Dan Cray:Meridies

Dan Cray and his new CD

Every time I turn around, there is a another great jazz pianist. ( I think we need to put a cap on the number of great pianists. Just kidding.....) Dan Cray is the latest to cross my path. His new CD, "Meridies", showcases his sparkling technique and intriguing musicianship. It's a disc that has some trio and some quartet. It's a very warm and balanced sounding album, and it's got some edge without being jarring. From the first track, "Smile", you can tell that Cray has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. The arrangement is in 7/4, and features a percolating bass line which implies something more sinister. Cray has command of the changes, but he has some nice rhythmic development. 

Bassist Clark Sommers holds it down nicely. Mark Ferber is one of my favorite drummers, and he always adds clean, refined power to any session. 

Mark Ferber, one of my favorite drummers

"Worst Enemy" is an aggressive original tune in 15/8, which also has a dark undulating bass line. Here Cray adds tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger, who does some astonishing work throughout. He's solidly modern; he's got the swing of a Greg Tardy, the altissimo of a Mark Turner, the speed of a Donny McCaslin, and enough reckless abandon to be a "musician of interest." 

"Amor Fati" is a contrasting move into introspective ballad territory, where Preminger reminds me a bit of Charles Lloyd. This is simply a duo; Cray is a wonderful, tasteful accompanist. "Serenity" is a Joe Henderson that most New York jazz musicians have played to death. Here, the tempo is brighter than normal, which adds to the challenge. Preminger kills it, verging on stealing the show. I feel like this could have used another take where the trio could have been a little more interactive. It almost seemed like they were holding back. Cray takes a nimble fingered ride. Cray has a lot of vocabulary, but he shines most when he takes a small idea and really plays with it. drummer Ferber nails the trading; I love his time feel, but when he solos, he really hits the drums!

Noah Preminger

"East" is another trio tune which relaxes and delights. These type of waltzes always remind me of Chick Corea's "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs". "Winter Rose" is a moody straight eighth piece which begins with a vamp harmonically implying C#-7b6 (or A/C#) to Cmaj7. Flat 6 chords always seem appropriate in these types of tunes. Once the melody enters, they veer off pretty quickly. Its colorful and gentle, although the New York vibe comes through in the vamp out. 

Mark Sommers

"At Least" is a soft one, with Ferber showing some nice mallet work. The tune begins in 5, divided in 2 and 3. The melody has a little shade of Mingus blues in it. There's great bass solo by Sommers, and the piece builds in a very feel-good way, until it dies back down again. "March Of The Archetypes" features Ferber beating the mess out of the toms. It's a real contemporary New York type of tune; lots of harmonies, fusion rhythms on the funky side, and burning solos, which are never deterred by any harmonic or metric challenge. You won't go wrong with "Meridies". Dan Cray is another new member of the great jazz piano club.

http://www.dancray.com/

Tour Diary: George Colligan/Debbie Deane Duo at An Die Musik

Baltimore, the city that reads....in bed, and falls asleep at 9pm

After our successful gig at the Jazz Standard in New York City, I drove down to Baltimore with vocalist Debbie Deane for a duo performance in Baltimore. The venue was An Die Musik, which is a somewhat bare bones theater a few steps away from Peabody Conservatory, in the heart of downtown Baltimore. They have a wonderful 9 foot Steinway, a sound system, and rows  of antique chairs which give a sort of intimate parlor feel to the space. It's upstairs from a CD store which features mostly classical music and some jazz. Both businesses are run by Henry Wong, who is a long time music enthusiast. I have to give props to anybody who supports jazz music these days. And more kudos to giving us a Wednesday night. It's a tough sell, but I was mostly hoping to keep the momentum of my lyrics project going. 

Lee Stevens, an incredibly inspirational music educator

The concert was featuring mostly the same music which we performed at the Jazz Standard, without the great addition of bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Clarence Penn, and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. It was closer to the vibe we had on our tour of Japan in December. However, we had played more standards in Japan, to suit the Japanese tastes. This Baltimore audience was quite intimate, meaning small (mostly friends of my mother and my former trumpet teacher, Lee Stevens.). It's challenging to play without bass and drums, but there is also more freedom in some ways. Deane sang beautifully, as usual.

It's a little nerve wracking to present my lyrics to audiences whom are accustomed to hearing me play instrumental jazz only. Writing lyrics is an entirely different endeavor. And some of the tunes were settings of my sister's poetry. I think my mother was very surprised but also proud to hear the words of her children set to music. The response overall was very good. I think people these days tend to respond more to vocals and lyrics than long complicated solos. I'm hoping that this project will continue to evolve and be well received. 

