Julia Moreno Perri Spring 2009 - MUAP CRN 81603 Frank Murry

Special Topics Ensemble: Jazz Improvisation and Performance

Show Me Some R-E-S-P-E-C-T - The History of Flute in Jazz

What is the first instrument you think of when you think of jazz? Saxophone, guitar, bass, drums...flute! And why not? This woodwind has been rather neglected in jazz his-tory, however, it has always added a distinct and memorable sound to jazz. In this pa-per, I will talk about a few of the movers and shakers of jazz flute from the past and pre-sent, and I will include an interview with an innovator shaking things up in the jazz world today. (Please see the YouTube Resource Chart at end of this paper to view video clips of sev-eral of the flutists mentioned in this paper).

There have been tremendous players in the past who have expanded the musical vo-cabulary of jazz through this wind instrument, such as Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Eric Dol-phy, Hubert Laws, Dave Valentine, Nicole Mitchell and countless others.

Bud Shank: Ironically, alto saxophonist, Bud Shank (a), who helped launch flute as a solid jazz instrument, didn’t pay re-spect to the flute but rather walked away from it in the 1970’s after having defined jazz flute for over two decades with the Lighthouse All-Stars.(1)

Fig. 1 BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/images/artists/7col_in/8b41d840-cddb-41b5-b85d-3023b333f9d3.jpg

“I had always thought of myself as a saxophone player," he told me, “but the flute thing just appeared and all of a sudden, it was 'Oh, flute, flute, Bud Shank, flute,' which didn't sit too well, but at least people were noticing me, so, okay, let's keep on doing it. I was a saxophone player. That's all I'd ever thought of." (1)

Despite Bud Shank’s begrudging contributions to jazz, he added a distinct contribution to the sound of jazz and Brazilian music in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He furthered the flute’s visibility in a new emerging genre of music, rock and roll, when he recorded with The Mama’s and The Papa’s in “California Dreaming”. As for jazz, pick up Shank’s classic album, Flute ‘n Alto and listen to his beautiful rendition of Someone to Watch over Me featuring both the flute and alto saxophone. (Please see Video clip table to lis-ten to music). Nothing short of soulful. Bud Shank’s legacy of flute in jazz is giant.

So how did the flute become the Rodney Dangerfield of jazz? According to Peter Guidi, author of “The Jazz Flute” vol. II:

Although some early ragtime arrangements contain parts for flute and piccolo, the flute was little used in jazz ensembles until the nineteen twenties and did not truly emerge as a solo instrument until the early fifties. The comparatively low volume of the flute and the absence of electronic amplification made it difficult for band leaders to incorporate the flute into their arrangements. (4)

Moreno Perri 1

Mr. Guidi goes on to write that:

Any flute player reckless enough to sit-in at a jam session would have had to play the entire solo in the third register to have any hope of being heard above the band. For these reasons the few ensemble or solo parts that were written for the flute were usually played by saxophone players who could double on the flute.(3)

Alberto Socarras: He then notes several flutists that departed from this perception early on. He credits Alberto Socarras, a Cuban clarinetist, as having played flute solos on a number of recordings for vocalists around 1927 and thus earning the title of earliest jazz flutist. He then notes that many jazz historians point to Wayman Carver as being the “first true jazz flutist”.(4)

Wayman Carver: A visit to Wayman Carver’s website (http://www.waymancarver.com/page2.html), compiled by his daughter, Avis Carter Turner, offers a loving and com-prehensive view of Wayman Carver’s legacy. Ms. Carter Turner writes, “Carver related that his first flute was one that was found in the trash at the naval yard where his fa-ther worked. He was then 14 years old.” (5) One person’s trash is another’s treasure!

Fig. 2 Wayman Carver web site - page 2

Mr. Carver studied music at Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia and was equally proficient in both classical and jazz music. He lived in New York City for some time and studied at the Juliard School of Music and later at The Vandercook College of Music. (5)

The web site offers a thorough discography that is full of the best of the best in Jazz at that time. Mr. Carver worked with Ella Fitzgerald, the Chick Webb Orchestra and many more giants in the Big Band era and beyond. He taught at Clark College and estab-lished himself as a great educator and mentor.

