New School University Jazz Outreach Project (NSJOP) Active All Summer! Here’s what’s happening with our newly developed Outreach Project! • Every Monday and Wednesday night this spring, be sure to check out “New Faces In Jazz” at Le Figaro Café from 8-11 p.m. Each week features the best up-and-coming talent from New School University’s Jazz Program. Le Figaro Café is located at 184 Bleecker St. (between Bleecker and MacDougal). Tel. 212-677-1100. No Cover! • Every Friday at the Blue Note Jazz Club, New School Jazz musicians perform a set of original music at the 1 a.m. Blue Note Jam Session. • Since our inception in the fall of 2001, the NSJOP has met with great success. Our “Gig Office” has provided a wide range of performance opportunities for New School University students, including private performances for The New York Road Runners Club, Civic Alliance Day, The Harvard Club, The Hospital for Special Surgery, New School University special events, and weddings, book signings, and private parties. The NSJOP is open all summer long, so please consider working with our musicians to make your upcoming event unique and special. Contact the Director of the NSJOP, David Schroeder, at: 212-229-5896 schroedd@newschool.com Or click here

Faculty Profile:
On a Journey with Francesca Tanksley

New School University faculty member Francesca Tanksley has grown accustomed to surprising people. You might at first expect to hear the tall and graceful pianist playing a Mozart concerto in a hushed conservatory. Instead, this long-time member of Billy Harper’s quintent is a tiger at the keyboard with a style more like McCoy Tyner’s than Alicia de Larrocha’s. Being underestimated by audiences, Francesca admits, “can be tiresome …but then you can knock their socks off, and that’s fun.” Billy Harper’s Quintet, with its strong rhythms and innovative tunes, is the perfect place for Tanksley, who admits: “I’ve been blessed to be in such a tight and creative unit for this long.”

Growing up in Europe, Francesca took the obligatory classical piano lessons that many of us endure. Hearing “Take Five” as an 11 year-old, she thought it was intriguing, but didn’t investigate Jazz until a few years later. “In the 9th grade,” she recalls, “I heard it again and decided I wanted to play like that.” With no forewarning and to the complete surprise of her family, a Jazz musician emerged. By the time she had enrolled in Berklee College of Music, Francesca had overcome her father’s objections to her chosen career as a Jazz musician. Understandably, he wondered how his daughter could make a living at it, “but I wouldn’t take NO for an answer,” Francesca recalls. “I think he just resigned himself to my bull-headedness.”

Ultimately, her father made the right decision, as Francesca was already on the road by her junior year in college and completed her degree through a distance learning program. The master’s program at Queens College was a turning point, providing her with two very important (and very distinguished) mentors: tenor legend Jimmy Heath and pianist Roland Hanna. Heath and Hanna were both extremely supportive, and Tanksley credits them with shaping her playing and her career. Jimmy Heath nominated her for the Louis Armstrong/ASCAP Award – which she won – and Roland Hanna clearly left his mark on her playing.

Another giant leap forward occurred when Francesca unknowingly auditioned for Billy Harper’s Quintet. “Unknowingly” because, at the request of his drummer, Harper attended a concert of hers in Central Park before hiring her for his band. “I’m actually glad I didn’t know he’d be there at the time,” Francesca says, “because even though the stakes were high, there was no pressure on me at all.”

The collaboration with Harper has proven a mainstay of Tanksley’s professional career, and she’s toured and recorded with the group for years. Thus, when she decided to record her first CD as a leader, Francesca turned to her band-mates Newman Taylor Baker (d) and Clarence Seay (b) as natural collaborators. “We’ve worked together so long, and we’ve grown so much as a unit.” In addition, Billy Harper has been an invaluable source of advice. “This is my first CD as a leader, and everything was a learning experience. I could call Billy about anything at anytime…and I did!”

