The title of this blog comes from an album of the same name by saxophone legend Albert Ayler. Below is the title track from this record, which was released in 1969, just before the saxophonist's untimely death in 1970.
Greetings To All! My name is Matt Chasen and I am currently a second semester Master's of Science in Elementary Education with K-12 Music Certification student in the School of Education at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Frequently, I will ask myself what music means to me, and often I find that mere words cannot describe the surreal, transcendent nature of the relationship, which I have with this most sacred of art forms. To begin contemplating who I am, within the context of Music in the Secondary School makes me reexamine the role that music plays in my life. This discipline, which so many of us have decided to dedicate ourselves to, is a calling for me. Not only is it a substantial part of who I am, but I consider music to be my passion, focus, drive, mistress (a la Duke Ellington) and purpose for being in this monumental existence, which we call life.
The journey that I have taken through our ever expanding musical universe has been filled with ups and downs, highs and lows and tears of joy. The first concrete memories that I have of being an active participant in any sort of musical experience whatsoever, come from when I was somewhere around five years old. My Dad has always been an avid fan of doo-wop and Motown, with a sprinkling of the Beach Boys to top off the musical casserole. Whenever I would accompany him on errands, to baseball games that he was umpiring or as part of any kind of trip, he would either have the radio, a cassette tape or CD playing some form of the aforementioned genres and/or artist. These songs must have resonated rather strongly with me, because to this day whenever I hear "Summertime Blues" as performed by Eddie Cochran, "My Guy" as performed by Mary Wells or "Surfin' USA" - as performed by the Beach Boys, I am instantly singing along, remembering each verse and the tune's chorus note for note.
"Summertime Blues" as performed by Eddie Cochran at Hadley's Town Hall Party, 1959
"My Guy" as performed by Mary Wells on the television show "Shindig", 1964
"Surfin' USA" as performed by The Beach Boys on March 14, 1964
These car rides with my Dad were some of the first explorations in singing that I undertook. Quickly, I began to become familiar with the wide array of doo-wop and Motown artists of the 1950's and 1960's, ranging from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, to the Temptations, the Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Roy Orbison, the Drifters, Jerry Lee Lewis and countless others. This music reflected a time that was very different from the one in which I group up. These were the sounds of my Mom and Dad's adolescence. You might commonly know this repertoire to be housed under the term "Oldies", which is a rather vague categorization, that evades any specific discussion of unique characteristics or identifying markers from one artist to the next. These informal learning sessions, as Professor Ken Trapp would describe them, proved to be the catalyst for my burgeoning interest in the world of music. I found that through listening to recordings on the radio, via cassette tape or through CDs, I would only have to hear a song once or twice, before being able to mimic quite a bit of the sounds present on any given track. I didn't know it at the time, but these sing-alongs were the first manifestations of an apparent perfect pitch ability, which I wouldn't fully discover until late high school and more so in my first several years as an undergraduate at the University of Hartford's Hartt School. I cannot articulate the importance of regular singing and the process of audiation, as postulated by Dr. Edwin Gordon, enough. The more that our students listen to music of a diverse, challenging and thought-provoking nature, the likelier they are to acquire an ear for the sounds that cross their paths. It is never too early to begin sharing our eclectic tastes with the musicians of tomorrow!
Formal experiences in music throughout my public school career were rather routine. The first instrument that I wanted to learn to play was the violin. I was in fourth grade at the time and only nine years old, so needless to say I did not have an appreciation for the sounds of this beautiful instrument, the orchestra as a whole or classical music as a genre. As quickly as I wanted to begin studying the violin, I decided at the end of my first year, that there was not going to be a second year. Not only had stringed instruments not resonated (pun intended!) with me, but I was eager to delve into the depths of symphonic band, more specifically through the bell of a saxophone. My Dad played tenor saxophone for a number of years, through graduating high school, but not beyond that point. The fact that he had played this instrument made me particularly eager to follow in his footsteps and pick up where he had left off. I was informed that I would have to start on the alto saxophone, because a fifth grader is typically too small to reach several of the keys required for fingering the tenor saxophone's lowest notes. Hence, making the switch from alto to tenor during sixth grade is a smoother way to introduce this larger saxophone to an eleven or twelve year old.