Debbie Deane

Sometimes during a concert, the teaching side of me comes out, and I ask if anybody has any questions. There were a few. "Do you write the music first, or the lyrics first, or both all at once?" I replied that it was a mixture, although I wished that I could write as fluidly as my wife Kerry Politzer, who seems to be able to write brilliant music and lyrics all in one shot! (Some people are just TOO talented….) Lee Stevens asked " do you think of yourself as a philosopher?" I guess I would have to answer yes; lyrics give an artist a very clear avenue of self-expression. Since I've been furiously blogging and composing, I suppose this is a way for those two things to come together. 

I'm determined to work this project as much as possible. I believe I have mentioned that Deane and I are working on a recording. Deane's vocals are all done and she did a magnificent job. I'm playing all the other instruments, so I need to do some work! Hopefully this project will be out by the end of the year. Stay tuned for more shameful self promotion.

Cookie Cutter

"Berklee is a great school, but every musician they churn out sounds the same." I heard someone say that a long time ago. And I always wondered whether that was true. I never went to Berklee College of Music, but I know a ton of musicians who did, and I wouldn't say they all sounded the same. A majority of the Berklee grads whom I've worked with had a high level of skill. But they weren't clones of each other.

As a jazz educator, I can see why there is cause for concern; if you give everyone the same tunes to learn, the same solos to transcribe, the same scales, etc....then yes; theoretically, you would have legions of musicians who sounded the same. The good news is that this is a theory. In reality, most musicians, at least in jazz, end up sounding different eventually. This is because jazz music encourages originality at it's core. Even the most conservative program will produce students who don't sound identical.

The incredibly subjective question becomes, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how original is any given musician?" This is an extremely debatable idea; for example, I think Kurt Rosenwinkel has a very original sound and conception. However, some might generalize and say that Rosenwinkel is a Pat Metheny clone (I don't agree at all.). I don't believe that Rosenwinkel would be where he is today without everything that he learned from his Berklee teachers and peers. So is he 100 percent original? I don't think any musician is.

I think that this idea of "not wanting to churn out a bunch of musical clones" is at first glance, very logical. However, in the long run, I think it's actually worse to "churn out a bunch of musicians who cannot play well enough to work as musicians in the real world." I'm finding that my own misgivings about teaching in a "cookie-cutter" fashion are being overrun by worries about not producing students who have the necessary skills to be successful.

Furthermore, and this might sound crazy, but I am not convinced that every musician is meant to be highly original( in the sense of a Kurt Rosenwinkel). I think the vast majority of players want to be really good, and get gigs. It might not go beyond that. I think originality should be encouraged; students should always write their own music and improvise as they see fit. But on a scale of 1 to 10, the result might not be thought of as  the next Theolonious Monk or John Coltrane. And that's ok! I think originality happens; it can't be forced. Skill is another matter; skill takes methodical work.

Viewer Mail:How to Audition For A Teaching Job

Viewer Mail!

This came in recently from a music teacher:

Hi George, great blog. I was just wondering if you had any advice on how to audition for a college teaching job? I have an audition coming up and I'm a little nervous about it. I have to work with the small jazz groups and big band, and also give a lecture. How should I approach it? Also, should I bring my own music for the ensembles to play? Or is that too egotistical? Any advice would be appreciated.

First of all, try not to be nervous! I realize that this is natural, but keep in mind that many search committees already have an idea of who they want before you even arrive to audition. Truthfully, and I speak from experience, you may have the best audition of your life, but the job might already be slated for the person with the inside track. The committee will never admit this, but it's an annoying truth about faculty searches. I've been on both sides. I think it's important to be fair and objective, but unfortunately, human nature doesn't always account for this. All of that being said, try not to think about how much you want that particular job, but just focus on your presentation and the act of teaching and lecturing. if the job is meant to be yours, it will be. It's best to realize that once you begin, it's out of your hands.

The search committee might already know who they want....

I was a finalist in about 10 searches before I landed my first full time teaching job. I think it's safe to say that the act of auditioning 10 times really made a difference in my comfort level with every successive audition. It's just like performing; the more you do it, the more comfortable you will be. Go into it with the idea that win or lose, it's a tremendous learning experience. See if they will video the audition, and ask for a copy. Win or lose, ask the committee for feedback. You might even disagree with their comments, but it's interesting to see what they say. (One of the times I auditioned, I asked for feedback. One of the comments was that my playing was great, but I just didn't connect with the students. I thought that was odd because one of the students I worked with contacted me after the audition and said he wanted to come to New York for a lesson! Like I said, whether you win or lose might have more to do with a predetermined agenda than anything that you do during the audition.)

I like to thinking of teaching as part preparation and part improvisation. By that, I mean you should bring materials and do some preparation. Have something in mind for the ensembles to play. You might even consider over-preparing. This will insure that there is no dead space during the audition. You don't want to give the impression that you lack information. The committee wants to believe that you have enough information for 4 years or more of a student's tenure, not just enough to pass an audition. So you want to give the impression of depth of knowledge.

