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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One more once for Mingus

Dean Christesen — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:00:02 +0000

Listen to "Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too" by Charles Mingus:
[audio: http://media.rvanews.com/dontbeafraidtheclownsafraidtoo.mp3|titles= Don't Be Afraid The Clown's Afraid Too|artists=Charles Mingus]

If you thought last Sunday was your only chance to catch the Richmond Mingus Awareness Project, you thought wrong. The crew is bringing the program to Williamsburg this Sunday where they'll perform at the College of William & Mary's Sadler Center Tidewater Room. Adam Larrabee Trio plays Money Jungle. MAP Big Band directed by Doug Richards. Amazing t-shirts for sale. They'll all be there.

At CenterStage nearly two weeks ago, Guitarist Larrabee, drummer and event producer Brian Jones, and bassist Randall Pharr began the night with choices from the classic Ellington/Mingus/Roach album. Their creative "Caravan" and slow and dark "Fleurette Africaine" stood out as my favorites, as well as Larrabee's breathtaking solo rendition of "Solitude" that made me wonder if the song should really be played any other way.

The MAP's Big Band stacked roster of musicians always provides for an amazing set. Trumpeters John D'earth and Michael Davison played off each other in great solos, vocalist John Winn was delightful on Richards's arrangement of "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" (one of Mingus's tributes to the bandleader extraordinaire), and the whole ensemble sounded tight under Richards's unmistakably eccentric leadership.

If you're tempted to make the drive on Sunday, give in. You won't regret it.

View event details (pdf)

Mingus Awareness Project: Return to Richmond

Dean Christesen — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:52:11 +0000

Fifteen people are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis every day. Better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS is a neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive paralysis -- impairing simple functions like swallowing and breathing -- and ends in death. To this day, there is no cure, and it kills thousands every year. Jazz legend Charles Mingus died of the disease in 1979, bringing to an end the life of one of the music’s most significant composers and bassists.

Created and first held in Chicago by brothers Jon, Dan, and Erik Godston in May 2007, Mingus Awareness Project was formed to educate people on the disease as well as raise money to benefit an ALS research foundation. Drummer Brian Jones -- a childhood friend of the Godston’s -- was affected when their mother died from the disease after years of suffering through it. He brought MAP to Richmond in October 2007, and this is its third almost-annual event.

Any Brian Jones event is bound to be spectacular, whether it’s his John Cage-inspired Musicircus or a night in a local club with any of his eclectic ensembles. MAP is no different. Taking place in a larger venue each year, there never seems to be enough space for those who come to take part in a great cause and to hear some of the best jazz around.

The Mingus Awareness Project Big Band is stacked with Virginia’s finest, topped off with living legend Doug Richards. The Great American Music Ensemble director and founder of the VCU Jazz Studies program brings much to the table, like his adventurous arrangements and his impassioned and inspiring direction. His love of Mingus certainly brings his involvement to a new level.

“[Mingus was] one of the three or four truly significant composers in jazz history,” Richards has said. “His various groups that he led, from the mid 50s through his death, were some of the most outstanding ensembles in jazz history, and the recordings that they made are some of the most significant recordings made. As a bassist, he is, in my opinion, one of the four or five greatest jazz bassists. There aren’t too many individuals that one can make all of those accolades about.”

Mingus’s singular and raw voice as a bassist and composer was a direct reflection of his personality. “You kind of are what you are,” Jones has said, “and that’s what will ultimately come out of your music. Mingus may be the epitome of that idea.”

Lots of great music happened in Richmond last year, but there was an enormous void when Mingus Awareness Project didn’t happen. I’m proud to say that the event of the year has returned.

Mingus Awareness Project features Adam Larrabee Plays Money Jungle and Mingus Awareness Project Big Band directed by Doug Richards and will take place on Sunday, October 24, 2010, 7pm, at Richmond CenterStage's Rhythm Hall. Tickets are $22 and go on sale on Tuesday morning at the CenterStage box office and all Ticketmaster vendors. All proceeds benefit ALS research. For more information, visit CenterStage online.

