Shifts in attitude

When I was in college, from 1988-1993, jazz ensembles had become accepted on college campuses. My jazz director told about trying to get a university jazz ensemble started in the early '70s while he was a student, and the resistance that was put up by the faculty and administration. In my time there was still resistance, but it was of the idea that jazz could engender the same levels of scholarship that classical music inspired. There were professors who scoffed at the idea of extended tertian harmonies from jazz having anything in common with classical harmonies. And I personally heard opinions that performing jazz would be detrimental to one's development as a classical musician, though fortunately not from my own trumpet professors. We can also look at the lack of enthusiasm third-stream music received for a long time, with composers such as Alec Wilder regarded as novelty acts rather than serious artists.

I'm reminded of these old attitudes by an announcement that Chamber Music America is honoring Chick Corea with The Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award and a tribute concert on January 16-17 as part of their national conference. The SMT conference I just attended also shows this change of attitude, with many papers analyzing jazz and rock music within normal sessions, as opposed to the special sessions that these "canon-breaking" genres often had to be scheduled in to get considered. The canon has indeed been broken wide open, at least for the strong majority of academic environments. These shifts in attitude give me hope, both for my profession and for life in general, despite the recent political setback in Maine.

FriPod: Academic to After

Yes, I haven't blogged for a week. There are several causes for this silence:

1. It is the last week of classes, and I was trapped under ungraded exams and homework.
2. I got my early midlife crisis, and I was trapped by Wii Sports and Paper Mario.
3. I purchased several books, and I was trapped by Alex Ross and Stephen Ericksen.
4. DePauw's Post-Classical Symposium demanded my attention, and I was trapped by a panel discussion and four awesome concerts (two not associated with the symposium).
5. My furnace broke and kept me from seeing Alex Ross at the Hilbert Circle Theater, and I was trapped with two very cold cats.
   
6. My uncle died and my marriage ended, and I was trapped in an uncommunicative funk.

But now classes are over, I've gotten (mostly) over the funk and the symptomatic videogaming and bookreading, concerts are over other than my daughter's violin recital tonight, and my furnace is fixed. So now a new FriPod:

1. Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, by Brahms, performed by Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
2. Accellerationen by Johann Strauss, Jr., performed by Willi Boskovksy and the Vienna Philharmonic.
3. "Accidentally Like a Martyr" by Warren Zevon on Excitable Boy.
4. "Ach Elslein, liebes Elselein" by Ludwig Senfl, performed by the King's Singers.
5. "Ach Herre, Sehe Uns Genädig An" by Jørgen Presten, performed by the Copenhagen Cornetts and Sackbutts and Ars Nova.
6. "Ach, weh des Leiden" by Hans Leo Hassler, performed by the King's Singers.
7. "Acordes moy" by Antoine Busnois, performed by Piffaro.
8. "Addendum" for violin, cello and piano by Chick Corea on Works.
9. "Adieu Mes Amours" by Anonymous, performed by the Copenhagen Cornetts and Sackbutts and Ars Nova.
10. "Africa" by Arturo Sandoval on Danzón.
11. "Afro-Cuban Lullaby" (traditional) performed by Christopher Parkening.
12. "After Antietam" by James Horner on the Glory soundtrack.
13. "After The Thrill Is Gone" by the Eagles on Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2.
14. "After You've Gone" by Creamer and Layton, performed by Roy Eldridge on Little Jazz.

FriPod: Think of the Children!

1. "Children's Song," Chick Corea on Works.
2. "Children and Art," from Sunday in the Park with George by Steven Sondheim, Original Broadway Cast recording.
3. "For Unto Us a Child is Born," from Messiah by George Handel, performed by Andrew Davis and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.
4. "Sweet Air," from Child by David Lang, performed by Sentierri Selvaggi.
5. Ancient Voices of Children, by George Crumb, performed by Jan DeGaetani, Machael Dash, and the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
6. "Godchild," by George Wallington, performed by Miles Davis on Birth Of The Cool.
7. Kindertotenlieder, by Gustav Mahler, performed by Agnes Baltsa, Lorin Maazel and the Vienna Philharmonic.
8. "Wiegenlied am Lager eines kranken Kindes," by Robert Schumann, performed by Dorothea Röschmann, Ian Bostridge, and Graham Johnson.
9. Kinderszenen, by Robert Schumann, performed by Claudio Arrau.
10. "Jolie Fille," by Joaquin Turina, performed by the Empire Brass.
11. "La Fille aux Cheveux De Lin," by Claude Debussy, performed by the Empire Brass.
12. "Scene Et Legende De La Fille Du Paria," from Lakme by Léo Delibes, performed by Maurice André.

FriPod: Improvisation

To celebrate the fact that I have finished* my first sabbatical article, this week's list is of Improvisations:

1. Duet Improvisation, by Miroslav Vitous and Chick Corea on Works. A very moody work, full of dialogue but not much happiness.

2. Impromptus 1-3, D. 946, by Franz Schubert, performed by Alfred Brendel. Not strictly improvisations, these composed works are meant to sound spontaneous. It doesn't work for me. These pieces sound polished, prepared. What makes music sound improvised? A roughness, little errors that marr the surface to reveal the craft underneath?

3. Impromptu for Trumpet and Piano, by Jacques Ibert, performed by Thierry Caens and Yves Henry. Now this one sounds more improvised. The long French lines meander at points, the piano sets up a groove, etc.

4. Improvisation, by Bill Russo, performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra on New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm. Bill provides space for several improvised solos, one of the better tracks on this album.

5. Improvisations sur les chants paysans hongrois, op. 20, by Béla Bartók, performed by Claude Helffer. These pieces are based on Hungarian peasant songs that BB transcribed in the field. But why "Improvisations?" There is a certain hesitancy to them, as if we can hear him working out the implications of the melodies while sitting at the piano.

6. Quatre Pièces Caractéristiques Op. 5: I. Impromptu. Le Sabbat, by Clara Schumann, performed by Jozef De Beenhouwer. Like the Schubert, this is not spontaneous.

Clearly I have more improvisations in my iTunes, on most of my jazz tracks for starters. But this is enough for today, as I mourn the death of my second iPod. The click wheel has stopped working, and all efforts to fix it have failed. So it is getting shipped back, hopefully without any mail problems this time.


*Finished with this stage anyway. Now to hear from the editor and reviewers.