chicago, a great trumpet and flugelhorn artist. Bobby is also a long-time recording studio veteran of forty-two years on and was the creator of the trumpet ensemble The Forefront. He has produced nine CD great recordings, including the just released album Instant Groove. You can learn more about Bobby at www.bobbylewis.com. He writes:

Hi Marvin,

In the early 1970's while Nixon was still in office and the war in Viet Nam was going on and on for reasons we have yet to know, I was married and had just purchased our first house in Wilmette (Illinois). My wife, Myrna, wrote a letter to the president assuming she had freedom of expression to offer her criticisms of his Viet Nam war policies and explained that "she would do everything in her power to see that he get impeached". 

Very soon after she sent the letter the IRS knocked at my door wanting to examine my corporate records, to which I replied they would have to contact my accountant for that. I certainly wasn't going to let them in my house. (At the time I was a newly formed sub-chapter S corporation to handle my music dealings). The CIA also visited her parents home in Kankakee (Illinois) and questioned her father about her. A notice was sent that they would be able to confiscate our new house, bank accounts, and all our personal belongings...this was a few weeks before Christmas. My wife was grief-stricken, as was I.

Shortly after that I received a demand for a corporate audit from the IRS. They contacted my accountant and spent two 8 hour days at his office going through every receipt, ledger entry, etc. etc. etc. and informed him that I owed $8000! For what? Parking and gas receipts? What other trivial deductions does a musician have? They scheduled more audits...five over the next year and insisted I owed them more money, which my accountant challenged each time, of course, taking up his time and costing me his fees. After much time and effort and my accountant accusing the IRS of harassment, I did have to pay some money to them. Then after Nixon's impeachment, to our surprise and delight, the audits and the harassment all ceased, and quite obviously, the black star was removed from my file....and I have not been audited since!!!!!!

So you wonder why you haven't received as much response to your epistle,"So - How Do I Feel?" Maybe it has to do with the fact that other people feel as I do that  they could get harassed, as I was. Freedom of speech and the freedom to express your views to your president? Don't count on it!!!!

Stay well, brother,
Bobby

Morris Repass is an old friend from my days at the University of North Texas. When I was a student at UNT, Morris was the bass trombonist with the Dallas Symphony and first-call for all the recording work in that city. Morris has lived for many years in Los Angeles where he is one of the most sought-after bass trombonists on the L. A. scene. He writes: 

Hi Marv,

It is always nice to get your Web site new issues. I have known you since you were a student at North Texas, and I was in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and worked some gigs with you.  A LONG TIME AGO!

Regarding your article, I think it is great in this wonderful country of ours that we can have differing opinions and RESPECT each others viewpoint. Mine comes from my being in High School when World War II was going. This shapes my viewpoint because I saw the mistakes of that time by our government in Washington and do NOT think we should make the same mistakes. Again--that would be stupid! Just before World War II broke out Adolf Hitler was building a huge war machine and air force to take over THE WORLD! Everyone in Europe, England and France were APPEASERS! England signed a treaty with Hitler, and Chamberlain came back to England waving that piece of paper saying PEACE IN OUR TIME! Then Hitler took over Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, and even tried taking over Russia. SOME TREATY, HUH? 

Our Congressmen and Senators in Washington said DON'T GET INVOLVED!  THERE IS AN ENTIRE OCEAN BETWEEN US, DON'T GET INVOLVED! Meanwhile Hitler went about killing millions of people!!

Then when Japan attacked us on December 7, 1941, we declared war on Japan and Hitler declared war on the United States! Italy was their ally, so they were after us too.!!! We had practically no war machine at that time because our Congressmen and Senators didn't want to fund it! Consequently for the first 2 years of that war the United States was losing!! We got busy and, with American dedication and know-how, we got up to speed and defeated enemies across both oceans. I have many friends who lost their lives making that happen.

Today I hear so many people say DON'T GET INVOLVED in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sound familiar? After 9/11, war was declared upon us by Islamic Muslim Terrorists! Saddam Hussein was sending $25,000 to $30,000 to families of Palistinian families whose terrorist sons had killed themselves and dozens of Israelis. He also had mass graves where he buried thousands of Iraqi people. Sound familiar?

