Jazz Yarns Education

How does an art form sustain itself from generation to generation? In Champaign-Urbana, on the main campus of the University of Illinois, jazz education has played a strong role in our community's jazz life. Many of our local jazz musicians have been both generous and committed to sharing their talents with younger generations. As these stories and comments reflect, not all jazz education happens in a classroom or dedicated workshop.

Cecil Bridgewater, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
Primarily, I give aspiring young musicians the same advice that Clark Terry gave me. It's being able to read, read music beyond knowing what the notes are. Being able to improvise, especially in jazz that's very important. Another ingredient is being dependable. If somebody calls you for a job and you show up half-an-hour late, they're probably not going to call you again. You have to do a lot of listening. Listen to all the recordings you can get your hands on. I remember in a class that I had at the University of Illinois, the instructor was saying that there were two people who had gone to a concert—a bass player and a flutist. And they came away hearing two completely different concerts, sitting right next to each other. The flute player was hearing the melodies and the bass player was hearing all the harmonies from the bottom up. So that taught me a lesson. I went home after that and said I don't know if I've really listened to these records that I have. So I would go back and listen to them all the way through, listening only to the drummer. Then I'd go back and listen only to the bass player, then the piano player. And then I'd listen to the drummer and bass player together, then the drummer and the piano player together, and just concentrate on that. It's like training yourself to hear things that you don't normally hear. (Taken from NPR interview on "Billy Taylor's Jazz")

Kim Richmond, saxophone/reed player, composer, educator
I grew up in Champaign, Illinois. When I was in the sixth grade, my aunt, who was a music teacher, introduced me to the clarinet. I took to it, so I enrolled in grade school band and I liked that. I became interested in the saxophone when I was in junior high school in the early to mid-50s. In high school, I couldn't wait to get in the jazz band, or dance band, as they called it then. And we had a particularly good instructor; his name was Walt Loftiss. He's a trumpet player who graduated from the University of Illinois. He was very important in my development, because he made me really start to listen from within the band. I remember my first year [in the band] as a sophomore, I was put on the second alto chair. I wanted to play first, because I was kind of a hotshot kid, you know. The first player was a clarinetist from the concert band. He wasn't a particularly good saxophone player, but Walt made me sit on second and really listen to this first player and really try to match him with my intonation and all the nuances that should be on the second chair. I finally started to do it, under protest. It really made me grow to have to do that. And I think that the key to having a good section is the second player in the section; and the key to becoming a good lead player is to be able to play second. You have to be flexible, really use your ears and know what [the lead player is] doing. You have to anticipate him and to match him exactly. So I had some good training in that, and I think it really benefited me. (Excerpted from Saxophone Journal, September/October 1998)

Don Heitler, jazz pianist
When I went to the school of the blind in Jacksonville, Boots Brennan had a store called Jacksonville Novelty. In those days, you could take a recording in a booth, shut the door, and play it a hundred times. You didn't necessarily have to buy it. Boots would loan me these recordings to take back to school, and I'd bring them back a week later. And that's how I learned a lot of music. I didn't have to buy the recordings.

Cecil Bridgewater, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
The American Veterans Association (Amvets) decided to have music and it was right across the street from our house. Not everybody in the neighborhood was happy about that, but my brother and I were. And we would lie up in the open window at night and listen to the music that was coming across the street. Some of the people who I surmise were there were Wes Montgomery and some of the guys who were off on Monday nights in Chicago—Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt—would come down and play. There was a core of musicians there also from the U of I. But there was a group that had come from Akron, Ohio. Jack McDuff, who was also from Champaign, Illinois, was the one that kind of lured them down there. He was a bass player at the time, before he started playing organ. And he got them to come to town and most of them stayed, and so they were my mentors. (Taken from NPR interview on "Billy Taylor's Jazz")

Thomas "Shab" Wirtel, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
I travel around to different parts of the country as a guest clinician. Let me tell you, jazz education in the state of Illinois is the best in the country. It's the very best in the country, head and shoulders above most places. It's really awesome. I would say New York is good too. But as far as the Midwest is concerned, hands down, Illinois has got it. I mean it's just awesome.

Jerry Tessin, trumpet player and road manager with the U of I Jazz Band beginning in 1965 Some of the players in the U of I jazz band in those days [the late 60s] were not exactly students. John Garvey invited people to come and play in the band and would figure out a way for them to enroll in an extension course or something so that they could get enough hours to play. But they weren't really students. And John made a strong point that you learned from the people around you, and at a university, you don't always have to learn from the professors. You could learn from the students.

