All that Jazz: Improvisation Explorations, an Applied Research Experience in the High Art of Jazz Preserving the art of jazz improvisation was the focus of the 2011 Jazz Improvisation Institute, a summer applied research experience. Frank Parker and Dr. Barbara Edwards identified both the talent hotbed concept, and the theoretical framework of Albert Bandura, a leader in Performance and Self-Efficacy Theory, as essential components for igniting musical talent among young people who may become future jazz masters. Bandura predicted “the higher the level of induced self-efficacy, the higher the resulting performance accomplishments” (1982). In partnership with the Jazz Arts Initiative of Charlotte, Parker and Edwards assembled an expert team of artist-clinicians “to apply and develop our own and Bandura’s hypotheses,” working with a promising cohort of high school and college-age participant observers, Parker explains. Some fear that jazz improvisation is becoming a lost art. Nationally, however, jazz artists’ mastery of improvisation is widely revered. That was evidenced in January 2011, when the Marsalis family, “America’s First Family of Jazz,” including Delfeayo, his father Ellis, and brothers Branford, Wynton, and Jason earned the nation’s highest jazz honor, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. The summer 2011 jazz research project was launched with an exquisite concert. Acknowledged as one of the finest “trombonists, composers, and producers” in jazz today, Delfeayo Marsalis and his group delivered an exceptional evening. Three noted Charlotteans, members of the Grammy Award-winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, joined Marsalis on stage: percussionist Robert Beasley, drummer Ocie Davis, and trumpeter Ashlin Parker.
young musicians repeated it, first nodding to the beat without their instruments, then using them to explore the tune. Ignited by Marsalis, Institute participants listened to his feedback and critiques, soaking in snippets of history about the ways jazz greats approached some of the same passages the students were attempting to play. They questioned how they, too might master the same elements of style. Trumpeter Ashlin Parker and other guest clinicians led subsequent sessions in the two-week institute, focusing on applying jazz theory to improvisation, with active exploration through various exercises and practice strategies. The critical importance of listening to original recordings was continually stressed. Dr. Chris Weise and his JCSU music students opened additional possibilities for inquiry and practice by showing participants how to use electronic instruments and other new music technologies. Parker and Edwards’ careful research design initiated with a presurvey of self-precepts and attitudinal factors among participants, especially their sense of self-efficacy about improvisation. The survey closely parallels Bandura’s classic survey of Self-Efficacy and Performance Accomplishment***, probing participant observers’ sense of “control of the cognitive, behavioral, and social skills,” related to improvisation. Marsalis emphasized the important, though often elusive social cognitive features required for masterful jazz improvisation. “You can’t just think about yourself, your music,” he extolled the students. “You have to think about what you do to support the other musicians, too.”
The following day, Marsalis surprised participants by conducting a master class in the intimate setting of JCSU Arts Factory’s Black Box Theatre, which provided invaluable critiques, coaching, and scaffolding*, leading the participants towards improvisation inquiry. Lev Vygotsky defined scaffolding as “. . . supporting the learner’s development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level**” (Raymond, 2000, p. 176).
For more information on the theories informing the research model and experience, please visit SmithInstitute.JCSU.edu.
“You’ve got to get it, know it, and remember it here,” Marsalis asserted, gesturing to his ear with one hand and, not coincidentally, covering his heart with the other. Institute participants listened to an original Miles Davis recording of Freddy the Freeloader before playing it themselves. Marsalis literally lilted through a rhythmic demonstration of the cadences and nuances of the piece. The
*** Bandura,A. (1982). Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency: American Psychologist, Vol.37, No2, 122-147. Stanford University.
* Jaramillo, J. (1996). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and contributions to the development of constructivist curricula. Education 117(1), 133-140. ** Raymond, E. (2000). Cognitive Characteristics. Learners with Mild Disabilities (pp. 169-201). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, A Pearson Education Company.
JCSU students and young jazz improvisation artists absorb every word and note from musical impresario Delfeayo Marsalis, in a groundbreaking applied research experience funded by Smith Institute. The impressive research design was created by Dr. Barbara Edwards, retired Associate Dean of UNC Charlotte’s College of Education and her husband, JCSU Emeritus Director of Instructional Technologies, Frank Parker. Opposite page, bottom, Grammy–award winning trumpeter Ashlin Parker demonstrates his instrumental mastery as Frank Parker proudly looks on and listens.
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Smith Institute is a publication of Smith Institute for Applied Research at Johnson C. Smith University