#tenor soloist in high school

[everydayesterday]

in another life, I'd have continued on the music track and worked to develop my singing. for this life, I guess I'm content providing harmony to sam cooke and eddie vedder. I'll save myself an empty room wherever I live so that I can hear myself echoing and resonating and it will feel perfect.

[bagheerita]

Because @aintgonnatakethis inadvertently put a thought in my head, I present:

What instrument the crew of Destiny played in high school band, based on vibes:

Scott: trumpet bc it's loud. and like a “normal” mainstream instrument? I would also accept clarinet, bc it's straight also a boring instrument.

Young: Saxophone bc he thinks it's cool. I would also accept French horn bc I do get a brass vibe from him and he's just gotta be that guy whose music is written in a completely different key.

Brody: Flute/piccolo. He's first chair, takes it seriously, and likes making music that sounds good.

Park: In concert band she's first chair bassoon, bc a single reed instrument wasn't interesting enough, and for marching band* she's pit- she's one of those people with a double set of mallets in each hand absolutely rocking the marimba.

Telford: trombone. If he accidentally hits you in the face with this large mobile instrument it's bc you got in his way.

Greer: tuba/sousaphone. You will not forget he is here and if you don't get out of his way he will run you over. Also if you fuck with the woodwinds he will run you over.

Chloe: Clarinet bc it's a middle kind of instrument, and it would theoretically be easy to switch to sax or oboe if she wants and i feel like that option without commitment fits her. She secretly really enjoys playing the bass clarinet but only offers if the director suggests they need someone to do it. Marching season she's in the color guard.

Eli: percussion/pit. Percussion is about switching between several different instruments and paying attention to a lot of different things, and also being in the back of the band and playing computer games when no one is looking.

Spencer: drumline, quad tenors. He spends concert season practicing for drumline.

Volker: Tenor saxophone. He will correct you if you say he plays "the saxophone" to clarify it's "tenor sax" and he takes a lot of pleasure in explaining the differences between alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone.

James: Oboe but marches clarinet* and wouldn't be caught dead in color guard. She's very good but doesn't sit better than third chair.

Varro: trumpet, but in a good way. He plays in the jazz band too.

TJ: Flute, marches color guard. (I dunno, I don't get strong vibes for her other than "band mom.")

Camile: euphonium because she's rebellious/wants to do her own thing and be heard, or I could see her playing oboe/flute because she wants to hang out with the usually predominantly female woodwinds section

Rush: He doesn't believe in organized activities and sneers at everyone else when they're on their way to practice, but he also secretly learns the violin and shows up at the concert when the soloist can't make it at the last minute and plays the flute solo on his violin and everyone is amazed that it actually sounds really good.

*In my high school no one marched a double reed instrument. I dunno how universal that is. (Also we didn't have an orchestra, so I didn't really consider string instruments for most of this.)

This is very much my personal opinions and experiences regarding what i remember of being in band 20 years ago, so please share your own thoughts anyone who has them! for context, i played clarinet lol

[tfblovesmusic]

Remember the mid-‘90s American infomercial of BBC’s language learning video series Muzzy? The female announcer said of the children watching one of the videos in the background, “That’s French they’re speaking, but those children aren’t French; they’re American.”

If I were to reword the announcer’s words regarding the kids from the Classical Christian school in Monroe, Louisiana - Geneva Academy - that’s German they are singing. But neither one of those upper middle and high schoolers are trained in the great British choirs (such as King’s College alumni Charles Daniels and Michael Chance) nor are aspiring to pursue early music degrees at Schola Cantorum Basilinesis when they grow up.

They are American kids who have varying aspirations, trained in the Kodály music education method.

Though this article is primarily geared towards classical Christian schools, you neither have to be a choral director of one nor be a student to learn something from Jarrod Richey’s article! It’s worth a read!

And I’m hoping that anyone of you classical music-loving Tumblrions in the Northeastern Louisiana area (or are moving there) would form a historically-informed practice (HIP) ensemble. Maybe those above kids could sing with it in the near future…

Speaking of Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80, here’s a professional performance of this Bach cantata. The now-passed concert featured modern instruments and a female mezzo-soprano in the alto-tenor duet. However, this below video features replicas of the 18th century predecessors of the modern instruments the Monroe Symphony Orchestra played upon. The alto in the duet is a male countertenor.

Happy listening and watching!

Choir and Orchestra of the J. S. Bach Foundation

Rudolf Lutz - Conductor

Soloists:

Soprano: Dorothee Mields

Countertenor: Terry Wey

Tenor: Bernhard Berchtold

Bass: Klaus Mertens

[lboogie1906]

Richard Allen “Blue” Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was a jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, and composer who recorded many albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note, and Mainstream Records.

After high school, he played in the rhythm and blues ensembles of Paul Williams, Earl Bostic, and Chuck Willis. After returning to Miami he was noticed by Cannonball Adderley, with whom he recorded for Riverside Records in NY in 1958.

He then joined the Horace Silver Quintet, playing with tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Roy Brooks. He stayed with Silver’s group until the band’s break-up in 1964, after which he formed a group with members from the Silver quintet, substituting the young pianist Chick Corea for Silver and replacing Brooks, who had fallen ill, with drummer Al Foster. This group produced several records for Blue Note. It disbanded in 1969, and he joined and toured with Ray Charles until 1971.

He performed with John Mayall, appearing on Jazz Blues Fusion and subsequent albums. He recorded and worked as a session man in the genres noted, performed with the big band leaders Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry, and was the principal soloist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Other bandleaders Mitchell recorded with include Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon, and Jimmy Smith. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[piccolosniccolo]

The Wreckers, but they’re a High School Jazz Band

Who do I need to sell my soul to for a Wreckers cartoon? You’ve got all the good ingredients for an excellent show just sitting there! We’ve got a well-rounded cast, giant weapons, badass female characters, space adventures, sexual tension, disturbing villains, and war crimes (basically, a combination between MTMTE and Cyberverse)! Additionally, I want to see Verity kick someone’s ass again. I want Rotorstorm to dab and be the Cybertronian equivalent of a tik toker. I want Springer back on TV. I want Overlord to randomly show up and screw with everyone. I want to have more options for procrastinating my engineering homework. Is that too much to ask? Fine, I’ll do it myself… eventually…

I referred to the IDW 2005 and the Aligned Wreckers roster to make this list.

Voice

Moonracer: Soprano, but she also preforms on strings (string bass, violin, and viola) when there is not a soprano part in the music. Before rehearsal starts, you can find her congregated in front of the band hall with the saxophones. They’re typically encouraging someone to chug some ungodly mixture of red bull, monster, and rockstar energy drinks.

Strongarm: Alto, but she also plays guitar when there is not an alto part in the music. She’s the only freshman who practices for rehearsal.

Sixknight: Tenor, but he plays alto saxophone when there is not a tenor part in the music. As the only freshman saxophone, he is constantly volunteered to put whatever plan the section concocts into action. The amount of energy drinks he has consumed is questionable.

Ultra Magnus: Bass, but he performs on trombone when there is not a bass part in the music. When he’s not singing, he’s attempting to reign in the hot mess that is the low brass section.

Clarinet

Ironfist: The nerd™ of the ensemble. His locker is basically a music library with music stemming from all eras of jazz history. His bucket list includes mastering every single instrument in a jazz ensemble.

Bass Clarinet

Broadside: He’s the band kid you didn’t realize was a band kid until you read the program for the performance.

Alto Saxophone

Sandstorm: He has the lowest attention span out of everyone in the program. When you hear him practice, he’ll sift between 20 different pieces in four minutes trying to find something that matches his mood. You never know what you’re going to get when he does improv, his playing drastically changes every single time.

Rotorstorm: Responsible for dragging his section into 95% of their shenanigans. He has memorized very single band pun you can think of, and he spends most of rehearsal putting them into practice. When he’s not making quips, he’s working on improv in spite of a teacher who looked down on him.  

Breacher: Makes sure Sixknight does something first before doing it himself. Yes, he’s down to do whatever the other Wreckers are doing, but just in case Prowl walks into the room, he doesn’t want to get caught doing something wrong. He’s got a reputation to make for himself!

Tenor Saxophone

Hubcap: As a result of Roadbuster’s teaching, he’ll feign a fever to get out of rehearsal when the guy is scheduled to lead rehearsal. I don’t blame him, I wouldn’t want to go through that either.  

Verity Carlo: She snuck into the band bus for a competition and the group decided to add her to their ranks. She’s either practicing with Springer and/or Ultra Magnus, or she’s causing some type of chaos with Miko.  

Baritone Saxophone

Guzzle: He was chill for the first two years of high school. Then junior year attacked, and his personality was drained away by stress, all nighters, and AP exams. Oof.

Trumpet

Pyro: The arrogant™ member of the group. He says he’s the hot stuff, acts like the hot stuff, and is on the hunt to prove that he’s the hot stuff.

Twin Twist: Joined the program as soon as he started high school. He is the definition of a band kid and proud. He has a bad habit of practicing his instrument until midnight, much to his brother’s and neighbor’s chagrin.

Topspin: His twin joined band first. He decided to join because he had to stay after school anyway to drive him home, plus his brother kept insisting it the greatest thing ever. He’s the only quiet trumpet.

Roadbuster: When he’s in charge of rehearsals, the only thing he focuses on is sixteenth note patterns. In his opinion, if you haven’t developed arthritis by the time you graduate high school, you didn’t practice enough.

Trombone

Miko Nakadai: Typically drags Bulkhead into some type of trouble. She’s got a ton of energy and band is her place to burn it off. She also plays electric guitar.

Bulkhead: He means well, but he’s often dragged into some ridiculous scheme with his friends. He goes along with them until the risk of getting hurt gets too high, then he steers them away so they won’t get expelled. Sometimes, though, he’ll accidentally start their next big quest and he’ll go along with it as if it was intentional. This is often stealing snacks from the teacher’s lounge.

Wheeljack: When he’s not blowing something up in the chemistry lab, he’s in the band hall playing stand tunes in “blastissimo” with the other trombones. Ultra Magnus has tried to get him to stop, but he has yet to be deterred.

Bass Trombone

Arcee: She isn’t an official member of the group, but she’s around often enough that she might as well be. She’s either joking around with the trombones and/or saxophones, or she’s getting into fights on behalf of her friends before rehearsal starts. You want her on your side, not as an opponent.

Tuba

Kup: He graduated from high school a long, long, long time ago, but he’s good friends with the directors and teaches private lessons. He’s a welcome member of the group and gives the best advice. Additionally, he can play the banjo.

Guitar

Springer: He’s the dad of the group. He can be tough on you, but he does it because he genuinely cares about the growth of the program. He also has the type of personality that draws people in and keeps them hooked on band.

