Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Jazz On Campus
School Notes
Souza Lima’s 30-
Year Brazilian Beat
In its primitive stages, the Conservatorio
Musical Souza Lima was a modest, smalltime
school, hosting limited lessons in ear training
and classical theory. Overshadowed by the
vast cityscape of São Paulo, Brazil, the institute
has managed to retain its homey, neighborhood
feel, but not its strict classical repertory.
Thirty years later, Souza Lima is “the oasis in an
urban jungle” for Brazil’s most promising young
jazz musicians, according to saxophonist Dave
Liebman. Students range from degree-seekers
to 8-year-old kids coming in for lessons.
“It’s very much the model of a Third World
country’s school, where you have a local school
in addition to an accredited place,” Liebman said.
Liebman was formally introduced to Souza
Lima when the jazz-education organization
he founded, the International Association of
Schools of Jazz (IASJ), held its annual meeting
at the conservatory last year. Hosting IASJ is just
one recent example of how Souza Lima has tried
to advance its curriculum and overall educational
philosophy—and embrace globalization—
over the last three decades.
“We want to expand our population of international
students and offer more international
progams,” said Lupa Santiago, academic dean
of the Conservatorio Musical Souza Lima.
The initial step toward Souza Lima’s
interntional expansion was its partnership with
the Berklee College of Music in 2000. Eight
years earlier, Souza Lima established its contemporary
music program as well as the first
of three additional satellite locations throughout
São Paulo.
Fast-forward to 2012, and Souza Lima boasts
an impressive offering of undergraduate classes
for all instruments and voice, group classes in
subjects such as harmony, analysis and counterpoint,
an all-ages conservatory program and two
summer programs. The faculty is a who’s who
of Brazilian artists who further underscore the
country’s mastery and appreciation of musical
technique.
“It’s probably the most musical culture in all
the world as far as naturally gifted people,”
Liebman said. But for the country that birthed
bossa nova and Antônio Carlos Jobim, American
jazz is another animal entirely. “In a way,
[American music] is very advanced,” Liebman
said. “Harmonically, it’s learning a music that’s
very foreign to them.”
For Souza Lima students of the 21st century,
the ability to access information on American
and Western European music via the Internet has
piqued their natural curiosity in learning about
bebop and fusion.
Lupa Santiago
“Students will ask, ‘What did Miles and
Coltrane do?’” Liebman explained. “There’s an
inquisitiveness to learn something that we’ve
already accepted as mundane here in America.”
Liebman also attributed Souza Lima’s success
to the entrepreneurial talents of its founder,
Antonio Mario da Silva. “To get funding
in a place like Brazil, a country with such a
long economic history, with the Olympics and
everything that’s going on there—that’s quite
an accomplishment,” he said.
For the 30th anniversary, the Souza Lima
faculty plans to take a multi-pronged approach
to spending these funds. The school is publishing
a series of educational materials focusing
on Brazilian music, including a special-edition
book by famed bossa nova composer Roberto
Menescal. Another initiative, a program called
“Berklee On The Road,” features a four-day
improvisation program for 100 students on the
Conservatorio Musical Souza Lima campus.
The camp will consist of jam sessions and concerts
spearheaded simultaneously by Berklee
and Souza Lima instructors.
Santiago and da Silva have also been
instrumental in collaborating with jazz education
associations outside of IASJ, especially
within Latin America. The school plans to host
forthcoming international meetings organized
by the Congress of Latin American Schools
of Music (CLAEM) and the International
Rhythmic Studies Association (IRSA).
“[Our mission is] to offer practical and scholarly
learning experiences, to enable students to
be part of the music field in a global society, contributing
with a creative spirit, integrity and values,”
Santiago said. “It is growing fast, and we
want to keep the college growing, too.”
—Hilary Brown
Victor KobayashI
Peter Erskine
Erskine Says: University of Southern
California Professor of Practice and Director
of Drumset Studies Peter Erskine has
released a collection of educational DVDs.
Recorded at the DrumChannel.com studio
and produced by Don Lombardi, Peter Erskine:
Everything I Know, A Work In Progress
is a series of video lessons inspired by the
drummer’s master classes and pedagogy.
Details: usc.edu
Inspired by Ray: The Berklee College of
Music hosted a symposium Sept. 21–23
dedicated to exploring the career, musicality
and broad influence of Ray Charles.
“Inspired By Ray: The Ray Charles Symposium”
included performances by bluegrass
artist Ricky Skaggs, guitarist John Scofield
and singer-songwriter Raul Midón, as well as
a panel discussion with authors and journalists.
Details: berklee.edu
Cedar Theatre: The Juilliard School kicked
off its jazz season on Oct. 1 with “The Music
Of Cedar Walton,” a series of ensemble
performances centered around the pianist’s
original compositions. A week earlier, the
NEA Jazz Master coached a Juilliard master
class to explain the arrangements.
Details: juilliard.edu
Jazz at the Sandbar: The University of
New Orleans’ Fall 2012 Jazz @ the Sandbar
Series began on Oct. 3 with a performance
by pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis, who
performed with New Orleans-based guitarist
Brian Seeger’s combo of young composers.
The Wednesday-night concert series also includes
performances by saxophonist Derek
Douget and pianist Jonathan Lefcoski.
Details: uno.edu
New Ensemble: Five Towns College has
created two new ensembles for high-school
students that will commence during the
2012–2013 school year. Both the Jazz Ensemble
and the Jazz Guitar Ensemble meet
once a week. Details: ftc.com
110 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2012