Interview with Darrell Katz, Director of The Jazz Composer’s Alliance Orchestra

November 30th, 2011Blogs

Darrell Katz is a Harmony and Arranging Professor at Berklee, a former High School Jazz Festival adjudicator, Director of the Jazz Composer’s Alliance Orchestra and a prolific composer of highly original music. Darrell recently sat down with BerkleeJazz.org’s Tom Weeks.

Tom Weeks: How did the Jazz Composer’s Alliance Orchestra (JCAO) come into being?

Darrell Katz: I was struggling with wanting to write for a large group and starting my own. At that time, I was also writing some for a group called True Colors, led by Rob Schepps. Ken Schaphorst (now chair of Jazz Studies at NEC) was also writing for that band. I proposed that we start a jazz composers group, as we’d seen collective groups work so well for classical composers. Composers In Red Sneakers (and a few other composer collective groups in Boston in the mid 80’s) were an organizational inspiration. We found a few other composers and started a band and began putting on concerts. After about a year, we incorporated, and not long after that, became a non-profit corporation. Within the first two years or so, we started bringing in guest composers (something we do less of now). Sam Rivers was the first. The band was a little bit smaller to begin with and expanded several times to its present size.

"I can’t really write a piece if I don’t have something that it’s about. This could be anything: an interval, a rhythmic figure, the text (as I so often set text), or the title of the piece."

Tom: Are there any underlying themes, objectives or concepts, musically or otherwise, that run through your different compositions?

Darrell: There always are, in a variety of ways. I can’t really write a piece if I don’t have something that it’s about. This could be anything: an interval, a rhythmic figure, the text (as I so often set text), or the title of the piece.

My music tends to be rather episodic, however, and about a lot of things. I admire composers who stick to one particular musical concept, though I tend not to. As I said, many of my pieces are text-based, which has been from poetry, prose, and one sentence quotes. I choose text that really speaks to me, and my big goal is to have the music represent it, and allow its meaning to come through. This dramatically changes and controls what I write, determining intervals, rhythms, form, etc.

I don’t always expect the listener to know what underlining, unifying idea I used to write a piece, but it has to be there for me.

Tom: Are there any of your compositions you are particularly fond or proud of? If so, why?

Darrell: I’m fond and proud of all, or at least most of them, most of the time. I think that I’m most pleased with them when I’m about 3/4ths through writing them. Or when they’re in the early stages, but when I’ve finally really got going with them. And of course, eventually, there are moments when all I can hear is what’s wrong with them.

In particular, though, I do like: “The Death Of Simone Weil”, “December 30, 1994”, “I’m Me and You’re Not Ha Ha”, “Like A Wind”, “ Everybody Loves Ray Charles” and “A Wallflower In the Amazon.” I also am very pleased with my arrangements of music by Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington, and Willie Dixon/Muddy Waters.

“The Death Of Simone Weil” I’m proud of, as it’s a fairly unusual work, a setting of a long narrative poem — it runs 65 minutes, which makes it, I think, an oratorio, though we liked to call it an improvisational cantata. I really learned a lot about setting text to melodies and musical textures through writing this piece. I felt like I succeeded at writing music that brought out the meaning and feel of the poem, creating an interesting, content driven form and managing to have the band play a much greater role than just providing accompaniment to singing.

“December 30, 1994” makes a strong (and angry) political statement and has some unique textures (with part of the group improvising textures, rubato, while others play some passages in time). The music really supports and develops with the text.
With the arrangements, I felt like I managed to be true to the pieces I so admired, while still putting in my style, and how my group plays.

Tom: What are some ways you get the sounds you are looking for out of an ensemble?

Darrell: I tend to think of writing music as story telling, and sometimes sculpting. I don’t know how often I really find new sounds but I find sounds that are new to me when I’m really trying too hard to get the music to tell whatever the story is. The best sounds for me seem to come out of finding a way to support an idea. I also keep track of ideas that I have that are more purely sound-based and hope that I find an opportunity to work them in someday. I’ve also had ideas that I’ve used that I hope to eventually find some not repetitive way to use again.

Tom: What are some of the challenges you face when leading a large group of musicians, both administratively and musically, and how do you overcome them?

"The important thing really is: DON’T do this unless you really love it."

Darrell: As far as administration, everything about it is a challenge. Whatever the challenges are, all require jumping through the hoops. I don’t much care for any of the things I (and we) have to do to keep the band going. We do it all: promotion/publicity, grant writing, concert production, booking, art work, mailing. I have no interest in any of these things but I do them because I have to.

The only problem with musicians, really, is getting them to rehearsals. Everyone’s busy, doing many different things, and it’s demanding to have to spend so much time (even though it’s never enough time) at rehearsals. As far as attitudes, though, in our group it’s great. Most everyone who plays with the group really wants to and enjoys what we do, and we really do have a very cooperative venture. We also have to juggle working with what’s on the page in our music, and what isn’t on it.

