Teaching Philosophy

[August 2010] There are two distinct and separate elements needed for successful instruction: Knowledge and Inspiration. The teacher must develop and retain a deep knowledge of the subject matter that far exceeds the student’s current grasp. This is the simple truth upon which all instruction is based. The teacher must also provide inspiration for the student to pursue that knowledge. The old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” may be true, but students are not horses. The inspiration to learn and improve is far more valuable than an encyclopedic vault of facts. There is a false assumption that all university students are highly motivated and somehow self-inspired, this is not the case. It is critical for university professors to lead by example and to inspire students through actions, not just words. This principle is the foundation of my own teaching; I will not ask anything of a student that I myself do not put into action. I am passionate about my chosen path and I wish for my students to find that passion for themselves.

As an active performer, educator, historian, composer and arranger, I understand the fluidity of this art form called jazz. The music is in a constant state of flux, evolving and growing due to new cultural influences and technological innovations. Jazz is alive and well and it is equally important for students to understand its history as well as its potential future. There are more musicians around the world playing jazz today than at any other point in the history of the genre. My role as a teacher is to convey this understanding to my students, and to rouse within them the confidence to value their own contributions to the future of jazz.

Lastly, students must understand the reasons behind any action. In essence, they must ask, “Why?” They must understand beyond mindless parroting of practiced dogma. The essence of students’ further development as musicians and valuable members of our society relies upon their ability to apply the given instruction to their individual paths. Without understanding the philosophical underpinnings of the various methods, there can be no hope for independent and creative thought. This is the reason I teach. I want others to possess the mental tools for self-discovery. I am a people person, social yet thoughtful. I am artistically and theoretically challenged by my students, and seek to inspire them to surpass their wildest dreams through critical thought and dedicated action.

- Dr. Kelly Rossum

Practicing in Airports

[July 2010] I’m just old enough to remember looking forward to flying on an airplane. Back then, businessmen were dressed in suits, meals were complimentary, and children (like myself) received free toys and/or packs of playing cards! Unlike today’s flights where people wear pajamas and flip flops, the tray tables look like the bottom of a cotton candy machine, and the microwave cheeseburgers cost $6.00. As a young musician, I used to think flying was one of the more glamorous aspects of being a pro, something only the successful artists could enjoy. Ahhh, champagne all around. I keep waiting for a flight attendant to say, “Congratulations, you’ve made it! Come sit in first class and enjoy the ride.” Any day now this is going to happen to me, I can tell. It feels like it was years ago when I slept through my first take-off. Surly that must have been some sort of benchmark? Even before that, when I began to order Tonic Water, knowing that you may actually get an entire can instead of a tiny cup, I thought I was a seasoned pro and deserving of some special wink or nod. NOPE. Still sitting in coach, crammed in like a sardine.

Flying is similar in many ways to gambling, but the odds are always stacked against you. When gambling at casinos, you know that on any given night, you may win or lose, but in the long run things tend to stay about even. When you gamble and win, there’s this rush of excitement plus the obvious financial gain, which could range in the thousands of dollars. When you win, it can really feel good which could unfortunately lead to a serious addiction. When you lose, money and time vanish, like they were never there. Air travel is similar, but nowhere near as fun. When you win, the best that you can hope for is to voluntarily skip your oversold flight, receive a $300 travel voucher, board a different airplane, sit in the exit row, have a smooth quiet flight, and only briefly chat with the flight attendants at the end of the flight as you taxi to the gate. Even in this idyllic situation, you’re still sitting in a truly uncomfortable seat, (which was designed for the average person. C’mon, how many of us are exactly the average person? It’s like guaranteeing the seats will be equally uncomfortable for everyone), drinking some seriously lame coffee, and wondering who actually buys that crap in the Skymall magazine. But when things go bad and you lose, watch out. (Take this flight for example, I’m writing on one of my many trips back to NYC and there’s a kid behind me screaming and kicking, a big guy to the left of me finishing some sort of seafood salad sandwich, a woman on my right with too much perfume, the person in front of me must be having nightmares, and we’re still on the ground, sitting in the parking lot they call the Atlanta airport, a good hour and a half after the original departure time, Gotta love it). I’m not going to ramble on too long; everyone has horror stories. I’ve been at Airports with only one gate all the way up to major international hubs. I’ve been on planes ranging from small propeller planes to those big overseas jumbo jets. I’ve been in the air from 40 minutes to 18+ hours… pure torture.

Anyway, one thing that I have come to understand is how to maintain a routine of practicing the trumpet at airports. The key is to play whenever the opportunity arises. I always keep a practice mute in my case, so if there’s a delay, I hit some long tones. Right there at the gate. Sometimes, if I have much longer layover, I head down to an empty gate and actually shed some scales. On the rare occasion that I actually arrive at the airport early, I’ll hang out on the curb and practice. People don’t seem overly concerned with a musician practicing when they’re late for their own flight.

