student blog

insanely talented / Brian

The first thing I thought when the Winard Harper Sextet took the stage was “how come there are only five of them?” Some sextet, right? Turns out the rest of Harper’s band was stuck in the insane amount of snow currently crippling the east coast, but when Mr. Harper took his first drum solo it occurred to me that the group’s sixth member may have felt too intimidated to play with someone as insanely talented as Winard and simply stayed at home.

Winard Harper stands out among many of his fellow jazz drummers, a group of musicians often considered the best in the world at their instrument. His patterns and rhythms had a complexity and speed you just don’t see every day. He had a flair for theatrics too, somehow managing to throw in a few flashy moves with his drumsticks in between hits. Despite the obvious skill of the Chicago players who sat in with him for the performance, Harper was the clear star of the show.

But the high point of the performance was just after intermission, when the Chicago players were replaced onstage by a group of local high school students Harper met during the week prior to the performance. The kids were clearly thrilled to perform onstage, and Harper definitely got a kick out of it as well. Better yet, the high school kids were good players in their own right, making for a very cool moment.

Overall, the performance felt less like “concert” jazz and more like a group of guys getting together at a bar or some equally casual setting to play a few tunes together. To me, this is where jazz really shines as a style of music, so it was great to see everybody just enjoying themselves onstage in such a relaxed environment. Although I’m sure Harper’s usual band is very talented and would have been great to see, the spontaneity of this performance made it a whole lot of fun.

 Brian

Winard Harper: Clinician and Musician / Kery

A master class, or clinic, is always an interesting experience. As a youngster, I used to love playing for complete strangers and getting to hear their opinions. Immediately. To play for a master class is always a unique experience, and no matter how many times you’ve done them, they’re always different.

Some clinicians will stand (or sit, as in the case of tuba players) right next to you while you play; others give you space; and still others will sit right in front of you and stare while you play (my personal favorite). Depending on the piece and the clinician, he or she might let you play the entire movement or song, and others are apt to stop you after a few measures. And after you’ve played, some clinicians choose to mainly address the audience, and others act as if the audience does exist. Everyone has a style, a preference, a set-in-stone code of conduct.

Winard Harper’s master class was housed at The Wedge in downtown Iowa City, where students in the jazz program play every Tuesday night 8-10. Fitting into that packed house was quite the task, but Winard found a place near the back of the room, leaving the combos (groups of about 4-5 students) to do as they please. It was natural, like they were playing for the audiences they do every week; he made sure not to obstruct them. Instead of interrupting them halfway through, he always let the students play through both songs that they’d prepared, and sometimes even requested more, like a standard or blues piece.

He gave good comments and pointed out ways that students of every discipline and style could improve their musicality, but perhaps my favorite part about the master class was when he joined the groups. One essential part of education is talking, but maybe even more essential, in music certainly, is the power to demonstrate and teach in the moment. And that’s what Winard did the best.

After the first combo played, he joined them, requesting Miles Davis’s classic “So What,” at a faster-than-normal tempo. And the music really came alive. His drumming added pop, excitement to the piece. Often, people are apt to ignore the drummer, consider him only a timekeeper, instead of a prominent musical element. Winard’s playing really forces listeners to re-think the way we may have glossed over drummers. They’re not metronomes; they can be an incredible musical force.

He’s certainly an impressive and energetic performer, but what was great was just how it changed the rest of the group. When Winard played with them, their improvisational ideas became exciting, free-flowing. I felt an aura of inspiration. The students fed off his innovation and energy, and in turn, he fed off theirs, sometimes laughing or smiling when they tried something interesting and new. He was more than a timekeeper, and more than a fellow musician – he became a mentor, and even a cheerleader. One of his most revealing comments was one of his last. He asked the students, “Do you love the music? Because that’s what it takes.”

When Winard Harper plays, I can tell he loves it. You can see it in his eyes, in the way he plays. He could have acted bored or apathetic playing with some students from Iowa (a far cry from NYC), but I could see a spark, a real love in his eyes when he played. And I couldn’t help thinking, “If this is how great he is with a few undergrads, imagine how great he’ll sound with his own group.”

I felt like tonight was a warm-up for Friday night’s activities, something to whet the musical appetite. An experience like this begins an extended 3-day appetizer to Winard’s performance Friday night (information here), which promises to be no less than incredible.

Haven’t bought tickets yet? Order them here!