 Photo by Andrea Canter Each year, the Brubeck Institute
provides fellowships for five to seven musicians, ages 18-19, who are
selected from a nation-wide pool of applicants. The musicians have
the option of studying at the Institute for one or two years, and
thus can earn up to two years of college credit. The Brubeck
Institute offers other programs as well, including summer residencies
for younger students (see below).
When Executive Director J.B. Dyas met Lowell Pickett, owner of the renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, at the International Association of Jazz Educators conference, the idea of a week-long program in Minnesota was born. Through the funding and volunteer efforts of the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Eduction (fondly known locally as the "J-Train"), the Brubeck Institute Sextet came to the Twin Cities for a week of school
presentations, clinics, club visits, and two performances at the
Dakota. With Dyas, the six young Brubeck artists entertained and informed at four area
high schools and one middle school before closing out the week on the
Dakota stage. Included in this year’s Sextet were pianist Joshua
Gallagher of Eau Claire, WI; alto saxophonist Mark Zaleski from
Boylston, Massachusetts; bassist Dominic Thiroux from Los Angeles;
drummer Hayden Hawkins from Houston; and twins, tenor/soprano
saxophonist Scott and trumpeter Shawn McGinty, also from Houston.
A Week With the Sextet
The week in the Twin Cities was a
whirlwind of music, clinics, and (to quote Shawn McGinty), “great
food.” The Sextet had their first introduction to Minnesota
hospitality at the famed Dakota, where owner Lowell Pickett gave them
a tour, including inspection of the many signatures inside the grand
piano and the collections of musicians’ photos that line the walls.
On stage that night was the popular vocal quartet, The Girls.  Photo by Andrea Canter Monday was spent at South High
School in Minneapolis, where the jazz program is directed by
Scott Carter. Institute Director J.B. Dyas and the Sextet conducted
two “informances” with 270 and 224 students respectively. The
students learned about the structure of a jazz tune and the basics of
improvisation. Teachers were as excited as the students and discussed
a possible return visit next fall that might bring the education
program to local middle schoolers. In the afternoon, Dyas taught a
jazz ensemble class, and the South High Jazz Band and String
Orchestra performed for the visitors. The scheduled activities were
interspersed with informal conversations among the Brubeck Fellows
and South High students-- musicians and non-musicians – about that
certain sound, a technique (how to hold fingers on drum sticks),
piano chords, comparing trumpets, etc. The young instructors offered
good advice: Said Mark Zaleski to the sax players, "Let it
swing. If you want it to swing, hang back; get behind the beat."
Time was also set aside for questions—students asked the Brubeck
Fellows about their favorite recordings, key influences, practice
routines, and about the scholarship. Finding the South High program
more advanced than expected, the Brubeck group spent about seven
hours with the students and faculty, longer than their usual visit to
one school.
The rest of the week involved similar
opportunities for teaching, performing, and interacting at each
school—North and Southwest High Schools in
Minneapolis, Central High in St. Paul, Central
Middle School in Eden Prairie, and a Saturday jam with the
Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands. In addition, Dyas was
interviewed on local jazz radio station KBEM; the Sextet rehearsed at
the Dakota in preparation for the weekend gigs; all attended Freddy
Cole’s show at the Dakota, and other activities were provided by
the volunteers from the Dakota Foundation.
The Brubeck Institute Informance  Photo by Andrea Canter Invited Dakota patrons had an
invaluable opportunity to participate in a shortened version of the
“informance” presented at area schools when Dyas and the Fellows
entertained at a reception prior to the Saturday night set. Using a
chart for Sonny Rollins’ classic “Tenor Madness,” Dyas
explained the basics of improvisation in “How a Jazz Tune Works.”
He used the concept of a “jazz sandwich”—where the
improvisation section is “sandwiched” between the “head” and
the “out head”—leaving “all the good stuff in the middle.”
He went on to discuss the meaning of chords, explaining that a single
chorus is one time through the chords of a song; what each instrument
adds to the basic melodic structure was then demonstrated by each
musician. Finally, all was delightfully brought together as the
Sextet closed with the “Flintstones Theme,” giving the audience a
preview of the blistering set to follow.
The Boys in the Band
As Dyas explained, one of the features
of the informance presented at each school was the opportunity for
the audience to ask questions. Thus the Dakota patrons were able to
conduct a group interview of sorts, yielding profiles of six talented
jazz artists at the dawn of their careers. And apparently the Fellows
wasted no time discovering Let It Be Records across the street from
the Dakota!
Mark Zaleski (alto sax):
Mark cites John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Lester Young, Cannonball
Adderley, and Joshua Redman as favorite sax players, and notes his
most recently purchased recording is of Ben Webster with Lester
Young. When not listening to jazz, he enjoys classic rock. After
completing studies at the Institute, he hopes to continue at one of
the schools in Boston or New York.
Shawn McGinty (trumpet):
Shawn’s favorites include Clifford Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie
Hubbard, Lee Morgan, and Houston trumpeter Carol Morgan. Most
recently he purchased Herbie Hancock: Live in Nice. His other
listening preferences include R&B and gospel. His goal after
Brubeck is to enroll at Juilliard, live on the east coast, and travel.
