Wynton Marsalis's Blog, page 84

Wynton on METRO UK: Jazz fusion is like Tabasco, it works in small doses

Wynton Marsalis is, very probably, the most powerful person in jazz history. Installed as artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, on a salary of almost $1million (£640,000), the 50-year-old trumpeter presides over an unprecedented programme of education courses, concert series, jazz orchestras and TV and radio broadcasts – all while making his own albums and touring with various ensembles.

This month he appears to be bringing a large chunk of that activity to Britain for one of his biannual visits. Alongside assorted education packages around London and a festival for school bands, Marsalis will conduct a mammoth Jazz at Lincoln Center residency at London’s Barbican and beyond with selected bands. The performances include a collaboration with an African drum troupe, a Harlem-style Abyssinian mass with a 100-voice choir, a Duke Ellington tribute, an exploration of Afro-Cuban jazz, a concert at Birmingham Symphony Hall on July 20 and the British debut of Marsalis’s epic Swing Symphony.

‘It’s a history of jazz from the plantations to the concert halls,’ says Marsalis. ‘It’s a small cross-section of what the Lincoln Center does.’

The centrepiece of this residency is his symphony for orchestra and jazz ensemble, which its conductor Simon Rattle describes as ‘a concerto for two orchestras’.

Marsalis was a teenage classical prodigy, playing trumpet concertos at the age of 14. Aged 22, he was the first musician to win Grammys in both jazz and classical categories. Does this background make it easier for him to marry the jazz and orchestral traditions?

‘It’s never easy to mix the two,’ he says. ‘Usually, with an orchestra, the string section is the rhythm section and the percussion instruments provide colour. With a jazz band, the rhythm comes from the piano, bass and drums. So when you add a jazz band to an orchestra, you take one function away from the strings. That’s a profound, fundamental difference. What’s unique here is that I’ve written the orchestra’s part so that it swings and plays inside of the jazz rhythm, rather than just playing long, sustained notes.’

Marsalis has often dismissed fusions – particularly those mixing jazz with rock and funk music – but two of these projects see him fusing jazz with Latin and African rhythms. Why are these different?

‘What I object to is the abandonment of the swing rhythm that is essential to jazz,’ he says, suddenly getting angrier. ‘There is no way that anyone can be a great jazz musician playing along to funk or rock rhythms. It just ain’t gonna happen.’

But Afro-Cuban rhythms are also outside that tradition, aren’t they? ‘They are but what Jelly Roll Morton called “The Spanish Tinge” has always been a key component of jazz. Chico O’Farrill and Dizzy Gillespie explored Cuban rhythms. I’ve always worked with salsa musicians such as Mario Rivera and the Panamanian trumpeter Victor Paz.

‘That’s where people get my views on fusion wrong. If I tell you that you can’t pour Tabasco sauce on everything in a meal without destroying some flavours, you can’t come to the conclusion that I hate Tabasco sauce! I like it on certain things. It’s the same with funk rhythms. I like them, just not on everything.’

Marsalis has certainly been broad-minded in his collaborations recently, recording albums with Eric Clapton and Willie Nelson. ‘Neither of those involved any dilution,’ he insists. ‘Eric plays in the blues tradition, he knows that tradition well. Jazz musicians have always worked with blues musicians. And Willie Nelson is from Texas, I’m from Louisiana, and we played songs we both grew up hearing and knowing. Jazz and country music have a long tradition together. Louis Armstrong collaborated with Jimmie Rodgers way back in 1930.’

It’s sometimes a little frustrating that Marsalis seems to require a historical precedent to authorise everything he does. It fits in with the idea that he treats jazz as a heritage industry rather than an evolving artform. Perhaps the most interesting project in this London residency is the one that moves into uncharted territory – the Congo Square collaboration with Ghanaian master drummer Yacub Addy – which Marsalis admits is the most problematic piece he’s worked on.

‘We worked at this for more than a year before we found something we liked,’ he says. ‘The first collaboration didn’t work and we studied it to discover why it didn’t work. The challenge is that the African band were playing a bell pattern that played four beats and six beats against each other, all the time, both at once. That’s incredibly complicated to our Western ears, so we had to work in that rhythm to make any sense of it. Like any collaboration, there’s a lot of give and take.