WRIR needs your help, so here’s incentive…

Dean Christesen — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:26:03 +0000

There are very few radio stations in Richmond that provide regular jazz programming, and none that are as eclectic as WRIR Richmond Independent Radio. Some of you know it as that pretty cool station at 97.3 FM that starts to get fuzzy on your dial when you get near city limits. Others know its programming a little more intimately. And a few (170, to be exact) even volunteer their time as DJs, board members, music reviewers, and countless other roles at the station. Now at the end of their spring fund drive, they need your help.

Community radio stations like WRIR can't exist without donations from their listeners. Shows like Bebop & Beyond with Mr. Jazz, New Orleans Roots and More, the concert calendar for your ears Activate!, the funky Mellow Madness, and Global A Go-Go (which is featuring a live on-air performance by Chris Vasi this Friday) all go on the air at the same time every week because their listeners step up and chip in when it comes time. The vibrancy and depth of musical knowledge in the WRIR community is outstanding.

For jazz programming, you can hear jazz and New Orleans music enthusiast for life Bill Thomson, and longtime WWOZ in New Orleans host Mike "Mr. Jazz" Gourrier. Both DJs play the best of new and old music. It's programming worth celebrating (and worth supporting).

I occasionally sub for the two jazz hosts, and I had the pleasure of doing so for Mr. Jazz at the beginning of the fund drive on Sunday. Well, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is a grand affair [Link: NPR's A Blog Supreme, who's been down there covering it extensively], and Mr. Jazz is still there. I'll be back on the air this Sunday to wrap up the fund drive, and I'll have some special guests coming in.

Composer and arranger Doug Richards will be joining me to talk about his latest endeavor, Intercontinental Concerto featuring Rex Richardson. Lucas Fritz will be coming to take part in the conversation. The concerto was premiered in Australia in 2006 and then at VCU later in October of that year. Richards, Richardson, and the huge cast of musicians that make up the recorded concerto spent lots of time in the studio, and it's finally almost ready to be released.

We'll be playing selections from that album and talking to Richards about it on Sunday during Bebop & Beyond from 11am to 1pm. As a special premium for supporters making a pledge during that show, we'll be giving away one special 3-CD bundle that will include the Intercontinental Concerto. Talk about music worth celebrating and supporting.

WRIR Richmond Independent Radio is on the dial at 97.3 FM in Richmond and streams online at www.wrir.org

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.

Darius Jones – For the Love of the Craft

Dean Christesen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:00:41 +0000

Darius Jones is on a journey that has taken him from his homestead in rural Virginia, through Richmond to study at VCU, and in 2005 on to New York City and the world. The alto saxophonist's most recent release, Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), has him collaborating with two of his mentors, drummer Rakalam Bob Moses and pianist and diddley-bo player Cooper-Moore.

The eight compositions of the album form a sonic tone poem about Jones's youth growing up in the South. Some of the pieces, like the raunchy "Cry Out" and the beautiful "Meekness," sing folky melodies as if they were out of Albert Ayler's book. In Jones's debut release as a leader and the first meeting between Moses and Cooper-Moore, improvisational intensity between the three is abundant.

RVAJazz: When I first saw the CD, I was immediately intrigued by the guys that are playing with you. Tell me about meeting Bob Moses. What was that experience like?

Darius Jones: I met Bob Moses about 8 years ago in Charlottesville, Va. He is good friends with John D'earth and was doing a master class at UVA. A bunch of us at VCU heard that he was going to do a show in Charlottesville so we went to check Bob out. To be honest I had never heard him play before that night. I only knew who he was because I had read this article that he wrote in Signal to Noise called "Deeds, Not Words." There were a few things in that article that really resonated with me. When I actually heard him play I was blown away. I felt this deep and earthy soul from his playing. Plus he had the most individual sound I had ever heard from the drumset. We spoke afterwards and we really seemed to click with one another. I gave him a CD of some music I was working on and had him sign the article. A few months later around Christmas time I got this big package in the mail from him. It had a few of his CDs and a letter. From that moment on we have stayed in contact and have played off and on together. One of the things I have really learned from Bob is the importance in following one's own path. It is so important to investigate the inner self when developing one's own language.

RVAJazz: How has your time in New York City been conducive to doing so? What has your path been like between leaving VCU for New York and today?

