BHS Jazz Band

Jazz band. Where does one begin? I have had plenty of experience performing jazz pieces, singing with jazz ensembles, and listening to famous jazz musicians and/or ensembles in my free time, but to count-off such a group is a daunting task. I found myself more nervous with this teaching episode than I had been with previous ones, excepting, perhaps, my teaching the Junior High students at CJMS. I was sure I would somehow count the ensemble in wrong and be reprimanded by Mr. Berdahl and asked to start again, only to fail miserably once more. As a precaution, I stayed as focused on his starting instructions while he was in front of the ensemble as possible. I paid close attention to his wording, the exact articulations he used, syllable emphasis, and personal mannerisms. My goal, therefore, was to learn from Mr. Berdahl's example as much as possible. It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and my hope was that my imitating would provide me with the skills needed to start a jazz ensemble. Paul went first in counting off the group, and did an exceptional job. I went second, and was happier with my performance than I expected to be. The only comment from Mr. Berdahl was not to "start over", but rather that continuous conducting was not necessary once the band had been counted off. I guess I kept going out of nervous habit. Otherwise the experience was a great success, and is now one in which I feel much more confident.

Regarding the classroom structure of Mr. Berdahl's Jazz Band, I can say that I was most struck by the warmups, as I'm sure my fellow observers have also noted. The fact that the warmup was a predetermined piece in which each student could showcase his/her learned improvisation skills was one of the best warmup ideas I had ever seen. Not only did it allow each student to learn general jazz structure, but it provided each student with a chance to showcase their learning in a comfortable environment, and for each student to learn from their peers. This is a practice that, should I ever teach a Jazz Band, I would like to incorporate into my ensemble.