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Jazz Arts Academy
BECOME A FAN OF CBT PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY ON FACEBOOK!Online Registration NOT available for Audition-Based Programs or Special Workshops.
Other ways to Register: Fax, Mail, In Person or Call 732-224-8778 x125
OPEN TO ALL YOUNG MUSICIANS
AGES: 13-19
WINTER SEMESTER:
10+ weeks (Jan. 15 – Mar. 25) / No class on Feb. 19
Orientation / Placement on Jan. 8, 4pm – 6pm
CLASSES: Sundays or Mondays (Scheduling based on placement outcome)
FEE: $335 (plus $10 registration fee) – includes course materials, study guides and sheet music.
Needs-based tuition assistance and scholarship programs are available.
• Learn to Improvise!
• Gain valuable experience in Jazz Combos and Big Bands!
• Learn all about the jazz greats from the past… including Count Basie!
• Guest clinicians specializing each instrument!
The Jazz Arts Academy is a comprehensive jazz studies program offering performing ensembles, improvisation, jazz history and general musicianship. The program will provide students with a “centralized jazz scene;” a place where they can supplement their school music program, meet new players from all over New Jersey, and gain valuable skills and experience in a fun and professional atmosphere.
For more information visit:
or contact: info@jazzartsproject.org
Call to register: 732-224-8778 x125
What made you interested in Jazz?
I had a good music program in high school and was exposed to a lot of different music, but spent a lot of time in Classical music. I played trumpet at the Manhattan school of music, and after college I spent a great deal of time finding connections between the Classical and Jazz genres. As far as inspiration, I had Bach and Beethoven: they both came from Europe and brought their music to America. Jazz took some of these ideas and it turned into a melting pot of music.
Who is your biggest musical influence?
Everybody. I look to music that has integrity, it doesn’t matter what genre it is. Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Brahms, Bach. As long as the music has integrity, that’s all that matters.
Why conducting?
I spent many years as a trumpet player, but became more into arranging and composing and eventually found myself in front of the orchestra. I did study it in college, but didn’t really get more into it until long after college, and then eventually got called on more and more to do that. It’s definitely rewarding to play in orchestra, but to be in front and molding is a different challenge with its own reward. My instrument is now the orchestra- before it was the trumpet. The pay is more to stand in front. In the Jazz world, it’s not the norm to have a conductor, there’s a big down home tradition; playing in saloons and basically making it up as you went along. Now, it’s more of planned compositions. Jazz is a lot of improv- it’s a whole other form is orchestra. Duke Ellington really started all that with adding conducting to the Jazz orchestras. Today, Jazz orchestras are all over the world in larger form, orchestras do more creative things.
If you could perform with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Living- Tony Bennett. He is one of the last surviving masters of that art form, and Yo Yo Ma. 2 or 3 years ago I was supposed to do a whole show with Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra JR in Atlantic City, but it happened to fall on the same day as the Sinatra Birthday Bash. I was very torn about what to do. But I eventually decided to do the Sinatra Birthday Bash instead of playing with Tony Bennett. I hope that I will get another opportunity to perform with him in the future.
Past- Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I’ve performed with Quincy Jones on many different occasions, one being in Paris for the Millennium Bash. Quincy is extremely brilliant and creative and actually sent me flowers thanking him for the show, which was funny, because I hardly ever get flowers, let alone from a guy!
You have conducted major symphonies and Jazz orchestras such as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. What is your most memorable performance and why was it so memorable?
The concert in Paris with Quincy Jones. Since I was a “nobody” I would walk down the streets of Paris buying a baguette and no one would bother him. But when I was with Quincy, he got “the treatment”. It was like the red carpet was out anytime I stepped out with Quincy. I was also the Guest Conductor for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Australia with Igor Stravinsky. It was with a full symphony orchestra as a tribute to Jazz legend Miles Davis.
Where is your favorite place to perform?
I love performing at the Count Basie Theatre. It’s a great theatre, and a great place to perform. However, Paris is #1. I’d love to go anywhere in Paris, it’s a great place to be.
You are best known for accurately reconstructing major works of Classical Jazz, what is your process for doing this?
In Jazz, the piece of art is the recording. They didn’t keep the music written since it wasn’t as important as what they got on tape. There are some things that haven’t been performed since they were recorded. The process starts by trying to find scrap papers and try to get what material still exists (if it even still exists). Quincy Jones asked me to put together a Miles Davis collection for a concert. Miles didn’t want to recreate the past, but I latched on to it. Although everything was put together fairly quickly, I spent about 5 or 6 years getting more into it. It’s a matter of gathering material and constantly listening to it over and over and over again. Pick out each instrument and dissect what they’re all doing and what the intent is. The goal is to recreate something on paper that was a recording. As a result you have something to perform live. It’s amazing to hear this stuff live. People lived and grew up with the recordings so when they hear it live it’s a completely different experience. These days everything is digitally processed. That’s why I love doing shows at the Basie.
How do you go about reconstructing such famous pieces?
Mostly through listening. If you can find material then that is a bonus because it’s a guideline. If you really want to understand this music, the best way is to listen and write down what you’re hearing. Once you do this you start to understand the form and where it comes from. Then there is transcription – tunes your ears. It’s a skill you develop. You eventually get good at what you practice. If you perform and practice everyday you’re going to get better and you’re going to become great at what you do. You constantly have to practice and listen.
Do you have any advice for future musicians who want to pursue a career in Jazz?
Jazz is a small niche market these days, but there are a lot of forces to help that along. Try and build audiences and get the message out that Jazz is just as worthy as Bach and Beethoven. Jazz is an American national treasure that we should be supporting. It is such a small market because the media and the commercial interests are looking to different things. For example, Pop oriented things to sell to young people. So that’s all you hear about. You don’t hear about great Jazz musicians. It’s hard to get any space in the papers for Jazz and things like that, but if Britney Spears blows her nose, everyone hears about it.
My advice for future musicians: you have to be committed. It’s a hard road and it’s a very small niche. You’ve got to buckle down and go for it. Students that latch onto it can’t be pried away with a crow bar. Esperanza Spalding recently did a performance and also spoke with students and answered some of their questions. She also gave the students some advice. She likewise said you have to be committed. You have to be committed to your art form. You have to be prepared. Know your stuff! You have to prepare your stuff and what you want to play. You have to be creative. You want to speak with your own voice rather than imitating other voices. Be excellent.
What was your inspiration behind creating the Jazz Arts Project?
Jazz is a small niche market. He realized that in order for him to go to work or hear something, he would have to get on an airplane or take a trip to New York City. He didn’t think a lot was happening quality wise in this area. He has a lot of contacts in the industry. He thought maybe he could throw some shows on down here and try to attract an audience and gain more support Jazz organizations. They have produced a lot of shows during the years. They also have lecture series and small group concerts. It’s an art form that needs support. So far the response has been good. They have had a lot of good comments from the shows and programs they put on. He is very proud of the kids latching onto the program and Jazz. They are coming really far in the program. It’s sort of an experiment but it is going well in terms of good quality programs and good audiences. The program has a long way to go to be fully supported and expanded. He modeled this program after the Jazz at Lincoln center program.
What can someone get out of joining?
Members: The satisfaction they’re supporting an organization that presents really high quality performances. This isn’t a couple guys in a bar strumming on their guitars. It’s top-notch artists we bring to the area. Knowledge that there’s a great American art form that needs support - their membership is important.
Students: It is very rewarding to see the students’ development from the first day they start the program to the stage playing an improvised solo in front of hundreds of people or more. It’s really rewarding to see that transformation. They’ll take anyone on even if they don’t have money. As long as the person is interested in learning music and about Jazz, they will never turn away anyone. By being involved in this project it expands other possibilities. Many people are just confined to their own little world. They’re “stuck” within their 10-block radius. They want kids to realize that “I don’t have to stay in these 10 blocks.” There is so much more to the world than their neighborhood. Jazz is very much a cerebral process. There is nothing else like it in terms of music. In Jazz, its much more cerebral and intellectually involved. As you learn more and more, things start becoming clearer and you can express yourself better. Studies show the study of music improves schoolwork and test scores On a side note: There was science experiment where 3 mice where put in a maze and timed. Then the 1st mouse listened to no music, the 2nd to Classical and the 3rd Rock and Roll. After a few weeks, they went through maze and were timed again. The mouse that listened to Classical music zipped through the maze in no time. This is an intellectual process. When you play Jazz you’re in a worldwide community. You can go anywhere in the world and find musicians and play with them even if you don’t speak their language, even if you have never met them before. You’re in a worldwide community of friends. The study of Jazz opens up a whole new world.
What have you learned from being part of the Jazz Arts Project?
