RVANews

Jazz in the East

Lucas Fritz — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:47:03 +0000

all photos by Lucas Fritz except where noted otherwise

Emre Kartari is living everyone’s dream: having your own dream come true. He's a graduate of VCU’s Jazz Studies Program whilst under the direction of Doug Richards. He went on to get his Master’s degree from New York University. Yet even with all the contacts and networks he had created here in the states, Emre decided to move back to his homeland to do for the kids there what had been done for him here: educate them in jazz.

With the help of Skip Gailes who was named a Fulbright Specialist, Emre started the first ever Turkish Jazz Program at Hacettepe Conservatory in September. Hacettepe (pronounced "Ha-jet-teh-pay") Conservatory is located in the heart of Ankara, the governmental and financial capital of Turkey. Students begin their studies at the conservatory as early as age 10 and can continue until they turn 24. Not only is the duration of one’s education different from here in the states, but everyone attending Hacettepe is on a full scholarship. (When I tried to explain partial scholarships and still having to pay for things back home, the students just did not seem to understand.)

Skip and Emre spend all day with the ten knowledge-hungry students in the program, teaching them everything from theory, to jazz history, to improvisation. To celebrate the beginning of this wonderful program and Emre’s great accomplishments, the university funded the Hacettepe Jazz Festival to be held from November 22-27 ending with a commissioned piece by Doug Richards titled “Ben Seni Variations” for symphony orchestra, jazz octet, and kanun. (Ben Seni is a traditional Turkish folk song.) I was fortunate enough to be asked to accompany and assist Doug in his rehearsing and performance of the piece.

photo: Emre Kartari performing at one of the many gigs through the week, this one at Tenedos. By Emre Topak

There were seven musicians flown into Turkey to help perform Doug’s piece and give workshops throughout the week. Rex Richardson, VCU Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Trumpet flew in from a one week stint he was finishing up in Germany. Skip Gailes -- as already mentioned -- was already in Ankara and had been working with the students all semester. VCU Guitar and Jazz Guitar teacher Adam Larrabee flew in with Bob Hallahan who now teaches Jazz Piano and Jazz Improv at James Madison University. Howard Curtis, Emre’s teacher while he attended VCU, flew in from his home in Austria where he teaches at the University of Graz. Tim Collins, a vibist-drummer-pianist flew from his home in Munich and Mike Richmond, bassist and one of Emre’s teachers at NYU flew from New York City. Emre, one of the most genuinely nice and caring people I have ever met, was constantly stating his overwhelming gratitude for the ability to have his mentors and friends in Ankara and as a part of such a wonderful event.

Each day was structured almost exactly the same: workshops at the conservatory from 10-1, lunch break, rehearsal with the orchestra from 3-6, and then dinner at the club where the gig was. The workshops varied as much as the faculty’s backgrounds. Bob Hallahan spoke about phrasing and how lines can swing or not swing with a misplaced accent. Howard followed suit with a drum clinic on various swing patterns to be played on the ride cymbal. He played trio with two students also on drum set, forcing them out of their comfort zone and to try new things. Tim Collins (one of the best musicians I have ever had the privilege to meet or work with) gave some wonderful insight into composition through ear training. Doug talked about (what else but) Duke Ellington and the enormous impact Duke’s music had on the future evolution of jazz. Adam Larrabee talked about different approaches to practicing, which followed a similar workshop with Mike Richmond about playing in front of, behind, or right on the beat.

Adam Larrabee plays duo with student Onur Mulayim during a masterclass.

Each workshop offered new insights to not only the students of Hacettepe* but to myself and the two other VCU Students, trumpet player Ben Heemstra and bassist Andrew Randazzo, that gave up their Thanksgiving to have turkey in Turkey (yeah I know, had to put that joke in here somewhere). The best part about having the talented faculty in residence the entire week was that after their lecture brought up new questions or insights, they were available to hang and explain/discuss concepts in more detail with the students.

Watching and helping Doug rehearse an orchestra full of non-English speaking musicians that have never met him before was a sight to be seen. Many musicians in Richmond and even in other parts of America know Doug, his mannerisms, and the way he expects people to act in his presence. These students had no idea what to expect. The first rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon, to put it nicely, could have gone better. The language barrier (which we experienced all week) was a huge part of it. Doug would say things and without a response from the orchestra, assumed they understood. It is also hard to get an entire symphony orchestra to swing, let alone a Turkish symphony orchestra that hasn’t grown up with jazz somewhere in their lives.

