When we took a trip to the jazz club called the jazz standard it was really nice. I really enjoyed the food that was there. It was nice to hear the band that we were playing music by. As we were listening to the band play their set Dr. Fletcher was telling us famous stories about how Charles Mingus took his music so serious. It was very inspiring to hear what the band really sounded like and it was a great opportunity.i love jazz and looking and observing this big band play it made me want to continue to play my instrument in the jazz world.

                                                

A Trip to MSM

-->

In late January the Jazz band took a trip to Manhattan school of music to listen to their Pre-college jazz band rehearse. They were playing music similar to our own because it was by the same composer Charles Mingus. The objective of the trip was to see how a top level band rehearses their music. There were significant differences between the way they practice and we do, mostly having to do with their skill level. They have been playing since they were young children while many of us did not begin to play until our freshman year.

The band worked on three songs; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Fables of Faubus and Better Get Hit In Your Souls. They spent 45 minutes on one song, and 15 on the other two. They spent 10 minutes warming up and did not do any exercises. The rehearsal was very productive and had very little laughing and joking around although there was some. I believe this is because the students did not seem to know one another so they would not have much to talk about while we have know each other for a year or more. The band was indeed very talented and sounded amazing, they gave us a level that I believe we could strive to achieve.

My Experience in Jazz Band

-->

            In my Jazz Band class there are many new things I have liked, but there are three things I find the most relevant to me and would help me become a successful trombonist. First it’s the amazing songs we play. The songs are difficult but I still have the confidence to play them.  One example is Haitian Fight Song. I think it’s a great song and it challenges me, which makes me a better player. So I really enjoy playing it and other songs that are beautiful to hear, but is difficult to play.

            

           Second, I enjoy being able to do solos using my own creativity instead of having to do a solo that’s written in. having my own solo makes me feel original and I can make up my own patterns. Playing what I feel makes me put in more emotion into the music. Without the solos I do not think jazz would be as fun to play because it will feel like concert band. Concert band wasn’t a bad experience but it is no way near as fun and challenging as jazz band. So the solos are a very big part of my jazz experience and I would love it continue to play them in the future. 

          

         Third, the trips to Boston, which I always look forward to going every year. Going to the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival. I like the idea of playing with other bands to see how we compare even if there’s a big difference in experience. Other than losing to the other school it’s a fun trip because we get to explore Boston and meet other peers that play the same music as us. So going to Boston is always a good experience and I always enjoy going.

          

         In conclusion, being in jazz band is nothing but a fun and great experience that you can learn from. The songs are great to listen to but even better to play. The solos help us build our creativity and our confidence. Then the moment of truth comes when we go to Boston to play against the nations best jazz bands and learn from our peers. So I am glad I was able to have this class more than once and I hope this class only gets better in the years to come. 

The MSM Trip

-->

We left for Manhattan on a cold Saturday in late January. We walked down to Penn Station and hopped on a few trains to get to NYC. We got off near Columbia University and a small tour of the campus and stood at the overlook where Harlem is. The Manhattan School of Music was just a few blocks away.

The inside of the Manhattan School of Music is strange to describe. At the main lobby, the place was very modern in design with scarlet red and black seats and couches for waiting where musicians can sit (or play) on. However, other parts of the building looked antiquated. In fact, even the insides of the claustrophobic elevator we rode on had a pale beige color. The hallway we walked through looked like something from an old apartment building. However, these descriptions pale in comparison to the excellent playing by the MSM band.

A few minutes after we came in the rehearsal room, the MSM students went straight to playing; there were no warm-ups. They played ‘Fables of Faubus’, ‘Goodbye Porkpie Hat’ and ‘Better Get Hit In Your Soul’, all by the famous Jazz musician Charles Mingus. All of the songs had this deep, “nasty” style to it. In fact, their conductor emphasized that they needed to play ‘Faubus’ in “a messy” way, but “a clean messy”. After we left, I learned that most of the high-schoolers there (if not all) have been playing music for a majority of their lives and have years and years worth of experience. Overall, I was absolutely blown away by the MSM band and I wish them good luck in their upcoming competition!

Trip To Observe the MSM Precollege Jazz Big Band

Kyleel Rolle

As we walked into the rehearsal room of the MSM Precollege Jazz Big Band, I noticed characteristics about the students similar to those in our band. Before the rehearsal formally started, they were jamming out, playing an up-tempo grove. We often do this a lot in our rehearsals. As more kids came into the rehearsal it became more formal. The kids started to tune their instruments and prepare for the session.  There was not really much time spent on warming up. I would say about three to five minutes on tuning and making sure all instruments were in perfect pitch. As they dove into playing, I noticed that everyone was focused and ready for the task at hand. There was not an even amount of time spent on each song. They focused the bulk of their time on the first song, Fables of Fabus, for about forty-five minutes. In all, I gained a lot of insight from the musicians in attending their rehearsal. It was very inspired to see kids my age playing at such a professional level. 

Donald MSM

-->

The trip to the Manhattan School of Music taught a lot about the importance of dynamics and the feeling of the jazz style. Their band was much different from ours in that they were more in tune with one another and spent less time learning notes and more time on playing the music in tune and feeling the Mingus style of jazz.

            The band is also different from us in that there is less joking around partly because many of the people in the band barely know one another. The interaction with between the director and the students is less joking as well. The class also took some time explaining the music and where it originated from and how it came to be. I also saw that they don’t listen to the music before they play it unlike our class.

            I think the most important thing in the band that we could take from is how they strive not to stand out but to be in tune and have a medium sound so that we could hear the rest of the band. It is this that kills us as a band at Berklee and something we as a band should work on more.

Manhattan School of Music

Malachi Hunter                                             FC                                            2/11/13

Jazz Band                                                                                                       Fletcher

                                                Manhattan School of Music

            The Precollege Jazz Band rehearsal at MSM ran like a professional one. It started off smooth and the intensity built up as the rehearsal progressed. The conductor immediately jumped right into the music and the musicians had no problem. There was no time spent on warm-ups and exercises.

            The band played three of Charles Mingus’ most famous songs: Fables of Faubus, Better Get Hit In Your Soul and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. In between the pieces when there was a break, the conductor spoke about how Charles Mingus played and who he looked up to and referenced.  The most time was spent on Fables of Faubus, which took about an hour. The other pieces took about 15 minutes each.  For the quality of the solos, I was surprised that there was no practice time given.

            The conductor focused on dynamics, articulation and overall feel and groove. The insight I gained was the soloing that he used when in his songs. Mingus would add notes that were not in key and would sound great because of the intentional dissonance. The students interacted with each other like they hang out everyday although they only interact with each other on Saturday’s.