In Vail, Young Musicians Learn by Doing

The Labor Day holiday has traditionally marked a weekend of jazz parties, both in Southern California and across the country. At least one of those parties, the Vail Jazz Festival and Party in Vail, Colo., has a serious side as well.

For the last three years, the Vail Jazz Foundation has brought together a dozen of the country’s most promising high school music students with a combo of jazz professionals for 10 days of intensive jazz studies. The program--designed by Los Angeles-based bandleader, bassist and Vail director of education John Clayton and his colleagues--is unique in that it uses no written music. It also gives guidance in what it means to be a jazz musician through the experiences related by the mentors.

“Every morning starts out with a one-hour rap session in which John [Clayton] and the rest of the educators deliver a strong substance abuse message and tell them what it’s really like to be a professional musician,” says Howard Stone, the program’s executive director. “These are high school kids with fantasies of what it’s like to be a musician. We give them a real-life message on what they can expect.”

Los Angeles pianist Bill Cunliffe, who has taught at two previous Vail Foundation programs, describes the sessions as “very intense and thorough. We put them through 12-hour days. What makes the program unique is that there are no textbooks. Everything is learned entirely by ear. That’s how jazz originally developed. [The students] learn a repertoire by ear, then write their own music and teach it to each other. Learning by ear and performing in front of an audience really increases their confidence level. I’ve seen some miraculous development.”

Past scholarships have been awarded to Los Angeles students, including bassist Miles Mosley, who recently signed with RCA, and saxophonist Terence Martin. This year’s winners, all on full scholarship, convene Saturday with Clayton, Cunliffe, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, trumpeter Terell Stafford and drummer Herlin Riley for master classes that culminate in performances at the Vail Jazz Festival Sept. 5-7.

This year’s festival includes appearances by Jimmy Heath, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Red Holloway, Nicholas Payton, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jimmy McGriff, Hank Crawford and, of course, the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Information: (888) 824-5526.

*

Local Parties: Pianist Gene Harris, one of four scheduled headliners at the West Coast Jazz Party, Sept. 4-6, was recently hospitalized in his home of Boise, Idaho, with kidney problems and will not attend the Labor Day weekend event. Pianist Monty Alexander has been added as his replacement. Also featured at the fourth annual West Coast event, to be held at the Irvine Marriott, are drummer Jeff Hamilton’s trio, trombonist Rob McConnell & the West Coast Boss Brass and drummer Frank Capp’s Juggernaut big band, as well as 25 individual musicians who’ll combine in mix-and-match jam sessions each night. Participants include saxophonists Bud Shank, Ken Peplowski, Nick Brignola and Rickey Woodard, flutist Holly Hoffmann, pianist Gerry Wiggins and vocalist Karrin Allyson. Information: (949) 724-3602.

The Sweet and Hot Music Festival, held Sept. 4-7 at the LAX Marriott, includes some 180 musicians playing music from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s at a variety of venues around the hotel. Among those scheduled to appear are clarinetist Bob Draga doing his tribute to Pete Fountain, Conrad Janis & the Nightblooming Jazz Men, the Jack Sheldon Jazz Orchestra and, from Japan, Yoshi Toyama and the Saints. Swing dancing your thing? Four different dance floors make this party a must. Information: (310) 641-5700.

*

Jazz on Film: The role of jazz in the Harlem Renaissance is the subject of the L.A. County Museum of Art’s series “Jazz on Film: The Harlem Connection.” The series, which begins Sept. 18 with Jean Bach’s documentary “A Great Day in Harlem” and Clint Eastwood’s 1988 Charlie Parker biography, “Bird,” includes archivist Mark Cantor’s collection of Harlem-based clips, “All Roads Lead to Harlem,” Sept. 19; “Out of Central Avenue: Three Films by Don McGlynn,” which focuses on Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper, Sept. 25; and “Boogie-Woogie, Blues and Mother’s Love,” another collection of clips from archivist Cantor, Sept. 26. The series runs in conjunction with the exhibition, “Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance.” Information: (213) 857-6010.