There’s no real secret, playing in the airport is actually really easy. It’s like the Nike ad: Just Do It.

Band Camp

[May 2010] My upstairs neighbors finally convinced me to consider moving to another apartment at the end of our current lease. The 4:00am dumbbell drops just aren’t conducive to a good night’s sleep, and no matter how many times I talk to them, or how many times the super and/or the owners remind them, the noise continues. My only choice is to consider moving, again. Now I look around my apartment with the knowledge of how hard all of this stuff was to move the last time; I need to reduce the load. We’ll probably be moving into an even smaller place hopefully on the TOP floor of a building, so the first thing on my list is to finish archiving that box of old cassettes. (cue flashback music to ‘80s)

Band Camp

This is the time for kids to be out on their own for the first time, no parents. The teachers and dorm assistants are usually pretty cool, at least in the minds of the kids. Did you ever go? It was a grand time; you could eat whatever you wanted for breakfast, drink as many sodas as possible, even pour syrup on your hamburger if you’d like. We’d hang around friends making music all day, no English classes, no boring papers to write and no social studies teacher on your case! Camp was only the best parts of school.

The days are comprised of music classes, theory, instrumental sectionals, rehearsals, listening, and practice time. It is the dream vacation for any serious music geek.

But the best parts of camp are the girls. Whoops, I mean the Social Activities. This is really why kids should attend music camp. Face it, young musicians are rarely the most popular people in the social hierarchy of a high school. At music camp, the playing field is relatively level from a social status perspective. Looking at the larger picture, if you want to succeed in life, even musicians must learn how to relate to their peers, including those of the opposite sex. This is how humans are supposed to make friends, not by pressing a button on your computer! Ugh.

43^rd Annual Wayne State Music Camp

My band camp as a youth was in Nebraska. It was a week long, overnight camp on the campus of Wayne State College. We stayed in the school’s dorms, girls on one end and boys on the other with a lobby/lounge in the middle. We ate in their cafeterias and had classes and performances in their music building.

So this blue cassette tape on my desk is a recording of the 1987 final concert. I was in the top jazz band along with Woody Witt (tenor sax) and Ryan Kisor (trumpet). It was the summer after my junior year in high school. This was actually the third year I had attended the camp as a student. The previous year, my best friend (a Tuba player named Greg Swallow) and I had essentially ruled the camp, or at least we did in our minds. That’s when I picked up an odd habit of saying “Good Morning” as a greeting…

Listening to the tape of the concert, you can hear the burning intensity in Woody’s solo as well as his presence in the sax section. Woody and I both went to high school in Omaha, Nebraska. We would always run into each other at the only jam session in town, down at a place called Kilgore’s. Chuck Kilgore (trumpeter) owned this place with a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling and an old upright in the corner. Each Tuesday night at around 11:00pm jazz musicians would gather there to play. Even at that age, Woody had this intensity to his persona, he already had the heart and mind of a monster musician. I have been extremely lucky to call him my friend though the years.

There was another standout musician on the recording, who the %*^# is that trumpet player?? Ryan. Playing second trumpet, occasionally up an octave. He had just finished his 8^th grade year and was entering high school after that summer. Damn. Since we were both trumpet players, I was able to really grasp how good he was. It was like I was a mere mortal, capable, yes, but I could feel the wind blow by as this super hero of the horn flew past me with his talent. Yet at the same time, I was the senior, so I may have been the only guy at the entire camp to give this little genius some good-natured crap. I had been aware of his skills for a few years, since the first time I heard him play. He was going into 6^th grade (1985 Wayne State summer camp) and his dad, who was a teacher at the camp, had him perform on the faculty concert. He proceeded to nail Arban’s Carnival of Venice, a virtuosic cornet solo. This was my first experience of seeing someone younger than myself in a completely different league; at that age, although he was only a couple of years younger, it seemed like I was a decade older. I still feel that way when I listen to him play. Ryan is the most inspirational jazz trumpet player alive today. Yes, he really is.

Back to the concert. I was playing lead trumpet for that week’s final performance. The last song the director was pointing to the soloists and he skipped over my solo. My heart froze, that was my chance to shine, and it was gone. After the concert I was crushed emotionally because of missing that opportunity to play a solo. But it’s funny how life really works. Later that night, at the dance, all the students elected me “king” of the camp. Now that was a rush. Socially on top of the world, yet knowing I had just been schooled by a freshman. Life Lesson anyone?

If you don’t know the music of Woody Witt and Ryan Kisor, I humbly suggest you check them out.

