A Preview of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival

Summary

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All Of It (WNYC): A Preview of the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival

Host: Tiffany Hansen (in for Alison Stewart)
Air Date: May 1, 2024
Guests:

• Todd Stoll, Jazz Trumpeter & VP of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center
• Sherman Irby, Lead Alto Saxophonist, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
• Paul Korn, Assistant Principal/Band Director, Susan E. Wagner High School
• The Susan E. Wagner High School Jazz Band (students)

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the 29th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center, which celebrates the legendary Duke Ellington—whose 125th birthday would have been this week. The program features insightful conversations with educators and musicians, a focus on jazz education’s significance, and live performances from one of this year’s finalists, the Susan E. Wagner High School Jazz Band from Staten Island.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Legacy of Duke Ellington

• Relevance and Timelessness:
  • Both guests and host reflect on Ellington's enduring legacy in jazz and his unique blending of African American music with European classical traditions.
  • Sherman Irby:

    “He encompassed everything. The sophistication of melodic and harmonic ability, the mastery of those things. And so in his arrangements and his compositions, it had a sophistication that was timeless.” [10:57]

The Essentially Ellington Competition

• Monumental Opportunity:
  • The festival brings together 15 top high school jazz bands from across the country to compete and perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center, exposing young musicians to a national community of jazz enthusiasts.
  • Paul Korn:

    “We're about to go do one of the most fun things you can ever do—playing an instrument, surrounded by students all over the country who want to do the same thing.” [08:37]

• Selection Process:
  • Todd Stoll explains the competition’s structure, noting that bands submit recordings, are adjudicated by experts, and the country is divided into regions, with the top groups invited to NYC.
    • Todd Stoll:

      “It’s our 29th year. We’ve distributed almost 400,000 charts to over 7,000 schools, 55,000 bands. Over a million students have played this music every year.” [22:40]

The Educational Importance of Jazz

• Freedom and Discipline:
  • Jazz education cultivates both personal expression and group cooperation, echoing American cultural ideals.
  • Todd Stoll:

    “Teaching jazz, I believe, allows you the maximum amount of freedom of expression within the understanding of the sacrifice of what it means to be in a group." [17:15]

• Facing Adversity with Optimism:
  • The “blues aspect” of jazz teaches resilience and hope.
  • Stoll:

    “Things are not always going to be perfect, but we’ll be all right. We’ll get through this.” [17:54]

• Connecting Students with History:
  • Paul Korn describes teaching not just the music but the social and historical context, fostering a deeper appreciation among students.
    • Paul Korn:

      “We try to talk about the time period and, you know, social circumstances and just the reality of the country and the time.” [09:23]

    • He discusses the concept of “rent parties” and the roots of early Ellington works.

The Power and Philosophy of Imperfection in Jazz

• Authenticity Over Perfection:
  • Guests reinforce that Ellington’s music is about intention, emotion, and authenticity rather than note-for-note accuracy.
  • Sherman Irby:

    “Life is not perfect, you know, and jazz is a reflection of life. But the joy, just the act of doing it, that's the thing that you get out of it.” [07:15]

  • Todd Stoll (on Ellington’s philosophy):

    “Music is the art of the invisible. And Duke understood that.” [07:57]

  • Paul Korn:

    “We're never gonna sound like Duke Ellington. No one does. But we can have the same intent and desire behind it, and that's our goal.” [09:57]

The Challenge and Joy of Jazz Performance for Young Musicians

• Building Community:
  • Participation in competitions and events like Essentially Ellington strengthens bonds among students, both within individual schools and nationally.
  • Korn:

    “We were part of the New York community, but now we're more part of the United States community with all these other bands and directors and students...” [21:46]

• Encouraging New Generations:
  • Irby recalls how as a teen in Alabama, access to jazz was limited, highlighting the huge cultural progress competitions like Essentially Ellington represent.
  • Sherman Irby:

    “I'm from Alabama, and down there we didn't have, like, a first and jazz program in the high schools. That's why I said it's so fantastic that they have that here and that this movement is happening all over the country.” [18:51]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On passing down Ellington’s music:
  • Stoll:

    “The intent behind it is, you know, music is the art of the invisible. And Duke understood that.” [07:57]

• On the beauty of jazz:
  • Irby:

    “It's always something you can learn from it.” [06:33]

• On optimism and resilience:
  • Irby:

    “The optimism that comes after that, it just feels so good to have that. And that's, you know, again, it's about life. And I think that's the beauty of Duke Ellington's music. It does reflect life, the good and the bad.” [17:58]

• On the competition spirit:
  • Korn:

    “Competitions are good if you use them the right way... The competition doesn't define their intent and their authenticity. So it's a proud moment...” [21:46]

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Featured Live Performances

(All performed by the Susan E. Wagner High School Jazz Band)

• Rent Party Blues (early Ellington, classic New Orleans roots) [02:13–05:58]
• Star Crossed Lovers (1958, from Ellington’s Shakespearean suite, depicts Romeo and Juliet) [12:57–?]
• Blues a la Machito (a Latin jazz piece, reflecting expanding access to previously unavailable repertoire) [23:44–24:22]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:48: Episode begins; introduction and context for Essentially Ellington & Duke Ellington’s legacy
• 01:41: Guests introduced
• 02:13: Susan E. Wagner band performs “Rent Party Blues”
• 05:58: Discussion of the performance and Ellington's approach
• 09:23: Teaching the context/history of Ellington’s music
• 10:57: Why Ellington is foundational in jazz (Irby)
• 12:38: Introduction & performance of “Star Crossed Lovers”
• 17:15: The importance of jazz education (Stoll)
• 18:51: Irby on his first exposure to Ellington
• 20:21: Korn’s strategy for engaging students in jazz
• 21:46: Honor and community-building through jazz competitions
• 22:40: Stoll explains the competition selection process
• 23:44: Introduction and context for “Blues a la Machito”

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The Essence

This episode captures the vibrant spirit of youth-driven jazz and elucidates why Duke Ellington remains a pillar of American music. Through passionate discussion and stirring live student performances, it highlights both the timelessness of jazz and the profound, unifying lessons it imparts to new generations.

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Transcript

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[Paul Korn]

Can I take your order, miss?

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[Tiffany Hansen]

This is all of it. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. This week, Duke Ellington would be celebrating his 125th birthday. And soon, Jazz at Lincoln center will be commemorating Ellington's birthday with their 29th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival. For the competition, 15 high school jazz bands around the country are selected to come to New York and perform and compete at Jazz at Lincoln Center. One of the bands selected this year happens to hail from Staten Island. Students from Susan E. Wagner High School Jazz at Lincoln Center's essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band competition and festival is taking place May 9th through 11th. With us now to preview the festival is Todd Stoll, jazz trumpeter, vice president of education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Hello.

[Todd Stoll]

Good afternoon.

[Tiffany Hansen]

And Sherman Irby, lead alto saxophonist for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

[WNYC Host]

Hello.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Hello. And Paul Korn, assistant principal and band director at Staten Island's Susan E. Wagner High School, who has also brought along all of his students for us. Hello, Paul.

[Paul Korn]

Hello.

[Tiffany Hansen]

And you know what? No better way to get started than with a little music. We will hear Rent Party Blues from the Susan E. Wagner high school students.

[Paul Korn]

1, 2, 1, 2, 3.

[Tiffany Hansen]

That was the Susan E. Wagner High School band performing Rent Party Blues. They are one of 15 finalists for this year's Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band competition and Festival. Todd, that's a mouthful.

[Todd Stoll]

I tried to make it shorter for you. They won't let me do that. It's so exciting just to hear Jazz Link Center. One of our primary founding tenets is that all jazz is modern. And to hear a group of young people play some music from the late 1920s, it's very meaningful.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Right, Sherman, what's your response on hearing that?

