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ValerieB

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Posts posted by ValerieB

  1. my thanks and appreciation go out to both of these wonderful artists. and one of the things they have in common, aside from their talent, is their interest, devotion and commitment to educating youngsters. Bravo!

    Happy, Healthy Birthday to Esperanza and Wynton, and many more to come. :party::party:

    Don't know about Esperanza's education efforts, but if Wynton's teaching is along the lines of his numerous pronouncements/strictures over the years about how jazz has to be played and how it should not be played, more's the pity. BTW, Wynton has been out there encouraging and inspiring the youth for some time now, no? How many notable youngish players can one name who owe a significant debt to his example/tutelage? I may be blanking on this, but I can't think of a single one outside of the guys who have played in his small groups or the LCJO. And I don't think of any of them as particularly notable figures artistically, certainly not compared to other players of their general age group who came up elsewhere and otherwise.

    You could add James Carter and Rodney Whitaker to the list, but, really, the education activities are not about a list of other pros who have come up under his wing. It's about the thousands upon thousands of kids he's reached through clinics and encouraged in many other ways (paying for instruments, sending music, etc) the Essentially Ellington initiative, the JaLC school curriculums that get jazz into classrooms in ways that non-music teachers can use and more. I've seen all of this at work in Detroit and environs, including seeing him take time in the poorest neighborhoods you can imagine for elementary school kids. I've also seen him bend the ear of administrators, politicians and philanthropists stumping for music education in ways that do in fact make a difference on the front lines, or at least they have here.

    I'm not entering the debate here on aesthetic issues, the future of jazz questions or the is-WM-good-for-jazz argument or anything else. Leaving all of that aside, on the education front, my own view is that there is no argument to be had. If more powerful artists across the spectrum -- I'm talking classical, jazz, theater, visual artists, writers, etc. -- put their money and time into these kind of endeavors that way he has, we'd be better off.

    Mark Stryker speaks the truth, y'all!! you guys better listen up and get educated to what Wynton has been doing and continues to do! thanks, Mark, for being far more specific than i could be.

  2. my thanks and appreciation go out to both of these wonderful artists. and one of the things they have in common, aside from their talent, is their interest, devotion and commitment to educating youngsters. Bravo!

    Happy, Healthy Birthday to Esperanza and Wynton, and many more to come. :party::party:

    Don't know about Esperanza's education efforts, but if Wynton's teaching is along the lines of his numerous pronouncements/strictures over the years about how jazz has to be played and how it should not be played, more's the pity. BTW, Wynton has been out there encouraging and inspiring the youth for some time now, no? How many notable youngish players can one name who owe a significant debt to his example/tutelage? I may be blanking on this, but I can't think of a single one outside of the guys who have played in his small groups or the LCJO. And I don't think of any of them as particularly notable figures artistically, certainly not compared to other players of their general age group who came up elsewhere and otherwise.

    Esperanza has been a Professor at Berklee College of Music for years now! youngest professor ever there. and i guess you also aren't aware of all the education programs that Wynton has for young kids which have been in effect for years at JALC, aside from his teaching travels around the country and world. and the programs in New Orleans as well. just an observation but i think your "needle is stuck"!!

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