‘Listen, all music is a fusion. The trumpet was not invented to be played in jazz. It’s the intention behind those fusions that can be problematic. To water down your rhythm and to sacrifice your objectives to those of another culture, that is a sell-out to me. That’s different from a collaboration.’

Source: METRO UK

Wynton’s interview on the Telegraph: It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got swing

Being with Wynton Marsalis is always an education. He’s happiest when he can enthuse about something, or learn something new from whoever he’s speaking to. Right now, sitting over lunch in a Japanese restaurant in New York, he’s off on the topic of jazz’s Anglo-Celtic roots.

“Those folk songs and hymns the slaves learnt from their masters were the real basis, the African element was grafted on top, not the other way round,” he says very firmly, “and this is why African and jazz rhythms developed in a different way. Listen, if you clap a marching rhythm, one-two-three-four, you can fit a swing rhythm over the top, like this.”

He demonstrates, to the amused interest of other diners as well as me. “Now can you beat out a march rhythm for me?” As I oblige, Marsalis closes his eyes, frowns with concentration, and claps out something with a startlingly different feel. Suddenly, we seem to be transported to Africa.

“That’s a Ghanaian rhythm. I had to figure out a way of putting these two things together when I wrote Congo Square.”

Congo Square (co-written with Yacub Addy) is one of three pieces by Marsalis that are receiving their British premiere during the forthcoming JLCO (Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) residency at the Barbican Centre. The title, I discover, is full of significance for African-Americans.

“Congo Square was in New Orleans, and it was the only place in the US where slaves could play their drums. It was controlled by the French, who were more relaxed about slaves’ cultural practices. The English banned drums because they were seen as a kind of communication.”

That tradition is long gone. But Marsalis was able to rediscover it, thanks to Addy, a New York-based Ghanaian musician who performs alongside Marsalis’s orchestra, together with his group Odadaa!

“Man, I learnt so much from that guy,” says Marsalis reverently. “He told me about the meaning of different rhythms, and played me something called a royal rhythm. I said I couldn’t hear the difference between that and a normal triplet rhythm, and he said: ‘Brother, that’s why you will never play it right!’ ” Marsalis tells all this with a laugh.

The passion to learn, the reverence for jazz’s roots, the concern with big issues of cultural transmission, as well as the minutiae of musical performance and composition, these are what have made Wynton Marsalis such an inspirational leader of the JLCO. Plus a stratospheric performing ability on the trumpet, and a human touch that allows all the members of the orchestra to shine.

Under his leadership, the orchestra’s activities at the Lincoln Center have grown from a modest three-concert summer season back in 1987 to a permanent presence as one of the centre’s 12 resident artistic institutions. He has become a worldwide ambassador for this quintessentially American musical genre, which began as the voice of an oppressed people, became a global form of popular entertainment and is now revered as an art form.

Some complain that during its ascent to the high ground, jazz lost its roots in communal solidarity and simple joyousness. That’s something that concerns Todd Stoll, who runs the educational side of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“Don’t run away from the swing; that’s something Wynton says often, and I agree. I think it would be great if people could dance to jazz again, like they used to. The problem is that school and college dance bands moved over to pop and rock in the Sixties and Seventies, so they lost touch with jazz. I played in one of those bands myself, and when I left I hadn’t played a single note of Duke Ellington.” He shakes his head in disbelief at this sorry state of affairs.

The music of Duke Ellington, whom Marsalis describes as one of the great geniuses in all music, is at the centre of the education department’s activities. Their Essentially Ellington pack will be sent out to any school that asks for it, plus a vast library of scores across the entire history of jazz. All this is gratis, thanks to some generous private donors.

“Thousands of school bands have an entire library filled with our material,” says Stoll, with some pride, “and we’re starting to work overseas now.”

Across the street from Stoll’s office in the Time-Warner building is more evidence of JLC’s ambition, as well as the generosity of private philanthropy in America. It houses the first purpose-built large auditorium for jazz, the Frederick P Rose Hall, plus the medium-sized Allen Room, a jazz education centre and archive, and the intimate Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, which has a view to die for over Central Park.

