Jazz School News, Thoughts and Events.

Isabelle has been a professional musician for more than 20 years, performing and recording with many great international musicians such as Peter Erskine, Norma Winstone, David Linx, Didier Lockwood, Louis Moutin, Eivind Opsvic in more than 20 countries.

She recorded 6 albums of her own compositions in France, in Germany and in the United States and a DVD. She composed music for theater, film scores, exhibitions, poetry, dance and puppet shows. She has been nominated for the French Victory of Jazz for "Year Revelation" and received an "Outstanding Musicianship"award from the Berklee School of Jazz in Boston.

Over 30 instumentalists, vocalists and composers will perform on Mayne Stage Sunday November 24. The concert will feature original compostions written by Bloom School of Jazz current students, alumni and teachers. More information soon

Chicago, Illinois- August 23, 2013- Yesterday's musical epiphany has become today's great music as students, faculty, and musicians associated with Chicago's Bloom School of Jazz came together to record both video and audio for the original tune, "When You See Me."

Chicago, Illinois, Aug. 1, 2013- The recent trial and acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of 17 year old Trayvon Martin has sparked a firestorm of media coverage and public reaction. For Spider Saloff, acclaimed jazz singer and vocal coach of more than a decade at Chicago's Bloom School of Jazz, the underlying issues of the tragedy are much more important.

It's important to first determine what kind of session it will be. A live jazz session is different than a pop session and is recorded differently. But to start with I will be talking about rock or pop sessions.

Rock musicians sometimes carry this ethos around that they don't need to know their craft, just bang it out. "All you need are three chords and some balls" as the saying goes.  Or when you're tuning up "close enough for rock n roll". But realistically that gets pretty boring, pretty damn fast.   And so you're left with the same old slog of rock that is as worn out as 12 bar blues in a south side Chicago bar on a Tuesday "jam" night. In my opinion musicians should always strive to understand and integrate other forms of music genres and bring what you learn back to your plate. In Jazz music, I feel that you find the widest range of palate, color and nuance.  You can hear how jazz was brought back to blues and rock and funk and so much more. From Gershwin’s to Kenny Burrell, BB king to Les Paul, Duke Ellington to Stevie Wonder and so much more. Jazz in its purest form is like surfing to me. And it’s almost as dangerous because if you crash and burn riding the B locrian mode it can be as ugly as a wave spanking your ass on ocean beach. But I digress. The thing I've learned when working primarily in rock n roll as a genre, is that even if you are only using three chords, you can make them more interesting.   Play inside of them, depending on which mode your in, and when you start to take that risk, you're stepping squarely into a space that is greatly informed by some flavor of jazz.   

One problem you may be noticing during live performances is a lack of respect for the show. Each tune should be considered a chapter in a suspense novel, not a series of short stories with no cohesiveness. With my 40+ years of intensely studying the greatest jazz performers of the last century, I've discovered core values and practices that make the live experience of jazz infinitely more interesting and exciting for the audience.

Consider these five things when choosing a jazz school:

1. What you expect to get out of it? Do you want to be a jazz artist, a band director, and teacher or just want to learn without any economic benefit?

2. What is your relationship with jazz?  How many hours a week do you: listen to the masters, practice effectively by yourself, play with others and just think about jazz? What have you done to demonstrate your love  for jazz? What do you think a jazz school will do for your career?