43^rd Shell Lake Jazz Camp

I am fortunate to still be associated with a band camp these days; it’s the Shell Lake Jazz Camp in Shell Lake Wisconsin. Here’s a small bit of trivia, it is the longest consecutively running jazz camp in the country! Major props to the crew.

Shell Lake is the band camp of legend for today’s students. Full of raucous musical exploration accompanied by mild social anxiety, plus all of the candy and soda from the local small town grocery, truly everything a growing student needs. Joking aside, these camps are crucial to the development of young musicians across the United States. It’s beyond learning about music, it’s about developing as a independent thinker among a society of peers. The collaboration required for a musical performance cuts across all age appropriate social barriers of race, age and sex. If only adults were required to attend music camp for a week each summer, what a world this would be!

Plus, you never know who may be playing next to you at the final concert.

[July 2010] Post Camp note

Shell Lake was a blast again this year, great faculty, great students and beautiful weather! I’m hoping to see everyone back again for next year’s hang.

As the director of one of the ensembles, I realized the best way to order the soloists during the concert was to point at them right before each solo. Yes, you guessed it, I accidentally skipped a student’s solo on the final concert. I made sure to apologize to him immediately afterwards, although he didn’t seem as emotionally damaged as I was. Isn’t it strange how the universe works?!?

John Denver Epiphany

[April 2010] I was enjoying a rare evening at home with my wife, listening to some records (yes – Records). We were going through some sides that haven’t been spun in ages. A touch of jazz, a bit of disco, some “easy listening”, and then we ran across a record that I needed to spin again and again and again. It was John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High. Fantastic! He was a brilliant tunesmith and that song Prisoners is a work of Art. So here I am living in an entirely Dominican neighborhood of Manhattan listening to John Denver… Huh!?! What’s going on here?

A great thing about New York is that it’s a veritable smorgasbord of jazz music. It’s all here. You can go out on any night and find the specific style that you really dig. Bebop, Big Band, Vocal, Latin Jazz, Free Jazz, Swing, Post-Bop, Lounge Jazz, Experimental, Student Ensembles, Electric, etc., the list goes on and on. All of the music that I love to play on my horn.

When pausing to reflect, I am aware of a dramatic difference between the music that IS happening and the music that was taught to me during my previous academic existence. The Academic musical cannon contains “correct” music that you “should” listen to, especially as a trumpeter. There is a rich history of classical (and jazz) music that is Right. The repertoire contains famous orchestral works and excellent solo opportunities, it traverses the beauty of the baroque all the way to the angst of contemporary atonal composers, plus it can offer the opportunity to perform music written by the worlds greatest composers. I really do love this music, which is good considering the years of study and performance that I have invested both as a student and as a teacher. Yet this laborious study is not significantly represented within my current world of sound.

As an Artist, there is a constant need to self analyze, to reflect upon one’s creative output. I carefully consider the music that I would like to present, especially as a leader. I realize that life is too short to invest in a path that is not true. But something seems unsettling. There’s a hole in my head. What’s missing? Why don’t I feel complete when combining these two huge influences? Classical and jazz?

The epiphany:

I like John Denver’s music.

Here are some additional artists and bands that I’m almost embarrassed to like: Lionel Richie, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Iron Maiden, ZZ Top, Cinderella, Guns & Roses, Living Color, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Sting, and the list goes on and on. They’re not highbrow or serious enough for classical musicians; and they’re not cool or obscure enough for jazz musicians. But there it is, dig it.

My complete musical package includes everything I’ve ever internalized through repetitive listening, including the Good, Bad and Ugly. I need to accept and deal with these three sides of my musical personality: Classical, Jazz AND Rock. I’m sure Rock and Pop has influenced my musical subconscious as much as jazz and classical, perhaps even more. Now I can play what needs to be played.

Axiom of Jazz: Choice lies not with what you export to the audience, but with what you import into your subconscious through diligent study.

If you aspire to be an improvising musician, you should play what needs to be played according to your own set of ears. Do NOT play what you think someone else thinks should be played; they hired you, or paid to listen to you, wanting to hear what you think should be played. Truly improvised creative musical ideas are based upon your musical subconscious, primarily built through what you choose to listen to over the course of your lifetime. This is what comprises your “voice” as a jazz artist. Believe in your own voice - I finally do.

Modern Range Expectations

[April 2010] This post addresses the range requirements of a modern professional jazz trumpeter, so it may be a little too specific for most people. You know… high notes and stuff…

Professional jazz trumpet players are expected to play higher today than ever before in the history of the instrument. Perhaps the closest historical comparison would be during the baroque era, or as Ed Tarr would say, “the golden age of the trumpet.” The picture above is a great example of a typical working trumpet section (L-R: Kelly Rossum, Seneca Black, Andy Gravish, Alex Norris).