Tom: Do you have any advice for leaders of large ensembles?

Darrell: Don’t quit the day job and be willing to put in a lot of time at unpleasant tasks. Fortunately, Boston, anyway, has a lot of musicians who are strong players, willing to put in the time and effort to play challenging and interesting music, and willing to be a part of a cohesive group, even if it doesn’t pay well. If you have something worthwhile to offer, you can find people who will play it. But it takes a lot of perseverance and patience, which are two of the main things that I need to write music.

The important thing really is: DON’T do this unless you really love it.

Tom: What are some of your favorite recordings or pieces? What are you listening to currently?

Darrell: I love to listen to music, though I don’t spend the hours that I used to: too many distractions, too many things I have to do, too much time needed for my own music.

I always want to hear new things and have listened to a huge variety of music (though there are plenty of things that I HAVEN’T ever checked out). I always want to hear something new, or something new by someone I already know, and I always like going back to the things I love.

There’s music that I have enjoyed for a really long time that, in fact, I continue to appreciate even more as time goes on. It’s so hard to make a list like this, there’s so much music I like. Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Eric Dolpy, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Stravinsky, Messiaen, Ives, and Bartok have long been mainstays.

As far as strictly jazz goes: Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Charlie Parker, Dizzy, Miles, Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, The World Sax Quartet, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Tim Berne, and especially Thelonious Monk, Gil Evans and George Russell.

I can list off so many things I enjoy. Lately, I’ve listened to a lot of Henry Threadgill, Julius Hemphill, Jimi Hendrix, Count Basie, John Holenbeck, Jason Moran, Rzewski, Mavis Staples, B.B. King, Hank Williams and Ligeti. I’m all over the map. When I start trying to think of what music I like, I tend to want to list hundreds of things. When I start to like a style, usually I want to learn something of the history of it. I try to explore a lot of different types of music.

Check out the JCAO’s website and recordings at: http://www.jazzcomposersalliance.org/

 

A Look at Berklee Alumni Robert Douglas Gay

November 30th, 2011Blogs

Dominic Florio of Berkleejazz.Org recently sat down with session great, Robert Gay.

Berklee alum and saxophonist Robert Douglas Gay has made a name for himself over the years as one of the music industry’s best session players. I had the great fortune of meeting Robert during the first week of orientation here at Berklee. Getting many opportunities to speak and play music with him on an equal level was a treat, but it was not until later that I found out about his astonishing career.

Robert has been a part of some very memorable projects, having recorded with Culture Club on their album, From Luxury To Heartache, Howard Jones’ One To One, Chaka Khan’s Destiny with sax solos on “Love Of A Lifetime” and “Tight Fit”, the Bee Gees’ ESP with signature alto work on the song, “Backtafunk,” and David Bowie’s “Underground” from the soundtrack album of the Jim Henson film, “Labyrinth.” These New York sessions in addition to his group New Man, who were signed to Epic Records, greatly boosted Robert’s profile and contributed to his having won three consecutive Boston Music Awards (’86-’88) for Outstanding Reeds/Brass. Shortly thereafter, he worked with hometown hero and singer Brad Delp and guitarist Barry Goudreau, both formerly of the group Boston. They had created their own band with former New Man bassist Tim Archibald, Return To Zero, and their self-titled debut album RTZ featured Robert’s signature sounds on the song “Livin’ For The Rock.”

In October of 1989, Michael Jonzun, brother of New Kids On The Block creator, Maurice Starr, requested Robert’s sax work on a song written by singer/songwriter Tommy Page and New Kids’ Jordan Knight and Danny Wood. In the spring of 1990, their song, “I’ll Be Your Everything,” reached Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100, which garnered him an opening slot on the sold-out NKOTB Magic Summer Tour. Tommy asked Robert live on Kiss 108 FM to join him on one of the biggest tours in the history of the music industry. After appearing on the highly rated Arsenio Hall Show in front of ten million viewers and a month of show-openers for New Kids, Tommy and his band, with Robert on saxophones and keyboards, went on to headline venues from coast-to-coast before embarking on a worldwide tour.

As an amazingly talented musician, and an upstanding, spiritual, individual, this will be an enlightening and exclusive look into the music industry.

Dominic: When did you begin playing music and what initially got you interested in it?