Bass Guitar

Impactor: He’s an enigma. He’ll regularly attend rehearsal, then he’ll go off the grid for a few weeks. He’ll either be relaxed about practicing, or he’ll be strict. You never know what you’re going to get when you’re talking to him, but one thing remains consistent: he’s a damn good bass guitarist.

Piano

Perceptor: He has never missed a note. Ever. If you ever listen to him play, you’re always in awe, regardless if he’s a soloist or an accompanist.  

Drum Kit

Rack’n’Ruin: You’ve got trouble, now make it double! Sometimes their coordination is a bit of a problem, but they manage to work around it.

Vibraphone

Whirl: He’s vibing.

Extras:

First Aid: He shows up to every performance, every contest, and sometimes sits outside the band hall and listens to rehearsals. He has all their covers downloaded on his phone and listens to them when he studies. He has considered joining, but his pre-med teacher gives him excessive amounts of homework.

Drift: He was a member for a few months, but he had to switch out of jazz to incorporate a PE credit into his schedule. He’s still in the wind ensemble, so you can find him hanging out in the band hall.

Prowl: He’s the assistant band director, so a majority of his responsibilities include making sure the various band programs aren’t wasting their limited funding. He occasionally pops into Jazz rehearsal to make sure no one lit the building on fire, but you’ll hear from him most of the time through ominous emails.

Overlord: When he isn’t in the Decepticon Wind Symphony, he’s terrorizing the Wreckers. Megatron has threatened to kick him out of the program if he doesn’t get in line, but this only encourages Overlord to continue being awful.

Tarantulas: Prowl’s ex who will randomly show up on campus so they can talk about their divorce. You can sometimes hear them arguing during rehearsal. It’s awkward and no one wants to get involved.

[wb-ivy]

An Incomplete History of Music

A/N: I wrote this about a year ago as a result of coming out as trans and being punished for it. Decided that for Trans Awareness Week I would share this with you. Stay Strong and Remember, YOU ARE VALID!!!

Masterlist

Choral music as we know it was first recorded around the beginning of the 10th century C.E. Although score sheets have been around for longer, the first piece of polyphony music was not actually discovered until December of 2014 by an intern at the British Library who was studying for his PhD at Cambridge University. He discovered the piece in the manuscript of Bishop Maternianus of Reims. Before going any further, it should be noted that polyphony music is music specifically written for several voice parts to perform at the same time. Since this only covers the history of polyphony choir music, solo opera pieces, songs written with only voice part but performed by a large group, and instrumental symphonies will not be discussed throughout the next ten pages. 

Choral music is believed to have originated from modern day Germany with only two parts before making its way to Western Europe where it becomes elaborated for eleven hundred years to become the intricate expressions we see in every school and church across the globe. Choral music became the main event in churches, right after the Lord, during the Medieval period. Although historians have known the significance of  group performances during the Middle Ages, no physical sheets of scores have yet to be discovered. 

During this time period, the most typical and popular piece of polyphony music was in the “organum” style. Pieces written in the organum style were performed with the accompaniment singing either above or below the melody, but they both sang the same tune. The most intriguing part about the birth of polyphony music is that historians originally thought it was developed using a set of strict rules that the composer had to follow. The discovery of this artifact, along with the organum style of music shows that the creator of choral music was breaking the rules of his own invention. These discoveries have helped to smash down old assumptions made based off of The Winchester Troper, the world’s second oldest choral music currently known.

The original was then discovered to not actually be written all at once. Experts believe that it was actually written in the early 10th century as a solo piece before adding on a seperate piece a few years later during the same century. This priceless work also shows that it was nearly the basis of experimentation to create an original work that harmonized several groups of singers all at once. It seemed that the composer had bigger visions to a multiple part song.

The middle ages was truly the start of choral music becoming popular inside the catholic walls. Although most of what we currently know about this music era is guess work, many groups specializing in medieval music prefer to use easily blended sounds without any vibrato. All musicians in this line of work will try to make their educated guesses of the original sound by comparing the music to other pieces found during that time alongside the renaissance pieces known by every singer, no matter their profession. During this time, although Catholic churches preferred to use instruments to help emphasize the vocal sounds, Jewish synagogues preferred to leave singers unaccompanied to show off the beauty of the choirs natural sounds. These types of a capella performances were known as Gregorian chants and differed greatly from street singing that was common in populated cities.

Street performances during the middle ages were normally made more attractive to make the performers more money by including intricate dances that followed the rhythm with their songs. These songs were almost always accompanied with smaller instruments such as flutes, but were normally a song that was written in only one part for several singers in unison. Synagogues preferred to use advanced harmonizing that was unaccompanied with music or dance because they believed that it distracted from the word of god. Synagogues also excluded women from performing in their ensembles, whereas street singing was a gender neutral activity.

Numerous examples can be seen throughout score sheets that Christian and Catholic choirs are heavily based on the hebraic performances that started in the Jewish community. Although the Catholic community mainly performed for much larger scaled gatherings of church goers once a week. They still shared the belief that music was meant to spread the psalms and proverbs to the masses.

During the Roman Catholic regime, singing saw a drastic change of its members. Beforehand, only priests and their congregations could sing the gospel, until a special group known as a choir was formed of talented members of the congregation to accompany and contrast the priest’s solos in order to make his voice stand out. Women had major roles in the start of official choirs until 578 when the Hebraic rule that didn’t allow female singers was reinstated in the Catholic church. It wasn’t until the 20th century that choirs weren’t made up of just men and young boys, when women’s rights were brought into the religious circle and helped regain female positions in the choir.

When the renaissance gave the average person more free time then their ancestors ever saw, choral music saw a boom in composition. This was the start of vocal music outwaying instrumental pieces in importance. Scores were written mainly in Latin, and composers were preoccupied by wanting the listeners to be awed by the music to actually worry about the harmonies. Choirs would consist with about three people for each section and with countertenors instead of altos, the higher of the four parts (soprano and countertenor) still consisted of young school boys instead of women. The renaissance period also tried to stay away from the vibratos used during the dark ages because they felt like it blurred the individuality of the voice parts and caused horrible blends of the melody.

During the renaissance period young boys were only able to perform high pitched parts until their voices cracked and they had to be moved to the lower sections (tenor and bass). Nowadays it would be impossible to find a male soprano to perform the complex and intricate music that rang throughout the Roman Empire. The reason choir directors could get away with boys singing intricate songs before puberty was because the average male didn’t hit puberty until the age of seventeen, much later than the current person hits puberty. The voice ages helped the choral industry stay male dominated and hindered the allowance of women in the chorus.

Strict rules had started to be imposed on composers during the renaissance in order to attract the most attendants to the church without straying too far from the words of God. Churches knew that if they didn’t allow the music to be brilliant and inspire the crowds that attendance at the services would drop, causing a decrease of funds they get from weekly offerings. On the other hand, churches were weary that if they music was too astounding that people would be too fixated on the sounds to get the message out of it that church wanted you to know. Composers during the time were seldom allowed to write about anything other than the gospel because there were few places other than the house of god for music to be performed. 

During the late sixteenth century, the Renaissance slowly slipped away and was replaced with the Baroque period. This Era saw the founding of concertato style, where a soloist or a quartet stood out and sang something different from the rest of the ensemble. The Baroque age also saw the sizes of choirs increase by tenfold and start to try to re-include instruments into its pieces. Some historians say that the Baroque period didn’t include anything new or special from choral pieces, but that it just simply continued top experiment and expand on the Renaissance’s most famous techniques. Though others argue that the Baroque age brought in a “new style” of music, such as the canata and the oratorio, which had never been used until then. Renaissance ideas that had started to fade out of fashion towards the end of the period saw itself newly revived and at the front and center of the Baroque period. An example of this included the use of several independent lines for vocal parts, which had become obsolete and had been replaced with a form of composing that where a single melody was performed vocally with a bass part performed by an instrument. 

Some of the most notable figures in the choral sphere of the Baroque period were Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672), and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Claudio Monteverdi was most known for transitioning music from prima prattica to seconda prattica. Even to this day, three of his twelve most important pieces have been preserved and are frequently performed. Heinrich Schutz made musical history by writing the best pieces throughout all of Germany and varied his collections from passion to oriatos and motets. Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most famous choral composers to this day. Being known for his music internationally,he produced over three hundred pieces of work during his lifetime. Bach was able to produce songs the artfully combined the most spectacular techniques from every type of music during the Baroque period. Not to mention, his music helped define choral pieces for centuries and for centuries more to come.

The classical age of music came right after the Baroque age with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart carrying most of the figurative choral weight upon his shoulders. The classical age had a major slow down of vocal pieces as composers started to experiment with the capabilities of instrumental music at its full capabilities. It was known as the classical age for attempting to revive the ancient Greek and Roman forms of fine arts and literature, which wasn’t very big on vocal music. The Classical age was famous for a Rococo style of music, which was light in nature, homophonic, and very elaborate compared to any other style of vocal performances. The Classic age was also heavily defined by its association with the church. Composer finally had the ability to write scores from a secular viewpoint with public concert halls being constructed for the first time. Choral music was finally allowed to be enjoyed by all no matter their beliefs or political views and actually became one of the most important parts of life for the socially elite in Europe.

Unlike every other musical time period, the Classical period only had three famous composers rather than several dozen of them. These three men were Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791), Frans Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), and Ludwig van Beethoven(1770-1827). Even though the popularity of vocal musicians increased, people like Mozart kept it alive with elaborate pieces that would have made the Fathers of choral music proud. Most of Mozart’s pieces were biblical and written to be performed at masses due to the fact that he was an archbishop. Some of his most famous works include Great Mass in C Minor, Coronation Mass in C Major, and Requiem Mass even though it had never been fully completed before Mozart’s death. Haydn was known for creating both The Creation and The Seasons after being a choirboy himself growing up until he was eight.

 “A Brief History Of Choral Music.” Calgary Children's Choir, 30 Mar. 2015, https://calgarychildrenschoir.com/a-brief-history-of-choral-music/.

Brown, Mayer, and Howard. “CHORAL MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Apr. 1978, https://academic.oup.com/em/article-abstract/6/2/164/402312?redirectedFrom=PDF.

Foss, Lukas, and John Patrick Thomas. “The Middle Ages.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 Aug. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/art/musical-performance/The-Middle-Ages.

“Introduction To Renaissance Choral Music.” Choral Music In The Renaissance, http://dlib.info/home/braxton/.

Kozinn, Allan. “The Sound of the Middle Ages, Through Research and Intuition.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 May 1990, https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/04/arts/the-sound-of-the-middle-ages-through-research-and-intuition.html.

