The Music Lesson: Victor Wooten's Ephiphany...In Book Form

"Boy, do I have a lot to learn!"

One of the reasons I like teaching is purely selfish: oftentimes, I learn more from my students than they seem to learn from me. And so, one of my students was recently talking about a book by the great electric bassist Victor Wooten entitled The Music Lesson. I made a mental note to look for this book. Well, as luck would have it, I wandered into Tom Lee Music in Vancouver this past weekend and The Music Lesson was sitting in of the sheet music bins. Buen Fortuna! I spent portions of my weekend reading the book.

It's a quick read, but I don't think it's only for musicians. Wooten is a good writer of prose:it's very clear and entertaining, and at times humorous. At the heart of the book is a philosophy of music that can help young(and old) musicians. But unlike books like The Inner Game of Music or Effortless Mastery, this book is a parable, or a story which teaches a lesson. It's almost as if Wooten has written The Alchemist for music. (And for the record, I read The Alchemist-sure, I bought it in the airport bookstore-but I wasn't really impressed. Maybe Oprah should be talking about Wooten's book!)

The story is essential a dream. Wooten speaks from an imaginary version of himself as a young bassist living in Nashville, who is trying to improve as a musician. One rainy day, while Wooten is drowsy from practicing, a mysterious man named Michael enters his apartment. Michael is "....a strange man, unlike any other music teacher I've ever had...he appeared to be part Native American, and part...something else." Michael is full of wisdom, musical and otherwise. He is a free spirit; perhaps this is representative of how "free" we should all feel when we are playing music.

Michael basically gives Victor sage advice on how to be a better musician instantly. One of the first things Michael teaches is that he has "nothing" to teach, that the student must learn for himself. As a primarily self taught jazz pianist, but also as a conservatory grad and a music teacher, this idea really hit home for me. This is a great way to approach learning: you can't understand any concept unless you literally "teach it to yourself". Even if someone "shows" it to you, the understanding has to come from you. No one can "make you" learn anything. So we are all essentially self-taught musicians.

Michael has some great ideas about the "elements" of music. "Many musicians like yourself struggle because you are not familiar enough with all the elements. You rely mostly on one or two of them when you play." Michael explains how most of us spend so much time with notes. Notes include "harmony, melody, re-harmonization,scales, modes, chords, key signatures..." and so forth. Then, he discusses the other nine elements: articulation, technique, feel, dynamics, rhythm, tone, phrasing, space, and listening. Michael's assertion is that we as music students and teachers spend too much time on one element, notes, at the expense of the nine others. Indeed, there are many who can "play the notes", but I believe that those who are truly great are the ones who address the other elements well. Why would you want to watch an actor who merely "knows the words"?

Another great pearl of wisdom is the notion of "practicing" music. Michael relates it to how you develop your language as a child. "Notice you did not develop your speaking technique through diligent practice, at least not the type of practice you are familiar with. Your parents didn't lock you in a room and make you work on it three hours a day, and they didn't make you take lessons. You learned to speak it through a natural process. Musicians could benefit from looking at this process." This is akin to "learning on the bandstand," as opposed to "practicing three hours a day."

The young Wooten meets some other prophetic characters on his journey. Eventually, Wooten sort of "becomes" Michael, and becomes a keeper of the flame of wisdom. I think this is part of maturity as a person:when you realize that you are your own teacher, you develop the confidence to make your own way. "There are no shoulds or shouldn'ts. There are only choices. What you choose next is up to you. No one can tell you what that is. You have been shown all you need to know." I think so many of us are afraid to make the choices. This book might encourage us to leave the fear behind.


I find myself talking philosophy with my students often. And many of my trumpet teachers would talk philosophy often in the lessons. Sometimes, talking was more helpful than playing.  I think The Music Lesson is a revelatory philosophical wake-up call for any musician out there wanting to be inspired.