Journey, Tanksley’s CD of original material, will debut in July of 2002. “What I like about the recording is that I’ve shown all aspects of who I am, from extremely intense and fiery [compositions] to the extremely delicate.” The project has been a journey of another sort as well: eager to have solid artistic control, Francesca began her own production company in order to produce Journey to her satisfaction. “Looking back, I can’t believe how hard I worked and sacrificed to do this project,” she recalls, “but I wanted it to reflect me, not someone else’s artistic sensibilities.”

In addition to touring and recording, Tanksley teaches in New School University’s Jazz Program as well as privately. Having been recruited for the Jazz Program’s faculty by pianist Armen Donelian seven years ago, Tanksley, who has never taught anywhere else, says she appreciates “the sense of respect given to the faculty.” “I also appreciate the students’ spirit and commitment to the music,” she states. “Their hearts are in the right place,

and the soul of the music is cared for here by faculty and students. There’s a tradition amongst Jazz musicians of support and affection,” she explains, “and you feel that here.”

“Even though you work in the present moment,” Francesca says of Jazz musicians, “the music requires you to have a certain love and respect for the past. I think our Jazz Program does both: it fosters a respect for past musicians and traditions, but it also helps students define themselves.” As Francesca Tanksley continues to define herself through her own music, we’ll see where the journey takes her.

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Jazz Program scores Hat
Trick at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition

Since 1987, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has developed a reputation for launching the careers of aspiring young Jazz artists through its annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The competition focuses on a different instrument each year and features an all-star judging panel. We’re delighted to announce the winners (in saxophone) for the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, all of whom are graduates and/or faculty members of the Program!

First-place winner Seamus Blake ($20,000 scholarship award) is a private-lesson faculty member for the Jazz Program who has performed and recorded with John Scofield and the Mingus Big Band. In 1997, he was included in Down Beat’s Critics Poll as an “Artist Deserving Wider Recognition.”

Second-place winner John Ellis ($10,000 scholarship award) is a New School University alumnus and a semifinalist in the 1996 Monk Saxophone Competition. The following year, he joined New School University’s Jazz Program, where he finished his undergraduate studies. John is a member of guitarist Charlie Hunter’s band and is preparing to release his second CD, Roots, Branches and Leaves.

Recent alumnus and third-place winner Marcus Strickland ($5,000 scholarship award) grew up in Miami. There he received the Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Award and participated in the NARAS Grammy Band. Marcus received his bachelor’s degree from the Jazz Program in 2001 and has already released a CD as leader of the Marcus Strickland Group.

This year’s judging panel included Don Braden, George Coleman, Joshua Redman, Wayne Shorter (this year’s recipient of an award for essential contributions to Jazz education), and James Spaulding. The competition band was comprised of drummer Carl Allen, bassist Robert Hurst, and pianist Eric Reed.

The Monk Competition, now in its 15th year, has launched the careers of numerous Jazz musicians, including pianists Marcus Roberts and Jacky Terrasson, saxophonist Joshua Redman, and trumpeter Ryan Kisor. Representatives from major Jazz labels follow the competition closely because of its stature as the most prestigious Jazz competition in the world.

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Faculty, Alumni & Student News
compiled and researched by Ben Healy

Faculty Activities
In January, saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom performed at the Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth & Space in a Jazz series entitled “Starry Nights.” Performing with Jane on four successive Friday evenings were Jamie Saft, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte, Matt Wilson, and Rufus Reid. In mid-March, she performed a tribute to abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts. The concert took place in a gallery with works by Pollock, the inspiration for Jane’s suite of music called Chasing Paint. The project was commissioned by Chamber Music America with support from the Doris Duke Foundation.

Guitarist Richard Boukas and Jovino Santos Neto’s Malandro release, Balaio, was reviewed in the February 2002 Jazziz: “Brazilian – Duos Soft and Lovely”. The magazine called the “overall mood… effortless and spontaneous.”

Pianist Joanne Brackeen performed a solo concert at the annual International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) convention in Long Beach, California this past January. You can hear Joanne on the late Makanda Ken McIntyre’s A New Beginning, along with drummer Charli Persip (“Passin’ Thru”). Joanne also kicked off this spring’s Jazz @ 6:30 concert series (a three-month celebration of great pianists), accompanied by faculty member Cecil McBee.

