At the beginning of May, I had the opportunity to work with high school students from three schools in the Miami, Florida area. I had a lot of fun visiting the New World School of the Arts, South Dade High School, and Michael Krop High School - I want to thank the students and faculty of these schools for opening their doors to me! It's inspiring to see such passionate young people playing music around the country!
Reflecting about the kinds of things we talked about in our sessions, I noticed a common thread (including visits to other areas, not just specific to these schools). We always talk about the importance of "the time." I don't think there's much argument about the importance of developing a good sense of rhythm and time, meaning you can play things without changing the tempo inadvertently. But this is just the beginning! Beyond that, there is the FEELING of the time. Every person's time feels different, not just rhythm section players, but everyone's! A player's time-feel manifests differently on every instrument. The most obvious might be a drummer's ride cymbal pattern. Listen to the ride cymbal closely of Philly Joe Jones, and then Art Blakey. Regardless of which you might prefer, they FEEL different.
To take an ensemble to that next level, it isn't necessarily important that they can play a chart without veering from the metronome marking you started at (although it is surely an important skill). It is about FEELING the time together, and moving together through the music as a cohesive unit.
There are three main ways that musicians talk about the placement of the beat: "on the front," "on the back," or "in the middle". Different parts of a piece might call for different beat placements, but is everyone feeling the beat in the same way? When everyone is FEELING the music together, it sounds even better. The unification of the feeling of the time applies to the relationship between all of the instruments. The obvious one manifests itself between the drummer's ride cymbal, the bassist's quarter notes, and the band's eighth notes, whether the music is swing, Latin, funk, or anything else.
What should the time feel like? It should feel like the character of the piece. It should feel like it sounds. But most of all it should feel good! I always say, you have to put energy and character into each line and phrase, and bring the story of the piece to life!
Posted by Co-Artistic Directer and Founder of the Institute for Creative Music, Nick Finzer
1) Who do you listen to/emulate on your primary instrument?
I
have a very long list of people that I enjoy listening to and whose
approaches resonate with the way I’m trying to play. I can’t say I try
to emulate any one person, but I’m trying to figure out some elements
that I like from each player and toss them into the melting pot to
create my own sound. Some artists who have generously (and unknowingly)
contributed to my melting pot are: Brad Mehldau, Taylor Eigsti, Jason
Moran, Danilo Perez, Fred Hersch, Thelonious Monk, Wynton Kelly, Herbie
Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Ahmad Jamal, Jaki Byard, and Hank Jones. Just
to name a few, because there are way more.
2) What are some of your ‘essential albums’?
1.
Hank Mobley: Soul Station. Blue Note, Catalog #7465281. Recorded on
February 7, 1960. Personnel: Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Wynton
Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Art Blakey (drums).
2.
Bill Evans: Portrait In Jazz. Riverside Records, Catalog #1162.
Recorded on December 29, 1959. Personnel: Bill Evans (piano), Scott
LaFaro (bass), Paul Motian (drums).
3.
Joe Henderson: Inner Urge. Blue Note, Catalog #92422. Recorded on
November 30, 1964. Personnel: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), McCoy
Tyner (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass), Elvin Jones (drums).
4.
Kenny Wheeler: Gnu High. ECM, Catalog #8255912. Recorded in June
1975. Personnel: Kenny Wheeler (flugelhorn), Keith Jarrett (piano),
Dave Holland (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums).
5.
Wayne Shorter: Footprints Live!. Verve, Catalog #5896792. Recorded
July 14-July 24, 2001. Personnel: Wayne Shorter (soprano and tenor
saxophone), Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass), Brian Blade
(drums). This is a wide spectrum, but is a good starter list. 3) Favorite bands?
Brad
Mehldau Trio, Ahmad Jamal Trio, Wayne Shorter Quartet, San Francisco
Jazz Collective, Miles Davis 60’s Quintet (especially the Plugg Nickel
recordings), also Miles’ band at the Black Hawk (with Wynton Kelly, Hank
Mobley), Bjork, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, soooo many more… 4) Who are some contemporary groups (or groups who are new to you) that you’re currently enjoying?
Becca
Stevens Band, Gretchen Parlato, The Bird and The Bee, Genevieve
Artadi/Louis Cole, Miguel Zenon, Billy Hart Quartet, Craig Taborn, Dave
Binney (Graylen Epicenter, whoa!).
