Competition Events
Judges Clinic
Scott Wendholt began the clinic by talking about how all three of the judges for the Caruso Competition have been associated with one another over the last fifteen years in and around New York City. He spoke about how interconnected the musical world really is, and how people at the higher levels of jazz are constantly interacting on many levels. Terell Stafford talked about his educational and professional experiences and his challenges in balancing the classical and jazz sides of his educational experiences. Stafford related a story where, while working on a graduate degree at Rutgers University Bobby Watson invited him to go on the road for an extended tour. When he returned from what he had billed as a "chamber music tour" to the administration, they presented him with a copy of Downbeat magazine that included a picture of him in a jazz setting that was not what his Dean at Rutgers would categorize as "chamber playing." Needless to say Stafford had some explaining to do! Ingrid Jensen spoke about her family background, her experiences in Austria, and how she initially struggled to make ends meet in New York City. Along the way she studied the Caruso method with Laurie Frink. During a particularly difficult time in New York City when money was a huge issue, Laurie Frink encouraged her to enter the 1991 Caruso Competition; she won, and the whole experience became a turning point for her artistic development.
The clinic continued with lively conversation among the three clinicians and excellent questions from the audience. A summary of some of the ideas expressed during the 90-minute session follows:
Ingrid Jensen
On her background:
Our house was a "jazz house" when I was growing up. My mother played and listened to thousands of tunes as we grew up, and she insisted that we listen to good music. My mom played a lot of big-band music on the stereo and we danced to it... that's important, to put movement to the music.
On developing creativity:
You have to live in the moment. You have to create really positive moments and positive habits to set yourself up to be at your best. You have to develop your own "voice" on the instrument.
On persevering:
You have to be really honest with yourself. That's painful. You learn through the hard times... hard physically, emotionally, mentally, all of these experiences help you create. You have to learn to love your sound and to love the music you are making. Everyone has energy; you have to find that energy and work to channel it into the creative pursuit of excellence.
On developing consistency:
In the middle is the horn, on one side is the breath, and on the other the music... you spend a lot of time trying to keep these three things in balance. The air and the music are the two things I have to concentrate on. I can't control how I "feel" when I play trumpet. I can, however, control the air and the music.
On career development:
Be ready for opportunities. Embrace the process. I was naive about how things really work in the business of making music. For me I had to transcribe a ton of materials. There is no manual that tells you how to build your career. All I can say is, go play and experience all that life has to offer. Be true to yourself. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do, but I feel young and alive because of all of it.
Terell Stafford
On developing a musical personality:
Sing through the horn. It puts you inside the music. You think more lyrically, more horizontally, and you use more air naturally as the result of that.
When you accept what you have and what you are, inherently you start to become who you really are. Always remind yourself who you really are as a creative artist. Don't compete with anyone else, and don't try to become anyone else; strive to become who YOU really are. Many of my low points as a musician have come when I was trying to sound like someone else instead of concentrating on what I wanted to sound like by creating my own vocabulary on the instrument.
On consistency:
The use of the air stream should be a constant in our playing. Conceptually, however, things are always changing.
On life after/beyond NYC:
I see players all of the time, all over the world, that I knew at one time in NYC. People leave the city and go all over the world to continue enjoying jazz performance. You don't have to stay in the city to make great music and enjoy jazz.
On dealing with hard times:
The thing that brings me out of a slump is listening to music. You have to capitalize on every mood that you are in. When you are at a super high, or a super low, get out your pen and paper and write something. It is in these extremes that you usually make your best music.
Scott Wendholt
On developing as a musician and person:
There is no one defining moment that makes you an artist; there are many moments.
Learn ALL of your scales so that they sound as natural as the C Major scale.
Try not to have too many expectations... don't have much of a mindset before a solo. Just close your eyes and see what happens. A lot of the learning that you do goes on "away from the horn."
On cracking into the music profession:
When I moved to NYC I took any kind of work that I could get. Meet as many people as you can. It takes a while for people to get used to you and to get to know you. Be patient. It takes time to build a career.