Doug Richards rehearsing the orchestra. Oh, Baby!!!

In the notation of his piece, Doug was forced to be as literal as possible, notating legato-stacattos, triplets, and stacatto-accents to aide in the jazz phrasing. After a full rehearsal and then some of a many “BAAAAABY!”, “Oh, my heavens!!!”, and “Aye-yi-yi-yi-yiiiiiii” (a la James Brown), the students began to loosen up and understand Doug’s aural way of rehearsing an ensemble. After three full and productive rehearsals, they were ready to perform Doug’s monumental piece.

Each night consisted of dinner and a gig at different clubs around town. These ranged from a bar where we had to move tables to find room to play, to a two story music venue in which the bands performed down in the basement, to Fige, an upscale Jazz club with a stage and a piano. Although primarily Skip and Emre’s gigs, the faculty and visiting students (myself included) sat in on many tunes creating a wonderful sense of community.

Audiences in Turkey are very different than in America. First, they are there... According to the students I spoke with, people in Turkey don’t like to sit at home and watch TV, they would much rather go out and DO things (like hear live music!!!). Secondly, they are attentive and appreciative. Playing for a club full of faces smiling at you, enjoying every note you play is a wonderfully satisfying experience. When you leave the bandstand you are bombarded with people telling you “congratulations” (yeah it’s weird, their word for ‘good job’ translates as congratulations...took some getting used to).

The grand finale of the week was a concert performed at the University’s concert hall about three miles from the conservatory.** With a sound check just long enough to figure out you couldn’t hear the winds in the hall, the orchestra left the stage so that the vocalists and others could prepare for the evening. Andrew Randazzo and myself, being Doug’s ears in the hall, set up microphones throughout the orchestra and virtually ran sound for the entire concert.

photo: Bob Hallahan, Andrew Randazzo, Skip Gailes, Merve Erdal, Howard Curtis, and Adam Larrabee perform at Fige Jazz Restaurant and Bar.

Although not a perfect performance, Hacettepe Conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra brought Doug Richard’s “Ben Seni Variations” to life with character in front of a sold out crowd. After the performance, people were speechless. Emre spoke with many people who told him they had never heard anything like that before in their lives. Emre himself compared the piece to Ellington’s Far East Suite saying that nothing had really blended eastern music and jazz since.

Everyone backstage after the performance of Doug Richard’s Ben Seni Variations.

It was an emotional concert and evening. Doug and Howard were able to see one of their students succeeding in making his dreams a reality. Emre was finally realizing that he did it -- he brought jazz education to his homeland of Turkey.

The week, as a whole, was a success. Emre was able to bring those that had taught him so much through the years to his school and have them pass their knowledge onto his students. He set the wheels in motion and lit the fire of inspiration that nothing can stop or put out.

*Now is a good time for me to explain that just because there are only 10 enrolled jazz students, doesn’t mean that there were only 10 people at each masterclass. The hall, comparable to a small movie theater, was packed for each and every talk. Even the classical students came to see what these great American Jazz musicians had to say.

**Hacettepe Conservatory and Hacettepe University are the same school, but are separated in a similar way to VCU-Monroe Park and VCU-MCV campuses.

Andrew Randazzo and Skip Gailes performing at Tenedos.

Thanksgiving dinner at Fige.

Skip Gailes, Emre Kartari, and student Yunus Muti perform at Fige.

Ankara at night

Andrew Randazzo, Ben Heemstra, and Fritz with Paul Hindemith and Bela Bartok outside of Hacettepe Conservatory

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Students on stage

Dean Christesen — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:00:45 +0000

The monthly VCU Jazz @ The Camel series is back for round two after a successful first year. Tonight, check out two student bands with much to offer:

At 8pm: "Ben Heemstra, a jazz trumpet major from South Dakota, will be leading a group consisting of Christ Bates (tbn), Abinnet Berhanu (drums), David Tennenholtz (piano), and Andrew Randazzo (bass) playing some original compositions and tunes from the late 60's Herbie Hancok era."
At 9:30pm: "Abinnet Berhanu is a sophomore drummer who will be leading a trio consisting of Ben White (piano) and Evan Sarver (bass). He'll be doing some original tunes and may even have some very special guests up on stage."

Those guests, turns out, are VCU Jazz Artist in Residence trumpeter John D'Earth and adjunct faculty tenor saxophonist JC Kuhl. As always, VCU Jazz @ The Camel is free of charge.

