While we will undoubtedly remain starkly divided on all manner of policy and governance issues, we must all redouble our commitment to the sustenance and advancement our greatest cultural export, Jazz – an embodiment of the American spirit and the ultimate model of participatory democracy.
Bird Lives! A Centennial Birthday Rumination for Charlie “Yardbird” Parker
Charlie Parker existed at just the right time for his specific intellectual and artistic powers to be most impactful, and he lived long enough, albeit barely, to become bebop’s greatest exponent.
Happy Birthday, Monsieur Hodges
Too often in jazz education, these masters of the past who can tell a story with just a single note are forgotten in favor of artists of the bebop and subsequent eras. Johnny Hodges, the “Rabbit,” was one such example with his signature portamento, vibrato, and melodic concept.
Modeling for Independence
For this third of four installments, I would like to do a deeper dive into specific methods of study of our jazz mentors, namely, the practice of solo transcription…
Fathers as Role Models – Emulating the Masters
Our formative years as jazz improvisers are not too different and are, in most cases, even more deliberately emulative. Artists and genres that speak to us most directly during these years tend to have the greatest influence…
Memorial Day Thoughts on America’s Music
As we go forth today and honor those who “gave their last full measure of devotion” (Lincoln, 1863), let us also remember that it was their sacrifice that preserved our freedom to create and play this form of music
Mother’s Day Lessons from Our Elders
Allow me to offer this introduction to my upcoming four-part educational blog on how to impart the wisdom and guidance of the masters.
In Search of Serial “Killers”
While jazz has been America’s greatest musical contribution in the last century, there is another system that emerged contemporaneously in Europe and then in the United States, namely, serialism.
Ruminations on Music Education and the “Edge Effect”
My earliest clear memories of the art of music making are of my grandfather, Lamberto “Chapo” Cortez Zepeda, playing mostly Mexican traditional folksong repertoire on his violin either solo or in a trio configuration. Born in Arizona before it was a State – the joke was always that we didn’t cross the border, the border […]