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Anyone here going to Jeff Antoniuk's MD. Summer Jazz in July?
Maryland Summer Jazz....
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I am going to both sessions. MSJ is a great experience. Different than Aebersold.
I have been studying with Jeff and participating in one of his JBM combos for over two years.
Jeff's groups will be performing in Annapolis over the next few months. My group and two others will be appearing at 49 West on 30 June. Several other groups will be performing outdoors on West Street as part of the "First Sundays" celebration. They will perform on the first Sunday in August and the first Sunday in September. Hope that some of you will stop by.
I have been studying with Jeff and participating in one of his JBM combos for over two years.
Jeff's groups will be performing in Annapolis over the next few months. My group and two others will be appearing at 49 West on 30 June. Several other groups will be performing outdoors on West Street as part of the "First Sundays" celebration. They will perform on the first Sunday in August and the first Sunday in September. Hope that some of you will stop by.
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Yeah, I'll be at the 1st session as well. Maybe we'll meet on I-95. I'm a late bloomer, fairly noOb, and am really apprehensive about this whole thing.....MoonPie said:
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Best bet is to try to relax and enjoy. Last year, players were at all levels. The guy I admired most was a trombone player who got completely lost after about 2 measures on each tune but kept playing loud and strong.catseyeweb said:
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Hey Catseye-
Want a 2 hour teaser? I'm in one of his 'Masters' groups and will be out of town during our next practice. If you feel like making the drive, you could sub for me...
. I'll even pick up half the tab...
It would be Saturday June 9th in Annapolis, Md from 11 am to 1 pm - playing in a septet with other re-beginners directed by Jeff A. Send me a pm if interested. You too Johnny and Moonpie. It is a ton of fun.
I really wish I could go to camp this year, but we have some business to attend to which won't allow me to be there...
Our group has had many of the faculty as guest conductors of our group over the past couple of years - including Jim McFAlls, Steve Herberman, Frank Russo, Tom Baldwin and Dave Ballou. They are all great teachers who understand and appreciate where 9-5er noobs are coming from.
Just relax, and you'll have a great time! -Jeff M
Want a 2 hour teaser? I'm in one of his 'Masters' groups and will be out of town during our next practice. If you feel like making the drive, you could sub for me...
. I'll even pick up half the tab...It would be Saturday June 9th in Annapolis, Md from 11 am to 1 pm - playing in a septet with other re-beginners directed by Jeff A. Send me a pm if interested. You too Johnny and Moonpie. It is a ton of fun.
I really wish I could go to camp this year, but we have some business to attend to which won't allow me to be there...
Our group has had many of the faculty as guest conductors of our group over the past couple of years - including Jim McFAlls, Steve Herberman, Frank Russo, Tom Baldwin and Dave Ballou. They are all great teachers who understand and appreciate where 9-5er noobs are coming from.
Just relax, and you'll have a great time! -Jeff M
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I'd LOVE to, but we're talking ~6 hours driving one way....JMac said:Hey Catseye-
Want a 2 hour teaser? I'm in one of his 'Masters' groups and will be out of town during our next practice. If you feel like making the drive, you could sub for me...
It would be Saturday June 9th in Annapolis, Md from 11 am to 1 pm - playing in a septet with other re-beginners directed by Jeff A. Send me a pm if interested. You too Johnny and Moonpie. It is a ton of fun.
I really wish I could go to camp this year, but we have some business to attend to which won't allow me to be there...
Our group has had many of the faculty as guest conductors of our group over the past couple of years - including Jim McFAlls, Steve Herberman, Frank Russo, Tom Baldwin and Dave Ballou. They are all great teachers who understand and appreciate where 9-5er noobs are coming from.
Just relax, and you'll have a great time! -Jeff M
Hopefully someone will be able to do this. Thanks!
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Wow!
Well, just returned from MSJ, and it was quite an experience. I had a couple of gripes, but overall, the session left me with a positive feeling, and the knowledge that I need more knowledge! I also got to meet Moonpie (and get the story behind that name), and Johnnysax, which is always a cool thing, and got some unique exposure to material and people that I never would have met otherwise, most notably Grammy winning Jeff Coffin, sax player for Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews and Lynard Skynard (hear him here). He was a guest instructor, and not only helped me out on some fundamentals as well as sharing great info on a variety of subjects for the whole group, but also put on a demonstration of what CAN be done with a horn that is probably most accurately described as "shocking" (in a very good way)...... Here's a clue:
![]()
In addition to the seminars, I got to go out to dinner with him, talk about non-sax stuff, look through a few hundred photos he's taken from around the world (his creative eye behind a camera is also outrageous) and get to know him just a little. It alone was worth the price, but in the future, I would highly recommend everyone within reach of MD to check this program out. Jeff Antuniuk is very good, has a great staff at his disposal, has a good facility at hand and has done his homework when it comes down to program. The only gripe I had was that there was some weakness in the agenda for those with lesser knowledge of chords/scales, but after talking to him, I feel that will be addressed in the future. I now know how critical this knowledge is to my future, but at the time it was very frustrating.
This is only the 3rd yr for this program, and I help run a sportscar track program now in it's 8th yr, and I know how long it takes to get it down. This was a good program and I think it will only get better as time goes on. I will be back.
Well, just returned from MSJ, and it was quite an experience. I had a couple of gripes, but overall, the session left me with a positive feeling, and the knowledge that I need more knowledge! I also got to meet Moonpie (and get the story behind that name), and Johnnysax, which is always a cool thing, and got some unique exposure to material and people that I never would have met otherwise, most notably Grammy winning Jeff Coffin, sax player for Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews and Lynard Skynard (hear him here). He was a guest instructor, and not only helped me out on some fundamentals as well as sharing great info on a variety of subjects for the whole group, but also put on a demonstration of what CAN be done with a horn that is probably most accurately described as "shocking" (in a very good way)...... Here's a clue:
In addition to the seminars, I got to go out to dinner with him, talk about non-sax stuff, look through a few hundred photos he's taken from around the world (his creative eye behind a camera is also outrageous) and get to know him just a little. It alone was worth the price, but in the future, I would highly recommend everyone within reach of MD to check this program out. Jeff Antuniuk is very good, has a great staff at his disposal, has a good facility at hand and has done his homework when it comes down to program. The only gripe I had was that there was some weakness in the agenda for those with lesser knowledge of chords/scales, but after talking to him, I feel that will be addressed in the future. I now know how critical this knowledge is to my future, but at the time it was very frustrating.
This is only the 3rd yr for this program, and I help run a sportscar track program now in it's 8th yr, and I know how long it takes to get it down. This was a good program and I think it will only get better as time goes on. I will be back.
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It was great to see a couple of SOTWers at MSJ. I am going back next week as I am a glutton for punishment. I didn't learn the meaning of Moonpie. Perhaps you can share.
I think the word for Jeff Coffin's comand of the sax is "stunning". He is a great example of how the university approach to jazz educantion is bearing fruit.
As for the chords and scales, I put in about a year and half of ~1 hour/day of practice. I limited myself to major, dominant, minor, half-diminished, and diminished 7th chords. This is still not enough as I don't recognize the chords to a new tune quickly enough to play it cold like I hear others do. As a participant in Jeff's JBM program, where we can work on tunes over a longer period, this is not a problem. I continue to study chords but only in the context of the tunes we are playing and have gotten a bit rusty.
It is difficult to handle players with less theoretical basis for their playing in a context like MSJ. It is greatly enabling to look at chord progression and to understand the tonalities present. It does little good to hear a teacher spout off about what is going on in a tune if the student is not ready. However, it is essential to mix students with different levels of experience. Perhaps MSJ participants would benefit from a "Practice Strategy" elective.
I think the word for Jeff Coffin's comand of the sax is "stunning". He is a great example of how the university approach to jazz educantion is bearing fruit.
As for the chords and scales, I put in about a year and half of ~1 hour/day of practice. I limited myself to major, dominant, minor, half-diminished, and diminished 7th chords. This is still not enough as I don't recognize the chords to a new tune quickly enough to play it cold like I hear others do. As a participant in Jeff's JBM program, where we can work on tunes over a longer period, this is not a problem. I continue to study chords but only in the context of the tunes we are playing and have gotten a bit rusty.
It is difficult to handle players with less theoretical basis for their playing in a context like MSJ. It is greatly enabling to look at chord progression and to understand the tonalities present. It does little good to hear a teacher spout off about what is going on in a tune if the student is not ready. However, it is essential to mix students with different levels of experience. Perhaps MSJ participants would benefit from a "Practice Strategy" elective.
Well, yes - MSJ was quite an experience ... Like CatsEyeWeb, I had some gripes, but left with a smile on my face and had my horn out the next night, practising at home - so that's a good thing, yes?
I've attended 2 very different "summer jazz camps" now - Jazz Vermont for several years, and now Maryland Summer Jazz. Both were good experiences overall, and I'm glad to have been there, but in both cases, I had some frustrations.
I'd never heard of Jeff Coffin before this camp. What an incredible player - I've never seen a musician who so completely "owned" the horn, as Jeff does.
Jeff Antoniuk (he runs the camp) is also a great player and a genuinely fun guy.
I was surprised that there were SO many sax players in relation to the other wind instruments: only 2 trumpet players and 2 trombone players, I think. And I think the trumpet and 'bone faculty members were extremely good players and also very good educators.
Anyway - I could go on for awhile ... but it was lots of fun to meet up with a couple of SOTW'ers there and I'm SO glad that there are people like Jeff Antoniuk who choose to provide this kind of opportunity for clue-less players like me!
I've attended 2 very different "summer jazz camps" now - Jazz Vermont for several years, and now Maryland Summer Jazz. Both were good experiences overall, and I'm glad to have been there, but in both cases, I had some frustrations.
I'd never heard of Jeff Coffin before this camp. What an incredible player - I've never seen a musician who so completely "owned" the horn, as Jeff does.
Jeff Antoniuk (he runs the camp) is also a great player and a genuinely fun guy.
I was surprised that there were SO many sax players in relation to the other wind instruments: only 2 trumpet players and 2 trombone players, I think. And I think the trumpet and 'bone faculty members were extremely good players and also very good educators.
Anyway - I could go on for awhile ... but it was lots of fun to meet up with a couple of SOTW'ers there and I'm SO glad that there are people like Jeff Antoniuk who choose to provide this kind of opportunity for clue-less players like me!
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Sorry we didn't have more time to socialize but we were all workin' hard. I heard you play. You're certainly not clueless. You sounded good and in control. I've noted in my experience with Jazz Band Masterclass that brass players are hard to come by. I guess the sax players are just having more fun.MoonPie said:
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I thought both of you did a very good job. The opportunities we had to play in front of the group were very good, and both of you sounded great. I had 7 guests come to the concert on Friday, and they were quite impressed, not only by the instructor session, but by the rest of us as well. About midway through Thursday, I was concerned that I was going to get up on Friday nite and make a big *** out of myself in front of my family. I was thinking about how much I might be able to get for my Super 20 ..... but when Friday nite was done, I actually felt pretty good about it.
The "Grand Finale" was pretty cool, because by then, everyone was pretty loose, and there were no rules or music to follow (coupled with the fact that we were jammin' in a key I happen to know ), and my guests said they noticed a big difference when we all kinda "cut loose"......
So, John, how was the 2nd session?
..... but when Friday nite was done, I actually felt pretty good about it.The "Grand Finale" was pretty cool, because by then, everyone was pretty loose, and there were no rules or music to follow (coupled with the fact that we were jammin' in a key I happen to know
), and my guests said they noticed a big difference when we all kinda "cut loose"......So, John, how was the 2nd session?
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The second session seemed a bit more low-key without Jeff Coffin. I managed to practice the head to the Charlap arrangement of 'S Wonderful so I was able to do a much better job on it. Between the two sessions I got to attack almost all the tunes. The scariest tune for me was "Blue in Green": real slow with a 10-bar form. Not a good match for my 4-bar-phrase brain.
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\johnnysax said:
For several years, I worked off and on with an alternative rock group, Reckless Abandon. (They would call me to blow tenor and flute when they got a gig that would support an extra musician in the bucks dept.) Once in a while, they called a 'bone player, too. I think it was that guy. LOL
I wanted to get to the MD Jazz thang, but was up to my ears playing in a pit orchestra at the time. Maybe next year.
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