Document
-
Upload
lionelle-hamanaka -
Category
Documents
-
view
212 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Document
![Page 1: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
JAZZ CULTURENew York Jazz Project
In These Pages: ReviewRome Event: L. Fabris 2‐3
Mastering Guitar: R. Stone 3‐4Dr. Frank Foster 5‐8
by C. BridgewaterBillie Holiday Tribute 9‐11
646‐312‐[email protected]
http://newyorkjazzproject.com
p.1Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4
On Friday May 11 , 2012, The George Gee Swing Orchestra
was swinging so hard the musicians fled outside on their breaks to
cool down. We usually think musicians play an instrument, but
Conductors shape the sound, unify the band, indicate where
sections and solos come in, control dynamics, the beat, the
repertoire and set list. George Gee is a master at this with over 30
years experience leading big bands, his band now playing every
Tuesdays and some Fridays at Swing 46, stomping grounds for the
world’s swing lovers. He started as a bass player.
The band played “A Train,” “Route 66,” “Candy,” “Puttin on
the Ritz,” “Moten Swing,” “Hard Times,” “Count Basie (Red
Bank) Boogie,” “Misty,” “It Had to be You,” “Don’t Get Around
Much Anymore,” and “A Very Good Year,” punctuated by Gee-
isms: “After all these years I can still say, ‘ It Don’t Mean a Thing
If it Ain’t Got that Swing;” and “This is dedicated to the fried
chicken lovers all over the world.” Gee has a solid rhythm section
in the lovely toned Marcus McLaurine on bass, Willard Dyson,
drums, who lit up the house on “Sing, Sing, Sing,” harkening back
George Gee Swing Orchestra
at Swing 46 more on p.5
REVIEWofGEORGE GEE SWI�G ORCHESTRA
![Page 2: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
ROME EVENT
to the Golden Age of Swing, and pianist Steve Einerson. Dave
Gibson, trombonist, is an excellent composer/arranger (his “On the
Road to Roscoe’s” perfectly captured a free-spirited car ride
headed to some great fried chicken). Gee features some terrific
soloists, including Mike Hashim on tenor, with a stirring, unique
tone, Vitale Golovnev, a talented trumpeter, Julius Tolentino, who
combines a black/Filipino sound with lyric intensity, a singer
named Angel Rose who does ballads with a silken voice and
swings the blues.
The only time Gee’s smile paused was recollecting how sad he
was when Frank Foster passed. “We recorded a cd of Frank
Foster’s arrangements in 2004,” he said. “He and Cecilia were
great.” Otherwise, he asked, “Is everybody happy?,” and seemed
to mean it. See George Gee.com to hear the band.
Luciano Fabris, pianist. From March 19-23, 2012 at the Felt Club
in Roma, Italy, there was an international masterclass featuring
Barry Harris with 90 students from 19 different countries,
including Europe, the United States, Canada, Israel, Syria, Russia,
Japan, and Cyprus. The highlight of the event was on Friday,
March 23, when Barry Harris played also a memorable concert
with Luca Pisani on bass and Oreste Soldano on drums.
This was the 1 1 th time a unique event of this kind has been
produced in Rome by the Roma Jazz Workshop Cultural
Association. Over 600 students have had the possibility in the last
seven years to study with this great teacher, composer, and
performer of jazz music,.Besides being the foremost musician in
the world with knowledge ofCharlie Parker and Bud Powell's
music, he is recognized worldwide as an innovator, also because of
the great contribution to musical theory of his sixth/diminished
scales. Barry Harris has a unique way of teaching. He believes that
the best place to learn how to play is a class, where people of
different levels come together and can improve. Seeing Dr. Harris
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p2
![Page 3: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
at work, sitting in front of a bunch of horn players ready to play
scales and phrases at really fast tempos and challenging them to
play faster is a remarkable experience.
For many years Barry Harris has traveled all over the world to
teach young people and spread his message and his passion for
jazz. In Rome, the brilliant pianist Andrea Papini collaborates
with Dr. Harris as translator. Also every night, passionate jam
sessions were held until late in the night, conducted by different
piano players. Italian audiences had the chance to listen to some
great players as Richard Clements from USA and Kuno Kurner
from Germany, beside the Italians Fausto Ferraiolo and the above
mentioned Andrea Papini.
After the class was over, as always we received a lot of
messages of joy sent for days from students and audiences alike,
filled with gratitude. Things like that can happen when somebody's
heart is touched.