DJ: Since moving to NY I realized that everything is a process and I need to be patient. I found myself getting very frustrated at times in Richmond. But now I realize that growth is not always comfortable. Also traveling a path that has not been paved before you is scary. Sometimes it is easier to follow the herd than jump out into the abyss of uncertainty. So it is always important to be fearless and to push up against your comfort zones as an artist. That is what a lot of my heroes did and what I love about jazz. It is dangerous! Since moving to NY I have had the pleasure of playing and interacting with a lot of great musicians. NY gave me a license to kill. In Richmond I always felt the need for more after a gig. More from myself, more from the musicians, more from the audience, and more from music itself. I felt it was important to look within myself for the answers to what I was missing. To keep developing my own language and concepts. Bob always says to me that he is just a beginner. So if he is a beginner than I am just starting on the path. I am like a fetus with an idea of play.

The mastery and the innovation of music is very important to me, not just the celebration of it. Studying in Richmond gave me a deep love of the craft of music. Doug [Richards] always talked about how important it was to develop one's craft. It's like praying or meditating. The more you do it, the easier it gets to reach a deeper spiritual plain. The more one studies one's craft and works on it the deeper one can go musically. I didn't realize how important that was to me until I was in NY for awhile. I love the visceral side of music a lot. I love how music can make someone want to shake their booty, cry, and punch someone in the face all at the same time. But I also feel that it takes a great deal of creativity and skill to achieve that kind of response. The reason we love people like Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, The Clarke Sisters, Bach, Ellington, and many others is because they developed their own inner voice through working on their craft. Craft is a very personal thing. Not every painter cleans their brushes. This album is a reflection on me playing a lot of music and developing my craft in NY. I needed to sing again and to feel home again. I needed to remember where I came from so that I could be grounded in my musical direction.

RVAJazz: I love that the inspiration for the music comes from growing up in the south. Are the tunes about specific experiences from your childhood?

DJ: The tunes on the record are not about specific experiences. They are more a sequence of emotional experiences that I remember and feel have shaped me into the person I am today. For example "Roosevelt" is about how I felt about and saw my uncle as a child. My uncle was an interesting character in my life because he was the first person to introduce me to the saxophone. But he was also the first person to teach me how to pick up women and the importance of self reliance at times, too.

RVAJazz: Was Cooper-Moore's input especially valuable since he also grew up in rural Virginia?

DJ: The fact that Cooper-Moore comes from Virginia influenced me in choosing him for this project. Cooper-Moore is the most natural creative being I have ever met. When I met him I didn't know who he was either. But he completely blew me away with his deep sense of groove and soulfulness. After becoming a part of his band and playing with him for awhile I realized that we had so much in common. After rehearsals he would cook me some food and play and sing hymns while I ate. It was like being at Sunday dinner at times with him. He feels like family in a lot of ways for me. I learned from Cooper-Moore how to stop proving I could play the saxophone on the band stand and simply sing with my horn. For him it is about learning something so deeply that one has no choice but to let go and sing.

RVAJazz: There's a nice amount of variety here, compositionally. You really do seem to sing and the earthy soul is certainly there in Bob's drumming. One other thing that fascinates me is Cooper-Moore's diddley-bo. He seems to have great facility and intonation with it for an instrument with only one string. What's it like to play with one, tonally and creatively?

DJ: Cooper-Moore plays quite a few homemade instruments actually. When I asked him to do this project I wanted him to play only the piano and the diddley-bo. I wanted to play with the idea of having something that sounded familiar and something that didn't in the same context. Playing with the diddley-bo is very freeing in many ways because it can achieve so many different sounds. So even though we are playing in a certain key it can sonically pull the ear into other directions without even leaving the original key. Cooper-Moore approaches the diddley-bo in so many different ways. He bows it, beats it, scrapes it, and plucks it. In "We are Unicorns" he bows it and beats it. He has an enormous amount of skill on the diddley-bo. In composing for it, I realized it had octave limitations based on the kind of string that was being used. On this album I primarily used the diddley-bo in a bass capacity compositionally. So Cooper-Moore made a diddley-bo with a fairly low bass string. It can be pretty chromatic but it is more relative than perfect.

RVAJazz: In the album's acknowledgements, you thank VCU Jazz Studies program founder Doug Richards and former VCU drum instructor Howard Curtis. What were your relationships with them like while you were at VCU?