However, I find that teaching and working with ensembles is a lot like being a doctor; you have to assess the true state of things, not something preconceived. So even if you bring nothing and just have the ensemble play something they know, you will most likely have something to talk about. Even a great student ensemble will hopefully be able to play better with some of your guidance. Maybe have them try the material a different way. You can talk about improvisational concepts. I find myself talking about the same issues, because they are issues that seem to occur so often with student groups; lack of energy/direction of solos, poor understanding of chord/scale relationships, lack of jazz vocabulary, time/rhythm problems, poor stage presence/lack of good presentation, intonation, poor technique/bad technical habits, etc... I'm always amazed when my audition involves none of my prepared materials, because I spend most of the time dealing with correcting problems.

I believe that one of the main factors in my landing of the Portland State University job was my lecture. The PSU search committee was looking for someone to teach jazz history. One, I had been teaching jazz history for two years at University of Manitoba. So I had some experience under my belt. Also, I used Powerpoint for the lecture; this seemed to make all the difference in the world, because it shows your ideas in a very organized way. (I got the idea from my students in Winnipeg, who seemed to be very adept with powerpoint.) You can embed audio files or links to youtube; everything is easily self-contained.

Don't be afraid to over-prepare for your lecture

I have seen great performers and teachers totally bomb on the lecture. I myself have bombed on the lecture portion a number of times! I think that's the one area which separates the men and women from the boys and girls. (One of my lectures was actually a very specific request; talk about, as well as demonstrate, jazz piano styles from 1940 to the present. In 40 minutes. I prepared for 3-4 months transcribing solos and preparing ideas and didn't win the job. It was hard to swallow that loss, but I learned a boatload of stuff, which I used for the lecture for my University of Manitoba job.) I think this is one area where, again, you should over prepare. Practice giving the lecture many times, alone, or in front of friends. Nothing makes perfect like practice.

I think it's cool to bring your own music for the ensembles. This might also distinguish you from someone who just brings stock arrangements. It really depends on the level of the students and whether they stand a chance of playing your music. Try to get a sense of the level of the ensemble from the faculty contact. Maybe even send material in advance, if allowed. Maybe bring a mixture of your tunes and then some standard material. You'll be surprised; oftentimes the ensemble which is considered the most advanced might not be able to play a blues! or they might be playing at a pro level. Be prepared for a contingency such as this.

Good luck! It took me almost 10 years to land a job. If it's meant to happen, it will. Don't be discouraged if you don't get it. These jobs are very competitive, especially now that most jazz musicians, who years ago wouldn't be caught dead teaching, are now throwing their hat in the ring due to the incredibly shrinking music industry. I've competed with seriously high profile candidates. I couldn't help but feel like I didn't stand a chance, but you have to put on your game face regardless. It's a lot like performing. Just go in there and believe that you are the best music teacher in the world. You'd be surprised at what that kind of positive thinking can do.

Tour Diary: Jazz Standard NYC-Success!

The Jazz Standard, which was not empty this past Tuesday!

Lonnie Plaxico

On April 24th, I brought a really nice band into the Jazz Standard. This was to be my third time performing as a bandleader at the standard over a nine year period(the last time was 2006). It's always been one of my favorite clubs in New York, but it is very competitive to get a booking. I was really happy to finally get a date. I took a risk, and booked a somewhat unique band and concept. The personnel was Clarence Penn on drums, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, Jaleel Shaw on alto and soprano saxophone, and Debbie Deane on vocals. I've really been dying to perform my music with lyrics, which Deane and I had performed in Japan and at a few gigs recently; however, I wondered whether such a departure from the expectation of purely instrumental jazz would attract or deter an audience. The Jazz Standard is not a huge club, but it's a decent size, and like any venue, the powers-that-be want to see people in the seats. I've seen it packed, and I've seen it almost empty. Empty sucks. I was afraid of empty. I paid for a radio spot on WBGO and a Facebook ad to help with promotion. And then I crossed my fingers.

Clarence Penn

Musically, I was thrilled. Lonnie Plaxico is probably the funkiest upright bass player in jazz; he started in Chicago playing with Motown bands, playing by ear(he said he didn't even know the letter names of the notes!). So he fit right in with the vibe of my tunes. Clarence Penn is also an amazing interpreter of "crossover" music, especially with a vocalist. Debbie Deane had performed the music a few times now, although mostly in our duo setting; she agreed that it's much more exciting with a band. Jaleel Shaw fit in perfectly, in my view; while some of these tunes could be considered more "pop" or "R&B", I want soloists to stick to their own language, and "play what they play". That's exactly what Jaleel did, and it was awesome. It makes the music go other places.