Mastering Guitarby Rick Stone
A person can obviously
become a GREAT jazz guitarist
without going to a music school
(countless examples exist) but
the problem we face now is a
lack ofworking situations and
bands for a young musician to
learn in. If you look back at the
early history of jazz, most
musicians got a lot of their
training from playing in bands,
learning on the job. But now
people are so used to canned
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4 p.3
Photo: Chris Drukker
![Page 4: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
music, that in most cities, only the best musicians get to play even
on little bar or cafe jobs that barely pay. This leaves very few
opportunities and so the schools have kind of come in to fill that
void by providing a place where young musicians can learn from
(and sometimes perform with) their elders and perform with their
peers. A degree is really only necessary if one is going to teach or
have any sort of job in an academic setting.
Teaching is really a different art from playing. Early on in my
life I had some great teachers who inspired me to want to follow in
their footsteps, but I also wanted to be a player. So I've kind of
followed a split path; I've tried to grow as a player AND as a
teacher. You have to really make a study of that and observe the
lessons that you yourself have learned, and whether those things
translate to your students. Every student is different as well, so to
be a good teacher, you have to learn how you can get through to
that person in a way that effects them positively. It takes a
TREMENDOUS amount of patience and can be really frustrating
at times. Not every musician has the temperament to be a great
teacher.
Most jazz guitarists prefer an arch-top guitar. Of those, there
are two main varieties: A carved top (in which the top is carved
from a single piece of spruce) is much more responsive
acoustically acoustically, but also much more expensive and
fragile. Good examples of these are the Gibson L-5 and many
guitars handmade by luthiers like Benedetto, Buscarino and
Comins (which is what I play). A "laminate" (or plywood top) on
the other hand, has a top that is arched by molding the wood on a
form. The laminate is cheaper to build and much sturdier, so it's
often the choice for a "road" guitar, even for musicians who prefer
a carved top at home and in the studio. The Gibson ES-175 is a
good example and there are many laminate instruments being
made by Asian companies now that fall easily into the beginners’
budget. It should also be noted that when played electrically, a
laminate is often less prone to feedback, so some players prefer
them in live situations for that reason.
I should also note though that ANY guitar can be used to play
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p.4
![Page 5: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
jazz and the choice of instrument can be a really personal thing.
Some players (thinking now especially of the great Canadian
guitarist Ed Bickert) even prefer solid body instruments like the
Fender Telecaster, which believe it or not, can be a really great
sounding jazz guitar (in the right hands of course! ).
I personally use several guitars regularly; I use two Bill Comins
"Classic" models, both carved archtops (one is a 17" and the other
an 18"). I also use a D'Angelico SS which was redesigned for the
company by Bill Comins a few years ago. The SS is a laminate
with a smaller body (14.75") and is very comfortable to play. I also
use a Vestax nylon string guitar that was made as a prototype for
the NAMM show about 10 years ago. It's different from a
traditional classical in that it has a smaller body (15") and an
arched top. The neck is also narrower than a traditional classical
guitar and meets the body at the 14th fret (as opposed to the 12th)
so it feels more like my jazz boxes. I've got a closet full of other
instruments, but the ones I described are kind ofmy "go to"
instruments for almost everything.
Frank Fosterby Cecil Bridgewater
[Frank Foster] He had
several bands, the big band for
festivals concerts that also
played dances. He had another
group called Swing Plus, a
smaller group, more of a dance
group, with fewer horns and a
rhythm section. He also had
the Non Electric Company, a
small group – quintet/sextet.
Cecilia his wife took over
the booking and management
and PR and all that. She was asJazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4 p.5
JAZZ HERITAGE
Photo: Brian McMillen
![Page 6: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
much a part of the band as he
was. She was behind the
scenes, taking care of the
business stuff. It was a great
partnership. It took a lot of
work to get rehearsals, trying
to transport and house that
many people. Festival
people or concert people
don’t want to put out that
much money. It is a lot
harder for bands to travel now days. I remember Max Roach told
me that bands used to stay in a city for 8 weeks at a time.
Nowadays you travel to a venue, do the concert/engagement and
return home until the next concert. A lot of concerts are in colleges
or schools. In Europe you’re doing festivals, so you during the
festival season. It’s a little more difficult, in terms of financially
making it viable not only for the artist but the venue.
Frank did all kinds of other things as well, commissions. He
just finished writing the “Nippon Lament,” for the people of Japan
tsunami victims, which had its premiere at his memorial on
September 23, 201 1 . He also taught at Jazzmobile and several
Colleges and Universities around the world.
[Now you have a] General public [who] doesn’t hear jazz.
Unless you seek out WBGO or some other jazz stations so there is
less awareness and appreciation for the music. You have to seek it
out. Going to Europe and Japan someone would come up to and
say, “I remember a recording you made for so and so..” often
something that I had forgotten. There is a different level of
knowledge of the music. A lot of people in this country don’t
know who Frank Foster is. We don’t remember the ancestors
whose shoulders we are standing on, we’re always looking for the
next new thing, we don’t give them the respect their due until after
they’re dead and gone, whether it is in fashion or music. It’s very
very young country… this country is very young like a little kid,
and so the music is the same way. We’re so used to throwing awayJazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p.6
Cecil Bridgewater rehearsing for 25th
Anniversary of�ew School Jazz
![Page 7: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
stuff, so we toss it aside. It has to be termed monumental for
something not to be built in its place…in another place they
wouldn’t think of doing. Jazz has withstood the test of time for 100
years, but that’s still a very short time.