Robert: When I was about three years old my sister Marcie turned me on to Miles Davis and Charlie Parker as well as a number of other legends. I was thoroughly intrigued by this music and wanted to listen as much as possible. Fortunately I was exposed to great jazz at such an early age. A year later, we moved into my grandmother’s house in Detroit, Michigan and that’s when I began playing the piano. I would hear music and could duplicate the melodies by ear. My mother, who had taught piano for years, recognized my natural abilities and attempted to give me lessons. Unfortunately the chemistry between us was volatile because she refused to allow me to play by ear. I completely shut down for the next two years…

In 1962, the family relocated to Dayton, Ohio because of dad’s work. I’ll never forget the day I came home from school to find a brand new Story And Clark piano in the living room. I was so excited that I sat and played for hours. My mother actually allowed me to do my own play-by-ear thing but eventually had me reading technical exercises from the Hannon Piano Method book.

Dominic: Did you always know you wanted to pursue music, and if not, what happened to make you want to?

Robert: When I was really, really young I would put on shows for my family, during which I would create my imaginary friends and engage them in dialogue! By all appearances, I was heading for a career in stage and screen at the age of two-and-a-half, but then my sister introduced me to jazz and I was so intrigued that music became my primary focus. Like I said before, I did have some “down time” during which I had partially turned my back on music because of the relationship with my mother. Even then, I would sneak to play the piano when she wasn’t around and we had close family friends, the Wilsons, who we visited regularly after Mass on Sundays and they had an amazing jazz collection. It was at their apartment that I developed a real passion for music.

That’s when Mr. Bowie looked right at me and said, "Well! We’ll have to do something about this!"
When we moved to Ohio I was less exposed to jazz and became interested in pop music because that’s what caught my attention at the time. Shortly thereafter, I began listening to WDAO, which was the “soul” station.

When I was eight years old, my family moved from Dayton’s west side to an all-white suburb. I was just entering the fourth grade and I remember listening to my neighbor, who was a year ahead of me, practice his tenor sax. I was totally intrigued by the sound. The following year, my father made me return to Catholic school, which I absolutely hated! Besides the incredible amount of homework we would receive, there was no music program. I was extremely disappointed but halfway through the year, Mr. Richard Wiggenhorn, band director from the public high school, donated his time on Saturdays to establish a band program at St. Peter. This is when I began playing the alto sax. Funny story about this choice of saxophones: the tenor, which was my first choice was simply too big for me to carry to school because I was so small! I reluctantly settled for alto.

By the time I got to high school, my father allowed me to go to the public school because the band director convinced him that I would get the same, if not a better, education because of their beefed-up music program. I knew for a FACT, especially after band camp, that music would be my career. There was simply no doubt in my mind. After deciding that, I was the only person from my class to take the music award every year. In addition, I was also band president in my junior AND senior year, which, according to my band director, set a precedent for future bands. Yep — total band geek here!

Dominic: Was your family supportive of you and your music early on?

Robert: They were supportive of my abilities as an ARTIST. They knew early on that I wasn’t going to follow in dad’s footsteps as an attorney and they were aware of my love for music. Their primary focus, however, was that I study hard and make my way through school. I’m sure it’s because of my strict upbringing that I excelled in band when I reached high school. I am thankful for the values, which they instilled in me at an early age.

Dominic: What did you study and what can you tell us about your experiences when you were here at Berklee?

Robert: I transferred to Berklee after spending one year at the University of Dayton as a music major and taking two years off to find myself because I really wasn’t sure if I was going to pursue sax or keyboards. I had been so heavily influenced by Keith Emerson and the amazing Rick Wakeman of Yes. I saw both in concert when I was in high school and at UD, and they just had my head spinning.

I spent my two years off in Washington, D.C., where I played sax and keyboards with a band. It was there that I was turned back onto jazz, though what many regard as “real jazz”: Coltrane, Miles, Bird, Herbie, etc. I’ll never forget the night I spent listening to “real jazz” with my friend’s father, Geoffrey Gould. He was the one responsible for my decision to study at Berklee so when I arrived in Boston, I was a dry sponge just waiting to soak up as much as possible and that’s exactly what happened.

I’ll say this: from the standpoint of theory and basic concepts in contemporary music, my freshman year at Berklee was the most fruitful. It was essentially, “Oh, THAT’S how it works! Duh!” So from a theoretical point of view, I learned more in my first year than subsequent years, with the exception of learning flute and clarinet. The big turnaround for me was when I studied sax with Joe Viola; he, along with Richard Wiggenhorn, were the biggest musical influences in my life. Joe, may he rest in peace, had the ability to teach me how to teach myself. I studied with him for two years; my last two years at school. I took the knowledge he supplied and used that to get where I am today. I still use his techniques when warming up and I use his techniques when teaching young players; the concept of centering tone and the diaphragmatic breathing technique and how he made it so easy to apply.

I did play in the most prestigious big band ensembles while at school and can’t even count the number of times I played the Berklee Performance Center.

Another major focus for me at Berklee was ear training, and I studied that through the highest levels. Once again, to this day, I use those concepts and techniques.

Dominic: What year did you leave or graduate from Berklee?

