by Dr. Monika Herzig

Last weekend, I got to perform in Fort Wayne and South Bend.  My old IU colleague Farrell Vernon, now tenured Professor of Jazz Saxophone at IUP Fort Wayne invited me to be the guest artist with his jazz ensemble.  Farrell remembered my special interest in Chick Corea’s music and planned a program including some of Chick’s well-known songs such as Spain, 500 Miles High, Tones for Joan’s Bones, and Little Flamenco.  We also added my arrangement of Night and Day and the award-winning Let’s Fool One to the program.  Farrell did an amazing job preparing those rather difficult charts with his students.  We also added two combo tunes in between to showcase Farrell’s strong tenor, reminiscent of Michael Brecker’s approach.  No surprise, as he had published a book of Brecker transcriptions during our student years and I also remember playing Brecker’s “Don’t Try This at Home” on his recital.  The concert went very welland I look forward to getting video and audio recordings.  We also spent several hours remembering our IU days including a trip to Monte Carlo.  Farrell reminded me of one of our concerts there, when our director Dominic Spera decided to feature our two tenors, Farrell and Rob Dixon, on a very fast Bebop tune while the curtain went up.  Somewhere during the process, Rob forgot the melody and while the curtain keeps rising and they frantically try to keep things together, they find themselves eye to eye with Dave Brubeck, JoeHenderson, Dave Holland, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Nathan Davis, Ted Dunbar, all sitting in the front row.  So much for the only opportunity to make a first impression…
Anyway, none of us anticipated at that time that students would address us with Dr. Vernon and Dr. Herzig and we would actually be able to do what we love to do for a living.  After a jog through Fort Wayne’s suburb and a major Christmas shopping spree, I drove on to South Bend to join the Merriman’s at Trio’s Jazz Club.  Trio’s is a restaurant/ jazz club that opened about a year ago.  The jazz club features live music four nights a week in the bar area.  On stage is a Baby Grand piano and enough room for a jazz combo.  It’s the perfect setting to create intimate jazz music and with a full house, that’s just what we did.  Please check out the club if you get in the area and I hope to return there soon.  Many Chicago musicians come over for a special treat on the weekends – more info and calendar listings at www.triossb.com.  Highly recommended!
On a final note – the effects of the depressed economy are rippling down further and further into the arts.  We lost two of our three steady gigs now and only rescued the third one by adding an extra hour to the performance time.  Orchestras are cancelling their seasons, galleries are closing down, many friends have lost their jobs in all kinds of professions.  The American people have expressed their desire for change last week, let’s work together and make it happen soon.

by Dr. Monika Herzig

In 2004, I started offering classes on the Music Industry here at Indiana University.  With about 15 years of freelancing and recording as a jazz pianist, composer, and band leader, as well as owner of a small record label and founder of non-profit organization Jazz from Bloomington, I have gotten my feet wet in a lot of areas of the Music Industry.  It’s not a pretty business and a tough industry and many errors and struggles can be avoided or circumvented with knowledge and education.  With the classes, my hope was to help future generations of musicians and music industry pros and supporters to find their goals and pursue them  with the straightest path possible.  It has been an interesting experience so far, due to several reasons.

Of course, the music industry of 2004 and 2008 is already worlds apart and changing rapidly every day.  So the challenge for me is to stay up to date and change the curriculum, readings, contents continually.  There is no way to pull out the old lectures from two years ago and just use them!

Another obstacle was the move between departments.  I started teaching those classes for the famed Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.  But when I received a substantial grant and wanted to expand the class offerings, I ran into a solid wall.  There was no interest in further offerings, just the opposite, the Departments of Music in General Studies was downsized to a program with an uncertain future.  Chuck Bonser, former Dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and head of the Arts Administration program, had a vision though.  He succeeded in creating an undergraduate Arts Management program and gave me and my classes a new home and full-time faculty position.

My third continuing challenge with the classes is to keep a solid relationship between theory and praxis.  Of course, there is information than can be shared in the classroom but usually the real learning takes place when the students do internships in a regional music business, stage their own concerts, and/or get to interact with music business professionals who come to class.  Due to my continued activism in the music world, many of my professional friends are most willing to visit the classes and talk about their path, work, and vision and usually are able to find many new supporters and often most valuable internship help.  And yes, there are amazing resources in the land of cornfields – some of the strongest independent record labels with Secretly Canadian and it’s subsidiaries, one of the world’s leading world music publicity companies with Rockpaperscissors, one of the largest World Music Festivals with the Lotus Festival, world-class studios, such as Echo Park, and much more.

And this week we got extremely lucky, legendary producer Gary Katz was in town working on a project in our own Airtime Studio and agreed to come to the classroom.  Gary Katz is probably most known for his production work on every Steely Dan album recorded during the first run of their career.  Other production credits include Bobby Darin, The Mamas & the Papas, Steppenwolf.  After his own venture, Jake Records, he moved to Warner Brothers as a producer and A&R man for ten years working alongside Jerry Wexler.  Some of his signings include Prince, Dire Straits, Christopher Cross, and Rickie Lee Jones.  Currently he started a new production company, producing stylistically themed compilation records in conjunction with specific fundraising efforts.  His upcoming project is a compilation of Hip Hop tracks including among others a track by Kanye West.