View event details

Richmond Jazz Collective: Anticipated premiere

Dean Christesen — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Two months later, it's happening: the premiere of the big band that was to rival any other like it in Richmond. This band is actually way more than two months in the making, though. The Richmond Jazz Collective started out as an idea by VCU students Ben Heemstra and Lucas Fritz that turned into rehearsals of a workshop-type band in the fall. I sat in on one of those rehearsals in November as they prepared for their big debut, which was originally to take place on February 1.

So why, after two months, have their sounds been contained to Muse Creative Workspace -- their rehearsal space in Shockoe Bottom -- and the occasional member's recital?

The fellas raised some eyebrows when their methods of acquiring the charts that they would be performing in February came into question. Narrowly avoiding legal ramifications concerning copyright law, they learned their lesson and they now own their charts fair and square.

Some other things have changed since those first several meetings. For one, the band's line-up saw some changes including the vacancy of the artistic director position left by Taylor Barnett as well as a trombone chair by Bryan Hooten, both VCU faculty.

The band has pressed forward regardless. Sitting in on another rehearsal on Monday, this one their last before their big premiere, I see that despite these obstacles, they really do sound good.

Guys trickle in around 10pm to the rehearsal on North 19th Street on Monday night. There are a couple latecomers, but it's no big deal. They set up in formation -- which extends nearly halfway into audience seating, so luckily it's just me there -- and get their tunes in order to run the set. There's a little bit of the expected fare for big band in there: two Thad Jones charts, a Frank Foster tune made famous by Count Basie, and a couple Sammy Nestico pieces.

But of the eight tunes that will make up Monday's set, three stand out from the rest. There's the Björk song "Unison," arranged for big band by Fritz, who also plays the Dave Douglas-inspired tune with his octet Compass Rose Orchestra. Guitarist Karl Morse arranged the St. Vincent song "The Party," a downtempo jam that better accompanies the after-party complexities than the during-party carefree vibe. The third is "Easy Gentle," an original flowing waltz by band member and trombonist Ballard Midyette that will feature David Hood on soprano saxophone and Mark Ingraham on cornet.

The standard literature for the sacred institution that is the big band isn't as up to date as these three are, but they can still pack a punch. The set opener, Thad Jones's "Back Bone," is a heavily driving feature for the trombones. Even Frank Foster's "Shiny Stockings" and Sammy Nestico's "Rachel" -- a beautiful feature for trumpeter Rob Quallich -- result in peaks in intensity and decibels despite calmer beginnings.

Opening up the set will be a smaller ensemble under the direction of Doug Richards performing works from Duke Ellington's "Unknown Sessions" for small group and Miles Davis's legendary "Birth of the Cool" nonet. The ensemble is essentially a class for the eight VCU students plus one alumnus that make up the group. They meet several times a week to work on the repertoire under the guidance of Richards, who has either strong emotional or personal connections to the work of Duke Ellington and the Miles Davis Nonet.

Better late than never, the Richmond Jazz Collective begins their monthly adventure at The Camel on Monday night. A promising group that has the potential to become part of the realm of modern and unique big bands, they're taking it one step at a time. Patience, after all, is one quality they've proven to attain.

View event details

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Richmond Jazz Collective is: David Hood, Suzi Fischer, John Lilley, Marcus Tenney, Jonathan Gibson: saxophones; Stefan Demetriadis, Alex Powers, Ballard Midyette, Reginald Chapman: trombones; Rob Quallich, Mark Ingraham, Ben Heemstra, Lucas Fritz: trumpets; Devonne Harris: drums; Andrew Randazzo: bass; Karl Morse: guitar; David Tennenholtz: piano.

Small group is: Lucas Fritz: trumpet; Suzi Fischer: alto saxophone; Jonathan Gibson: baritone saxophone; David Hood: tenor saxophone; Nate Lee: trombone; Ben White: piano; Andrew Randazzo: bass; Sam Sherman: drums; Stephanie Fairbairn Ycaz: tuba.

The Camel: VCU Jazz’s new home away from home

Dean Christesen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:13:43 +0000

VCU Jazz Studies major and trumpeter Lucas Fritz is stirring up activity off campus. Fritz is the curator of the VCU Jazz at The Camel series, which begins tomorrow evening and will take place on the third Wednesday of every month between now and May 2010 at The Camel. His goal is to allow VCU and student-run ensembles to perform full sets of music in an environment that is conducive -- and realistic -- for the music.