The world is very small now and if we don't learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it, as the saying goes. So-o-o-  THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.  No more politics from me on this Web site. I love to talk about music. MUSIC IS MY MISTRESS!

Keep up the good work Marv

Sincerely, 
Morris Repass (not trumpets but trombones, euphonium and tubas).

Dr. Michael Parkinson is a fine musician, an excellent trumpet player, currently serving as Chair of the Department of Music at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dear Marvin,

Thank you for keeping the faith personally and muscially.  You need not apolgoize for the statements you make.  I join with you and countless other level headed Americans who are worried sick about the direction that our country has taken due to the misguided and self righteous decisions of the man who sits in the White House and those who surround him. I am one of those Americans who refuse to accept Mr. Bush as the lawfully elected President.  To be fair, I would feel the same way had Mr. Gore unfairly been chosen by the "Supremes" (as Brookmeyer calls them) to be President.  It is the PEOPLE who make the choice - or are at least supposed to.  As long as these "other people" are in charge, our country will lean further and further to the right, a myopic ultraconservative Christianity will be entrenched in all areas of government, the environment will suffer, the oil cartel will be rewarded, the poor will get poorer, the sick will have fewer options for health care, our rights will be squandered as the Constitution gets torn into pieces and laws are ignored and/or broken, and we will be viewed by most of the world as the enemy.  Not that I have an opinion about it. And yes, I am a Christian with clay feetl - seeking to live by Psalm 103. Have you read "What's the matter with Kansas?"  - if not, please read it soon.  Be kind to yourself, Marvin, and count me as a supporter.  Yes, you can post my remarks.

Peace (please),
Mike

Al Molina is a very fine Jazz musician, a trumpet player, living and working in the San Francisco Bay area. He writes:

I'm concerned about American issues as are most who are aware of the direction, most recently and in the past, in which this country has moved in the international arena . But also what moves they (White House/Congress) have made domestically.  I too, was raised during a time when things were more simple, honest and open.......a time when 
Capitalism was something seen as not good, scary, and breeding greed. It was right up there with Communism, and Fascism.  The temptation was too great for the corporate world and the greed-heads. As the evolution of the USA progressed, the corporate ideology gained power and soon  domestic control - inevitably, reaching Globalization.
Materialism is now the vehicle to the American Dream....... and from where I stand, the father of corruption when it becomes obsessive - now the standard for most corporations. Corporate interests are not the interests of the common man, therefore they cannot be spokesmen for the middle class. Those doing more for corporations than for middle class Americans should be expelled from the White House, Congress and other 
positions at the public podium. They should be replaced this November by civilian intellectuals who are in touch with the common persons who make up the real people with real needs.

The appliance chosen by great empires toward dominance has always included military and war. Consequently, all the great empires with which I am familiar have self-destructed.  It appears that path that the right-wing think tanks, concerning world affairs, have led to a weakening of America, through miscalculation and misjudgment and mismanagement, most likely using corporate ideology as a basis, instead of Humanitarian motifs. One would think that after observing world history, Diplomacy and Philanthropy would finally be realized as the most humane option...... perhaps breeding world peace and health - and eliminating hunger. But, call me an Idealist!

Al Molina

Phil Flanigan is a jazz bassist, living in Syracuse, New York. Phil, originally from Geneva, NY, (hometown to another jazz bassist, Scott LaFaro) moved to NYC in 1976 after a year at New England Conservatory and a year playing regional gigs with Scott Hamilton. Living in New York (1976-19890, Phil played with numerous Jazz artists, among them Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton,  Teddy Wilson, Scott Hamilton, Ruby Braff, John Bunch, Warren Vaché, Maxine Sullivan, Helen Humes, and Rosemary Clooney. He moved to Florida (1989-2000), working with Eddie Higgins, Ira Sullivan, and Allan Vaché. In 2001, Phil returned to Syracuse, but travels frequently to play with various artists such as Allan Vaché, Harry Allen, John Sheridan, Bob Sneider, Bill Dobbins, Warren Vaché and others. In addition to playing and teaching, Phil enjoys studying the gold market and allied subjects and is an advocate for monetary education. He writes:

Marvin,

First- I'm very much looking forward to doing some playing with you and the others at
Ned Corman's “Swing ‘n Jazz.” That'll be a blast, as always. And thank goodness for Ned and his event. Because of it I got a really sweet chance to hang with Keeter one last time. Of course, I didn't know it would be the last time I was to see him. It was a beautiful hang - we discussed things I never thought I would with him that time, and I must say I really appreciate having had the chance to do so. He was a beautiful cat, and is missed by many.