Jerome Richardson: The next notable flutist prior to improve-ments in amplification systems, is Jerome Richardson. (4) Mr. Guidi also points to the West Coast jazz movement, Cool Jazz, as having created a space for jazz flute.(4)

Jerome Richardson early credits include playing with such no-tables as Lionel Hampton and Earl Hines. His ability to switch between the flute and tenor saxophone with equal ease and to-nal integrity kept him in demand with top jazz artists of the day.(8)

Fig. 3 Album cover artwork

Moreno Perri 2

Eric Dolphy: Moving away from the Cool Jazz movement, we find experimentation in the opposite direction. The name Eric Dolphy is most important to jazz and the flute es-

pecially. His approach to improvisation took the sound of flute in jazz to harmonic and experimental planes. It was the era of free jazz, hard bop, avant garde music and beyond. Charlie Mingus, John Col-trane and Eric Dolphy redefined jazz the the edged precision of sculptures, chipping away at the visible edges and shape of jazz music to reveal a more intricate and daring form.

Dolphy’s improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide intervals based largely on the twelve tone scale, in addition to using an array of extended techniques to reproduce human- and animal-like effects which almost literally made his instruments speak. (6)

Fig. 4 All About Jazz: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=6340

He was a soloist beyond compare up until this moment in jazz history. Others would later add their own flute style but if you were to ask any of these flutists to name their influences, it is without a doubt that Eric Dolphy would reign supreme.

Eric Dolphy took flute to a higher level. A level of new found respect for the flute in jazz. Jazz would never be the same again.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk: As with all these other great flutists, it’s hard to define Rahsaan Kirk in a few short paragraphs. Rahsaan Kirk defined a new sound and a new way to play instruments in jazz and echoed the roots of jazz from New Orleans through his explorations. His choice of rhythms and his chant-like singing all through various wind instruments, including the flute, changed the way we listened to and appreciated jazz music. All sound could be produced and propelled through a wind instrument, whether it be clean or gritty, or song-like or an animal sound. This was an inter-esting and constantly evolving proposition. Although he was criti-cized by some during his era as being nothing more than a gim-

micky player, his stature as a ground-breaking and interesting musician has only grown over time. (7)

Fig. 5 Photo by Del de la Hay - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roland_Kirk.jpg

Just a quick listen to the sound clips on the Rahsaan Roland Kirk website confirms the ingenuity and mastery Kirk achieved in his short life. There will never be another Rah-saan Roland Kirk - jazz flutists owe much to this brave and sonic wizard.

Moreno Perri 3

Hubert Laws: Houston’s own, Hubert Laws, is easily one of the most recognizable names in jazz flute history. His stature as a premiere flute virtuoso is undebatable. From a musical family, Laws developed his musical skills from an early age. A classical and jazz flutist, Laws gained early recognition for his musician-ship while under the wing of Clement Barone while at TSU. He later went on to Juilliard on a full scholarship after having toured with The Jazz Crusaders. At Juilliard, he studied with Julius Baker and Laws gained the notice of symphonies, jazz artists and popu-lar music groups across the board. He has performed with the The New York Philharmonic, with Jean-Pierre Rampal and the

Metropolitan Opera Orchestras to name but a few in classical music.

Fig. 6 Hubert Laws web site - http://www.hubertlaws.com/images/hubertlaws_2004.pdf

In the Jazz world, he has collaborated with Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Freddie Hubbard and many many more. A visit to his web site offers a full-listing of his stellar accomplishments. He is a well sought after flutist for touring and recording from diverse genres - the flute is an equal in Jazz, Classical, Blues, Latin, R & B music and much more in Mr. Laws hands. All the respect in the world to you Mr. Laws for what you have gained for the flute in the jazz world. (9)

Dave Valentin: Skipping on in another direction, it is latin jazz where the flute garnered much respect. It’s in-teresting that the earliest flutist credited by jazz scholars is a Cuban, Alberto Socarra, as mentioned at the begin-ning of this paper. Latin jazz continues today to be im-portant to elevating flute to it’s suitable place in jazz. Within Latin jazz, I will focus on Dave Valentin from the multitude of jazz flutists. A New Yorker by birth of Puerto Rican parents, Mr. Valentin grew up with the rhythms and melodies of Latin culture that would shape his flute playing. He studied privately under Houston’s own Hu-bert Laws. (10)

Fig. 7 Photo by Ruben Rodriguez

Mr. Valentin’s contribution to jazz is through his playing style primarily. His ability to ap-ply rhythms from Latin music and express it through his flute playing is his hallmark.

