On another fine Saturday 13 devotees of jazz music got together to celebrate this wonderful music. OK, that's a bit sappy, even though it's true. Sam (trumpet and bass), Christian (piano), Annie (vocals), Ira (alto sax), Vicki (vocals), Jim (baritone sax and clarinet), Dick (vocals), Craig (guitar), Sheila (vocals), Wes (tenor sax), Tim (guitar) and another guitarist whose name has eluded me as I type this. Very supportive, forgetting the name of the first-timer.
Annie made several announcements about the future of the Jazz Workshop. First, the last Saturday workshop for the summer will be 5/16/09. Second, the first Monday evening workshop will be 5/18/09 from 6:00-7:45 PM. There will be no Monday evening workshop on 5/25/09 (Memorial Day) and then the Monday workshops will pick up in earnest on 6/1/09 from 6:00-8:45 PM. The jazz workshop will be performing at the McRae Park Fun Day on 6/6/09, times to be determined. We will also be performing at the Freedom Jazz Festival on 8/1/09 from 12:00-12:30 PM.
The focus of today's workshop was on working up songs for the upcoming public performances. We will probably have four vocalists, each doing one or two songs, and several instrumentals. This will be the primary focus for the upcoming workshops for the next several weeks.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
'Round Noon
The Jazz Workshop started around noon- again- with an hour of instrumental music. Well, an intended hour of instrumental music, but with setup and everything it was more like 45 minutes. Several tunes were played, with some stoppage to work out difficult sections. We started out with Gene (drums), Bob (drums), Wes (tenor sax), Craig (guitar), Tim (guitar) and Sam (trumpet and bass). Ira (alto sax) joined us and then Sheila, Annie and Vicki joined us on vocals and Jim on piano. Jeff from the Freedom Jazz Festival (piano and horn, although he just played piano) was there for a bit, too. So we had a total of 12 musicians- pretty good for a nice Saturday in April.Song include "Four," "Day By Day," "Jeannine," "Forest Flower," "St. Thomas" (yes, we play that nearly every week), "Tune Up," "Do Nothing 'Till You Hear From Me," "The Duke," "Dear Old Stockholm," and probably at least five other tunes that have slipped my mind.
Annie noted that the Jazz Workshop has two summer gigs this year: June 6 at McRae Park for the summer party and August 1 from 12:00-12:30 at the Freedom Jazz Festival. The Workshop plays at several events at the park each year- the Bunny Breakfast in the spring, the summer celebration in early June and the holiday party in the winter. We are pleased to be able to be part of the neighborhood's events in this way and hope that people enjoy the music.The Freedom Jazz Festival was started by Sam Favors, one of the founders of the Jazz Workshop. Sam believed in jazz and in helping people understand the deep ties between jazz and the African-American community and the broad range of the African-American experience. The FJF is a showcase for the music and honors that history, and the Jazz Workshop is honored to be invited to play a set. We will be working closely on the songs that will be played at these events throughout much of the summer.
Annie also spoke to the Saturday workshop going on its annual summer hiatus due to the closing of the park building on weekends between Memorial and Labor Day. The workshop will happen on Monday evenings through the summer in the McRae Park building, probably 6:00 or 6:30-8:45. The Saturday workshop will return after Labor Day, probably 9/12/09. If you want to come to the Saturday Workshop before the hiatus, don't delay! Otherwise we will see you on Monday evenings or in the Fall!
By the way- photos courtesy and copyright of Don Lehnhoff, who took these on 4/18/09. I was too busy playing today to take photos and am very grateful to Don's generosity.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Summertime
And the jamming is easy!
Trombone is swooping and the sax blowing high.
The singers croon, walking bass underpinning,
and the trumpet, guitars and piano [something that rhymes; I'm a lousy songwriter].
Sheila- this may have been "Take the 'A' Train."
The Jazz Workshop today started at noon, including Don (trombone), Christian (piano), Ken (upright bass), Jimmy (electric fretless bass), Paul (guitar), Sam (trumpet), Wes (tenor sax), Craig (guitar), Gene (drums) and Tim (guitar). At 1:00 we were joined by vocalists Annie, Vicki, Dick and Sheila. Ken, Jimmy and Paul were fresh faces at the Workshop. Let's see that's 14 folks! Don took 55 photos today; here are a few of them.
Ken, upright bass.
