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The ERHS Jazz Band is where you can learn, play, work hard, have fun, be great, and take pride in yourself all at the same time. We need a commitment from each member of this ensemble to become the best you can be. We all rely on each other, and through everyone’s individual effort we will achieve group success.

The ERHS Jazz Band is a performing ensemble. Perhaps more importantly, it is a class in which students can be creative and develop true independent musicianship. (See “Why Jazz is the Most Supreme Music in the Universe” by Jeremy Cotton.) We do perform from standard arrangements for big band; very often, however, what we play will be our own composition, improvisation, arrangement, or transcription. Style, improvisation, aural skills, and knowledge of music theory are emphasized in this course and are essential to individual and group success. We most frequently play music from “lead sheets” (melody and chords only), and commonly transcribe music from recordings or a model player.

About the Music, Fall 2011

Backrow Politics. Gordon Goodwin is a currently active big band composer and leader with a popular jazz group, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. (I know, right?) The Big Phat Band features many of America’s top studio players, including a trumpet section that is unrivaled in any other big band. Backrow Politics is a tribute of sorts to that section, and a showcase for their talents. The title itself is a play on words. The expression “backroom politics” refers to unseen maneuvering, manipulating, and control; it comes from the notion that the real deals in politics are struck in the back room, and not in public. From the composer: “The music business is called that for a reason. Sometimes it seems like it’s more about the business than it is about the music. In Los Angeles, where I live, the musicians are keenly aware of the commerce-related aspects of playing music, and it is fascinating for me to watch the political interactions in the music community. Especially in the trumpet section! Those guys have a specific pecking order—who gets what gigs, who’s subbing for who, who’s losing their chops—it’s a real soap opera! You have to be a strong musician and a string businessperson to excel. A big band lives and dies with its trumpet section and I wrote this piece as a trumpet section feature as a tribute to those brave souls in the back row.”

Blue Rondo a la Turk. This piece is the opening track on Dave Brubeck’s landmark album Time Out. This 1959 classic is built of songs with odd meters—5/4, 2+2+2+3/8, and more. Blue Rondo a la Turk’s title is inspired by Mozart’s famed Rondo ala Turca, but is not actually related to that piece. Brubeck took a trip to Istanbul, and there heard the popular folk dance known as the zeybek, which is in 9/8. Our 9/8 is typically divided into three beats of triplets (3+3+3), but the zeybek is divided 2+2+2+3. Brubeck used this complex rhythm as the basis for Blue Rondo, and added straight-ahead solo and chorus sections in 4/4.

The Chicken (with Soul Intro). Jaco Pastorius is one of the most influential bassists of all time and, of the four bassists elected to DownBeat Magazine’s Jazz Hall of Fame, he is the only one to play the electric bass. The son of a big band drummer and singer, Jaco was born John Francis Pastorius III, nicknamed Jocko, and changed the spelling after seeing it misspelled by the French pianist Alex Darqui. Jaco started out as a drummer, but a football injury to his wrist proved so damaging that he could no longer play well. He picked up the upright bass, but soon found that the environmental/maintenance demands of the instrument were too much, and sold it to buy a Fender (electric) Jazz Bass. He began playing professionally at age 24, and played with the CC Riders, a number of studio albums, and a collaboration with his friend (and guitar legend-to-be) Pat Metheny. In 1976, he released a self-titled solo album that featured many of the top players of the time, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, David Sanborn, and Michael and Randy Brecker. Many consider Jaco Pastorius to be the finest bass album of all time. The Chicken is a funk tune which a great gospel intro section that was one of Jaco’s most popular songs to play in concert.

Around the time of his debut album, Jaco went to see the popular jazz group Weather Report in concert. After the show, Jaco approached Weather Report’s leader, keyboardist Joe Zawinul, and told Zawinul that the show was “alright”, but that he “had expected more.” He went on to immodestly inform Zawinul that he was, in fact, the greatest bass player in the world. Zawinul responded with the expected “Get the !@$% out of here”, but later contacted Jaco and gave him a try. Jaco ended up playing with Weather Report for the next several years, and defined their sound during their most prolific era while playing on hits like Birdland the legendary album Heavy Weather. During this time, he also played with many other musicians in jazz and other genres, including four albums with Joni Mitchell.

Throughout his adult life, Jaco exhibited eccentric and somewhat erratic behavior that was attributed to his creative mind. In 1982, on tour in Japan, his behavior became extremely problematic. It was so severe that he was not only diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but upon his return to the states was involuntarily committed to a mental health institution. His mental health continued to deteriorate and he was homeless by 1986. On September 11, 1987, Jaco snuck onstage at a concert by Carlos Santana, and ejected from the show. He made his way to a club, but was refused entry. At this point, he kicked in the glass door to the club, and became involved in a violent altercation with the club’s bouncer. He was severely injured in this fight, receiving numerous fractures to his face, and fell into a coma at the hospital. He died ten days later, at age 35.
 

Coconut Champagne. Denis DiBlasio was Maynard Ferguson’s bari sax player for more than 25 years, and is probably the best-known musician in that group aside from Maynard himself. This great, Caribbean-styled calypso is likely Ferguson’s biggest hit of his later years. Some good trumpet stuff, a drum solo, and a sick bari sax solo that DiBlasio wrote for himself. I’m pretty sure that’s the only time I’ve ever used sick except to describe illness, and I promise not to ever do it again.

Critical Mass. Everybody loves Jeff Jarvis’ great funk tune. It features bari sax and bass playing opposite the horns.

Everything In Its Right Place. Crazy. Mixed meter. Intertwining ethereal ("oh no! watch out! ethereal killer!") sounds. Radiohead. An arrangement of prog-rock/electronica for jazz band? I shuddered, too. But it's not only faithful to the original, it's really, really good.

Feels So Good. Rochester native Chuck Mangione was the first director of the jazz program at Eastman, and is an accomplished jazz composer and performer. His jazz instrumental Feels So Good became a crossover hit that sent the album to #2 on the pop charts. In addition to his music, he is well known for performing on the flugelhorn instead of the trumpet. Famous to young whippersnappers like yourselves for his guest appearances on King of the Hill. Jason Mraz stole his hat.

Malagueña. Cuban Ernesto Lecuono wrote Malagueña as the sixth movement of his Suite Andalucia for piano. Its fiery melodies have made it popular for more than half a century, but gained its widest audience when Stan Kenton’s Big Band turned it into a powerhouse in 4/4 instead of 3/4 in 1961. Kenton’s version has served as a model for dozens of arrangements performed by marching bands, drums corps, jazz bands, and even a few rock bands. Our arrangement keeps the power and energy of Kenton’s version, but returns the melody to its 3/4 roots.

Moonlight Serenade.