While I really hope not to sound cheesy or too philosophical again, I would still like to share a jazz concert moment.
One shouldn't dare to try to summarize the beauty of a good concert in too few words, I guess. But tonight would make it easy for me.
We're playing workshop concerts this week, presenting what we (at least should have) practiced over the last three months with a group of other students, coached by musicians known nationally and internationally (like Jorge Rossy, Adrian Mears, or Wolfgang Muthspiel, just to name a few).
(just an example: Mr Braff with two other great swiss jazz musicians)
One of these concerts tonight presented the music of Malcolm Braff. He's an incredible piano player, a rhythm wizard, and he plays the piano like a lion - as the listener, you're always a little scared that he might actually destroy the piano (and as a side note, he very successfully invents board games). His music is as down-to-earth as it's intellectual. The last piece of the concert was called "Together", the rhythm section playing "against" the horns, whose theme sounded like the salvation army playing after the invasion of spaceships leaving the earth sick and destroyed (maybe Cormac McCarthy comes to mind). At the end, instead of playing a ritardando, or the mandatory drum fill, the whole band just held the last note, and while the audience waited for the ending, ready to clap their hands, it just went on, and it slowly got louder, till the bandstand actually vibrated, and still they held it, people started shouting out, it was so loud and so intense, it sounded like the end of the world, and when it finally stopped, I just thought, two minutes longer, and the audience might have completely freaked out (like in "Das Parfüm").
The beautiful melody, seemingly simple and unostentatious, but actually going through all sorts of tonalities, against a busy rhythm, and this intense ending, touched me so much it made me cry.
To me, an experience like that is like an earth quake, things get into perspective, and I wander around in a blur for a few hours, and I'm always so thankful to be able to feel something like that. I can only hope that I'll maybe one day through my music be able to give that gift to someone else too.
Got philosophical again! Oh well. Good night, and good luck!
Showing posts with label swiss jazz schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swiss jazz schools. Show all posts
2011/01/24
2010/11/05
workin' on it
... on my bachelor project. it pretty much takes up most of my free hours, I'm organising players, rehearsals and recording dates and trying to arrange at full speed. While I have lots of ideas for pieces which I try to blend into songs (or whatever the word is for these little tunes), I find it very hard to concentrate on the whole. I know that I want a good concert, which means: I want to show solid and somewhat idiomatic jazz piano playing, but I want the sparks too, I would like to take first steps in the direction of my own personal voice, whatever this may mean.
I would like to include strings, which sounds a little off, doesn't it - I'm a pianist and I already have a guitar on board, too! But still - the sound of a string quartet is very different, and I hope to combine all of those instruments in a convincing way.
It is also very hard, in my opinion, to include meaning, without it sounding cheesy or naive - it would just be nice to be able to express something. I guess you can't play well without some kind of an urge, but how to communicate this to people in the audience maybe not used to jazz, is at the moment beyond me.
So, lots of questions, as always, which will maybe dissolve by time, and of course, while thinking can't hurt, too much of it most definitely can.
But it's really fun, too! It's a project, my first real grown-up musical project! Any tips from anywhere very welcome!
I would like to include strings, which sounds a little off, doesn't it - I'm a pianist and I already have a guitar on board, too! But still - the sound of a string quartet is very different, and I hope to combine all of those instruments in a convincing way.
It is also very hard, in my opinion, to include meaning, without it sounding cheesy or naive - it would just be nice to be able to express something. I guess you can't play well without some kind of an urge, but how to communicate this to people in the audience maybe not used to jazz, is at the moment beyond me.
So, lots of questions, as always, which will maybe dissolve by time, and of course, while thinking can't hurt, too much of it most definitely can.
But it's really fun, too! It's a project, my first real grown-up musical project! Any tips from anywhere very welcome!
2010/09/29
A Day In The Life
I'm in the library of the jazz school right now and doing something illegal, or frowned upon, or taboo! I'm writing. All around me, saxophones are blown, drums are being worked on, people are singing or humming or tapping or clicking. It's a maddening atmosphere. The air is full of promise, so many talented people, some playing all day long, or so it seems, some quickly pouring coffee down their throats before getting back to their mini-practise-labs.