DJ: Doug and Howard have to be the single greatest teachers I have had in my academic career. They taught me so much about music and life. I feel so blessed to have met them at the time that I did in my life and theirs. They really stressed the importance of the fundamentals of music. Doug was my arranging teacher during my time at VCU. He was tough but in a good way. He would always push me to be more creative and clear with my compositions. I love Doug. Howard was my private lesson teacher and ensemble teacher while at VCU. He would talk to me about freedom within structure and balance. We played duo a lot. I really miss playing and talking with him. I believe he lives in Austria now. They both gave me a deep love for the beauty, legacy, and tradition of music.

Darius Jones Trio - Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) will be available for purchase on October 13. Pre-order on Amazon

Track listing: Roosevelt; Cry Out; We Are Unicorns; Meekness; Salty; Chasing The Ghost; Big Train Rollin'; Forgive Me/Chaych.

Personnel: Darius Jones: alto saxophone; Cooper-Moore: piano, diddley-bo; Rakalam Bob Moses: drums. On "Chaych": Darius Jones: alto saxophone; Adam Lane: bass; Jason Nazary: drums.

Audio clips:
[audio:http://rvanews.net/sounds/Jazz/Cry-X.mp3|titles=Cry Out (excerpt)|artists=Darius Jones Trio]
[audio:http://rvanews.net/sounds/Jazz/Ghost-X.mp3|titles=Chasing the Ghost (excerpt)|artists=Darius Jones Trio]

Conversations: Doug Richards

Dean Christesen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000

by Taylor Barnett

Doug Richards is the founder of the Jazz Studies Program at Virginia Commonwealth University and one of the finest jazz composers in the world. He is something of a living legend to those that know him – his intensity and virtuosic abilities are paired with warmth and integrity, which earns him devotion from many of his students and musical collaborators. I have known Doug for more than half my life as a teacher/mentor and more recently as a colleague. Doug’s official bio can be found here. We met to talk in his home office where portraits of J.S. Bach, Stravinsky, and Duke Ellington hang on the walls. These musical heroes are the most important influences on his music and their presence provides a constant reminder of what he is striving for in his art: craft, inventiveness, color, and groove. My one-year-old daughter played on the ground between us, which led to several digressions as she and Doug alternately engaged each other in mutually enjoyable conversations. At one point during the interview Doug turned on his electric keyboard and the three of us played a spontaneous (read: dissonant) improvisation using the church organ patch. Everyone had a great time – it was hard to tell whether Doug and I or my daughter enjoyed it more!

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Me: I know you are currently in the middle of recording Intercontinental Concerto, your massive suite for trumpet soloist and expanded jazz orchestra that you wrote to feature Rex Richardson and that was premiered in Australia and later at VCU in October, 2006. Can you give a brief summary of the origins of the piece, both practically and conceptually?

Doug: Sure. The VCU Department of Music was very kind to give me partial load credit for writing this piece for Rex – he had asked me about writing a piece for him before – and then this circumstance came about and I had been reading Jared Diamond’s Guns Germs and Steel, which is essentially about the development of mankind, starting in Africa and moving to Asia and then eventually moving to Europe, and to Australia, North America and finally South America. For some reason it clicked and I thought, “Wouldn’t it really be neat to write a piece with some kind of connecting elements to feature Rex?” And that was the basic idea.

Then, various things came about with my exploring the musics of these different continents. It was really like a fascinating journey for me to go on. There were certain types of music that I had only had very little to zero experience in listening to, especially musics from Asia. I’d heard Kodo live – they’re a great Japanese percussion ensemble – and bits and pieces of other things. My college roommate at Berklee was of Indian descent so I’d heard Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan and some other great Indian music but I’d never really looked into it closely. And so, upon studying Asian music, I came across this music that is supposedly the oldest form of instrumental music that we know of, called Gagaku music – which is a ceremonial Japanese music. I became enticed with that – I mean because on each continent, there’s just so much to deal with and you have to narrow it down. And I’m hardly trying to be authentic or “Catholic” with my interpretations – I’m not an ethnomusicologist by any stretch – but I heard some fascinating elements: sonorities, timbres, rhythmic kinds of concepts and I approached it that way. I’ve always had a strong interest in – I think that everyone who deals with music has certain things that are their fortes: some people are great melodists, some people have great harmonic sense, great rhythmic sense, timbral sense, what-have-you. Mine…one of my things is color. I’ve always enticed by color and rhythm – trying to make things interesting. I think one thing that we all should do is try to make art a wonderful experience for the listener, as well as for the performer and so that’s what my goals were here. And of course I had Rex to feature and I’m familiar with his extraordinary virtuosity and musical characteristics and so…ta-ta! (Laughs and cuts himself off as a conductor would)