At the centre of all this is the 15-strong big band which visits Britain next week, and contains many of American’s finest players plus two Britons, in the shape of trombonist Elliot Mason and revered Scottish baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley.

It’s all mightily impressive, but Marsalis has his critics. Many say his effort to preserve swing-based jazz is misguided, because the real essence of jazz is that it is the “sound of surprise”, always moving on. In any case, the nerve centre of African-American culture has shifted to other forms of music: above all, hip hop.

Marsalis will have none of this. “Hip-hop for me is a throwback to the minstrelsy. After the Civil War, white folks were offered minstrel shows that offered ‘real coons from the real plantation’, and to me that’s like rappers today, with their talk of keeping it real, giving themselves a minstrel name, boasting about how they can degrade their women.”

Belonging to a tradition offers a way out of this sterile self-assertion. “You and I talk English, so we’re able to embrace the tradition the language embodies, of Chaucer and Shakespeare. It’s the background to everything we say, and we need to be aware of that. The more you learn of the traditions you belong to, the higher you can go. Look at Joe Temperley, he’s the oldest member of our band, he’s from Scotland, and yet he plays jazz so beautifully and with such optimism. It’s not about where you’re from, it’s who you are and what you have become.”

Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are in residence at the Barbican Centre (0845 120 7550) July 10–26. They will also appear at the Anvil, Basingstoke (01256 844 244), on July 17 and Symphony Hall, Birmingham (0121 780 4949) on July 20.

Source: The Telegraph

Video: Wynton Marsalis Quintet live at The Greene Space, NYC

June 5, 2012. Wynton Marsalis speaks with WQXR’s Elliott Forrest at The Greene Space.

Personnel: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet); Walter Blanding (sax); Dan Nimmer (piano); Carlos Henriquez (bass); Willie Jones III (drums).

Wynton and Paul Simon on CBS This Morning

Tune in to CBS This Morning on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, at 8.30am ET, to watch Wynton’s interview with Paul Simon about their Jazz at Lincoln Center collaboration and Simon’s career in music.

Wynton to perform at The Greene Space

On June 5th 2012, at 12:00pm, Wynton Marsalis will appear for the first time at The Greene Space for a conversation with WQXR’s Elliott Forrest. This special mid-day event will also include a performance by Wynton and members of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra (Walter Blanding, sax; Dan Nimmer, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; WIllie Jones III, drums).

Event will be live streamed on wnyc.org

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra rehearsing Royal Garden Blues

On May 5, 2012, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra filmed an open rehearsal of Ellington’s “Royal Garden Blues.” This piece will be a part of the 2013 Essentially Ellington Program’s repertoire, and the open rehearsal discusses strategies for effectively performing the piece.

Celebrating the life and career of Phoebe Jacobs

A memorial concert celebrating the life of longtime jazz advocate Phoebe Jacobs—who died April 9 at age 93—will take place at 1 p.m. on May 24 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York.

The “Tribute to Phoebe Jacobs, In Memoriam” program will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis as well as Jimmy Heath, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff, Mercedes Ellington, Bobby Sanabria, Antoinette Montague, Robert O’Meally, Victor Goines, Bob Stewart, Stanley Crouch, George Wein, Norma Miller, Brianna Thomas and others. Immediately following the program will be a second-line procession along Central Park South. The event is free to the public, and attendees will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 12:30 p.m.

A highly influential behind-the-scenes figure in jazz, Jacobs was best known as a publicist for such prominent musicians as Ella Fitzgerald, Sy Oliver, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington and Della Reese. She worked closely for many years with Louis Armstrong and assisted in organizing the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, where she served as executive vice president. After Armstrong’s death in 1971, Jacobs continued to promote his legacy, and her efforts and influence helped establish the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College and the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

Jacobs worked tirelessly to provide scholarships to high school and college students through various non-profit organizations, and she was instrumental in launching the Jazz for Young People Concert Series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1989, she helped establish the Jazz Foundation of America, a non-profit organization that provides support to musicians in need.