Saxophonist George Garzone is featured on Chicago Trio, New York Tenor with the Jerry Steinhilber Trio (Soul Note). “Though it’s not always obvious at fast tempos,” said one reviewer, “Garzone has a beautiful vibrato, especially in the lower register, and he plays [“This Is Always”] as if he knows the lyrics.”

David Glasser’s recent release, Dreams Askew, Dreams Anew (Artemis), won praise from JazzTimes, which called him, “a rarity among contemporaries in that his approach harks back to the early days of modern Jazz with a nod toward an even earlier style.” His recent performances have included the return of the Clark Terry Quintet at the Village Vanguard in February, and the Earl May Quintet at Harlem’s Lenox Lounge. Farther from home, David traveled with the Larry Ham Quartet to Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast, as part of a U.S. State Department-sponsored tour.

Drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton launched an active 2002 touring schedule with his young group “Euphoria” on March 6th at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston. The group’s CD, Foreststorn (Koch) has received enthusiastic reviews from around the world, and a January ’02 Down Beat review calls Chico “an innovative ambassador of Jazz.” This spring Chico headed to the studio to work on a follow-up recording to Foreststorn. Upcoming summer appearances include the Berkshire Jazz Festival in Great Barrington, Massachusetts; the Chicago Jazz Festival; and the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington.

Billy Harper’s recent release, Soul of an Angel (Metropolitan), was reviewed in the September/October ‘01 issue of Coda magazine: “Harper’s forceful playing overshadows everyone else. The icy piano solos of Francesca Tanksley command attention for their stark contrast to his heated playing. Harper’s comments indicate a desire to produce spiritual music; he has succeeded in doing so.” Saxophonist Kenny Garrett “tips his hat” to Billy with the tune “Brother B. Harper” on his latest album, Happy People (Warner Bros.).

Saxophonist and composer Bill Kirchner earned high praise from Jazz reviewer Terry Teachout in a recent Washington Post column, calling Kirchner’s Nonet “one of the smartest, tightest little big bands in town” after a recent performance. In his other life as a Jazz scholar, Bill has contributed an essay to the newly-revised hardcover edition of Miles Davis, Kind of Blue: Scores (arrangements and solo transcriptions) from the Classic 1959 Album, edited by Jeff Sultanof and Ben Schafer.

LeAnn Ledgerwood’s CD, Paradox (Steeplechase), was reviewed in JazzTimes’ “Trio-ism.” She tells the magazine she “believes that her life changed when, at age 11, she first heard a Bill Evans recording,” and Paradox, her first release as a leader, is dedicated to Evans. The reviewer deems LeAnn’s handling of two Coltrane tunes, “Wise One” and “India,” “particularly noteworthy.”

New School University Jazz faculty Amy London, Benny Powell, and Bobby Sanabria performed together in Anne Phillip’s “Bending Toward The Light...A Jazz Nativity” at Patriots Theater at Trenton, New Jersey’s War Memorial in December. The packed house was also treated to a performance of the “Three Kings” as played by Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Slyde, and Slide Hampton. In April, Amy arranged an Eyes of the Masters session for her vocal ensemble class with singing legend Annie Ross. “It was a privilege to host one of the most innovative and swinging Jazz singers of all time at New School University,” Amy reported. “Hearing Annie sing ‘Twisted’ for the class was such a delicious treat!” Pianist and faculty member Phil Markowitz has been awarded a $20,000 fellowship for composition from the George and Eliza Howard Foundation of Providence, Rhode Island. Phil is one of 12 artists nationwide to receive this honor. The award will enable him to take a one-year sabbatical in 2002-03, during which time he hopes to complete his original, multimedia composition, Abstract Expression: Musical Portraits of American Masters (Suite for Piano Trio and Chamber Orchestra). Phil is also the recipient of composition grants from the Duke Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Composer/pianist Kirk Nurock & vocalist/composer Theo Bleckmann performed in mid-April at Cobi Narita’s Jazz Place in Manhattan, in celebration of their ten years of musical collaboration. “Theo & Kirk,” as they’re known, have recorded two CDs on the Traumton label and have appeared in concert halls and clubs throughout the U.S. and Europe. Composer Bobby Previte’s The Constellations of Joan Miro features an ensemble conducted by Kirk. These 23 chamber-ensemble miniatures are Previte’s take on a set of drawings by Miro, performed by an all-star ensemble featuring Wayne Horvitz, Jane Ira Bloom, and Lew Soloff.