Riley, Danny. “A Tour through the History of Choral Music.” By Bachtrack for Classical Music, Opera, Ballet and Dance Event Reviews, Bachtrack Ltdhttps://Bachtrack.com/Themes/bachtrack2013/Mastheadlogo.png, 17 Jan. 2018, https://bachtrack.com/feature-at-home-whistle-stop-choral-music-june-2017.

Stevens, Denis William. “Choral Music.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 19 Jan. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/art/choral-music.

THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1600-1750), http://cmed.faculty.ku.edu/private/hyltonbar.html.

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1775-1825), http://cmed.faculty.ku.edu/private/classical.html.

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD (1825-4900), http://cmed.faculty.ku.edu/private/romantic.html.

[blackkudos]

Dexter Gordon

Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was one of the first players of the instrument in the bebop idiom of musicians such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell. Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm), so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant". His studio and performance career spanned over 40 years.

Gordon's sound was commonly characterized as being "large" and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat. He was known for humorously inserting musical quotes into his solos, with sources as diverse as popular tunes like "Happy Birthday" to the operas of Wagner. This is not unusual in common-practice jazz improvisation, but Gordon did it frequently enough to make it a hallmark of his style. One of his major influences was Lester Young. Gordon, in turn, was an early influence on John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Rollins and Coltrane then influenced Gordon's playing as he explored hard bop and modal playing during the 1960s.

Gordon was known for his genial and humorous stage presence. He was an advocate of playing to communicate with the audience. One of his idiosyncratic rituals was to recite lyrics from each ballad before playing it.

A photograph by Herman Leonard of Gordon taking a smoke break at the Royal Roost in 1948 is one of the iconic images in jazz photography. Cigarettes were a recurring theme on covers of Gordon's albums.

Gordon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the Bertrand Tavernier film Round Midnight (Warner Bros, 1986), and he won a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist, for the soundtrack album The Other Side of Round Midnight (Blue Note Records, 1986). He also had a cameo role in the 1990 film Awakenings. In 2019, Gordon's album Go (Blue Note, 1962) was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Life and career

Early life

Dexter Keith Gordon was born on February 27, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. His father, Dr. Frank Gordon, was one of the first African American doctors in Los Angeles who arrived in 1918 after graduating from Howard Medical School in Washington, D.C. Among his patients were Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Dexter's mother, Gwendolyn Baker, was the daughter of Captain Edward Baker, one of the five African American Medal of Honor recipients in the Spanish–American War. Gordon played clarinet from the age of 13, before switching to saxophone (initially alto, then tenor) at 15. While still at school, he played in bands with such contemporaries as Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette.

Between December 1940 and 1943, Gordon was a member of Lionel Hampton's band, playing in a saxophone section alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshal Royal. During 1944 he was featured in the Fletcher Henderson band, followed by the Louis Armstrong band, before joining Billy Eckstine. The 1942–44 musicians' strike curtailed the recording of the Hampton, Henderson, and Armstrong bands; however, they were recorded on V-Discs produced by the Army for broadcast and distribution among overseas troops. In 1943 he was featured, alongside Harry "Sweets" Edison, in recordings under Nat Cole for a small label not affected by the strike.

Bebop era recordings

By late 1944, Gordon was resident in New York, a regular at bebop jam sessions, and a featured soloist in the Billy Eckstine big band (If That's The Way You Feel, I Want To Talk About You, Blowin' the Blues Away, Opus X, I'll Wait And Pray, The Real Thing Happened To Me, Lonesome Lover Blues, I Love the Rhythm in a Riff). During early 1945 he was featured on recordings by Dizzy Gillespie (Blue 'n' Boogie, Groovin' High) and Sir Charles Thompson (Takin' Off, If I Had You, 20th Century Blues, The Street Beat). In late 1945 he was recording under his own name for the Savoy label. His Savoy recordings during 1945-46 included Blow Mr. Dexter, Dexter's Deck, Dexter's Minor Mad, Long Tall Dexter, Dexter Rides Again, I Can't Escape From You, and Dexter Digs In. He returned to Los Angeles in late 1946 and in 1947 was leading sessions for Ross Russell's Dial label (Mischievous Lady, Lullaby in Rhythm, The Chase, Iridescence, It's the Talk of the Town, Bikini, A Ghost of a Chance, Sweet and Lovely). After his return to Los Angeles, he became known for his saxophone duels with fellow tenorman Wardell Gray, which were a popular concert attraction documented in recordings made between 1947 and 1952 (The Hunt, Move, The Chase, The Steeplechase).  The Hunt gained literary fame from its mention in Jack Kerouac's On The Road, which also contains descriptions of wild tenormen jamming in Los Angeles. Cherokee, Byas a Drink, and Disorder at the Border are other live recordings of the Gray/Gordon duo from the same concert as The Hunt. In December 1947, Gordon recorded again with the Savoy label (Settin' the Pace, So Easy, Dexter's Riff, Dextrose, Dexter's Mood, Index, Dextivity, Wee Dot, Lion Roars). Through the mid-to-late 1940s he continued to work as a sideman on sessions led by Russell Jacquet, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Ralph Burns, Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Gerry Mulligan, Wynonie Harris, Leo Parker, and Tadd Dameron.

The 1950s

During the 1950s, Gordon's recorded output and live appearances declined as heroin addiction and legal troubles took their toll. Gordon made a concert appearance with Wardell Gray in February 1952 (The Chase, The Steeplechase, Take the A Train, Robbins Nest, Stardust) and appeared as a sideman in a session led by Gray in June 1952 (The Rubiyat, Jungle Jungle Jump, Citizen's Bop, My Kinda Love). After an incarceration at Chino Prison during 1953-55, he recorded the albums Daddy Plays the Horn and Dexter Blows Hot and Cool in 1955 and played as a sideman on the Stan Levey album, This Time the Drum's on Me. The latter part of the decade saw him in and out of prison until his final release from Folsom Prison in 1959. He was one of the initial sax players for the Onzy Matthews big band in 1959, along with Curtis Amy. Gordon continued to champion Matthews' band after he left Los Angeles for New York, but left for Europe before getting a chance to record with that band. He recorded The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon in 1960. His recordings from the mid-1950s onward document a meander into a smooth West Coast style that lacked the impact of his bebop era recordings or his subsequent Blue Note recordings.

The decade saw Gordon's first entry into the world of drama. He appeared as a member (uncredited) of Art Hazzard's band in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn. He appeared in an uncredited and overdubbed role as a member of a prison band in the movie Unchained, filmed inside Chino. Gordon was a saxophonist performing Freddie Redd's music for the Los Angeles production of Jack Gelber's play The Connection in 1960, replacing Jackie McLean. He contributed two compositions, Ernie's Tune and I Want More to the score and later recorded them for his album Dexter Calling.

New York renaissance

Gordon signed to Blue Note Records in 1961. He initially commuted from Los Angeles to New York to record, but took up residence when he regained the cabaret card that allowed him to perform where alcohol was served. The Jazz Gallery hosted his first New York performance in twelve years. The Blue Note association was to produce a steady flow of albums for several years, some of which gained iconic status. His New York renaissance was marked by Doin' Allright, Dexter Calling..., Go!, and A Swingin' Affair. The first two were recorded over three days in May 1961 with Freddie Hubbard, Horace Parlan, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, George Tucker, Al Harewood, and Philly Joe Jones. The last two were recorded in August 1962, with a rhythm section that featured Blue Note regulars Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins. Of the two Go! was an expressed favorite. The albums showed his assimilation of the hard bop and modal styles that had developed during his years on the west coast, and the influence of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, whom he had influenced before. The stay in New York turned out to be short lived, as Gordon got offers for engagements in England, then Europe, that resulted in a fourteen-year stay. Soon after recording A Swingin' Affair, he was gone.

Years in Europe

Over the next 14 years in Europe, living mainly in Paris and Copenhagen, Gordon played regularly with fellow expatriates or visiting players, such as Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Drew, Horace Parlan and Billy Higgins. Blue Note's German-born Francis Wolff supervised Gordon's later sessions for the label on his visits to Europe. The pairing of Gordon with Drew turned out to be one of the classic matchups between a horn player and a pianist, much like Miles Davis with Red Garland or John Coltrane with McCoy Tyner.

From this period come Our Man in Paris, One Flight Up, Gettin' Around, and Clubhouse. Our Man in Paris was a Blue Note session recorded in Paris in 1963 with backup consisting of pianist Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke, and French bassist Pierre Michelot. One Flight Up, recorded in Paris in 1964 with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Kenny Drew, drummer Art Taylor, and Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, features an extended solo by Gordon on the track "Tanya".

Gordon also visited the US occasionally for further recording dates. Gettin' Around was recorded for Blue Note during a visit in May 1965, as was the album Clubhouse which remained unreleased until 1979.

Gordon found Europe in the 1960s a much easier place to live, saying that he experienced less racism and greater respect for jazz musicians. He also stated that on his visits to the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he found the political and social strife disturbing. While in Copenhagen, Gordon and Drew's trio appeared onscreen in Ole Ege's theatrically released hardcore pornographic film Pornografi (1971), for which they composed and performed the score.

He switched from Blue Note to Prestige Records (1965–73) but stayed very much in the hard-bop idiom, making classic bop albums like  The Tower of Power! and More Power! (1969) with James Moody, Barry Harris, Buster Williams, and Albert "Tootie" Heath; The Panther! (1970) with Tommy Flanagan, Larry Ridley, and Alan Dawson;  The Jumpin' Blues(1970) with Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Roy Brooks; The Chase! (1970) with Gene Ammons, Jodie Christian, John Young, Cleveland Eaton, Rufus Reid, Wilbur Campbell, Steve McCall, and Vi Redd; and Tangerine (1972) with Thad Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Hank Jones. Some of the Prestige albums were recorded during visits back to North America while he was still living in Europe; others were made in Europe, including live sets from the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In addition to the recordings Gordon did under his major label contracts, live recordings by European labels and live video from his European period are available. The Danish label SteepleChase released live dates from his mid-1960s tenure at the Montmartre Jazzhus. The video was released under the  Jazz Icons series.

Less well known than the Blue Note albums, but of similar quality, are the albums he recorded during the 1970s for SteepleChase (Something Different, Bouncin' With Dex, Biting the Apple, The Apartment, Stable Mable, The Shadow of Your Smile and others). They again feature American sidemen, but also such Europeans as Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.