Pastorius,Milkowski,and Rosenwinkel: Not A Law Firm

My son Liam, giving me some lessons

First of all, my apologies to fans of jazztruth. Ever since my wife and 9-month old son have arrived in Winnipeg, I have, shall we say, had other things to attend to besides the state of the jazz world. And keep in mind I am teaching full time at the University of Manitoba and the fall semester has just begun. All that, plus minor gum surgery, has kept me from updating my precious blog. However,  I assure you I have a plethora of ideas and recorded interviews waiting in the wings. So don't despair, gentle readers: I will post as much as physically possible. Even if it means just posting pictures of my son banging on his toy xylophone every week! And yes, my son can already play Coltrane's solo on Giant Steps, but not up to tempo. Plus, he usually needs a diaper change afterwards. (I'm sure you've been in the same situation after you've played Giant Steps.)

Some of my previous posts have been quite lengthy and verbose. This time, I thought I would just give you the highlights of what I have been checking out. I admit, it can be hard to stay focused in this youtube- itunes-futuristic-information-superhighway kind of world we live in. Not to mention my students are always reminding me of some album or musician that I haven't listened to in a while, or perhaps some prog rock band that I need to check out. So at times, I find I'm all over the map when it comes to my "research". But here are a couple of things that I found some time to focus on more this week.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius is and was thought of by many (including himself, R.I.P) as " The World's Greatest Bass Player." I think without question he should be regarded as an important innovator of the electric bass and an icon in jazz fusion. He is frequently compared to bebop sage Charlie Parker,  not only because he revolutionized the bass technically and conceptually (as did  Parker with the alto saxophone), but he also had a tormented, drug addicted personal life which led to his demise much too early. His short burst of life is well documented by Bill Milkowski, one of my favorite music journalists, in Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius. This book came out about 15 years ago; I had read parts of it before, but I finally got to read the whole thing cover to cover. It's a fantastic read (I read it in about a day, which is a good sign regarding whether I like a book or not. Let's just say I have NOT finished Paris Hilton's Confessions Of An Heiress, although I plan on sitting down to read it as soon as HELL FREEZES OVER!).

author Bill Milkowski

Many times, I couldn't help but wonder if anyone ever considered writing a screenplay based on this compelling biography. Milkowski writes not only as a knowledgeable, experienced journalist and music lover, but he was actually friends with Pastorius, which gives the book a very intimate mood. (I also enjoy reading about the musicians and haunts of the New York Jazz scene in the mid 1980's, a good ten years before I moved to the city.)  The consensus, especially from those who were interviewed by Milkowski, seems to be that Pastorius was a colorful character, to say the least; indeed, colorful characters bring their share of positives and negatives. Jaco, at the height of his power, was a musical god, with huge success as a solo artist and a member of legendary fusion band Weather Report. At his lowest, he was panhandling, sleeping on basketball courts and hanging out with the bums and drug addicts on West 4th Street.

While the brutal, honest portrayal of Jaco's substance abuse and mental illness is sad and unflattering (and I am aware, controversial to some), it doesn't diminish Jaco's greatness or importance: I came away from the book inspired to search for my own innovations, and to channel my own inner Jaco, so to speak. I also can't help but think that if Jaco had come up more recently, maybe he wouldn't have been as tempted by drugs or alcohol; since musicians are generally living healthier lives these days-not to mention that there is much more awareness of mental illness like Jaco's. (My own experience with people with these kinds of conditions is that they tend to self medicate if they are undiagnosed.)

Milkowski's final paragraph, regarding which song he thought of first after Jaco's untimely death, is particularly touching to me; Three Views Of A Secret is, for Milkowski is " the one song that best captures the complexity of Jaco's character and the depth of his soul. In the course of six minutes,[this tune] reveals more about Jaco's character than any other piece he ever wrote. It's as if he had composed his own requiem." I've been a fan of that piece for a long time, and I actually play a solo piano arrangement of it. (I recorded it on my second Criss Cross release, Past Present Future.) I believe it has many emotional layers, and composing like that elevates Jaco from merely a bass prodigy up higher to the level of true artist.