A lot of great jazz players come from pretty average backgrounds. It's a misconception to think that all true jazz players come from urban environments.
On surviving the struggles of an artistic career:
Do things away from music. For me it helps to work on things around the house. My dad taught me how to do things, so I do plumbing, electrical... I'm kind of a "jack of all trades." I have lots of hobbies.
There is always a balancing act that goes on between family and professional life. I don't learn musical things as fast anymore, but I don't have to, because I can call on my experience over the years, and that helps me find time for my children and family.
Laurie Frink on Carmine Caruso
"You should play out of love, not out of fear!" - Carmine Caruso
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Laurie Frink lectures on Carmine Caruso
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Laurie Frink, a leading proponent of the ideas and methods of Carmine Caruso, gave an informative presentation to an appreciative audience in Brechemin Auditorium Saturday morning. Ms. Frink has had a long and distinguished career as a performer in New York City and indeed all over the world. She teaches at NYU and the Manhattan School of Music, and is a long time member of the ITG Board of Directors.
Ms. Frink began the lecture by talking about Carmine Caruso's background. Caruso (a saxophone player who also studied many instruments) was interested in understanding about how people learn to do things. He studied the learning habits of dancers, musicians, artists, athletes, etc. He focused his study of learning to play an instrument as a muscular activity, NOT a musical one. He felt it was beneficial to concentrate on what muscular activity must take place in order to achieve at a high level. Musical value judgments are suspended during this specific study, so that the focus can be completely on the muscular level of development. Ms. Frink is in a unique position to teach the Caruso Method because she studied with, and watched Caruso teach one-on-one over a fourteen-year period in NYC. Frink conveyed an obvious admiration for Carmine Caruso, the teacher and the person. "One of his great strengths was to 'enable' people. When you were in his studio YOU were the most important person in the world during your time together with him."
A handout was distributed to the audience titled Musical Calisthenics: The Carmine Caruso Approach to Practice. Ms. Frink went through each major point contained in the handout giving the audience an excellent introduction to the main teachings of the Caruso Method. Here are some of the highlights of what followed:
Caruso Exercise Rules (these ideas apply only to Caruso calisthenics, not to performance situations or the other components of your daily practice):
- For the duration of an exercise the mouthpiece stays on the lips. This is to aid in keeping things simple so that the body learns the position of the notes and their relationship to one another.
- Nose breathing helps to minimize the manipulation of the embouchure between notes thus strengthening their relationship.
- Using a breath attack helps to ensure the focus of the pitch you are attempting to play, and works to coordinate the action of the lips and the air.
- Foot tapping aids in the coordination, synchronization, and balance through the timing of muscular activity. The foot can become the “metronome” of the body. It is very important for a muscle in the body to be engaged when doing these studies. That is why Caruso favored tapping (a physical manifestation of the beat) over the use of a metronome.
In the application of Caruso's principles, take a cautious/conservative approach, because the intent here is not to do damage to students. "No pain, no gain" does NOT apply to playing brass instruments. Do calisthenic practice only when fresh; never begin these activities when you are already tired. If you do, chances are you will hurt yourself. A tired muscle does not learn anything. The great benefit in going through this process is that when your body begins to know where every aspect of the coordination required to play is located, you start to sense music in slow motion by showing the body in a physical (muscular) way what it has to do.
Carmine Caruso believed that the best way for the lips to learn how to move from one note to the next is to keep things still so that the muscles can learn the most efficient way to move from one pitch to the next. Keep a steady stream of air and concentrate on timing. We are all very different physically, emotionally, psychologically, and in countless other ways. It takes a really long time to learn what works for you. Teachers make observations and offer suggestions, and then take students from where they are and build on that. Learning to play an instrument is a continually evolving process. As you get older and learn more about music, you want more from yourself. You need to constantly ask, "What do I need to do to get to the next level?"
