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New York jazz musicians mentor Calgary students

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Thursday, a group of young Calgary musicians got a little insight into how  jazz musicians put the 'be' in bebop.

The Jack Singer Concert Hall was filled with the smooth, easy rhythms from a small ensemble made up of a piano, horns, strings and vocals. The musicians were from Jazz at Lincoln Centre, the iconic venue on the Upper West Side of New York City.

Eight people make up the group that's in Calgary to perform and they invited a number of local music students who share a passion for jazz to watch and listen during a morning rehearsal prior to their Thursday night gig.

"So we're going to get ourselves comfortable in that space and while we're doing that, we're going to talk to the students and engage in a dialogue about what it is we're doing on stage," said trumpet player Riley Mulherkar, the musical director for the Songs We Love show. "Why we're playing these songs, how we're putting the songs together and also hopefully get to know (the students) a little bit, where they're coming from, because I know, there are a lot of extraordinary young musicians here in Calgary."

Jazz at Lincoln Centre has an orchestra that travels the world and a strong educational component to inspire young musicians. Mulherkar says this genre of music has been passed down orally for generations and the centre has a responsibility to continue that.

"We owe it all to the folks who came before us and share something with us," he said. "That's how we got the enthusiasm, that's where we got the love and also the technical skills and the know-how to play this music, so I think it's such a special opportunity to get to do this."

Mulherkar says the Jazz at Lincoln Centre ensemble is made up of younger artists and can easily relate to students from the Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education (CADME).

"It wasn't that long ago that we were in college or even high school and so we know exactly where they are," he said. "We're excited to meet them there and share what you know, lessons we've learned in in whatever we can do to inspire."

THE POWER OF JAZZ

Jazz at Lincoln Centre was founded in 1988 and believes the power of jazz can uplift, inspire, and create a sense of community. It wants students who participate in their educational programs to have a desire to learn and be curious about where their talents can take them.

"We're going to be working with a lot of advanced jazz students," said Mulherkar. "So I'm hoping that they have been introduced to these concepts of improvisation and pre-play and all that stuff that we do all the time, at the same time, wherever they are, we just want to sort of push them a little bit more and get them thinking and out of their comfort zone a little bit, wherever that may be."

Nathan Gingrich, the music director at William Aberhart High School, was confident the students would learn a lot.

"I'm hoping that they get the sense of not only listening to music at a world class level, but also seeing the focus of musicians working and interacting together, understanding how they produce their product," he said.

Grade 11 student Aspen Dixon plays the saxophone and clarinet and loves everything about jazz.

"Oh, I love it, it's one of the most interesting things that you can do and when it really starts to work, oh, it's one of the most magical things ever," she said. "You can hear like the cycles going over and over, right and it's just so cool when you know what's coming next, but not exactly how a musician is going to do it right, it's really interesting."

Omari Holaki just started playing the base trombone and is looking for a few practicing tips from the professional musicians.

"With jazz, it's really fun to have your own parts and everything is on you," he said. "It can be stressful but I just feel like once you get that part down, and you really nail it like everyone else is, everyone else gets their parts, it's just so satisfying to see the end results."

Students from five schools, with 20 students each attended the one hour session. Jazz at Lincoln Centre performs in Calgary the evening of March 3,  then heads to Scottsdale, Ariz. for their next show.

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