Second- bravo on the "political" article. Thank you for having the integrity to speak up!  I'm encouraged by the fact that as I write, three state legislatures have initiated impeachment actions. But if I may say how I really feel - actually how I feel isn't important in the grand scheme. I wish more had the chutzpah to say that - despite the fact that hordes of psychologists have trained us to say "I feel" instead of "I think" - Lord knows we could use a little more thinking and a little less feeling right now.

My point is that a little-noticed but important aspect of "what's wrong" is just that.....we've become so self-absorbed and compulsively self-involved that we find it hard to empathize with others in the world. In fact, just trying to talk to many Americans about issues beyond their body or possessions or their immediate little world can be an exercise in futility, if the person can go there at all. Many will reflexively label you as a ______ or a _______ just for having the temerity to be curious about a subject. I blame television, or, rather, what issues forth from that neutral piece of technology which could be used for tremendous good. So that means I blame those who control the information coming from the TV, as well as those who are still watching, inviting unethical people by the truckload into their homes, and paying a cable  company for the privilege! 

OK, so the media bosses are a BIG part of the problem. They're selling government propaganda and actively "training" people how to think - which is actually more of a Pavlovian knee-jerk reflexive conditioning which is going on. They're getting us to "feel" and react rather than encouraging us to think things through. It's an obvious, timeless truth that when a government is encouraging folks to feel rather than think, you can bet a little thought applied to the situation would enable you to see through the scams and manipulations.

I'm so happy that people are waking up to the fact that it IS POSSIBLE for their government to be corrupt. Or parts of it. This realization is aided by another - that the "government" is just a bunch of guys - not some monolithic parent-deity. Yet another is that it's always been just a bunch of guys, and that putting too much faith in other people (as in various bunches o' guys) can be dangerous. But in getting there - to that realization, one begins to appreciate what a good job was done by a bunch of guys in 1775-1776 who had their flaws and hypocrisies, yet took the time to fight the urge to "feel" reflexively (some of the founding fathers couldn't stand each other) and instead thought it through and persevered in their amazingly high goal of creating an ideal which could be applied to life and governance to make things more equitable, peaceful, just, and prosperous. Our beautiful Constitution is a product of thought, not of "feeling". I've never read Thomas Jefferson saying: "I felt a little anxious, a little overwhelmed, but really, really angry..."

So what I feel, I contend, is of little importance. It's just not important outside of my own subjective little world, where it IS important. What IS important about bigger issues is what I think. I hold thought up to being King - certainly over emotion. Just look at music, at improvisers. The first tier of players you dig are the ones whose sound and "feel" you like - obviously, it's hard to enjoy a player whose thing doesn't feel good! But the next level up from there are the ones who tickle your soul with the beauty of well crafted ideas ... abrupt ideas … smooth flowing ideas … all the millions of possible ideas!  In fact, I submit that you first must have the idea to "have a good sound" or the idea to "have a good feel". So thought and thinking are good.

This is just exactly what the "powers that be" don't want us to do - think for ourselves, read and understand history (real history), and understand our place in it. If we understood where we are today (instead of where we think we are … ooooh! there's that word again!) and more importantly how we got here, (to this sad state of affairs) they know we'd revolt overnight, so enraged would we be by the truth. It is for that very reason that they have eased us into unthinking.

Suspending who "they" is for the time being, you might ask how is it possible to get control of a nation's thinking. Well, it must be possible, because here we are! Seriously, it IS possible and HAS been done, at first one would think pretty cleverly, but as one looks at it, it actually appears pretty ham-fisted. The difference is if anyone is paying attention - if you're paying attention, it's obvious and sloppy. If you're eye is untrained, chances are you'll never see it. You might sorta "sense" it - you'll kinda "know something isn't quite right," but putting your finger on it will be difficult.

Well, I'm sorry I took up your challenge to respond to your brave article! Ha! I guess because I know I've found the root cause of most of our present societal ills (I don't "believe" it, I know it!), it is exceedingly difficult for me to hold back what I've learned … ask some of my closer friends! They say I sound like a broken record, but I accept that designation with pride, because it means I'm tirelessly repeating my message ... hopefully until the reality of it sinks in.

