January/February 2015
Features
Tucson Jazz Institute
Features
Tucson Jazz Institute
Tucsonans have a lot to be proud about, and our musical tradition is one of those sources of pride. But when you think of Tucson musical contributions, does the word “jazz” come to mind? If not, then think again.
Although it has only been in existence for six years, the Tucson Jazz Institute (TJI) has made a very significant contribution to jazz and jazz education in America. For the second year in a row and the fourth time overall, the TJI Ellington Big Band won the top prize in Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Competition in New York City in May, 2014. Ten band members won top solo-category honors at the competition, too. What is even more impressive is that the band members were all still in high school at the time of the competition.
Ellington Big Band at Lincoln Center
Photo credit: Frank Stewart
I spoke recently with Tucson Jazz Institute’s Brice Winston at TJI’s headquarters on Broadway. Winston, along with Scott Black and Doug Tidaback, are co-founders and teachers at TJI.
“We have four high school big bands and two middle school bands,” Winston told me. “I teach four combos and Scott [Black] teaches four combos. Students come for four hours on Saturdays. They go to big band part of the time, and their combo the rest of the time. Combos focus on improvisation, theory and harmony. The big band classes focus on reading, phrasing, and working as a team. The combos are support for the big bands.” Tidaback is the conductor of TJI’s big bands.
Winston emphasized that students can start at any level. Through enthusiasm and hard work, they can move up to a place in the Ellington Big Band.
Even with these honors and frequent appearances in musical festivals, recruiting students is still a challenge, said Winston. “We do most of our recruitment by visiting area schools. We talk to band students in local schools.” Even so, “It’s surprisingly hard to get people in the door despite the fact that we’ve won the Ellington prize four times over. People still haven’t heard of us,” he adds. “Young people are not exposed to jazz. They have to have a parent or a grandparent that listens to or plays jazz. “
“We have four high school big bands and two middle school bands,” Winston told me. “I teach four combos and Scott [Black] teaches four combos. Students come for four hours on Saturdays. They go to big band part of the time, and their combo the rest of the time. Combos focus on improvisation, theory and harmony. The big band classes focus on reading, phrasing, and working as a team. The combos are support for the big bands.” Tidaback is the conductor of TJI’s big bands.
Winston emphasized that students can start at any level. Through enthusiasm and hard work, they can move up to a place in the Ellington Big Band.
Even with these honors and frequent appearances in musical festivals, recruiting students is still a challenge, said Winston. “We do most of our recruitment by visiting area schools. We talk to band students in local schools.” Even so, “It’s surprisingly hard to get people in the door despite the fact that we’ve won the Ellington prize four times over. People still haven’t heard of us,” he adds. “Young people are not exposed to jazz. They have to have a parent or a grandparent that listens to or plays jazz. “
Students in TJI's Elllington Band. Photo credit: Krystyna Parafinczuck
Once in the door, many teens get hooked. “Jazz is becoming more complex and a highly skilled art. Young people want to play it. Jazz is both a challenge and a passion for them,” Winston added. And it can pay off. Several members of the Ellington Band won music scholarships this year to help pay for their college educations.
Scholarships are not the only benefit. “Jazz is more creative and requires using more parts of the brain. Studies have been done on improvisers by putting them in MRI machines. Playing jazz is stimulating large parts of their brains. Playing music unites the left and right sides of the brain at a time when kids really need that,“ Winston explained.
“I’ve had students tell me that jazz really made a big difference in their lives. If it weren’t for us, they say they would have gotten into drugs or other kinds of trouble. They say learning how to play jazz at our school saved them.”
Learning how to play jazz also helps older students. “I have a student in her 60s learning to play the sax,” Winston told me. “I see her challenges and triumphs as she learns. It helps her brain function.” In fact, recently-publicized research indicates that playing music, and especially jazz, is a significant method of reducing cognitive decline in older persons.
“There are other benefits, too,” Winston added. “The jazz school is a real social scene. Students create lifelong friendships, they play with people from all over Tucson, they learn skills that no one can take away like team work and leadership.“
Scholarships are not the only benefit. “Jazz is more creative and requires using more parts of the brain. Studies have been done on improvisers by putting them in MRI machines. Playing jazz is stimulating large parts of their brains. Playing music unites the left and right sides of the brain at a time when kids really need that,“ Winston explained.
“I’ve had students tell me that jazz really made a big difference in their lives. If it weren’t for us, they say they would have gotten into drugs or other kinds of trouble. They say learning how to play jazz at our school saved them.”