Caruso also felt that good teachers/musicians know a lot that they don't know they know. Frink quoted Caruso as once saying, "I don't know what I know until I say it." Things are stored in the brain and then recalled when needed based on life experience. In this way, we are always compiling information to call upon as we go through life.
Teaching session with Scott Morning
Frink started the lesson by asking Scott Morning (a master's student at UW) if he had any concerns in his playing. He said that response in the low register was a concern. Frink taught from that point forward by interacting with the student and then talking to the audience about why the lesson was progressing the way that it was. Frink stated that she begins her relationship with students by asking a lot of questions to put the student at ease. She NEVER makes value judgments. She wants the student to know that they are in this together, and that the teacher/student relationship is built on mutual respect and trust. Frink worked with Morning in a way that sought to make him more comfortable. She quickly observed that he broke the seal between the lips and the mouthpiece when going into the lower register. She also observed that a shift or pivot was taking place when Scott played a chromatic scale from the middle to the lower register. Frink quickly added, however, that this was neither good nor bad. She was making an observation, not a judgment.
The lesson progressed to work on Caruso Six-Note and Seconds studies employing all of the Caruso techniques. It became obvious through this process that these studies require a great deal of control and effort, and that they are extreme in the physical requirements they demand of the student. The audience quickly understood that these studies target the physicality required of the instrument in a fashion that is notable for its intensity. After performing these rigorous exercises Frink had Morning do a Recovery study to allow the embouchure to relax from the challenges it had faced in the first two exercises. Frink stressed that rest and recovery are very important aspects of the Caruso method, and cautioned that one should NEVER practice these studies when already fatigued.
Frink believes that the best way to teach is to keep things simple and direct. "I don't like to talk about how to do things. I like to talk about what to do." She went on to observe that many common problems are the result of something else. Good examples of this would be a tight (constricted) throat or articulation problems. More often than not, something else is at the root of the problem. She stressed that we need to observe the way that the embouchure functions in relation to how the trumpet sounds. She also advises her students to listen to the thoughts and ideas of teachers after they leave her studio with one notable exception. "If they want to change your embouchure run, don't walk, out of the studio!"
Laurie Frink's lecture on the Carmine Caruso Method gave us a glimpse into the innovative thought processes that this technique offers in training the muscles of the body to better perform the complex tasks required of the instrument. Just as valuable, however, was the opportunity to witness this master teacher and thoughtful musician's ability to apply these principles in ways that can make better musicians of us all. This session barely introduced the Caruso Method to those in attendance. With additional materials included on the handout with titles like "Noodles, Spiders, Expanding Chromatics, and Target Practice," there was a great deal of additional information to occupy interested trumpeters well past our time at the clinic. Thank you, Ms. Frink, for sharing your thoughts and talents with us in this informative lecture/lesson!
The Competition
Each contestant played four tunes with trio accompaniment. As one of their selections, each competitor was required to perform No Sweat composed specifically for the event by Caruso host Vern Sielert. Many thanks to New Stories for their consistently excellent back up throughout the entire competition. The competition progressed in the following order:
Ian Torres
Repertoire:
2/25 - Ian Torres
Something Smells - Ian Torres
No Sweat - Vern Sielert
Oleo - Sonny Rollins
Ian Torres performed with fine command and technique. His ideas were interesting, and he did an excellent job of shaping his solos in and out of melodic complexity and activity. Torres' sound is dark and he has fine control of all registers of the instrument. His playing was efficient without sounding formulaic. Some very slight intonation issues did not diminish the quality of this first contestant's performance.
Philip Dizack
Repertoire:
Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Burke/Van Heusen
No Sweat - Vern Sielert
Walk Through Daydreams - Philip Dizack
Beyond A Dream - Philip Dizack
Philip Dizack plays with a tremendous amount of energy and is very expressive in his soloing. He displays a wide range of emotions, range, and dynamics, and his ability to think in a very advanced way through the chord changes is something to behold. All these things come together for a truly inspiring presentation. There is no doubt about the fact that this young man plays with passion and conviction. His playing showed excellent control at softer dynamic levels helping to create moments of eloquent understatement, and at the other end of the spectrum, he displayed youthful energy in abundance. Dizack is well beyond his chronological years in his ability to cope with the pressure of high-level competition.