Here are some of the highlights of our class conversations:

About his early beginnings, Gary pointed out how getting into the business is a vicious cycle as you can’t get a job without previous credentials, but the only way to get those credentials is by having a job.  Well, most of those cycles will be broken by a personal recommendation from a friend or loyal connection, in his case a recommendation to work with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker on a new venture soon to be known as Steely Dan.

Asked about his production strategies, Gary explained that it’s most important to be sensitive to the artist’s needs.  Some artists need a lot of guidance, some already have a very concrete image of the product and just need some tools.  He pointed out that one of the musically strongest artists he worked with was Joe Cocker and explained how he would just sing his vocals once to the tracks with no need to take additional takes and certainly no auto tuners and other tech fixes involved.  Some other of his favorite artists are unknown projects and bands with musically most rewarding products who never received superstar acclaim due to many non-musical factors involved in the industry.

Asked about his signing of Prince, he recalled how Prince’s manager kept sending them demos for weeks and weeks.  Gary kept explaining to him that what he heard just sounded like another Stevie Wonder with nothing new added.  Finally the Warner crew gave in on the request of a personal audition.  Prince came in and set up the drums, guitar, bass, and did an amazing one man show – Gary was convinced, the rest is history.

After 30 years in this industry, he has seen many changes.  Of course technology has made production much faster and cheaper.  The impact of ProTools on recording techniques is a huge factor.  Gary pointed out how layering vocal harmonies on a few bars at the end of a Steely Dan track took weeks at the time and could be done in 45 minutes today.  Another change that becomes more and more apparent is the lack of musicians who can actually play instruments and play them well.  So much music is produced with computers these days, there is no need to learn instruments any more.  I must admit, that this is probably one of the most scary developments for me.  As a jazz player, my whole life is centered around practicing my instrument, maximizing my technique and musical knowledge, in order to create the highest quality musical product.  Event though I do acknowledge the high creativity factor of a lot of the music produced with technological tools, I sure hope we keep teaching our children instruments and have them experience the joy of performing with and for others.

Of course, many students were curious about advice on breaking in the industry and preparing for a career in music.  Gary admitted, that there is no recipe these days.  He explained how difficult it has become to break new acts with radio being mostly unaccessible to new and independent artists and the business strategies of record labels, not necessary based on musical criteria.  When Warner Brothers was restructured under new ownership a few years ago, he and many of the previous key personnel left the company as they observed a lack of musical knowledge in their future leaders with profits being the only guiding business principle.  Since then he has created his own company, using partnerships with other organizations to promote music.  He admits that he is mostly soliciting tracks from established artists for his projects as he’s not interested in the hard work involved in breaking new artists.

What brings Gary Katz to Bloomington, Indiana to produce records?  It’s so much cheaper – production costs, personnel costs, cost of living – and Dave Weber’s Airtime Studios is a great room with a relaxed atmosphere and all the tools that can be found in a big New York Studio.

And finally – when we found out that he will be back in town for the class project that we’re planning entitled “Scratch Off” – a battle of 8 DJs, we asked him to be one of the judges and he agreed!  So on Wednesday, November 19, starting at 8pm you can find all of us in the IMUG in the IU Memorial Union on campus, including Gary Katz as one of the judges.  The call-out for the event is attached.  It’s not really jazz, but it’s creative – join us then, get to know the future generation of music industry professionals and meet Gary Katz in person.

by Dr. Monika Herzig

We finished the “Introduction to Jazz History and the Indianapolis Jazz Scene” class this Monday with our last guest, Cathy Morris.  This incarnation of the class was one of the best we had so far.  The group of 15 students included musicians, moms of musicians, moms of producers, jazz fans, now jazz fans, senior citizens, die-hard jazz fans (taking the class for the third time), friends and spouses of jazz fans, just a really great mix of people.  We went through the history of jazz from the beginnings to current fusion styles, got to know Oliver Nelson jr, Cathy Morris, Melvin Rhyne, Frank Smith, and Everett Greene, and of course David Andrichick and the Chatterbox, and had many interesting discussions.

For the first time, the group also asked me about Jazz in Europe and some unique developments there.  Of course, I was glad to provide information and recommended a recent documentary entitled “Play Your Own Thing” about the development of the European jazz scene.  Jazz found it’s way overseas very soon after the early New Orleans developments and was received with great enthusiasm.  Even though Second World War was somewhat of a set-back in the development, jazz become the signature for resistance as shown in the movie “Swing Kids”.  Due to the delayed development and its political association, jazz has become a serious art form in Europe with many musicians pushing ahead into new forms and styles of music making.  The developments are quite exciting to see. Jazz is not dead!