Valentin soon began working as a professional musician in Latin bands, developing an unusual technique that featured blowing in a manner that sounded like percussion. Other unique developments by Valentin included singing into the flute and using non-standard flute instruments such a bass flute and a variety of flute developed in Colom-bia. He applied his techniques to a wide variety of music genres, ranging from jazz and R&B to salsa and merengue. (10)

Moreno Perri 4

I had the great fortune in seeing Dave Valentin perform at Lehman College in 2005 in the Bronx, NY. Along with other top musicians, such as Hilton Ruiz on piano, Mr. Valen-tin roared solos from his flute that captured the vibrancy of Latin jazz. An unforgettable moment for me. Jazz flute reached the highest of levels that night!

Nicole Mitchell: While living in Chicagoland, I learned of Nicole Mitchell, one of the founding members of the AACM, a jazz or-ganization dedicated to promoting and supporting jazz artists per-forming original music since 1965. AACM includes the visionary Sun Ra as one of it’s earliest members before Sun Ra was even known as Sun Ra! I consider Nicole Mitchell to be one of the top flutists today and also consider her a great mentor to and sup-porter of women flutists in the jazz world. (b)

Fig. 8 Photo by Lauren Deutsch

Her group, The Black Earth Ensemble interprets her compositions and creative vision. (12) Mitchell’s flute playing draws from African rhythms and melodies and from the on-going evolution of African-American music in jazz and beyond. Her solos are a call to the ancient past from Africa, a nod to the great jazz flute masters of the past, and a path to the future boundary-pushing flute playing. Her solos carries boundless energy, soulful and in the pocket grooves and dazzling melodies. Her compositions are intricate stories.

As Co-President of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Mitchell works to raise respect and integrity for the improvised flute, to contribute her innovative voice to the jazz legacy, and to continue the bold and exciting directions that the AACM has charted for decades. (11)

As an educator and as a performer, her footprint as a premiere jazz flutist is notable and deserving of recognition as an innovator and among the ranks of Eric Dolphy and of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Greg Pattillo: Bucking the traditionalist outlook, jazz flutists are gaining ground in jazz clubs, festivals and studios, and dispelling antiquated myths about the flute not being a serious jazz instrument. Modern day innova-tors are re-inventing the way we think of flute playing by incorporating elements of rhythmic patterns through wind sound production such as beat boxing as elevated to an art form by Greg Pattillo.

Fig. 9 Brio Flute - http://www.brioflute.com/img/bio_greg_pattillo.jpg

Receiving well-earned attention for his new approach to flute-playing, Mr. Pattillo gar-nered acclaim for re-defining jazz flute while grounding it’s foundation in classical and jazz music. It takes only a few seconds of listening to one of his tracks to realize that he established his own style and voice on the flute second to none. I’ll include here the in-terview I conducted with Mr. Pattillo via email as he graciously granted my request: (13)

Moreno Perri 5

INTERVIEW WITH GREG PATTILLO:

1. What attracted you to the flute?~ I started playing the flute at age nine in my public school music program in Seattle Washington. I am not sure why I picked the flute over any other instrument, but that was the one that caught my eyes. I also started on piano at the same time, but I learned quicker on the flute, and still to this day I am a lousy pianist!

2. How did you arrive to playing jazz on the flute?~ I started out as a Suzuki student, where we learn to play by ear before reading music on paper. I developed my ear daily by trying to learn all the jingles and tunes that heard on the tv. i had a lot of fun with that, and it led to some great party tricks back then! This concept of listening to music and playing it with out the sheet music was eventually funneled into learning some rock, hip hop, and jazz tunes as I got older. By the time I was in high school, I could really riff on the C blues scale, and was invited to join my high school jazz band! It was extra curricular, and I had to learn to transpose tenor sax parts on the flute, and it gave me access to solos over certain forms, and experience in the area jazz band competitions. It was until I was out of grad school that I actually found the time to really pursue all the diverse forms and languages that make up the american jazz tradition. I still practice these idioms every day.

3. What jazz flutists were instrumental in your development as a jazz flutist?~ Roland Kirk, Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws, all of those awesome latin (cuban/puerto rican) flutists rockin the super high salsa riffs!

