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.

Chicago Jazz Magazine Bloom School of Jazz Article by Mike Jeffers 

Escaping Yourself to Be You (Part 4)

For civilians and musicians alike, I suggest a one week test: turn off the TV and computer games, use the phone only when it's necessary, and spend the rest of the time doing things that make you think, feel, emote, create or anything that shows an active involvement and appreciation of you life. In one year the average person watches about 1200 hours of TV. Think of what could be learned in 1200 hours in one year. One could become competent in an instrument, learn a language, learn a sport, and take courses or whatever. It's staggering. No one has ever felt or developed pride by watching TV.

Escaping Yourself to Be You (Part 1)

We live in a culture where people go to the Caymans, play Nintendo, watch TV, take drugs, booze and engage in a host of other activities in order to escape negative aspects of their life. "Getting away" is a mantra that we hear regularly from fed-up folks, who can't stand their boss, mate, relatives or whatever. When they go on vacation they feel they are being released from prison. Some people who aren't just escaping from external things, but also from bewilderment, alienation, depression and low self-esteem, think that if they change their immediate state of mind or environment they will feel better. Escaping away from something dark and debilitating can never compare with moving towards something positive. In other words, the absence of a negative force is not a positive one; it's neutral.

Jazz musicians need to escape many of the same problems, but also encounter some different ones. They have to escape from the clutches of conformity and self-consciousness, which is mandatory in jazz. It is very easy for jazz players and civilians (non-musicians) to be wooed by the allure, the promise and scale of manipulative media in order to feel like they are more sexy, more powerful, rebellious, and not left outside. But losing or attenuating one's birthright because of the external influence is not part of the jazz personality.

Great jazz players know that all they have is themselves: pure, undiluted and uncorrupted. Doing what everyone else is doing is not an option in their world. They have never made any Faustian agreements about their music and treat their talents with great respect. The average jazz player's main focus is to conform to and imitate what great jazz musicians have played. They think that if they play Coltrane's ideas then maybe they will become hip or famous too. In the jazz community you don't get significant points for merely copying Coltrane's solo. Entry into the pantheon of great jazz is strictly reserved for those who play "who they are," not for those who second-guess what they think the audience wants to hear. The jazz masters all know that individuality can't be mass-produced.

Everybody knows that in order to improve any skill, practicing is critical. But what constitutes practicing is quite variable.  Some think that if a guitar is in your hands while watching TV, you are practicing.  Others think repeating the same exercises you have been doing for years or sitting in on a jam session is practicing. There is a huge difference between playing and practicing.  Although some people can improve while they’re playing a gig, most improve while practicing effectively.  There are four secrets great players know and use when they’re practicing:

1.

I remember when I used to go out dancing in the Division St. bars in Chicago. There were always bouncers standing outside of the clubs to insure that the occupational limit was not exceeded. Their presence was troubling in that these bouncers seemed to make an aggressive proprietary statement with those 16 square feet outside of the club. They acted as if they owned it because they could grant or deny entry.

What I realized years later is that all of us need that 16 square feet. It's a place where we are somebody, where what we think is important, not to just us, but to anyone on our turf - a place where we can feel like we can have power to refuse or to allow, where we can call the shots. Anyone, regardless of his or her station in life, must pass through our gate. It’s a world we can call our own.

Many of us have a space somewhere. It might be at home, at work, a health club, the bandstand, the stage, box seats or wherever. All of these locations may help you feel there is somewhere that makes you feel special, noticed, powerful and important.

There is only one location where you can guarantee to find that 16 square feet, and that is in your mind. That territory no one can take away - it's yours alone. It can be as expansive as 1000 miles or as small as a square inch. It's only limited by the depth of our imagination.

Whether it’s a physical 16 square feet or in your mind, it’s how you feel about it that’s important. It’s all up to you.

The legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino invaded (and I do mean invaded) the Jazz Showcase for three days last weekend. Pat plays hard core jazz - there is no question that he means business. He has always been a messenger of swinging jazz, but unlike many other guitarists he doesn't use a lot of hammerons… he articulated all notes.

To me, he is the cleanest guitarist playing today. Although his playing may be a little predictable to those of us who have heard him before, his unrelenting attack and articulation, beautiful sound and fabulous time are exclusive to him.

This was an experience that confirms the power of jazz when it's played at the highest level. His music comes from a deep respect for the legacy and history of jazz, and like all the greatest players, he has developed his own instantly and delightfully recognizable voice.