Latch Music's Ezine #9
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "Jazz Education" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: FreeTime Trio - The future of Jazz is alive and well!
- Featured Web Site: Artist Pro
- Featured Web Video: Charlie Hunter
- CD Pick: Pat Metheny "Trio 99-00"
Jazz Education
by Dave Latchaw
I recently spent an entire Saturday listening to and judging High School and Middle School jazz bands and combos. As I heard all of these groups perform, I began to think about just how much jazz education has changed in the last 25 years. There has been immense progress in the quality of the young groups. It is amazing that some schools have as many as three jazz bands and a couple of combos in their music program. Many of the "second" bands are starting to sound as good as the "first" bands did 10 years ago. It is also great to see enough interest from the students that they would take the extra time to play in a school combo. I had great fun hearing all the bands that day. At the end of the day I found out that a former student of mine won the over-all soloist award. What made me realize just how much the level of quality has improved was when it occured to me that my former student was not going to be there at the night show to pick up his award, because he was subbing a gig for me! He was totally ready to play it and did a great job. I can't believe he still isn't old enough to drive!
As much as the overall scene has improved, there are some jazz programs that are in a bad way. Sometimes it's the school that does not support the program, or the director is rather clueless, or there is a lack of interest from the kids. Still the majority of school programs are changing and improving for the better. There has been great improvement in the accessibility of information about jazz and jazz education. Organizations such as the International Association of Jazz Educators have provided a wonderful service in aiding the improvement of jazz education. The jazz information one can get from the IAJE website is great. A Jazz Improvisation Primer by Marc Sabatella is also great example of what one can find out there on the web. Another great resource is Jamey Aebersold, who provides not only a cool web presence, but also great opportunities for anyone to advance their jazz playing and knowledge with his camps and the products he makes available.
20 years ago, when I was attending a regional college, it was an all-out battle between me and the music faculty to get them to accept or give any validity to jazz. Fortunately I was able to gig a lot and play with great jazz players away from the school to aid in my jazz development while at college. I still find many entrenched University types that teach music education who still have a hard time with the concept of jazz. My theory is, it's easier for them to dismiss the jazz art form than to fess up that they can't do it, or that they don't understand even where to begin! It is still slow going at the regional level of college jazz education. However, many regional college programs are trying to improve the availability of jazz education in their music programs. This is great, because it is these schools that are developing our next generation of high school and middle school music educators.
As a former jazz educator at one of those regional colleges, I find applicable theory knowledge generally lacking in the music education majors that I work with. So often when it comes to theory, the students learn only what they need to for the exam. After the exam, the student usually feels they do not need to be so on top of their theory knowledge, unless they are playing or studying jazz. Unless the college offers a jazz degree or has some evolved program, the jazz aspect of that school is usually a token gesture. To be a jazz player and educator you have to know your theory. No way of getting around it. As a school educator, you rarely work with a student who can improvise with a natural proficiency, so you must have knowledge of the harmonic information that goes along with teaching the student to improvise. A good musician who is an educator might be able to get the ensemble playing of his group to a high level of performance, but is usually caught out when members of that group go to improvise. You can tell whether a band director knows how to improvise by listening to his students solo. If the teacher is harmonically challenged, the student will be as well.
Over the last few years, school music educators have been doing a much better job of either learning more about teaching improvisation, or leading their students to people who can teach it. Not that I want to see jazz become a sport similar to marching band, but because of the competitive nature of the regional jazz festivals, the quality of jazz performance is growing rapidly. I fully recommend to anyone who is a jazz fan or musician to take some time and check out a school jazz festival in your area. It is very satisfying to watch so many young people go for it!
FreeTime Trio
Dave Holloway: piano
Andrew Kratzat: bass
Ben Sloan: drums
Featured in "Down Beat" magazine, June 2001.
#1 How did you get into jazz?
Dave: I first started jazz at Blackhawk Middle school in 6th grade. I enjoyed it and signed up again the next year. I started to listen to jazz much more when I began taking lessons from Dave Latchaw. Dave sent me down the right path and pushed me to pursue what I wanted instead of telling me how everything should be played. I started playing in a combo at Blackhawk in the summer after my 7th grade year. I did not know what I had gotten myself into, but now I play with a combo all the time.
Andrew: I began playing the electric bass in the jazz band in the 7th grade and sort of enjoyed it. Later on a combo was forming that needed a bass player, so I decided to join. From there my love for jazz just grew and grew.
Ben: My friend and mentor Mr. Schiebel got me started playing in a big band and combo when I was in 6th grade.
#2 Who are your influences and why?
Dave: My influences include all sorts of music and styles. In jazz though, I would have to say Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Lennie Tristano, Chick Corea, Benny Green, and Marcus Roberts. There are many more, however.