Jaleel Shaw

Both sets were crowded; even one of the managers said it was "really good for a Tuesday night." I was extremely relieved. It also made it more fun to play. I try not  to let things like that bother me, but sometimes it's a little depressing playing for an empty house. Admittedly, the whole publicity and "get folks to come out and hear you" and "develop a following" thing has been a weakness of mine, mostly because I would rather practice or write music, or even blog, than put in the work that that sort of thing involves. But I'm extremely encouraged by the success of this night at the Jazz Standard.

Debbie Deane; she is singing on a CD in progress....

I also got a lot of great feedback on the music. Again, it's a very different endeavor, to present an entire evening of original lyrics, as opposed to some modal improvisations. Deane and I are working on a recording, which I hope to finish soon. Hopefully a finished product will help with some more bookings. I still want to do instrumental stuff, but I think having lyrics could potentially appeal to a wider audience. Let's see what happens. On to Baltimore!

Tour Diary: George Colligan Trio at the Cellar in Vancouver, B.C.

Vancouver-OK, you're beautiful, knock it off already......

Cory Weeds at the Cellar

I hadn't been in Canada since last August, when I taught at the University of Manitoba Summer Jazz Camp for the last time and then drove to Portland. This weekend, I drove up to Vancouver, British Columbia, for a weekend stint at The Cellar. I've been to Vancouver a bunch of times; it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world(it's so beautiful, it's actually annoying. Alright, alright-mountains, trees, the ocean, architecture-we GET it.). The Cellar is, for me, one of the best jazz clubs in the world. I think it is so because the owner, Cory Weeds, is not only a businessman, but he's a musician as well, and he can see it from both sides. He's created a real treasure for Vancouver and it's musicians and jazz lovers.(Also, they have some of the best brussell sprouts I have ever had! Be sure to order them if you get there...).

 I had never driven into Canada to work; the border crossing was a little tense. There was some confusion with the Border Patrol as to whether my performances at the Cellar was a "ticketed event" or a "cover charge". Um, both? I had no idea. So after some tense moments and about an hour of waiting, I was given the go ahead to cross the border. After seeing the mountains in the distance, I forgot all about the border silliness.

Andre Lachance

Jesse Cahill

I've worked as a leader at the Cellar a number of times over the past few years. Usually, I have drummer Jesse Cahill and bassist Jodi Proznick. Unfortunately, Proznick had to cancel, so Cahill recommended a bassist named Andre Lachance. I was really happy with Lachance; he read my tunes flawlessly, played solid time, and play inventive, technically impressive solos. Cahill has a great swing feel, and great chops; he also interpreted the music perfectly. Although I was a little zonked from the 7 hour trip, I felt like we had a good vibe the first night of the gig.

I spent the next day before the gig relaxing, making a few trips to a juice bar, going for a run along the unbelievably picturesque shoreline, and working on some music in my room(I brought my MIDI keyboard and my computer). I also made a trip over to a restaurant which is owned by my friend Terry Deane. I knew Terry in New York City; he lived in Brooklyn for a number of years before heading back to Canada. He's a genius tenor saxophonist, and was also known as one of the best saxophone repairman in the business. Deane is also a master chef, and decided to quit repairing horns and open a pizzeria. After opening and selling a restaurant in Abbotsford, he opened another one in Vancouver called Pizzeria Barbarella(named after his recently deceased mother.).

Terry Deane making his incredible Pizza

I stopped in to Pizzeria Barbarella to say hello and to sample the goods. I was hesitant, since I've been on a very low-carb diet(I haven't had a piece of bread since March). I figured,"Hey, I'll get a slice and a salad, that will be fine." As I sat down at a table and looked around at what was on other people's plates, I threw caution to the wind and ordered a whole Margherita for myself. I must say that in my life, I've eaten my fair share of pizza; I worked at a pizza joint when I was young, I ate pizza in New York and Italy, and so forth. THIS was the best pizza I've had in my whole life. I'm actually glad I don't live in Vancouver because I would be addicted to this pizza. The crust is the perfect texture, the flavor is almost an emotional experience. I'm just saying you might break down in tears after eating this pizza!The place was packed, and Pizzeria Barbarella just received a liquor license, so I predict success for Deane and his fine establishment.

The second night at the Cellar was better musically and in terms of attendance;it was pretty much a full house. I was feeling more warmed up(I feel like I barely ever get to play piano anymore, so some of my sad licks are starting to come back to me....)and Cahill and Lachance were stretching out more. We had a young guitarist named Alexis Harrison sit in on a few tunes. Harrison had seen a clinic I gave in Nanaimo a few years ago and contacted me on Facebook. She asked me to send her a leadsheet for a tune of mine called "Rose Colored Glass." (She worked it up with her classmates and I thought it sounded pretty good! It's not an easy tune!) It was another good night at the Cellar and I hope to return next year.

I got up at 5 the next morning to beat the traffic back to Portland. It only took 5 and 1/2 hours back. And no border trouble this time. Next stops: New York, Baltimore, and Cleveland!