I came across it by being the friend of a guy who edits a newsletter for a precious metals market insider. Actually it's more like a blog, as it is daily, but it's classy like a high-end newsletter. The site is http://LeMetropoleCafe.com. It discusses in painful detail the manipulation of the gold (and silver and the Precious Metals and other commodities) market by the banks, Fed, COMEX, SEC, various government entities, etc. That's where my investigation started, and once I got broadband, I was off!  LeMetropoleCafe.com is a subscription site.......the ONLY one I've joined!  Anyway, with what's called the GATA perspective, things start to make sense in a hurry. (GATA is the Gold Anti-Trust Action committee - http://gata.org/)  Basically, if you "follow the money" historically, you'll have all your answers, sad and mundane as it is - damn, I was hoping it would be mystical aliens performing magic rituals on our hair-covered heads!  But alas, it ain't guys from Zeta Reticuli - it's Alan Greenspan and, now, Ben Bernanke. But historically, JP Morgan is still having an astounding effect on our lives (and it ain't a good one). I hardly know where to begin, but this is where I usually refer people to get an intro to the subject. http://fame.org/) Of course, that could take you months - even so I encourage reading everything at that site, and GATA.org,

Thankfully, some are grabbing ahold of the subject now. Aaron Russo is the producer of the movie "The Rose" with Bette Midler, among others. He actually was a rock 'n' roll producer way back when. Check out his brand new test-market movie trailer - http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

OK that's enough. See you in about a month in Roch!
Best-
Phil

Edward Hoffman has enjoyed a 35 year career in symphony orchestras and is presently the asst. principal trumpet of the Baltimore Symphony. Before joining Baltimore in 1981 he was a member of the North Carolina and Phoenix Orchestras. Ed is a graduate of Lawrence University where he majored in theory and composition. He received a MM degree from New England Conservatory.  His major teachers were Renold Schilke, Roger Voisin, Rick Metzger, and James Stamp. Ed also teaches at Peabody Institute and is the trumpet coach for the Asian Youth Orchestra based in Hong Kong. He writes:

In response to your article "How do I Feel", I am glad that you posted such a thought- provoking monologue.  I wish more people would take the time to speak out against corruption, lies, and deceit in our government and society.  As a person who travels overseas often, you must see the contempt with which our country is held throughout the world because of our failure to uphold those principles of human rights that we used to stand for.  Frankly, I think that we're too far along the road to ruin to turn back, and it's pitiful to think that our children and grandchildren will have to pay dearly for our government's lack of fiscal responsibility.

Leon Nedbalek graduated from the University of North Texas in 1957 with a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Master of Music in Theory. He played trumpet in the concert and marching bands, and the symphony and opera
orchestras. Leon entered U.S. Air Force immediately after graduation, flying several types of jet aircraft and completing in 1966 one hundred combat missions over North Vietnam. He flew for local commercial airlines until 1987, then owned and operated a small printing shop in Central Oahu until 2003. He writes:

Hi, Marvin:

I read your article last night and again just now. Your reluctance to put such words into print is apparent, and you seem to be rather concerned about the reactions you may receive from friends and acquaintances. But I believe (hope? trust?) that you will be pleasantly surprised, even by some you might place at the "conservative" end of the
political spectrum.

The pendulum seems about to reverse, much to the credit of responsible conservatives, some of whom have "Senator" or "Representative" in front of their names. It would be destructive to have an extended period of conservative-bashing. The people who have brought us to this state are not true conservatives -- they're something else!

Being conservative is not the same as being incompetent and arrogant, a destructive combination which can afflict liberals as well. But arrogant incompetence is what this administration has shown time and again, at home and abroad. Many conservatives, some thoughtful "hawks," and an unprecedented number of retired generals are expressing dismay at the wasteful dissipation of our nation's economic and military strength to say nothing of our goodwill and former position of moral leadership.

I won't even get started on the religious angle -- mainly wanted to give you the perspective of a friend who spent the first 21 years after North Texas flying for the Air Force, including combat in Vietnam.