Jacobs discovered her love for jazz as a young woman and began working as a hat-check girl at the Manhattan jazz club Kelly’s Stable at age 17. She went on to work as a promoter and contractor, serving as director of public relations and producer of special events at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Plaza, where she was responsible for the appearances of many prominent entertainers. Early in her career, Jacobs also worked for Decca Records and the club Basin Street East.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation online at louisarmstrongfoundation.org

Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis return to the Barbican in July 2012

The world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis return to the Barbican for their second International Associate residency in July 2012. Following on from their critically acclaimed visit in 2010, the second residency will give audiences the opportunity to experience music performed by some of America’s finest jazz musicians in concerts, workshops, masterclasses, professional development events and talks.

Focusing on new commissions and collaborations, one of the highlights of the residency is the UK premiere of jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’ symphonic meditation on the evolution of swing, Swing Symphony (Symphony No. 3). The new work can be heard at the Barbican on 25 & 26 July performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

Taking the programme in exciting new directions, the residency also features two European premieres. The first is Wynton Marsalis’ Congo Square – a composition written by Wynton Marsalis and Ghanaian drum master Yacub Addy. The piece skillfully combines traditional African music with jazz and celebrates the historic Congo Square site in New Orleans, the only location in America where African slaves were allowed to perform music and dance from their motherland. Performed on 10 July by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Yacub Addy’s celebrated Ghanaian percussion and vocal ensemble Odadaa!, Congo Square was premiered on 23 April 2006 in Congo Square itself, which is inside the Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans.

The second European premiere on 13 July is Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass , which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center and first performed to celebrate the bicentenary of New York City’s Abyssinian Baptist Church in 2008. This large-scale work brings together the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with a 100-voice choir, including Croydon SDA Gospel Choir & London Adventist Chorale and conducted by Damien Sneed, to perform modernist variants of New Orleans dirges and struts, modal excursions of hard-bop and the Ellington big-band legacies of brassy swing, and sumptuously harmonised ballads.

On 16 July the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis are joined by Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez, plus musicians Ariacne Trujillo and Jhair Sala , for a concert entitled Afro-Cuban Fiesta. This event provides an opportunity for Marsalis and the orchestra to revisit their impressions and experiences from a recent historic visit to La Havana, Cuba, where they performed with Cuban musicians. The concert explores the connection between the American jazz big band tradition and Afro-Cuban jazz.

Each year, JALC Education produces a variety of education programmes that reach tens of thousands of participants around the world. Working together with the Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning Division, the residency programme includes a day of free workshops and jam sessions for all in East London (details to be announced at a later date), masterclasses with Guildhall School jazz musicians, and a project with the East London Creative Jazz Orchestra. This creative jazz ensemble is formed of up to 30 young people selected in partnership with Music Services from the ten Olympic Gateway Boroughs under the artistic direction of Band Director Paul Griffiths.

Another highlight of the Creative Learning work is the first UK-wide version of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s acclaimed Essentially Ellington High School Big Band Jazz programme. Eleven youth jazz orchestras of all standards from across the UK will learn traditional big band charts composed by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams and Dizzy Gillespie. They will receive on-site visits and workshops delivered by teams of UK and US jazz musicians and the programme culminates in an event at the Barbican on 14 July with special guests from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The programme is based on the hugely successful annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival which is one of the most innovative jazz education events in the world.

Check out the full schedule

Winners of 17th Essentially Ellington Competition 2012

Three high school jazz bands took top honors on Sunday night at the 17th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. The bands were chosen by a panel of judges composed of distinguished jazz musicians and historians, including Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Artistic Director WYNTON MARSALIS, DAVID BERGER, BILL DOBBINS, JEFF HAMILTON and SHERMAN IRBY. The three top-placing bands were chosen from a field of 15 finalist bands that participated in the three-day Competition & Festival from May 4-6. 

 

Competition performances of all the bands were streamed live and will soon be archived at http://www.jalc.org/ee2012

 

Essentially Ellington culminated at Sunday night’s concert. Taking place at New York City’s famed Avery Fisher Hall, the concert featured the three top-placing bands performing with a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as a soloist, followed by a performance by the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO) – all of whom served as mentors for each of the finalist bands during this weekend’s festival.