Moving on: speaking of true artists, the great jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel has a new CD out entitled Our Secret World. If you are already a fan of Rosenwinkel, you will delight in hearing this virtuoso composer and improviser in a surprising context: in front of a big band. The Orquestra Jazz De Matosinhos (OJM) from Portugal does a fine job in backing Rosenwinkel, and the arrangements definitely do justice to the original compositions. The sound is quite lush and modern-highly appropriate for this cross section of Rosenwinkel's music. While some might lament the lack of small group interaction, I compare it to Herbie Hancock's Speak Like A Child or Inventions and Dimensions; albums which seem to truly feature Herbie and his writing more than any other players. If you are a first time Rosenwinkel listener, hopefully this enjoyable collection will inspire you to investigate his many earlier recordings.

Who was the best? Duke Ellington, or Jimmie Lunceford?

Many of you know that I have recently joined the faculty of the Jazz Department at the University of Manitoba. A few weeks before I began the semester, director Steve Kirby asked me if I would consider teaching jazz history. I agreed to do it, a bit hesitant at first, because I have never done that and I'm certainly not a historian. However, I figured it would be a great learning experience, and that has surely been the case. I think the Manitoban students and I got a lot out of the work we did this past year. Nevertheless, my intention is to become a better history teacher, so I am trying to go back and do some research. And by research, I mean reading other people's research!

I recently ordered two books from Amazon and I highly recommend both of them: "Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington" by John Edward Hasse, and "Rhythm Is Our Business: Jimmie Lunceford and the Harlem Express" by Eddy Determeyer. I find it fascinating that Duke Ellington has remained in our consciousness, and we can celebrate him as one of America's great composers and one of the most important figures in Jazz; however, bandleader Jimmie Lunceford is a totally different story: Most people, including many jazz musicians, have never even heard of him, and he is considered an obscure figure. Yet during the late swing era, Jimmie Lunceford and the Harlem Express were considered by many to be better than the Duke Ellington Orchestra! Funny how history looks from 60 years in the distance.

The Hasse book is an in-depth look into Ellington's entire career as a pianist, composer, bandleader, and icon. It's an entertaining read, but also it's well researched material and there is always a section in each chapter which links each period of Ellington's career with relevant recordings. ( I believe the study of music history is irrelevant if you can't come away with a sound in your head.)

I was inspired by the book for two reasons. First of all, Duke Ellington had to deal with intense racism, even when he was a very popular artist. (Can you imagine if Kanye West was not allowed to check into a hotel in the city in which he was performing? This was the depth of racism in the 30's and 40's.) Yet he never seemed  bitter: he always remained regal and dignified, and was able to remain optimistic under the worst of circumstances.

Secondly, the idea that a living legend and jazz icon went through many career struggles, from his first initially unsuccessful move from his birthplace of Washington, D.C. to Harlem and back, to the post-swing era where Ellington, by then a household name, struggled to keep his band working. This is a lesson for anybody, yours truly included, that ever has doubts about one's purpose in life. For Ellington, the music was the most important thing; he kept his band paid so that he could hear his music played on a regular basis. Although one can't help but wonder how thrilled Ellington would have been to have lived to see our modern day music notation and music sequencing software! Ellington spent many hours staying up late writing manuscripts; today he could play musical ideas on a midi keyboard and have Sibelius play back his ideas instantly! Although the alto sax patch on Sibelius would be a pale substitution for having the singing sound of  Johnny Hodges at your disposal.

"Beyond Category" is essential if you are teaching jazz history, or trying to teach yourself jazz history, or if you are just a fan and enjoy a good music biography. (Although I realize that there are many books on Ellington available, including the recent " Duke Ellington's America" by Harvey G. Cohen, which is supposed to be excellent. ) The Hasse book has a plethora of detailed information about band members, Ellington's compositional successes and failures, his relationship with Irving Mills, exactly when and where he toured, and even a breakdown of his professional finances. There are great anecdotes which give one a window into Duke's personality; some giving him a down to earth quality, others making him seem all the more larger-than-life. For example, producer Irving Townsend said of Ellington, " In our years of recording together, I've known Duke to arrive an hour early, two hours late, and at every point between those two extremes. I have never known him to arrive anywhere at the wrong moment."