This morning, in the train, I put a 15/8meter beat on my laptop, practised crossfading rhythms on my way to the bus, and in the bus listened to two songs by Avishai Cohen, at school I practised for a while, got carried away, and forgot a meeting with a teacher. Later, in a arctic-cold room, I listened to another teacher talking about some new assignment, we'll have to do five reharmonizations of tunes, play them, solo over them and record them. In ten minutes, I'll go practise some more, then I'll have my piano lesson, will look at the 15/8-beat again, listen to some more Avishai Cohen, maybe do some arranging on the computer on the train, and will be home at about 5pm. Then I'll listen to John Coltrane: Coltrane and Cannonball, will briefly write about it for another assignment. At 7pm sharp, I'll stop working, and slowly my feet will touch ground again: I'll have to do laundry, do some cooking and cleaning, and maybe later I'll see the Paraglider who is playing a gig tonight.
That's just for today, but days are rather similar. I'm often wondering not only about other people's lives, but also about their day-to-day routine, I mean: how exactly does a day go for a police man? Or a social worker?
This morning, in the train, I put a 15/8meter beat on my laptop, practised crossfading rhythms on my way to the bus, and in the bus listened to two songs by Avishai Cohen, at school I practised for a while, got carried away, and forgot a meeting with a teacher. Later, in a arctic-cold room, I listened to another teacher talking about some new assignment, we'll have to do five reharmonizations of tunes, play them, solo over them and record them. In ten minutes, I'll go practise some more, then I'll have my piano lesson, will look at the 15/8-beat again, listen to some more Avishai Cohen, maybe do some arranging on the computer on the train, and will be home at about 5pm. Then I'll listen to John Coltrane: Coltrane and Cannonball, will briefly write about it for another assignment. At 7pm sharp, I'll stop working, and slowly my feet will touch ground again: I'll have to do laundry, do some cooking and cleaning, and maybe later I'll see the Paraglider who is playing a gig tonight.
That's just for today, but days are rather similar. I'm often wondering not only about other people's lives, but also about their day-to-day routine, I mean: how exactly does a day go for a police man? Or a social worker?
2010/09/04
How Small The Worlds
I'm going to risk a few generalizing statements today. Playing with people studying at another jazz school than I last week, and talking about plans for the (professional) future, I realized once again how strongly jazz musicians are influenced by their upbringing, meaning their educational environment. I guess it's human to orientate yourself, wherever you are, to the leading ideas.
In my jazz school there is a rather international vibe. A lot of the teachers have studied in Berklee, or Graz, and we have many masterclasses by jazz stars such as Mark Turner, Eric Harland, or Esperanza Spalding. The best students talk about their plans to study abroad after the bachelor's degree. There is idealism in every corner. People are talking about getting better, about bands, and cd projects, and getting reassured by the teachers who have led very interesting lifes. Discussions about money, about the future and about a job are very rare.
In the other jazz school, the leading subject seems to be different - I've found a more down-to-earth approach. Of course people talk about getting better and their cd projects, too. But a lot of the people put an end to their jazz studies after the bachelor. One statement that I've heard more than once is that with a master's degree in performance you don't have a profession, and with a master's in composition you'll just end up writing for carnival groups (called Guggenmusik in Switzerland). If you want to be a teacher, you will study pedagogy, but if not, you'd better try to find a job that guarantees some financial stability and practice your instrument on your own. I have never heard statements like these in my jazz school.
There are a lot of other differences. For example, a subject I will elaborate on a later date, in the city I live in there is a large jazz scene. Newcomers can play in lots of restaurants or small bars, gig that are neither paid well nor attended by many people, but still, there is often more than one jazz concert a night. In the city I study in there are much fewer jazz locations, jazz concerts concentrate in one bar, open from wednesday to saturday.
I'm often astonished how quickly a rather self-orientated, self-sufficient subscene can build itself, and how quickly you find yourself believing that in there, you'll find the truth - not knowing that just a hundred kilometres away, there is a very similar subscene holding on to a totally different set of truths.
I guess I'm in a good position - studying there and living here!
In my jazz school there is a rather international vibe. A lot of the teachers have studied in Berklee, or Graz, and we have many masterclasses by jazz stars such as Mark Turner, Eric Harland, or Esperanza Spalding. The best students talk about their plans to study abroad after the bachelor's degree. There is idealism in every corner. People are talking about getting better, about bands, and cd projects, and getting reassured by the teachers who have led very interesting lifes. Discussions about money, about the future and about a job are very rare.