4. How would you describe your style and approach to playing the flute?~. I was classically trained, and have always been very devoted to warm ups: scales, long tones, etudes. I studied all the orchestral excerpts endlessly, and in that world, tone, timbre, dynamics, style, tempo, and intonation have to be not only under full con-trol, but artistically free as well. That takes a ton of careful attentive work both practicing and listening to the professionals around you. So, there's that. But also, I have been always fascinated with different styles of music, performing as much as possible, and writting my own tunes as well. so, I joined lots of bands. Jazz, bluegrass, salsa, rock, hip hop, classical crossover....An I mimicked lots of other instrumentalists as well. Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jerry Garcia, and of course Ian Anderson. These led to a lot of sitting around and trying to figure out how to make the flute sound like these other in-struments, and improvisation to get ideas out and tunes developed and written.

5. What contributions would you like to make to jazz or have made to jazz?~ If people are enjoying my music, then that is all I could need or want. Additionally, if I could help the flute become more established as a main jazz instrument of choice, that just might make it that much easier for the next generation to take these ideas even fur-ther.

Moreno Perri 6

6. What track (CD or YouTube) is a really good example of your playing style? Also, what are some of your favorite tracks to listen to for inspiration (flutists)?~ I have quite a wide range of vids out there. My "bored one night in indiana" vid is a pretty classic example of an original beatbox joint, the bach vid is pretty good example of mixing up a classical tune with these sounds, and the freedom jazz dance is probably one of the coolest jazz-esque vids.

For inspiration, I listen to non-flute music. Some notable examples are: 2nd movement of the Debussy string quartet, Ysaye solo violin works, The entire Led Zeppelin cata-logue, Blackalicious, Jurassic 5, Beethoven op. 59, no1 (string quartet) Brahms piano quartets, Metalica (early), Kind of Blue (miles davis)

7. What advice of suggestions would you give to flutists about tone, rhythmic approach, breathing, etc.~ Study, practice, listen listen listen, meet people who you admire, and find a good teacher. You will become good at anything you work hard and daily at. It might take longer for some people that others, but if you are hungry for it, it will happen. Also, learn to teach yourself. learn how to ask questions, and learn how to find the answers your-self. If you find the right teacher, this will be the greatest gift they can teach you.

8. What upcoming projects do you have coming up that is really interesting to you?~ Next spring(2010) I will be premiering a beatbox flute concerto! Also, now that the 2nd album is out with PROJECT (whatisproject.org) I am quickly writing and recording already for the 3rd album. Also, I am developing an entire electric set with loops and effects. I use a head worn wireless mic, ableton Live, and foot pedals to jam and play along to myself!

9. Are there styles of music that you haven't played before that you'd like to try on the flute?~ all of them!

10. Please talk about how you got started beatboxing via the flute~ Beatboxing in its present form came about while I was working with a bunch of spo-ken word poets in san francisco. I had only a couple of sounds at first, but people sure thought it was cool! We used to perform at this little park in the mission district every thursday night, and every week we would all come together and present the tunes and ideas we had been working on. It was a great place to workshop new ideas, spontani-ously collaborate with others, and lock down ideas that generated the best response. We sometimes got crowds of over 100 poeple! the beatboxing went over really well (better than the non-beatboxing!) and I found myself spending more and more time ex-ploring the possiblities of the different sounds. The beats freed up the need to con-stantly be laying down linear melodies, and I could revel in the repetition and dance as-pect of the rhythms, especially with the words others were flipping over the beats. The vids I put on youtube were first workshopped in the subway stations of new york city. I had moved there away from the san fran scene, and found myself down underground searching for flute sounds and pop tunes that could satisfy the diverse citizenry of the

Moreno Perri 7

City. So, some covers, some of different styles, some for older folks, some for younger folks, some for squares, some for the Hip....etc. Beatboxing is its own art form , and there are tons of masters of the mics! nyc was where the hip hop tradition got started, and it is alive and well, flourishing all around....So it was not too difficult to find MC's and jam, hang, listen, chat, and work up new ideas.....and learn, and listen, and learn, and listen.....

gp

On a relevant personal side note, I would like to add my account regarding the percep-tion of flute not being a main instrument in jazz or even in blues. As a flutist myself for nearly 30 years, I’ve found that I still have to “prove” that flute is a viable instrument in certain jam situations, sometimes in the jazz world and mostly definitely in the blues world. I’ll bring up the name John Mayall within blues settings to point out the standing or acceptance that the flute enjoyed in the 60’s and 70’s. Older musicians get it, younger ones frequently don’t. Often other musicians and audiences are surprised at the diversity and ferocity of the flute. Every flutist that pushes on with flute in jazz is moving flute closer to more acceptance in jazz, blues or any other genre that doesn’t celebrate the grandness of the flute!