Scott McGinty (tenor/soprano
sax): Scott’s preferences include John Coltrane, Joe
Henderson, Lester Young, Branford Marsalis, and Mark Turner. His most
recent recording purchases have included Ravi Coltrane’s In Flux
and the new release from the Dave Holland Big Band, but mostly he
enjoys listening to “I Tunes” from friends. He’s awaiting word
on college applications to the New School in New York, the Manhattan School of
Music, and the Monk Institute in LA—“If I don’t get in, I will
try again.”
Dominic Thiroux (bass):
Favorites of this young bassist include Israel Crosby, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers,
Ron Carter, and Jaco Pastorius, while his latest CD purchase was sax
legend Jackie McLean’s Fire and Love. Dominic notes that the
guys “listen to anything we can get our hands on.” He’s
planning to move to LA after another year at the Brubeck Institute,
to play and hopefully enroll at the California Institute of Arts
where he would study with Charlie Haden.
 Photo by Andrea Canter Joshua Gallagher (piano):
Among pianists, Josh identifies Monk, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea,
Brad Mehldau, and “of course, Brubeck” as key influences. He
admitted to purchasing five new CDs—a John Coltrane “from 1959,”
one from Wallace Roney, and three by Vincent Herring. When not
listening to jazz, he might be listening to “old country western”
recordings. Having completed two years at the Berklee College of
Music in Boston prior to attending the Brubeck Institute, he plans to
return there for his degree and then head for the Big Apple.
In Performance
Composition is emphasized as much as
performance at the Brubeck Institute, and the Sextet’s Saturday
night set was richly filled with original works and arrangements, including Zaleski's
“Just the Right Amount of Jank” with its swinging front line;
trumpeter McGinty’s “Shawn’s Tune” featuring brother Scott’s
Coltranesque soprano and the composer’s subtle flutters across a
melody that recalled Pat Metheny’s “Question and Answer”; and
Josh Gallagher’s “Waltz,” featuring piano solos worthy of
Hancock and Corea and Scott McGinty’s “switch-hitting” between
soprano and tenor. Several compositions were presented in smaller
ensemble format, such as Zaleski's “Carefree” for alto sax and
rhythm section.  Photo by Andrea Canter The set list also included
original arrangements, such as Dave Brubeck’s tribute to his
Artistic Director, Christian McBride, “Here Comes McBride” as
arranged by Scott McGinty; Brubeck’s “It’s a Raggy Waltz,”
arranged by Dominic Thiroux; and Shawn McGinty’s performance of Charlie Parker's
“Dewey Square” for trumpet and rhythm section. The last was
highlighted by bassist Thiroux’s big bold strokes, a relaxed but
over-the-speed-limit passage from pianist Gallagher, and trumpeter
McGinty’s series of fluttering vamps, ending it all with a glorious
cadenza. But perhaps one of the brightest tunes
of the night was that old warhorse “Cherokee,” which included a
back and forth, call and response duet by the McGinty brothers—as
good a horn duel as any put on by far more seasoned artists.
These guys have chops. I’m hoping
there’s a reunion band tour planned for 2015.
The Brubeck Festival
Back in Stockton, CA, the Brubeck
Fellows prepared for participation in the annual Brubeck Festival, a
week-long series of lectures, academic symposia, master classes, and
performances honoring the compositional techniques of Dave Brubeck.
Activities are held at multiple venues in Stockton and Oakland, and
featured artists this year include Institute Artistic Director
Christian McBride, Brubeck sons Chris and Dan, members of the SF Jazz
Collective, led by Joshua Redman., as well as Dave Brubeck himself.
The schedule (April 4-11) includes performances of original
compositions of the Fellows and a grand finale concert by the Sextet
at Yoshi’s, on Monday, April 11th.
Brubeck Institute Programs
As described above, the core of the
Brubeck Institute is its Fellowship Program at the University of the
Pacific, designed for a small group of musicians age 18-19 who earn
college credit through the academic and performance components of the
program. Twin Cities’ younger music students were enthused to learn
about the Brubeck Institute’s Summer Jazz Colony. As
described on the Institute website, the Colony is a “weeklong,
full-scholarship program that provides 17 of the country's best young
jazz musicians the opportunity to interact with and learn from jazz
masters as well as each other. Aimed at exceptionally gifted jazz
students between their freshman and senior years of high school, the
program creates an inspiring, stress-free environment where serious
young players perform, practice and study along with peers who are
equally committed to mastering America’s indigenous art form.”
The Summer Jazz Colony is supported by a grant from the Herb Alpert
Foundation in honor of alto sax legend Paul Desmond, a key member of
the Dave Brubeck Quartet in the 1950s.
Thanks to Barbi Byers of the Dakota
Foundation for Jazz Education for sharing her observations of the
Fellows’ clinic activities in the Twin Cities. For more information about
the Brubeck Institute and its scholarship programs, visit
www.brubeckinstitute.org.
For ticket information regarding the remaining events of the 2005
Brubeck Festival, see
http://www.brubeckinstitute.org/BrubeckFestival.asp
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Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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