Tom Lee Music Workshops: Students Improvise New Jazz Fusion Possibilities with Global Masters

Intimate & Interactive…Tom Lee Music Workshops are free, open to the general public.  They also function as a kind of ‘masterclass’ for our students.  The world’s most respected musicians share their stories, play and demonstrate unique and exciting approaches to music.  Artists for 2011 hailed from Sweden (Jonas Kullhammar), China (Dong Jinming), the United Kingdom (John Butcher) and Vancouver (Lisa Cay Miller & Lan Tung).

Jonas Kyllhammar, Sax (Sweden) inspired melodious funk.

Lisa Cay Miller, Piano (Vancouver) introduced free improv and new composition.

John Butcher, Sax (UK) 'wowed' the audience by sustaining a note for several minutes!

Chinese Erhu/Jazz Fusion, circular breathing, free improv and more...This year, our TD High School Jazz Intensive students were invited to improvise on stage with all of our accomplished ‘jazz masters’.  Brave new experiments,  included first-ever attempts at free improvisation, Chinese/Jazz fusion and circular breathing techniques.  All of this, in front of a live audience -including their music savvy peers.

Watch them play!  See students improvise new fusion possibilities with Founders of the Nanjing Jazz Festival and West Coast Award Winning Orchid Ensemble.

Here's what some of our students had to say about their experience, 

Ken Pickering presents a Tom Lee Gift Certificate to our 2011 Composition Contest Winner:  Kazumasa Takasugi!

Kazumasa Takasugi:   "...listening to the guest artists’ inspiring stories and being able to actually play with them was an amazing experience. I always went up whenever I had the chance to play. The Swedish saxophone player, Jonas Kullhammar was the first guest artist I played with. I had so much fun interacting musically at such a high level. Dong Jinming, a Chinese Erhu player who had an inspiring story: incorporating jazz to traditional Chinese music, was also interesting to work with. Finally, another saxophone player from UK, John Butcher, who focused on the “sound”, demonstrated many sound effects. It was very interesting to play with other musicians on the stage with no time, form, or chord progressions..."

Jon Tobin graduates with a special TD Award  for Music Studies.

Jonathan Tobin:  " Coastal Jazz has brought in influential artists from around the world for workshops at the Tom Lee Music Hall. These have ranged from New York modern jazz bassist Mario Pavone to Swedish funk trombonist Nils Landgren, and into the realm of the avant-garde with players like Alexander von Schlippenbach. I have had the privilege of playing piano and trombone onstage for several of these workshops. The first of these was with Nils Landgren and his band. It was a bit intimidating playing a trombone solo with such a talented professional right beside me, but his sense of humour and positive attitude eased any nerves I might have had... More recently I jammed in workshops with John Butcher (a British saxophonist) and a Chinese erhu duo with Dong Jinming and Lan Tung. Being able to play music onstage with professional musicians completely unrehearsed was a wonderful experience, both exhilarating and invigorating. It was especially interesting to improvise with the Chinese musicians, because their approach and experience with jazz music is from a completely different context than my own. They were using traditional Chinese folk instruments to improvise and create a style of music, which had not been given much exposure in their country until recently. This was an experience, which shed new light on jazz as an art form of jazz…"

 

Miles Wong, won our TD Award for private music lessons (students 10-11)

Miles Wong: " It’s almost impossible for me to put in words how much I have gained from playing in the TD High School Jazz Intensive, but all I can say is that I really hope the program continues for many years to come so it can inspire and challenge young musicians like it has for me..."

TD High School Jazz Intensive Stories (#2) Lauren Cheng, Alto Sax/Flute

Joining this group for the very first time this year, I was nervous about what I would experience.  I had never participated in a summer camp like the Intensive. Who would I meet? What would the directors be like? Was I actually good enough for this band?  It was with these tense thoughts that I arrived at our first rehearsal.  However, my uneasiness would soon be quelled.  