Trumpeter Jimmy Owens was interviewed for Jazz Improv magazine on healthy living for musicians and some of his philosophies of music. “The first thing is developing the way to bring your personality out through your instrument. People say ‘developing your own sound,’ well…That’s very true, but that’s dumbfounding to many, many musicians. Developing your own sound is about learning how to express your inner thoughts through your instrument.”

An interview with drummer Charli Persip is included on the two-CD set of Dizzy in South America, Vol. 3 (CAP). This 1956 Dizzy Gillespie big band was considered “the most exciting Jazz orchestra to ever represent the U.S. abroad,” and one reason is the presence of the great musicians who participated.

Trombonist Benny Powell performed an Easter Sunday Jazz concert at St. Peter’s Church with the George Gee Concert Jazz Orchestra and special guest Jane Jarvis. Benny also spoke in January at the opening ceremony of the National Park Service’s exhibit honoring the life of musician Don Redman. According to local papers, Powell “wooed a packed room on the second floor of the John Brown Museum without even picking up an instrument.” He also joined Board member Regina Carter as part of the all-star Jazz orchestra that performed at Dr. Billy Taylor’s 80th Birthday Celebration at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Pianist Ted Rosenthal’s two latest CDs, Threeplay and Ted Rosenthal Plays the Three B’s: Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Beethoven, were reviewed in the March issue of JazzTimes. Ted, who performed solo as part of the spring ’02 Jazz @ 6:30 concert series, says about his choice of material: “The main point (with the three B’s) is that any material that I chose to improvise on speaks to me personally. Beethoven’s themes and musical motives are short and memorable, which allows me to use them as a jumping-off point for an improvisation that could go in any number of ways, depending on my mood.” Ted will participate in a birthday celebration for pianist John Bunch as part of the New York JVC Jazz Festival in June.


At this year’s annual IAJE convention, percussionist Bobby Sanabria took part in a panel presentation entitled “Wide World of Latin Jazz.” An all-star collection of Latin Jazz musicians spoke about their musical and professional directions during the panel discussion, which was sponsored by JazzTimes. Bobby also gave a solo clinic on Mario Bauza.

Pianist and vocalist Joan Stiles reprised her very popular performance/lecture on Mary Lou Williams this past spring, performing “Mostly Mary Lou” for a large and appreciative audience in the Jazz Performance Space. Decades ahead of her time, Williams performed with, composed, and arranged for some of the greatest swing bands of the 40s and 50s.


Kenny Werner’s Form and Fantasy (Night Bird Music), recorded live at the Sunset Club in Paris, received strong praise in a recent JazzTimes write-up: “Kenny Werner has vowed that from now on all his trio recordings will be live because that’s when it really happens. Based on his recent CD, no one in their right mind would argue…” Kenny also appeared at the 29th Annual IAJE Conference this past January and will be performing at the Litchfield Jazz Festival in August.

Buster Williams has released Joined by the Hip (Allegro). The April ‘02 edition of JazzTimes remarked that Buster’s previous release, Houdini (Sirocco), is “full of the bassist’s characteristic nimbleness and verve.”

Alumni Activities

Miri Ben-Ari has another well-known collaborator to add to her list: the violinist appears on Alicia Keys’ Grammy Award-winning Songs In A Minor. Ben-Ari has worked with a number of artists, including Mariah Carey, Seal, Luther Vandross, Les Paul, and the Manhattan Transfer on pop-crossover projects.