Me: That’s great. How did this piece, due to its scope and the unfamiliar styles that you were working in, differ in the final product and in the compositional process different than your previous work for G.A.M.E. [Great American Music Ensemble]?

Doug: Well, like I was saying before, we people who deal with creating things in an artistic medium all have our strengths. I work better in the realm of the miniature – meaning pieces that are 6-8 minutes long, sometimes shorter – and while this has six sections, the total length is about 42-45 minutes, somewhere in that vicinity. I haven’t clocked it yet. But essentially, each of these six sections are miniatures. Nothing is spun out like…well, I just got back from New York where I was hearing all of these Mahler symphonies where we’re dealing with movements that are 30 minutes plus you know? So nothing is that way. I don’t have a talent for doing that; I haven’t really tried to do that. That isn’t my focus. So I think that throughout my years of dealing with charts, as we refer to them – it’s really an odd term I don’t know how that ever come about…

Me: …and so this is basically a suite, a collection of miniatures…

Doug: It’s a suite. At the end, on the South American section, I do a very brief reprisal of the previous five sections. But there’s no interconnecting kind of process here.

Me: But when you were sitting down originally, did you map out any key areas or was there any thought about the scope or what movement might be thought of as the climax or…

Doug: Well there are climaxes of course to each of these sections, and hopefully the ultimate is during the final section – I think it probably apexes there as far as the whole thing is concerned. But yeah, I fundamentally mapped it out as I do most anything I write, you know this. I mean you give yourself a plan like we do during the day. I mean, I write my basic plan out (and I know I never keep to it, you know) and that’s what happened here too. Plans were established and some things were adhered to and some things went by the wayside when something better came up, or when I was uncomfortable with my original notion.

So, there were key schemes and that type of thing. And, as I said, each section morphs or segues into the next section. This, I think, is reflective of my development as one who writes music. I mean, yeah I can “crank” something out in a particular style: a “Basie-esque” or an “Ellington-esque” kind of thing – or a Thad Jones’ish or whatever you want to call it. But that’s not what I prefer to do at this stage of my life.

I think jazz essentially is theme and variations and it’s how you state the theme, whether it’s a mundane, “Three Blind Mice” kind of a ditty or a simple folk song or something elaborate and then, what are you going to do with it? I mean, that’s true composition to me. I’m not putting the tunesmith down because that’s a very wonderful gift to have and to develop. But I hope that the listener and the musicians find this worthwhile. It’s different; in my opinion I don’t know of anything like it. And in essence, I don’t know of anyone else who writes like I do. And that’s neither here nor there, that’s just who I’ve

developed into. You know, take it or leave it. (Laughs and shrugs his shoulders)

Me: I know that you’ve made some substantial additions and revisions to the piece since the two performances in 2006 and I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what you changed and why.

Doug: Sure, sure. The things that are the most altered are the use of woodwinds and percussion from the initial treatment and also I’ve dealt a little bit more with guitars on here – the first one was two guitars, this at times has three – and I altered some of the writing for the plectrum instruments. And of course the woodwinds initially only used saxophones. For the original performance in Australia, Rex and I weren’t able to get enough information about the doubling capacity of the woodwind players, or I should say the saxophone players. I did find out that, yes, all of them did in fact double on soprano…

Me: That’s not a double, that’s a saxophone!

Doug: Of course!

(Both laugh)

Doug: But that was the only thing I could go on and so with that tidbit, I used of course the five sopranos in the Asian Gagaku section…

Me: And was that to emulate an indigenous instrument?

