SusieJazzColumn Jones

CompetingintheArts

With the OMEA conference behind us, now it is time to focus on what is left for the rest of the school year. Let’s see— district solo contests; state solo contest; district band competitions; state band, orchestra and choir competi-tions; and, yes, jazz competi-tions. Wow, that’s a lot of competition! As an adjudicator and as the coordinator of the Northwest Jazz Band Festival, I would be a hypocrite if I said there were no value in competition.

However, jazz competition is and always will be controversial. If you think judging a classical band, choir, or soloist is difficult, try choosing a winner in a jazz competition. While classical music is primarily a com - poser’s art, jazz is a performer’s art. When we speak of the classical legends, we are speaking of the composers, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. In jazz our heroes are the performers, Coltrane, Miles, Bird, Ella, etc. The jazz performer is allowed and encouraged to interpret and create in the moment and is much less tied into the musical page or the composer’s intent. The jazz soloist and the jazz combo and big band strive to find their individual voice—one that is unique and different from the others. Lucky for us then, we don’t have a lot of cookie-cutter bands and soloists. So the result is that, in jazz, the standard of excellence has a very broad range and is, therefore, difficult to judge. If you were asked to choose a winner between the Count Basie Band, the Buddy Rich Band, or the Thad Jones/

Mel Lewis Orchestra, which one would you choose? Or between the Bob Mintzer Band, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, or the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, which one would win your vote? If you said, “They’re so different; it is hard to decide,” then you have the correct answer. And, the same is true of our school groups. To a degree, we can say that one group is better than another because they have better intonation, rhythmic precision, more skilled soloists, and so on. But when the measurable aspects of two bands are equal, personal taste dictates our choices. All judges like different things. To ask adjudicators to conform to a rigid standard is like asking all soloists to sound like Dexter Gordon.

OK, so what do you tell your students when they enter into competition? Tell them to listen to the other groups and appreciate the uniqueness of each group. Ask them which are better: apples or oranges.