DownBeat January 1982 [antikvár]

education in jazz -John Abercrombie John Aburcrombic's quartet is featured on his latest album, "M" (ECM), He is featured guitarist on )an Garbarek's recent album, Et'eniyr (ECM). Anyone aspiring to be a professional player needs, in addition to talent and technique, confidence in himself and lots of experience playing with good musicians. Berklee makes this all possible; it did for me. When I went to Berklee—fresh out of high school with only some extra-curricula rock 'n roll experience—I had only a vague idea of what it took to be a professional. I soon learned that the guitar repertory goes beyond folk and rock. We were into Bach chorales and Charlie Christian lines, and learning parts in a 12-piece guitar "big band." The other students in other ensembles and classes kept me challenged and open to new ideas. My first record dates were for Herb Pomeroy's Jazz in The Ciassroom series with such student sidemen as Ernie Watts, Lin Biviano and Sadao Watanabe. Playing money gigs in the Boston area provided additional on-the-job training. While I didn't choose to take many of the fabulous writing courses available at Berklee, the music was all around me and much of it was absorbed in my playing. Even today I am aware of concepts in my playing that had its origins back in school. Wherever I go, young musicians ask about where they should go to school or how to make it in a playing career. Berklee always comes to mind first. I have never run across any other school that so prepares you for the real music world. ^oJm Aie/uMmlUe for catalog and information write to: BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC Dept. D 1140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215 For those who cannot attend Berklee at this time . , , a special CORRESPONDENCE COURSE includes • Modern Harmony • Improvisation • Arranging • Jazz Composition, etc. For information wrile lo: BERKLEE PRESS PUBLICATIONS, Dept. D P.O. Box 489, Boston, MA 02199 THE FIRST V CHORUSV BY CHARLES SUBER "B ut four years of jazz education, and you can't play one song? Four [years of jazz education, and 1 say "Play a ballad for me,' and thoy say 'Huh?' " That's Phil Woods expressing a common concern of working jazz musicians— the musical illiteracy of many jazz majors. There are exceptions, of course, but it is true that too many jazz students and their teachers do not have an adequate musical vocabulary. "They don't know Body And SouJ. They don't know American songs. How are you going to be an American artist if you don't know that?" says Woods. But its' not entirely their fault; the American publishers haven't been very helpful. Jazz-in-the-schools became a noticeable phenomenon in the mid-'50s with the emergence of high school and college stage bands. Many of the faculty directors had played in swing or dance bands and were indeed familiar with the gi^at American standards. But the only available charts were Johnny Warrington stocks. The big publishers couldn't see authorizing arrangements of their valuable copyrights for kid bands. So new publishers—Kendor, KSM, Berklee, Cimino, Colin, et al.—published original material arranged by the likes of Art and Rusty Dedrick, John LaPorta, Ralph Mutchler, Marshall Brown, and Neal Hefti. The point is that students have been denied the chance to study and play the best of BiUy Joel's Accompanist American popular music. Student jazz musicians suffer another handicap—the lack of legit fake books. (Only in the past few years have some publishers authorized lead sheet collections.) A student musician can get a degree from a good music school, but before he plays his first wedding he has to buy an under-thi^ counter fake book. How do you learn the changes to Stardust? Phil Woods is so right. "The strength of a September Song is that you can play it in Java and gel the natives to cry. "Hie strength of a Gershwin, a Harold Arlen, a Cole Porter is their universal appeal, and the young cats can't play it." The music education schools haven't been of much help either. After all this time, there are still only two or three schools that require any jazz course for the future educatot Woods: "Some of the young music teachers are fine; they can play, they've been in the trenches, but . . . that's why a lot of jazz players like to visit the campuses and talk with the kids and try to give them a picture of what's going on out there." "deebee" update: Additional prizes for solo winners of the 1982 down beat Student Recording Awards competition include shiny new horns from W.T. Armstrong, Ge-meinhardt, Leblanc-Holton-Martin, and Tlie Selmer Company; and signal processors from continued on page 57 TOM MUSIC ¦ ENCOUNTER VI Wm. Kratt (E.A.M,) $15.00 ¦ EPISODE FOR SOLO PERCUSSION John Beck (Studio 4 Productions) $3.00 ¦ ROTOTOM SOLOS FOR THE MELODIC DRUMMER Wm, Schinstine (Southern Music Co.) $5.00 ¦ TOCCATA Steve Traugh (O.A.M.E. Press) $15.00 ¦ ROTOTOM TECHNIQUE Vic Firth (Carl Fischer) 15.95 Send check or money order (Calil. residents add 6% sales tax) to REMO, INC. 12804 RAYMER ST NORTH HOLLYWOOD. CA 91605 REM^ HAS IT! 6 DQWN BEAT JANUARY 1982