Another interesting point of discussion that came up was the need to document some of the testimonials and performances of our guests.  I wrote a blog earlier about Frank Smith’s presentation and performance, which ended up as a very personal and intimate evening with thought-provoking stories and a most unique performance.  The suggestion came up to find a way to document these intimate interactions and presentations on tape.  I think it’s a wonderful idea and I’m looking into funding and support possibilities.  We already lost several of the special performers who came to previous classes, such as Pookie Johnson, Russell Webster, the Hampton Sisters, and more.  Please do let me know of any suggestions, ideas, proposals, to create permanent documents for the great Indiana jazz legacy.  As I pointed out to my students, just because the audience and the performer happen to live in the same city shouldn’t automatically grade a performer as “local”.  For audiences living somewhere else, many of those performers are “national” acts, i.e Everett Greene, Melvin Rhyne, and many more.  Maybe such labeling should be dropped completely, or would you consider Wes Montgomery, David Baker, J.J. Johnson local acts?  Please do send me any ideas for funding opportunities or best ways to document these great legacies.

It looks like I’ll do an incarnation of the class in April/ May 2009 in Bloomington through Ivy Tech Continuing Studies with performances at Jazz at the Station on Tuesdays, and then another Indianapolis incarnation in Fall 2009.  It’s a great way to educate about the essential legacy of this art form and bring artists and audiences together, hope to see you soon in one of those classes.

Also:  You don’t want to miss the evening of dancing with the Al Cobine Big Band under the direction of Mike Lucas on Saturday, November 8 at the Convention Center, with a tribute to Hoagy Carmichael.  There will be free dance lessons at 7.30pm, with dancing until 11pm.

Till soon – keep swinging

by Dr. Monika Herzig

It is official now, we’re in the worst economic worldwide crisis since the Great Depression.  I don’t know enough about economics and politics to explain how we got here.  But I do believe that a lot of this could have been avoided with visionary leadership and with more attention to the needs and development of the middle class.  People who used to be just fine and financially stable have been losing ground due to a flawed health care system, lost money in an unjustified war, missing market regulations, and unsatisfactory government support.  How did we get here?  Well, for the last twenty years the focus for government election has shifted to the cultural war, to discussions on art that’s worth supporting or not, if homosexuals should be allowed to get married or not, and similar issues that should not be deciding factors for choosing a government.  I will be voting for the first time this year as I just became an American citizen.  My original home and the rest of the world is suffering the consequences from economic mismanagement and a cultural war that is becoming an excuse for discrimination.  The whole world’s fate will depend on this election – we need change, vision, solid plans.  We just lost another one of our regular jobs and bookings are slowing down noticably even though we’re heading into the busy Christmas season.  I’m curious – how are you jazz musicians out there doing, any other artists, any other thoughts on my provocative statements?  Let me know, please vote, and do the right thing.