At an awards ceremony after the performances, Wynton Marsalis presented prizes and cash awards to each of the 15 finalist bands. Christopher Dorsey, Director of the Dillard Center for the Arts, accepted the 1st place trophy and an award of $5,000. Scott Brown, Director of Roosevelt High School, accepted the 2nd place trophy and an award of $2,500. Peter Francis, Director of New World School of the Arts accepted the 3rd place trophy and an award of $1,000.

Rio Americano High School, under the direction of Josh Murray, was named honorable mention band and received an award of $750. The remaining 11 finalist bands and winning community ensemble were awarded certificates of merit and cash awards of $500.  All monetary awards go toward improving the schools’ jazz programs.  Awards for outstanding soloists and sections were also presented (see listing below). 

 

“This is possibly the strongest competition we’ve had in 17 years.  As a former Essentially Ellington finalist band director, I have great insight into what it takes to get a band to this level,” said Jazz at Lincoln Center Director of Education Todd Stoll. “It has been inspiring to watch these young people interact with each other, members of our band and Wynton Marsalis over the last 3 days.  This Festival is a testament to the importance of music and arts education in America.  I congratulate all of the bands, the winners and our incredible Essentially Ellington team for a weekend that’s both inspirational and transformational.”

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s

17th Annual Essentially Ellington High School

Jazz Band Competition & Festival 2012 Awards

 

FIRST PLACE

Dillard Center for the Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

 

SECOND PLACE

Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA) 

 

THIRD PLACE

New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL)

 

HONORABLE MENTION BAND

Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA)

 

WINNING COMMUNITY ENSEMBLE

Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ)

 

 

OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS

Honorable Mention Alto Saxophone:


Emery Mesich, Rio Americano High School


Max McArthur, DeKalb High School


Tim Leslie, Beloit Memorial High School


Angie Coyle, Eau Claire North High School



Marcelo Romero, New World School of the Arts

Outstanding Alto Saxophone:

Jorge Roldan, New World School of the Arts


 

Honorable Mention Tenor Saxophone:

Nick Hollon, Lakota East High School


Ruby Fore, Ballard High School

Outstanding Tenor Saxophone:


Adrian Noteboom, Roosevelt High School

David Leon, New World School of the Arts


Ben Stocker, Dillard Center for the Arts

Jonathan Hainsworth, Dillard Center for the Arts

 


Honorable Mention Baritone Saxophone:


Sarah Clausen, Badger High School


Trevor Bazile, New World School of the Arts


Honorable Mention Clarinet
:

Emma Cocatre-Zilgien, Champaign Central High School

 

Outstanding Trumpet
:

John Otten, Roosevelt High School

Max Boiko, Dillard Center for the Arts

Andrew Stevens, Rio Americano High School

Anthony Hervey, Dillard Center for the Arts

Noah Halpern, Roosevelt High School

Sam Zisette, Ballard High School

Aaron Todahl, Lakota East High School

 

Honorable Mention Trumpet:


Ryan DeWeese, Esperanza High School


Michael Dudley, Lakota East High School


Alex Rosenfeld, Medfield High School




Outstanding Lead Trumpet:

Christian Dorsey, Dillard Center for the Arts

 

Outstanding Trombone:

Coleman Hughes, Newark Academy

Michael Wang, Rio Americano High School

Ryan Earl, DeKalb High School

 

Outstanding Multi-Instrumentalist:

Max Goldschmid, Tucson Jazz Institute


 

Honorable Mention Piano:


Nathaniel Okun, Newark Academy


Taylor Griffin, Mountlake Terrace High School

 

Outstanding Piano:

Nathan Rice, Newark Academy

Grant Cherry, Tucson Jazz Institute

Pierre Charles, Beloit Memorial High School

Chris McCarthy, Roosevelt High School

 

Honorable Mention Bass:

Sean Blair, Dillard Center for the Arts



 

Outstanding Bass:

Russell Hall, Dillard Center for the Arts

Rinah Wilson, DeKalb High School

Jose Albizu Campos, New World School of the Arts

 


Honorable Mention Drums:


Carmen Rast, Champaign Central High School


Ryland Mandish, Tucson Jazz Institute

 

Outstanding Drums:

Sydney Henry, Dillard Center for the Arts

Nate Sampson, Roosevelt High School


Ryan Leppich, Mountlake Terrace High School

Nick Hach, Lakota East High School

Paul Slater, Rio Americano High School

 

Outstanding Vibraphone:

Kabir Thatte, Medfield High School

 

Honorable Mention Vocalist:

Isabella Yanke, Badger High School
 

Outstanding Vocalist:

Jade Likkel, Ballard High School

 

Outstanding Guitar:

Adam Shimabukuro, Roosevelt High School

Harley Basadre, New World School of the Arts



Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist:

Tony Madruga, New World School of the Arts

 

 

OUTSTANDING SECTIONS

Honorable Mention Reeds:

Roosevelt High School

Outstanding Reeds:

Eau Claire North High School

Mountlake Terrace High School

Dillard Center for the Arts

 

Outstanding Brass:

Tucson Jazz Institue

Badger High School

Roosevelt High School



Honorable Mention Pep Section


Champaign Central High School

 

Outstanding Trombones:

Dillard Center for the Arts

 

Outstanding Trumpets:

Dillard Center for the Arts 

 

Outstanding Rhythm Section:

New World School of the Arts


Mountlake Terrace High School

 

 

A photo gallery of the entire Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival and recordings of the competition performances will be available in upcoming weeks on http://www.jalc.org/essentiallyellington

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Each year, Jazz at Lincoln Center selects and transcribes original transcriptions of Duke Ellington compositions and arrangements by other seminal big band arrangers and composers. 

 

The music along with reference recordings and other resources were distributed to all high school jazz bands that joined the free program.

 

Throughout April, Jazz at Lincoln Center sent, free of charge, a professional musician to each of the 15 finalist schools and community ensemble winner to lead an intensive workshop of rehearsals, lessons, and master classes.

 

The free clinics are part of the rich 17-year history of this unique music education program, which has reached more than 304,000 students in more than 4,000 high schools across all 50 United States, Canada, Australia and American schools abroad.  Essentially Ellington has produced and distributed more than 120,000 copies of 98 previously unavailable scores and 237 finalist bands have traveled to New York City to participate in the annual Competition & Festival.  

 

This year Jazz at Lincoln Center distributed more than 10,200 newly transcribed scores, reference recordings and additional educational materials. 

1,770 high schools in the United States, Canada, and American schools in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, the People’s Republic of China and Switzerland received Essentially Ellington materials.

111 bands entered the competition by submitting a recorded performance of three compositions.

The entries were evaluated in a blind screening by jazz education experts RONALD CARTER, SHERMAN IRBY, LOREN SCHOENBERG, and STEVE FIDYK. 

15 finalists and one community ensemble were selected.

 

The 15 finalists for Essentially Ellington 2012 were:

 

Badger High School, Lake Geneva, WI

Ballard High School, Seattle, WA 

Beloit Memorial High School, Beloit, WI 

Champaign Central High School, Champaign, IL 

DeKalb High School, DeKalb, IL 

Dillard Center for the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL 

Eau Claire North High School, Eau Claire, WI 

Esperanza High School, Anaheim, CA 

Lakota East High School, Liberty Township, OH 

Medfield High School, Medfield, MA 

Mountlake Terrace High School, Mountlake Terrace, WA New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL 
Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ 
Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA 
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA

 

Winner of Community Band Category:


Tucson Jazz Institute, Tucson, AZ

 

Sponsorship:

Founding leadership support for Essentially Ellington is provided by The Jack and Susan Rudin Educational and Scholarship Fund.  Major support is provided by The Con Edison Community Partnership Fund, The Irene Diamond Fund, Gail and Alfred Engelberg, The Ella Fitzgerald Foundation, The Dexter Gordon Foundation, The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation, Nathan P. Jacobs Foundation, The Mericos Foundation, and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

 

 

Media Contact: Eva Dilmanian for Jazz at Lincoln Center

Phone: 646.675.8550

Email: eva@buzzwordpr.com

Q&A with kids at Essentially Ellington 2012

This weekend, I got to talk to some of the kids from our Essentially Ellington competition.

Q&A Part 1

Q&A Part 2

Q&A part 3

Q&A part 4

Q&A part 5