Robert: I was at Berklee from 1976 to 1980 but didn’t graduate. My focus was on absorbing useful, practical knowledge, playing with as many ensembles as possible, etc. Not so much about getting a degree, although I guess I could return for a year and acquire one.

Dominic: When do you think you started forming the connections you needed in order to be a working and a recording musician? Was it at Berklee or after you left?

Robert: This is a great question with some surprising answers. My father developed cancer and died while I was on summer break in 1979. I stayed with him in his hospital room every day because I was the one who actually could. I guess he timed his illness to coincide with the semester break. None of my siblings could take on that task. They all had jobs and couldn’t just be away for weeks on end. I was assisting the nurses, and even though Dad was in a coma for most of the time, we grew so close. I was absolutely devastated by his death.

When I returned to school, I played on the street in Downtown Crossing as a means of coping with grief. There was a kind of solace in a lone sax, echoing off the buildings and creating a serene, meditative state. Suddenly I realized I was making bank! Fifteen to twenty bucks an hour — $700 a week, which in 1979 was decent money. Next thing I knew, I was on a “news magazine” show and in the centerfold of The Boston Herald! Soundtrack Boston, a major recording studio specializing in theme songs and radio and television jingles, began calling me for sessions. When they found I could come in and do it in one take, I became their “first-call” alto guy. Then they began booking sessions in New York, using studios such as A & R and hiring New York session musicians. I eventually joined New York Local 802 and still have a file there. Soon, Soundtrack would acquire two buildings and open numerous rooms there on 21st St. and around the corner on Broadway. To this day they are still one of the few surviving studios in NYC. Nonetheless, I worked my way into the scene there through Soundtrack and I will be forever grateful to owners Rob Cavicchio and John Kiehl for helping me get off the ground.

Here’s another amazing story born of the street: somewhere around 1984, I was working on Boylston St. with the bassist from New Man. One of his students used to come down and listen. One day he said he wanted to bring his friend from Berklee. Well, his friend turned out to be Joe Mardin, son of Arif Mardin, Vice-President/Atlantic Records & producer extraordinaire! Well, Joe loved my playing and wanted me to do some sax work on his senior project, which was to be recorded in New York. I’ll never forget how far my jaw dropped when I asked him where the recording would take place. I just assumed it would be at school. Boy was I wrong!

Now is the time to be creative with self-marketing. YouTube can be utilized beyond ones wildest dreams if a clever marketing strategy is devised.

Joe and I eventually became close friends. At his 21st birthday party, I ended up dancing with Chaka Khan! I think comedian Steve Martin may have been in attendance as well. I remember seeing a lot of Joe’s Berklee boys hovering about the living room because Chaka, who had just finished a performance at Radio City Music Hall brought her band to the party as well and the drummer was another ‘Who’s Who’ in the industry causing young Berklee lads to drool…

Seven months after Joe’s birthday bash, I was invited to his Commencement. The invitation also mentioned that his dad was being honored as the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from school. I attended the concert the night before and the ceremony the following day. Afterward, Arif took us all out for brunch at the Sheraton where Joe pulled me aside to mention that his dad was going to be in the studio with Bowie all week. He invited me to stop by the studio.

When I arrived at Atlantic Studios the following week, the studio guard informed me I wasn’t allowed to walk back to studio ‘A’ until Joe arrived. I ended up waiting hours for Joe to arrive and he never did. Then something really funny happened: the session took a break and the musicians came out to the lobby to find me waiting anxiously.

“Bob Gay! What are you doing waiting out here? Why didn’t you just come on back”

“I was told I had to wait for Joe since I’m his guest.”

“What?! Dude, we’re bringing you back right now!”

As it turns out I knew everyone on the session except for Mr. Bowie. Steve Ferrone on drums from Average White Band, Duran Duran, Tom Petty, etc. Will Lee on bass from Letterman, and I can’t remember the guitarist’s name but all of us had done NUMEROUS sessions together. Just too funny so they walked me back to ‘A’ and introduced me to Mr. Bowie which leads to what I’m guessing is your next question?

Dominic: Indeed it does. Tell me about playing with David Bowe and Chaka Khan.

Robert: I KNEW it! Well, like I said, having played with all of Mr. Bowie’s session guys made things a lot easier for me. First of all, I was much more relaxed than I had expected and Steve Ferrone introduced me as the next up-and-coming New York session guy. Mr. Bowie stood to shake my hand and welcome me to the session. After Steve left to go back into the studio, Mr. Bowie and I had a really nice chat. I told him what a pleasure it was to have met him and what an influence he has been to me and I mentioned how much I love David Sanborn who played a lot with him.

“Ah, yes! A fabulous saxophonist indeed! In fact, I just saw him at a venue in London not too long ago and he was absolutely stunning!”