[WNYC Host]

Oh, it's fantastic. You know, I think back to when I was in high school, I had none of this. And now for this to be offered to all these high school students all over the country, it's amazing. So to hear them play this chart with all that enthusiasm and care, you know, and want to try to be as perfect as they can and can't be, but to enjoy the moment of playing it, you know, and learning from it. Which is something that's beautiful about Duke Ellington's music. It's always something you can learn from it.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Well, I'll ask you to, you know, project what Duke Ellington might have thought, but he probably wouldn't have been so precious about it, would he, that it has to be perfect?

[WNYC Host]

No, no, because life is not perfect.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Right.

[WNYC Host]

You know, and jazz is a reflection of life. But the joy, just the act of doing it, that's, that's the thing that you get out of it.

[Todd Stoll]

Yeah, it's the intent. The intent. I mean, if you listen to Ellington's recordings, there's no two recordings are the same and some of them of the same composition are wildly different. Jimmy Hamilton used to tell our band, that's right. You know, the band was founded the Jazz Lincoln Center Orchestra with the surviving members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The great clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton, who had been in the band for almost 30 years, said, this is Duke Ellington's music. It's going to be different, you know, personalize your parts. And it was something that we tried to get across to the kids. The pressure of the competition makes folks strive. You know, it gives you a laser, like focus on things. The intent behind it is, you know, music is the art of the invisible. And Duke understood that.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Paul, do you feel that pressure?

[Paul Korn]

No, no, I feel happy. You know, I think of what Sherman said when I was a kid, we couldn't. You couldn't play any Duke Ellington music unless you knew someone who had it. Maybe someone who was in a band somewhere that had a copy but you couldn't buy it. And that's one of the gifts that Jezebel Lincoln center has given the whole country, really the whole world. Now you can get hundreds of Ellington charts, plus great other artists that they featured.

[Tiffany Hansen]

And for people who don't know, charts means like music, the music, the music, Right.

[Paul Korn]

So, you know, I don't feel pressure, I feel happy. We're about to go do one of the most fun things you can ever do. Playing an instrument, surrounded by students all over the country who want to do the same thing. So how often you get fortunate enough to be surrounded by like minded people who have same goal and vibe and appreciation for each other. So, you know, we got, we were in it last year and we knew it would be fun and it was even better than we could have hoped for. And all year getting ready for it. This year it was like, well, we want to try and have that much fun again, because is not easy. And so we're just. We're happy.

[Tiffany Hansen]

So hearing the stories about Duke Ellington and the music, how do you convey that to your students? Does it inform their playing, do you think?

[Paul Korn]

Definitely. You know, we try to talk about the time period and, you know, social circumstances and just the reality of the country and the time. You know, this first piece we played is so early Duke, and you feel and hear the New Orleans roots in it. And, you know, a rent party. You know, we talked about, anyone know what a rent party is? Which we didn't at first, but now we know, and we. We try to be authentic in our intent and in our. In our emotion of what we play. You know, we're never gonna sound like Duke Ellington. No one does.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Right.

[Paul Korn]

But we can have the same intent and desire behind it, and that's our goal. And yes, we try to play as perfectly as we can because that's what we strive for. But the reality is, none of us will ever be perfect. And that's okay. You know, the intent and the authenticity.

[Todd Stoll]

Is the goal, but you could. You could create the perfect feeling. It's about the feeling of the music. The music has things intrinsic in it that are, you know, part of our shared humanity. And Duke was really aware of that feeling in the band. And we try to get people to understand that it's not just about the technical aspects, but it's about the feeling the music can create and bring us together.

[Tiffany Hansen]

I don't think there's any. Well, there probably is, but I can't imagine someone who hasn't heard the name Duke Ellington, especially in this city. We would hope. Well, we're doing it. We're working on. We're going to fix that today. Why? Just tell us, Sherman. Why is he such a foundational figure in jazz?