Songs played today included "Ornithology," "St. Thomas," "Pent Up House," "Black Orpheus," "Out of Nowhere," "East of the Sun," "Summertime," "Watch What Happens," "Take the 'A' Train," and about 20 more (like an infomercial- "but wait, there's more"). As always, in several cases it was the first time some of us had seen some of the songs.
Paul (guitar) and Tim (guitar)
Annie started the conversation about summer plans. The park building is closed on Saturdays after Memorial Day until Labor Day, so the last Saturday workshop for the summer will be either 5/16/09 or 5/23/09. We may meet on a weeknight from 6:00-9:00 PM during the summer, if there are enough people willing to commit to being there, and then resume meeting on Saturdays the first weekend after Labor Day. If you're coming to the workshop regularly, give some thought to whether you want to continue over the summer and, if so, what evenings work for you.
Jimmy (fretless electric bass)
Next week (4/25/09) we will again start at noon for an hour of instrumentals and then from 1:00-3:45PM for the regular workshop.
Trombone is swooping and the sax blowing high.
The singers croon, walking bass underpinning,
and the trumpet, guitars and piano [something that rhymes; I'm a lousy songwriter].
Sheila- this may have been "Take the 'A' Train."
The Jazz Workshop today started at noon, including Don (trombone), Christian (piano), Ken (upright bass), Jimmy (electric fretless bass), Paul (guitar), Sam (trumpet), Wes (tenor sax), Craig (guitar), Gene (drums) and Tim (guitar). At 1:00 we were joined by vocalists Annie, Vicki, Dick and Sheila. Ken, Jimmy and Paul were fresh faces at the Workshop. Let's see that's 14 folks! Don took 55 photos today; here are a few of them.
Ken, upright bass.
Songs played today included "Ornithology," "St. Thomas," "Pent Up House," "Black Orpheus," "Out of Nowhere," "East of the Sun," "Summertime," "Watch What Happens," "Take the 'A' Train," and about 20 more (like an infomercial- "but wait, there's more"). As always, in several cases it was the first time some of us had seen some of the songs.
Paul (guitar) and Tim (guitar)
Annie started the conversation about summer plans. The park building is closed on Saturdays after Memorial Day until Labor Day, so the last Saturday workshop for the summer will be either 5/16/09 or 5/23/09. We may meet on a weeknight from 6:00-9:00 PM during the summer, if there are enough people willing to commit to being there, and then resume meeting on Saturdays the first weekend after Labor Day. If you're coming to the workshop regularly, give some thought to whether you want to continue over the summer and, if so, what evenings work for you.
Jimmy (fretless electric bass)
Next week (4/25/09) we will again start at noon for an hour of instrumentals and then from 1:00-3:45PM for the regular workshop.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easy Living
On Saturday April 11 the Jazz Workshop met yet again, this time with three new faces: Bob (drums), Ira (alto sax) and arrrrgh! on trombone and ummmmm on trumpet. Sorry , guys, my forgettery is getting better than my memory. We also had Craig (guitar), Gene (drums), Jim (piano this week), Annie (vocals), Toria (vocals), Dick (vocals), Wes (tenor sax) and Tim (guitar). We met about noon for the "instrumental hour" although this was a bit loosey-goosey this week and we really only played for about half an hour without Sam to get us counted off and going. The vocalists came about 1:00 and the normal workshop started, running to 3:45 or so. Tunes today included "Ornithology," "Flintstones Theme," "Yardbird Suite," "Take The 'A' Train," "Summertime," "Have You Met Miss Jones," and there were more (see above re: my memory functioning). We were busy enough playing that I didn't take any photos! So here's one from a couple of weeks ago of Wes:
Next week we'll meet again at noon for an hour of instrumentals and then the regular workshop will run from 1-3:45. Looking ahead, the last Saturday workshop for the summer will be on May 23. The McRae Park building is not open on Saturdays during the summer. If there is enough interest and commitment, we may meet at McRae on a weeknight throughout the summer. We'll talk about this in May at the last couple of Saturday workshops. The Saturday workshop will resume after Labor Day, probably on September 12, when the park building is again open on Saturdays.
Next week we'll meet again at noon for an hour of instrumentals and then the regular workshop will run from 1-3:45. Looking ahead, the last Saturday workshop for the summer will be on May 23. The McRae Park building is not open on Saturdays during the summer. If there is enough interest and commitment, we may meet at McRae on a weeknight throughout the summer. We'll talk about this in May at the last couple of Saturday workshops. The Saturday workshop will resume after Labor Day, probably on September 12, when the park building is again open on Saturdays.