Homecoming

Gordon finally returned to the United States for good in 1976. He appeared with Woody Shaw, Ronnie Mathews, Stafford James, and Louis Hayes, for a gig at the Village Vanguard in New York that was dubbed his "homecoming." It was recorded and released by Columbia Records under that title. He noted: "There was so much love and elation; sometimes it was a little eerie at the Vanguard. After the last set they'd turn on the lights and nobody would move." In addition to the Homecoming album, a series of live albums was released by Blue Note from his stands at Keystone Corner in San Francisco during 1978 and 1979. They featured Gordon, George Cables, Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden. He recorded the studio albums Sophisticated Giant with an eleven piece big band in 1977 and Manhattan Symphonie with the Live at Keystone Corner crew in 1978. The sensation of Gordon's return, renewed promotion of the classic jazz catalogs of the Savoy and Blue Note record labels, and the continued efforts of Art Blakey through 1970s and early 1980s, have been credited with reviving interest in swinging, melodic, acoustically-based classic jazz sounds after the Fusion jazz era that saw an emphasis on electronic sounds and contemporary pop influences.

Musician Emeritus

In 1978 and 1980, Gordon was the DownBeat Musician of the Year and in 1980 he was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame. The US Government honored him with a Congressional Commendation, a Dexter Gordon Day in Washington DC, and a National Endowment for the Arts award for Lifetime Achievement. In 1986, he was named a member and officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture in France.

During the 1980s, Gordon was weakened by emphysema. He remained a popular attraction at concerts and festivals, although his live appearances and recording dates would soon become infrequent.

Gordon's most memorable works from the decade were not in music but in film. He starred in the 1986 movie Round Midnight as "Dale Turner", an expatriate jazz musician in Paris during the late 1950s based loosely on Lester Young and Bud Powell. That portrayal earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. In addition, he had a non-speaking role in the 1990 film Awakenings, which was posthumously released. Before that last film was released he made a guest appearance on the Michael Mann series Crime Story.

Soundtrack performances from Round Midnight were released as the albums Round Midnight and The Other Side of Round Midnight, featuring original music by Herbie Hancock as well as playing by Gordon. The latter was the last recording released under Gordon's name. He was a sideman on Tony Bennett's 1987 album, Berlin.

Death and postmortem

Gordon died of kidney failure and cancer of the larynx in Philadelphia, on April 25, 1990, at the age of 67.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Dexter Gordon among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Family

Gordon's maternal grandfather was Captain Edward L. Baker, who received the Medal of Honor during the Spanish–American War, while serving with the 10th Cavalry Regiment (also known as the Buffalo Soldiers).

Gordon's father, Dr. Frank Gordon, M.D., was one of the first prominent African-American physicians and a graduate of Howard University.

Dexter Gordon had a total of six children, from the oldest to the youngest: Robin Gordon (Los Angeles), California, James Canales (Los Angeles), Deidre (Dee Dee) Gordon (Los Angeles), Mikael Gordon-Solfors (Stockholm), Morten Gordon (Copenhagen) and Benjamin Dexter Gordon (Copenhagen), and seven grandchildren, Raina Moore Trider (Brooklyn), Jared Johnson (Los Angeles), and Matthew Johnson (Los Angeles), Maya Canales (San Francisco) and Jared Canales (San Francisco), Dexter Gordon Bogs (Copenhagen), Dexter Minou Flipper Gordon-Marberger (Stockholm).

When he lived in Denmark, Gordon became friends with the family of the future Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and subsequently became Lars's godfather.

Gordon was also survived by his widow Maxine Gordon and her son Woody Louis Armstrong Shaw III.

Instruments and mouthpieces

The earliest photographs of Gordon as a player show him with a Conn 30M "Connqueror" and an Otto Link mouthpiece. In a 1962 interview with the British journalist Les Tomkins, he did not refer to the specific model of mouthpiece but stated that it was made for him personally. He stated that it was stolen around 1952. The famous smoke break photo from 1948 shows him with a Conn 10M and a Dukoff mouthpiece, which he played until 1965. In the Tomkins interview he referred to his mouthpiece as a medium-chambered piece with a #5* (.080" under the Dukoff system) tip opening. He bought a Selmer Mark VI from Ben Webster after his 10M went missing in transit. In a Down Beat magazine interview from 1977, he referred to his current mouthpiece as an Otto Link with a #8 (.110" under the Otto Link system) tip opening.

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

Incredibly specific LAOFT question because I’m curious; so, I don’t know what musicals you listen to, but in big musical numbers with many parts (ie One Day More, Into the WoodPrologue, Nonstop from Hamilton, etc.) which parts do Roman and Remy default to singing? A lot of Theater kids tend to have a specific part that’s unofficially their’s whenever a group of them starts singing for fun

Roman always wants to sing the lead, as in “the lead characters voice part” even if its not the soloist of that particular song. Remy likes to sing lady’s parts BUT he specifically likes to sing alto lady’s parts 

the actual altos have adopted him as one of their own - and the boy is FULL of choir jokes 

“how many treble parts does it take to screw in a lightbulb? two - an alto to actually do it and a soprano to stand at the bottom and say “isnt that a little high for you?”

“How can you tell if the lead is at your door? he cant find the key and he doesnt know what to come in 

[Roman in the distance: Fuck OFF adams!]

“whats the difference between a music director and a chimp? Chimps have bee proven to be able to communicate with humans 

[Larry, appearing over Remy’s shoulder: is that so please tell me more Mr. Adams]

“where’s a tenors resonance? where his brain should be. 

[Jessie Donahue: youre a tenor, Remy

Remy: i know what the fuck i said]

in general the boy is the bane of the musical arts department but hes too damn talented and the school to small to get rid of him and every one of them is lying they absolutely adore him to pieces

[susie-qte]

Jojo Choral Headcanons

ₒₒₒₒAlright I’m like--- in a state of disarray over this thing I am so ready because I’m an avid choir kid and ieao;fjdk The premise is school choir, and it’s a men’s division (feat. Jolyne), hence the severe lack of gals (for now???) 

BUT I might do an extra thing with all the jojos and jobros and some other supporting cast characters in a show choir together but that’s for a later time Or I might do headcanons for a rival choir of Jofoes haha just kidding...  ...unless? 

Jonathan

Such a stronk baritone, but such a middling tenor 

Like he’s doing his best but he needs some work for anything above a middle Db

But his timbre???? You know the singer for Sono Chi no Sadame??? Yeah take that timbre but like--- put it in a choir 

It BLOWS PEOPLE AWAY 

Easily one of the most powerful voices in the whole ensemble 

He just wants to be a tenor though, so he can do like 

Tenor descants 

But alas, that is not for him (yet) 

He is laser-focused during class and sometimes does the annoying thing where he just doesn’t sing unless he can get the phrase perfectly in pitch and in rhythm, but we love him anyway 

He does not try for solos often, and usually needs to be coaxed by everyone else into trying out 

Joseph

I don’t know if anyone reading this is a choir kid, but in the boys section I’ve exclusively experienced boys who take it too seriously and the boys who don’t take it seriously at all 

Not to say that he doesn’t pay attention when he needs to, he just happens to also do the most purposeful voice-cracking in the whole choir for the laughs 

“Hey, can we do All Star for the concert”  

He’s a baritone, but when he’s having a great day, he can be a great bass 

He speaks at a higher register than he sings, and when you hear the difference back to back, it’s a little freaky 

Pleads for a rock song for miscellaneous concerts, because he wants to try belting

He’s that kind of dude who just stands alone in a practice room and tries to belt Jesus Christ Superstar and EVERYONE outside can definitely hear him 

During rehearsal, he is very convinced that he has the right notes

Even when he doesn’t 

He never asks questions, even when he should, and then right as everyone is going through a phrase, you can see his facial expression turn from 100% pure confidence to 100% pure confusion 

Jotaro

Literally no one expected him to be in something as dorky as choir 

But he is the silent bass that holds everyone together 

Like you don’t realize he’s singing until he’s not at rehearsal 

And everyone’s like “Hey, where’s the comforting chesty buzz of our lowest bass”  

He’s probably capable of hitting higher notes, but frankly, he doesn’t want to 

He’s very comfortable right where he is 

Which is 3 ledger lines below the bass clef staff 

He’s one of the pillars that holds the ensemble up, so he can’t really try out for solos often 

You don’t want to leave Joseph to his own devices as a Bass, after all 

Quickly going into some musical stuff: Have you ever heard Norm Lewis play Javert in Les Mis? In the first 10 seconds of this one moment, he hits a note lower than my self esteem and I feel like that sums up how Jotaro’s range has that chesty buzz, ya feel? 

Josuke

Meet the tenor, ladies and gentlemen 

On a very very good day, he can hit the E on the treble staff, he is a ten or 

But at the same time, he has this nice... deep and smoky timbre 

All the ladies love it 

Because he’s deeper than your average boy band member

but higher than Jonathan 

He is a RIFFING MACHINE 

We’re talking some grade A, Bruno Mars on crack kind of riffing 

Even in places where he doesn’t need to be riffing 

He out there like “Hallelᵘᵘᵘuuuuᵤᵤᵤᵤjah,,,, Juᵘᵘuᵤᵤuᵘbilate deoooₒₒₒₒ” but he’s a poppin’ soloist-- if you hear him pre-rehearsal just out there riffing, you’ve heard heaven condensed into a collection of soundwaves-- Pucci is quaking 

Giorno

Poor 15 year olds get the short end of the stick 

He’s a cambiata, somewhere kinda in-between a boy-soprano and an actual tenor 

But he’s flexing out here with tenor descants 

He’s the only person who listens to sample recordings given out by the director, ngl 

He’s so good at ye olde Latin pieces because his diction is on point 

And I mean... Italian is his bread and butter

But also because Latin pieces like to actively torture tenors and Giorno is just ready to flex with his ability to hit them high notes 

Unfortunately though, he’s not ready for the truck that is about to hit him vocally, and no one has the heart to tell him that his crazy range won’t last much longer 

He voice cracked one (1) time during rehearsal and almost had a crisis 

“THIS IS IT, IT’S OVER FOR ME” 

Jolyne

With almost-boy-soprano Giorno and kinda husky-sounding Josuke, there had to be a blending buffer there 

If Giorno and Josuke stood next to each other during rehearsal (and God forbid-- the concert??), it would be an absolute disaster of completely different competing tones of voice 

So the big compromise was our blending gal, Jolyne 

She’s an alto/mezzo, but can hit most tenor notes, so she just deals with it 

There are points in which the tenor part just drops down a little much and she just stares at the the director 

“You’re really gonna make me attempt this, huh” 

She’s the person who brings her phone with her onto the risers and lowkey falls asleep during rehearsal

But somehow miraculously picks up her part at an alarming rate, and it scares the rest of the choir to this day 

Everyone has theorized that she has perfect pitch, but really, who knows? 

