• Interview with Kelly Eisenhour, Vocal Jazz Director at BYU
• Jazz Articles
• Sightreading Challenge
• Happenings
• Spotlight
• Newsletter/Contact Info

	Visual Jazz ~~~~ See the future of your music ... today!
http://www.visual-jazz.com

Editor's Note: The up-and-coming vocal jazz department at Brigham Young University has been gathering its share of attention lately. jazzView got in touch with BYU's Director of Vocal Jazz, Kelly Eisenhour, in this recent interview to learn what the buzz is about ...

jazzView: What's been the history of vocal jazz at Brigham Young University?

Kelly: I know that there's been a jazz choir at BYU since the late '70's. Unlike Synthesis, BYU's jazz ensemble which is quite renowned, the choir has not had this same growth. I think this may have been due to the fact that there were a series of directors, so there was not as clear a direction. Also, many of the directors were instrumentalists and not singers, so they weren't as familiar with the voice.

The choir, previously called Syncopation, came a bit out of obscurity in the mid-90's with Lars Yorgason as director. Lars is a bass player who is an advocate for jazz music in education, and he believes strongly in the need for vocal jazz as well.

Taking over for him after his 3 years with the choir was Bob Bailey, a great jazz pianist. He, along with an achievement-oriented group of students (including Kristie Arnold, who is now Vocal Jazz Director for Lone Peak High School and founder of the professional vocal jazz group, Six Miles Ahead), started to take top awards at regional jazz festivals. Along with the choir, a small 5-6 voice group was formed, and both groups started to turn heads at jazz festivals.

jazzView: When did you get involved at BYU, and how has the program grown since you've been there?

Kelly: I came to BYU in 2000. I took a two-year break - I left to perform as backup vocalist with Gladys Knight in Las Vegas - so now I am just finishing my 4th year. I am excited about the growth that the program has had. I now have an intermediate jazz choir called the BYU Vocal Jazz Ensemble, which currently has 21 singers and a pianist, and I have an advanced jazz choir called BYU Jazz Voices, which currently has 15 singers, piano, bass, drums, and sax.

I also teach a jazz improvisation class for singers, and private voice lessons that focus on vocal jazz. I am excited to have so many more people involved in learning vocal jazz, and I see the vocal jazz area at BYU continuing to grow and becoming more and more sophisticated in the future.

jazzView: Tell us about the recent milestone vocal jazz events at BYU.

Kelly: This year my advanced choir was told by Michele Weir, an internationally known vocal jazz arranger, teacher, and author of published books for singers and vocal jazz, that they are a world-class jazz choir. They performed at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival this last February, where they took 2nd place. It was gratifying to have other directors whom I respect, compliment the choir for their great achievements (and the credit certainly goes to my talented and dedicated students!).

We also just finished a recording to submit to IAJE (the International Association of Jazz Educators) at the suggestion of Michele Weir, for a chance to perform at the 2007 conference in New York.

BYU Jazz Voices

The BYU Jazz Voices group has about 10-12 performances through the school year, and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble does one concert each semester. I am very pleased with how the program is evolving and I enjoy the upward momentum that seems to be taking place.

Article 7: The Wall-to-Wall Music Phenomenon

Recently I spent a Saturday adjudicating high school jazz bands at a college jazz festival. Everything went smoothly - I particularly enjoyed having 30-minute time slots instead of 20, as well as the chance to meet personally with some of the bands and talk about performance techniques.

As I listened throughout the day, I heard some good bands, some young bands - some good soloists and some young soloists. But there was one interesting (and worrisome?) theme that repeatedly played itself out in the improvised solos:

* Wall-to-wall carpet!

(Or wall-to-wall music.) Meaning, soloists would play a steady stream of notes, stopping only when they made a mistake or when they needed to breathe (and rhythm section soloists could even breathe on their own time).

So why the fascination with non-stop playing?
(READ MORE >>>)

Article 8: Inside the Silence

In a previous article, we discussed the problem of Wall-to-Wall sound - now let's tackle the flip side: silence in improvisation.

That awkward pause ... why does silence make improvisers so nervous? Here are some possible reasons for this:
(READ MORE >>>)

Article 9: Chronic Jazz

Ouch - that nagging backache ... my allergies ... those same old chronic sounds in my jazz ensemble ...

OK, the title is a bit off-the-wall, but there are definitely some chronic maladies that beset young (or sometimes experienced) jazz ensembles.

So how do you know if you have "chronic jazz?"
(READ MORE >>>)

Ready for some fun? (Of course!) Here are some brain teasers from the "Sightreading Jazz" book by Bob Taylor.

Instructions:

1. Get your instrument or voice ready.
2. Start up a metronome if you like.
3. Click on one of the links below - when the music appears, start reading!
Important: Study each exercise for only a second or two, then read it!

Rhythm Exercises:
1: Easy
2: Medium
3: Tough

Treble Clef:
4: Easy Pitches
5: Medium Pitches
6: Tough Pitches
7: Easy Etude
8: Medium Etude
9: Tough Etude

Bass Clef:
4a: Easy Pitches
5a: Medium Pitches
6a: Tough Pitches
7a: Easy Etude
8a: Medium Etude
9a: Tough Etude

(All exercises ©2006 - Visual Jazz Publications)
* For more about Sightreading Jazz, see:
http://www.visual-jazz.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=2

* MENC National Conference - Thursday, April 20 to Saturday April 22, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

Visual Jazz will be at the convention! Come and see us at Booth #303 - check out the latest in Visual Jazz products and pick up a free VJ Sampler disc.

For more information on the MENC National Conference, see:
http://www.menc.org/connect/meetings.html

* The North Texas Jazz Festival (March 31 - April 2) was truly enjoyable! The University of North Texas One O'Clock Band dazzled, and clinicians Steve Houghton, Marvin Stamm, Lou Fischer and others lent their expert insights. Featured groups included The Yellowjackets and Roy Hargrove. (It was fun meeting Roy at the Visual Jazz booth!)

Also on display at the festival was a great assortment of new Cannonball saxophones and trumpets. Look for more on Cannonball in a future issue of jazzView!

For more info on the North Texas Jazz Festival, see:
http://www.music.unt.edu/jazz/ntjazzfest/ top

To feature your school in a future issue of jazzView, send us the details on your ensembles, upcoming concerts, and what makes your program unique!

Visual Jazz Publications does not sell or redistribute e-mail or personal information. Your subscription to jazzView is free and confidential.

©2006 Visual Jazz Publications – All Rights Reserved.