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     September 2006   visual-jazz.com

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jazzView talks with
Murray Snyder
Touring Broadway Show Pianist

jazzView: You've been the keyboardist for a number of touring Broadway shows - tell us about them, and about your current tour.

Murray: First of all I would like to thank Bob for doing a great service to the jazz community and all musicians.

I trained in classical piano first and learned jazz second, and I've had many fun and unusual jobs in music. After graduating college, it seemed to me there wasn't much call for "classical" music and/or concert pianists - but honestly, I wouldn't have traded that kind of formal training for anything. It has made learning any other kind of music relatively easy.

After college, I toured with Disney's World on Ice (when they actually used a live orchestra), worked on Holland America Line cruise ships, and eventually back to touring again, mainly with Broadway shows but also with individual performers.

My most recent tour was with "Dr. Dolittle" starring Tommy Tune. Typically these show tour with 3 to 6 musicians and pick up the rest of them locally, so we might have 12 to 15 local musicians and 3 to 6 "travelers" like me. For Dr. Dolittle, we traveled with a conductor, drummer, 2 keyboards and a reed player. In each city we picked up 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, a french horn, percussionist, another keyboardist, and 4 more reed players.

Dr. Doolittle cast and crew ... Murray, front row in black (to right of Music Director Michael Biagi, also in black); drummer Brad Briscoe in flower-print shirt

Travel day was Monday. Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. was the orchestra rehearsal; 6:30 p.m. was the sound check; and 8 p.m. was the show - all in the same day. Then 7 more shows, with 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Hopefully we were in the city for several weeks, which meant Monday off and nothing Tuesday except a show at night. If Monday was travel day, we had another rehearsal on Tuesday in the next city - that's the "work" part of the tour.

For shows, we wore black. At one time it had to be tuxes, but those day are gone - the pits are so deep we aren't see that much. The tour's schedule was posted online - you can look at a typical tour's schedule at www.troika.com or do a search for touring theatrical productions.

jazzView: How did you get your start with Broadway shows?

Murray: I was in a "disco/jazz/rock" band after graduation, playing at the South Philadelphia Hilton. The touring band from Holiday on Ice that was staying there came down to the lounge, so I gave them my card. A year later, out of the blue, I got a call to tour with Disney's World on Ice. It was a two year run. Six month into the run I was asked if I was interested in being assistant conductor, and from then on I conducted on average two shows a week. The conductor, who also played trumpet, would usually sit in the pit and play.

After those two years, it was like having to start over. I asked for some advice about tours, and someone recommended touring on a cruise line. By the way, that's a nice way to get a safe, real-world musical education and to practice building successful habits - but please, use the ships as a stepping stone only. Some people get stuck on ships and end up working on them exclusively. If you do it, do it to learn music, cooperation and social skills - and then do your best to move on.

It was while I was working on the ship that an unusually talented and motivated drummer came on, named Brad Briscoe. Brad and I stayed in contact, and about a year later he asked me to play for a Broadway conductor about to do a tour of "A Chorus Line". I got the complete vocal score and practiced it cover to cover before meeting the conductor. In the audition I played some Chopin and then played a part of the show. That was my broadway show tour start. Even then, the conductor was looking for people he already knew. Luckily, Brad was able to convince him and Conductor and Music Director Michael Biagi (for the Tommy Tune tour) to give me a chance - and Brad will tell you, that's not easily done. In fact, once a conductor did want me for a touring job, and the music contractor wanted his "number one" guy on that job. The contractor won, so that's life, both good and bad. Defensively, have your book of contacts!


Murray, with touring and local musicians for Ragtime, upstate New York

jazzView: Give us your perspective on networking in the music business.

That is an excellent question and one that I felt wasn't addressed enough at the time I went to college. I am the only musician in my family, and yet I ended up with perfect pitch - go figure. By the way, here are my two cents on perfect pitch: for me it is a memory thing, and I personally don't associate colors. But I have a strong opinion that a way to train it would be to train direct pitch recognition without regard to intervallic relationships or musical context. I never got to test my theory, but I have found software that I believe can help. See http://www.silvawood.co.uk/pitch-intro.htm and
http://www.aruffo.com/eartraining/software.htm
I've looked at first site, and that is exactly the type of training that I'd use if I woke up one morning and the perfect pitch was gone.

So, while I was lucky enough to get musical ability from my parents, the down side is that my family and friends had no real musical contacts, so this has been a challenge. Not only must you play, read, and learn music fast, you must also be dedicated to the work and develop expected social skills. Some people come by that part of it more naturally than others, but it is so important.

When I graduated from college I really had no idea where to turn for work. I already had a feeling that I should be totally well-rounded, so even though my degree was in piano performance (in classical music) I made sure I could arrange and play all kinds of music. Still, there was the question of where to turn for work and income.

I didn't want to be in a "wedding band" - they are great for income, but in my case I wouldn't have needed a degree in piano performance for that. In fact, several florists as well as a chiropractor and hair dresser were leading bands here in Philadelphia! So not only did the bands sometimes sound cheesy, but many mediocre musicians were scared of someone with real ability - and I still find that to be true. (So if you are an exceptional musician, please take care to make all musicians around as comfortable as possible.)

