LATIN JAZZ FLUTE EXPLOSION Interview by Jamie Baum
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The New York Flute Club N E W S L E T T E R October 2005 LATIN JAZZ FLUTE EXPLOSION Interview by Jamie Baum amie Baum interviewed Dave Valentin and Andrea Brachfeld in a conference telephone call on Thursday evening, August 31st. It was not easy trying to coordinate the schedules of three busy jazz musicians juggling out-of-town engage- ments, local gigs, and a slew of teaching responsibilities, but the stars aligned and the electronics (various cell phones, Jspeaker phones, microphones, tape recorders) held up long enough to get the following: JAMIE BAUM: Let’s start at the begin- in the flute at all at that time. She ning and give people some background showed me the flute and the C major about how and when you started scale, and I played the scale immedi- playing the flute and about the artists ately. I wanted to impress her, and in who influenced you. three weeks I was able to play her DAVE VALENTIN: I went to the High Herbie Mann’s “Coming Home Baby.” School of Music and Art and was a She looked at me in wonder and said percussion major, playing drums and she’d been playing for three years and congas, timbales and bongos. At age here I am just picking up the flute and 15, I wanted to meet a girl named Irene (Cont’d on page 9) who played the flute. I had no interest In Concert LATIN JAZZ FLUTE EXPLOSION Dave Valentin, Andrea Brachfeld, Karen Joseph, and Connie Grossman, flutes Sunday, October 23, 2005, 5:30 pm Yamaha Artist Piano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue Andrea Brachfeld, Karen Joseph, I N T H I S I S S U E ‘Oye Como Va ........................................ Tito Puente Dave Valentin, and Connie Gross- man (clockwise from top left) Transition........................................... John Coltrane Latin Jazz Flute Explosion ......... 1 are the flutists of the Latin Jazz Interview by Jamie Baum Flute Explosion (above). Bajo Un Palmar— From the President ..................... 2 Chasing the Sunset ..................... Connie Grossman Introducing David Wechsler Meet You at the Coda........................Dave Valentin More about Member Profile ........................... 3 Burton Leiser Almendra ........................................ Abelardo Valdés the new venue and a NYFC Moves Concerts ............... 4 Flor de Zampoña ......................... Andrea Brachfeld Ticket by Annette I. Dorsky I Remember You ..................... Schertzinger-Mercer Piano Makers and their Update New York Concert Halls ............ 5 Footprints ..........................................Wayne Shorter on pages 4–5 by Nancy Toff Fly With The Wind .............................McCoy Tyner Nancy Toff on The Monarch Program subject to change. of the Flute................................. 6 Interview by Katherine Saenger Impressions of Latin America .... 6 by Linda Wetherill Announcements NEW Yamaha Piano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue Dues Reminder ................................... 2 LOCATION!!! (entrance on 54th Street between Fifth and Madison) Flute Happenings ............................... 3 Member Announcements ................... 4 Classified ......................................... 4 2 — NYFC Newsletter Introducing David Wechsler by David Wechsler ello fellow flutists! I would like to introduce myself THE NEW YORK FLUTE CLUB INC. in this first “From the President” column. I am 2005–2006 H David Wechsler, and I am the new president of the New York Flute Club. Board of Directors I have always had a special place in my heart for the NYFC. David Wechsler, President The first date I went on with my wife was to a NYFC concert Jayn Rosenfeld, First Vice President in the early ’70s. Bonita Boyd was the soloist that afternoon. Ardith Bondi, Second Vice President Jeanne Wilson, Recording Secretary If I think long enough, I may even remember what the pro- Don Hulbert, Membership Secretary From the gram was. [Note from the archivist: This concert has been James N. Blair, Treasurer President identified as Bonita Boyd’s January 27, 1974 CAMI Hall recital, with a program of music by Telemann, Schubert, Prokofieff, Katherine Fink Jane Rigler and Jolivet.] Another memorable concert for me was one the previous year [Decem- Svjetlana Kabalin Seth Rosenthal ber 16, 1973, at the New York Horticultural Society on West 58th Street], when the Fred Marcusa Rie Schmidt Karla Moe Stefani Starin New York Saxophone Quartet played a Christmas program that included jazz arrange- Nancy Toff ments of standards for flute quartet done by Albert Regni. This was in the days before flute quartets were of any real interest and had little repertoire other than Advisory Board Baroque and a few contemporary pieces. Al didn’t play that afternoon in order to Jeanne Baxtresser Robert Langevin hear the performance. The players were all doublers and fine flute players, much Harold Jones Gerardo Levy like the present personnel. In 1992, I became a board member of the NYFC, and Marya Martin was the person responsible for introducing the idea for a flute fair at a board meet- ing. It initially met with resistance, but Nancy Toff and Rie Schmidt and I prevailed Past Presidents Georges Barrère .................. 