Avishai Cohen and The International Vamp Band appeared at the World Music Festival in Chicago last September. Always interested in mixing it up, Cohen played piano throughout most of the performance and, according to one review, “used chord changes to direct the band rather than to display his own solo virtuosity.” The band’s Unity (Stretch) was reviewed in the December issue of JazzTimes.

Larry Goldings recorded with Curtis Stigers on Secret Heart (Concord). He also appeared with Dr. Lonnie Smith for a “Hammond B-3 Organ Summit” at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco.

Roy Hargrove will appear with Michael Brecker and Herbie Hancock in a John Coltrane & Miles Davis Tribute at the Ravinia Festival in June. Roy will also be at Carnegie Hall with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker in June, as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. Roy appears on Roy Haynes’ release, Birds Of a Feather: A Tribute To Charlie Parker (Dreyfus). Finally, Roy dropped in at the IAJE Conference this past January, and also received honorable mention in the JazzTimes Readers’ Poll for “Best Artist - Trumpet.”

Saxophonist Virginia Mayhew performed at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California in February. The performance, mentioned in Good Times, showed that Virginia has “established a reputation for her fiery, yet polished, original and post-bop modern Jazz style.”

Brad Mehldau and his trio make their Carnegie Hall debut on June 21st as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. Brad will also appear at the 23rd Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. His CD, Places and Progression: Art of the Trio, Volume 5, received a 4-star review in January ‘02 Down Beat’s “Best CDs of 2001”. Down Beat also mentioned the trio’s appearance at the 2001 Umbria Jazz festival, alongside the piano trios of Keith Jarrett and Ahmad Jamal. Finally, the New School University Jazz Program was pleased to see Brad return “home” this past April, performing solo piano in a Jazz @ 6:30 concert to a more-than-sold-out audience.



Alex Skolnick appears in Billboard’s April “Jazz Notes,” discussing his recent release, Goodbye to Romance: Standards for a New Generation (Skol Productions). The recording also features alumni John Graham Davis (b) and Matt Zebroski (d). Skolnick admits “it took 10 years of studying Jazz before [he] felt comfortable enough to record a project of acoustic, improvisation-based music.” Band members have taken rock songs of their generation and reinterpreted them, utilizing the language of Jazz. On a completely different note, in January, Alex was commissioned to compose, arrange, and record a big band Jazz piece for the USA Network’s broadcast of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. The “Westminster” is USA’s highest-rated show annually.

Marcus and E.J. Strickland are featured on David Weiss’ Breathing Room (Fresh Sound New Talent), reviewed in the May issue of JazzTimes. “Weiss’ sextet includes the brothers Marcus and E.J. Strickland on tenor sax and drums, respectively. At the time of the recording, they were students at the New School, and they held their own in fast company,” remarked the reviewer. “Marcus Strickland’s solo on ‘Breathing Room’ is notable not only for its range and sense of proportion, but also for his use of space, not a usual attribute of young lion tenor-men. His work and that of E.J., a listening drummer, make them worth following.”

Student Activities

Bassist Renee Cruz was selected by the International Association of Jazz Educators to participate in the 5th Annual “Sisters in Jazz Program” at IAJE’s convention in January 2002. The competition was open to all female Jazz students worldwide, but only a handful of musicians were chosen to play at the black-tie opening of the convention. The six winners (including one pianist, bassist, and drummer) also had the opportunity to perform
at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May.

This past December, graduating senior Manuel Engel released his latest CD, Manuel Engel3, with Engel on piano, Carlos Icaza on drums, and Mike Savino on bass. The CD contains originals and standards, and includes an introduction by faculty member Gerard D’Angelo.


Board

Regina Carter was featured in “Violinist In Motion,” an article in the September/October issue of Coda magazine. Since she made the move from Detroit to New York in the early nineties, the magazine reports, “Regina Carter has played in many contexts. From session work with R & B singers and string quartets to touring with Wynton Marsalis and recording with the New York String Trio, she’s been hard to pin down and sometimes even hard to catch.” Regina’s album with pianist Kenny Barron, Freefall, received favorable reviews in the January ‘02 Down Beat. “Barron and Carter go together well,” the magazine concludes, “…and there’s great fun in the air.” The CD appeared in JazzTimes’ “Top 50 CDs of 2001.” Regina was also named the “Best Artist on Violin” by the JazzTimes Readers’ Poll.