Learning how to play jazz also helps older students. “I have a student in her 60s learning to play the sax,” Winston told me. “I see her challenges and triumphs as she learns. It helps her brain function.” In fact, recently-publicized research indicates that playing music, and especially jazz, is a significant method of reducing cognitive decline in older persons.
“There are other benefits, too,” Winston added. “The jazz school is a real social scene. Students create lifelong friendships, they play with people from all over Tucson, they learn skills that no one can take away like team work and leadership.“
The next Monk? or Evans? or Brubeck? or Tatum? or Peterson? or Jarrett or Corea? Photo credit: Krystyna Parafinczuck
Students pay tuition to attend TJI. Supporting organizations, chief among them the non-profit Tucson Jazz Music Foundation works to raise scholarship-tuition money for students, and travel expenses for the band to attend competitions and festivals. TJI also gets income from concert ticket sales and sales of CDs. The latest CD is “I Like the Sunrise,” which is also one of the tunes The Ellington Band played this year for the Lincoln Center competition.
“We encourage anyone who wants to help. We always need funds for scholarships. There are students who can’t afford to be here without a scholarship. They have the talent, and the interest. They just don’t have tuition money. Talent has nothing to do with economic background. We’d like to give them the opportunity,“ Winston made clear.
Six years ago when TJI was founded, it was not the first jazz school in our city, Winston explained. “At that time there were two jazz schools in Tucson, the Arizona Jazz Academy and Tucson Jazz Works. We were competing with each other. We realized that it made a lot more sense to come together and join forces.” TJI was born.
“We encourage anyone who wants to help. We always need funds for scholarships. There are students who can’t afford to be here without a scholarship. They have the talent, and the interest. They just don’t have tuition money. Talent has nothing to do with economic background. We’d like to give them the opportunity,“ Winston made clear.
Six years ago when TJI was founded, it was not the first jazz school in our city, Winston explained. “At that time there were two jazz schools in Tucson, the Arizona Jazz Academy and Tucson Jazz Works. We were competing with each other. We realized that it made a lot more sense to come together and join forces.” TJI was born.
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Winston is a Tucson native who left to attend college in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans. He established his career in New Orleans as a jazz musician, and he played and toured with several well-known jazz musicians, chief among them Terrence Blanchard. He continues to play with other jazz musicians, and he records as well. His latest CD is “Child’s Play.”
What brought Winston back to the Old Pueblo? “Hurricane Katrina,” he says with a pained smile. Once here, he and his family put down roots. “Yes, I miss New Orleans, but I’m settled in Tucson now. I have two daughters who quickly adjusted to school and life here. I found teaching opportunities here, too. I want to give back to this community. Tucson is where I first learned to play jazz.” |
CD _Child's Play_
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CD _Introducing Brice Winston_
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TJI students play at Tucson's Pastiche.
Photo credit: Krystyna Parafinczuck
What’s the jazz scene like in Tucson these days?
“Tucson has a small town feel but there’s a lot of interesting things going on that too often get buried.” Winston said, “Although many long-time jazz clubs around the U.S. have either closed, or changed focus, jazz is alive and well here. Tucson has venues that host jazz combos including Wilbur’s, Cushing Street Bar and Grill, Elliott’s on Congress, Maynard’s, Sullivan’s, and Pastiche, which hosts jazz Friday and Sunday evenings.”
Winston adds, “Jazz is going to persevere. More young people are playing jazz since the late 1980s. There are lots of programs and organizations such as the Mancini Institute and the Monk Institute. The level of young musicians is on the increase. The cool thing about jazz is that more and more jazz schools are popping up, too.”
“Tucson has a small town feel but there’s a lot of interesting things going on that too often get buried.” Winston said, “Although many long-time jazz clubs around the U.S. have either closed, or changed focus, jazz is alive and well here. Tucson has venues that host jazz combos including Wilbur’s, Cushing Street Bar and Grill, Elliott’s on Congress, Maynard’s, Sullivan’s, and Pastiche, which hosts jazz Friday and Sunday evenings.”
Winston adds, “Jazz is going to persevere. More young people are playing jazz since the late 1980s. There are lots of programs and organizations such as the Mancini Institute and the Monk Institute. The level of young musicians is on the increase. The cool thing about jazz is that more and more jazz schools are popping up, too.”
 Charles Mingus
Trivia Question: Famous jazz bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus was born in which Arizona city?
~~C.J. Shane |
Learn more about the Tucson Jazz Institute at http://tucsonjazzinstitute.com/
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Latest CD from Tucson Jazz Institute_I Like the Sunrise_
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