BLU-TET

In Wonderland with Ezra Weiss

“In Wonderland with Ezra Weiss”

by Jarritt A. Sheel

It is Monday, June 8^th 2009 and I am at home, drinking a very good cup of coffee while on the phone with Ezra Weiss. We have finally connected via phone after playing an intense game of phone tag for a week or two. I finally get the chance to interview one of the true originals, in jazz music and jazz education, today. One rarely gets the opportunity to talk with someone so passionate yet humble about teaching young people to have a deep appreciation for jazz music like Ezra Weiss. Today we get the unique opportunity to loquaciously wax and wane about jazz music, music education, and theater. What a discussion topic….

Ezra Weiss is an original… his musical views of the world are definitely different from the rest of us, and that is apparent in his new offering “Alice in Wonderland.” Ezra, born in Phoenix, Arizona, acquired a unique view of jazz music and theater from being actively involved in the community theater(music director) and band programs(participant) in Scottsdale. Upon graduating, from Saguaro High School, Ezra parted ways with the great state of Arizona for Ohio… and the famed Oberlin Conservatory of Music. During his time at Oberlin Ezra studied composition(Wendell Logan) and piano performance(Neal Creque), which lead him to start a group, called “Blues Connotation.” Blue Connotation would later turned into the Ezra Weiss Sextet. Upon graduation Ezra move to Portland, Oregon where he began working with the Northwest Children’s Theater, the Beaverton Arts and Communication Magnet Academy, and several camps like the Western Oregon University Jazz Camp. After traveling to New York City to perform in 2002, Weiss’ life would forever be changed. After that trip Ezra decided pursue a masters degree in jazz piano from Queens College. Here is where Ezra would meet, work with, and perform alongside jazz luminaries such as: Michael Philip Mossman, Antonio Hart, Kelly Roberge, Leon Lee Dorsey, Billy Hart, and study jazz piano with Bruce Barth and Ted Rosenthal. Upon his graduation from Queens College, Ezra would move back to Portland, Oregon where he has resumed his affiliation with the Northwest Children’s Theater and is also a music professor at Portland State University.

Ezra has been fortunate enough to compose and/or arrange music for Billy Hart, Thara Memory, Rob Scheps Big Band, Leon Lee Dorsey, Stan Bock, and Renato Caranto, among others. He has also performed with many great musicians including Greg Bandy, Michael Philip Mossman, Antonio Hart, Thara Memory, Rob Scheps, Renato Caranto, and Dennis Rowland. He also co-led the Courtney Bryan/Ezra Weiss Jazz Orchestra in New York. Additionally, Ezra won the 2002, 2006, and 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, and he has led bands in many of the U.S.'s greatest clubs ranging from Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, and Tonic in New York City, Ryles in Boston, NightTown in Cleveland, Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, The Triple Door in Seattle, Jimmy Mak's in Portland, and Catalina’s in Los Angeles. So,… why would someone, like Ezra Weiss, who performs and writes so frequently and has achieved soo much… be interested in doing a , jazz education inspired, CD of music centered by Alice in Wonderland? Well… let’s travel down the rabbit hole with Ezra to find out.

I, like most of you, love the great Charles Lutwidge Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll story of “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” When I first got the assignment to review and interview Weiss’ work… I was a little reluctant to listen to the recording. I thought … the packaging is great, and the liner notes look awesome, but what the heck is this going to sound like? I was really curious and took the CD into my car as I drove to a gig, and listened intently… at first… to see if I was going to like it or… not. After the first five tracks I found myself interested in finishing the CD on my way back home from the gig. I did and soon started to visualize all the actors and musicians in costumes on stage performing this version of the classic, which can be rather dangerous while driving in rush hour traffic on I-4... LOL. I was engaged and that is when I thought… this is pretty intelligent way of engaging young audiences. Later, upon phone interview, I spoke with Weiss about the concept behind the CD.

“The main idea is to find a fun way to introduce young kids to jazz music. Disney does a great job with teaching musical numbers to kids. When I was young musical helped me digest theater, and I thought that musical theater would be a great way to introduce jazz music to young people. Create a thirst or hunger, affinity to jazz music.”

Combining the two different areas of art: theater and jazz music is very unique. What Ezra is doing… is reintroducing youth to two things… Jazz Music and Musical Theater. Due to the declining American educational system and the commercially motivated music industry, today’s youth barely have a defined idea of what jazz music is let alone… have an idea of what Musical Theater is. I still wondered what Weiss’ inspiration was for the album.

“Well it started, as I was working at a children theater in Portland, OR. The director asked me to do a musical version of “Alice in Wonderland” and it was a great way to introduce jazz music to these young children and forever change their thought process..their thinking.”

In a day and time, when youth have less musical opportunity and even less control over what experiences they can have… Ezra wants to give this new era of children… a wider variety of music to experience. Popular radio’s increasing limited play list of the SAME…top 10 songs for that particular radio station’s demographic is tiring and say the least drab. “Alice in Wonderland” use the colors found in the jazz idiom to paint this wonderful picture that every young person can appreciate in a entertaining yet educational way. Even though, the book was written well over one hundred years ago, it is still very topical. As a musician myself, the musical soundtrack from my youth was rather different, and so was Weiss’

“Well, when I was really young, I don’t really remember being into music. When I was ten, it seemed… all of a sudden, music opened up to me. I started playing saxophone, musical theater, and my dad had a great music collection. He had a great selection of musicals, and I started getting involved in the middle school jazz band. My father had a huge amount of vocal jazz, and ballads. Carmen McCrae.. really helped me bridge the gap between musical theater and jazz music. In high school I got into Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis (kind of blue) and found that jazz was really about expressing a character through your playing. I had friends that would later introduce me to Kenny Garrett and Joshua Redman music and their great driving energy … like Coltrane, and simply melodies that had great harmonic complexity that spoke to the listener.”

One would then usually question what are the musical influences of the composer/arranger of this very interesting project would be, and who directly has helped mold this young lion.

“The first person I need to credit my composition teacher Wendell Logan (Florida A&M University graduation), whom is an amazing teacher and a huge influence. Well in terms of composers… Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock (the Three Maria’s), Mingus, and Monk. With Wendell, he would say that is half of what a great composition teacher does, introduce the student to different styles of voicings and musical styles.”

Ezra, like Alice has been traveling down this colorful yet winding road full of twists and turns. On this road Weiss has encountered colorful characters around every turn, and the road has taken him around the world (musically) and back again. He began his love affair with the art form (music) at a young age and has kept a very health relationship with it over the last couple of decades. Weiss’ place in the grand scheme of things is gradually unwinding to the truth which is that he has contributed such much in a short amount of time.

“I think it is interesting that the CD’s I made prior to this were all about what was inside my head, and this one is all about exploring children’s theater. The next project will be writing Brazilian music for children to get a grasp of. I really enjoy teaching at this moment and I’m trying to really enjoy life. I’ve been making more time to be with family. We spend so much time in the practice room..”

So, out of the practice room and into the wonderland of life Weiss has gone!