The CalArts Jazz Open : Musicians Jam for Chance at College Education

“Hey, this is like a jam session,” said a young musician, instrument case in hand, as he walked into Watts Towers Arts Center on Saturday afternoon.

And he was right. At one end of the center’s large main room, six jazz players were grooving through a spontaneous blues number, tossing choruses back and forth with friendly enthusiasm. Other musicians clutching a variety of instruments were sprinkled around the audience seats, listening carefully.

“In a way,” said David Roitstein, chairman of CalArts’ Jazz Department, “it is a jam session. Even though we call it an audition.”

As the piece wound to a somewhat ragged, but spirited conclusion, the players nodded to each other and shook hands as one or two packed up their instruments. Despite their easy musical familiarity, they had just met, brought together by a common interest in attending California University of the Arts in Santa Clarita.

The audition session--which was open to all and has taken place annually for the last five years at the Watts Center, as well as at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Park--was an outreach attempt by the university to make it possible for students from inner-city areas to become part of its jazz program.

The brief break over, the music began once again--a different blues tune, this time--with a new saxophonist, guitarist and drummer.

“I was a little nervous when I first came in,” said Zane Musa, the saxophonist, a 15-year-old senior from Van Nuys High School. “But when I saw that we were going to just be jamming, I felt a lot better.”

It didn’t take long for Musa to make an impact. Whipping his way into a series of choruses on alto saxophone, he played with a skill and imagination that belied his youth.

Setting aside his alto, he picked up his tenor and turned to the other players.

“How about ‘Well, You Needn’t?’ ”

“The Monk tune?” replied one. “Sure.”

Looking as though every trace of nervousness had departed, Musa played a stretched-out solo filled with rapid runs and edgy high notes. Remarkable for a musician with his limited experience--he’s been playing for just five years--he managed to push open his improvisational envelope with surprisingly off-beat rhythmic accents and avant-garde honks and squeals.

“He’s a good one,” said Roitstein, watching with a smile. “I’d say he’s got an excellent chance of making the program after he graduates from high school.”

At the drums, keeping crisp be-bop time behind the younger players, was a graying musician whose high school days had clearly ended a long time ago.

“I’m 50 years old,” said William Madison, “but they told me there were no age limits for these auditions, so here I am. I’ve played drums on and off since I was a kid, and I’ve worked from time to time as a professional musician. But with the kind of stuff I’ve been through in my life, I never really had the chance to study the music--to fill the gaps, you know? So that’s what I’m hoping to do now.”

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Musa and Madison represented the outer age limits of musicians auditioning for placement in the CalArts undergraduate and graduate jazz program. Most of those accepted will be eligible for scholarship support. And those who are members of what the university describes as “a traditionally under-represented group” will also be considered as candidates for aid from the Charles Mingus Scholarship Fund.

“We’ve got a very wide range of students at CalArts,” said Glenna Avila, director of the Community Arts Partnership, “some as young as 12 years of age. Our primary concern is reaching out to bring in students who would otherwise not necessarily have the opportunity to go to college. So we’re receptive to anyone who can fit into the program.”

As the jam session/audition continued, other musicians joined the group, with one or two ringers from the CalArts graduate school occasionally added on piano and bass. Guitarist Demetrius Dennis Wilson took the lead, spinning long, single-string lines balanced by brisk chording. Nattily dressed, with a slight smile on his face, he appeared to be enjoying every moment. And with good reason. After having been passed over at last year’s auditions, he was back for another try, and feeling fine about his playing.

“This is really important to me,” he said. “And this time I’m really ready.”

“Demetrius is one of the rare ones,” said Roitstein. “A lot of kids, when you tell them they’re not quite ready for the program, and suggest some steps they should take, they’ll say, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and you never hear from them again. But last year, when I told Demetrius that he had to work a little harder in some areas, he went right out and did it. He’s really come a long way.”

Wilson agreed. “I knew,” he said, “that I had to go out and acquire certain kinds of musical nutrients that I needed to lift my playing. I started out playing rock and blues and ska music before I came to jazz, so I had a lot to learn.”

In fact, the quality level of the applicants was very high in general, and most of those who participated will receive consideration for admission to CalArts.

The school’s approach to jazz--and to the arts, in general--differs from typical state university programs. Individual development and expression are given precedence over academics and large ensemble performance techniques. While traditional musical methods are taught, students are encouraged to expand their creativity individually and in combination with artists from other fields.

This approach would seem to make the program more appealing to students with excellent natural skills who may lack traditional scholastic achievements. Yet, if there was a disappointment about the auditions, it was the relatively small number of minority musicians in attendance, especially given the location of the event.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Roitstein. “And what we hear from some of our students is that young black musicians often simply don’t think of going to college as a viable option. The other problem is that this generation doesn’t hear all that much jazz when they’re young. They’re plenty familiar with rap and hip-hop, but jazz isn’t that much a part of their listening experience.”

The Community Arts Partnership, which sponsors numerous concerts and workshops at area high schools--with a special focus on the inner city--is the university’s prime tool for spreading the word about jazz, as well as to advance the possibility of a university education in the field of the arts. There already have been some successes. Out of approximately 40 students now enrolled in the CalArts Jazz Program, 15 or so are African American, Latino or Asian.

“It’s just going to take some time,” said Avila, “and we know that. We’re also concerned about the fact that there were no females auditioning today. But we’re convinced that if we keep on going out there and spreading the word about this music, that we will eventually have a mix that reflects the real cultural and racial diversity in Los Angeles.”