by Dr. Monika Herzig
Last Monday, Indianapolis based bassist extraordinaire Frank Smith visited my IUPUI Continuing Education class entitled “An Introduction to Jazz History and the Indianapolis Jazz Scene”.  Every Monday, I have a special guest come to class and tell us about themselves and their career and of course any Indiana memories they might have and at the end of class we move over to the Chatterbox and I play a live set with the guest.  We always have a fun time, but last Monday turned out to be very special!  My guest was bassist Frank Smith.  Frank grew up on Indiana Avenue with the Montgomery brothers being frequent visitors at his house.  His mother was good friends with them as well as a busy piano teacher in the area.  Something that we also learned in class is that his mother and Jazz Master David Baker were High School sweethearts and inseparable until she went off to college and met Frank’s Dad.  Frank’s story – I’ll paste the bio below – is an interesting jazz journey and most educational to anyone interested in taking the jazz route or just learning about the life of jazz musicians.
Jazz Fact #1
Frank’s pianist/mom and his musical environment on Indiana Avenue contributed tohis early interest in music and jazz.  There were many opportunities to learn from master musicians and jam with other musicians.  While there were some lessons involved, most learning occurred through interaction with others and recordings and self-motivation.
Jazz Fact #2
Frank moved to New York to “make it” as a jazz musician.  He had some great opportunities to play and network with the world’s best musicians, but the grueling environment of New York with little income, expensive standard of living, and just a daily struggle to survive wore him out.  Like many other musicians – when it came time to marry and think about a possible family, he left New York.  Have you heard this story before?  I have – many times.
Jazz Fact #3
In order to make a living as a musician, Frank went on the cruise ship circuit for many years.  It sounds like a paradise environment – traveling the world, great food, and fancypeople, hanging out all day and playing at night, beaches, ports….  But there is also the separation from friends and family for months and years, dealing with very small living space and other depressed musicians who miss their friends and family, very little room for artistic expression and freedom – it’s all about entertaining the guests.  So after the fun and novelty factor wears off, it’s another tough avenue to make a living and burning out is a common phenomenon.
Jazz Fact #4
After being burnt out from the ship circuit and meeting his current companion Emily, Frank moved back to Indianapolis and just started playing as much as possible.  As a bassist, Frank has a wonderful gift of providing support to a band without stepping on anyone’s toes and always finding the perfect notes and grooves to play.  His sensitive nature makes him the perfect sideman.  But working as a sideman leaves very little space for artistic individuality and can be tough on creative minds.  So finally, Frank stepped out and released his own CD “Chasing Chances”.  It includes mostly originals recorded at Steve Allee’s studio over a period of three years.  Many of them were inspired by the different countries and musical cultures that he got to know while traveling the world.  Over the course of three years, he came up with a fun, contemporary musical portrait of Frank Smith the artist.  More info on the CD is at www.frankvsmith.com.
What are some conclusions from this jazz journey?
It’s not an easy route to take.  In order to create a career as a jazz musician it is often necessary to deal with tough living condition, loneliness, artistically unrewarding situations, low income, and other musicians dealing with the same problems.  Why would anyone be willing to take such a gruelingroad?  There are those performances where things just click, the band is great, the audience is responding, and the music making takes off.  Those times are such rewarding experiences and great memories that it makes everything else worthwhile at least for a little bit.  And then we’re off again to entertain…
Last Monday, playing at the Chatterbox with Frank, was such an experience.  He was all inspired by having a devoted audience that just listened to his life story and was ready to inhale every note created on the stage.  We had a very special evening making music that’s beyond any verbal communication and consciousness.  Hope to play with you again soon Frank.
Here is the bio info from Frank’s website.  Please share some of your stories and make sure to check out the CD.
Frank Smith was born and raised in Indianapolis, a city famous for its Indiana Avenue jazz clubs and the local and national jazz talent that played there in the 1940-50s. Smith learned about music growing up in a family that listened to both jazz and classical music. His mother majored in music and taught classical piano. His father loved listening to jazz records.
Jay Harvey, jazz critic for the Indianapolis Star, writes in the Dec. 3, 2006 issue about Smith’s entry into the world of jazz:
“My mother and (pianist- vibraphonist) Buddy Montgomery were good friends,” the 50-year-old Indianapolis native recalled recently at his Meridian-Kessler home. “And one day Wes (Buddy’s brother) came over to my house and I showed him what I had learned.”
Wes Montgomery, one of a handful of great jazz guitarists of the 20th century, paid the youngster a compliment or two, and then asked if he could try the instrument. Smith still marvels at how much better his cheap guitar sounded in the maestro’s hands.
Between that demonstration and the example of a garage-band colleague who played the guitar pretty well, Smith’s course was set: Exit guitar, enter bass – first the electric instrument; then, in his late teens, the acoustic double bass.
Smith later studied with bassist Buster Williams and with David Baker, Distinguished Professor of Music and Chairman of the Jazz Department at the Indiana University School of Music.
The bassist spent a few years on the road with The Fifth Dimension and then eventually moved to New York where he lived and played jazz. Smith traveled around the world in the 1990s playing jazz on cruise ships with legendary jazz and pop musicians such as: Dizzy Gillespie, Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson and Michel LeGrande.
Since 1998, Smith now works from his home base of Indianapolis and has played jazz with a variety of musicians from both his hometown and around the country including: Steve Allee, Jimmie Coe, Everett Greene, Pookie Johnson, Harold Jones, Roy Meriwether, Buddy Montgomery and Houston Person.
Smith has served as a faculty member at the Jamey Aebersold music camps at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Today, Smith is busy composing music and beginning to tour with his first CD, Chasing Chances, which he co-produced with pianist Steve Allee, a long-time friend, composer and bandleader.

by Dr. Monika Herzig

Traditionally, women performers have been in the minority among jazz musicians.  Many factors, such as social expectations, performance venues, and a lack of role models have contributed to this fact.  Also, women have been excluded in the past from the tradition of oral transmission of jazz by apprenticeship, modeling, and working with experienced players.  Social traditions, family obligations, and gender barriers made it close to impossible for women to become apprentices to master musicians and absorb the oral conventions of jazz, which was the traditional way of learning this art form before its acceptance in the educational system.  According to a recent study by the NEA on the worklife of jazz musicians, women still represent only 15.6% of jazz musicians, with the majority being vocalists. Since the inclusion of jazz education in public schools and colleges in the early Seventies, participation of women has increased but is a long way from complete emancipation.  In a recent interview with award-winning jazz pianist Lynne Arriale, she states:  “I don’t think it’s a big secret that it is harder for women to have a career in this industry.” Many issues still contribute to discrimination, such as lower pay scales, higher expectations by their male peers, late hours interfering with family obligations, sexual advances, and more.

Over the past four years, the Indiana History Center has presented a program entitled “Hot Licks and Cool Chicks”.  The first time I heard the title, I did several mental checks on possible negative connotations.  But honestly – the title works very well, it’s a group of very cool female performers coming together who are all very accomplished performers.  I got to be the musical director for most of those performances and really enjoyed the collaborative, supportive spirit of everyone involved.  Some of the highlights were our opening slot at the 2007 Indy Jazz Fest and the Canal Concert at the History Center this past August.  A Bloomington rendition will be staged on March 1, 2009 at the Waldron Arts Center as a pick-up into Women’s History Month and part of Arts Week.  Hopefully these events will helpraising awareness and provide role models for the next generation of jazz musicians so that the gender issue will just disappear over time.

