NYJO Ambassadors Resource Pack

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NYJO Ambassadors Resource Pack St Pauls Way Trust School/Drapers Academy KS3 Resource Pack National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is the longest running organisation for young people playing big band jazz, running for just over 50 years. Before NYJO existed, there wasn’t much around for young people wanting to play jazz. You couldn’t study jazz in school or university and there certainly weren’t any workshops happening like the one you’re in now! Now, with NYJO, young musicians can gain experience performing live at some of the most famous jazz venues across the UK and around the world. We select some of the best young musicians in the country to be part of the band and these members go on to have a pretty good track record. Some of the most famous musicians of our time have come through NYJO: Amy Winehouse started off as a vocalist in NYJO and almost all of the band on the BBC show ‘Strictly come Dancing’ have been NYJO members! Today you’ll be hearing the NYJO Ambassadors play. They’re a small group of members in the main band who enjoy working with young people and helping them develop their musical skills. As young musicians themselves, they have a very clear idea of everything it takes to continue developing on their instrument and become established professional musicians. However, we’ve made sure you’re not missing out hearing the full main band and we’ve put a few videos of them in action on the playlist. You can find them on page 16. Our mission at NYJO is to make sure everyone gets the chance to learn about jazz and develop their performance skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re still learning on your instrument – the great thing about jazz is that you are in charge of the music! Contents 1 About the Repertoire 2 Meet the Band 3 Activities 4 Jazz Glossary 5 Jazz Playlist 6 Get Involved 1) About the Repertoire 1 Take the A Train Take the A Train is a composition by Billy Strayhorn, written in 1939 for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The title refers to the new (in 1939) “A Train” subway line. Ellington had recently asked Strayhorn to work for him and the first line of the directions he gave to Strayhorn was “Take the A Train”. The melody is in AABA form which is a classic jazz format, like a mini sonata form. The B section is known as the middle eight or bridge and this terminology can be found in all the pop music that grew from jazz (which was the pop music of its time), e.g. James Brown’s famous remark “Can I take it to the bridge? Hit me now!” All Blues All Blues was written by trumpeter Miles Davis for his album Kind of Blue (1959). It uses a 12 bar blues chord sequence but with variations in the chord sequence and with a groove based on 6 beats in the bar. The alterations to the chord sequence are in the spirit of the modal jazz found on the rest of the album which was revolutionary at the time but is now a standard part of a modern jazz musician’s approach to composition and improvisation. Modal jazz (so called because it uses modes which are mainly the sounds generated by starting major scales on other notes other than the normal root note or tonic) uses these sounds often to provide a more subtle and impressionistic energy in the music compared to the vibrant harmony found in earlier jazz styles like bebop. Cantaloupe Island Cantaloupe Island was written by pianist Herbie Hancock for his 1964 album Empyrean Isles. The groove here is a ‘straight eights’ groove: as Rock and Roll grew out of jazz and took a different direction, moving from the shuffle feel of tunes like Rock Around the Clock to a more contemporary rock style, this was often used by jazz musicians as a different flavor for the rhythm section compared to swing. This tune is also modal but with a funky and bluesy sound that gives it a different feeling to All Blues. 2 Ballad Medley Ballads are another favourite style for jazz musicians, particularly brass and saxophone players where we get to show our more sensitive side and play a beautiful melody. These are often a jazz standard from the period c1920-c1950 where a pop song has the words removed and is performed instrumentally. The advantage for the player is that, on the one hand, they get to play a tune with a great contour and some interesting harmony, but on the other hand the tune is familiar to the audience which helps them understand how the musician is using the material as the basis for improvisation. Rhythm Changes Rhythm Changes refers to the chord sequence (changes) for the famous jazz standard I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin. Stripping away the tune leaves a well-balanced and challenging chord sequence that jazz musicians love to improvise over. It follows the AABA form of Take the A Train. Many jazz musicians and others use this chord sequence as the basis for new melodies and we hope you recognize a few of these as we play, including Anthropology, Oleo, Lester Leaps In and The Flinstones….! NYJO at Saffron Hall 2016 3 2) Meet the Band Chris Valentine Trombone How did you come to join NYJO? I joined back in July 2006. I started off going to NYJO’s Saturday Academy and it went from there. What’s your background as a player – how did you get into music? I was brought up in an entirely non-musical family. I did National Children’s orchestra playing the trombone but I didn’t have any kind of jazz education until I ended up at Trinity Laban. Before that I had maybe 3 or 4 improvising lessons in total. Most of the time, it was me just sat in my room just trying to figure out how to play things. Did you always want to be a trombonist? Yes! Why – What is it about the trombone that led you to pick it above all other instruments? I was really inspired by my teachers. I had a really fantastic teacher who was an orchestral trombonist playing in the BBC Concert Orchestra and he would tell me all these stories Really silly stories as well – ones that make you go ‘Wow! I can’t believe someone got fired for really doing that!’ 4 Who are some of your musical influences? That’s a really tricky one I used to listen to loads of NYJO records when I was 12 or 13 – seriously, I love it! And then I would find out who was on those records so people like Mark Nightingale, Elliot Mason, and Guy Barker and then it was a case of finding out who they were checking out, such as trombonists JJ Johnson and Carl Fontana. Do you have any musical heroes? My all-time idol is probably Frank Sinatra. But then I could also include Nelson Riddle and Count Basie, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis all in that same category. I’ve got a real love for big bands Why did you get into jazz above other style of music? It just appealed to me a lot more. There’s a lot more to do on the trombone than if your sat in an orchestra. I got into jazz through playing in my school big band at first. What styles of music do you listen to outside of your playing? I listen to a lot of big band stuff. There’s some pop artists I really like too - Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake. I’ve worked with a few pop acts as well. I played for Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah. What advice would you give to a young musician just starting out on the trombone like you? Practice the basics – the fundamentals of playing the instrument. The main thing is don’t try and run before you walk. What’s your best memory of being in NYJO so far? I always really like the gig we did for the Queen’s Jubilee. The London Jazz Festival gigs are always fun. But the BBC Proms are probably my favourite. 5 Alex Liebeck Bassist How did you first begin playing music? I’ve been playing since a young age, starting off on the piano around age 5. I got into jazz as my grandad had a few albums that I liked and because of that started playing the double bass. Why did you get into jazz above other style of music? I found that the levels of rhythm and harmony are really amazing in jazz. The sound really appealed to me more than other styles and I just found the energy of it great. Did you always want to be a bassist? Well, I was always into piano which I still play. I’m just into music in general but I feel like the bass suits me as an instrument. Is the bass the best instrument? 6 Course it is! It’s where the passion and soul is! What styles of music do you listen to outside of your playing? I’m really into Cuban music and a lot of funk and soul. I also enjoy classical and world music - It’s good to keep it varied! What techniques do you have to combat nerves when you’re performing? I like feeling nervous. For me, if you’re not feeling nervous, that the point where something doesn’t feel quite right.
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