Pete Bridgewater, bass player, bandleader, radio host
I think my father inspired my older brother to play trumpet. He even started me on an old brass trumpet when I was in grade school, and I never will forget. Before my brother passed, he taught Cecil. Cecil in turn taught his younger brother, Ronnie, to help him get interested in playing sax, and right now both of them are very accomplished musicians. I remember hearing sour notes and I'd wonder "what the… That Ronnie?" And my brother would say "yeah." One day I went over to Cecil and Ron's house and said to my brother: "Boy, Ronnie must have an instructor up there with him." And he said, "No, that's Ronnie." He really got his tone together and started playing great, and Ronnie's been playing fabulous ever since.

Ron Bridgewater, saxophone player, educator
Tony Zamora was like a catalyst for all of us, and for the groups that existed in Champaign. Whenever I was in town, I would play with him at Treno's, every Saturday after football games. (Excerpted from an interview in the CUJBA Newsletter)

Tony Zamora, saxophone player and bandleader
The motivational factor that prompted me to approach Paul Karlstrom, then Secretary/Treasurer of Local No. 196, AFM, was ignited when I started giving saxophone lessons in my home to several young men residing in Urbana. It dawned on me that a similar project could best be implemented and accomplished at Douglass Community Center where more children would have the opportunity and the advantage of receiving free instructions from the skilled musicians in my band. I met with Paul Karlstrom to discuss the possibility of obtaining funds to underwrite a free tutorial music program at Douglass Community Center. The funds would be earmarked to purchase band instruments for the children enrolled in the CU public schools. I was successful in obtaining the funding. I followed this up by going to School Music Service where we held discussions with the owners about this project, and they generously consented to sell the band instruments at a discounted price. The project was underway and welcomed with open arms by Booker Ford, then director of Douglass Center. I coordinated this project which required the cooperation and volunteer efforts of several musicians, including Maurice McKinley (percussion), Cecil Bridgewater (brass), Donald Smith (keyboards), and me (saxophones). I have high praise for these musicians and several others for the time, dedication, and expertise given to teach CU youths the art of music.

Jon Faddis, trumpet player, leader of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, educator
I was scared the first time I played for Dizzy (Gillespie) but not after that. Dizzy was so generous. People would come up to him asking him questions and he'd invite them to his hotel room and they'd talk for hours about music, horns, rhythm, melody. And he never charged them a penny. So I asked him once: "Dizzy, you're so giving. Who'd you go to when you were young? Who showed you the ropes?" And he said, "No one taught me nothin' "—but not in those exact words, if you know what I mean. It's very important that young musicians have the right information and get a chance to talk to the older musicians.

Cecil Bridgewater, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
Cecil Bridgewater, a veteran jazz trumpeter and faculty member at the New School for Social Research, says that colleges and universities have been eager to recruit experienced musicians who may not have graduate degrees into jazz faculty positions. Jazz program administrators appreciate that many veteran musicians were active in or close to the creation of jazz styles such as bebop in the 1940's, according to Bridgewater. He says the goal of the program is to prepare students "to function in the jazz community." He stresses that a good jazz program needs to have experienced and working musicians involved with students as teachers. He contends that weaker programs tend to rely upon faculty whose members may have solid academic credentials, but lack professional working experience as musicians. "You can teach skills such as improvisation in an academic setting," says Bridgewater. "It can be done as long as students are getting the right information. It doesn't matter where they get it; it matters whether they're getting the right information." (Black Issues In Higher Education: "Schools of Cool," January 22, 1998)

Clark Terry, trumpet player, educator
In an interview with Steve Voce, Clark Terry remembered learning to play the trumpet by watching older musicians.
Some we could ask questions of, but some we couldn't, because in those days the older players thought the younger players were trying to get in on their scene. You remember, even Louis Armstrong back in those days used to keep a handkerchief over his fingers so the cats couldn't steal his tricks. Fortunately, that attitude is really the opposite of the situation today. Those of us who are involved with jazz education feel that it's a very important thing to impart knowledge to young people. Many of the things that are involved can't possibly be documented, and if we go down with them, so go down most of the secrets.

Thomas "Shab" Wirtel, trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
If all you do is go to a school and get your jazz education in an institution, you do not know jazz yet. You don't know jazz until you sit down with somebody older who knows the ropes, and you soak it in, and you go and you play, and you ask questions, and you make such a nuisance of yourself that the person finally shows you all the stuff. That's it. If you don't have that, you don't know what jazz is.