Michael Stever
Repertoire:
Soon - George & Ira Gershwinn
No Sweat - Vern Sielert
Body and Soul - Heyman/Sour/Eyton/Green
Giant Steps - John Coltrane
Michael Stever performs in a very fluid and mature fashion. There is a lot of nuance in his approach to jazz. In Body and Soul, he did an excellent job of shaping his solos in a very even and thoughtful manner. Stever has a lot of great improvisational ideas and knows how to develop a solo with a good sense of forward motion and progression. Rhythmically he interprets pulse in a laid-back manner that is quite effective. At times, his endurance seemed to interrupt his ability to play through all of his ideas, but overall his set was thoughtful and engaging.
Thomas Heflin
Repertoire:
When It's Sleepy Time Down South - Leon & Otis Rene/Clarence Muse
No Sweat - Vern Sielert
Mr. Felgeyrolles - Donald Brown
he Organ Grinder - Woody Shaw
Thomas Heflin plays with great control of his ideas, but in a very refreshing fashion. His approach to soloing displays an ability to sustain his lines over long periods of time and utilizes a very wide range of dynamics and moods. His tone quality is even over all registers, and his balance, intonation, articulation, rhythm, etc... all these elements are very fine and controlled. Heflin plays with a very fluid approach generating lines in a seamless highly polished manner that is really a joy to experience. All aspects of this mature musician's musicality are working together to make for a really polished finished product. When he approaches and enters the upper register, he does so with purpose to enhance the musical line... this was much appreciated!
Gregory Rivkin
Repertiore:
No Sweat - Vern Sielert
El Gaucho - Wayne Shorter
For the Significant One - Gregory Rivkin
Jean-Marie - Ronnie Matthews
Gregory Rivkin plays with extremely clean technique. Of the five competitors, he is the only one who ventured between trumpet and flugelhorn (with a few intonation problems). Rivkin has exceptional control of the technical side of the instrument and is capable of presenting his ideas with great fluency. During one of his pieces the bassist performed with the bow, the only time this took place during the entire competition leaving this reporter wondering if Rivkin had requested its use. Balance was a concern at several points in Rivkin's set with the rhythm section riding over the top and covering some of his ideas and busier lines.
Final Thoughts on the Competition
All five competitors deserved to be in the finals of the Caruso Competition. I sincerely hope that the jazz scene hears more from all of them. Competitions, by design, are tough. They are meant to separate what is excellent from what is good, and then, progress to separate exceptional accomplishment from excellent promise. All of these musicians have progressed well beyond establishing themselves as worthy trumpet players. In varying degrees they have all made the leap into higher musical realms. Of special note was the way in which all of the soloists successfully worked with the competition rhythm section. It was obvious that the collaboration between the New Stories and the soloists was one of high-level communication and understanding all the way through the competition. I enjoyed listening to all five soloists, and I'm very grateful it was not my job to sort out the winners!
Results
After deliberating for almost an hour, the judges returned to Brechemin Auditorium, and Ingrid Jensen announced the results. Jensen thanked all five musicians for their participation in the competition and wished them all future success. The results were as follows:
1st Place: Philip Dizack
2nd Place (Tie): Thomas Heflin and Michael Stever
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L-R: Terell Stafford, Ingrid Jensen, Scott Wendholt, Philip Dizack (Winner), Thomas Heflin (2nd tie), Michael Stever (2nd tie)
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Gala Concert
A large and appreciative audience gathered in Roethke Auditorium to hear The University of Washington Studio Jazz Ensemble I (directed by Vern Sielert), perform with Caruso judges Ingrid Jensen, Terell Stafford, and Scott Wendholt and competition winners Philip Dizack, Thomas Heflin, and Michael Stever. UW opened with several tunes that displayed some outstanding solos from the group's two tenor saxophones (Neil Welch and Jon Armstrong). Selections included It Could Happen to You by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, Stretch by Chuck Dotas, and Low Down by Thad Jones. This group is rhythmically tight, and plays with great balance and uniform style. Other UW soloists of distinction during the concert included Mat Montgomery - trumpet, Nathan Vetter - trombone, and Charlie Patnoe - guitar.