In the other jazz school, the leading subject seems to be different - I've found a more down-to-earth approach. Of course people talk about getting better and their cd projects, too. But a lot of the people put an end to their jazz studies after the bachelor. One statement that I've heard more than once is that with a master's degree in performance you don't have a profession, and with a master's in composition you'll just end up writing for carnival groups (called Guggenmusik in Switzerland). If you want to be a teacher, you will study pedagogy, but if not, you'd better try to find a job that guarantees some financial stability and practice your instrument on your own. I have never heard statements like these in my jazz school.
There are a lot of other differences. For example, a subject I will elaborate on a later date, in the city I live in there is a large jazz scene. Newcomers can play in lots of restaurants or small bars, gig that are neither paid well nor attended by many people, but still, there is often more than one jazz concert a night. In the city I study in there are much fewer jazz locations, jazz concerts concentrate in one bar, open from wednesday to saturday.
I'm often astonished how quickly a rather self-orientated, self-sufficient subscene can build itself, and how quickly you find yourself believing that in there, you'll find the truth - not knowing that just a hundred kilometres away, there is a very similar subscene holding on to a totally different set of truths.
I guess I'm in a good position - studying there and living here!
2010/05/29
"some jazzy philosophics"
For today, just some philosophical thoughts about jazz (one of my favorite pastimes!)
if you take all of mankind, and separate the people who have once in their life heard jazz from the people who haven't ever, and take from the first group the ones who actually like jazz, and again, divide the remaining group into the ones who really do like jazz in all its glory and the ones who only like ragtime and dixie (which by the way I have absolutely nothing against), there are maybe two people left in the entire world, and one of them probably is a jazz student and dreams of a concert career.
and if this takes place in the states, it's still kind of plausible, because well, it all started out there. but what now and again strikes me as extremely funny (I mentioned it before, but I will again!) is that there are so many people studying it in switzerland - the land of cuckoo clocks and yodeling. There are six jazz schools in our sweet little land! In each of these schools you'll find 50-100 students (I'll do a little research for next time!), so there's a whole lot of young people who'll learn to play Someday my prince will come. Kind of a jazz army, really, who plays at weddings, funerals, birthdays - always at your service for a good time! if it's not too loud, 'cause please, we're eating here, and could you maybe play something with a melody?
And who sometimes even lands the occasional gig, in a nice jazz club, with a bunch of nice people! really a great thing to happen.
I'll keep posting about the swiss jazz scene and the everyday life as a jazz student, but any questions or inputs are welcome!
if you take all of mankind, and separate the people who have once in their life heard jazz from the people who haven't ever, and take from the first group the ones who actually like jazz, and again, divide the remaining group into the ones who really do like jazz in all its glory and the ones who only like ragtime and dixie (which by the way I have absolutely nothing against), there are maybe two people left in the entire world, and one of them probably is a jazz student and dreams of a concert career.
and if this takes place in the states, it's still kind of plausible, because well, it all started out there. but what now and again strikes me as extremely funny (I mentioned it before, but I will again!) is that there are so many people studying it in switzerland - the land of cuckoo clocks and yodeling. There are six jazz schools in our sweet little land! In each of these schools you'll find 50-100 students (I'll do a little research for next time!), so there's a whole lot of young people who'll learn to play Someday my prince will come. Kind of a jazz army, really, who plays at weddings, funerals, birthdays - always at your service for a good time! if it's not too loud, 'cause please, we're eating here, and could you maybe play something with a melody?
And who sometimes even lands the occasional gig, in a nice jazz club, with a bunch of nice people! really a great thing to happen.
I'll keep posting about the swiss jazz scene and the everyday life as a jazz student, but any questions or inputs are welcome!
2010/05/17
the living absurdity of the swiss girl studying jazz music
so, being a jazz student basically involves behaving as a storm in a waterglass (as swiss people would say), watching a little herd of other waterglasses happily prancing about - while nobody on the whole entire planet would ever give a rat's ass about the teensiest bit of it all - it being a storm in a waterglass.
why? who fricken listens to jazz anyway, except for the poor watermstormglassians and their even poorer waterstormglassianteachers?
and all we do is try to stir it up so we can attempt to create something special to put on a cd to which nobody in their right mind will ever listen to, or come to listen to in concert (there's not much hope for escape with an audience consisting of mum, auntie trudy and a stranger in a tent-like-t-shirt dancin' himself to the stars).
to me personally, the funniest bit of it all is the following: i'm swiss!! it's just hilarious. would i be cool, like from brooklyn, i could say, yeaah, you know, i'm from brooklyn or whatever, it's my national heritage, and anyway, i'm from brooklyn, so everything i do is cutting edge, and i like to play in rotten places, 'cause if gives me something to do you know, and all the cool cats are here anyway.
i admittedly have loads of clichés about the us of a, but let's return the favour: think of your typical swiss person. see a mountain there, a nice little blue lake, and two cows, an older man with a twinkle in his eyes, holding a cuckoo clock in one hand and a fondue pot in the other? or even better: think of your typical swiss girl: does she have braided hair and the happiest smile one person could ever have shown to this ugly world?
and now, brace yourself: imagine this heidi-figue PLAYING THE JAZZ PIANO!!! what a disrupture of such a lovely sight!
man.