So for this edition of the Hoosier Jazz Blog, let me introduce some of the amazing female jazz performers who are currently performing in the area.  The list is by no means comprehensive and I look forward to being introduced to many more from the Hoosier State via further comments.

Lida Baker
She is probably best know as the wife of David Baker, Professor Emeritus and head of the jazz department at Indiana University.  But she is also an outstanding jazz flautist, teaching generations of new jazz flautists at the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Camp every year.

Rachel Caswell – www.caswellsisters.com
According to internationally-renowned jazz pedagogue David Baker, “Rachel Caswell is that rara avis who is truly a jazz vocalist. Her intonation is impeccable, her diction precise, her jazz sensibilities above reproach, and she swings like mad!”

Vickie Daniel uses her voice for medicinal purposes as a private registered nurse.  She can be found performing at venues in the Indianapolis area.
“Music really has a healing effect.  If you don’t feel well, music’s a great way to lift you up and change your mood. It can change you on a cellular level.”

Carolyn Dutton
is a resident of Nashville, IN, where in 2007 she was named “Female Performer of the Year.” After spending more than 30 years in New York on and off Broadway and playing her violin in any musical style, she decided to come back to her home state and fiddle with the best.

Sophie Faught
This 21-year old saxophone prodigy and Indianapolis native blows everyone away.  Even Nicholas Payton was so impresses that he invited her to tour with him.  More to come soon…

Monika Herzig - www.monikaherzig.com
Thomas Garner from Garageradio.com writes about her latest release What Have You Gone and Done?, “I was totally awed by the fine musicianship throughout”.
Jazz pianist Monika Herzig is an Owl Studios recording artist and full-time faculty at Indiana University.  Despite touring the world and being engaged in many community projects, she is also raising two beautiful daughters together with her husband guitarist Peter Kienle.

Janiece Jaffe – www.janiecejaffe.com
One of Ella Fitzgerald’s bass player’s Keter Betts said of her: “Stop looking to the heavens for new stars.  There’s a bright star here on Earth that shines with her voice!”
In addition to having performed at some of the most prestigious venues all over the world with some of the biggest names in jazz, Janiece has also raised four children and is deeply engaged in the healing power of music.

Shirley Judkins
This former teacher and school principal has dedicated her life to the piano and to support of the Arts.  There is no ambassador like her for arts education around Indianapolis.  She is also a cancer survivor and one of the most dedicated volunteers I’ve known.

Jennifer Kirk
Plays bass for literally hundreds of different bands.  Her versatility has taken her around the world.  “If there is an audience that enjoys listening to it, I like to play it!”

Cynthia Lane – www.cynthialane.com
Owl Studios recording artist Cynthia Lane sings a blend of jazz and R&B and is one of Indianapolis’ top requested performers.  Better make reservations when Cynthia is on the bill!  And yes, she has a beautiful daughter heading for the teenage years,

Mary Merriman – www.merrimansplayhouse.com
Mary began her bass career in 1982, playing with various jazz and orchestral groups in Michigan. Mary studied privately at Central Michigan University, and was a member of several jazz ensembles, including the Faculty Jazz Band. Since relocating to South Bend, she has put her energy into the art of the jazz trio. Mary has been performing in the trio setting with her husband, Stephen, since 2001.

Cathy Morris – www.cathymorris.com
Electric violinist, Cathy Morris has a passion for sharing music with audiences of all ages and everyone can tell! Her infectious enthusiasm and lighthearted approach prevails in all of her musical endeavors; performances, recordings and educational programming alike.  Come jam with her on Sunday nights at Indianpolis’ Chatterbox

Mary Moss – www.marymoss.com
An elegant vocalist, the Lady with a Song, used to perform for the Playboy Circuit many moons ago.  She has a wonderful audience rapport and the best wardrobe in the city.

Paula Owen
She is not only one of the best jazz vocalists far and wide and recording artist for Cadence Records, but has raised six children while building her career.  Any performer can learn from her stage presence and knowledge of the jazz repertoire.

Shawn Plonski
Is a clarinetist and a recent graduate of the University of Indianapolis and started her first year of teaching in the Indianapolis school systen this year.   Her list of honors is very long, she writes exciting and new arrangements for her band, the Impossible Jazz Collaboration, and is a proud mother of a preschooler.

Elizabeth Souza
Elizabeth Souza knows what it’s like to take the show on the road and tour for the love of her music, which she did from 1989 to 1994. The singer, who was born in Los Angeles of Brazilian parents and spent much of her childhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Now she made Indianapolis her residence and is waiting for the birth of her second child any day…

Kelleen Strutz – www.kelleenonline.com
A classical pianist by training with a silky smooth voice, she’s taking Indianapolis by storm.  Watch out for her rendition of Carole King’s Natural Woman!