[Frank Foster] He is one ofAmerica’s great composers, along
with Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, his contributions have
been as a saxophonist, mentor, composer, arranger and organizer.
Those are things he…excelled in from the time he left Cincinnati,
from the time he left college. Some [people] are great
instrumentalists, or great innovators, [e.g] John Coltrane was great
innovative, saxophonist, but Frank was known for all of those
things, and revered for all those things.
He was a great teacher. I first encountered him as a teacher at
Jazzmobile, Diz and Jimmy Heath used to teach there. He went on
to teach at several universities. Within the band he was always
challenging us, making us experience the difficulty in his music.
As a composer, arranger, saxophonist, as a mentor, all of those
things. . .
We are going to do the best we can to keep the music going
and let people know who Frank Foster is. He was one of the few
people who had a hit, like “Shiny Stockings,” his music was in a
couple of Jerry Lewis films; Dizzy commissioned him to write for
London Philharmonic. He was commissioned to do a piece for
double big bands, in Ohio, Sean Jones’ Big Band, and Byron
Striplings Big Band. That’s a very rare happening. Lincoln Center
Orchestra commissioned him-- he wrote for everybody.
His great sense of humor and curiosity came through and gave
life to everything. He fought through his illnesses. Taking on
having your own big band is a huge task as well, to try to keep it
working. Frank’s life was a big part of the history of the music,
from the era ofBasie right on up to last year.
A simple thing, never give up your dream. Whatever you think
you want to do, don’t shrink that for an easier route. Something
you really want to do, put in the effort and it’ ll happen.. .He would
come to rehearsals in a wheelchair and conduct the band, the band
was his instrument. You felt the energy he was putting into it, you
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4 p.7
![Page 8: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
could do no less. He was the kind of person that overcame all the
obstacles, no matter what it was.
BILLIE HOLIDAY TRIBUTE
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p.8
Photos by RichardWilliams
Michael Morgan & Frank Robinson
Connie
Mc�amee
&
Jim Malloy
Jo Marchese
Maggie
Malone
Continued from p.1, George
Gee Swing Orchestra. Dawn
Hampton, right, swing
dancers left experience the
rapture at Swing 46
![Page 9: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Photos by RichardWilliams
April 7, 2012
The first annual Tribute to Billie Holiday took place at The
Rum House, a gourmet drinking establishment in the Edison Hotel,
(on 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue) decorated
with art nouveau lighting, dark wodden panelling.
About 24 singers took part in the festivities, featuring a trio
with Kuni Mikami, pianist, Jon Roche, bassist, Clifford Barbaro,
drums. Singers and audience alike exclaimed their love for Billie
Holiday, one of the jazz greats we all idolize and try to learn from,
as she was a natural genius and innovator. Overcoming a horrific
childhood, she became at the age of 18 one of the biggest stars in
New York, recorded by John Hammond, who called her "an
improvising jazz genius." Nat Hentoff called Billie Holiday "the
best and most honest jazz singer."
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4 p.9
Joe Gimpel &
Lana Sokolov
Kumiko Yamakado
& Sybil Evans
![Page 10: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Photos by RichardWilliams
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p.10
Mary
Rocco &
Maki
Mototsu
Lisi Paluski & Anthony Maxwell
Attending but not photographed were Joyce Deyo, Tom Breuer,
Sonya Perkins.
Belonging to the jazz world is a blessing, where we have so many
recordings and memories of stars like Billie Holiday, who filled our
heartbreak, happiest moments,solitude and memories, struggles and joys
with some of the greatest music the world has known, free for all of us to
share, belonging to all those who claim it.
![Page 11: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
RichardWilliams and Lesli
p.11Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4
Ron Saltus & Mike Sergio
Lafayette Harris- the Harlem Jazz
Festival Ginny's Supper ClubTamiko
![Page 12: Document](https://reader031.fdocuments.in/reader031/viewer/2022020500/568c36be1a28ab023599305f/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Jazz Culture by �YJP v1, n4p.12
Let's Link
See BarryHarris.com Clarence Banks, Count Basie
Trombonist. Clinics, Private
Lessons Call: 917-428-6746
Congratulations,Jazz Culture! Kuni MikamiJazz Pianist on CD BABY:
Hamp's Boogie
See LafayetteHarris.com
Cds, Clinics, Lessons
Photo: Max Garr
John
Watson
@johnpiano
man.co.uk
The
Langham,
London
Lionellehamanaka.com-
Publisher