Tony Zamora, saxophone player and bandleader
Exposure to the great Jack McDuff, "Brother" Jack McDuff, who was an organist, influenced a lot of the musicians in the Champaign-Urbana area. He would come by my house because I had an organ set up in my garage, and he'd practice with his band. That was just wonderful. And he would share his songs with us. He would do certain things and we'd say "well give us some tunes, Jack."

Jerry Tessin, trumpet player with the U of I Jazz Band, U of I School of Music Events Director
There was jazz seven nights a week at Nature's Table. And Ron Dewar was playing there. And Don Smith. And Cecil would play there. And the young guys would be there and listen and play and that was as much a classroom as anything at the university. It just wasn't formalized. Nature's Table provided an opportunity to learn.

Cecil Bridgewater, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
My Uncle Pete was instrumental in my development because he allowed me to come and play with his bands and eventually hired me in his bands. I used to take my horn, stick it out the back door, go through the house and say "Mom, I'm going out for awhile," run around to the back, pick up the horn, run down to the club where my uncle was playing, go in the back door, and he'd let me come up on the bandstand. But he would keep an eye on his watch and when it was about time that I should be back home he'd scoot me out the back door. I would run home, put the horn out the back door, go around to the front and come in, let my Mom and Dad know I was home, run to the back door to get my horn, and take it down to the basement where I usually practiced. And my parents didn't know anything about this until many, many years later when I accidentally mentioned it as an adult. Mom was kind of upset about it!

Laurence Hobgood, pianist, arranger, composer
My freshman year, [John Garvey] decided to do the auditions really screwy. Instead of auditioning the rhythm section separately, the saxophone section separately, the trumpet section separately, they decided to hold the auditions in a big band format, having everybody auditioning at once! I'd played in high school bands, but my experience was limited, especially being able to sight-read a jazz chart with chord changes instead of actual written-out notes. The chart I had to play—I'll never forget this—was "Come Fly With Me." There's a different chord symbol on the page for every single note of the melody. So I got lost immediately, and never got a chance to, as we say, blow. I never got a chance to take any kind of a solo or play at all, basically, so I didn't make any of the bands. And I was really kind of bummed about that. I remember talking to Ray Sasaki about it, and just getting healthy, benign encouragement from him, so by the spring semester—they auditioned the bands every semester—I got put in the fifth band, and the next year I was in the third band, and eventually Garvey asked me to be in the top band.

Jon Faddis, trumpet player, leader of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, educator
Charles Mingus wrote this piece for Roy Eldridge called Little Royal Suite, but then Eldridge couldn't play for the concert. So Mingus wanted to get Snooky Young, but Snooky was in the process of moving from New York to Los Angeles with "The Tonight Show" Band. So Snooky recommended me to Mingus, and that's how I hooked up with him. It was scary! But Mingus, in spite of his reputation, was pretty gentle and he had the most infectious laugh. It was a good education.

Sam Hankins, trumpet player, Edison Middle High School Band Director
I have three bands at Edison Middle School. The sixth grade band is for beginners. All they have to do is sign their name on a piece of paper and they're pretty much in. They have to try out just so I can figure out where they are, what level they play at. For the beginners, I teach style and the language of jazz, the scales, the chords, how to read and articulate. By the time they get to seventh grade, they're ready to try out and their chances of getting into either the first or second band are very good because they know the language. Everybody asks me how I teach jazz, but it's hard to put into words. It's a language and this language is call and response. You say something or sing something and they have to say it back. Once they understand the language, they get it. Once they distinguish the jazz language from the classical—we work differently in concert band than in jazz band—they get it. And we do a lot of listening. I try to guide them in what to listen for. I require them to pick up a CD a week, and I ask them about what they listened to. I try to teach the kids to get up to a point where they don't need me, where they can do it on their own. A jazz band director and a concert band director are two totally different [kids of directors]. You don't want to see a jazz band director standing in front of the band. I think the jazz band director's job is to educate the audience, introduce the audience to the pieces and styles and let them know what soloist is doing what. Then I count off the tune and get out of the way. So as a jazz band director, I'm basically an MC, an entertainer, a little bit of a historian. I start the tune and let the kids take me on a ride.

Carl Allen, drummer, composer, educator
When asked what one thing he could you say to a young drummer that could help him or her to be a better musician, Carl Allen responded:
I would say the first thing is to study music and not just drums. The most important thing is to be the best person that you can be and that will enhance your musicianship.