Brenda Williams – www.brendawilliams.net
Not only can she get down and sing the Blues until you get goosebumps, but this Grandma was the second runner-up for Miss America.  One of the most powerful voices and an outstanding actress!

by Dr. Monika Herzig

Starting this Thursday, September 11, Jazz from Bloomington in collaboration with the Bloomington Area Arts Council, supported by a Chase Bank grant will start weekly jazz jam sessions at Bloomington’s own jazz club “Jazz at the Station”.  Trumpeter Marlin McKay, a graduate student in Jazz Studies at the IU School of Music and seasoned band leader and performer, will lead the proceedings with his quartet.  Everyone is invited to come and play – drums, bass, and piano are available, others will need to bring their instruments and guitarists will need a small amp too.   Of course, listeners and moral supporters are most welcome too.  The full dinner menu will be available and there will be no cover charge.

What’s the deal with Jam Sessions?

Jam Sessions are an integral component of the history of jazz as an art form. From its early beginnings with the dances and parades in New Orleans, musicians of all ages came together in open-ended jams where the pros demonstrated the repertoire and stylistic language of the music and the learners honed their skills. After Charlie Parker failed to play the appropriate repertoire at a jam session very early in his career, he was banned from the bandstand as the drummer threw his cymbal at him. He took this as a motivation to practice and learn what he had witnessed during the session and as a consequence became one of the most influential saxophonists of jazz history. Many biographies of prominent jazz musicians feature similar jam session stories, i.e. they found mentors at such sessions, snuck in as youngsters behind the stages to hear their heroes perform, got together with peers and created new directions and styles of jazz. The most famous jam sessions were lead by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and their peers at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem in the Fourties, resulting in the evolution of Bebop, which is still the basic harmonic and melodic language of jazz. Those sessions were not only the training ground for young learners but also an opportunity to get heard and hired by band leaders. When Wes Montgomery performed at a jam session in Indianapolis, established saxophonist Cannonball Adderly was in town and so impressed by what he heard, that he immediately called his record label and facilitated a recording contract for the Indianapolis guitar talent.

Unfortunately, such opportunities for learning and discovery have become rare. Many jazz clubs have experienced economic struggles and numbers have been dwindling. Just this past March we lost Louisville’s Jazz Factory, a prominent jazz club in our area. Also, the popular music scene has changed from jazz being the dominating style to a minimal 2% market share. Schools and colleges have developed jazz programs as new educational opportunities for aspiring jazz musicians. To accommodate larger numbers of students, the main performance ensemble is usually a Big Band.  Students gather great skills in reading, learn some traditional repertoire, and hone their skills on their instruments in this setting.  The creative aspects of jazz, such as improvising in a combo setting, communicating and arranging on the spot, individual mentoring, or interacting with an audience, are difficult to achieve in the large ensemble rehearsals.  While educational tools and pedagogical approaches have reached outstanding levels, the mentoring and peer learning tradition is still an essential element in the education of an aspiring jazz player.

Come on out, young and old, beginning and accomplished, interested and just curious, give it a try and witness the education and discovery of the Charlie Parkers and Wes Montgomerys of the 20th Century.  But most importantly – it’s just plain fun.

For more info check out:
www.jazzfrombloomington.org
www.jazzatthestation.com
www.artlives.org

by Dr. Monika Herzig

This Friday, August 22, I performed a concert for the Indianapolis Parks Department at the City Market. When we arrived there to set up, the park representative informed us about the meeting the previous evening that decided the fate of public funding for the Arts in Indianapolis. Mayor Ballard, just elected to office under controversial circumstances, has decided to cut funding for the Arts over a three year process down to zero. Yes, that’s correct, zero. Not that it was a huge budget to start with. The previous 1.5 Million public support is less than one tenth of a percent of the total city funding. In 2009, funding will still be at 1 Million, but by 2011 the zero goal will be achieved through similar yearly cuts. Why is the budget cut? Well, the city has accumulated huge deficits over the last decade and a more conservative approach to spending is essential. BUT, how will the one tenth of a percent help in this process? Actually, it won’t be savings. The funds will be allocated to increase safety and higher more security personnel. Ok, I’m swallowing hard – but, our park representative is not done yet: “By the way, the Colts have a huge rally today at the City Market and we have to move you inside.” Ok – that does it, the arts move down to lowest priority AGAIN, in a most clearly, publicly displayed way. How has this essential human expression, present since the first signs of civilization, deeply ingrained in every culture, valued as one of the main component of education by the Greeks, become one of the most dispensable values of our culture?

I really don’t have an answer, because if we look at the facts it’s a complete mystery. Let me list some of the facts and then open up the discussion.