At VCU, playing in combos and small ensembles isn't only a necessary skill to have, it's a required part of the curriculum for jazz studies majors. In addition to the school's two Jazz Orchestras, there are six Small Jazz Ensembles (SJEs), each directed by a full-time or adjunct faculty and that rotate members every semester based on auditions. Near the end of the semester, five of the ensembles perform a concert to showcase the pieces that they have created throughout the semester, whether they are arrangements of jazz standards or original compositions by the students or directors.

Being in an ensemble presents students with some challenges, like how to program a fifteen-minute performance -- the maximum that each group is allotted -- to represent the best of the ensemble's work. While a semester together produces much more music deserving of performance than a quarter of an hour allows, the students have to select no more than three -- and sometimes only two, or one -- pieces of music to present.

Another challenge is how to make the music come alive in a concert hall environment. Trumpeter Taylor Barnett has written about dialogic music, in which musicians improvise and affect each other and the mood and reactions of the audience can also influence the players,

The concert hall stage is, quite simply, not an ideal place for music like that to be presented. How much communication can take place when the band members are spread out on a large stage and when the audience is removed from the performance both physically and through standard concert hall etiquette?

Of course, there are advantages of performing in this type of venue, he notes, like playing to the most attentive of audiences. And it's up to the musicians to decide if what they're creating is even open to influence from the audience. But Lucas likes to think that it applies to all jazz. "It's more of a formal concert," he says about the SJE concert, "whereas today jazz isn't as formal as it's made out to be in the collegiate setting."

Student bassist Jonathan Wheelock points out another obstacle for members of SJEs: being faced with instrumentations that can be somewhat unusual. Ensembles, which are assembled and distributed at the beginning of every semester by Director or Jazz Studies Antonio Garcia, may include interesting features like several horns and two guitarists, or no bassist. One SJE nonet consists of tenor saxophone, trumpet, two guitars, two pianos, bass, vibraphone, and drums. (The unique characteristic of the ensembles is usually in the rhythm section) Arranging music for unorthodox instrumentations can be a valuable experience for the students, who are all required to contribute at least one arrangement to the group each semester.

Jonathan is looking forward to the freedom that the series will bring. Along with having freedom to choose his band, he adds, "We're not under anyone's direction, so how are we going to make this interesting?" While he, and any of the other musicians, could have the same freedom only by starting a band outside of the SJE confines and booking it themselves at a club, there's an added level of motivation to form a group when a playing opportunity like this arises.

And like anyone who creates playing opportunities for other musicians, Lucas is to be heralded for not only doing so, but also managing to fit his own projects in here and there. His SJE, directed by Bob Hallahan, performs tomorrow night, and his group The Compass Rose Orchestra performs on the December event's bill.

Third year jazz studies major and trumpeter Ben Heemstra is excited about the possibilities of the series. "Jazz is a community music, and it has to be connected to the community," he says. "I think this is a really exciting step forward to help connect VCU to what's going on in Richmond."

Ben and some other students in the program share the wish that students can get SJE credit for their independent and already existing ensembles, ultimately freeing them from odd instrumentations and lackluster rehearsals that can be the result of a contrived arrangement of players.

This could be a cool idea that could lead to more groups that actually sustain a life past one semester, but are these student grievances against the current SJEs not the catalysts for them to go start their own groups (or series of concerts), and isn't that the ultimate goal? Calling the SJEs unsung heroes may be a stretch, but many students fail to see the effect that the ensembles have on their playing habits.

So it's a great thing that Small Jazz Ensembles, in their not-so-small and oddly arranged glory, and the two Jazz Orchestras will be on various programs in the VCU Jazz at The Camel series; they'll be out of their element. And Lucas, whether in the wings or on stage, will be gaining valuable insight into being a concert presenter. Since creating the opportunity for the series to happen was the big step, let's say if Making Things Happen 101 were a class, Lucas would get an A.

Check out VCU Jazz at The Camel every third Wednesday between now and May 2010, sets at 9pm and 10:30, all ages, free. Tomorrow evening, the Bob Hallahan SJE performs first, followed by the Karl Morse Trio. View event details. December: The CMP Trio (Chris Harrison, Paul Willson, Marcus Tenney), The Compass Rose Orchestra. January: Connor Thompson/Jon Wheelock/Kevin Johnson, Dean Christesen/Karl Morse/Andrew Randazzo. February: VCU Jazz Orchestra II, Phunk Boys of Richmond. March: TBA. April: Jazz Orchestra II, Jazz Orchestra I. May: TBA.