While I enjoyed playing the tenor saxophone in band, jazz band and jazz combo throughout late elementary school, middle school and the first two years of my high school career, I had never taken people seriously, when they told me that I had natural talent on the instrument or was musically gifted. Looking back on these missed opportunities, part of me regrets not taking to the art form more seriously at a younger age, while another side of me feels that things played out in the manner they were intended to. My parents were both teachers at an area high school and the band director there was a respected jazz guitarist and saxophonist in the Greater Hartford area. He was friendly with both of my parents and consequently knew that I was a saxophonist as well. Many times he told each of my parents that he would be willing to give me lessons, whenever I was interested in working with him. As luck would have it, the teacher I had been studying with, decided to focus more on the retail and rental end of the local music store he owned. I decided to begin studying with Doug (the band director) as soon as possible. Like so many other teachers over the years, Doug told my parents he felt that I had real musical talent and just needed to focus on harnessing the abilities within, because there was no telling how far I could go if I just put my mind to practicing. At the end of my sophomore year at Simsbury High School, I quickly realized that I was not going to have a collegiate career in athletics. I enjoyed playing baseball and hockey, but when it came down to the basics of the matter, I was just plain average at both sports. I wanted a change of scenery and had heard about the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts from several of my classmates at Simsbury High School, who were already attending the aforementioned school for half the day. I auditioned for this magnet school and was immediately accepted, which put me on a path that would change my life forever.
Upon entering the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, I became enthralled with jazz and knew that playing the saxophone and performing as a professional musician was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. By the second month of my two year stint at the Academy, I was hooked. I was fortunate to study with some of the best and brightest musicians in the Greater Hartford area, several of whom had national and international careers outside of teaching. These instructors included Jimmy Greene, Paul Brown, Alex Nakhimovsky, Ken Fischer, Ray Gonzalez, Jim Argiro, Chris Casey, Jonathan Chatfield, Dianne Mower, Norman Johnson, Gene Bozzi, Jim Martin and Jim Oblon. I began gigging throughout the area at the age of only 16 and before graduating high school I had performed with some of the region's top musicians and traveled to Puerto Rico on a tour with Connecticut's premier youth Latin Jazz ensemble, Guakibomjazz, which was sponsored by Guakia, Inc., a Puerto Rican cultural center on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford's south end. I can be seen on tenor saxophone in the video below, at the age of 17 on a television show that was broadcast live across the island of Puerto Rico, on one of the evenings that the band performed while touring.
After graduating from high school, I initially attended Purchase College (SUNY), but quickly found that this school did not have what I was looking for in a collegiate jazz program. I took a year off and was accepted into the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford's Hartt School. The musicians that I had a chance to study and rub elbows with in this environment are some of the best in their field, including Rene McLean, Steve Davis, Nat Reeves, Chris Casey, Rick Rozie, Rich Goldstein, Kris Allen, Peter Woodard, Shawnn Monteiro, Abraham Burton, Eric McPherson, Jeremy Pelt, Andy LaVerne and Gabor Viragh. While a student at in this institution, I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland as part of an ensemble led by bassist Nat Reeves, which marked the first occasion where this individual was leading a band under his own name, in an international setting. I began gigging throughout the tri-state area with many known Latin Jazz and salsa bands, while also performing alongside several of my professors from the Jackie McLean Institute in the Greater Hartford area. I was completely taken with Jackie McLean's philosophy of music education, which is rooted in the idea of bringing the culture of the scene, the streets and the evolution of humanity into the classroom, resulting in a comprehensive study of America's one true art form, which would not have been possible without the innovations of our brothers and sisters in Mother Africa. Jackie was and continues in spirit to be a visionary. His concept is summed up in the documentary below, which is entitled "Jackie McLean On Mars". I highly recommend that you all watch this documentary and learn from a master who lived and breathed the art form that he embodies in every sense of the word.