Older artists that I’m just now getting around to checking out are:
Abdullah Ibrahim (also known as Dollar Brand), Elis Regina, Denny
Zeitlin, Herbie Nichols, Andrew Hill, Paul Bley, Ran Blake… 5) How do you learn new music?
If
I’m learning a new standard or previously-recorded tune, I try to find
as many recorded versions I can to listen to. For standards, if there
are lyrics, I try to listen to vocal versions first to get an idea of
what the song means and to check out the most humanistic way of
expressing the melody. If there aren’t words (and you really have to be
sure that there aren’t, because so many of the standards have them), I
try to find the original recording, and it’s absolutely the best if the
composer recorded it because who better to learn how to play the tune
from than its writer?! Then there’s a certain amount of experimentation
on my own that I do, “playing” at the tune, if you will. I’ll get to
the point where I’ve listened to the tune enough that I can sing the
melody on my own away from any instrument. Then, at the piano, I’ll
play the harmonies and try to sing the melody. I’ll play the bass notes
by themselves just to hear the way they move, and then I’ll sing the
bass notes under the melody. From there I start experimenting with
actually playing the tune as if it were a performance. This out of
necessity starts off pretty simple, but after a good amount of time I’ll
hopefully be able to find a bunch of different ways to navigate
presenting the melody, but this is before I’ve even begun to improvise.
It’s really important to know that melody cold no matter what before you attempt to improvise, because the best improvisations are going to involve the melody (at least on standards).
If
it’s contemporary music, or music composed by my peers, I find that I
have to ask the composer as much as possible, get inside his/her head
because there won’t be an audio template upon which to base your
learning of the song! Even in these situations, though, I’m relying on
all the music I’ve already heard that may contain similar musical
elements so I’m not completely in the dark on what to do! Here too,
really knowing the melody and the framework of the piece is key to learning it in the most complete sense.6) How do you write/create music?
I
don’t have a set method for this. Much of my writing occurs at the
piano, but I find it’s difficult for me to go in with the agenda of
creation. I find for me it’s kind of like letting the proverbial muse
strike. I can noodle around at the piano, trying to find an idea, for
hours without coming up with anything I like…or it can be 5 minutes and a
tune just starts to make its way out. It’s really unpredictable (and
sometimes frustrating). Usually when something does appear, it’s either
a melodic fragment that I like (which I then develop and figure out
harmonies beneath), or a small harmonic progression which I’ll try to
complete and add a melody to. If I’m having a relatively long period of
unproductivity, I will try to create something away
from the piano so I’m not just relying on all of my unconscious
tendencies. For fun, I have a method of creating a tune which is as
close to the jazz version of aleatoric (or “chance”) music that I can
get, in which I try not to make any pre-determined musical decisions…and
then when I take that to the piano the challenge is to really try to
make music out of it because I will have generated some things that have
no relation to one another! Most of these pieces I never perform
because they don’t amount to much, but each one ends up providing me
with some interesting choices that I can use in serious pieces later on. 7) What YouTube or audio clip best represents your playing right now (we'll just embed a link in the profile)?
8) What do you like to do when you’re not playing music?
I
really enjoy reading, reading in random places, taking walks (a lot of
my practicing gets done on walks), playing video games (Xbox360 ftw),
playing tennis when it’s seasonable, playing darts. I find it’s really
important to have a number of hobbies outside of music to keep my life
in perspective. For me, the other things are a way to keep stress
levels at check and create a lifestyle that is a good balance of
disciplined and unfettered; I can be very spontaneous at times and also
focus intensely on one thing for a long time…the way I create music is
reflective of both of these processes! 9) Any additional words of wisdom?
Always,
always be listening to music! Even if from the very first notes you
react negatively to it, try to listen to the whole song, piece, etc.
Everything deserves one whole hearing, if not another. Listen to
styles you’ve never heard before, don’t just listen to jazz. Everything
will inform who you are as a player and as a person…you’ll be surprised
at what kinds of things you’ll find that you really like, but you won’t
know until you find them and listen to them! Also, listen with friends
who are also passionate about music because that forces a different
kind of listening than the passive in-the-car or
walking-around-with-headphones type of listening that we’re prone to.
