whittling eight down to four

the fans have shredded their vocal chords.  the pep band has blown its chops.  the oddsmakers in vegas are wringing their hands.  the pundits are backtracking like that guy from memento.  upset city, baby.  diaperdooo dunkarooo. jazzamatazz yourmomisaspazz.  the sweet sixteen has been set, and the road to the final four has begun.  see how the path unfolds.

the surprises in this region include some of the most recognizable names in jazz, but the easier picks.

i like sinatra.  he is a wonderful vocalist, whose musicianship holds its own with the likes of the basie band and jobim.  he sings important tunes and had a long career, but doesn't hold a candle to gil.  if jaco had stayed clean more frequently, his legacy would be more expansive (but, with that unfair caveat, it would also be nonexistent).  trane obviously moves on, and handles gil evans with not much effort.  tough draw for monk.  great compositions and a unique presence on a music that, at the time, was self-serving. getz's splash on the scene cements him as a fixture on society's jazz radar.  wynton tries too hard.  seriously - shut up and play.  miles, the overall #1 seed, wiggles past "the sound" and sets up an exciting semifinal matchup.

this is an interesting bracket.  i wouldn't have guessed some of these guys would show up here.  i smell an upset.

art tatum attracted the finest jazz players to his solo piano gigs, all in awe of his befuddling technique and broad harmonic palette.  nat cole could hold his own behind the keys and bastes hearts with that buttery voice.  of course charlie parker is the founding father of bebop, but his abbreviated career stops him short of any creative twists and development in his musicianship.  mingus is on those groundbreaking bebop records, and his leadership and compositional growth push him beyond bird and king cole into the next round.  paul motian's drum colors influenced a whole generation of percussionists. it's difficult to discern exactly which pieces in duke's massive library of tunes belong to him or strayhorn.  what he did as a bandleader and for strayhorn himself are not without acknowledgment, but i like motian here.  my love for ornette and his maverick status can't overshadow the fact that herbie can hang in ornette's world and has enough in his arsenal to swagger through all styles of music.  he moves on, and just might win this whole thing.

the stage is set.  miles vs. trane.  mingus vs. herbie - a fight to the finish.  scalp a ticket, put on your garb, paint your face, rustle up $9 for a hot dog, settle in for the big finish.  and quit doing that shocker hand sign.

picking the jazz bracket - the second half

i have randomly created my own 64-artist bracket for jazz music.  i'm sure i left some people out, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  just ask dick vitale.  the matchups were picked randomly and there is no seeding in place.  i chose people from a myriad of styles and influences, and considered their advancement upon a few criteria; popularity in the general public, contribution of tunes and concepts, unique prowess as a performer, international presence, and trails blazed for new frontiers in jazz.  i chose most of the winners and, when i got stuck, consulted my jazz students with whom i'm performing a live soundtrack to the tennessee williams iconic play "a streetcar named desire".  i took the photos of my brackets in that same space, explaining the colorful hues.

there are several interesting characters on this sheet, including current artists whose appearance may be surprising.

this is arguably the most stacked bracket, complete with some tough first round pairings.  no room for cinderella here.

rahsaan is my darling pick, but goes down effortlessly to the wild-eyed piano phenom tatum.  basie over satchmo is based upon his longevity and inclusion of other artists.  nat cole handles jimmy smith and gets past basie because of his style and musicianship (dig the piano trio sessions). mingus is a serious contender and, in my opinion, is the favorite to emerge from this sheet.  blakey thankfully disposes of McRib while bird narrowly edges out tony, with parker sliding past buhaina en route to the sweet sixteen.

i love bill evans, but love paul motian even more.  dolphy is all over the crooning elling but is really no match for duke (with a nod to strayhorn).  those who know me are surprised that frisell lost to ella but fully expect to see ornette advance past she and holland.  herbie over django is easy, but wayne vs. dizzy isn't.  charisma + musicianship = a win for dizzy, although that may be the most controversial pick thus far.  it becomes a moot point as herbie gets past gillespie.

picking the jazz bracket - the first half

i have randomly created my own 64-artist bracket for jazz music.  i'm sure i left some people out, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  just ask dick vitale.  the matchups were picked randomly and there is no seeding in place.  i chose people from a myriad of styles and influences, and considered their advancement upon a few criteria; popularity in the general public, contribution of tunes and concepts, unique prowess as a performer, international presence, and trails blazed for new frontiers in jazz.  i chose most of the winners and, when i got stuck, consulted my jazz students with whom i'm performing a live soundtrack to the tennessee williams iconic play "a streetcar named desire".  i took the photos of my brackets in that same space, explaining the colorful hues.

this sheet has great players and tough pairings. recognizable voices and players with their hands in more than one genre.

