Thanks to my current jazz teacher (Mark Nilan, pictured in the far right), I was able to sneak into a “Groove Therapy” jazz workshop held by USC/CalArts professor Alphonso Johnson this past Friday. Though it took rushing out of school at noon and getting lost on the USC campus, it was pretty amazing sitting in a room full of twenty-something-year-old jazz fanatics — exactly where I want to belong.

Johnson basically talked to us about groove — how to get it; why it’s important to every musician — especially to the rhythm section of the jazz band. But the thing that I’ll always remember the most isn’t what he told me about groove — which,  coming from this jazz professor’s mouth, was still pretty rich and enlightening — but it’s what he showed me in regards to a solid groove. He gathered together some active musicians in the Los Angeles area — Mark Nilan on piano (this was actually the first time I’d heard him play with a group live — and now I can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to study with him), Brad Dutz on percussion, and Oscar Seaton on drumset. Though I didn’t get a chance to hear the first tune they played, I did stay for the last one — Weather Report’s Teen Town. It was so locked in and induced an unreasonable amount of foot-tapping — the solos that Dutz and Seaton traded off between percussion and drumset were so intense — we were all leaned forward in our seats until the very last beat. When I relayed this to Nilan, he told me that it was the first time they’d ever played this tune together. (check out Nilan at www.marknilanjr.com and Seaton at www.myspace.com/oscarseaton)

And for someone who goes to jazz rehearsals every single morning five days a week, that’s pretty darn amazing.

Alphonso Johnson’s currently an associate professor of USC’s Jazz Studies Department, but in the past he’s played with names like Wayne Shorter and Weather Report — be sure to check him out at www.embamba.com. Here’s a bit of what he sounds like:

If you think that you’ve seen the guy pictured in the left before somewhere on this site, you’re right — he was in the post about upcoming jazz festivals (and not to mention, wearing pretty much the same hat?). But the even better part was that he asked if he’d met me before when I shook hands with him — yes, Brad Dutz, yes I have! The picture in that previous post was taken last year during a jazz field trip to the Jazz Bakery (when it was still around, of course) to see Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band — Brad Dutz is an active and super creative percussionist in the Los Angeles area — check him out at www.braddutz.com.

Back then, Dutz was some random guy we saw in the lobby drinking coffee with his Big Phat Band bowling-shirt-esque uniform on. (oh look, the hat!)

Now that I think of it, that picture I took with him is probably one of the most fateful pictures I’ve ever taken, period. Small world!

Be sure to also check out the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band at www.bigphatband.com. (I also can’t help but mention that he’s wearing this hat on the website as well.)

As a side note, here’s the Real Book Pick from Friday: The Lady is a Tramp from the 1937 Rodgers & Hart musical Babes In Arms.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: September/Earth, Wind, & Fire/Earth, Wind, & Fire: Greatest Hits

I realized the other day that even though I’ve been playing in a jazz rhythm section for over two years, the three other instruments of this section (bass, drums, guitar) are probably the ones that I’m the most unfamiliar with. So I consulted our jazz band’s current bass player, Brandon Canada, for a good bass player to get acquainted with. His immediate response: Ray Brown.

Back in his high school days, Brown played piano like me. But when he saw how many pianists were attending his school, he decided he’d take up another instrument to play in the jazz band — the trombone. But even then, he couldn’t afford a trombone, so Brown decided he’d switch to the one instrument in his high school jazz band that had a vacancy: the double bass. (It’s funny how these miraculous things happen by coincidence.)

Brown later became the bass player for the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra when he was introduced to Dizzy Gillespie by his friend Hank Jones (an amazing jazz pianist) — this band’s rhythm section became the source of what we know today as the Milt Jackson Quartet (MJQ) with members Milt Jackson (vibes), John Lewis (piano), Kenny Clarke (drums), and of course, Ray Brown on bass; this combo played during interludes while the trumpets recovered from playing deadly upper registers. (The group later recorded as the Modern Jazz Quartet after Percy Heath joined the group on bass.)

Here’s something interesting: Ray Brown married jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald in 1947 after meeting her through Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. But then they divorced four years later. Bummer.

It’s also through Jazz at the Philharmonic that Ray Brown met Oscar Peterson and joined his trio in 1951 — and was a part of the Oscar Petersen Trio for 15 years. Apparently at one of the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, Oscar Peterson (piano), Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich (drums) were arranged to play together, but Buddy Rich kind of bowed out at the last minute, leaving Peterson and Brown completely drum-less. Despite this, the duo made it more than just work — the audience absolutely loved it.

Brown later got together the Ray Brown Trio, playing with musicians like Gene Harris, Benny Green, and Geoff Keezer on the piano; Jeff Hamilton and Greg Hutchison on the drumset. (Be sure to check out the trio when Gene Harris is playing, and when Benny Green is playing — their styles are almost the complete opposite, and totally changes the tone of the sessions.)

Along with teaching and mentoring, Brown wrote several double bass books (check out Ray Brown’s Bass Method if you play the instrument) and developed the jazz cello. He also received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 1995. Although Brown died in 2002 while taking a nap before a gig in Indianapolis, he left behind some incredible music for us to absorb.

Where to start with Ray Brown:

ALBUMS:

Bass Hit!

The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio

Seven Steps to Heaven

The Giants

Some of My Best Friends Are…The Singers

Some of My Best Friends Are…The Sax Players

Some of My Best Friends Are…The Piano Players

Some of My Best Friends Are…The Trumpet Players

Some of My Best Friends Are…Guitarists

Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company (remember J. J. Johnson?)

Ella and Louis

Bassics: Best of Ray Brown Trio 1977-2000

SONGS:

One Bass Hit (Dizzy Gillespie featured him in the band with this tune.)

Gravy Waltz (Steven Allen & Ray Brown got a Grammy for this one.)

Ray Brown Suite

Hello Girls

Lined With a Groove

The two Brown-inclusive trios you shouldn’t miss: the Oscar Petersen Trio and the Ray Brown Trio. Happy listening!

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Bop-Be/Keith Jarett/At the Blue Note