John Bradley Wycliffe Gordon Bud Hudson Joel Cruz
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Spring 2010 jazzGARDEN CITY The CSRA’s Jazz Journal and Events Calendar John Bradley Wycliffe Gordon Bud Hudson JoEL Cruz f r o m • t h e • p u b l i s h e r GardenCityJazz jazzGARDEN CITY Publisher: Karen Gordon early three years ago, over coffee at The Metro in downtown Augusta, I had a conversation with a friend about the pos- smooth/straight-ahead/vocal Nsibilities for jazz in Augusta. We had not spoken in months, Welcome to but our paths seemed to cross at just the right time – just in time for me to recharge the batteries and head out with a fresh sense of pur- available for performances, workshops pose and positive perspective. After exchanging pleasantries, we’d go Garden on and on about the dearth of classic jazz venues and the scarcity of gardencityjazz.com - 706.495.6238 appreciative, listening audiences in town. From there, he’d reminisce about Le Café du Teau and Tribute Nights at BL’s, and I’d talk about City Jazz the Word of Mouth Café and D. Timm’s – all live jazz venues that no This publication is longer exist. dedicated to local jazz The question “What can we do?” is usually left unanswered, but not and those who listen so this time. Having managed a newspaper for nearly 20 years, my to, love, and perform friend proposed that we publish a journal, and focus on the Augusta jazz scene. In this journal, he suggested, we would feature jazz artists, it. We are eager to educators and events on a quarterly basis. I saw this as an opportunity be able to present to foster a spirit of cohesiveness and mutual support within the jazz community. I was primed for this new challenge, just having severed information about the a musical partnership that I’d nurtured for greater than ten years. But music and culture of the timing wasn’t yet right. jazz as it relates to the We kept in touch ever so often, and then, late last year, I proposed Central Savannah that we move forward with this project. For several months now, River Area. In future we’ve been trying to determine what Augusta jazz looks and feels like - working to craft a editions, we will journal dedicated to the music and those feature perform- who listen to, love, perform, and teach it. ers, educators, We are eager to present information about the culture as it relates to the Central Savan- composers, stu- nah River Area. We are honored to feature per- dents. formers, educators, composers, students, and business owners. We’re really excited about it. find/friend Thanks, Fred Benjamin, of TRIBe Media Ser- vices, for your invaluable counsel and patience. Looking forward to the journey. karengordon Once upon a Layout & Design by time, jazz really TRIBe Media Services was smooth. 2 GARDEN CITY JAZZ • SPRING 2010 GARDEN CITY JAZZ • SPRING 2010 3 TALKING JAZZ just go up and play on a couple of So you decided to jump on the Gordon is rapidly becoming one tunes. By the end of the week, I had bandwagon, figuratively. Wycliffe of America’s most persuasive and enough inspiration to sit down and I remember saying that I was committed music educators, and practice and learn the music. They never going to use a computer, I’m gave me a lot of information. So currently serves on the faculty of the a musician. I (have written all my when Wynton called me back several Jazz Arts Program at Manhattan music) by hand, and I was proud months later, I was a little better pre- of my penmanship, but that takes School of Music. His work with young pared. a long time that way – writing the GORDON musicians and audiences from He was working on music for score and then individual parts. GardenCityJazz Journal sat his Christmas CD (Crescent City Well, when you put the score in down with Wycliffe Gordon for a Christmas Card, Columbia, 1990), the computer, you can spit out all brief moment while he was home and I had my playing together a the individual parts with one key (in Augusta) during the 2009 interview little better. He asked me if I wanted stroke. You can change the whole Thanksgiving holiday. He has toured to record on the CD and I said, key if you wanted to. Imagine the world with jazz great Wynton “Yeah, sure.” We recorded the CD in what it would cost in man-hours Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz February or March of that year, 1988. to do that. Orchestra, was recently awarded I would normally do construction (So) I changed some of my an honorary doctorate from the work or something like that during attitudes. I got my first computer University of Scranton, and is still the summer. I called him right after and started copying (producing composing, teaching and inspiring my birthday and I said, “Well, school neat copies from a manuscript generations of people to remain true is out, and I’m ready to go back to or score). I think that technol- to their artistic goals. Even after 20 Georgia.” He said, “You ought to ogy has been great. Just as sure years as a professional jazz musician, come out on the road for the rest of as time passes, things are going maintaining a rigorous schedule of the summer.” And I was like, sure. to change. Where are you going teaching at the collegiate level and We went down to Aruba and to be? festivals like the JVC going bankrupt, touring with his own band, Wycliffe Wynton asked if I wanted to stay And if not for technology, there would be (you have to wonder). That was a tre- regularly drops by student rehearsals down there and play for a little while. no recorded music. mendous production - not just one fes- to encourage and motivate young art- And I thought of it for all of 10 sec- tival in one place, but the JVC Festival Exactly. I didn’t grow up listening to ists-to-be. We asked him to share how onds. What was a temporary thing was (in NewYork, Miami, Chicago, and jazz. I grew up in Waynesboro, Georgia, he got his big break with Marsalis and turned into my career. Los Angeles). JVC has been around and they played country music on the his thoughts on making a living as a since 1984, but started as the Newport How has that technological revolution radio. My dad played classical music and working musician. affected the way musicians go about Jazz Festival 30 years before then. we went to church. That’s all I heard: their art and livelihood? Now I remember being in a con- Your career has spanned 20 years. I’ll country, classical, and gospel - those versation (with some of the older bet you the time went by very quickly. The technological development has three. If it wasn’t for the recordings, I musicians) a couple of years ago, and been a double-edged sword. It’s been wouldn’t have been exposed to jazz. It feels like it. June 6, 1989, was the they said, “You know there’s not a lot good and bad, especially for the musi- Now when I record, I’m still going to day I started with Wynton Marsalis. of work out there. What do you think cians that work on Broadway as well hire live musicians, because I’d rather have That was the official start of my career, about that?” but I didn’t know it at the time. I didn’t as other music venues. that. Some of the technological advances time weren’t listening. There were no elementary schools to universities I said, “I’m too busy to notice”. Not know it until I had been on the road For instance, on Broadway, you can I’m not going to deal with because I still jazz venues, so there was no incentive, all over the world is extensive, and being facetious, but I don’t just play, for about six months. It was supposed save a lot of money by hiring three like making music with people. And even really. So I was just doing what young includes master classes, clinics, and I tell my students about that all to be like a summer job, and then musicians rather than 30. Three guys though I might use an electric bass and people often do in college when the time. You should use every aspect I wound up spending about half a workshops, children’s concerts and with synthesizers can program every- electric guitar, I like people. Wynton called me. I played enough to of your musicianship to explore it. I year out. So, I said, wait a minute. I’m lectures — powerful evidence of his thing. That’s only three pensions and get by in school. To what extent has the economy af- like teaching, so I teach. I play. I also doing this. unique ability to relate musically to health contributions and that kind of fected these festivals and the livelihood So Wynton invited me to join him write and compose. Some of them How did that whole thing come about? people of all ages. Gordon is currently thing. of some of these older musicians? don’t want to teach, and I tell them in Texas for a week, to play with (the working on a collection of trombone What was going on in your life at that And while it’s good for those three As recently as the last six months, I’ve they don’t have to.