Just as we were discussing David Sanborn, in walked Joe and he seemed a little miffed that I was already in the Studio ‘A’ lounge chillin’ with Mr. Bowie. His reaction was a bit like, “Oh, ummmmm, I see you’re already back here…”

“Joe, I’m sorry but the session took a break and as it turns out, I know everyone here. Steve and Will brought me back.”

“Okay, well uh, Mr. Bowie, meet Bob Gay who is the next up-and-coming saxophonist from Boston working his way into New York. He’s a fantastic player!”

That’s when Mr. Bowie looked right at me and said, “Well! We’ll have to do something about this!”

By the end of the night, Mr. Bowie had fallen asleep and I discretely, but without permission, handed Mr. Bowie’s bodyguard a copy of my demo. David listened to over and over and absolutely loved it. When the time came for overdubs, Mr. Bowie had specifically requested me. Arif called me to announce the verdict I was beside myself. He told me that since the artist had specifically requested me, I should be very grateful that such an honor would be bestowed upon me. I was humbled by the gesture.

I ran into Chaka at Atlantic one night when she was doing vocals. I gave her a big hug and thanked her for the opportunity to record on her latest album. She grabbed me and said, “Are you kidding, baby? You got the Chops of Death!” To this day, remembering that line she spoke, no matter how down I might be or no matter that I’m in excruciating pain, keeps me moving because it is so complimentary and reinforcing.

Dominic: Rob, one thing I have learned about you is that you are a very giving person. Is there anything you would like to say to young musicians?

I ran into Chaka at Atlantic one night when she was doing vocals. I gave her a big hug and thanked her for the opportunity to record on her latest album. She grabbed me and said, "Are you kidding, baby? You got the Chops of Death!"

Robert: This is a basic law of the universe: if one has obtained knowledge that can assist others in this world, it is ESSENTIAL that information be shared. Failure to do so will simply leave the unshared knowledge at risk for bad karma. With that said, the music industry is definitely not what it was 40, 30, or even 10-20 years ago. My career has been an emotional roller coaster, having been ALMOST to the top and then losing it due to bad luck, bad decisions, which at the time seemed to be the appropriate way to go, and cut-throat industry executives. The phrase, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” certainly applies to the music industry. To complicate matters, gone are the days of the big record deals and legacy recording studios. The good news is that being well-equipped, young Berklee students with Pro Tools and MacBook Pros in their back packs can duplicate or trump the quality put out by multi-million dollar recording suites of the 80s, which is why a majority of the major production houses have gone under.

Now is the time to be creative with self-marketing. YouTube can be utilized beyond ones wildest dreams if a clever marketing strategy is devised.

Now is the time to use the artistic side of all of us in an effort to create clever marketing ideas. We have the skills, the formal training, and the equipment but we just need to unlock the creativity of alternative thinking and use that to our advantage in an effort to promote that which God has given us. Yes, times have changed but we must NEVER be discouraged in our effort to distribute our art to the world.

Ivan Lins at the BPC

November 17th, 2011Blogs, Slider

Ivan Lins has been one of the leading voices in Brazilian pop music for over thirty years. His tunes have been recorded by artists including Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, George Benson, The Manhattan Transfer, Diane Schuur, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Eliane Elias, Patti Austin, Sting, Toots Thielemans, Take 6, Lee Ritenour, David Benoit, Carlos do Carmo, Mark Murphy, Dave Grusin, Sérgio Mendes, Michael Bublé and countless others. He is the only Brazilian artist or Portuguese language artist to win a Latin Grammy award for album of the year and Wednesday’s show at the Berklee Performance Center was a real treat.

The opening act was the quartet of guitarist Marcio Philomena. Philomena displayed incredible chops and fantastic ideas in his Metheny-esque style. The highlight of their short set was their interpretation of Ary Barroso’s “Na Baixa do Sapteiro.” This up-tempo Latin tune began with an intricate guitar and piano vamp leading into a very nice melody over a Chick Corea-style samba. The solos grooved over a funky vamp before launching into the soaring samba on cue. The group displayed marvelous chops and sensitive interaction. Philomena is certainly an artist to watch out for.

Lins’ set was a grand production featuring Berklee students as backing musicians and arrangers. The string and horn arrangements were remarkably lush and professional, and the tunes were well rehearsed. Lins’ vocals were expressive and heartfelt, and the arrangements gave his songs beautiful settings, which really brought out the character inherent to each of his compositions.

Perhaps the most ‘jazzy’ tune of the night was the sole instrumental “4×3.” The tune really showed off the Berklee piano and horn sections. The solos were impeccably crafted and displayed amazing technique. Lins’ lush harmonies gave the soloists ample room to develop their statements without being overbearing or inappropriate for the context.

The show was a great showcase for both the great music of Ivan Lins and the remarkable talent for arranging, orchestrating and playing we have here among Berklee students.