Lauren Cheng on Alto Sax

Although we 19 students were of different ages from different schools and with varying personalities and backgrounds, it was clear to me that there was something we all shared.  You could see our passion for music burning in our eyes…

TD High School Jazz Intensive...All smiles after an exciting Final Feature Performance

 

Conductors, Bob and Nicole fed our fire for jazz, while also learning and laughing with us – we all have undying respect for them…The best thing about that memorable week was simply playing.  I was awestruck at the quality of our sound, and everyone’s incredible musicality.  Bonding with all the other players and making unbelievable music with them was not only a highlight of my summer, but of my entire life.  

TD High School Jazz Intensive played with great energy, skill and teamwork.

By the time we got to our final concert at David Lam Park, I had only one feeling when I looked out into the crowds of hundreds of people that day – extreme pride for all my talented friends on stage with me, who a week ago had been just mere strangers…

TD High School Jazz Intensive BIG BAND on the BIG Stage at David Lam Park.

 This was an incredible debut on the pro stage…Even for those of us who were not heading into a musical career, we got a taste of it – along with building our confidence in music, and ourselves.

Conductor, Nicole Mitchell, honored us with a solo...

Lauren also got to play flute under the tutelage of a master!

Find High School Jazz Intensive on Facebook

Education Programs @coastaljazz.ca

TD High School Jazz Intensive Stories (#1) Jared Karse

Being a young jazz musician this year was tough. My high school jazz band was not at all a very serious group and I was having constant struggles with finding fellow students that shared a passion in jazz. Before I had been informed of the High School Jazz Intensive Band I was in a musical slump. I had no idea where I wanted to go next with music. Saxophone was my addiction but had begun to fall short for me. I began exploring other instruments and different styles of music. The TD High School Jazz Intensive brought me back to what I loved …

Jared Karse on Baritone Sax...He also plays Tenor!

  

The pre-rehearsal a week before the actual program started was a sample, a taste of what was to come. At first my shyness seemed to overcome me. I was one of two grade ten’s in a group that was mostly filled with grade twelve’s, making me awfully nervous. I immediately realized the challenge that this group would be for me as a musician after the first run through of all the pieces. The level of which all of the musicians were at was well beyond my own and it was incredibly frightening, in the best possible way. I wanted to learn and I was ready for the challenge. The fun was just beginning…

TD High School Jazz Intensive BIG BAND with Conductor Nicole Mitchell

Finally meeting our wonderful Conductor Nicole Mitchell was amazing for me. I had already been a fan of her music for two years and I couldn’t wait to see the challenges she was about to throw at us... Focused on every note, accent, and detail of the music was our job. Everyone in the group was determined and that determination brought us together, making difficult music seem easy. Nicole’s skills as a conductor truly deserve applause. She knew how to fix problems and could hear everything and anything that was happening in the band. She not only arranged the music but made it better. Adding elements that created an entirely new level of depth to our sound.

A Sunny Day at David Lam Park, Mainstage...TD High School Jazz Intensive Final Feature Performance! 

The week was not only amazing musically but it was incredibly fun. As the group began to bond the music began to form and as the music began to form the reality of how awesome this program is began to sink in. What a wonderful opportunity for me and my fellow musicians…The final performance outside in sunny weather at David Lam Park was incredible. The crowd was awesome and the band performed at its best…I was riveted by the experience and the pace at which I had grown as a musician…I treasure the experience. I hope to work with each one of these musicians again in the future and what I have taken away from this band will forever be a part of me. It was definitely one of the greatest experiences of my life and I hope I can once again be a part of this amazing program next year...     

Watch TD High School Jazz Intensive playing at "Wheatgrass" in their Final Feature Performance at David Lam Park, Main Stage.  Proud Parent Cam!

Want to be the first to hear about our 2012 Auditions?  

Become a fan of TD High School Jazz Intensive on Facebook!