I think Greg Pattillo expresses it best when we states “ Additionally, if I could help the flute become more established as a main jazz instrument of choice, that just might make it that much easier for the next generation to take these ideas even further”.

Now, that is a concept I can respect!

Moreno Perri 8

References:

Bud Shank : All About Jazz

(1) http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=33348

Alberto Socarras: All About Jazz

(2) http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=4485

New York Times: Bud Shank Obituary

(3) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/arts/music/07shank.html?scp=1&sq=bud%20shank%20obituary&st=cse

FluteHistory.com

(4) http://www.flutehistory.com/Playing/Jazz.php3

Wayman Carver Web site

(5) http://www.waymancarver.com/page2.html

Eric Dolphy - Wikipedia

(6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Dolphy

The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Website: Alfanet.Hu

(7) http://www.alfanet.hu/kirk/index2.html

The Jerome Richardson web site Hard Bop Home Page

(8) http://hardbop.tripod.com/jerome.html

Hubert Laws Web site

(9) http://www.hubertlaws.com/

All About Jazz web site - Dave Valentin

(10) http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=11005

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

(11) http://aacmchicago.org/

Nicole Mitchell web site

Moreno Perri 9

(12) http://www.nicolemitchell.com/

Email interview with Greg Pattillo

(13) Interviewer: Julia Moreno Perri

FOOTNOTES:

a. At the time of writing this paper, I learned of the passing of this jazz giant on April 2, 2009.(3) Rest in peace Bud, thanks for your amazing contributions to jazz.

b. I was fortunate enough to share the stage with Ms. Mitchell at a hip hop show at the legendary Velvet Lounge. She supports numerous student and up and coming musi-cians with a forum to learn jazz and African-based music via the AACM and through other shows at The Velvet Lounge in Chicago, IL.

YOUTUBE RESOURCE CHART:

Musician Song YouTube Link Year

Bud Shank “Nature Boy” with The Bud Shank Quartet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd57kQf_e-0

1956

Bud Shank “Voodoo Rhapsody” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8pXe9E2JbI

1961

Bud Shank “Desafinado” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9543sUTOi4k

1962

Bud Shank “Against the Tide” DVD Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw3jfZbhocI

2008

Bud Shank “Someone To Watch Over Me” (2 min. 28 sec point to listen to song).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5d02myThMI

1958

The Mamas and The Papas

“California Dreaming” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wI6uAOHzvo

circa 1960’s

Jerome Richardson

“I Married An Angel” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kPKKViP46A

1955

Dave Valen-tin

“Little Sunflower” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKY6wTWdtaU

2008

Moreno Perri 10

Musician Song YouTube Link Year

Dave Valen-tin

At Lehman College http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCLJ_9W_WU

2005

Eric Dolphy “Meditations” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d08v_l8k_4Q

1964

Eric Dolphy “?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwelF_sHoL4

circa 1964

Eric Dolphy “My Favorite Things” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMRAiBFFzzY

circa 1964

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

“Sound” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHE6AL3BEYQ

1966

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

“Sound 2” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CFfpFDKBO8

1966

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Several songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVU34lV3fVc

1963 & 1967

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

“Lover Man” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V4_6Zzlg0A

1959

Hubert Laws

“Windows” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMPOkAmlu3I

1987

Hubert Laws

“Work Song” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH4A5MT4VS4

1975

Hubert Laws

“Spain” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RHzCQIvMyo

1975

Nicole Mitchell

? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyT4n3sc8tk

2007

Nicole Mitchell

Various selections http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgKEAo_1Dnk

2007

Greg Pattillo “Inspector Gadget Re-mix”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0

2007

Greg Pattillo “Peter and the Wolf” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6SHsF1n9Qw

2007

Moreno Perri 11

Musician Song YouTube Link Year

Greg Pattillo “Flight of the Bumble-bee”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8_K0l12A5E

2007

Greg Pattillo “Freedom Jazz Dance” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meR5nk8WaLE

2007

Greg Pattillo ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVj9U7mYU8A

2007

Moreno Perri 12