05/11/2024
Giant Steps - Mother's Day Weekend edition
By Ron Wynn
Am running this column in two sections. The first is today, the second tomorrow. Am doing it because I'm adding photos to the column now, and for whatever reason I can't figure out a way to do it and include everything without it being way too long.
So the first part today is our interview with Blair School of Music's Jazz Director Ryan Middagh. Tomorrow we feature reviews of two great new Cannonball Adderley releases we purchased on Record Store Day, plus a couple of recommendations for upcoming shows in the Nashville area.
1. I - International Jazz Composers' Symposium at Blair School of Music.
Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music is the host this coming week for the sixth International Jazz Composers’ Symposium, May 16-18, 2024. Presented by the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC), the conference provides a forum that unites jazz composers of all ages and nationalities in an informal exchange of ideas, information, and inspiration.
But this is just the latest in an ongoing series of events that are being presented there. Under the leadership of instrumentalist and educator Ryan Middagh, who's the Director of Jazz Studies there, the Blair School is making a name for itself within the jazz education and performance community.
Despite his busy schedule, Ryan Middagh graciously took a few minutes out recently to answer our questions regarding the upcoming conference, as well as some general information about what's happening at Blair in the coming days and weeks. For a complete schedule of events regarding ISJAC visit the Blair website online.
1. How long as the jazz program at Blair been in existence and how long have you been involved?
"The jazz program at the Blair School of Music began in 2002 with the hiring of my predecessor, Billy Adair. Additional early faculty members at that time were Beegie Adair and Roger Spencer. Billy passed in February 2014, and after a national search, I joined the faculty in the fall of 2014 as his successor. I am wrapping up my tenth year teaching at the Blair School, and I am amazed at how far we have come as a program and school of music during that time."
2. When choosing both teachers and programs, do you have a central philosophy or set of goals that guide the selection process?
-"My philosophies and goals for hiring jazz faculty and programming are different, but there are clear moments where they overlap."
"Our jazz faculty must be incredible players, but even more importantly, they must have the heart of a teacher. As an undergraduate-only music school, these students are at the beginning of their professional musical development and need teachers who are passionate about teaching and willing to pour into the students."
"I also want each of our faculty to bring a unique musical perspective. Jazz music is so broad and diverse in approach that we need faculty representing the diversity of jazz philosophies."
"This same broad approach is needed for programming to serve our students best. We cover a wide variety of styles, composers, and periods in the music that is programmed. Diversity in programming helps introduce a lot of different music to the students but also enhances their musical toolbox."
"When our students leave the program, I want them to have a musical toolbox with various tools that will help them be successful musicians. Being able to play a variety of styles is critical here, but also have skills in arranging, producing, artist relations, or any other skill that makes the student successful in music beyond their undergraduate education."
3. How important or how much of a factor to an instructor or mentor is the amount of talent that a student possesses?
"Working with talented students is always great! We have many students who come in with a tremendous amount of talent, but our jazz program at Vanderbilt is inclusive of all undergraduate students regardless of major."
"The inclusivity of all majors results in a wide variety of playing levels across the jazz program. We do our best to find an opportunity for everyone, as our faculty believes that jazz can be a meaningful part of any student's college experience. However, even for the most talented students, the instruction students receive from our faculty is crucial."
"Higher Education is a space for students and faculty to explore their human potential. How can we grow as musicians and humans during our time in college? I would much rather see a student with good tools who is motivated to grow and learn rather than a highly talented student who is not in a space to grow artistically."
4. What initially got you interested in music as a career?
"My life goal was to be a secondary education band director. I knew this from my first year in high school, so my interest in music as a career has always been shaped through the lens of education."
"Life provided unique opportunities through music that sent me off course from that goal. I enjoy a wonderful career in music outside of education, including studio work and arranging. Education and the art of sharing music with others have always been the centerpiece of my professional pursuits."
5. How important is having something like the ISJAC conference at Blair in terms of bolstering the jazz program at Blair?