When you’re with friends you’ll automatically start talking about what
each of you found as hip in that last recording, you’ll rewind it back
to hear it again, you’ll be listening much more intensely.
---
If you haven't already, check out earlier profiles on Matthew Golombisky, Nick Finzer and Mike Kaupa. Chris Teal will soon get his act together and fill out his own survey... Also investigate the new IfCM Collective page with more in-depth bios and glamour shots.
For installment number three in the "Meet the Band" series, we corresponded with bassist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and sonic-manipulator Matthew Golombisky. Matthew is currently living in Oakland, CA and we're very excited to get back together and enjoy his contagious enthusiasm and amazing musicianship. Read more about Matthew at his website,www.matthewgolombisky.com
1)
Who do you listen to/emulate on your primary instrument? Charlie
Haden, especially his work with Ornette, Liberation Orch., and the
Montreal Tapes. Larry Grenadier. 2)
What are some of your ‘essential albums’? My Funny Valentine 1964
Concert Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, Alone Together Jim Hall Ron Carter,
The Shape of Jazz to Come Ornette, Out To Lunch Eric Dolphy 3) Favorite bands? e.s.t., Opeth, The Bad Plus, Bjork, Radiohead, 4)
Who are some contemporary groups (or groups who are new to you) that
you’re currently enjoying? - Phoenix, Passion Pit, Cut Copy, Miike Snow 5)
How do you learn new music? First I learn the melody! I sing it, play
it, and then find harmony beneath it. From there I learn the harmony
that the composer wrote. After that, it's repetition. And remember you
can learn/rehearse a tune with or without your instrument: analyzing
changes, singing the melody and guide tones, can be done anywhere! 6)
How do you write/create music? I found myself freely improvising,
composing on the spot, during most practice sessions. I'd spend 10
minutes practicing a new scale or chord progression and then get
distracted. From there, I'd freely improvise for the next several
hours. 7) What YouTube or audio clip best represents your playing right now?
8) What do you like to do when you’re not playing music? Cook! and EAT! 9)
Any additional words of wisdom? It's all life! Everything ties into
everything. So be good, eat well, and open your ears/eyes; the ride's
more fun that way. --- If you haven't already, check out earlier profiles on Nick Finzer and Mike Kaupa. Coming up in the the next couple of weeks, profiles with Chris Ziemba and Chris Teal
For installment number 2 in the "Meet the Band" series, we quizzed trombonist, composer, and IfCM co-Director Nick Finzer! The Flathead Project will mark Nick's second time in Montana and 3rd trip to the inland Northwest. Since graduating from Juilliard's jazz program in the spring of this past year, Nick has been wrapping up his debut album, "Exposition". Read more about Nick at his website, www.nickfinzermusic.com
1) Who do you listen to/emulate on your primary instrument?
Some
of my favorite trombonists are: JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Slide
Hampton, Steve Davis, and Steve Turre. Although, I like to take
influence from a lot of non-trombonists like Chick Corea, Joe
Lovano, Michael Brecker, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Miguel Zenon.
2) What are some of your ‘essential albums’?
JJ Johnson - "In Person" Dexter Gordon - "A Day in Copenhagen" Chick Corea - "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme" Herbie Hancock - "Speak Like A Child" Miguel Zenon - "Alma Aldentro" + "Esta Plena" Michael Brecker - "Pilgrimage"
3) Favorite bands?
Maria Schneider Orchestra, Chick Corea's Origins, Michael Brecker's Quindectet, Oscar Peterson Trio.
4) Who are some contemporary groups (or groups who are new to you) that you’re currently enjoying?
Miguel
Zenon, Joshua Redman, Dafnis Prieto, Luis Perdomo, Mason Brothers Band
(Brad and Elliot Mason), Booker Little (just started checking him
out!)
5) How do you learn new music?
Learning
new music has always been both exciting and challenging, and my process
has pretty much taken a 180 since I started playing music! I used to
try to memorize and learn tunes by memorizing off of the page, but at
this point I've transitioned to a more aural approach. By listening and
learning from the recordings, not only can you learn the tune, but you
can develop your ears at the same time!
6) How do you write/create music?
