Low Eh!

I was fortunate to have spent last week on faculty at the Carleton University Jazz Camp, teaching woodwinds, a quintet, and co-leading a big band. This was my second year teaching at the camp, and it is such a great environment to be a part of.

It’s incredible to see the progress that the campers make over jam sessions, masterclasses, and small/large ensemble rehearsals in just a week. It’s inspiring to watch musicians who may have started the week with little to no experience gain confidence, and play solos on stage in front of an audience. It’s also inspiring to see musicians who come in with experience develop new ideas, and start to apply concepts that they have learned in their masterclasses, and the jam sessions (which are led by faculty members).

My small ensemble was a group of students who had just a little experience in jazz and jazz improvisation. We were able to pick a few tunes to learn some techniques for playing solos, and chose to perform Watermelon Man, and Cantaloupe Island at the final camp concert. Each day the group became more comfortable with the music, and we arranged the tunes to fit the instrumentation. Watching the group dig in harder each day to get the most out of the music is so much fun!

Mark Ferguson and I co-led a big band, and we both brought charts in for the band. I brought Tangoesque, and Mark brought his arrangement of Flyin’ Home – both are charts that we perform with the Prime Rib Big Band. One of the members of the band brought their own chart in which we performed at the final concert – it was well written, and I hope that he continues to write for big band.

Between the jam sessions, masterclasses, and rehearsals, it was amazing to watch everyone interact. There was so much interaction between all of the levels of campers. I was commenting after the camp about how relaxed and supportive the atmosphere was, and how the environment was conducive to learning.

I’m so fortunate to have been able to be a part of that week of music!