Fall 2011

With an official citation by the Massachusetts State Legislature as “the most swingingest two-year college combo in Berkshire County,” the BCC Jazz Ensemble is back for the Fall 2011 semester. The BCC JE will continue its time-honored “Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde” tradition of dividing the class into two segments: from birth through midterm, we labor in the deluxe rehearsal suite of K111 to develop an engaging group sound. At midterm, we shift our focus to the metropolitan Pittsfield area by presenting free concerts in a variety of sites. We traditionally offer about 12 concerts each semester, so it’s a great opportunity to “give back” and gain invaluable “real world” experience by performing for live human beings on planet Earth.

Here’s a preview:

1. With the economy still struggling, there will be no requirement to purchase any textbooks or commercial materials. All sheet music will be available for free download. Think of it as a “jazz tea party” that puts about $40 back in your pocket.

2. The Fall 2011 edition will focus on exploring significant melodies and chord progressions, many from the pioneers of jazz.

Register now! Become part of the BCC JE. Contact BCC’s Registrar at 413-499-4660.

Email any questions to: alivermo@berkshirecc.edu

Final Exam Concert

The final exam concert will occur on Saturday, December 18 in K111. A schedule follows:

5-5:40 PM: arrival, set up, tuning and sound check

5:40 PM: house opens

5:55 PM: introduction

6:00 PM: concert begins

In the spirit of “always leave the audience wanting more,” we will err on the side of offering our audience shorter, leaner performances of each tune. As you will recall on Tuesday’s performance at the Christian Center, many people in the audience asked for more. That’s what we want, as opposed to, “thank god it’s over.” So, we are going to go for a total 45 minute show.

Grading

It is extremely important that you arrive no later than 5 PM so that we may get a sound check in. Punctuality is part of your grade.

Another part of your grade is memorization. Those in JE I need to have at least two songs memorized; JE II, four songs; JE III, six songs and JE IV, all eight. In you memorize more than you are required to do, two things will happen. First, you will play more expressively, more confidently, have a more enjoyable time and the audience will notice. Second, your grade will be higher.

Lastly, you will be graded on your overall ability to:

1. accurately and expressively play the melodies

2. use appropriate scale cells for solo improvisation and accompaniment

3. play so that you underscore the form of the tune. Your solo, for example, on an AABA tune like Satin Doll will naturally have a different development than on Blue Bossa or Chitlins Con Carne.

4. maintain a steady tempo

5. project confidence, skill and enjoyment to the audience

It’s been a great semester so far and let’s bring all the work of our rehearsals and public performances to a conclusion in our final concert.

December 2 show cancelled

Epworth Arms notified me that our show scheduled for today has to be cancelled. In the eight or so years that we have been giving Service-Learning concerts, free of charge, to community organizations, this is only the third time that this has happened. Due to the high demand for our musical services, and the fact that a last minute cancellation bothers me personally, we will remove Epworth Arms from our future roster to accommodate other organizations.

Our Winter 2010 tour will resume, as scheduled, next Tuesday.

Fall 2010 Tour

BCC JE

Fall 2010 Tour

 

Thursday, October 28                       

Key Program               

369 West Street

Tuesday, November 2                       

Side by Side                

120 Onota Street         

5:15 arrival, 5:30 start

Thursday, November 4                     

Children’s House        

753 Williams St

Tues, Nov. 9                           

Melbourne Place         

140 Melbourne Rd      

4:45 arrival, 5:00 start

Thurs, Nov. 11                                   

no school

Tues, Nov. 16                         

no school

Thurs, Nov. 18                                   

Springside                   

255 Lebanon Avenue 

4:45 arrival, 5:00 start

Tues, Nov. 23                         

Laurel Lake                

620 Laurel St, Lee      

4:15 arrival, 4:30 start

Thurs, Nov. 25                                   

Thanksgiving

Tues, Nov. 30                         

Berkshire Town Apts  

176 Columbus Ave

Thurs, Dec. 2                         

Epworth Arms            

350 West St

Tues, Dec. 7                           

Capitol Square            

379 North St

Thurs, Dec. 9                         

Ad Lib                        

215 North St

Tues, Dec. 14                         

Christian Center          

193 Robbins Ave        

4:45 arrival, 5:00 start

Thurs, Dec. 16                                   

Union Court                

10 Union St

 

Unless otherwise indicated, schedule for the above is:

5:00 PM:

arrival at venue

set up, warm up, tuning

5:15-6:00 PM: 

performance

6:00-6:15 PM: 

breakdown and departure

 

Each jazz ensemble member is responsible for transporting self and all equipment to each gig.

 

 

Quiz #4

Quiz #4 will occur on Tuesday, October 12 at 5 PM and will test your ability to:

1. play the melody of Stolen Moments accurately and expressively;

2. apply the 1-2-3-5 scale cell to every chord change in the form.

