Lenox School of Jazz
The Lenox School of Jazz was a training program for jazz musicians held in Lenox , Massachusetts during the summer months from 1957 to 1960 .
History of the jazz program
The three-week program The Lenox School of Jazz , organized between 1957 and 1960, was of great importance for the training of later important jazz musicians. Students from the United States as well as students from India, Rhodesia, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey gathered in the small town; 45 students visited him in the last round. The program was created by Marshall Stearns , Professor of English at Hunter College and later the founder of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University .
The lecturers included numerous jazz musicians such as Kenny Dorham (1958/59) or Dizzy Gillespie (1958), the ragtime pianist Eubie Blake , the composer Leonard Bernstein , the Julliard lecturer John Mehegan , the musicologist Willis James from Spelman College Composer Marc Blitzstein and anthropologist Richard Waterman of Northwestern University .
An important aspect of the Lenox teaching method was the practical instruction of the students, who, in addition to the courses in composition, music history and ensemble playing, were encouraged to take two private instrumental lessons per week in order to avoid them becoming too attached to the style of their respective instructor oriented. In addition to the musicians as instructors such as David Baker , Gary McFarland , Bill Evans , Ralph Peña and Herb Pomeroy , composers were also present in 1958, who taught the composition classes. In addition to Margo Guryan and Arif Mardin, these were jazz musicians Bill Russo , Jimmy Giuffre , George Russell and Gunther Schuller . The preferred method was Bill Russo's “Guide to Immersion ”, which many students described as the highlight of their stay.
In 1959/60 Gunther Schuller also held courses in jazz history ( The Analytical History of Jazz ). In addition, the relationship between jazz and classical music, between new music and jazz (Gunther Schuller), the border areas of jazz (Bill Russo with Lennie Tristano ), the problems with recording jazz (with Nesuhi Ertegün as a guest); Music management issues (with agents Monte Kay, Pete Kameron, and Rudy Viola); on African music (with Fela Sowande ) and the rudimentary beginnings of jazz (Willis James); there were also discussion rounds on the subjects of jazz criticism and problems of organizing jazz festivals.
Another key feature of the Lenox programs were the concerts held every Thursday and Saturday evening; In addition to the participants, guests such as Wilbur DeParis and his New Orleans Jazz Band , Mahalia Jackson , Chris Connor and the Boston Percussion Ensemble performed as well as the formations of the instructors such as the Oscar Peterson Trio, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and the JJ Johnson Quintet with Freddie Hubbard and the members of the Modern Jazz Quartet , Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath and Connie Kay . The last program in the summer of 1960 threatened to fail at the last moment due to a lack of sponsorship funds; a donation from restaurant owner Michael Bakwin in the amount of $ 5,000 finally made possible the performance of Schuller's Third Stream project, which was recorded by Atlantic Records and appeared under the name John Lewis Presents Jazz Abstractions .
Students attending The Lenox School of Jazz included Vera Auer , John Bergamo , Ran Blake , Nico Bunink , Don Cherry , Ornette Coleman , Michael Gibbs , Jim Hall , Steve Kuhn , Larry Ridley , Perry Robinson , Ian Underwood, and Attila Zoller .
Quotes from participants
"The opportunity to form the School of Jazz was an incredible gift from God."
"The School of Jazz gave jazz a weight of recognition that was unknown at the time."
“The Lenox School of Jazz was an incredible, unique pioneering act. She was twenty years ahead of her time. "
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Discographic notes
- The Lenox Jazz School Concert - August 29, 1959 with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Giuffre, Ian Underwood, Gunther Schuller, Gary McFarland, Attila Zoller, Steve Kuhn, Ran Blake, Larry Ridley, Barry Greenspan ( Fresh Sound Records )
literature
- Jeremy Yudkin: The Lenox School of Jazz - A Vital Chapter in the History of American Music and Race Relations. ISBN 0-9789089-1-0 .
Web links
- School of Jazz Photo Scrapbook. Photographs from Lenox attendees on JazzDiscography.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Michael Fitzgerald: The Lenox School of Jazz (November 1, 1993). JazzDiscography.com
- ^ A b c Jeremy Yudkin: The Lenox School of Jazz. Reactions to the book on the author's website ( Memento from February 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ).