Princeton - PWB 021698 - Princetonians jazz it up

Princeton Weekly Bulletin, February 16, 1998

Princetonians jazz it up

Program provides wide range of academic and performance opportunities

By Caroline Moseley

Jazz -- America's best-known indigenous art form -- is a vital presence on the Princeton campus.

That jazz flourishes here in all its stylistic manifestations is largely attributable to Anthony D.J. Branker, who has been visiting associate professor of music and director of the University Jazz Ensembles since 1989.

A member of the Class of 1980, Branker majored in music, earned a certificate in Afro-American Studies and went on for a master's degree in jazz pedagogy at the University of Miami. A professional trumpeter and composer, he "always wanted to establish a jazz program" at his alma mater, he says. Princeton now offers students the opportunity to perform in one of several jazz ensembles, to earn a certificate in the Program in Musical Performance with an emphasis on jazz, and to study jazz instruments and composition. Branker coordinates all jazz-related activities.

Wide repertoire

The jazz ensemble program consists of two 17-piece big bands -- the Concert Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble II -- and a variety of smaller groups. Frequently heard in public performance are the Concert Jazz, Monk/Mingus, Hard Bop and Jazz II ensembles.

The ensembles perform "a wide repertoire representing different stylistic periods, and concentrate on the development of improvisational skills," Branker says. Over the years, the Concert Jazz Ensemble has undertaken some "extremely challenging projects in concert programming, such as Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's monumental 'Far East Suite,' Dizzy Gillespie and Lalo Schifrin's Afro-centric `Gillespiana Suite', and an all-Ellington program entitled `Portraits by Ellington.'"

Branker is proud that the ensembles have the opportunity to "appear regularly in concert with such renowned jazz artists as trumpeters Clark Terry and Jon Faddis, saxophonists Benny Carter and Phil Woods, and guitarist Stanley Jordan '81." He has also arranged master classes and guest performances with the Dr. Billy Taylor Trio, Roy Hargrove, James Williams, Terence Blanchard and Bobby Watson, among others.

Basis for self-expression

The ensembles are "the mainstay of the jazz scene at Princeton," according to Marissa Steingold '98, a music major also earning a certificate in musical performance, who is jazz vocalist for the Concert Jazz Ensemble and the Monk/Mingus Ensemble.

Approximately 50 students play in one or another of the ensembles, says Branker. "Most are not music majors, but you'd never know it."

Many, but by no means all, of these musicians study jazz instrumentation through the instructional program offered by the Music Department to all undergraduates. According to Branker, "Students study the theoretical principles of the jazz idiom in an effort to formulate a basis for self-expression as improvisers and composers. This includes an exploration of the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic components of the music."

John Arrucci, who teaches percussion, points out that "A basic difference between classical music and jazz is that a jazz performer has to be a composer as well."

Trumpet and flugelhorn

Princeton's teachers of instrumental music and voice performance were featured last fall in an evening of chamber jazz sponsored by the Richardson Chamber Players: percussionist Arrucci, Bruce Arnold on guitar, Michael Cochrane on piano, and director Branker on trumpet and flugelhorn. They were joined by bassist Darryl Hall.

Arrucci, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, is a world musician whose work embraces many instruments and traditions. Arnold, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, currently teaches at New York University as well as Princeton. Cochrane, who has recorded four albums as a leader, also teaches at NYU and Rutgers.

Branker himself plays jazz, R&B, Latin and World Beat trumpet. He performs regularly with the Spirit of Life Ensemble, the resident orchestra at Manhattan's Sweet Basil jazz club. His compositions have won prizes from the International Association of Jazz Educators, and his work was featured at the 1994 ASCAP Jazz Songwriters Showcase. Also an associate professor of music and director of jazz studies at Hunter College (CUNY), at Princeton he teaches Introduction to Jazz and has taught Projects in Jazz Composition and Performance.

The vitality of jazz at Princeton has begun to attract dedicated musicians to what Branker believes is "the number one jazz program in the Ivy League."

Jazz lovers, take note: The Concert Jazz Ensemble will celebrate the works of jazz composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn on February 21 at 8:00 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium. The concert will also feature the Monk/Mingus Ensemble.