Looking Ahead

October 12, 14 and 19: rehearsals and Quizzes #4 and 5

October 21: gig at Pittsfield Bus Station

October 26: midterm–each jazz ensemble member will lead the rhythm section in one of our tunes (your choice). Your performance will include: 1) introduction 2) melody 3) solo 4) melody 5) coda

October 28: Fall 2010 Tour begins

Quiz #3

Quiz #3 will occur on Tuesday, October 5 at 5 PM and will test your ability to:

1. play the melody of How High the Moon accurately and expressively;

2. apply the scale cell 1-2-3-5 to each chord of How High the Moon. Here are some guidelines:

where you see a major seventh (e.g., GMaj7) or dominant seventh (e.g., G7) chord, use the major cell (root, major second, major third, perfect fifth). The cell for GMaj7 or G7 would be: G-A-B-D. These are notes found in the G major scale.

where you see a minor seventh chord (for example, G-7), use the minor cell (root, major second, minor third, perfect fifth). For example, the cell for G-7 would be: G-A-Bb-D. These are notes from the G minor scale.

where you see a half diminished chord (for example, Bb-7b5), use the locrian cell (root, minor second[flat nine], minor third, diminished fifth). So, the cell for the chord A-7b5 would be: A-Bb-C-Eb. These are notes found in the A locrian scale.

Quiz #2

Quiz #2 will occur on Tuesday, September 28 at 5 PM and will test your ability to:

1. play the melody of Satin Doll accurately and expressively, with regard to pitch, rhythm, articulations and dynamics;

2. apply scale cell #1 from table 4.22 on page 62 to every chord change of Satin Doll, in time.

Quiz #1

Quiz #1 will occur on Tuesday, September 21 at 5 PM. This is a playing quiz that will test your ability to:

1. play the melody of Chitlins Con Carne accurately, with regard to pitch and rhythm, and expressively, with regard to dynamics.

2. apply three note scale cell #1 from table 4.21 on page 62 of Building a jazz vocabulary to each chord in the form of Chitlins. This is a two beat pattern, so you play the pattern on beats 1 & 2 of each measure, resting on beats 3 and 4. Where a chord is repeated in successive measures, repeat the cell.

As we discussed in class, Chitlins uses two distinct scales:

__7(#9)–the “diminished whole tone” or “super locrian.”

__7–the mixolydian

You will find both scales in the “Basic Scale Syllabus” on page 172.

Make certain to use the appropriate scale cell: the locrian cell for the 7#9 chords and the major cell for the 7 chords.

Any questions? Email me: alivermo@berkshirecc.edu

Second class

In the spirit of Donald Rumsfeld, the BCC JE has become a leaner organization. Two trombonists and one bassist lighter, the BCC JE is capable of meeting all musical challenges with the surgical precision of a guided missile.

Tunes for Tuesday, September 14:

Chitlins Con Carne, Blue Monk, Footprints, Satin Doll, Blue Bossa, Afro-Blue

How to prepare:

1. Listen to the original recordings of the above, available on YouTube or your favorite music website.  Focus all of your attention on listening. Notice how the performance unfolds; what do the musicians do to make each chorus interesting? How are dynamics, space and so forth used?

2. Learn the melody (this may take a few practice sessions).

3. Play through the roots of the form, as we did in class. Follow the sheet music at first and then try to play the roots with your ear alone (again this may take more than one practice session.) Do not attempt to “memorize” the roots. The goal here is to abandon intellectual thinking and connect directly with the sound.

Fall 2010 Jazz Ensemble

Fall 2010 JE began on Tuesday, September 7. The ensemble looks promising, with two saxophones, two trombones, four guitarists and two bassists. The combination of woodwind and brass melody instruments will give us a rich sonic palette of many colors to paint with. No vocalists, unfortunately, so it’s going to be an instrumental semester.

Required textbooks are:

1. The Real Book, Volume One (sixth edition) in C, Bass clef, Bb or Eb.

2. Building a jazz vocabulary by Mike Steinel.

Both are published by Hal Leonard.

On September 7, we played through Blue Monk and Chitlins Con Carne.

For next class, we will add Footprints, Blue Bossa and Afro-Blue.

In addition to learning the tune by studying printed music, start listening to the classic recorded performances. Check these out on YouTube or your favorite music website:

1. Blue Bossa from the album Page One, featuring Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Pete LaRoca on drums and Butch Warren on doublebass.

2. The Miles Davis Quintet’s version of Footprints from the album Miles Smiles.

3. Thelonious Monk playing Blue Monk with Charlie Rouse, John Orr and Frankie Dunlop from 1963. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j-hXBEmimY

4. Kenny Burrell’s version of Chitlins Con Carne from the album Midnight Blue, with Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, Major Holley on doublebass, Bill English on drums and Ray Barreto on congas.

Listening is how jazz musicians have traditionally learned their craft. It’s important to remember this, considering the multitude of jazz educational materials that are available. You don’t learn how to play jazz at a high technical and artistic level by learning only, or primarily, from books. You learn by studying the recordings and and attending live performances of master musicians. Books are valuable, but only as a supplement to the process of regular and repeated listening.