[WNYC Host]

He encompassed everything. The sophistication of melodic and harmonic ability, the mastery of those things. And he took some of the European classical traditions and folk music and New Orleans music and kind of put it all together and added the things that he learned in his upbringing as far as music was concerned. So he had all this stuff. And so in his. His arrangements and his compositions, it had a sophistication that was timeless. So when you play a composition by him, you learn something. Every time you play it, it's like there's another gem in there. Just like all great music like Beethoven, like Bach, it's the same type of thing. That's why I think it's so special. And he was the. I don't know, the guiding light to everybody else that came after him during this time and after him about how this music should be, you know, presented.

[Tiffany Hansen]

We're going to hear more Duke Ellington in a minute. We're going to hear Star Crossed Lovers. Paul, I'll talk to you about that in a second. We're going to just take a quick break. You are listening to all of it. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. More Duke Ellington on the way. This is all of it. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. We've been hearing Staten Island's Susan E. Wagner High School band. Paul, we're gonna hear another tune here. What is it?

[Paul Korn]

This is Star Crossed Lovers, one of Duke's most beautiful and meaningful ballads.

[Tiffany Hansen]

What year was this putting you on the spot?

[Paul Korn]

58. 58.

[Todd Stoll]

19. 58.

[Paul Korn]

1958.

[Tiffany Hansen]

58. All right. The song, the piece. The peace. The song.

[Paul Korn]

Either one is good.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Okay. It's called Star Crossed Lovers. Let's hear it.

[Paul Korn]

Thank you.

[Todd Stoll]

It's from Duke Ellington's Shakespearean suite. It depicts Romeo and Juliet.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Oh, I like that. Okay. Good context. Thank you, Paul. SA Those were students from Susan E. Wagner High School on Staten Island. We've been talking about the essentially Ellington high school jazz band competition and festival taking place at Jazz at Lincoln Center, May 9th through 11th. Todd Stoll is jazz trumpeter, vice president of education of Jazz at Jazz at Lincoln Center. So, Todd, why is teaching jazz so important?

[Todd Stoll]

Teaching jazz, I believe, allows you the maximum amount of freedom of expression within the understanding of the sacrifice of what it means to be in a group. The two things that I think America probably does the best, according to our Constitution and our way of life, is that you can be yourself. But there's a sacrifice to the greatness of all of us coming together that jazz music teaches us. And then there's also the blues aspect of it, which means, you know, you have to face adversity with persistent optimism. Things are not always going to be perfect, but we'll be all right. We'll get through this.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Sherman, is there an optimism in Duke Ellington's music?

[WNYC Host]

All over it. I was just listening to them perform and. And what was of note is the way that Duke used tension and release, you know, a period of unrest. It may be just one second, but that release because of the tension, because of that strife, the release of that, you know, the optimism that comes after that, it just feels so good to have that. And that's, you know, again, it's about life. And I think that's the beauty of Duke Ellington's music. It does reflect life, the good and the bad.

[Todd Stoll]

Duke understood the reconciliation of opposites.

[WNYC Host]

Oh, yeah, that's what that is. If you do something bad, you hope that something good will come after.

[Tiffany Hansen]

How old was young Sherman when Sherman first learned about Duke Ellington?

[WNYC Host]

I learned about Duke Ellington when I was in church, 10th grade, so about 16 years old. And it was only the song Take the A Train. And the first thing I heard about Duke Elton was actually Stevie Wonder doing Sir Duke. It's terrible. I'm from Alabama, and down there we didn't have, like, a first and jazz program in the high schools. That's why I said it's so fantastic that they have that here and that this movement is happening all over the country. But I did not understand Duke at that time. And the older I've gotten, the more I start to understand it. And I think I might have understood it more if I had this type of training, this kind of just being around the music, getting a chance to hear it as often and someone to explain what it is. You know, what am I hearing? They're getting the opportunity to have somebody explain what it is that they're hearing and then help them understand what they're feeling after they play it. So if I'd had that, you know.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Paul, you're in charge of that understanding at your school. How do you approach that? How do you approach helping young people come to an understanding about what jazz is, what it represents? As Todd was saying to our country, to us, it's a big. It's the American art form.