"Hosting ISJAC is a very exciting opportunity to host an international symposium. It puts Blair and Vanderbilt with excellent peers, the previous host UT Austin (2022), and the next host Eastman (2026)."
"Both institutions have great and historic jazz programs with an international reputation, and to be in the same sphere as these programs is an honor for the jazz program at Blair. This symposium also brings something unique to Nashville. "
"Though we have a lot of great jazz in Nashville every day, this weekend of concerts is specially curated with some of the best jazz music in the world. Beyond the weekend of concerts, it is an incredible opportunity to show the international guests attending the symposium why Nashville is "Music City" and that jazz is a thriving part of our scene."
6. What other types of things might be coming in the future?
" As a jazz program, we are focusing our attention on high-impact residencies and collaborations with artists of the highest caliber. This last fall, we had an extended residency with Wadada Leo Smith, which was transformational for our students."
"Additional guests this year include Bob Moses, Cecil McLorin Salvant, Sullivan Fortner, and John Fedchock, to name a few. Already confirmed for Fall 2024, we will be doing a residency with the great drummer Ari Hoenig, which I am very excited about. Beyond bringing guests to campus, I want to take the program into the world."
"This includes a 2-week educational and performance tour of Colombia this June. I will accompany a quartet of students to teach jazz to students of all ages in Medellin, Manizales, Pereira, and neighboring communities."
"I also need to work on disseminating recorded music from our ensembles - every semester, we record our big band, top small group, and Latin Jazz Group, and we have a lot of tracks in the can. We have just been waiting for the right opportunity to release this music."
"Vanderbilt is also quickly building archive collections in jazz music. This includes collections from Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef, and the Phil Schapp collection. The Schapp collection is one of the most extensive oral histories of jazz, and we are very excited to have it processed and shared with the world. As our library team continues to develop and process collections, Nashville will become an epicenter of jazz research."
7. What would be some future goals you have for the music program and for yourself personally?
"The jazz major at the school is still very new. Our first recruited class of jazz majors will be graduating from Vanderbilt in 2025. The program's infancy provides many opportunities to continue setting higher standards and develop a curriculum that will prepare musicians for careers in the mid-21st century and beyond."
"Like the projects we are working on, I want to take Vanderbilt and Nashville jazz to the world. At the same time, we bring the music world to Nashville and collaborate to enhance our student's education and enrich our community."
"A big goal locally is to engage more secondary music educators and their students to see how we can collaborate and enhance jazz education in Nashville. Nashville schools could be at the vanguard of secondary jazz education, and Vanderbilt can play a huge role in that endeavor."
"My goal is to make more of my own music. My professional jazz orchestra (Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra) has been performing frequently at the Nashville Jazz Workshop and Cheekwood (in July, we will be opening up for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band)."
"I want to continue to challenge myself as a writer to try new things, experiment, and find collaborations to make the music uniquely Nashville."
"An example of this is on my last album, "Live From Nashville," having Keb Mo sing one of his songs I arranged for a big band. My upcoming album "Tenor Madness" features the great saxophonists of Nashville: Jeff Coffin, Joel Frahm, Alex Graham, Don Aliquo, Jovan Quallo, and more. I plan to find new ways to make my music represent the city and our musical community."
8. How has the jazz scene in Nashville changed since you've been here, either positively or negatively?
"This city has changed so much since I first moved here in 2007. I love seeing all the great musicians from all over the world moving to town and having their music enhance the multiplicity of jazz on our scene. "
"We continue to build a diverse and inclusive jazz scene, and though we have come a long way, we can always do more to connect as a community. I am very proud of those building community in the jazz scene, especially the Nashville Women in Jazz, and individuals like yourself (Ron) and Jeffrey Lien. "
"What I would love to see is for the audience to come back. A lot changed during and after the pandemic, and I still feel the audiences need to return to live music fully. Lots of great music is happening at Rudy's, the Nashville Jazz Workshop, our academic institutions, and beyond. I encourage folks to go out and hear it; it is some of the best jazz in the world."
Ryan Middagh
