#i feel like eventually they have to bring the jam sessions to wally's

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Okay, okay. I was thinking about how canonically, while Wally can't sing, dance, or play any instruments, he would be interested in playing the drums. And Julie is a big time sax-player.

You think in the modern au, that Julie would try to start a band from that, and while it never worked out, Wally and Julie meet to play their instruments every week?

omg thats so cute... they'd be the most rhythmless little band ever

[tetesaxman]

My Boston and New York Trip Summary

I wrote this as part of my WLJ Internship.

Staff Diary : 

We have many talented staff: full-time, part-time, interns, volunteers working with us towards strengthening our jazz community. From time to time we’d like to feature a personal thoughts of them. For this entry, we would like to feature our loving intern Te and about his first big trip to the States to Los Angels, Boston and the jazz capital, New York City!

MY BOSTON AND NEW YORK TRIP SUMMARY  Pongthipok Sootthipong (WLJ SG intern)

BOSTON DAY 1 - Wally’s Cafe Jazz Bar

As I was in the car driving from Merced to San Francisco Airport to take a flight to Boston, I’ve already looked up some jazz bars in Boston. Without thinking about how cold it was gonna be when I arrive in Boston, I planned to go to Wally’s Cafe Jazz Bar, which has been established since 1947. There were two things that made me decide to go to Wally’s that day, number one, how close it is to the hotel I was staying at and it advertised itself on its website as ‘Musicians Training Ground’. Since, I really wanted to see what the Berklee kids are doing musically, there was no hesitation. 

I reach Boston at 6 or 7pm, It was about 4 degrees Celsius, which I was told, was quite warm for Boston’s winter temperatures. I was literally freezing. I didn’t rethink my decision though, I took the metro to Wally’s. My description of Wally’s would be a space where the growing musicians can come and grow. It was a small bar with barely more space than the space of one ground floor shop house unit. It didn’t help with the fact that the place was packed back to front. I couldn’t get anywhere past the door.

As for the music at Wally’s, It was a saxophone quartet. I don’t know who it was but they were quite talented and young so I had my suspicions that they were Berklee or New England Conservatory students. To be honest, the level of musicianship on that day was pretty high, despite the loud talking and intoxicated audience. I felt like I didn’t appreciate their music as much as I should. This is purely because they were playing modern jazz, straight eighth kinda feel, which I haven’t studied and therefore do not understand. I stayed for 1 and half set. I had to leave because it was too hot inside the bar, too cold outside the bar and I needed to catch the train back to the hotel. Overall, it was a mixed experience stompin’ in at Wally’s but I blamed that on my level of musical understanding. 

BOSTON DAY 2 - BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC

The second day of my Boston trip, I was scheduled to meet with the Singaporean bassist studying abroad at Berklee College of Music, Mr. John Koh. We scheduled to meet at 160 Massachusetts Avenue at 12pm or as I called it, the Berklee new building. Prior to my meeting John, i’d like to do some CD shopping. After a search on Google Maps, I discovered that the best thing to do is to head to a music shop at the New England Conservatory, which was only down the road from my hotel. I was expecting the shop to be a CD shop, but instead it was a music shop, full of scores and other stuff. I bought a Brecker book then left. I discovered that I could walk from NEC to Berklee in 10 mins. Hence I did. 

As I walked up to Berklee on that cold saturday afternoon, I see the vibe, the practice vibe. Everybody was walking into or out of the Berklee College of Music buildings with their instruments and with their friends. The vibe was incredibly positive and friendly. There were Wendy’s restaurant, some bars, musical instrument shops and 7-eleven across the street. 

After I met up with John Koh, he took me for a trip around the campus of Berklee Boston. Their recording studios and suites are massive and state of the art. They have loads of fully equipped ensemble rooms littered throughout the campus buildings. They have a library full of music books. They have a big computer lab and a Stan Getz saxophone on display. 

