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Being a teenager and meeting one of your favorite musicians is one of
those
dreams that rarely comes true, but jazz trumpeter Clark Terry is trying
to change that. Terry has been making it his business to encourage and
educate young jazz musicians around the country by talking and playing
with them face to face.Terry,
who has
played jazz since his own days growing up in St. Louis, has over the
years
played in both Count Basie's and Duke Ellington's orchestras. Nowadays,
Terry tours the country playing concerts, but he also spends time
visiting
secondary schools and universities to share his knowledge and love of
jazz
with student bands. Terry
was recently
in town for the Carolina Jazz Festival, which ran through March 1. While
in the area, Terry, along with Marsh Woodwinds' Rodney Marsh and UNC Jazz
Band director Jim Ketch, performed a concert with the North Carolina Jazz
Repertory Company. He also took time to meet with area university and
high
school students. Terry held clinics with both the UNC Jazz Band and a
conglomeration
of jazz bands from Chapel Hill High School, East Chapel Hill High School
and Orange High School at CHHS. The students played for Terry, who
offered advice and taught students a little about the vocabulary of
jazz music, which differs from classical music instructions, as well as
"mumbling." "You
know,
words like doo bah and doo wah," explained CHHS Jazz Band member Sarah
Hoke, who plays both the piano and the flute for the band. The students
welcomed the opportunity to see, hear and learn from a jazz
great. "I think
he's one of the top trumpeters. I was really excited that I got to meet
him and play with him," said CHHS string bass player Sam Grossman.
Terry played a blue trumpet and flugelhorn for the bands, signed
autographs
and spoke with the bands and individual students about their style and
technique. "I
really
appreciate Clark Terry for coming to our high school and in a way coming
down to our level and working with us on a one-on-one basis. He learned
some of our names," said Hoke. Where other musicians might only
disrespect
kids for their age and inexperience, Terry took the time to inspire them
with the wisdom of his years. By making fledgling musicians such as our
area high school students feel special, Terry spread generosity and good
will, not to mention good jazz music, to North Carolina's youth. |
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Photos by Erin Beach |