You’d never see any of the boys able to pull that off, I’m telling you that 

~Mod Pepper

[starsforbammie]

21 Questions Tag

↬ Rules: answer 21 question and tag 21 people ↬ tagged by the lovely @derya-t

1. Name: Evelyn

2. Nickname: Lynn, Pebbles, and 23 (yes literally, the number 23)

3. Gender: Female

4. Star sign: Leo

5. Current time: Exactly 12:55 PM

6. Favorite artist(s): Goodness we’ll be here all day. twenty one pilots is a group I never miss when they come, Likun is a soloist who I stan to the ends, and his band blessthefall is a band I always get VIP for.

7. Favorite song: It’s always gonna be Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

8. Song stuck in your head: REDMERCEDES - Aminé

9. Last movie you saw: Spirited Away 

10. Last thing you googled: “Nintendo Switch Skins”

11. Other blogs: I have @kpop-uni which is my writing blog but I’m in the process of making a KHH blog

12. Main: This is it yo~

13. Do you get asks?: I do sometimes~ 

14. Reason for your url: I love space and Bammie!

15. Average amount of sleep: Roughly about 5-7 hours? 

16. Lucky number: 13!

17. Currently wearing: A NYPD shirt and Adidas soccer pants

18. Dream job: I’m 24 and I have no clue. But I really want to achieve my goal of being a high school psychologist 

19. Dream trips: I really want to go to Ireland and Scotland

20. Favorite foods: No cap like all food is good but if I had to pick, Asian food is the best

21. Play any instruments: Here comes a list: Piano, drums, guitar, most percussion instruments (marimba, tenors, I was in drumline during marching band eyy) and a bit of saxophone, and trumpet

↬ I’m sooo not tagging 21 people but I’m gonna tag a couple people @girlonpanic / @madeitwang / @markjaes-bitch / @jinyoungsir

[blackkudosuniverse]

Roland Hayes

Remembering Roland Hayes.

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Roland_Hayes

Roland Hayes (June 3, 1887 – January 1, 1977) was an American lyric tenor and composer. It is a common myth that Hayes was the first world-renowned African-American concert artist. He had a couple of predecessors that acclaimed fame. People like Sissieretta Jones and Marie Selika were very known, but the nature of their performances were not minstrelsy and that made it not possible for them to be recorded by recording companies. The recording companies wanted a vaudeville type of singer. Hayes was able to break this barrier in his career and in 1939 he recorded with Columbia. Critics lauded his abilities and linguistic skills with songs in French, German and Italian.

Early years and family

Hayes was born in Curryville, Georgia, on June 3, 1887, to Fanny and William Hayes. Roland’s parents were tenant farmers on the plantation where his mother had once been a slave. Roland’s father, who was his first music teacher, often took him hunting and taught him to appreciate the musical sounds of nature. When Hayes was eleven his father died, and his mother moved the family to Chattanooga, Tennessee. William Hayes claimed to have some Cherokee ancestry, while his maternal great-grandfather, AbOugigi (also known as Charles) was a chieftain from the Ivory Coast. Aba Ougi was captured and shipped to America in 1790. At Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Curryville (founded by Roland’s mother) is where Roland first heard the music he would cherish forever, Negro spirituals. It was Roland’s job to learn new spirituals from the elders and teach them to the congregation. A quote of him talking about beginning his career with a pianist:

"I happened upon a new method for making iron sash-weights," he said, "and that got me a little raise in pay and a little free time. At that time I had never heard any real music, although I had had some lessons in rhetoric from a backwoods teacher in Georgia. But one day a pianist came to our church in Chattanooga, and I, as a choir member, was asked to sing a solo with him. The pianist liked my voice, and he took me in hand and introduced me to phonograph records by Caruso. That opened the heavens for me. The beauty of what could be done with the voice just overwhelmed me."

At the age of twelve Roland discovered a recording of the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Hearing the renowned tenor revealed a world of European classical music. Hayes trained with Arthur Calhoun, an organist and choir director, in Chattanooga. Roland began studying music at Fisk University in Nashville in 1905 although he only had a 6th grade education. Hayes’s mother thought he was wasting money because she believed that African-Americans could not make a living from singing. As a student he began publicly performing, touring with the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1911. He furthered his studies in Boston with Arthur Hubbard, who agreed to give him lessons only if Hayes came to his house instead of his studio. He did not want Roland to embarrass him by appearing at his studio with his white students. During his period studying with Hubbard, he worked as a messenger for the Hancock Life Insurance Company to support himself.

Early career

In January 1915 Hayes premiered in New York City in concerts presented by orchestra leader Walter F. Craig. Hayes performed his own musical arrangements in recitals from 1916–1919, touring from coast to coast. For his first recital he was unable to find a sponsor so he used two hundred dollars of his own money to rent Jordan Hall for his classical recital. To earn money he went on a tour of black churches and colleges in the South. In 1917 he announced his second concert, which would be held in Boston’s Symphony Hall. On November 15, 1917, every seat in the hall was sold and Hayes’s concert was a success both musically and financially but the music industry was still not considering him a top classical performer. He sang at Walter Craig's Pre-Lenten Recitals and several Carnegie Hall concerts. He performed with the Philadelphia Concert Orchestra, and at the Atlanta Colored Music Festivals and at the Washington Conservatory concerts. In 1917, he toured with the Hayes Trio which he formed with baritone William Richardson (singer) and pianist William Lawrence (pianist).

In April 1920, he traveled to Europe. He began lessons with Sir George Henschel, who was the first conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and gave his first recital in London’s Aeolian Hall in May 1920 with pianist Lawrence Brown as his accompanist. Soon Hayes was singing in capital cities across Europe and was quite famous. Almost a year after his arrival in Europe, Hayes had a concert at London’s Wigmore Hall. The next day, he received a summons from King George V and Queen Mary to give a command performance at Buckingham Palace. He returned to the United States in 1923. He made his official debut on 16 November 1923 in Boston's Symphony Hall singing Berlioz, Mozart, and spirituals, conducted by Pierre Monteux, which received critical acclaim. He was the first African-American soloist to appear with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1924.

Late career

Hayes finally secured professional management with the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Company. He was reportedly making $100,000 a year at this point in his career. In Boston he also worked as a voice teacher. One of his pupils was the Canadian soprano Frances James. He published musical scores for a collection of spirituals in 1948 as My Songs: Aframerican Religious Folk Songs Arranged and Interpreted.

In 1925 Hayes had an affair with a married Bohemian aristocrat, Bertha von Colloredo-Mansfeld (1890-1982), née Countess von Kolowrat-Krakowský, who bore his daughter, Maria "Maya" Dolores Kolowrat (1926-1982). Married since 1909 to a member of a German princely family, Hieronymus von Colloredo (1870-1942), twenty years Bertha's senior, he refused to allow the expected child to bear his name or to be raised along with the couple's four older children, managing to quietly obtain a divorce in Prague in January 1926, while Bertha left their home in Zbiroh, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) to bear Hayes' child in Basel, Switzerland. Hayes offered to adopt the child, while the countess sought to resume the couple's relationship, while concealing it, until the late 1920s. Maya Kolowrat would marry Russian émigré Yuri Mikhailovich Bogdanoff (1928-20012) and give birth in Saint-Lary, Gers to twins Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff in 1949, who later attributed their early interest in the sciences to their unhampered childhood access to their maternal grandmother's castle library.

After the 1930s, Hayes stopped touring in Europe because the change in politics made it unfavourable to African–Americans.

In 1932, while in Los Angeles for a Hollywood Bowl performance, he married Alzada Mann. One year later they had a daughter, Afrika. The family moved into a home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Hayes did not perform very much from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1966, he was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctorate of Music from The Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. Hayes continued to perform until the age of eighty-five, when he gave his last concert at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was able to purchase the land in Georgia on which he had grown up as a child.[3]

He died five years after his final concert, on January 1, 1977.

Racial reaction

Even when Hayes became a successful musician he faced the same prejudices as most African-Americans at the time. During his tour of Germany in 1923, some people protested against his concert in Berlin. A newspaper writer criticized him as “an American Negro who has come to Berlin to defile the name of the German poets and composers.” The night of the concert Roland faced an angry audience who mocked him for ten minutes. Hayes stood still until they stopped and then he began singing Schubert’s "Du bist die Ruh". Hayes’s remarkable voice and musical talent won over the German audience and his concert was a success.

The Chicago Defender (National edition of July 25, 1942) reported a case in which Hayes' wife and daughter were thrown out of a Rome, Georgia shoe store for sitting in the white-only section. Hayes confronted the store owner. The police then arrested both Hayes, whom they beat, and his wife. Hayes and his family eventually left Georgia.[3]

On many of his concerts Hayes would attempt to abandon the use of segregated seating. At a concert in Atlanta, Georgia Hayes had the main floor of the auditorium as well as the boxes and first balcony halved between the races. The galleries were reserved for colored students at a special rate. No whites were allowed in them except the ones chaperoning the students.

Hayes taught at Black Mountain College for the 1945 Summer institute where his public concert was, according to Martin Duberman, "one of the great moments in Black Mountain's history" (215). After this concert, in which unsegregated seating went well, the school had its first full-time black student and full-time member of the faculty.

Legacy

* In 1982, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga opened a new musical performance center, the Roland W. Hayes Concert Hall. The concert venue is located at the Dorothy Patten Fine Arts center.

* The Roland Hayes Committee was formed in 1990 to advocate the induction of Roland Hayes into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In 1992, when the Calhoun Gordon Arts Council was incorporated, the Roland Hayes Committee became the Roland Hayes Music Guild and Museum in Calhoun, Georgia. The opening was attended by his daughter Afrika.

* There is a historical marker located on the grounds of Calhoun High School (Calhoun, Georgia) on the north-west corner of the campus near the front of the Calhoun Civic Auditorium.

* Hartford Stage and City Theatre (Pittsburgh) shared the world premiere of "Breath & Imagination" by Daniel Beaty, a musical based on the life of Hayes, on January 10, 2013.

* Part of Georgia State Route 156 was named for Hayes.

* A bronze plaque, mounted on a granite post, marks Hayes' home, at 58 Allerton Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. The plaque was dedicated on June 12, 2016, in a ceremony in front of the home in which Hayes lived for almost fifty years. The ceremony was attended by his daughter Afrika, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, Brookline Town officials, and many more.

Discography

LPs

* Roland Hayes (vocal), Reginald Bordman (piano) – The Life of Christ (Amadeo, 1954)

* Roland Hayes (vocal), Reginald Bordman (piano) – Negro Spirituals (Amadeo, 1955)

Compilations

* The Art of Roland Hayes (Preiser, 2010)

[grantmkemp]

In just four years Glenn Miller scored 16 number-one records and 69 top ten hits, more than Elvis Presley (38 top 10s) and the Beatles (33 top 10s) did in their careers.