some pretty big names in this bunch, including avant garde leaders, historical guys and crossover artists.

bean vs. sinatra doesn't really seem fair.  potter vs. vu is a no-brainer, and sinatra takes that matchup easily.  hodges is super important, but i think i gotta go with gil (plus i love him).  zorn takes the potty-mouthed buddy easily, but i think gil holds his own with one of my musical heroes and advances. elvin vs. trane is a paradox.  did elvin make trane or was it vice versa?  either way, trane is the clear winner and advances through both rounds.  lee over maria is an upset to me, but not as big as jaco taking out keith.  jaco is pretty amazing and somehow legitimized the electric bass.  he easily ousts lee, setting the first group of sweet sixteeners.

benson and metheny both have flirted with great jazz and questionable smooth stuff, but i think metheny's body of work outshines here.  derek bailey is outstanding and can play his rear end off, but he's really no match for monk - and neither is metheny.  it seems weird to have miles in the tourney, assuming that he'll smoke anyone in his path.  upset alert - braxton takes out mehldau and wynton unseats the late great brubeck.  as much as i'd like to look the other way, wynton has probably stepped past braxton by now.  lester young wipes out a living legend, as does getz - whose sound and bossa nova shoulders push him into the next round.

'tis the season

most public school band programs in these parts follow the same floor plan.  hit the football field early and often with your marching band, try to mix in some seated band time, whip your kids into all-state shape, transition to pep band, throw together some holiday tunes for a christmas show and, once the weather turns bad, start pounding away at the jazz band set list.  festivals and contests abound early in the calendar year, and requests for clinics and guest solo spots nip at an educator's heels.  the art of judging has a relatively simple balance - constructive comments with a positive spin, easy solutions for common issues, suggestions for improvement in the rhythm section and improvisations - all while monitoring your caffeine intake so you can stay energized and alert while not coming off as psychotic. a friend of mine referenced these gatherings as the "jazz wars".

i had the tv on in the hotel room while i got dressed for yet another day of adjudicating.  as i made repeated attempts to find the right length for my tie, i watched a news blip about some famous couple that recently acquired a newborn baby.  the breaking scandal was about their declaration to put their marriage first, and then deal with the baby second.  the expected immediate outrage was met with justifications of providing a comfortable home environment for the baby.  i suppose both sides of this argument hold water, but the answer is probably found in a balance of the two ideals.

the tanned couple and their airborne kid were on my mind while i weighed in on the 4A bands that took the stage.  the age old dilemma of programming sat in the front of my brain while i muttered into a voice recorder and juggled numbers.  what type of repertoire should these bands be playing?  how heavily should i consider that when listening to them?  on the judge sheet, only 10 of the 100 points allotted dealt with tune selection.  did i like the material, believe the program to be varied enough, and did the music suit the ensemble?  these seem like big questions, so why are they only worth 10%?

as a large ensemble director, i know that there are several factors that go into choosing tunes.  you gotta have personnel that can handle the charts, including rhythm section players and soloists that can make something happen.  you want to play songs that are historically relevant but also expose the kids to modern developments in this medium.  you need to address the ever-present politics in the band; working with graduating seniors and promising freshmen and kids that are busy with other conflicting activities.  none of this goes in the written program per se, but every director knows the score.

if you play all classic tunes, you aren't turning the kids onto new stuff.  if you play only contemporary works, you are denying them the opportunity to learn the standard repertoire. if you decide to split it 50/50, you risk arbitrarily conceding with the real possibility of pleasing nobody.  you could do a themed concert (the music of so-and-so), but that might not fly at a competition.  and if you don't succeed at competitions, the perception may become that you lead a mediocre program.  this becomes a ridiculous juggling act...



i've picked four tunes for the next jazz band concert.  we are lucky to have percussionist arthur lipner joining us, so i've tried to select material that will work harmoniously (see what i did there?)  we are playing down by the riverside, a cool oliver nelson arrangement from the jimmy smith/wes montgomery "dynamic duo" album.  we'll do the basie classic moten swing up against lipner's calypso arrangement of st. thomas, and finish things off with bob curnow's popular treatment of the metheny tune minuano.  my soloists can fit into these tunes, i can include two drummers, have enough face in the brass sections to make this work, introduce doubling to the saxophones, and expose my kids to important material.  

we cover a wide range of music in my bands.  i'm committed to playing stuff that reinforces the principals of good music, acknowledges the past and future of jazz, and hits the trifecta - an important song, a reputable arranger, and/or an outstanding composer.  which of these three is most valuable? i'll follow the sage parenting advice of stephen colbert. inform your kids that you've picked a favorite amongst them, but never tell them who it is.  let them fight for your favor.