Chuck Mitchell’s comments were featured in the “Industry Survey--The Year That Was” section of JazzTimes’ “Year in Review.” “In the wake of September 11, the questions we need to ask are cultural, not musical,” says Chuck. “Do we further retreat into comfort of what is known and zoned? Jazz, as a creative process, could be useful in the cultural nourishment of many possibilities.”

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Learning from Legends: Eyes of the Masters

“Eyes of the Masters” is a special series designed for Jazz Program students who hope to glean advice from some of the finest Jazz musicians in the world. Each fall and spring semester, musicians of every conceivable background present two-hour master classes in their respective fields, all of which are open to Jazz Program students free of charge. Working through contacts among faculty and private lesson instructors, Jazz faculty member Kristina Kanders coordinates each semester’s “Eyes” series and promotes the series among our students. Those students who have registered to take a master class for credit attend all three clinics on their respective instrument. But all students can – and do!—elect to attend every Eyes of the Masters presentation, the list of which reads like a “who’s who” of the Jazz canon. This is additional evidence that the mentoring tradition is alive and thriving in the New School University Jazz Program!

Eyes of the Masters Presentations for Spring ’02

Russel Blake - electric bass Brian Smith- acoustic bass Mark Dresser- acoustic bass Art Baron- trombone Valeri Polomorov- trumpet Ralph Alessi- trumpet Gene Lake- drums Ali Jackson Jr.- drums Vanderlei Pereira- drums Dave Fiuczynski – guitar Peter Bernstein- guitar

Pat Martino- guitar John Hicks- piano Bill Charlap- piano Marc Copeland- piano Joe Lovano- reeds Greg Osby- reeds Dave Liebman- reeds Sheila Jordan- vocal Ann Marie Moss- vocal Annie Ross- vocal

Donor News: Endowment of Young Beacon in Jazz Award

This past January, the Jazz Program lost its good friend Sandra Kaltman, a longtime supporter of all the Jazz Program’s activities. In 1993, Sandra became a Jazz Program volunteer, working with other volunteers and staff to organize the first meeting of the International Association of Schools of Jazz (the IASJ), which New School University hosted the following year. She was a tireless enthusiast of the Program from its earliest days, working to raise support for and awareness of our work.

Thus, it isn’t surprising that Sandra generously remembered the Jazz Program by helping us to establish an endowed scholarship for one of our talented young artists. The Sandra Kaltman Young Beacon in Jazz Award will be given annually to a third-year Jazz student who has consistently demonstrated exemplary artistic and academic achievement.

This year’s recipient of the first ever Kaltman Young Beacon Award is Reggie Quinerly, a 21 year-old, third-year student and percussion major from Houston, Texas, who has performed frequently at Jazz Program special events. In his personal statement upon entering the New School University Jazz Program, Reggie wrote that music has taught him “the importance of patience, humility, and the ability to listen to others.” When performing in March for Wayne Shorter, Clark Terry, and other distinguished guest at the 2002 Beacons Gala, Reggie certainly called upon these skills, as well as others, to play his best. Our congratulations on receiving this award.

If you or someone you know would like to find out more about planned giving to the Jazz & Contemporary Music Program, please call the Director of Development, at 212-229-5896 x309

Jazz Program Executive Director Honored by Down Beat Congratulations to our Executive Director, Martin Mueller, for being recognized with the 11th Annual Down Beat Achievement Award for Jazz Education in the June '02 issue of the magazine. Typically reluctant to assume all the credit, Martin believes the award “… is a testament to what we’ve accomplished in our special school, and not one individual’s accomplishments.” While we can’t disagree with him on that, we’re still really proud of his achievement!