"The King of Swing", born 116 years ago today, 1st March 1904 ... Read more below

Alton Glenn Miller was an American big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best-known big bands. Miller's recordings include "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer's Tune", and "Little Brown Jug". In just four years Glenn Miller scored 16 number-one records and 69 top ten hits, more than Elvis Presley (38 top 10s) and the Beatles (33 top 10s) did in their careers

The son of Mattie Lou (née Cavender) and Lewis Elmer Miller, Glenn Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa. He attended grade school in North Platte in western Nebraska. In 1915, his family moved to Grant City, Missouri. Around this time, he had made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in the town orchestra. During his senior year he became interested in "dance band music". He was so taken that he formed a band with some classmates. By the time he graduated from high school in 1921 he had decided to become a professional musician.

In 1923 Miller entered the University of Colorado, he spent most of his time away from school, attending auditions and playing any gigs he could get, including with Boyd Senter's band in Denver. After failing three out of five classes, he dropped out of school to pursue a career in music

In 1926 Miller toured with several groups, landing a good spot in Ben Pollack's group in Los Angeles. He also played for Victor Young, which allowed him to be mentored by other professional musicians. In the beginning he was the main trombone soloist of the band. But when Jack Teagarden joined Pollack's band in 1928, Miller found that his solos were cut drastically. He realized that his future was in arranging and composing.

In 1928, when the band arrived in New York City, he sent for and married his college sweetheart, Helen Burger. He was a member of Red Nichols's orchestra in 1930, and because of Nichols, he played in the pit bands of two Broadway shows, Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy. The band included Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s Miller worked as a freelance trombonist in several bands. On a March 21, 1928 Victor Records session he played alongside Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Joe Venuti in the All-Star Orchestra directed by Nat Shilkret.

In the early-to-mid-1930s, Miller worked as a trombonist, arranger, and composer for The Dorsey Brothers, first when they were a Brunswick studio group and when they formed an ill-fated orchestra. In 1935, he assembled an American orchestra for British bandleader Ray Noble, developing the arrangement of lead clarinet over four saxophones that became a characteristic of his big band.

Miller made his first movie appearance in The Big Broadcast of 1936 as a member of the Ray Noble Orchestra performing "Why Stars Come Out at Night". The film included performances by Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers, who would appear with Miller again in two movies for Twentieth Century Fox in 1941 and 1942.

In 1937, Miller compiled several arrangements and formed his first band. After failing to distinguish itself from the many bands of the time, it broke up after its last show at the Ritz Ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut on January 2, 1938

Benny Goodman said in 1976

    In late 1937, before his band became popular, we were both playing in Dallas. Glenn was pretty dejected and came to see me. He asked, "What do you do? How do you make it?" I said, "I don't know, Glenn. You just stay with it."

Discouraged, Miller returned to New York. He realized that he needed to develop a unique sound, and decided to make the clarinet play a melodic line with a tenor saxophone holding the same note, while three other saxophones harmonized within a single octave. With this new sound combination, Glenn Miller found a way to differentiate his band's style from the many bands that existed in the late thirties

In September 1938, the Miller band began recording for Bluebird, a subsidiary of RCA. In the spring of 1939, the band's fortunes improved with a date at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey and more dramatically at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York. According to author Gunther Schuller, the Glen Island performance attracted "a record breaking opening night crowd of 1800..." The band's popularity grew. In 1939, Time magazine noted, "Of the twelve to 24 discs in each of today's 300,000 U.S. jukeboxes, from two to six are usually Glenn Miller's." "Tuxedo Junction" sold 115,000 copies in the first week. Miller's success in 1939 culminated with an appearance at Carnegie Hall on October 6 with Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, and Fred Waring also on the schedule.

In 1942, at the peak of his civilian career, Miller decided to join the war effort, forsaking an income of $15,000 to $20,000 per week in civilian life, including a home in Tenafly, New Jersey.  At 38, Miller was too old to be drafted and first volunteered for the Navy but was told that they did not need his services. Miller then wrote to Army Brigadier General Charles Young. He persuaded the United States Army to accept him so he could, in his own words, "be placed in charge of a modernized Army band". His patriotic intention of entertaining the Allied Forces with the fusion of virtuosity and dance rhythms in his music earned him the rank of captain and he was soon promoted to major by August 1944

Miller was due to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris on December 15, 1944, to make arrangements to move his entire band there in the near future. His plane, a single-engine UC-64 Norseman, departed from RAF Twinwood Farm in Clapham, on the outskirts of Bedford, and disappeared while flying over the English Channel.

Miller left behind his wife and two adopted children. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, presented to his wife Helen in a ceremony held on March 24, 1945

These are my colourised versions of two black, and white pictures taken in 1942, and 1944.

Restoring Your Past  … Website Restoring Your Past … on Facebook

[lboogie1906]

Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was a jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, and composer who recorded many albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note, and Mainstream Records. After high school, he played in the rhythm and blues ensembles of Paul Williams, Earl Bostic, and Chuck Willis. After returning to Miami he was noticed by Cannonball Adderley, with whom he recorded for Riverside Records in NY in 1958. He then joined the Horace Silver Quintet, playing with tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Roy Brooks. He stayed with Silver's group until the band's break-up in 1964, after which he formed a group with members from the Silver quintet, substituting the young pianist Chick Corea for Silver and replacing Brooks, who had fallen ill, with drummer Al Foster. This group produced several records for Blue Note. It disbanded in 1969, and he joined and toured with Ray Charles until 1971. He performed with John Mayall, appearing on Jazz Blues Fusion and subsequent albums. He recorded and worked as a session man in the genres noted, performed with the big band leaders Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry, and was the principal soloist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Other bandleaders Mitchell recorded with include Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon, and Jimmy Smith. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CpuqfPEu-Pq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[allthingskiszka]

My Favorite Asshole Pt.1

Okay, so I had this idea the other day. This is a Jake Kiszka x reader story but will involve the others. This will be a multiple part story and pretty lengthy, I also may be slow to upload because my work schedule is pretty crazy. with that being said here we go!!! (p.s sorry about any errors I will proof-read but may miss something)

*You're new to Frankenmuth and your not looking forward to starting as a new student your junior year of high school.*

Word Count:

Walking up the stairs you were really nervous about starting at a new school. you clutched your backpack strap and with your head down you entered the school. You could feel eyes on you as you walked to the office. The lady at the front desk handed you your schedule and introduced you to a very pretty girl that walked into the office

“Hey, Ronnie this is y/n she is new here.”

“Nice to meet you, I like your shirt” Ronnie said with a sweet smile

“Thank’s I love The Doors they’re the best”

“Ronnie, can you show y/n to here first-period class?”

“Of course, follow me” as you walked out the door you were super nervous.

“So are you excited to start here?” Ronnie asked

“If I’m being honestly kinda nervous,” you said with a slight laugh

“Here let me see your schedule?” Ronnie looked at the piece of paper and smile at you “We have 3rd, Lunch and 8th period together, and you have 7th with my brothers you'll be fine. You can sit with us at lunch!”

You smiled “That would be awesome”

“No problem, A girl that’s a fan of The Doors and has a rad style like you, your cool in my book. Right through this door is your first period” 

“Okay, Thanks Ronnie see you in 3rd”

~Flash Forward to 3rd~

You walked into the class and noticed Ronnie waving at you to sit by her.

“How has it been so far?”

“Not too bad”

“Yeah, this class is super chill the teacher is cool”

As the teacher walked in the class grew silent. 

“Good morning everyone, We have a new student today, y/n please stand up, and tell us your favorite movie” the class laughed at the random question

you stood up slowly and the eyes shifted to you “ Hey everyone I’m y/n, My favorite movie is probably The Perks Of Being A Wallflower or Good Will Hunting”

“Ohhh those are good choices and your shirt is really cool, half of the FOOLS in here probably don’t even know who The Doors are beside our resident rocker Ronnie who it looks like you have found” the class got a kick out of the fool comment and you sat back down with a small giggle you felt the pressure start to fade Mr.Thomas told us to grab a book from the front of the room you looked at the title “Of Mice Of Men” He then started to read it out loud stopping to ask questions or banter back and forth with some students. Soon the bell rang and Ronnie helped you find 4th period she was right across the hall so she told you to meet her after class so you could walk to lunch together. it felt like 4th period took forever you were so hungry you were too nervous to eat this morning. As the bell rang you walked out of the class and to meet Ronnie. As you walked to lunch she started to tell you about her brothers to prepare you for who you were about to meet.

“So I eat lunch with my three brothers; Jake, Josh, and Sam. As well as Danny, Amy, and McKenzie. They can all be a hand full but I wouldn’t trade them for the world, They are gonna love you!”

“I hope so, So Ronnie what is there to do around here?”

“Um, not much. We normally hike, hang out in nature, go to the movies, or watch my brothers and Danny’s band play”

“Oh, there in a band. What kinda music?”

“Rock & Roll Baby”

“That's super rad”

“Yeah, you should come to hang out at my place after school today they will be practicing in the garage”

“That sounds awesome, I’m down”

“Yaaaay, I so needed a new friend” she said with a laugh as we approached a group of people you immediately knew it was Ronnie’s friends and family based solely on how they were dressed. you looked around with a shy smile on your face.

“Hey all, This is y/n she is new to town so I snatched her up to be a part of our group”

“Ronnie That was a very strange way to put that” said a long hair very lanky and tall boy with a laugh

Ronnie just flipped the boy off “Y/n this pain in my ass is Sam, then you have  Josh, Danny, Mckenzie, Amy, and Jake”

“Nice to meet you, y/n” said Josh really loudly with a bright smile

“Nice to meet you guys too!’ you said with a smile

“I really dig the shirt” Said Danny “We love rock!”

You here jake whisper something it sounds like “and roll” and Danny just rolled his eyes and laughs

“Well y/n, tell us about your self” Sam says, you begin to tell them about yourself and you are vibing with the whole group besides Jake who didn’t seem to be that interested in anything you have to say. You found out that you all love the same music, movie, and books. you share a couple laughs and jokes. You find yourself in awe of this group of people who are just like you. You begin to think this move wasn’t the worst thing that has ever happened to you. The bell rang and Sam walked with you because your classes were closed to each other.