As the concert continued, it was obvious this was a unique gathering of trumpet artists one does not often get to witness. The following is a summary of what these current and future jazz superstars offered to provide a fitting end to the day's activities.
Scott Wendholt performed with impeccable style and control. Prior to his tune, he acknowledged the fact that it was a great competition and that he enjoyed working as a judge for the competition. His own composition, Times Line, contained great unison work on the head between Wendholt and UW's tenor sax (Neil Welch). Wendholt took an extended solo that took him all over the horn weaving through a variety of ideas as the bass provided a stable foundation. Scott Wendholt gave the enthusiastic audience a fine example of creative artistry at its best.
Ingrid Jensen performed The Plugged Nickel Suite by Jon Wilkan, with a perfect blend of intellect and emotion. She was comfortable at any dynamic level and in any range of the instrument. Jensen's solo feature started with an extended cadenza on flugelhorn. As the band came in with more active lines (in a funk groove), Jensen switched over to trumpet with Harmon (stem out), completely changing the mood and character of the tune. Fine solo work featuring florid lines from UW trombone and tenor sax soloists followed. Jensen segued perfectly off the end of the sax solo into lines of her own (back on flugelhorn). Her flugehorn playing was not limited to the traditional range of the instrument as she soared into the upper register. Her ability to transition from a great diversity of lines and technical components crafting disparate elements into a cohesive solo was astounding.
Terell Stafford opened with his own composition Dear Rudy, a tune that was dedicated to the memory of his grandmother. Performing on flugelhorn, his sound can be described as warm, full, and elegant. Stafford played with an incredibly clean style that was beautifully moderated in all registers and at all dynamic levels. He always stayed within himself presenting ideas that were beautifully crafted. Stafford's technique always serves the music. Hey, It's Me Your Talkin' To by Victor Lewis followed. Up-tempo and on trumpet, Stafford's upper register work on this tune always served the development of the solo and was employed to fit into the larger scheme of the music. He didn't play high just to scream...there was always a musical reason for the register shift. This tune featured another extended solo by UW tenor sax Neil Welch who, once again soloed with really fine, well-developed ideas.
I'll Remember April by Don Raye, Gene DePaul, and Pat Johnson served as a vehicle to bring all of the competition winners on stage to perform with the UW band. Dizack, Heflin, and Stever traded solos challenging each other to push their ideas in a fashion that was both fun and competitive at the same time. The final piece of the evening, Bird Count by Maria Schneider, featured all of the Caruso judges and winners on extended solos. Each of the six soloists displayed their unique strengths in a tour-de-force of soloing. What a great ending to an unforgettable day of competition and fun. All of the musicians had a great time doing what they do best!
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ITG officials in attendance: L-R: Jeff Piper - President; Vern Sielert – Host; Gary Mortenson – Publications Editor; Stephen Chenette – Past President; Laurie Frink – Board and Caruso Lecturer; William Pfund – Vice President/President Elect
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Acknowledgements
Competition Chairs: Leonard Candelaria and Laurie Frink
Competition Sponsors: The International Trumpet Guild with generous financial support from The Herb Alpert Foundation
Competition Host: Vern Sielert and the University of Washington School of Music, Robin McCabe, Director
Sound: Dansound Inc. - Dan Mortensen
Recording: Hatchover Productions – Jim Wilke
Photography: Trevor Klein
About the author: Gary Mortenson is professor of trumpet and Chair of Graduate Studies at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. In January of 2006, Mortenson will take 10 students to the Trumpet Workshop in Kalavrita, Greece where he will be a participant and clinician during the weeklong event. The Volume 30 publication season marks his fifth year as Publications Editor for The International Trumpet Guild.
