By
Lisa Lucas
Arizona Daily Wildcat
World renowned saxophonist to play with AZ Jazz
The AZ Jazz ensemble is taking steps toward walking the improvisational tight-rope.
Comprised of 16 undergraduate and graduate instrumentalists from the UA, AZ Jazz will perform on stage at Crowder Hall tonight along with guest artist Jamey Aebersold as part of UA Jazz Week.
The ensemble, whose members have worked together since August, rehearses for one hour, three times a week, under the direction of UA music professor Jeff Haskell.
Though this may sound like a short amount of time, especially considering the group has only been rehearsing for a month in preparation for tonight's show, Haskell said the time crunch is standard for a jazz ensemble.
"Most everyone who would audition for an ensemble like this would be (a) good sight (reader)," Haskell said. "The concept is that by the second time through a piece, it should be good enough to record."
Haskell said the first rehearsal is used to eliminate any errors within the score or in the instrumentalist's own playing and to "catch the dynamics" of the piece.
Michael Harrison, a music education and performance sophomore, and a member of the ensemble, described rehearsals as "a laid back affair" where "we don't do as much playing, but we do a lot of just running the pieces."
Harrison said his interest in jazz music stems from the freedom that goes along with playing it.
"With other forms of music you play what's on the page," Harrison said. "But with jazz, you play your own stuff."
Haskell, who created the tradition of Jazz Week, 23 years ago, described tonight's performance as including "non-standard jazz literature" meaning the particular jazz music being played will be "experimental" in the jazz genre.
On founding Jazz Week, Haskell said, "I felt that there was a need to focus in on jazz performance at the university. The idea was to show jazz performance at the 'U' among the students (and) also to bring in resident artists to work with the students."
Along the lines of this tradition, Haskell has invited improvisational saxophonist Jamey Aebersold to perform with AZ Jazz. The ensemble's first rehearsal with Aebersold was held this morning.
"He (Aebersold) is basically the dean of American jazz improvisation," Haskell said. "He has changed the way the world thinks about improvisation."
Aebersold created 98 recordings which Haskell said consist of "rhythm sections playing the harmonies and rhythms (so) all the solo-ing is left up to the listener."
"Improvisation is the toughest part," Haskell said. "It's immediate reproduction of simultaneous mental processes."
"Everything about a jazz show is about improvisation," he added. "Including a semi-improvisational big band. (Aebersold) will be virtually not reading the music in front of him - (he will be) using his ears to pick out patterns and chords over which he can improvise."
Haskell compared improvisation to the act of walking on a tight-rope.
"If you haven't done it before you get a little nervous - out there in the middle of space, walking on a wire - and you've got to rely on those things you know. If you don't know what to do it's a bit difficult walking on that wire."
Haskell said Aebersold has eased the efforts of those people just beginning to improvise.
"He (Aebersold) gives clinics all over the country and he backs (them) up with a lot of hardware - disks, CDs - that give people background structure and departure on which to improvise," Haskell said.
Harrison, who owns about 10 of Aebersold's books and CDs, said "it's just kind of implied" that jazz musicians know of and use Aebersold's improvisational methods.
Aebersold, known for his spontaneity, may surprise the group in tonight's performance with a spur of the moment change, he said.
"We've rehearsed the pieces and that's all we really know," Harrison said. "Jamey (Aebersold's) big thing is improvisation - making it up on the spur of the moment - so he may end up doing something like that."
AZ Jazz will hold an open rehearsal today at noon in the Music Building, Room 170. Aebersold will hold an improvisational clinic from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Music Building, Room 162. The events are open to the entire UA community.