~Flash Foward to 7th period~

Finally, it was time for choir you always loved to sing, music was always your escape you walked in to see Sam, Jake and Josh sitting in the tenor section Josh was the first to notice you and he smiled and waved, as the choir teacher walked in she saw you and smile lightly she ask what section you were at your previous school and you were an alto. she nodded and asked if you were comfortable to sing a solo at the end of the class once you got the songs down so she could make sure you were in the right section you smile and nodded she than sat you by Jake, you were sharing music with a girl next to you named Becky. She was super sweet and helpful the first song we sang was Stand By Me by Ben E. King she had written really great notes so you knew when to come in at one point of the song there was a solo that’s when you heard Josh singing you then noticed a very tight harmony when Jake started to sing as well you were stunned by how good they were it took you so off guard that you came in late. The next song was Summer Nights from Grease which caught you off guard it was one of your favorite musicals. You noticed there were solo sections and they had yet to assign the girl to the solo you whispered to Becky

“why isn’t there a solo section for a girl yet?”

“Mrs.Jones hasn’t picked anybody yet, she is usually pretty serious about her solos” she said with a slight laugh

“oh, that's interesting why are we sing grease”

“It’s our school play this year, you have a pretty voice. Tryouts are tomorrow after school you should give it a shot, this school needs a new female lead”

“Hmmm, I may take you up on that”

Before Mrs.Jones begin to play the opening notes to the song she asked if anybody wanted to fill in as Sandy for practice you found your self raising your hand she smiled and pointed in your direction. Jake looked in your direction and gave you a small smile that is when you realized Jake was the Danny solo. He whisper low so only I could hear “You got balls y/l/n, let’s see what you got” Mrs.Jones played the pitches for you and jake and the rest of the choir. You were a little scared but as soon as it was your turn to come in you went for it.  not caring what anybody thought you gave it your all. As the last note came out your mouth you felt a smile form on your face knowing you just crushed it. The class looked like they were in awe of the performance Mrs.Jones smiled and was like we may have just found our soloist. As everyone flipped to the next song Becky looked at you and said softly.

“You just fucking killed that”

“Thanks!”

“Now you have to try out, for sure”

You whispered softly only to Jake “How about that for balls, Jacob?” you said with a laugh, he looked at you and just rolled his eyes. Mrs.Jones spoke

“Alright, class we have time for one more song before class is over so if you guys could turn to Don’t Stop Me Now since we had a hard time with that one yesterday I would like to run through it with the remainder of the time.”

You were stoked about these songs Mrs.Jones had picked. As you guys ran through the song you zoned out before you know the bell rang. as you were leaving Mrs.Jones asked you to stay behind. you noticed the Kiszka boys were hanging around helping Mrs.Jones pick up the music stands

“Hey, y/n would you like to have the solo in Summer Nights, you gave the Kiszka boys a run for there money” she said with a slight laugh.

“Ha ha ha very funny Mrs.Jones, but y/n you were great you totally should and try out for the play tomorrow, too.” Josh Said

“Of course Mrs.Jones that would be great, What do I need to prepare for the tryouts tomorrow?”

“One scene and a song, Hopelessly Devoted for the role of Sandy”

“Okay yeah I can do that, also can someone help me find study hall?”

“Jake will help you” Josh stated his class is right across the hall

“Let me write you two a hall pass because your gonna be late.” said Mrs.Jones she then hands me and jake a late slip as we walk out of the room jake looks at me

“So you're going to try out for Sandy?”

“Yeah that’s the plan”

“Hmm you have some guts, you do know it is only your first day, right?”

“No way is that what today is, I totally forgot.” 

“You super funny, you know that?” he said really sarcastically 

“Do you only ask questions Jacob?” you say in a smartass manner

“One, don’t call me that, it’s Jake and two, it was rhetorical”

“No shit” you said bluntly and rolled your eyes

“Well as much fun as this has been your class is the last door on the left”

“Awesome”

you walked to the last door and made your way up to the desk to hand the monitor you last slip. You then looked over the room finding Ronnie with an open seat right next to her she smiled as you made your way to her.

“How was choir?”

“It was good, your bothers are great singers, and Mrs.Jones wants me to have a solo”

“What no way, That’s awesome. I didn’t know you could sing. Josh says she is super picky about her soloist, music in general too”

“I dabble, I love me some music, I also think I’m trying out for the play tomorrow”

“Josh and Jake are too, I think they are both going for Danny, so that should be interesting. Who are you trying out for?”

“Sandy, will you help me run lines”

“That's awesome, of course, if not me I'm sure my brothers will help out I told you today would be fine”

“You were so right”

“You’re still coming over right.”

“Yeah I will just have to call my mom”

“Cool I’ll text Josh and let him know your riding with us”

“Awesome”

You were stoked to hang out with your new friends and practice for the play tomorrow. Today had been awesome and you were stoked to see what tomorrow would bring.

Part Two

[oberlinconservatory]

In the Practice Room with the 2019 Rubin Scholars

For each of the past 14 years, Oberlin Conservatory has welcomed the legendary American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne for a weeklong residency. And after each of the past six, Horne has awarded $10,000 to outstanding students that she coached during her campus visit. Both the scholarship and the Horne residency are made possible by the singer’s close friend and philanthropist Stephen Rubin, president and publisher of Henry Holt & Co. This spring, Horne named soprano Whitney Campbell ’19 and tenor Shawn Roth ’20 the new awardees, each receiving $5,000 in funding for auditions, travel, and the living expenses that accompany the life of a young artist. While singing for THE Marilyn Horne was a bit nerve-racking for both Whitney and Shawn, they both admit that having fun has backed all their hard work at Oberlin.

When were you first inspired by the human singing voice?

Whitney: As a child, I would go around the house singing at all hours of the day. The first time I was inspired by the operatic voice, was when I heard Renée Fleming live in recital when I was 13 years old. Her ability to touch the soul with her voice alone inspired me to pursue this career!

Shawn: Among a few moments that stick out in particular would be the first time I heard a recording of Pavarotti singing “La donna è mobile.” There was just something so other-worldly about it—it sounded too perfect to be of this earth. I thought, “Whoa, opera’s the coolest thing there is,” because nothing remotely came close to listening to it.

What are some of your greatest musical influences?

Whitney: Since first hearing Renée Fleming in that recital, I have always gone back to her as a source of inspiration. I consider her my biggest role model. Her innate musicality and ability to express with her voice is something I aspire to achieve. I have read her book, The Inner Voice, at least three times. Angela Meade, Marilyn Horne, Montserrat Caballé, Eileen Farrell, Mirella Freni, and so many more, also influence my work. In addition to those singing role models, it was my longtime choir director Barbara Walker who introduced me to music and really inspired me to pursue this career. She heard me singing at the pool when I was five years old and recruited me on the spot to join the Livingston Parish Children’s Choir in Denham Springs, LA, where I sang from kindergarten through seventh grade. She is still a major musical influence and mentor to me today. Without her, I probably would not have gotten into music at all.

Shawn: Every day I find another reason to sing, whether it’s because I’ve discovered a new aria or new singer, perhaps I found out something new when I practiced that day, or maybe someone said something I’d like to prove wrong! As far as musical influences go, I’ve had a few constants—one would be Pavarotti. I always go back to him, even if I haven’t listened to him in months. Another would be classical radio programming. I grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with Pittsburgh’s classical radio station WQED. One night, when I was a kid, I was messing with my radio before bed and came across this absolutely, shockingly mesmerizing sound. It was a beautiful symphony—I unfortunately don’t remember what the piece was, but I remember the host saying it was by an African-American composer. Probably William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1, now that I think of it. But from then on I would listen to the classical station anytime I could, and I credit that with giving me my love for classical music in particular. When I come home I turn the dial as soon as I’m in range!

Shawn performs opposite soprano Alexis Reed ’20 in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up in the January 2019 Winter Term Opera. What have been some of your greatest experiences in Oberlin? Any most valuable takeaways?

Whitney: Having the opportunity to work with Marilyn Horne is definitely at the top of my list! It was an absolutely incredible experience that I am beyond grateful for. During my four years at Oberlin, I was fortunate enough to be cast in all four of the operas conducted by Christopher Larkin. After being in the chorus for the first two, I got to work more closely with him on solo roles in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. It was such a privilege to work with maestro Larkin during my time here. He was so inspiring with his encouraging words and musical ideas, while simultaneously teaching us how to work with a full orchestra. It’s incredible that Oberlin provided us—as such young singers—with fully staged, costumed, and orchestrally supported opportunities to grow as artists on stage.

Shawn: Getting accepted to Oberlin in the first place was such a thrill, since I really only began studying voice seriously during my senior year of high school. I’ve been incredibly fortunate for what Oberlin’s given to me. I’ve had the chance to work with an amazing teacher, Salvatore Champagne, throughout my time here. As an underclassman I got to listen to incredibly talented colleagues like Olivia Boen ’17 and Cory McGee ’18 before they took off. I’ve been in master classes with world-renowned artists such as Marilyn Horne, George Shirley, Gerald Martin Moore, and Brian Zeger. I’ve worked on operas with two of the best living composers, Du Yun and Missy Mazzoli. And I’ve been invited to sing with the Cleveland Orchestra as a soloist, twice, because they reached out to Oberlin specifically for singers. How can I possibly pick a favorite out of any of those?! And I still have one more year left, which is hands-down the craziest part. Can’t wait to see what happens next year!

Whitney Campbell in Oberlin Opera Theater’s spring 2019 production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. Singing on the Marilyn Horne master classes is one of the most exciting honors for Oberlin singers. What was that first experience of working with the great American mezzo like for you? Whitney: As I was sitting in the audience, waiting for my turn to sing the “Czardas” from Die Fledermaus for Marilyn Horne, I was the most nervous I’ve ever felt for a performance. However, after getting through the first sing-through, she was so kind—I just knew she was rooting for all of us to succeed! She had such great, really helpful advice for me about pacing the piece. It ended up being one of my favorite performances at Oberlin. To top it all off, I got to have an hour-long lesson with her the next day! I never would’ve thought I would have the chance to casually sing through my repertoire for Ms. Horne. It was a life-changing experience, and I still can’t believe it happened. One of the coolest things she said to me was that I reminded her of herself at a young age, which was the best compliment I could ever wish to receive. I’m still reeling from it! I really hope I can continue to work with her in the years to come! Shawn: Oh god, I’ve never been more nervous than when I was waiting backstage to go on stage for Ms. Horne. As the most established living American mezzo, she’s one of the most intimidating people to sing for on the planet...at first. Once I got out there and she started asking me about my pieces, she made me feel right at home. (I think both of us being from western Pennsylvania probably helped, too!) She’ll ask you to do things no one else will, and as a result, can improve your performance in ways no one else can. Working with her in a private lesson was just as exciting—at the time, I was singing baritone, and had Billy Budd’s aria in my package. To help me out, she told me how the first baritone to sing that role sang it, who just happened to be a friend of hers. That’s the beauty of Ms. Horne’s experience—she’ll tell you things that came right from the mouths of Britten or Stravinsky themselves.