However, their practice rooms are extremely tiny when compared to anything we are used to here at the college I studied at, LASALLE College of the arts or any other practice studios at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. Their piano rooms can only fit one upright piano and a bench and that’s it. In fact, when I came back to Singapore and told my teacher, Greg Lyons about Berklee. Being an alumni, he described the practice rooms for saxophone as telephone booths. All of this didn’t matter because on this saturday afternoon a week before christmas, everybody was practicing and shedding and hanging around Berklee. In fact, the day I was there, there happened to be an assault that took place at the 7-eleven opposite to the campus, but it didn’t matter because, everybody was still hanging around campus at 10pm. Massachusetts Avenue was still alive on this cold saturday night. 

NEW YORK CITY 

Two days later I was cruising through jazz bars in New York City. I went to the infamous Village Vanguard where I’ve paid 35 dollars for two nights for a 10:30pm set to watch Kenny Barron and Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. The set at Village Vanguard ended around midnight. Both nights, I was starstrucked to be able to watch some of my heros such as Kenny Barron and Dick Oatts performed live in front of me. The set at Village Vanguard ends around midnight. I would then grab a pizza from the store next door and walk down a block to Smalls. I love Smalls. It’s really a proper underground (literally) jazz bar you would envision to see in New York City. I was also there for two nights. I caught Ben Zweig Trio “After-hours” at 1am playing proper, super swingin’ swing music on the first night, and Jon Elbaz Trio “After-hours” at 1am playing more third-stream music which I’ve yet to understand. The will to find out more about the music made me stay for the after jam session on that night. 

It was closing in on 3:30am at Smalls. The after hours jam session is coming to the last song. The last song they played was ‘If I were a Bell’. Since It was getting late, each jammers was only allowed to take one chorus. There were about 6 saxophonists and a few more trumpeters and trombonists. Each jammers looks like they are college kids or younger. I could have sworn that they are 25 and younger. However, their level of playing is beyond beliefs. The language, the connection to the music, the communication within the band stand is astonishing. I’d never forget that last song. Each players were trying their best, all different sounds with one common goal, to play as good as they can play. 

I cannot put into words how inspired I am from taking this trip to Boston and New York as well as Los Angeles, where I actually jammed. I made new friends in these three cities last December and I’m glad. I’m glad that I’m fortunate enough to have experience what the music is really like in one of the best jazz schools in the world as well as the city which has been at the center of jazz music for the longest time. Prior to my journey to the states, I felt really stuck and uninspired, the jazz scene in Singapore was not doing so well and I’ve no new inspiration. No new experiences to fill that urge of wanting more even though I tried to get myself to be inspired, I practiced more, I transcribed more, I listened more. But at the end of the day, It was same old same old.  Same places, same tunes and same acts. It was as though nobody cares about the music anymore. It was as though we lost that connection that bonded music to us. 

Why not move to New York? I’d love to put myself in New York City, but that’s still a long journey away. Obviously there are many disadvantages of living in New York both musically and physically. However, I’m never someone who plans ahead that much, I’m more of a guy who make what now matters. I figured that the thing I can do now, is try to bring New York City back to me. To be the best of what I am. To push beyond expectations and limitations. To be inspired and eventually inspiring. There won’t be an end. 

In Singapore now and doing my thesis for my four months left at LASALLE College of the Arts, I have one big goal. My one and only big goal is to aim high, to aim to be as good as the New York Cats I saw ; jamming ‘If I Were a Bell’ at Smalls at 3:30am in the morning. I know it’s a long shot but it’s worth a try. This is because at the end of the day, you learn from your actions. 

MORE PICTURES

VINCENT HERRING at SMOKE, New York City

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at Village Vanguard, New York City

Jam Session at Mezzrow Jazz Club, New York City

ALL BUT TWO jazz bars I went in the US was overground.

 Masami Kuroki at Rhythm Room, Los Angeles

Written by Tete with help and inspiration from Aya Sekine: Somewhen in early 2019

tetesaxman.com

welovejazz.org