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The “Folkwang Jazz Visiting Artists Program” starts with a blowoff
Saxophonist Chris Potter has joined Folkwang for four days
In the course of the new “Folkwang Visiting Artist Program” of the Folkwang Jazz Department, world class saxophonist Chris Potter dropped by to convey his knowledge and make music with the students for four days. StudiScout Felix Waltz was in on it and describes how the masterclass went.
Chris Potter (r.) at Folkwang | Foto: Elsa Wehmeier
It is not that typical in the jazz-scene that a masterclass takes place for more than two days, so it was quite a task for Chris to create varied content for that period of time, which seemed even more complicated in consideration of the fact that he didn’t have a band on his side. During the preparation that was really thought-provoking for him: “I was kind of scared to death, because it’s just me – there is no other teacher – for four full days. But I guess at the end it worked out!”
And it did indeed.
It all started like it used to start everytime before: Playing – so called – jazz standards (tunes, every jazz musician should know) with different formations and instrumentations together with the head of the class, Chris. This can be really refreshing because those tunes – some of them are nearly 100 years old – always sound a little different each time you play it, especially when you do it together with such an inspired musician.
So the masterclass got started and continued as a mix of playing standards, originals of Chris, listening to different kinds of music, talking about technical stuff and music in general.
At the second day he brought some new written pieces, which he never had rehearsed in any way before, so we were kind of the probands for these tunes that has quite a meaning for Chris, as he told me in an interview we had after the workshop:
“Sometimes I am not really sure, which way it (the piece) wants to go and I wanna leave some space for it to go in different directions. I am sure that, depending on the group of people I introduce it, it is kind of different. With one band it makes sense to play something in a certain kind of slow medium tempo, where there is another band that maybe just wants to be fast. That's a simple example. The actual musicians who are playing it, are the ones who are creating it, even if I wrote the notes. I like to approach my own music, if I can, as if it's not my band. I want to hear it from a more distant point of view, so I can hear, what works and what doesn't work.”
One morning Chris introduced us to the music he has been into. It all started with a track of the woman, who had come to be known as "The Queen of Soul”, Aretha Franklin, who passed away one week before. That was a quite intense moment, because it showed us all again, how beautiful music is. You really felt, how she loves to sing each note of the song she sings.
We listened to many different types of music like soul, country, African rhythm, etc. It was so exhilarant to see a jazz musician who is not just listening to jazz music but to all beautiful kinds of stuff in that wide field of art.
So it is not particular jazz, it is the music in general which is so meaningful to Chris: “It is not just for the moment you are feeling good. When you really need some connection with other people and you need that uplifting feeling, then the people really need music!”
After four tiring and inspiring days the masterclass was finally over, Chris went back to the USA for some records and we students had enough material to hit the shed again. It was a great start into a new chapter of the Folkwang Jazz Department.
> Read the whole interview Studiscout Felix Waltz had with Chris Potter (PDF)
Ein Beitrag im Rahmen des Projekts „Folkwang StudiScouts“.
Felix Waltz / 30. Oktober 2018