FACTS:

1.Many studies have found significant relationships between arts instruction and general development in the following area:

Drama – Literacy Skills
Music – Mathematics
Dance, Visual Arts – Creative thinking, reasoning
Performance – self-confidence, conflict resolution, collaboration, empathy, tolerance
Arts participation – motivation to learn
More benefits: teacher innovation, positive professional culture, community engagement, increased student attendance, effective instructional practice and school identity

2. Engagement with the arts addresses/ satisfies some universal species needs
- Play and entertainment
-Belonging
-Social and individual identity
-Physical use of hands and body
-Using the whole mind
-Coping and catharsis
-Meaning
-Transcendence

3. A recent Economic Impact Study published by Americans for the Arts includes the following numbers:
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE NONPROFIT ARTS & CULTURE INDUSTRY (2005)
(expenditures by both organizations and audiences)
¨Total Expenditures $ 166.2 billion
¨Full-Time Equivalent Jobs 5.7 million
¨Resident Household Income $ 104.2 billion
¨Local Government Revenue $ 7.9 billion
¨State Government Revenue $ 9.1 billion
¨Federal Income Tax Revenuei $ 12.6 billion

¨NONPROFIT ARTS & CULTURE ATTENDEES SPEND $27.79 PER PERSON AVERAGE

4. Arts and the Economy Statistics

• The Indianapolis non-profit arts community generates $468 million to the local economy.
  Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have direct spending of $182 million (wages, supplies, vendors, etc.), and leverage $286 million in additional spending by arts audiences to hotels, restaurants, retail, and other businesses.
• The arts community supports more than 15,000 full-time jobs
• The local arts community generates $52 million in local and state government revenue every year.
• The arts make a good public investment - for every $1 of local government support that arts generate at least $5 in return to the local economy.

5.Now here is the real kicker:

• A U.S. Department of Justice research documents that the arts have a measurable impact on youth at risk in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance. (YouthARTS Development Project, Department of Justice)
• UCLA research reports that the arts make a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child has proven to improve learning across every socio-economic category. (Involvement in the Arts and Success in School, UCLA)
• A UCLA study reports that school dropout rates are co-related to the levels of arts involvement across all socio-economic categories. (Champions of Change, UCLA)
• According to the Institute for Community Development and the Arts:
  • Arts programs divert youth from gangs, drugs, and the juvenile justice system
  • Arts programs provide a more cost-effective approach with better results than traditional programs such as Midnight Basketball or juvenile boot camps
  • Arts programs reduce truancy and improve academic performance
  • The arts build critical self-discipline, communication and job skills

And the list could go on and on. Numbers are always great for hard facts, but I think what this list mostly shows is how essential exposure and training in the arts is to a complete human education. The programs that will be reduced and eliminated due to these cuts are mostly the educational outreach programs and the free programs for the public. That means, that a lot of those exposure opportunities for our children will disappear, which are the ones that reportedly help divert youth from gangs, drugs, and the juvenile justice system. It seems ironic, short sighted, and a disservice to our future that exactly those funds will go towards hiring more security personnel. And of course, there is the proven economic impact of the Arts in cultural tourism bringing in $5 for every dollar spent,. In times of a budget crisis isn’t that money well spent?

Ok – the discussion may begin.

by Peter Kienle

An undisclosed number of years ago I dropped the ball and stopped going to the dentist. Of course as conditions in your mouth begin to change after a while you become a bit concerned. But you let it slip, and as time passes you build up this irrational fear where any mentioning of the word ‘dentist’ makes you cringe. Dare I say that when I finally did go it felt like a trip to hell - but once I was in the chair I realized there was some physical damage to repair but compared to years of self-induced psychological torture that was quite manageable and almost anticlimactic. Not to bore you with parts of my medical history, but this is somewhat how I went into a recording session last week.

In the past 15 years I have been in a recording studio many times. On other people’s records and a handful of bands I was part of. And while I have always written lots of music I never had any urge to do a record apart from a band. Here then, comes the recording session for my first ’solo’ album. The first ever CD that’s mostly my tunes, all my arrangements, and completely financed from my money (ok, my wife’s and my money; and I did apply for a grant - but that’s another story). Don’t be fooled by the expression ’solo’ album. Because this one is by all means NOT ’solo’. It has five of the most accomplished and experienced horn players (trumpet, sax, two trombones and a tuba - to be precise) and a kicking rhythm section playing all my arrangements. I have never before arranged anything for more than a saxophone. And while I have been copying David Baker’s orchestral and big band music for more than a decade using Finale software it’s still not the same doing the arranging yourself.

The night before the first recording day I hardly slept. Did all players know where and when the session was? Should I provide pizza, bagels or chicken? Where all the parts I had posted to my website up-to-date and properly transposed? Would I be able to sell any of the CDs to anybody? What about the lyrics for three of my originals which I had sucked out of my knuckles? Surely my utter inexperience as an arranger, director and producer would make them crack funny jokes while I would be smoldering in my booth. Not to forget that I wanted to play guitar on the session.

Well, the weeks leading up to that day were a little frantic sometimes and there were moments I thought about just calling the whole thing off (on my drive to that first dentist visit I thought about going AWOL more than once). And then, at the studio, everybody arrived pretty much on time. People were professional and eager to help where ever they could. I had the feeling they wanted to sound good on that recording. They said good things about my charts (ok, they did discover one single mistake in ten tunes and asked questions about dynamics and articulations). But after the first track it felt really good. We were going to make it and it was actually fun and very productive. The CD is scheduled to come out just after Christmas 2008.