Unfortunately, at the end of my sophomore year at The Hartt School, I began experiencing severe dental problems, which forced me to put the saxophone down indefinitely. I took almost two full years off from school, during which time I worked full-time at a music store in the area, teaching saxophone, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, trombone, baritone horn and piano lessons. I also directed three student jazz ensembles every Saturday and managed the retail end of the store for a period of time. I am grateful for this period in my life, because it taught me many lessons, which led me to have a greater appreciation for my education and the experiences I took part in upon reentering The Hartt School in January of 2010. In order to finish my degree, I needed to assume the role of a jazz vocalist. Singing was something that, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I had always enjoyed doing on a casual basis, but now I would be studying this end of the musical lexicon formally. I learned more in my last three semesters as a student in the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz than at any other time previously. My professors and the department chair had such respect for the commitment that I had made, despite not being able to complete my degree on my primary instrument. As a result of my dedication to the program, the department chair decided to hire me as an administrator/coordinator, while also appointing me an adjunct professor, responsible for teaching all of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz's ear training (Jazz Transcription) classes. This was an opportunity, which I could never have fathomed being given to me. I felt like an outcast, as a result of having something ripped away from me, which I had devoted my life to. However, now I was a colleague of the very individuals that had given me so much and whom I respected beyond words.
Iconic jazz pianist Hank Jones performing in Millard Auditorium at the University of Hartford's Hartt School in 2009, after receiving an honorary doctorate from the school.
I learned many invaluable lessons while employed at The Hartt School, but the time came for me to decide what path my future was going to take. The position that I held was not going to become full-time and as such, I felt that I was on a path leading nowhere. A colleague of mine mentioned the program at the University of Bridgeport, which prompted me to immediately request information, first and foremost via a telephone conversation with Professor Frank Martignetti. While I had made some poor choices, which resulted in several low grades of my undergraduate transcript, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Graduate Music Education program at the University of Bridgeport, which is where I am currently a student. The program has taught me a great deal already and I am increasingly more excited to become a certified teacher, working with classes of my very own, as each day passes. My internship at Henry Barnard School in Enfield, Connecticut has shown me more than I could have ever imagined was possible within the school environment, let alone one which is only K-2. While at the present time I am not gigging or performing, I still consider myself to be as much of if not more of a musician than at any point throughout my life thus far. I constantly struggle with the pains of not being able to play the saxophone. I feel a distinct void, which nothing else can come close to filling. While singing is another facet of my musical arsenal, which I will continue to harness, saxophone is where my heart will always lie. I am hopeful that as time progresses, I will either be able to find an alternative/holistic/naturopathic treatment for the dental problems that I have been experiencing, or that I will have the money to afford the surgery that may be required to fix the aforementioned problems. I know that I will play again one day. All of the ideas that have been sitting in my musical mind need to be let out!
Peter Loel Boonshaft's text Teaching Music With Purpose was particularly inspiring for me, because it is obvious from the first page that he is completely captivated by the arts of both music and teaching. I think that this is an important point to remember. Frequently, we will see master musicians employed as educators, but are they guaranteed to be equally skilled teachers? My opinion is that they most certainly are not. The best performers are rarely as proficient when asked to explain how it is that they do what they do. Teaching is an art in and of itself, which Boonshaft seems to understand quite clearly. The proactive techniques and approaches discussed as part of Boonshaft's "Motidispiration" might reiterate points, which have already been outlined elsewhere, but I think that they are critical to keep in mind. We would all do well to remember to reinforce positive behavior, check any attitude and/or ego at the door, show our true colors, draw students to us, be consistent and act, but not react. I think that Boonshaft is spot on in coining the previously used term of "Motidispiration", which is a hybrid of the words motivation, discipline and inspiration. I think that those are three of the biggest keys to success in any classroom, regardless of content area. Students need to be motivated if there is any hope of the teaching/learning process occurring. Discipline is a must for classroom management to be maintained. Without classroom management, students will not learn, because they will quickly disengage, once it becomes obvious that the teacher is unable to draw students to him or her. Inspiration is number one amongst these three notions. If a student is not genuinely curious, intrigued and driven by what you as the teacher are trying to impart upon him or her, then what hope is there of that student taking your teachings and running with them? Peter Loel Boonshaft gives the aspiring band director many ideas to ponder, in the never ending quest to be a truly effective educator. I hope that this blog posting has proven mildly interesting and I look forward to adding to this newly created resource throughout the course of this semester and beyond!