Chamber Jazz

October 31st, 2011Blogs

Trombonist/bandleader/educator Alan Ferber is one of the most prolific performers and composers on the modern music scene today. A special blend of sideman and leader, Ferber splits his time and creative energies between multiple musical endeavors. Whether it be playing in Broadway pits, holding a chair in John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, backing up pop royalty like Harry Connick Jr. or Sufjian Stevens, Alan has been credited on over eighty albums and has somehow managed to grace the world with four albums of his own.

Ferber made his solo debut in 2001 with Playground, which was scored for septet, and followed up in 2005 and 2007 with two groundbreaking albums for nonet (if you’re keeping score at home: that’s scored for nine pieces). Scenes from an Exit Row and The Compass earned Ferber major notoriety in the modern compositional world. With his most recent release, Chamber Songs, Ferber blends and pushes the traditional jazz nonet with the addition of a 9-piece string section, further exploring the developing “jazz-chamber” aesthetic.

In poetic, chamber fashion, the album commences with an overture-like arrangement of Keith Jarrett’s composition “The River,” which then tributaries into the piano driven “Interlude”, a meditative piece with soaring, rubato horns and droning jaw harp. Displaying both his versatility as a composer as well as his broad range of influences, Ferber pulls the listener to different dimesions and realms of the jazz universe. The eerie, programmatic free improvisations of “Ice Cave” and the hard swinging dissonance of “Union Blues” paint contrasting landscapes all while accenting Ferber’s unique style and identity. “Magnolia” and “Sedona” feature Alan’s subtle yet intense lead trombone playing all the meanwhile showcasing his delicate, lyrical style.

Dedicated to the true spirit of ensemble playing, band members Jon Gordon and Byrn Roberts both contribute original works for the ensemble. “Paradox,” the hard-driving, rhythmic fantasy with call and response improvisations was penned by soprano and alto saxophonist Gordon while pianist Roberts contributed the uplifting, 6/8 lyrical-tale of “Fables.” Book-ending the album with an “Alan Ferber special,” he arranges another acapella version of Ben Monder’s composition “In Memoriam” (an arrangement of Monder’s “Luteous Pangolin” appeared on The Compass).

Earning both the critic’s and reader’s polls in Down Beat magazine for his trombone playing while also earning a spot on “Down Beat’s best CD’s of 2010,” Ferber continues to make a deep impression in the modern jazz world. He has also been a dedicated educator, holding teaching jobs at multiple musical institutes including Peabody Conservatory, Montclair State University and was recently appointed to the jazz studies faculty at NYU.

You can find out more about Alan Ferber at http://www.alanferber.com/.

Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project

October 31st, 2011Beantown Jazz, Blogs

Vibraphonist Dave Samuels has led the Caribbean Jazz Project (CJP) for over fifteen years, and at the Beantown Jazz festival, he showed the results of many years of mastering the group’s unique style. This iteration of the CJP featured Alain Mallet on piano, Mark Walker on drums and Lincoln Goines on bass, each of whom is a masterful modern jazz player with a serious understanding of Latin music.

The set began with an exciting up-tempo tune, which featured the piano and vibes trading solos. The group exemplified the way great modern players are able to interact with each other and develop and re-develop the ideas between the players. The interplay between the two soloists and the rhythm section was incredible. The solos naturally built up a great deal of tension to a tremendous climax before making a smooth transition into a group improvisation that brought the energy way down and segued into the next tune.

A piano intro set up the groove, which the percussion and bass ran with. The melody came in and revealed this spacey Latin tune to be a stretched out and reharmonized arrangement of the Oliver Nelson classic “Stolen Moments.” The piano solo took off over a funky, grooving minor blues with a lot of hip substitute chords and reharmonizations. It is a testament to every member of the group that they were able to keep up with and compliment all the twists and turns of Mallet’s masterfully constructed solo. The band went into a more upbeat latin groove for the vibe solo, taking the excitement level way up. Samuels has his own unique approach to harmony and solo construction that is simultaneously cerebral and visceral. The group came together perfectly at the end, going into a tight concerted rhythm to take it back to the head, which was developed in keeping with the energy established by the solos.

The highlight of the set was a fantastic arrangement of the Thelonious Monk tune “Bemsha Swing.” It began with a group improvisation that was more of a spontaneous composition between the vibes, piano and percussion that turned into an off-kilter, funky latin groove. The vibes came in with the melody double-timed. The group really showed off their incredibly advanced rhythmic conception and amazing technique on this tune. The arrangements for this group, especially “Bemsha Swing,” are all incredibly well-thought out and thoroughly rehearsed. The transitions between each section and solo were never sloppy and were always inventive. The Caribbean Jazz Project is certainly one of the most inventive and advanced latin jazz groups in the world today. The highly virtuosic players and incredible arrangements make them a group not to be missed by any jazz fan.