[Paul Korn]

Yes.

[Tiffany Hansen]

How do you approach that?

[Paul Korn]

Well, I think it starts with a hook. You know, most people, young people, maybe any age person, they need to be interested in it for some reason first, so finding something that they like about it. Now, this is my 18th year at Wagner High School, so now the hook is a little built in because the band has been around for a while, and it's fun and it sounds good. And people who play instruments and like it, they know about it. But, you know, just playing blues and Roots for them by Charles Mingus. Any kid who likes playing an instrument, all of a sudden now they might want to play some jazz or, you know, every day I have the Blues by Count Basie, you know, with Joe Williams singing. You know, anyone who likes music is all of a sudden, I think I might want to do that. And we talk about it with the music staff in my school a lot, where the more advanced they are the more we can dig in and get to the depth of the music and the inner part, you know, because when you're struggling to just play the right notes and make a sound, to know where your fingers go, that could be quite a lot. So, you know, the students playing here today, they've put in a tremendous amount of work and effort to get this far, to be able to get that deep into the music.

[Tiffany Hansen]

So it's truly an honor for your school to be part of this competition.

[Paul Korn]

Yes, it's an honor. It's an honor to play Duke's music whether it's a competition or not. But to be able to. You know, we talk about it a lot. You know, competitions are good if you use them the right way. It's fun to be competitive. There's nothing wrong with being competitive. But the competition doesn't define their intent and their authenticity. So it's a proud moment and a congratulatory moment that they've reached a level to be able to make it in with their peers at such a high level. And we love that part of it. And then the community, it's like we were part of the New York community, but now we're more part of the United States community with all these other bands and directors and students, you know, doing of a like mind on a similar mission.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Todd, there are 15 bands from around the country that are coming in for this competition. So just give us a little background on how that all comes about.

[Todd Stoll]

So it's our 29th year. We've distributed almost 400,000 charts to over 7,000 schools, 55,000 bands. Over a million students have played this music every year. Bands submit recordings. We have a panel of experts that adjudicate them. All the bands get feedback written. Then there's another round where the finalists are chosen. We have the country divided into five regions, not unlike NCAA basketball, and we picked the top three from each region to come to New York City.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Got it. We have been talking with. That was Todd Stoll, jazz trumpeter, vice president of education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Todd, thank you for coming in.

[Todd Stoll]

Thank you.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Sherman Irby, lead alto saxophonist for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Sherman, a pleasure.

[WNYC Host]

My pleasure.

[Tiffany Hansen]

And Paul Korn, assistant principal band director at Staten Island's Susan E. Wagner High School. Paul, I would like to go out on music. I have on my list Blues at. You're gonna have to say it.

[Paul Korn]

Blues a la Machito.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Okay, so tell us about that.

[Paul Korn]

This was a great, great piece by the Machito Orchestra. This was part of the music featured last year. With the essentially Ellington competition and festival for the last number of years, they featured different artists, which has been great. So now the whole country has access to Machido, one of the great Latin bands, the Palladium era. And you couldn't get any of this music until last year. And now there are bands all over the country. You're getting to play some machito, which is, you know, a real blessing. It's just so much fun.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Sounds great.

[Paul Korn]

So that's what we got for so let's do it.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Students from Susan E. Wagner High School Jazz at Lincoln Center's essentially Ellington High School jazz band competition and festival Festival is taking place May 9th through 11th. Again, gentlemen, thank you. And students, thank you.

[Todd Stoll]

Jazz.org for more information jazz.org for more info.

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I'mma put you on, nephew.

[WNYC Host]

All right.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Welcome to McDonald's.

[Paul Korn]

Can I take your order, miss?

[McDonald's Customer]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack Wrap is back.

[Tiffany Hansen]

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