Andrew: I would have to say that my biggest influence is the Bill Evans Trio with Scott Lafaro and Paul Motian. The way that trio plays with the bass player being free from a walking line has defined my playing. My other influence would be John Coltrane. His playing is incredibly passionate and emotional. He has taught me to be emotional and passionate in my own playing.
Ben: Max Roach and Benny Green. I like their music, man.
#3 How do you work out the arrangements?
Sometimes we will take ideas from an artist and apply those to the song that we are performing, but most of the time, we like to keep the songs spontaneous. The music flows in the direction that we are feeling at that moment. If we do arrange music, Dave, Andrew, and Schiebel get together, sketch out some ideas...then when Ben shows up, we tell him what to play :)
#4 How often do you gig and rehearse?
At the very least, we gig twice a month; we're booked in permanently at the Firefly Cafe and The Anchor Room. Because of school and other activities, we don't rehearse very often. Our gigs serve as the best rehearsals. Each member of the group practices on their own time.
#5 How do you make band decisions?
We are grateful to have Matt Schiebel as our manager. He takes care of most of the bookings and helps us stay informed via e-mail. All band decisions have to be agreed upon by all of us; we get along real well because the only stuff we do has to be unanimous and nobody gets upset if another group member votes against a song, gig, or arrangement.
#6 How do you see other older musicians act towards you as a band regarding your age?
It's not about the age, man, it's about the music. Many older musicians appreciate the fact that we young musicians play jazz. We seem to get a lot of support from the elders more than our own age group. The young people are the ones that think we are wierdos because we listen and play something other than alternative or rap(even though we dig those styles as well). The older musicians have been very nice to us at all times, and we enjoy playing with them a lot.
#7 How do you see the Internet fitting into your musical game plan?
We see the internet as a great way to get our music heard across the world. It allows us to share our music with others who haven't heard it. It's a nice way to give our fans some music for free (on mp3.com), and it allows us to stay in contact with each other, which makes booking gigs easier, since we don't have to make a bunch of phone calls.
Artist Pro
Artist Pro is a location where one can get information on a variety of music and music business topics. Artist Pro offers a free on-line audio education course that teaches you and then tests your knowledge on critical areas of the recording process. You can also get access to the Recording Industry Sourcebook, which is one of the largest databases for the recording industry. The Sourcebook features contact numbers for a wide range of services needed by serious musicians. In the Recording Industry Sourcebook you will find listings of major and indie record companies, with their contact information and whether or not they accept unsolicited material. There is also an Advisor Forum hosted by Grammy-winning, platinum-selling engineers, producers, song writers and arrangers, covering such topics as producing, mixing, mastering, and more. They also make available excerpts of useful books, as well as interviews and reviews from top people in their areas. If you are a song writer, musician, or starting your own record label, you can find lots of useful information at www.artistpro.com.
Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter is a very cool modern 8-string guitarist. His influences are Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, P-Funk and James Brown. In the late 80's Charlie spent some time doing solo street playing in Paris and Zurich. After returning to the states Charlie hooked up with poet/rapper Michael Franti, which led to the forming of the band "Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy". This band opened for such acts as Primus and U2. After leaving the band "Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy", Charlie got his own band going and ended up getting a record deal with Blue Note. At the time of this writing, there are 12 videos to watch, you will need Real Player to view them. The selection of videos features Charlie playing in a variety of situations, and a couple of interviews. Worth checking out this great music. I appreciate how Charlie Hunter's music respects the music of the past and blends it with the music of today to blaze the current music trail. Click here to see the videos.
Pat Metheny
"Trio 99-00"
Guitarist Pat Metheny has always put out great music. "Trio 99-00" happens to be the "Pat thing" that I am digging at the moment. "Trio 99-00" has a similar vibe to 1976's "Bright Size of Life", 1983's "Rejoicing", and 1990's "Question and Answer". In this trio recording, featuring Bill Stewart on drums and Larry Grenadier on bass, Pat's music is very live and spontaneous. With the Pat Metheny Group the music is generally well thought out and very orchestrated. The 24-bit technology allows you to feel really close to the performance, and with headphones on you have the sense of being right there. Pat won his 14th Grammy for "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo", nominated for track 1 of this recording, "(Go) Git It". It was Pat's 23rd nomination. This is a great disc!
Tracks for "Trio 99-00"
- (Go) Git It
- Giant Steps
- Just Like The Day
- Soul Cowboy
- The Sun In Montreal
- Capricorn
- We Had A Sister
- What Do You Want?
- A Lot Of Livin' To Do
- Lone Jack
- Travels
Click here to learn more about "Trio 99-00"
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