Check out their website at: http://www.dsamuels.com/

Julian Lage is just getting started

October 25th, 2011Beantown Jazz, Blogs, Slider

“Music is only one avenue of communication and I feel like I’m still exploring different means of expression.”

Twenty-three-year-old guitarist/composer Julian Lage has been garnering a world-class reputation since his early teens. He was the subject of the award-winning documentary Jules at Eight, then gained major recognition from appearing in Gary Burton’s “Generations” band at age 15. By 2009, his debut album Sounding Point received a Grammy nomination in the category of “Best Contemporary Jazz Album.” To add another invigorating notch in what has already been a boundary-pushing career, Julian just released of his second album, Gladwell, this past May.

A California native, Lage was a student of well-known San Francisco guitarist Randy Vincent. Along with Lage’s father, Vincent was one of Julian’s earliest mentors. “I was really, really lucky. Randy introduced me to a lot of different musicians. I met Pat Martino when I was 12.” Lage also studied at multiple conservatories and music schools such as The Ali Akbar College of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Sonoma State University, as well as completing a diploma here at Berklee College of Music. Always pulling influence and inspiration from nature, his compositions and solos already demonstrate a mature and cultivated style reflective of his developmental and ever-searching sensibilities.

Julian was kind enough to give BerkleeJazz a phone interview from his New York City residence. At 3:00 p.m., he apologized for being a little sleepy, which was understandable considering he was in the middle of performing every night with The New Gary Burton Quartet at the Blue Note.

BerkleeJazz: Who were some of your first guitar influences?
Julian Lage: Blues Guitarists; Stevie Ray Vaughn, and T- Bone Walker especially.

BJ: What were some the first pieces of music you learned?
JL: I didn’t learn a lot of songs — I would improvise a lot. The first thing I learned was an A minor pentatonic scale and I would improvise with that for a while, using different blues ideas.

BJ: What albums have you been listening to lately?
JL: Randy Vincent’s Songbook Vol. 1 and the new St. Vincent Album.

BJ: When did you begin to develop and write the music for your first album Sounding Point?
JL: I actually didn’t have much of the music written down or planned out for the first rehearsals. I knew that I had a group of musicians that I wanted to record a project with and we ended up figuring out the music in the rehearsals together with about two months of preparation.

BJ: What are some new projects that you’re working on?
JL: Right now I’m forming a trio with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Eric Harland (drums), and I recently played on a live recording with three other guitarists led by composer/guitarist Anthony Wilson.

BJ: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music full time?
JL: I’m not exactly sure. I started thinking about music as a career path more seriously when I was maybe 13, but I’m still not completely settled on just music. Music is only one avenue of communication and I feel like I’m still exploring different means of expression and how to communicate with people.

Bernie Worrell with Socialybrium at the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival

October 25th, 2011Beantown Jazz, Slider

Funk and rock legend Bernie Worrell graced Boston with his presence at this year’s Beantown Jazz Festival. As Parliament-Funkadelic’s original keyboardist, Worrell co-wrote and performed on many of the band’s most well-known hits including “Flash Light,” “Give Up The Funk,” “Mothership Connection,” “Aqua Boogie” and many more. In addition to his groundbreaking work with P-Funk, Worrell was featured several times with The Talking Heads and collaborated with, among others, Bill Laswell and Les Claypool. Worrell is highly regarded as a tremendous influence on this generation’s synth players. Ice Cube once called him the best keyboardist he’s ever heard.

Worrell (himself a New England Conservatory alumni) is a personal hero of mine and it has been a long time since I’ve gotten to see him in concert. He did not disappoint. Worrell’s new group, Socialybrium, unleashed some ultra-heavy, mega-funk-rock-jazz fusion upon the unsuspecting Beantown Jazz Festival crowd.

The group began its set by launching into a heavy, funk-rock groove built on Bernie’s real deal Herbie Hancock-type jazz voicings. He directed the band through some exciting, well-constructed, and seamlessly segued jams. Worrell skillfully demonstrated his mastery of the different synths by switching between funky saws, grooving organs and smooth Rhodes as the music called for it. It was obvious his long career and vaunted history playing electric keyboards enabled him to develop and employ interesting techniques beyond traditional piano playing, making him, arguably, one of the most unique musicians in the world today.

Towards the end of the set, drummer J.T. Lewis yelled, “Funk it up! Funk! It! Up!” between songs and Worrell produced a melodica and stated a motif which he then proceeded to develop between his melodica and electric keyboard under Socialybrium’s somber, dub-reggae-tinged groove. Worrell again demonstrated his unique mastery of the jam, moving in and out of tonality while quoting circus music and somehow remaining funky and grooving the entire time. The band then moved into a tune called “Heathen” featuring the bass player, Melvin Gibbs. Bernie laid down a G-funk-type groove on a synth bass (an instrument he introduced into pop and funk music almost singlehandedly) while Gibbs shredded his bass like a cross between Bootsy Collins and Eddie Van Halen.