Doug: Well, the trombones and organ were emulating the Sho but the way I used the sopranos rhythmically and registrally with the muted trumpets was very timbrally in context with this type of music.

(listen to an excerpt of the VCU performance of the Asian section)

And so when I had the opportunity of rescoring this I changed the woodwind parts dramatically. This was a pretty major shift, especially during the European section, which I altered most dramatically…

(listen to Doug discuss the European section in detail)

(listen to an excerpt of the VCU performance of the European section)

Me: So, when you are done with recording the Intercontinental Concerto, what is your plan? How are you guys going to release this?

Doug: This is more or less in Rex’s lap at that time. If it turns out like I think/hope it will (Laughs), I think that there is a good chance that this is going to get a considerable amount of positive attention.

Me: So it is going to be released on a label?

Doug: Rex has been doing all of his stuff with Summit Records. I know he has already recorded the, um, Dana Ca… I was about to say Dana Carvey, (Laughs) Dana Wilson rather. I’d love to hear Dana Carvey’s concerto for trumpet and strings; that could be very interesting! (We both laugh heartily, inciting my daughter to laugh with us, which in turn gets us all laughing even harder)

(Doug was referring to Dana Wilson’s Concerto For Trumpet and Strings, a classical piece that was commissioned by Rex. Rex plans to release an album that will include both the Wilson concerto and the Intercontinental Concerto.)

Me: So, dare I ask what’s next for you musically?

Doug: Gosh! Well, I have a piece that I have to write for the VCU Orchestra that I’m doing for them and women’s choir and I might have some other kind of element or elements in there.

Me: So what’s the deal with this piece?

Doug: They’ll be doing it next March.

Me: So…do you know what the piece is going to be?

Doug: Oh, no. I’m just toying with it right now.

Me: So you just know that it’s going to be a piece for full orchestra and women’s choir…

Doug: Yes. And I might have a soloist or soloists, jazz or non-jazz, I don’t know. I thought the thing we did for the Villa-Lobos festival for orchestra, jazz band, and children’s choir went well. So that’s next. And hopefully regarding the Intercontinental Concerto, I know Rex and I both are hoping that it brings about some performances around the planet.

One of the things that I’d like to see and that I think there’s a possibility of is a collaboration with Donald McKale, who is a leading choreographer who lives in California. We have had a good experience in the past in that he has used some of the G.A.M.E. recording to set choreography to with various professional groups. He is very interested in checking this piece out.

Me: This piece would lend itself really well to that.

Doug: Oh, yeah. I think so too. And whether he uses some or all of it, I would looove to do it live. That would be extraordinary to be able to do it live with the soloists maybe being onstage also; I mean, that could be done.

Me: You’ve been in Richmond for almost thirty years, do you see this as a home base for you to work out of for the rest of your…

Doug: No. No. And there’s nothing certain about this but Melanie and I are talking about retiring in as few as three or four more years. There’s a chance that that won’t happen, I mean who knows what’ll happen with health, with the economy, with opportunities. My son and daughter-in-law live in San Diego, my daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter live in Miami Beach and of course like to have more time with my family, you know?

I’d like to see what else might be possible. Gordy Haab (a former student of Doug’s that is currently a successful composer in L.A.) said that he felt that if I did a band in Los Angeles that it would be gangbusters. Of course I know that Gordy is incredibly goodhearted and positive about what I’ve done…but maybe it could happen. And maybe it could happen and I won’t do it, I don’t know. (Laughs)

And we’ve talked about maybe moving to D.C. where we’d still be close enough to our friends in Richmond and use that as a home base. And maybe try to do a band up there. I talked to all the trombone players who were on the first session here and they were all very optimistic about that idea. And I’m sure that there would be people from this region that would be willing to travel up once a month or whatever if we were able to score a gig.

Me: Are you interested in having a working band again? Because G.A.M.E was a working band at one point…

Doug: Oh, yeah G.A.M.E. was certainly a working band but, you know, the dues for trying to make that thing happen isn’t something that I have a natural affinity towards. To try to do the business hustling…I mean it’s very, very difficult to book a large ensemble in anything but a very large city. It’s virtually impossible unless you’re willing to work for peanuts in a town the size of Richmond.