1920–1944 upon the rest of the board to try it as an experiment. Now the fair has evolved into John Wummer ...................... 1944–1947 an institution, much like the New York Flute Club itself. Milton Wittgenstein ............ 1947–1952 Sometimes things are around so long we take them for granted, not considering Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1952–1955 their origins and assuming they will always exist. The Flute Club has always been an Frederick Wilkins ................. 1955–1957 organization where flutists could meet, socialize, and hear some very interesting Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1957–1960 Paige Brook ........................... 1960–1963 music. It continues to be, and that is a comforting thought. For years, the concerts Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1963–1964 took place at Columbia Artists Management Inc. (CAMI) Hall, a place with a lot of Maurice S. Rosen................ 1964–1967 elegance and character. Some have questioned the acoustics, others have complained Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1967–1970 about the backstage, some love it, some don’t. But it has always been a given that Paige Brook ........................... 1970–1973 this was our home. With a few exceptions, most of the concerts in the Flute Club Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1973–1976 Harold Jones ........................ 1976–1979 season since 1949 have been there. This year, CAMI Hall is undergoing a restoration Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1979–1982 and is closed. We were forced to find a hall for the 2005–2006 season and we came Paige Brook ........................... 1982–1983 up with a peach! The Yamaha Company graciously invited us to use its Piano Salon John Solum ........................... 1983–1986 on East 54th Street and Fifth Avenue. It is a beautiful space, one that evokes the Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1986–1989 feeling I get when I walk into CAMI Hall for a Flute Club concert. The NYFC is Sue Ann Kahn ...................... 1989–1992 Nancy Toff ............................. 1992–1995 indeed grateful to the Yamaha Corporation. And we need not worry about having a Rie Schmidt ........................... 1995–1998 quality piano! Patricia Spencer................... 1998–2001 As you can see from the schedule on the back page, we have some very interesting Jan Vinci ................................. 2001–2002 and exciting programs planned for the year. I encourage you to attend and to bring Jayn Rosenfeld ..................... 2002–2005 friends, students or colleagues, or a date—hey, you never know how that may turn Newsletter out. In this time of uncertainty in politics, the economy, the weather, and the relentless Katherine Saenger, Editor chipping away of live music and fine concerts in general, it is nice to know that a 115 Underhill Road meeting place exists for people of similar musical interests, whether professionals or Ossining, NY 10562 amateurs, students or teachers, or simply aficionados of the flute. It somehow makes (914) 762-8582 ❑ [email protected] you feel a little more…civilized. And that, to quote Martha Stewart, is a good thing. Alice Barmore, Layout/Production 125 Christopher St., #4H New York, NY 10014 Membership Directory Deadline (212) 675-9706 (phone and fax) [email protected] o be included in the 2005-2006 Membership Directory, dues must be paid by OCTOBER 31 (Barrère’s birthday). Dues (regular $50, student/senior $35, www.nyfluteclub.org T contributing $75) can be sent directly with identifying information (name, address, Copyright © 2005 by The New York Flute Club Inc. phone, email) to: Don Hulbert, NYFC Membership Secretary; Park West Finance Station, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Box 20613; New York, NY 10025-1515; [email protected], 212-316-3321. October 2005 — 3 FLUTE HAPPENINGS ensemble, began studying with her, and Member Profile FREE to current NYFC members, this section lists upcoming joined the Flute Club.” performances by members; flute-related contests, auditions, and Burton Leiser masterclasses organized/sponsored by members; and brief descriptions of members’ new recordings, sheet music, and books. NYFC member High school: North Denver High School since 2003 Send submissions to the Newsletter Editor. in Denver, CO. Employment: Retired O COCTOBER T O B E R 2’05 0 0 2 (was Distinguished Degrees: BA (University of Chicago, Sunday 4:00 pm Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct 1951), MHL [Master of Hebrew Litera-