Truly, Duke Ellington is remember because he was part of the history from the beginning, and wrote so many great tunes, and also wrote many concert works on a grand scale. He was quite prolific and also was fortunate to be active for so many years, up until his death in 1974. Jimmie Lunceford  was not so lucky: The cause of his death in 1947 is disputed, even by band members who were there at the time. But many people believe he was poisoned by a racist restaurant owner. Eddy Determeyer's book delves into this mystery and others; as I stated earlier, Lunceford is not currently a household name, yet his band The Harlem Express was thought to be more swinging and more entertaining that the Ellington band or any other band of the swing era, breaking attendance records everywhere.

"Rhythm Is Our Business: Jimmie Lunceford and the Harlem Express"is essentially  a love letter and a reminiscence of a great but forgotten band and it's beloved leader, cut down in the prime of his life. Similar to the Ellington book, it discusses racism of the day as well as examining the life of the musicians who toured constantly under varied conditions. There is early biographical information on Lunceford: his middle-class upbringing in Denver, in a musical family, his days at Fisk University, his brief affair with W.E.B. DuBois' daughter, and the beginning of his band ( originally called the Chickasaw Syncopators). At a certain point, the book seems to focus as much on the sidemen and arrangers of the band; drummer Jimmy Crawford, alto saxophonist Willie Smith, and trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. An important milestone ocurred when Oliver left Lunceford to join Tommy Dorsey's band. This event sparks a discussion of the fact that swing music was cultivated by many black artists like Fletcher Henderson, Ellington, and Lunceford, while white bands like Dorsey and Benny Goodman received more acclaim-and had better working conditions throughout the racist 30's and 40's.

Jimmie Lunceford was a taskmaster, not just in terms of musical accuracy ( he was also one of the first jazz educators in history) but with showmanship: The members of the Harlem Express might change outfits two or three times during a performance, and shows included visual stunts such as the trumpet section throwing their trumpets up in the air, catching them, and playing high notes without missing a beat.If you are curious, there is some footage of the band on youtube from a short feature film from the 30's. (The band is also featured in a film called "Blues In The Night" from the 40's , which I ordered from Amazon but have not watched yet..." The controversy with that film is that the Lunceford band was known for impeccable attire, yet in the film they were " dressed in rags", according to one fan of the band.)

The book is entertaining and it's a fascinating look into the Swing Era. But why is Lunceford's legacy so non-existent compared to Ellington's? I believe some of it has to do with his premature death. I also think that it is more common than we realize for artists who are famous for a time to be relegated to the so-called storage closet of history, after the fame dust settles (Look at all the one hit wonders of the 80's, for example). Determeyer thinks some of it is because the Lunceford Orchestra was not as well documented as they could have been- that their recordings did not measure up to the live experience. Also, they had hit songs, but most were not written or arranged by the bandleader. Lunceford is looked at in retrospect as a great director, but he wasn't outstanding on any instrument (although he was a skilled multi-instrumentalist) and was not anywhere nearly as prolific a composer as someone like Ellington.

I was motivated by the book to buy some recordings of the Lunceford Orchestra. There's a great recording of " Rose Room" which shows a lot of virtuosity by the trumpet section, an outstanding stride intro from pianist Eddie Wilcox, and the tune well demonstrates what they referred to as the "Lunceford Bounce"-which influenced many of the swing bands. There is a great compilation you can download on Itunes called " Harlem Shout" which has a lot of the hits of the band, including " For Dancers Only", " Blues In The Night", and " 'Taint What You Do".

On a personal note, I used to teach at Juilliard, and trumpet great Joe Wilder, who was a member of one of the last bands of Lunceford, used to sit next to me on the panel for the auditions. I wished I had taken the opportunity to ask him about playing with Jimmie Lunceford. (Maybe I'll try to get an interview with him at some point!)