Shawn in Oberlin Opera Theater’s fall 2018 production of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti with castmate and mezzo-soprano Gabriela Linares ’21. What did your path to music and Oberlin look like? 

Whitney: Following my years of experience singing in the Livingston Parish Children’s Choir, I decided to audition for the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, right in my hometown. After being admitted at the high school level, I skipped 8th grade and went straight into high school. I studied classical voice with Phyllis Treigle, expanded my art song repertory, participated in a number of opera scenes, and performed in two full operas. It was in those pivotal years that I discovered that opera was all I wanted to do. Throughout high school, I did summer opera intensives at Louisiana State University and the Brevard Music Center. It was during my junior year that my mom convinced me to go to Oberlin’s Vocal Academy for High School Students, and I fell in love with this school! I could just feel that Oberlin would help me grow into a more well-rounded artist. And, the conservatory immediately became my number-one pick for undergrad. Now, as I approach graduation, I realize how lucky I was to receive such a thorough music education from such a respected institution. I am so grateful to everyone that made my experience here such an exciting one! Shawn: So, although music was a constant in my life since day one, I had a lot of insecurity and anxiety about what to study in college. Where I’m from, the only real “path” for musically-inclined kids was to go to one of three or four state schools, get a degree in music education, and try your luck at applying for teaching jobs in the area. Three of my high school music teachers sat me down with my parents one day to try to scare me out of a performance-based career, because it was just such an “outlandish” idea. Of course, I chose Oberlin anyway. I think it’s worked out pretty well so far. So my advice for anyone who needs to hear it is this: Do what you want to be doing with your time. It’s not anyone else’s, and it’s the only thing you can’t get back once it’s gone. Now for a more uplifting story! The exact moment that I knew I wanted to sing for a living came while I was singing with a regional choir in my junior year of high school, led by an incredibly talented conductor, Chris Jackson. We were preparing Mozart’s Regina Coeli, which features a solo quartet out in front of the choir. Wanting that solo so badly and hoping to stand out, I called upon my official sponsor for this interview, Luciano Pavarotti, and just tried to sound like him as much as possible. It worked, and I got the solo! Singing out there in front of everyone activated the strongest emotional response to music I’ve ever had, and I knew then that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I still get that feeling when I perform, and it’s one of the strongest highs you can feel. I actually ended up running into Chris last summer, when we were both singing at the Yale School of Music’s Norfolk Festival. During a break in rehearsal, I re-introduced myself and thanked him for letting me discover my passion—then we went right back to singing, this time as colleagues. All the more proof that the classical music world is the smallest there is!

“Do what you want to be doing with your time. It’s not anyone else’s, and it’s the only thing you can’t get back once it’s gone.”

Whitney, Shawn, and fellow voice majors with guest master clinician and acclaimed vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore.    Do you have any advice for our incoming freshman singers?

Shawn: Have fun, and listen to each other. A large portion of your education comes from classes and lessons, but perhaps the most valuable things you’ll learn will come from your friends and colleagues. Be easy to work with—it will pay dividends in the long run. Even that still boils down to just being receptive to the people around you. Your entire time as an undergrad is an audition for all your peers, because they’ll be the ones who will get you jobs later on. And people who are easy to work with will be easy to employ. So show up with your music memorized, do the things the conductors ask you to do, and have fun with it, because that’s why we all do it at the end of the day. Also, learn German. The Germans already know English.

Whitney: Absolutely don’t forget to learn from your peers! Be supportive of each other—don’t tear each other down! Be a good colleague. Be respectful. Be prepared. Always be on time. It will only help you in the long run to have a reputation of being respectful and dependable. And, lastly, remember why you came to Oberlin. You came here to do what you love: sing opera. You are here to do it for you, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says. Have fun with it!

[racingtoaredlight]

Posted this yesterday, and have been thinking about it ever since...

I had so many moments like the kids in the background, the looks on their faces tell a story that’s very familiar.  This is an insight into the European conservatory system...all of these kids are probably insane.  If you heard them isolated, you’d probably think that they’re going to be some of the greatest guitarists on the planet (if they’re not there already)*.

The hierarchy inside these isolated worlds, however...can be extreme.  The kid playing isn’t just some potentially great guitarist...he’s a world beater at an age where he hadn’t even hit puberty yet.  These prodigal stories are numerous...my personal favorite being Pat Metheny coming out of Lee’s Summitt, MO...going to the University of Miami at 18, being named head of the guitar department at 19, and being on the faculty of Berklee in Boston when Berklee was legitimate at 20.  That’s insanity.

My experiences in this situation are singed into my memory.

***

Most of these are from my time at North Texas.  When I was in high school and at Cleveland State, this didn’t happen.  The talent pools were far too shallow.  Meanwhile, my first week at North Texas was an exercise in “oh fuck, what did I get myself into.”

At the beginning of every semester, the top band (the One O’Clock Band that’s been nominated for Grammy’s and tours internationally), gives an introdutory concert.  These 2.5 hours were so facemelting, this experience felt like it was bombarding me from all directions.

Firstly, this was the first time the band had ever played together in this format before.  They didn’t know each other’s idiosyncracies and were going in cold.  They played these 2.5 hours by number.

They had a telephone book-sized binder with all their scores in it...the conductor would just yell out a number...184!...49!...288!...not the song name, just the number.  And for this entire time, you could count the number of mistakes on one hand.  By the entire 18+ piece band.  And it was all sight read.

***

I heard some guys talking about the first chair tenor sax player.  I nudged one of them and asked what was up, and apparently he was an 18 year old kid who was the three time reigning North American saxophone champion or something like that.  Basically, they were talking about this kid like he was the LeBron of the jazz world...

And he was.

I don’t even remember his name, but I remember how he played.  How this pockmarked, pimple-faced child spewed straight magma out of his sax everytime he stood up for a solo.  He was almost always the first soloist called, and when he stood up, the rest of the band was laser locked on what he was doing.

Not only was he that concrete good, he was so good that everyone around him...even those playing with him...watched with rapt attention.  This kid wasn’t just good, his skills were mature and fully formed.  He was dominant.  It was clear, even at 18, that this kid was heads and shoulders beyond just about everyone else in a music department full of the country’s best young monsters.

Damn, I wish I could remeber his name.

***

I was already licking my wounds from that show when we had another “Welcome to UNT” concert, this time with a quartet (all guys from the same One O’Clock Band, except for the bassist).

Oh my god the bassist.

So this motherfucker is up on stage wearing those dorky wraparound sunglasses that old people wear when driving.  Totally relaxed, has this goofy smile on his face that stayed there the entire time.  I remember that smile, because what he was playing was some of the most wicked, evil shit I’ve ever seen a jazz musician pull off while still supporting the band.

Pianist counts off the tune...it’s a blistering 300+ beats per minute, and they are cooking.  The bassist still has that stupid smile on his face despite anchoring down this crazy bassline, barely even looking like he’s trying.

Then...

I’ll never forget this as long as I live.  It was one of those moments where your jaw hits the floor, your mouth hanging open like a slackjawed idiot, your brain frantically trying to process what just happened.  This is what 300 beats per minute sounds like...what 5 beats per second sounds like...

...in the middle of this shit, at that speed, he effortlessly starts tapping chords on the upper registers of his bass with his right hand while still keeping that bassline going undereath with only his left.  It was absolutely preposterous.

Fucking preposterous.  Fucking insanity.  It wasn’t showing off or trying to look like a badass, it was completely organic and in the moment.  The pianist was mostly soloing with his right hand...so he just stepped into the space where the pianists’ left hand would normally be.  It was absolutely the most insane musical moment I’ve witnessed in my life...and I’m not entirely sure he was conscious enough to know what he was doing at that moment in time.

I found out later he was an undergrad-aged masters student, who had been on Victor Wooten’s payroll since he was 17...doing all the transcriptions you’d see in Wooten’s instructional books and DVD’s and all that.  He was already endorsed by major players in the bass world for both guitars and amps...

At the time, Michael League of Snarky Puppy...currently one of the best bassists on the planet...was here studying.  I’m not disputing his current status at all, he is legitimately one of the great bassists working today...but when I was at North Texas?  He wasn’t one of the five best bassists there, in my opinion.

Everyone in that program was a fucking monster.  It was intimidating as hell.  Michael League was a monster back then too...but he wasn’t anywhere near this guy’s level.

***

Everyone knew Michael League was going to be a star though.  He was wired that way from the get go, and left UNT while I was in my second year there to devote himself full time to Snarky Puppy.  And boy was that the right call.

This other guy is heading up a jazz department somewhere, I can’t remember.  It’s a small school.  I ended up in a class with him as a GA down the line, and chatted with him a few times...you know that sense you get when someone is better suited as an educator rather than a performer or producer?  This was him.

His love wasn’t performance, it was clearly education.  It didn’t matter he had skills beyond the ordinary, you could just tell talking to him he’d rather be teaching than touring.  And there was a sense of peace that came with that, knowing himself and knowing the path he wanted to go on, that was honest and genuine.

The Marcin kid above, is a star and you could tell he was going to be one back then.  He’s been on all sorts of European and American talent shows, including America’s Got Talent, tours internationally and is signed to Sony.  This is a case of prodigy becoming reality.  And that talent was just as obvious back then, because it was clear by how the other kids were watching him that he was miles beyond where they were.  They knew.

So, I can relate to all those kids in the background.  No matter what your talent level or the amount of work you put into it, there are some humans who are just preternaturally gifted to the point it seems alien.

These gifts are special no doubt, but they have a downside.  It’s hard to have your life path laid out for you before you hit puberty.  What if you hate it?  What if you’re miserable?

That’s a discussion for another day.

***

Here’s the kid that was sitting directly behind Marcin’s performance in the same room.

He’s a super young kid, probably as talented as a classical guitarist with an undergrad degree despite being probably a freshman in high school.  He’s got refined technique, good sound, confident command of the instrument...

...and he’s shit compared to Marcin.  I hate to say it that clearly, but there isn’t a single thing you can point to where they’re even peers.  Marcin’s guitar sounds different, overtones and harmonics absolutely exploding out of it...this kid just can’t move the instrument like that yet.

But at the same time, this kid is very, very, very good.  In isolation, the kid is a truly impressive guitar prospect.  It’s just...when you look at them in comparison, the talent levels are so far apart it’s legitmately shocking.

Let me put it this way.  This kid’s playing a moderately difficult classical guitar piece on its native instrument.  Marcin was playing a goddamned violin sonana that was in no way written to lay out comfortably on a guitar, let alone be played at that speed.  And yet the level of sheer dominance over the respective pieces is still clear as day, despite the Paganini piece’s drastically higher level of difficulty.

That’s like smashing a desert rally course record in a Corvette.  Just incredible shit.