At this point, the formal interview ended and we spent some time listening to an unreleased studio recording of the VCU Jazz Orchestra I under his direction from 1986, when Steve Wilson, Al Waters, and James Genus – some of VCU Jazz’s most illustrious alumni – all played in the band. Doug is rightfully proud of the band’s performance, which was probably the most swinging, intense, and musically nuanced that I have ever heard by a student group.

Sights from Mingus Awareness Project

Dean Christesen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:08:00 +0000

by Dean Christesen
photos by Lindsey Prather

The 2nd Annual Mingus Awareness Project in Richmond this evening seemed to be, to say the very least, an absolute success on all levels. The huge turnout challenged Gallery5's capacity and made even standing room something to be thankful for. All three groups were simply amazing and were met with enthusiastic roars from the crowd. Good spirits were in the air as everyone graciously gave to the cause of ALS research.

View the complete photo album with full size photos, or continue reading for some select photos.

The M.A.P. Trio (Brian Jones, drums; Cameron Ralston, bass; J.C. Kuhl, tenor saxophone) started things off. The Mingus tunes followed Brian Jones fashion by being deconstructed into their simplest versions and by featuring ultra-interplay between the three.

From Mingus Awareness Project

Fight the Big Bull performed three Matt White originals composed for the event. The first was based on a spiritual from the 1920s and featured trombonist Reggie Pace and Jason Scott on tenor saxophone. The second was inspired by a slave song and largely featured trumpeter Taylor Barnett (who filled in for Bob Miller for the evening), and the third was based on Sacred Harp music and featured John Lilley on tenor saxophone.

The M.A.P. Big Band conducted by Doug Richards began with "Don't Be Afraid, the Clown's Afraid Too." "For Harry Carney" featured baritone saxophonist Jeff Decker, as well as some others. Each solo began as a duo with soft malleted drums, adding the rich bass and piano ostinato to the mix, and finally growing into some full band background. Other solos included pianist Bob Hallahan, trumpeters Rex Richardson and John D'earth, and bassist Randall Pharr. "Jelly Roll" contained several short solos followed by a collective solo. Drummer Brian Jones played the role of Mingus' drummer Dannie Richmond, curiously shifting into double time and back with trombonist Bryan Hooten soloing. Richards' premier arrangement of "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" was an extraordinary showcase of sublime vocalist John Winn and the band supreme. The night closed with "Boogie Stop Shuffle," a popular number from Mingus' 1959 treasure Mingus Ah Um.

Doug Richards and Brian Jones

Bryan Hooten and DJ Peter Solomon

Matt White, Mingus Awareness Project co-creator Jon Godston, and Brian Jones

Bob Hallahan, John D'earth, and Doug Richards

[where: 200 W. Marshall St., Richmond, VA 23220]

Mingus Awareness Project: A Benefit for ALS Research

Dean Christesen — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:31:00 +0000

By Dean Christesen

One year ago on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Mingus Awareness Project found its home away from home in Richmond, Virginia. Created and first held in Chicago by brothers Jon, Dan, and Erik Godston in May 2007, M.A.P. was formed to educate people on two topics: jazz bassist Charles Mingus and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS), the disease that killed him and continues to kill thousands every year. The project’s goal is to raise money to benefit an ALS research foundation.

Drummer Brian Jones—a childhood friend of the Godston’s—was naturally affected when their mother died from the disease after years of suffering through it. “The agony of that illness in particular is just a horrible thing,” Jones says. “Essentially your body shuts down slowly, [but] your mind is completely active. You know what’s going on; you’re totally alert, but all of a sudden you can’t move your legs, you can’t move your arms, and you can’t do anything. And then eventually you just can’t breathe and you die.”

Jones decided to organize a benefit here in Richmond like the one that had taken place a couple months earlier in Chicago, and on October 21, 2007, it happened. “It was certainly one of the jazz highlights of last year,” says Doug Richards, composer and arranger extraordinaire who conducted the big band at the event. Not many people dare or desire to disagree with him on this topic.

This year’s event is being held on Sunday at Gallery5 with its sights on a larger turnout. With the hype around last year’s performance and the stacked roster of musicians appearing this year, that goal should not be difficult to achieve. Jones’ M.A.P. Trio (Jones, J.C. Kuhl on saxophones, and Cameron Ralston on bass) will begin the evening with material composed by Mingus and recorded by the trio this summer. Local favorite Fight the Big Bull will then appear in the venue’s upstairs gallery, performing three pieces inspired by Mingus and penned by band leader Matt White.