As
far as my writing process goes, it has changed a lot over the past
couple of years. A few years back my process usually consisted of
finding a musical moment that I really enjoyed, and trying to recreate
it (sometimes by stealing something directly from the original!).
Then,
it shifted to a more chordal or bass line/vamp, and try to build a tune
around that. However, I found that I always had a hard time finding a
good melody that fit over those vamps. Often I would compose this way at
the piano away from the horn.
Which
has led me to my current approach, focusing on the melody first, and
then finding the right accompaniment. Now composing on a combination of
my horn and singing the melody. So for me, it has been a constantly
evolving process, I'm sure it will change again...
7) What YouTube or audio clip best represents your playing right now?
8) What do you like to do when you’re not playing music? Writing
music, organizing projects, reading business/marketing books, web
design, The Office and the Buffalo Bills (don't judge!).
9) Any additional words of wisdom? Practice Slow!
--
Check in next week for a profile on bassist and composer Matthew Golombisky
As we get geared up to travel to Montana in November, the IfCM will post a Q&A with each member of the traveling band. We hope these will be informative and entertaining. Feel free to ask more questions in the comments section.
Up first, trumpeter, flugelhorner, and master jokester Mike Kaupa: 1) Who do you listen to/emulate on your primary instrument?
MK: Miles, Kenny Wheeler, Joe Lovano (approaching tpt like it is a tenor sax...Freddie Hubbard did that, too)
2) What are some of your ‘essential albums’?
MK: Miles Davis..."My Funny Valentine", Kenny Wheeler "Gnu High", Miles Davis "Milestones"
3) Favorite bands?
Joe Lovano groups...Pat Metheny Ryan Kisor groups
4) Who are some contemporary groups (or groups who are new to you) that you’re currently enjoying?
Brad Mehdau, Ben Monder/Theo Blackman
5) How do you learn new music?
Listen, read (if necessary), eventually memorize/internalize
6) How do you write/create music?
one
method...borrow form from one piece (ex. I want to write something
shaped like "Maiden Voyage) , groove from another (maybe something the
kids would like, like reggae or funk) , create very simple melodic
motive (two/three notes) that lasts throughout much of the piece,
depending on who I'm writing for, the chord progression can be very
simple and fairly unoriginal (a blues, or similar to a jazz standard) or
very original and challenging
7) What YouTube or audio clip best represents your playing right now?
"I hear a Rhapsody" with Ben Monder, Steve Wilson, Montez Coleman, Bruce Barth, and Ed Howard. recorded in Spain, 2005
8) What do you like to do when you’re not playing music?
golf
9) Any additional words of wisdom?
In life, stick with the straight shooters. --- Learn more about Mike at www.mikekaupa.com
Columbia Falls High School awarded Plum Creek Foundation “Great Classrooms” grant to fund Institute for Creative Music workshops
The Institute for Creative Music is proud to announce an upcoming series of workshops in Northwest Montana. A band of 5 teaching artists from New York will travel to Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls, and Eureka for a week of workshops and performance with area high schools. In collaboration with Karen Ulmer, Columbia Falls High School’s band director, the IfCM was awarded a grant from the Plum Creek Foundation that will sponsor full-day classroom workshops for 4 schools in improvisation, audio recording, and song-learning techniques. The IfCM band is made up of young professionals who work actively in New York and around the globe including Nick Finzer (trombone), Mike Kaupa (trumpet), Chris Ziemba (piano), Matthew Golombisky (bass), and Chris Teal (drums). In addition to working in the classroom with students, the group will present concerts showcasing their original material for the community. Schools receiving workshop sponsorship include Whitefish High School, Flathead High School, Lincoln County High School, and Columbia Falls High School. All area schools will have the opportunity to participate in an additional day of in-depth recording and performance activities on November 10th.
For more information on the Institute for Creative Music, visit www.ifcmusic.org
The Plum Creek Foundation Montana Great Classroom Awards program is designed to provide public, K-12 teachers with additional resources to enhance the learning environment in their classrooms and help enrich the educational experiences of students across western Montana.
Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation with approximately 6.6 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. In Montana, Plum Creek practices sustainable forestry on all of its 899,000 acres throughout the western part of the state. For more information on Plum Creek in Montana, visit www.plumcreek.com/montana