Tarr claims that the golden age of the natural trumpet lies between 1600-1750 (can’t argue with that). The virtuosity required to perform even the simplest baroque trumpet music is often beyond the modern trumpeter’s abilities. To perform baroque melodies based upon stepwise motion and other standard melodic shapes, the trumpeter must stay in the upper most register of the instrument for the duration of the piece. The composers of the baroque era almost always wrote for individual performers, whom they knew personally, in order to assure the level of proficiency needed to execute their parts. These performers would occasionally take apprentices, to share the secrets of playing the trumpet. Only then would the master’s knowledge and experience, forged through years of heat (have You ever tried to play these things?!?!) be passed along to the next generation. Guilds of the time were very strict in allowing only highly trained trumpeters into the ranks of the artist class.

There are three primary factors contributing to today’s situation: 1) Jazz, 2) Technology, and 3) Population.

Louis Armstrong was a beast on the trumpet. Period. His influence went far beyond the virtuosic skills he so brilliantly incorporated into his improvisations; his persona influenced an entire nation’s cultural contribution to the world. The explosion of jazz across the globe (with Louis leading the charge) renewed a sense of wonder for the upper register of the trumpet. Trust me, the 19^th Century wasn’t so happening for high notes. Jazz also championed the individual skills of the performer, much more so than the previous focus upon the composer. This focus on individuality led to unusual techniques and upper register specialists. The first generation of individual jazz artists not only greatly influenced subsequent generations; they left unspoken technical challenges evidenced within their recordings.

The discovery and popularization of recorded music cannot be underestimated when discussing technical aspects of musical production on acoustic instruments (i.e. high notes). We do not have any aural records of Johann Altenburg or Goetfried Reiche; we truly do not know what they sounded like. With recorded sound, we can continue to study and learn decades past the actual performance. Modern technology also influences the production of the instruments themselves. Although a trumpet has primarily stayed the same over hundreds of years (buzz your lips in one end - sound comes out the other), the sheer availability of quality instruments has changed so radically over the past 100 years we forget to consider its global effect. And of course, we are now in the Age of Information, essentially connected to the combined consciousness of the human race through this little glowing screen in front of us. We can see and hear thousands of trumpeters, through decades of recorded media, at any moment. The next generation of trumpeters will be a sight to behold indeed! Technology has changed the world and we have yet to understand its long-term effects.

In this modern era, more people are playing the trumpet throughout the world, simply because there are more People. If we were to keep the same approximate percentage of virtuosic playing, as say the Golden Age of the Baroque Trumpet, and then factored in today’s Global Population, that would give us thousands more outstanding trumpeters today. This will only continue.

The results of these three contributing factors are most evident in today’s Big Band trumpeters.

The big bands of the 30’s and 40’s were so numerous; there were literally hundreds of working trumpeters. Out of that number, only a relatively small percent of them had the chops and training to play lead. Even the big name outfits only had one or two cats covering lead, the others really couldn’t (or wouldn’t) deal with the range requirements of the charts. I’m not knocking any of these players, far be it, the situation of today has just changed, that’s all.

The GRP big band from 1992 is an example of a band comprised of “stars”; now it’s commonplace for name big bands to be comprised entirely of absolute monsters, including the trumpet sections. The soloists are often lead players, and the lead players will often improvise. This could arguably be due to the increase in skill amongst the professional ranks in conjunction with the current number of working big bands.

The common division of roles still found in academia is simply not true in the professional arena. Most college bands are reading music that was actually written for college jazz ensembles. This of course creates a vicious circle of low expectations for big band trumpeters. The need isn’t there to develop a section of skilled individuals, because the charts are expressly written for their “assigned skills” (i.e. 2^nd = solo, 1^st = lead, 3^rd & 4^th = section). High school bands are even worse. Everyone SHOULD solo and everyone SHOULD play some lead. Before you think I don’t understand the difficulties of academia, consider the expectations of a professional Symphonic Orchestra musician. Nobody would ever expect a young professional to successfully audition for an orchestra after only focusing on the fourth trumpet part throughout their entire academic studies! Why is this considered OK for a Jazz musician?? In NYC, every chair can play every other chair on 97% of the charts. Plus, solos are often determined by the leader; when they point at you, blow!

When I listen to modern jazz trumpeters, especially when they are playing within the high-energy environment of a large ensemble, I realize the overall level of individual skill has risen dramatically during the past 50 years. They are not only heavy weight soloists, but are also outstanding section players (tone, pitch, blend), sight-readers, and can hold down a lead book if needed. Some of the names you may recognize are: Greg Gisbert, Sean Jones, Ryan Kisor, Wynton Marsalis, Alex Norris, Terell Stafford, Jim Seeley, and there are many, many more out there burning it up.

I believe we are entering a new golden age of the jazz trumpet. Dig it!