Back downstairs, the M.A.P. Big Band, conducted by Richards, will close the evening. The band is set to perform Mingus originals “Don’t Be Afraid, the Clown’s Afraid Too” from the album Let My Children Hear Music; “Jelly Roll,” the bassist’s tribute to Jelly Roll Morton; “Boogie Stop Shuffle,” a “foray of Mingus into earlier jazz styles,” says Richards; “For Harry Carney,” a dark blues which was dedicated to the great baritone saxophone master of Duke Ellington’s band and which originally appeared on Mingus’ Changes Two; and closing with the premiere of Richards’ arrangement of “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love,” which will feature vocalist John Winn, trumpeters Rex Richardson and John D’earth, and guitarist Trey Pollard.

In between each group, WCVE Public Radio’s Peter Solomon will play DJ sets of Mingus’ music.

Mingus died at the age of 56 in 1979. Richards calls him “one of the three or four truly significant composers in jazz history. His various groups that he led, from the mid 50s through his death, were some of the most outstanding ensembles in jazz history, and the recordings that they made are some of the most significant recordings made. As a bassist, he is, in my opinion, one of the four or five greatest jazz bassists. There aren’t too many individuals that one can make all of those accolades about.”

“I’m a firm believer,” says Jones, “that you can’t separate the personality from the music. You kind of are what you are, and that’s what will ultimately come out of your music. Mingus may be the epitome of that idea.” Mingus was known for his hot temper on and off the bandstand, which may account for his impatience and restlessness. “The music had a rawness to it; it wasn’t very polished. He had no patience for rehearsing.”

The same local A-List excitement that surrounded last year’s event will be just as present on Sunday. It is hard to believe that between last year’s event and this year’s there could have been another gig in Richmond with as large of a roster of high caliber musicians. “The band is pretty top-notch,” affirms Jones. Organizing so many busy musicians is no simple task. “That’s the fun part,” he says. “I get a kick out of the drama of trying to get a hold of all these guys and trying to organize a rehearsal.”

Richards was the first person Jones asked to participate in last year’s event, so his inclusion this year was a given. “I love dealing with Doug,” says Jones. “I get very inspired by the perfectionism, the drive, the lack of bullshit with him… If he doesn’t like something, he tells you ‘I didn’t like it’…And that is an admirable trait for a human being to have.”

“This is a very special event,” says Richards. "I’m just honored and delighted to take part in it.”

Jones plans on making this an annual event in Richmond for years to come. The term “annual” seems to be a sacred one to the drummer and exceptional bandleader and organizer: with slightly fewer than ten annual John Cage Musicircus’ under his belt as host and a perpetual slew of projects in the works, there is no reason to doubt that the Mingus Awareness Project will become a Richmond tradition for years to come.

Mingus Awareness Project takes place this Sunday, Oct. 26, 4-7 p.m. at Gallery5. 644-0005. Tickets are $12. T-shirts and M.A.P. Trio CDs will be for sale. All proceeds will benefit ALS Association, DC/MD/VA Chapter. For more info, visit alsinfo.org, gallery5arts.org, slangsanctuary.com. Mingus Awareness Project also coincides with the Richmond Walk to Defeat ALS on Saturday. For more info, visit fightals.alsinfo.org.

Doug Richards & Great American Music Ensemble @ The Landmark Theater this Saturday

Dean Christesen — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:51:00 +0000

The Richmond Symphony Orchestra will join forces with Doug Richards' Great American Music Ensemble on Saturday night to premiere Richards' new piece, "A Maré Encheu." The piece is an arrangement of a Heitor Villa-Lobos composition and employs a jazz ensemble in GAME, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and the Greater Richmond Children's Choir. Read more about the piece and it's conception in the Richmond Times-Dispatch article.

Tickets to the event range from $25-60. Students, however, can purchase $5 tickets at the door. Information on buying tickets is available at the Richmond Symphony website.

[where: 6 N. Laurel St., Richmond, VA 23220]

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