Jeff Machota, WEFT jazz host and past president of the CU Jazz and Blues Association
Over the years I've seen a lot of people grow up musically, which is an amazing thing, especially for me, not being a musician. To see the perseverance, hearing people change and grow as they sit-in at jam sessions and what not. Jam sessions are important. So is something like the Parkland Big Band. It's a great concept—people from 17-70 in that band. They don't always make music I want to hear, but I support it entirely because it's so important that musicians get up and play their instruments with people like LaMonte Parsons, Jeff Helgesen, John Hutchens, and all those who lead those sessions. And I know there's a debate between older performers around here who cut their teeth by playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit and the young ones being schooled now. But that's why the symbiosis between the School of Music and places like Nature's Table were so important. You could play your little part in the big band, but you could also get out and play in small groups and get a chance to stretch out.

Cecil Bridgewater, jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
Clark Terry was an inspiration. I would buy all his records. The second concert my father took me to hear was the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Clark was playing, and I was just amazed by what he could o on the instrument. Clark's contribution to jazz education was considerable. He was one of the pioneers in doing that, going around the country to different schools and working with musicians and teaching them. When I was 21, I contacted him because I was considering moving to New York and making an entrance onto the "professional stage." And so I wrote him a letter and he wrote back with some of the greatest advice. He said that there are a lot of great musicians in New York, and that it really didn't matter whether you got there at 21 or 31. The important thing was to be prepared: to be able to play in a section with other trumpet players and other instruments. He said that there were a lot of great guys there who could improvise but who couldn't read, and other guys who could read by couldn't improvise, and that I needed to work on all those skills. He also told me that what you call people skills are important, being able to get along with people. He said some people were great musicians but they couldn't get along with people, and therefore they didn't get so much work. When I finally got to New York I was 27, and I got to audition for Horace Silver. It seemed like the room was full of a thousand other musicians—though it clearly wasn't that many. But it was easy because I could read and I'd listened to and studied Horace's music over the years. And he was confident enough in my ability that he hired me.

Nathaniel Banks, trumpet player, bandleader, Director of the U of I African American Cultural Center
Joe Jennings was a saxophone player in Champaign when I was at the University of Illinois who heard me sit-in with Cecil's group; he used to sit in with Cecil too. In essence, he told me: "You don't know what you're doing. You need to learn this music." And that was probably THE most valuable advice that anybody ever gave me. He wasn't saying it to try to destroy me. What he was saying was "you need skills, and I'm willing to work with you to give you those skills." And Joe was an excellent musician. Don Smith used to do that too. And it made me want to do better, to sound better.

Thomas "Shab" Wirtel, trumpet player, composer, arranger, educator
Jazz is an on-moving thing; it's not a static thing. It's something that is still growing and evolving. It's not mimicking the past in any way. It's the only music in America really that is quality improvisation at a very, very high level. When I was 10, jazz was on the radio. It was the pop music—the big bands of Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong—and it was fairly simple music, not so far ahead of the general musical capability of the audience. Let's put it this way: if The Beatles had done the Abby Road album as their first album, nobody would ever have heard them. But they started out with 11-year-old bubble gum music. And they proceeded to educate an entire generation until their music evolved into a very complicated, very incredible art form that was entirely their own. They educated their own audience. Somehow, jazz was not able to do that. The more sophisticated and the more involved it became, the more it was incomprehensible to the general masses. Nowadays, students don't have the baseline styles of jazz in their blood. They're not going to hear Count Basie on the radio or see him on TV. They grew up with rock music. So we can't expect them to know what "swing" is, for instance. We have to teach them. I like to ask my students to bring me up-to-date with what they listen to. And because of what they're exposed to, jazz is evolving into something completely different from the way it was when I was youngster. And that's the beauty of it. It's open ended. It's not a fixed thing.

Jon Burr, New York-based bass player
I had a great experience with Ed Krolick, the bass teacher at the U of I. At my first lesson with Ed Krolick, he said "Oh I see. You've been playing jazz. Well we're going to have to start all over again." I look back now and realize how positive our relationship became. He was a real advocate for me, got me re-admitted as a bass major [instead of education major] when I was having problems. You know, nobody asks you for your degree, but they can tell if you are able to perform in a certain venue or not. As a result of my experiences here at the U of I, I was able to do Broadway shows, play in the bass section for the American Symphony Orchestra. None of that would have happened had I not had some kind of higher education experience with a wide diversity of style.