Aloha,

Leon "Ned" Nedbalek

Harry Smallenburg is a musician (vibes, drums, trombone, arranging/composing) with a PhD in English from UC Berkeley and an MFA in photography.  Over the past 35 years, he has taught at Wayne State University and the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, and Pasadena City College and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.  He has been teaching Bible as Literature for at least ten years, and spent at least eight or nine years teaching History of Scientific Ideas. He writes:

"Passion"--thanks for the thoughtful comments.  I totally agree with you--not only musicians, as you point out, but anyone who does something that doesn't bring immediate fulfillment has to be doing it out of a sense of passion, whether it's chess, or practicing, or photography, or, in the ancient world--prophecy--I think all these activities have in common the sense that one is "in the zone"--one of my favorite ways of describing (and seeing described) music at a very high level.  I'm sure you're there all the time--I even think, that if we're going to have entities which can't be proven in any empirical way, the "zone" or the "groove" has got to be one of them.  The groove seems to be something that exists apart, but that musicians enter into and share together during the act of performance.

One of the nice things about your writing is having someone articulate these less tangible aspects of music.  Must contribute to your work as a clinician--you can talk about music in philosophic/aesthetic/existential/emotional terms--not just technique. 

Morris Repass is an old friend from my days at the University of North Texas. When I was a student at UNT, Morris was the bass trombonist with the Dallas Symphony and first-call for all the recording work in that city. Morris has lived for many years in Los Angeles where he is one of the most sought-after bass trombonists on the L. A. scene. He writes: 

Hi Marv, my friend,
I love your web site and look forward to each issue. Just a few of my thoughts, not  necessarily in response to this particular issue but a general one. In my very fortunate years in music business of 10 years in the Dallas Symphony and 39 yrs. and still counting in the studios of Hollywood, I keep running into the same problem with the academia world of music and jazz in particular. 

Every month here in Hollywood there are many many musicians who are just out of college and eager to jump into music business. They are wonderful players and I enjoy playing with them in the free rehearsal bands we have at the Musicians Union rehearsal rooms. I am afraid there is a difference in the academia outlook on music business and the reality of the business world of music. When I arrived in Hollywood  in 1966 there were many jobs in the studios: variety TV shows that each had and ORCHESTRA (not synthesizers), there were many filmed TV shows which used ORCHESTRAS (not synthesizers), and many more movies that were scored HERE, not overseas or in NON UNION SEATTLE or in Canada where the money exchange rate gives the producers a great break on the dollar.

I am fortunate enough to be in the orchestra (34 pieces) of The Simpsons TV show--our 17th season!! This is an anomaly however! Therefore I believe the university and college instructors should get off campus now and then and find out what is really happening in the BUSINESS OF MUSIC. I send this not in a message of doom but a message of stating what is REALLY happening in the business of music today in 2005. I love playing and will do so as long as I can sound good on my ax because I love it with a PASSION.

Lynn Seaton has had a stellar career as a jazz bassist. From 1980-1984 he was the house bassist at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Cincinnati.  He joined Woody Herman in 1984 and the Count Basie Orchestra in 1985. After two years touring with the Basie Band, he did extended tours with Tony Bennett and George Shearing, 1991 and 1992 were spent touring with Monty Alexander. Lynn was a member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio from 1995-1999, but also free-lanced.  with many of the great jazz musicians, including: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Buck Clayton, Al Cohn, Kenny Drew Jr, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Herb Ellis, Frank Foster, Freddy Green, Tim Hagans, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Marian McPartland Mark Murphy, and many others. Lynn lived in New York from 1986-1998, accepting an offer in 1998 to teach at University of North Texas, home to one of the largest jazz programs in the world. In addition to his teaching, he contibnues a busy free-lance career. Lynn has three recordings as a leader, Bassman’s Basement, Solo Flights, Puttin’ on the Ritz, and has performed on over 100 other recordings. He writes:

Hi Marvin,

I just finished reading your essay, "Words of Meaning".  It was fantastic.  You write so eloquently on many topics in Cadenzas, but I was particularly moved by this one.  I relate very strongly to your experience and words.  I too have a collection of art books and have enjoyed museums and am inspired by stories of artists in many fields.  The words you chose to elaborate on in the discourse are indeed important ones not only for artists, but enlightened humans everywhere. You have clearly stated what so many of us feel.   I wish that the parents who ask me about their kid's future in music could read this article.