What I learned:
1) try to get the best and most experienced players
2) it helps if they have worked together as a team before
3) trust them! Trust Them!
4) trust your self
5) they actually dig a challenge
6) bagels are ok (even though I try to stay away from them)
7) know your own parts and don’t forget to change your strings

oh, I almost forgot: Have fun.

BTW, the personnel for this recording was:
Mark Buselli - trumpet
Tom Clark - tenor & soprano sax
Brent Wallarab - trombone
Rich Dole - trombone
Jack Helsley - tuba
Frank Smith - electric and acoustic bass
Kenny Phelps - drums

Special guests:
Jeff DeHerdt - vocals (3 tracks)
Sandy Williams - guitar (2 tracks)

and I guess yours truly on Godin LGX & LGXT, Godin Glissentar fretless, Ibanez Ragtime, Giannini 7 string classical, Chapman Stick

by Peter Kienle

If you care to go through my bio you’ll find that I have been playing bass almost as long as guitar. And that seems to make sense. You can pick up some extra gigs and after all there are usually only four strings and the notes are in the same place - so what could go wrong? (Ok, let’s not talk about a six string bass, yet).

But despite playing bass for about 25 years I am only now starting to feel like I am actually doing what I expect real bass players to do when I play guitar. It makes me feel good that now some of my bass-player friends (people I have played guitar with for a long time) tell me that I now actually sound like a real bass player. So here:

What do I expect from a bass player (when I play guitar):

1. Play the root notes often, sometimes even on ‘one’

2. Be able to ‘hold the song together’, meaning: keep the chorus to free the guitar to do stuff and come back when desired

3. Know your grooves. Not just Swing, Latin and Jazz Waltz. But Partido Alto (reverse & forward), Rhumba, Shuffle, straight ballad, swing ballad, etc.

4. Have a nice fat tone. You need to fill out the bottom.

5. Have big ears, a sense for sparseness or density, loud and soft, hot and cold….

6. Know tunes. Be able to play the melodies.

7. Be able to whip up instant intros and tags and pick up on such provided by the guitar.

8. Expect the unexpected. On many routine gigs we’ll play the ’same old tunes’ but slower, faster than usual, in ‘three’ instead of ‘four’, etc.

9. Sight reading is good. Bass & treble clefs.

10. Play tasteful solos….. (funny how that one comes at the end of my list - for the guitar-list it would be closer to the top)

Why did it take me so long to become a ‘real’ bass player?
Well, first and foremost, the roles in a jazz band are so different. On the guitar you play on the top. You play the melody. Take solos, Lead the band (at least if it’s a guitar trio - if it’s a piano player’s group all bets are off, anyway). In a way, the items in the above list need to be drastically reordered for guitar players. You could almost go from 10. to 1. and get it right for guitar. Ok, not quite.

I realize now that when I play bass I am a different person than when I play guitar. And maybe that accounts for the fact that people who ‘know’ me as a guitarist will NOT call me for bass jobs and vice versa. For a while I actually used the first name ‘Ralf’ (which is my bass playing brother who still lives in Germany) for bass gigs. But that didn’t go over all that well because ‘that Ralf’ looked like my twin brother (the real ‘Ralf’ is quite a bit more handsome). These days it feels more like a continuum - such as when a trombone player doubles on bass trombone. And there is a good portion of cross-pollination going on where playing chords on the guitar can be applied to the bass (tastefully!) and where bass slapping stuff is applied to guitar.

One funny fact I noticed is that I own quite a few guitars (I think around 10, although I stopped buying new ones). But I get by with one bass. Never had a need or a desire to own more than one working bass. I am not sure what that shows. I mean even my wife, who’s a pianist (and they are even more different) can see - or hear - that a nylon string guitar is different from a western guitar and a hollow body jazz guitar is different from a Strat. Let’s not even begin talking effects. I love phasers, chorus, wah-wah, various levels of overdrive and my VG8 guitar synth. Strangely on the bass a straight sound was always fine. And come to think of it, when I play guitar, and have various effects on I really do like the bass to sound pretty natural.

Another observation is that I seem to be much more critical of other bass players when I play guitar. It seems I really put a lot of value on a good bass line - and I don’t necessarily mean a walking bass line. Say, a tune like Joe Zawinul’s ‘Mercy, Mercy. Mercy’, I really like it if there is a structured, self-contained, creative (dare I say ‘hip’) bass line happening before the guitar plays its first note. Maybe that comes from being a Weather Report fan for decades - on many of their recordings you just hear a few notes of a bass line and you can identify the tune. Surely, as I get more mature (ok, older…) I seem to lose my affinity for fast, complex, very technical playing and am actually enjoying more minimalist expression of ideas. That it had to take so long and involve a lot of misses and dead ends might have to do with me choosing the wrong line of work, never getting much of a formal education in the field, or just being a slow learner - on the other hand it could have happened just BECAUSE of these factors. Unless you travel both roads you really never know which one is shorter (of course these days they have these GPS systems….).

Now if I could only figure out what I am going to use that Chapman Stick for….