The Bunny Hop
The Jazz Workshop ensemble played the McRae Park "Bunny Breakfast" on Saturday April 4. This is a community event with breakfast, an egg hunt, games, etc. I was out of town and so I don't have a report about the event nor any photos. Maybe someone who was there will write something up.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Gigging at the "Bunny Brunch"
This Saturday (4/4/09) the Jazz Workshop Ensemble will be performing at "The Bunny Brunch" at McRae Park from 9:00AM-noon. We won't be holding the regular workshop as a result of this. Come on out and hear us play!
The Workshop will resume its regular schedule next week 4/11/09, with the "instrumental hour" at noon and then the regular workshop beginning at 1:00 and going to 3:45. Hope to see you there!
The Workshop will resume its regular schedule next week 4/11/09, with the "instrumental hour" at noon and then the regular workshop beginning at 1:00 and going to 3:45. Hope to see you there!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Lessons of history- past, present and future
The Jazz Workshop was started by Sam Favors as the "Musicians Creative Guild." This was long enough ago- at least 30 years- that the exact timeline has been lost. The workshop has taken place in several Minneapolis parks over the years, for a while even being funded by the Park District. Some of Sam's words remain with us, however:
The Musicians’ Creative Guild (MCG) is a community-based group, organized to develop activities and projects aimed toward increasing jazz music performance arts, business and artistic acumen. MCG hosts a weekly jazz workshop for musicians to practice their craft. The group also sponsors seminars and performs throughout the Twin Cities.
MCG projects included the Jazz Workshop, instrument-specific workshops, jazz history and listening sessions and the Freedom Jazz Festival. Sam Favors was one of the founders of the FJF, the first one happening in 1999 at Minnehaha Falls Park. He was held in high esteem by his fellow musicians. Sam has passed away but the FJF continues and has created the "Samuel F. Favors Award," presented annually to an African-American musician "representing the creativity, dedication, energy and spirit of Jazz in Minnesota and beyond."
This year the FJF will be August 1, 2009 at Minnehaha Falls Park. Festivals like this are important to the continuation of the legacy of jazz in the community- a legacy founded in the African-American experience in this nation. Sam had hoped that the MCG and the FJF would further an understanding of that legacy, enhance the Twin Cities jazz culture, bring this wonderful music to a new generation, bring jazz musicians and jazz fans together and enhance the community and family experience.
The goals of the Jazz Workshop are connected to these goals and to the purpose of the MCG: to help people develop the craft of playing jazz music, to expand artistry and improve the ability to make a living. There are many supporters of jazz music in the Twin Cities (some of them are listed over to the right side of this page). For jazz to continue we need musicians and an educated audience able to hear and understand what is being played. We hope that that the Jazz Workshop helps move the Twin Cities jazz scene just a little further along.
The Musicians’ Creative Guild (MCG) is a community-based group, organized to develop activities and projects aimed toward increasing jazz music performance arts, business and artistic acumen. MCG hosts a weekly jazz workshop for musicians to practice their craft. The group also sponsors seminars and performs throughout the Twin Cities.
MCG projects included the Jazz Workshop, instrument-specific workshops, jazz history and listening sessions and the Freedom Jazz Festival. Sam Favors was one of the founders of the FJF, the first one happening in 1999 at Minnehaha Falls Park. He was held in high esteem by his fellow musicians. Sam has passed away but the FJF continues and has created the "Samuel F. Favors Award," presented annually to an African-American musician "representing the creativity, dedication, energy and spirit of Jazz in Minnesota and beyond."
This year the FJF will be August 1, 2009 at Minnehaha Falls Park. Festivals like this are important to the continuation of the legacy of jazz in the community- a legacy founded in the African-American experience in this nation. Sam had hoped that the MCG and the FJF would further an understanding of that legacy, enhance the Twin Cities jazz culture, bring this wonderful music to a new generation, bring jazz musicians and jazz fans together and enhance the community and family experience.
The goals of the Jazz Workshop are connected to these goals and to the purpose of the MCG: to help people develop the craft of playing jazz music, to expand artistry and improve the ability to make a living. There are many supporters of jazz music in the Twin Cities (some of them are listed over to the right side of this page). For jazz to continue we need musicians and an educated audience able to hear and understand what is being played. We hope that that the Jazz Workshop helps move the Twin Cities jazz scene just a little further along.
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