I've learned the hard way that the most networked, and not necessarily the most able, are the ones with the best jobs. So do get a good book on networking, do have business cards, do collect other people's business cards, and build up a group of musicians, musical contractors and anyone using or needing musician or musical sevices of any kind in your phone book. And if you can't provide a particular service, be able to recommend someone else from your "book".

In my case, I didn't learn to do that while I was young; I went to college with Kevin Eubanks and played in the jazz band with him. If I only learned back then to ask for and collect phone numbers and friends! So please learn as soon as possible how important this is!

In my case, I played very well - so IF I got a chance to play for someone important, my playing kept me in the door. But if someone never heard of me, they would not consider me until they had already tried calling someone they knew (including those that could barely "cut" the job, yet were proven to be people that didn't cause problems and got along with everyone).

Sometimes it is a fight to be heard, but once I do make a contact it's like a piece of gold. Sometimes the contact has a ton of work for you or recommends you - and sometimes they quit the business the week after you meet them - but it can be a fun and exciting adventure. Another interesting thing is that people who have hired me to arrange or orchestrate don't consider me first to play or conduct; and people that know me as a pianist or conductor won't consider me for synthesizer programming or arranging. I guess it's like not asking your doctor to tune your piano (even if he is a very good tuner) and not going to your tuner for medical advice. In Philadelphia, there's a trumpet-playing chiropractor who reminds me not to tell any musicians that he is a chiropractor!

Next issue - Part 2 of the Murray Snyder interview ...

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Article 23: Seeing Better in Combos

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Article 24: Turning the Tide

The first trick is getting your ideas to increase from a trickle to a flood. Then, the challenge becomes how to turn the tide and select the right ideas at the right times ...

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jazzView Profiles

This month we feature trumpeter extraordinaire Sparky Koerner from Galveston, Texas, and woodwind guru Rocky Tatarelli from Reno, Nevada.

  Sparky Koerner
 Sparky Koerner
 Instr: Trumpet
Brief bio: Professor of Music at College of the Mainland, located in Texas City, Texas (near Houston). Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music Education degree, Louisiana State University (1974) and the University of North Texas (1976). UNT 1 O'clock Award for contributions to the Lab Band Program. Leader of "Sparky's Jazz Express"
Principal trumpet of the Galveston Symphony Orchestra, leader of the "Galvanized Brass" - 2003 IAJE Talent Recognition Outstanding Service Award", Outstanding Teacher for 2001 at College of the Mainland. President of International Association of Jazz Educators Texas Unit 2001-2003.
Check out his web site at: www.sparkykoerner.com




  Rocky Tatarelli
 Rocky Tatarelli
 Instr: Woodwinds
Brief bio: Rocky Tatarelli is a distinguished, talented, and creative musician from Detroit who has just moved to Reno after many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has performed with Louis Hayes, George Bohannon, Roosevelt Brown, Martin Fierro (of Santana and the Grateful Dead) and many others. Recordings include: Sack Full of Dreams: Music for Creative Pleasures; Jazzy Dance; Hear the Light: and Dancefusionism.
Check out his web site at: http://www.rockytatarelli.com/


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Jazz on YouTube, Part 1

In this issue, we spotlight two amazing jazz videos on YouTube.com, featuring Wynton Marsalis. Click on each picture to start the video on YouTube; a brief description of the highlights is also included.

Cherokee - w/ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

*0:00-0:30 - Unaccompanied, great arpeggio work
*0:30 - Add drums on brushes
*1:45 - Rhythmic ideas in tpt lead to rhythmic conversation with drums
*2:05-2:35 - Circular breathing passage
*2:45 - Add piano, then bass - trumpet adjusts to new texture
*3:25 - Flutter tongue, burning notes
*4:10 - Off-tempo development sequences in trumpet
*4:25 - High notes, up to double-C
*4:30 - Tpt and drums, rhythmic development
*5:05 - More great arpeggio work





Harmonique

What's incredible about this solo is that most of it is in just about the worst key for trumpet players - concert Db minor. Still, Wynton not only handles the key, but he has a firm command of the corresponding non-harmonic tones. He develops ideas melodically and rhythmically with a key that would break many a trumpeter's fingers ...

*1:50 - Very wide intervals, popped off at high speed
*2:55 - High note attacks








Back Issues of the jazzView Newsletter

Miss an issue of jazzView? Not to worry - we've got them all here ... just click and read! Issues are sorted by date (recent to early) and interview feature.

August 2006 - Susan Muscarella, The Jazzschool

July 2006 - Jeremy Wilson, JazzStandards.com

June 2006 - Bob Curnow, Sierra Music (part 2)

May 2006 - Bob Curnow, Sierra Music (part 1)

April 2006 - Kelly Eisenhour, BYU Jazz Vocal

March 2006 - Initial Issue


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