Whew!
Last couple of weeks have been once again filled with activities which are constant reminders of how fortunate I am to work at what I really love doing!!!
Slowly , but surely , the path reveals itself as to how I should proceed to navigate my vision into a reality. The journey along the way has most recently involved playing a couple of pretty cool concerts. One concert with two colleagues , jazz bassist Nedra Wheeler and violinist Karen Briggs. For the end of Black History Month the Watts Community Labor Action Committee (WLCAC) presented at their jazz venue “Bones & Blues” the three of us in a jazz concert. The place was packed! And the enthusiasm level for this somewhat unusual pairing was really SUPER. Captured some of it on video. Hope it came out well…Looking forward to posting a little of it.
The very next day, Karen and I played as a duo making an appearance at another event , this one celebrating African American Women through readings of articles , essays and poetry ….some of the most amazing pieces, and they were read by some amazing actresses. The producer/creator of the show, actor Wren Brown asked Karen and I to punctuate the readings and the meaning of the evening by playing a couple of tunes. Jean Luc Ponty’s “Renaissance “ and Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage “ were our choices. Again the enthusiasm of crowd was wonderful. None of the subtleties and nuances presented that evening was lost on them. The artistic presentation of every piece had the audience completely engaged. What a pleasure to play for them. Earlier that same day during a two-hour session w/ some young middle school and high school students, I participated w/ my friends and colleagues, Ndugu Chancler and Paul Jackson Jr. I moderated a short panel concerning the 21st Century Musician’s Skills Set. This was for the kids entering the Dolo Coker Scholarship Foundation in Los Angeles. This has been a recurring theme for me in the last year or two in my talks, lessons and lectures. Words of truth and direction were shared…especially from Ndugu. Activities like these give me hope that our community is still full of promise and ripe for a movement celebrating the consistent pursuit of excellence and purpose.
I just spent another eventful few days with students at BERKLEE College of Music just this past week. It was my 3rd week –long residency of this school year. My position as a visiting professor has been extremely interesting. This time I worked in the dept of “Professional Writing Division”. Yeah.. The composers. Once again, I am impressed with the openness and dedication of the students. I am reminded that I am part of a group of music teachers, charged with the task , to impart some information which can offer not only help with the achievement of technical proficiency , but most importantly, to offer some of my real world experiences as a working musician. These stories hopefully inspire and re ignite that passion in the students and the faculty to stay in touch with why they are doing the work and the study they are doing . It is because of their love of music and music-making. At the end of all the long hours of practicing scales and arpeggios, playing long tones, learning rudiments…hours of the study of harmony , transcribing and analyzing scores, discussion of song form etc, etc…they are all tools and devices to help the creators of music do just that…create meaningful music. It’s funny however as I feel that I am at once a professional musician , and at the same time a perpetual music student, myself!!! I have been described in my teaching gig as “the professor who helps to connect the dots”. (I work in several depts.) It is a new post and the college just gave me a title for it. So it’s Dr. Patrice Rushen, “Ambassador For Artistry In Education”.
That’s cool!! I like the title….and my goals remain the same as I know that music has the power to educate, through that which can also entertain and inspire. To that end I feel I have lots to do. I therefore remain humbly on the path.