I haven’t learned to keep my mouth shut. Every time I open my mouth I get myself in trouble! I’m the music director for Joe Piscopo who is an actor/entertainer. We put on a full big band show. It was like a whole musical variety act, with a lot of casino shows as our demographic. In 2007, I produced a show with Piscopo at the Basie, Joe Piscopo’s Sinatra Birthday Bash. I talked to Numa, and joked saying, “I know how we can top this next year. We can make it a night of 100 Sinatra’s. We can have a parade and everyone singing a song, and at the end we’ll have them sing “My Way” as the finale.” Numa thought it was a great idea. Now it’s about 10 or 11 singers. And we still close the show with “My Way”.
Do you have any plans/ideas for the future of the Jazz Arts Project?
I’d like to have some more Jazz orchestra concerts at the Basie. We just finished recording our CD called “Strike Up The Band!” by the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra and is now for sale. I’m very pleased with the way it turned out. We also got some celebrities on it as well. I’d like to develop the academy program to the point that we’re really attracting more students, creating more ensembles for the students and creating more opportunities for them to play. I’m really hopeful that we can develop the program to be a real force. I can’t stress enough that there is a real need for it. A lot of people haven’t heard about it yet. It’s not just music classes and music theory; it is mainly teaching students to perform in an ensemble and how to use Jazz, learn about Jazz and how to play it as a performing experience. Students start to get that fact that Jazz is a melting pot that encourages different cultures and races to perform together which also adds to their acceptance of diversity. Diversity is creating something special. Any goal would be to develop the student program into a much more “happening” place for kids. Another future goal is to take students over to Europe to play. The next summer the program has some exchange students coming from Israel to be involved with the program. Depending on how this goes we might try to set up some sort of exchange program between our program and theirs, an idea that came about when one of our instructors took a trip there and walked into the school and saw a Jazz program. The instructor started talking about the Jazz Project and took it from there. Our instructors are not just educators - they are also performers in their own right; they are real artists. They all have connections all over the world.
Are there any student success stories that you would like to share?
Early on we had a student from Asbury Park the first semester we did the program. He came into the program with not a great home life. Within a month or two, we could start seeing a change in him. The kid did a performance, and in the pictures all you see is him beaming. He sounded great and he actually opened up. He was very proud of what he did. It literally changed his life. It opened him up and allowed him to break out of his shell and become more comfortable with himself. Another student was invited to the Carnegie Hall youth Jazz program. (They’ve only been doing the program for 1 year). Eventually there will be more and more success stories. Even if they don’t become a musician it doesn’t matter. They will be able to look back on this experience and remember Jazz. The objective of this program is not to create professional musicians. The goal is to open up their world and create future audiences, and to spread the word about Jazz to everyone.
The Sinatra birthday bash just passed, how did the creation of this annual event come about? Was there a certain theme for this year’s concert?
The genre of music is pretty much swing from that era 50-60’s principal of Sinatra. We try to do the show in a way that celebrates Sinatra and his relationship with Count Basie. Sinatra has influenced a lot of singers. We theme it after the American songbook - the classic era of Sinatra.
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The academy is a fun place to be. You’ll be challenged, you’ll get to perform great music and make new friends from all over the area. It’s a good creative outlet.
About Our Faculty:
Bruce Williams, a powerful alto saxophonist has performed, toured, and recorded with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, The World Saxophone Quartet, the Roy Hargrove Big Band, RH Factor, and the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra to name a few. His music is filled with spirit, soul, intellect, groove, and freedom. A noted jazz educator and mentor to young jazz musicians, Bruce has served at the New School, Princeton University, and William Paterson University as well as Ohio State, Bard College, the Paris Conservatory and the NJPAC Jazz for Teens Program.
Peter Laurance (Education Associate) is an accomplished saxophonist and educator. He is a graduate of Rutgers University where he studied saxophone with Ralph Bowen and composition with Conrad Herwig. Peter has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Tom “Bones” Malone, and Mike Smith.
Joe Muccioli (Education Program Director) is an internationally
known conductor, producer, orchestrator and musicologist. Muccioli is co-founder and artistic director of Jazz Arts Project, Inc. and its flagship ensemble the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra. He is conductor and music director for actor/entertainer Joe Piscopo, and has conducted major symphonies and jazz orchestras throughout the world, including the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the BBC Big Band. Joe has worked with hundreds of musical artists and
entertainers and has himself been featured on TV and radio.
Your Support of the Jazz Arts Academy can Change a Child’s Life
The Jazz Arts Academy is dedicated to providing high quality educational opportunities for all with a focus on underserved and at risk students. We offer needs-based scholarships to those who are unable to afford the program. Please consider a tax-deductable donation towards a full or partial tuition fee for one or more talented students!