The highlights of the set were the performances of two Funkadelic classics: “Red Hot Mama” and “Hit It And Quit It,” which featured Worrell on vocals and special guest Van Martin, a Berklee alumni, on guitar. Martin and the group’s regular guitarist, Andre Lasalle, shredded these tunes fully in the spirit of the late Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton, P-Funk’s legendary guitarists.

All in all, Worrell simply delivered maximum funk to the table on that cloudy afternoon. He still has the chops and creativity to continue making original music today and unquestionably proved why he deserves his legendary status in music history.

Check out Bernie’s website at: http://www.bernieworrell.com/

Berklee Global Jazz Institute

October 23rd, 2011Blogs

This past Thursday night, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute (Red Ensemble) led another one of their student concerts/jam-sessions in the intimate setting of Café 939′s Red Room to a small and engaged audience. The septet performed a short set of all-original material from its contributing band members and then opened up the stage for a night of traditional jazz conversation (jamming!). Opening the night with pianist Christian Li’s “Time Machine,” the band launched into its modern, inter-disciplinary approach, one of the mission statements and artistic goals of the institute.

“B.G.J.I. students will critically analyze and evaluate the expressive qualities and values of music in relation to other art forms in order to refine a personal aesthetic. They will play, practice, listen, improvise, and analyze jazz and world music across a range of cultures and styles, while developing an understanding of historical, social, and cultural roots.”

With a unique frontline instrumentation — violin (Alex Hargreaves), alto & soprano saxophones (Hailey Niswanger), two tenor saxophones (Matt Halpin & Edmar Colone), backed and pushed by the dynamic and interactive rhythm section of Zach Brown on bass and Roberto Giaquinto on drums — the band’s dynamic and sonic arch gracefully explored different angles and perspectives of the modern jazz spectrum. Mixing hard-swinging and avant-bop, turning Latin influenced rhythms inside out and segueing into soaring tone-poem-like rubato sections interspersed with free improvisations and shifting time signatures, the band showcased its versatility, sensitivity, sensibilities, and exploratory drive.

To say the future of jazz is safe with these young musicians would be a cheap a cliché. However, they’re more than on the right track — they’re hedging new territory in a long-standing and ever-evolving tradition and are already contributing their own unique ideas and sentiments. The night closed out with a jam session boasting even more diversity, featuring a harmonica player from Israel, a pianist from India, and yours truly even joined in for a tune, further extending the peaceful invitation of universality through music; another Berklee Global message.

Live Coverage of Beantown Jazz Festival

October 2nd, 2011Beantown Jazz, Blogs

It Pays To Read

September 12th, 2011Blogs

Sometimes the best thing to do is step back from the instrument, breathe, and let your body and mind relax during your practice sessions (as not to injure yourself physically and mentally). Music is about listening to your inner-self and reflecting and responding to the happenings around you. So step outside yourself for short breaks and analyze your situation from different angles.

Also realize you can keep your brain musically active while away from your instrument in lots of different ways: active listening, transcription, clapping rhythm exercises, watching video recordings of concerts, etc. With the Internet and independent publishers, books and printed music have never been more readily available than now. But be careful not to become overwhelmed with the amount of material out there. In an effort to help you avoid information overload, I’ve composed a short list of reads to get you started on your journey out of your musical comfort zone. Remember: improvisation is one of the most abstract and difficult topics of music to “teach.” Luckily most of our esteemed faculty here on the East Coast have written what most in the jazz world would consider the standard pedagogy of the highest caliber.

Jazz Improvisation: Starting Out with Motivic Development (DVD) – Ed Tomassi
Another Berklee and jazz education heavy, this DVD goes deep into the motivic and thematic development realm. An abstract yet simple concept taught by a master of control, these lectures will enlighten your patience and awareness, allowing you to control and develop all of your lyrical ideals.

See this DVD at the BerkleePress web site!

How to Improvise – Hal Crook
One of the most well-known and respected players/educators in the jazz world today, this “method” book dissects all the minute aspects of improvisation: pacing, multiple concepts and exercises for motivic development, pulling the time, hexatonics, rhythmic density, etc. Crook also lays out great practice routines to keep your approach and practice conception interesting, resulting in an exploratory and exciting methods to develop exercises for yourself.

Inside Improvisation Series – Jerry Bergonzi
Spanning 8 separate volumes, Bergonzi explores everything from melodic rhythms to hexatonics and intervallic improvisation . A master and innovator of the modern jazz language these books will spark and expand all serious player’s vocabularies.

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