Chris Klaxton has been teaching our Summer Jazz Workshop for two years - but teaching jazz all around for 15. Just last year he released a solo project, Starcode, but participates in many bands throughout the seacoast spanning genres from Jazz to Rock to Hip Hop.
We're lucky to have Chris teaching here at PMAC! We asked him a few questions about our Summer Jazz Workshop. Read what he has to say below:
PMAC: What are some of
your favorite parts of teaching the Summer Jazz Workshop?
Chris Klaxton: I love getting to
hang out with students from various backgrounds and experiences. No matter what
instrument someone plays, how many years they have been playing, whether they
are a veteran or new to jazz....our job is to make music and to get down to
business quickly. It's a lot of fun isolating musical concepts and qualities
that we all share, and using them to make music within an hour of meeting one
another!
PMAC: What
are the different advantages of participating in a week long, intensive summer
camp as opposed to a semester long weekly class?
CK: The amount of time spent with each other in a day
really pays off. I am always amazed how quickly students get to know and
appreciate each other. Spending so many hours together for 5 days in a row
really keeps music on the mind. The kids don't have the opportunity for the
music they've absorbed to get pushed out of their head by baseball, vacation,
homework, or hanging out! We see them often enough and for long enough,
it really sticks!
PMAC: What life skills can kids take away from
participating in this summer camp?
CK: The most important thing I try to convey to the students, is that there is ALWAYS a way to make music...and make GOOD music. The obstacles one encounters when making music with others are usually due to, "MY tastes are...I LIKE....I DON'T USUALLY DO....I ALWAYS...." If we learn to resign certain things, if we stop seeking in every experience our FAVORITE THINGS, then we allow the opportunity to balance with others. Shortly thereafter, one can stumble upon new favorites, new styles, new comfort zones, and new ways to relate to others...all because they gave up the "ME, ME, I, I" stuff.
There is no better way to practice being in
a family, being in a relationship, and getting out of one's own way, than by
playing music.
PMAC: What is different about Jazz than
other genres that might be interesting to teens?
CK: "Jazz" is really an amalgamation of tastes and flavors pertinent to the generation that's playing it.
Jazz camp allows us to improvise, to create without NECESSITATING music on paper and without NEEDING classical instruction (of course it does help...)
Jazz camp allows students to access a rich American history, a rich cultural history, yet combine elements of what they learn with elements of their own day-to-day and their own tastes / preferences.
CK: "Jazz" is really an amalgamation of tastes and flavors pertinent to the generation that's playing it.
Jazz camp allows us to improvise, to create without NECESSITATING music on paper and without NEEDING classical instruction (of course it does help...)
Jazz camp allows students to access a rich American history, a rich cultural history, yet combine elements of what they learn with elements of their own day-to-day and their own tastes / preferences.
PMAC: Why is Jazz important in your life?
CK: It has provided me a means to an end, the opportunity to study myself and the world around me, has afforded me years of practice of "playing well with others", has kept me out of a cubicle 9-5, and uh....um.....IS REALLY FUN!
No comments:
Post a Comment