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| Bob Mintzer |
Interview with Bob Mintzer
~
a Man of Several Musical
Lives
Bob Mintzer is professor of Jazz Studies at the USC Thornton School of Music as well as
an accomplished saxophone player, band leader and composer. He is a
twenty-year member of the Grammy award-winning Yellowjackets, who
also leads a Grammy award-winning Big Band, travels with his own Quartet, and
plays with numerous bands globally.
A
respected educator, Bob is the recipient of the Buzz McCoy endowed chair of
jazz Los Angeles, Bob continues to conduct clinics and workshops worldwide. He
has also written nearly twenty books which are an important part of the
curriculum of Jazz education worldwide.
Bob
writes for orchestra, concert band and big band, with over two hundred charts
to his credit. His big band music is performed by groups all over the planet.
Bob honed his big band writing and playing skills in the bands of Tito Puente,
Buddy Rich and Thad Jones-Mel Lewis.
His recent master classes with the SFJAZZ All-Star Jazz Orchestra and SFJAZZ All-Star Combo left me feeling more grounded than
usual. So much of this type of education can seem esoteric, but Bob's
feedback and suggestions were practical, usable. Many visiting
educators will bring their instrument, but play very little if at
all. Bob played with the group quite a lot, especially with the
combo. He sat in with the combo the following day to illustrate certain Big
Band concepts for the SFJAZZ Discover
Jazz Workshop (expertly curated by SFJAZZ Education Director, Rebeca
Mauleon). It was such a growth experience for these young players,
reminiscent of the proverb which ends, "...involve me and I will
understand." Asked about his influences for jazz composition, he
began by naming several classical composers including Stravinsky and
Mozart, to my surprise and delight. His website (www.bobmintzer.com) is a
treasure trove of information including many teaching videos,
one thus described: "I've always loved Classical Music and in my
new video, I discuss, with examples, how Jazz improvisers can best utilize
classical music."
Given that he relates to and creates all these different music
genres, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he also relates to students and their
struggle. Our friends at USC love him, they all want to be in his Big Band
class. A couple years ago, my son Logan visited USC as a HS sophomore,
college-shopping. Though he was young, Bob welcomed him heartily, asked him to
sit in with the band and even included me in gathering around a computer to
watch a special video. That kind of willingness to disrupt your day and add to
a student’s experience was so special, we’ll never forget it. That was plainly evident in the master class
as well; it can be nerve-wracking for young players to sit in with the master,
but he makes them feel comfortable. Even when delivering necessary criticism,
he has an easy way about him that I find pretty often in the jazz community,
but not out in the world. It speaks to a larger world view; he is in the eye of
the storm in the center of several musical lives of his own making, and the
many he supports.
Educator Questions
1. How do you
find a balance between imposing your own ideas over the student's creativity?
I preface most teaching with the fact that music is subjective,
and opinions vary greatly on what works and doesn't work. That said,
I feel there are certain fundamental principles that are common to
well-conceived music that an experienced musician and
teacher usually has a good grasp of, and can hopefully impart to
students in a way where it doesn’t impede creativity. I relied (still
do, actually) heavily on both teachers and colleagues as a young
musician to pull my coat when a specific area of my musicianship needed
consideration. I feel it enhanced my creativity if anything.
2. Practice +
Parent Support = Musical Achievement
A recent
publication, Guitar Zero, was written by a neurologist about his 2-year journey
learning to play the guitar. The author claims that the single-most
important quality, after practice, that indicated musical success, is parent
support. Assuming parent support includes lessons or school classes, do
you see this statement as accurate?
Parent support is critical in whatever passions and interests a
young person may have. This can include helping a student find good forums for
study and collaborating with other like-minded young people. However, I think
another critical parental activity may be staying out of the way, and
letting the young musician blossom on their own, find their own way, if
you will.
If a young person is truly passionate about music, they will
immerse themselves in the business of learning the language, and inevitably
wind up being steered in the direction of nurturing musical activity, either by
school music teachers, or peers. The music scene is a small club, and if a
young musician can really play, word travels fast. Generally playing and
learning situations will present themselves. At least they did for me when
I was younger.
In my case, it was a combination of the two elements. My
folks took me to an after school jazz improv class at an early age, as well as
steered me in the direction of going to Interlochen Arts Academy. They
also let me find my own way into the world of music study on my own terms,
which ultimately helped me to find my voice and specific calling in the music
scene.
3. What is
your approach to teaching a student a process as intangible and personal as
improvisation?
The study of improvisation is not terribly intangible to me. There
are tangible elements to being a good soloist that can be taught and
learned. The art of improvisation in jazz is a language, and must be
learned like any other language, through repeated exposure, study
of grammar, and the act of immersion into speaking the language with
others. Repertoire plays a big role in shaping a jazz improviser’s vocabulary
in a similar way that Shakespeare would be an integral part of any
aspiring creative writer's study.
Studying all the detail of the music is critical. Those who
are most thorough in this endeavor generally are the most articulate and
creative improvisers.
Creative musicians are generally shaped by their environment. Those
who have the most expansive recording collections, or perhaps had the
opportunity to be around live musical performance on a regular basis
generally have a broader vocabulary. Bottom line: the more you know about the
subject matter, the more you have to say.
4. What qualities
have you seen in students that seem to predict future success in music?
Those students who seem to thrive in music are not afraid to work
harder than everyone else. They also manage to see the big
picture, which goes well beyond just playing an instrument. They usually
get involved with composition, arranging, recording, video, instigating
playing situations vis-à-vis putting bands together to play original music.
The most successful musicians are instigators. They envision an
environment in which it would be inspiring to play, and they follow through to
make it happen.
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