(for all the concerned: of course over the past few years i've come to love jazz music, and most of the time find myself enjoying it deeply, all the while not being sure about needing a degree for that. and: i'm not a spoiled brat, i'm working hard and always earned my money for myself. of that i'm proud.)
It's just SO MUCH FUN to stop and think of the slight absurdity of the life i'm leading at the moment! so much fun. and sometimes not so much. but hey: i'll always have my music (pffhaaahaaahaaa)
why? who fricken listens to jazz anyway, except for the poor watermstormglassians and their even poorer waterstormglassianteachers?
and all we do is try to stir it up so we can attempt to create something special to put on a cd to which nobody in their right mind will ever listen to, or come to listen to in concert (there's not much hope for escape with an audience consisting of mum, auntie trudy and a stranger in a tent-like-t-shirt dancin' himself to the stars).
to me personally, the funniest bit of it all is the following: i'm swiss!! it's just hilarious. would i be cool, like from brooklyn, i could say, yeaah, you know, i'm from brooklyn or whatever, it's my national heritage, and anyway, i'm from brooklyn, so everything i do is cutting edge, and i like to play in rotten places, 'cause if gives me something to do you know, and all the cool cats are here anyway.
i admittedly have loads of clichés about the us of a, but let's return the favour: think of your typical swiss person. see a mountain there, a nice little blue lake, and two cows, an older man with a twinkle in his eyes, holding a cuckoo clock in one hand and a fondue pot in the other? or even better: think of your typical swiss girl: does she have braided hair and the happiest smile one person could ever have shown to this ugly world?
and now, brace yourself: imagine this heidi-figue PLAYING THE JAZZ PIANO!!! what a disrupture of such a lovely sight!
man.
(for all the concerned: of course over the past few years i've come to love jazz music, and most of the time find myself enjoying it deeply, all the while not being sure about needing a degree for that. and: i'm not a spoiled brat, i'm working hard and always earned my money for myself. of that i'm proud.)
It's just SO MUCH FUN to stop and think of the slight absurdity of the life i'm leading at the moment! so much fun. and sometimes not so much. but hey: i'll always have my music (pffhaaahaaahaaa)
2010/05/16
fine days for anybody!
this blog should be about mary anybody, mid- (or rather end-)twenties music student, who after getting her degree as a teacher decided to still try to be as good as possible at piano playing, so that seventy-year-olds could watch her at their early-bird-bashes on the lake of zurich.
so you see: not always happy with her decision. and looking for people who maybe share her many interests, who might have similar blue feelings on sundays. Even if we are really ashamed of them, because we were lucky and still are, and still seem to fight for a normal life, and still fight for something outstanding.
bucketload of blabla already! It's disgusting.
Anyway, people all over the world, who are in their midtwenties, who think about taking their relationships to the next level, who think about what their goal for the next year could be, and generally about how to find a nice cozy place, physically and metaphorically - Mary Anybody would be so happy to hear from you! And she would be thrilled to hear from people who also turn twenty-eight this year and already have found a lot!
this blog should be about mary anybody, mid- (or rather end-)twenties music student, who after getting her degree as a teacher decided to still try to be as good as possible at piano playing, so that seventy-year-olds could watch her at their early-bird-bashes on the lake of zurich.
so you see: not always happy with her decision. and looking for people who maybe share her many interests, who might have similar blue feelings on sundays. Even if we are really ashamed of them, because we were lucky and still are, and still seem to fight for a normal life, and still fight for something outstanding.
bucketload of blabla already! It's disgusting.
Anyway, people all over the world, who are in their midtwenties, who think about taking their relationships to the next level, who think about what their goal for the next year could be, and generally about how to find a nice cozy place, physically and metaphorically - Mary Anybody would be so happy to hear from you! And she would be thrilled to hear from people who also turn twenty-eight this year and already have found a lot!
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