Patrick Hennessey is one of Hawaii's busiest free-lance musicians, performing with many of the most noted organizations and entertainers in the state. After previous tenures in his home town of New Orleans, then Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Patrick settled in Honolulu, where, in addition to his free-lancing, he has directed the jazz ensemble program at the University of Hawaii for the past 22 years. He writes:

Hi Marvin,
I don't know if you remember me (Patrick Hennessey). I direct the jazz ensemble program at the University of Hawaii and we've spoken on several occasions, including Abe Weinstein's jazz festival. The last time we spoke was at Chuck McAlexander's place. I've always enjoyed our conversations tremendously.

After reading your comments in the latest edition of Cadenzas, I have to say that once again you've hit a home run. I have had my differences with IAJE in recent years, even though I continue to maintain my membership. The organization seems more out of touch than ever and seems to base its success on its own ever-expanding girth and promoting the old boy network than working at the grass roots level (the way it started out). After working with IAJE official to find ways that the organization could help my students, I found that they offered no more than I could provide and have already achieved (other than providing a nice magazine for the students to read). I sincerely hope IAJE sheds its own arrogance someday and uses its tremendous resources for greater outreach.

I also found your comments on learning to improvise interesting as well. Since I am running out of time (gotta get to a gig), I'll be brief. I agree and understand the point you are making. However, I have always tried to differentiate between an improvisor and a jazz musician. I think it is possible for us (the teachers) to provide technical information and advice to the student to help him/her  develop their improvisational skills, but it is up to the student musician to develop those skills beyond merely the improvisational level to play anything meaningful, and I believe it is at this stage that you are right on the button again. From this stage practice, listening, hard work, talent, and ears take over.

Thanks again, Marvin, for your insights. I look forward to meeting again sometime soon, even if it is at an IAJE event.

Aloha,
Patrick

Steve Salerno is an award-winning essayist and author whose work on pop culture, social institutions, entertainment, and media has appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, the Wall Street Journal, and other top publications. He has written three non-fiction books, one of which, Deadly Blessing, became the TV movie "Bed of Lies" (Warner Bros., 1992). His latest publication is his forthcoming book for Crown Publishing,  Sham: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless. Salerno was an honorary professor of journalism at Indiana University, and now teaches writing at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His early years were spent playing lesser clubs and other gigs in the NYC area (various reeds), and he remains an avid follower of jazz, as well as music of all genres. He writes:

I'm writing, now, in reply to your provocative comments under "Thoughts N Things." Though I generally agree with the perspectives you present--and I am willing to acknowledge that in many ways we do live in frightening times--I also think that the reality is more complex and nuanced than you seem to allow for. So I hope you will permit me my devil's advocacy, as follows.

Your basic position is rooted in a common misunderstanding of what the U.S. Constitution does, and does not, prohibit. The Constitution stipulates only that the government may not infringe upon free speech (and even then, there are exclusions, the classic examples being the case of yelling "fire" in a movie theater, or one's expression of a desire to assassinate the U.S. president). In many other cases, however, we-the-people are free to infringe upon each other's speech, especially in an employment or commercial setting. If you were to take a job in the Tonight Show band, and GE (which, of course, is NBC's corporate parent) were to hear that you made an offhand remark to some reporter that was critical of GE's business practices, the network could fire you with impunity, and you would have no recourse at all under "free speech" rights. In fact, employment contracts frequently (if not typically) contain all sorts of provisions limiting a worker's degree of what we popularly call free speech.

Even in the instance you cite--IMAX's decision to cave to perceived pressure by Christian groups--let us not forget that the final choice about whether or not to show the film fell to IMAX, and IMAX alone. To my knowledge, nobody showed up at IMAX's corporate headquarters with a bazooka; in all likelihood, the movie chain simply made a risk-benefit assessment about what financial liability it could afford to bear in presenting controversial material to the American public. (And further, IMAX probably would have made a different decision, had the chain's executives not thought that the majority sentiment was on the other side of the issue.) So perhaps you should be less angry with the "social climate" that produced IMAX's decision to flinch, and more angry with IMAX itself for lacking the cojones to buck the tenor of the times. Finally, let me throw another hypothetical at you: Even if the music itself were sublimely beautiful and worthy of being heard, would you, Marvin, play in a concert that celebrated Nazism? Segregation? Or would you worry about the possible career repercussions that might follow on the heels of your decision to participate in that "free exchange of ideas"?

