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78 DOWNBEAT April 2010 Jazz On Campus Eastman School Establishes Niewood Scholarship After saxophonist Gerry Niewood died in an airplane crash last winter, his wife, Gurly, began to look for ways to honor his memory. She began consultations with Bob Sneider, who played guitar alongside Niewood in Chuck Mangione’s Band from 1994 to 1997 and who is now the instructor of jazz guitar at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and chair of the Eastman community music school jazz studies department. Both Gurly and Gerry Niewood graduated from the school. An initial wave of generosity from the Glen Ridge Congregational Church in New Jersey led Gurly Niewood and Sneider to establish a scholarship fund in Niewood’s memory at Eastman. Gurly explained that scholarship money had enabled Niewood as well as his two children to attend college, and that now the family “had a chance to create a scholarship where a young musician can start down the path to realize their own dreams,” she said. After discussions with Eastman’s development office and the jazz studies department, the Gerry Niewood Memorial Scholarship fund was established to provide support for a deserving undergraduate student pursuing a major in jazz studies and performance at the Eastman School of Music. With a goal of raising $50,000 as an endowment, the jazz studies department began looking for ways to kick-start the campaign. They hit upon the idea of presenting a concert of Niewood’s music, arranged by his colleagues for the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble. Both ensembles had a shared concert date already on the books (Oct. 14) and turned it over to the scholarshipraising efforts. The date also coincided with the first week of celebrations in the newly redesigned and acoustically refined Eastman Theatre. More than $40,500 was raised at the concert. Eastman music dean Douglas Lowry said the scholarship would ensure that “generations of promising jazz musicians will have the same opportunity Gerry had.” “I’m hoping this is the seed that will plant things with people close to Gerry,” said jazz Adam Niewood (left), Kay Niewood and Gurly Niewood department chair and pianist Harold Danko. “We’re just starting to see what we can do with it.” The memorial concert idea was expanded to include an afternoon panel discussion where many of Niewood’s school friends and professional associates reminisced about his contribution to the establishment of the Eastman jazz program. Panelists included Chuck Mangione, Niewood’s childhood friend from Rochester and director of the first official Eastman Jazz Big Band; Gap Mangione, a mainstay of the Rochester jazz scene; saxophonists Rick Lawn and Pat LaBarbera; and trumpeter Lew Soloff and Sneider. Niewood was the jazz ensemble’s first lead alto saxophonist as well as an active participant in numerous unofficial on-campus sessions that helped jazz gain a foothold in the traditional conservatory environment. The participants acknowledged Niewood’s work ethic and musical marksmanship. “I never heard him play a ‘bad’ note, let alone a wrong note,” Danko said. The concert began with a backdrop of slide projections of Niewood playing sax and alto flute or mugging for the camera; it closed with an empty stage and a recording of Niewood playing flute and soprano sax on his tunes “Essence” and “Prelude To A Vision.” The program featured original Niewood compositions that had never been played in public. Arranger Rich DeRosa selected 10 songs that formed the basis of a suite titled, “Treasures From The Attic”—a reference to his private space at his home in New Jersey, where he would often practice for 14 hours straight. —Peter Rothbart GERRY SZYMANSKI
School Notes George Colligan Colligan’s Canada: Pianist George Colligan has joined the faculty of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Details: umanitoba.ca Percussive Anniversary: The 20th annual Day of Percussion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., will be held on April 17. Along with the school’s jazz ensemble and marimba choir, guests will include xylophone player Bob Becker. Details: concordiacollege.edu Texas Tribute: The Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts’ jazz combo has released Tribute, a memorial album for student James Kings Jr., who was killed in 2008. Along with the student band (under Bart Marantz’s direction), Carl Allen and Jeff “Tain” Watts make guest appearances. Details: btwhsptsa.org/jazz.htm Blues Talk: Dominican University in Oak Park, Ill., has opened registration for its Blues and the Spirit symposium, which will be held on June 9 and 10 to coincide with the centennial of Howlin’ Wolf’s birth. Panelists will also speak about the connections among American musical roots. Details: dom.edu/blues Schneider Guests: Maria Schneider will join William Paterson University’s jazz orchestra to serve as guest conductor for its April 23 concert at Shea Center. Her longtime collaborator and Paterson faculty member, saxophonist Rich Perry, will also perform. Schneider will also premiere a new work with the Kronos Quartet at Duke University on April 10. Details: wpunj.edu; dukeu.edu Howard Sings: The Howard University jazz choir, Afro Blue (under Connaitre Miller’s direction), appears on violinist John Blake Jr.’s new disc, Motherless Child (ARC). Details: johnblakejr.com April 2010 DOWNBEAT 79
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Chords & Discords Jamal’s Constel
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Dana Hall ; Illuminating Space When
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Steve Colson ; Self-Sufficient Gift
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