Jazz in Moscow

The annual conference of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the College Music Society met in Moscow, Idaho this weekend with the faculty of the Lionel Hampton School of Music as out hosts.  Many thanks tomy colleagues Leonard Garrison, Bob Dickow and Barry Bilderback for all their hard work making it happen.  I'm currently the chapter president and have been involved with CMS since my grad student days in the late 90s.  The conference was a great success with lots of interesting presentations and, as always, many performances of great new compositions.   I presented a workshop on some of John Stevens' free improvisation teaching strategies with some of my fellow delegates as willing and very able guinea pigs.   I've used these improv 'games' with students on many occasions, but never with musicians of such high calibre.  What a pleasure!

I was lucky enough to top off my weekend with a great gig at Bucer's Coffee in Moscow with some wonderful local players:  Dav Bjur (bass), Jon Anderson (piano) and Joe Covill (drums).  A U of Idaho student called Andy Rayburn sat in on tenor as did my trombonist friend Don Bowyer (from Huntsille Alabama).  The venue is a very hip cafe/pub with lots of bookshelves, amazing desserts (it is America after all!) and very nice people. Lots of students and some of the conference delegates turned out to hear the music.

I'm always amazed by small towns in America.  Even in a little place like Moscow, with no major cities for miles around, you can find really fine jazz players and make some music.  Dave, Jon and Joe were really generous and welcoming and they played beautifully.  All are really swinging players who listen hard.  there are no attitudes and posturing with these folks - it's all about the music. It reminded me again of how powerful music, especially jazz music, can be in helping strangers communicate, create and form meaningful relationships.  I just love the rush of going to someplace new and meeting new people and then improvising together to create something beautiful.  It really is a celebration of the best aspects of being human

Here's a post-gig pic taken with Joe's phone.  From left - Joe, me, Jon, and Dave.

My old U of Oregon office-mate, Barry Bilderback, and his wife put me up at their house kindly drove me to and from the airport.  They are two of the kindest and most genuine people I know.   Barry also set up the Bucer's gig for me.  He is a professor of ethnomusicology and music history at the U of Idaho now.  UI is a classic American university with frat houses and old brick buildings covered in ivy - the kind of institution we just don't have in Western Canada.

I'm a little tired after a late gig and catching a 6am flight this morning, but all in all it was great weekend.