It's easy to celebrate "art" and "free thought" in the abstract. But when the nature of that art or those ideas hits close to home, things get a bit stickier sometimes. 

** Marvin’s response:

While I do not usually respond to commentary on this page, I feel compelled to do so in this case because there were several statements or questions directed to me. 

Regarding Mr. Salerno’s last paragraph, I agree that, to some extent, we do celebrate “art” and “free thought” in the abstract rather than doing so in reality. But why? Why can we not celebrate these things “in reality” as long as we do so honestly, with sensitivity and respect for one another?

Though I am no constitutional scholar and I may not have stated the exact legalities of the Constitutional guarantees, I believe the statements in my article ring true – true enough that I’m sure most everyone knew what I was trying to convey.  And though the Constitution may stipulate only that the government may not infringe upon free speech (except in dangerous situations like those cited above), we are nevertheless guaranteed freedom of speech and expression. 

It is also true that voicing an opinion, expressing how one feels, might subject the speaker to criticism, ostracism, and other forms of strong disagreement. No one can ever be sure that there isn’t a price to be paid for this right, this freedom. But what if people like Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, and so many others hadn’t taken the risk to speak out? Some of us strongly feel that taking that risk, exercising our right of free speech to speak out against those things we feel are an infringement on our American way of life, is a risk worth taking.

It is true, as Mr. Salerno points out, that companies many times infringe on employees’ right of free speech. At the same time, any employee facing possible employer retaliation must decide whether or not the situation justifies voluntarily limiting his right to free speech. The decision to speak up or remain silent, whatever the penalty may be, ultimately lies with the employee.

Similar rationale can also be applied to IMAX’s role in this discussion. I agree with Mr. Salerno that IMAX allowed itself to be intimidated. He is correct that no one showed up with a bazooka, and, of course, that IMAX made this decision based on financial considerations. It is also true that most firms, especially entertainment firms, lack any hint of cojones when it comes to things like this. Though I might not have been clear about my feelings regarding IMAX’s lack of conviction or principle, it DOES piss me off - just as much as does the existing “social climate” to which IMAX is bowing. But can anyone these days believe that showing scientific films about the earth’s development is truly presenting unproven, controversial material to the American public? In light of all that I read and hear, I guess they may!

But do the people intimidating IMAX represent the majority sentiment - or is it just the group that cries the loudest? I believe statistics show that these people represent approximately twenty-five percent of our population. But as many of us who DO speak out know, the vast majority of Americans - either out of apathy or fear of bringing attention to themselves – sadly to say, are silent. 

Regardless, none of this lessens my feelings about the “social climate” and the ideological political powers that either promote or support this “social climate.” What is just as disturbing to me is that I don’t believe the political “powers-that-be” are sincere in their religious fervor. I believe that most of these people are dishonest about their beliefs and are viciously using people’s religious passion for their own personal and political gain.

Finally, regarding the hypothetical situation: 

“Even if the music itself were sublimely beautiful and worthy of being heard, would you, Marvin, play in a concert that celebrated Nazism? Segregation? Or would you worry about the possible career repercussions that might follow on the heels of your decision to participate in that ‘free exchange of ideas’?”

I can answer this by saying that as it is any presenter’s privilege to stage such a concert, it is my right to refuse to perform in such a concert. And though it is my right to refuse, it is not my right to prevent anyone else from doing so, even if I may strongly disagree and try to convince them otherwise. I have always spoken out against racism and the other discriminatory “isms”; the Supreme Court, however, has affirmed the rights of groups like the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacists, and neo-Nazi groups to espouse their views. That being the case, it is for those of us who oppose them to speak out, hoping that our voices will be heard more strongly and listened to more fervently than those of the KKK and its like. 

Finally, as anyone who knows me can attest, I have never let career considerations silence me. I have always spoken out about things I believe to be wrong, even when it is sometimes to my own detriment. I refuse to be afraid to express aloud or in writing how I feel. And if I am proved to be wrong, I know only too well how to apologize. But right or wrong, I am glad to be counted among those who are willing to speak out.

