What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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10 WHAT'S UP! APRIL 12-18, 2020 Q. Can you speak to the significance of events like this for young musicians — the opportunity to network with and learn from professional musicians from outside their own community? Finzer: The process of mentoring and leading younger musicians into this music is something that's been essential to the growth of the music; it's been essential to the way that the music is taught and learned — one generation passing it down to the next. There are books and there are plenty of materials and college programs where you can study the music, but you ultimately need to find a mentor or mentors and really find out what the music's about, really find out how to play it, what it means to be a jazz musician, the cultural aspects, the community aspects. So getting as many young people as we can connected to this music, which is America's musical art form, I think is super important. Lee: Since the genre is constantly evolving, it is important for younger and student musicians to see the different possibilities within the genre, both sonically and professionally. I grew up in a rural area and then moved to a small city to study jazz in college. In this small city, the definition of a jazz musician was pretty narrow, and I didn't know where I'd fit in. I didn't see anyone who looked like me or sounded like they were into what I was into. I think when young musicians aren't exposed to the different ways they can express themselves by people who maybe better represent them, they sometimes don't continue on. It's important for the genre in general to keep and honor the traditions, but also to keep innovating. Schmidt: These types of events are unbelievably important to a student's growth as a musician. I had the opportunity to meet some top tier players through festivals like these (Wayne Bergeron, Bobby Shew and Bob Mintzer to name a few). To get a chance to hear these people play and work with them can be a truly inspirational experience for a young musician. It is especially important in our genre for people to hear professionals perform. That is how we get more people interested and involved with this music! Stone: Jazz education is alive and well in America and throughout the world and has been for decades. Many times, schools are where young people are first exposed to jazz. Currently, the majority of college jazz majors cite high school jazz band experiences as the impetus for their chosen career path. If you enter a high school band room and ask if there is anyone who listens to music they would consider jazz, I guarantee you would get multiple hands in the air. It is a wonderful time to be a jazz musician and student of jazz. There are great jazz musicians in every city I have ever lived in or visited. It is quite common for guests from other regions to be brought in as clinicians at festivals. Outside clinicians can bring fresh ears to the music. Networking is also a huge part of a career in music. Although there are thousands and thousands of jazz musicians around the world, the community sometimes feels very small as connections are made. — Visit the online version of this story to read more of the musicians' answers at nwadg.com/whatsup. Jazz Continued From Page 9 ONE LAST THING Trombonist Nick Finzer says it's an interesting time to be a jazz musi- cian: "The general attention span of people is shorter, yet jazz is a music that needs to be experienced in real time and as it evolves over time. And a lot of the music is based on that — you start somewhere and it ends up somewhere else, and if you don't take that journey with the audience, you can't just arrive at the climactic moment and have it be as effective as if you took that whole journey." Vocalist and pianist Lauren Lee considers where jazz is heading: "Especially in these weird times of social distancing and everything being online, it wouldn't surprise me to see more solo work coming out of this, which is rare in jazz on instru- ments other than piano and guitar. I think jazz right now is heading toward the innovative and the brave and the different, simply because it has to." Saxophonist Alisha Pattillo lauds NWA's jazz foundation: "There are many folk in this area that have been a major driving force at growing jazz in this region. Robert Ginsburg has been promoting jazz in this region for over 40 years through an impressive array of concerts, festivals, radio, youth ensembles and the Northwest Arkansas Jazz Society. The Univer- sity of Arkansas has incredible jazz educators. … this program has poten- tial to attract talent from all over the country, in addition to nurturing the ever growing talent that's already in this area. The scene is very much alive and well received by the audi- ences in Northwest Arkansas; I'm confident it will continue to grow and remain part of the culture." Saxophonist Doug Stone points to education as the future of the genre: "Most young jazz musicians have the opportunity to study in universities around the world. The college years are a time to deeply investigate the jazz tradition and hone one's indi- vidual approach to improvising and composing. I enjoy hearing the work students do as they are in college, and then to watch them develop as musicians and band leaders as they move on to the professional world. This process has been the gold standard for many years, and will continue to be. There are so many wonderful teachers at universities around the world and students simply have to put the work in to become the best musician they can be!" FYI Fayetteville Jazz Festival Full Schedule April 24 Garrett Schmidt Live Stream: 2-3 p.m. — Garrett Schmidt listening party and inter- view, "Prairie Tales" 3:15-4:30 p.m. — Garrett Schmidt trumpet master class including UA trumpet student performances April 25 Fayetteville Jazz Festival Live Stream 9-9:50 a.m. — Festival kickoff and perfor- mance workshop by Chris Teal (drum set, Fayetteville) 10-10:50 a.m. — Performance workshop by Matt Nelson (piano, Bentonville) 11-11:50 a.m. — Performance workshop by Jake Hertzog (guitar, Fayetteville) Noon-12:50 p.m. — "Listening to Jazz" with Alisha Pattillo (saxophone, Prairie Grove) 1-1:50 p.m. — Perfor- mance workshop by Lauren Lee (piano/voice, New York, N.Y.) 2-2:50 p.m. — Perfor- mance workshop by Matthew Golom- bisky (bass/compo- sition, Buenos Aires, Argentina) 3-3:50 p.m. — Perfor- mance workshop by Nick Finzer (trombone, Denton, Texas) 4-4:50 p.m. — Perfor- mance workshop by Doug Stone (saxophone, Baton Rouge, La.) Watch on YouTube — youtube.com/user/ ifcmusicorg WHO'S WHO • Nick Finzer (Texas) — Trombonist, composer, arranger, producer, educator • Matthew Golombisky (Argentina) — Acoustic and electric bassist, composer, improviser, conduc- tor, educator • Lauren Lee (New York City) — Vocalist, pianist, composer, educator • Alisha Pattillo (Prairie Grove) — Saxophonist, international performer, arranger, bandleader, educator • Garrett Schmidt (Illinois) — Trumpeter, arranger, educator • Doug Stone (Louisiana) — Saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator GIVE BACK The Fayetteville Jazz Festival precedes the fourth annual Youth Jazz Camp in Fayetteville, also hosted by the Institute for Creative Music. The 2019 festival served as a channel to identify and aid interested students through scholarships. With the festival transitioning to a virtual platform, viewers will be presented with the opportunity to make a donation toward camp scholarships during the virtual festival. FEATURE