Harry Smallenburg is a musician (vibes, drums, trombone, arranging/composing) with a PhD in English from UC Berkeley and an MFA in photography.  Over the past 35 years, he has taught at Wayne State University and the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and Pasadena City College and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.  He has been teaching Bible as Literature for at least ten years, and spent at least eight or nine years teaching History of Scientific Ideas. He writes:

Thanks for your comments on these issues.  One problem in the country today is that people with more enlightened, educated ideas are not speaking up. They seem to be running in fear of the so-called "religious right."

I've taught Bible as Literature, and I've taught History of Scientific Ideas, so I've had a chance to see these issues from both sides.  It's always amazing to me that, after a course in which we look at scholarly approaches to the Bible which are consistent with an educated scientific perspective, students will insist on taking the Bible literally with respect to creation, the Flood, Adam and Eve, etc.  They will ask where Adam and Eve fall in the history-of-the-universe timelines a scientific perspective offers.

But then it requires some intellectual fortitude and a willingness to read difficult material in order to grasp the scientific perspective.  The religious perspective can be had without much work--in fact, I've seen more than once handbooks that refer to themselves as "handy-dandy evolution confuters."  If they are one's only introduction to the issues and the arguments, education will never happen. They routinely misrepresent the arguments of major scientists, going so far as to take a statement here and there to supposedly "prove" that the scientist in question doesn't really believe in evolution.  I saw one scientist enlisted on the creationist side who I knew for a fact, from reading his material, was an evolutionist, as any serious scientist would have to be.  Another sneaky tactic in arguments against evolution is for the religious writers to prefix the word "Darwinian" to "evolution."  They can then say that current scientists often reject "Darwinian evolution."  The ordinary reader doesn't realize that these same scientists assume the truth of evolution, but have modified the description of its mechanism from the description Darwin himself gave.  So, technically it's true--"Darwinian evolution" has been "rejected," but evolution itself as a concept has not.  There is also the insistence on calling evolution a "theory," as if to imply that it therefore is not a "fact."  Creationists conveniently neglect the variety of kinds of scientific activity that supports evolution, like genetics and microbiology. They depend on people being ignorant and hope to keep them that way.

Your commentary about the intimidation of the religious right touched a nerve.  Thanks again for speaking up publicly.  That takes some courage.  And I try to read your mailings regularly.

Kenny Berger - is a marvelous Jazz baritone saxophone player as well as a great doubler on bass clarinet and bassoon. He is one of the in-demand musicians in NYC and plays with so many of the most important names in Jazz. He writes: 

Hi Marvin: 

I couldn't agree more with your comments on the Religious Right's crusade of intimidation. The amazing thing is how you were able to address this issue and retain your usual levels of compassion and decorum. After thirty seconds on that subject, I usually end up sounding like one of Bob Brookmeyer's virtuoso diatribes, only angrier. One dilemma that many intelligent people are wrestling with these days is whether or not, as open minded, thinking human beings, we are required to show tolerance to pathologically intolerant people. How can you avoid offending people who believe a shitload of things, yet actually know very little and have no interest in learning anything they don't already believe? The answer is, you can't. Does this mean that in the face of such dogma, the rest of us should just fold up our principles like so many cheap suitcases and slink away? Apparently the IMAX owners believe so as does most of the mainstream news media. They allow themselves to be bullied by people who yearn for a return to nineteenth century economics and fourteenth century theology without ever questioning these people's largely unfounded beliefs. Arguing with people such as these is about as useful as trying to convince someone raving in the NYC subways that, no; the world is not going to end next Tuesday.  The Christian Right's current campaign against an independent judiciary is starting to give the old cry of "kill the umpire" frightening new meaning. The right to keep on offending people who find offense in any opinion or lifestyle other than the one that they themselves have always unquestioningly accepted may the most important and, dare I say, sacred right we have left.

Jack Bowers is a retired newspaper writer/editor, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jack now reviews Jazz CDs for Cadence and Jazz Improv magazines and online at www.allaboutjazz.com. He writes:

Hi Marvin

I believe that the root cause of one group's coercion of another to deny the free expression of opinion is the fear that the controlling group's counter-opinion won't stand up under close scrutiny. It's fine to believe in "creationism," but unfortunately for those who do, the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence points exactly in the other direction. So rather than presenting facts