Last Friday the Oregonian ran a piece on Rob Scheps and the JazzCode. Rob is one of my all time favorite sax players and in the last six months, we have recorded four albums together in New York and Oslo. Here is the article:
IN MUSIC, LIKE LIFE, CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING -- To improvise effectively in a jazz group, you have to know what to do and when to do it. As the situation unfolds, you must act decisively while keeping open your options for the next move.
Cameron Brown, Carl Stormer, Rob Scheps, Georg “Jojje” Wadenius, and Jamie Reynolds at Rainbow Studios in Oslo while recording “In the Moment”That makes a pretty good life strategy as well, and such spontaneous teamwork might be a useful tactic for business.
It's the essence of jazz, anyway, and its lesson applies to many endeavors: Context is everything.
Here's how it works for Rob Scheps.
Since he moved to Portland 10 years ago, the saxophonist and composer has worked in a variety of musical contexts, including his hard-blowing Core-tet, the funk jazz band Magnets, the multimedia Salon de Refuses he led at Disjecta several years ago, and the Oregon Symphony. He's even managed to set up a bi-coastal career. In every case, he's been successful because he followed jazz principles.
"I try to play in a style that fits," says Scheps, 39. "When it's time to play a burning jazz solo, I'll do that, but when it's time to lay back and play fewer notes, or play in the classical style of Prokofiev or Bernstein, I'll do that, too."
In his highly structured role with the Oregon Symphony -- he will perform in the orchestra's Legends of Swing shows this weekend -- Scheps must adjust to the needs of the ensemble. "With the symphony, it's less about your solos than about contributing to the overall color and texture," he explains. And even in his Core-tet, where he can express himself freely and at length, "the four of us are equal contributors," he says -- and members of an interactive team.
That's similar to his role in the JazzCode quartet, which released its first CD, "In the Moment," late last year, with material ranging from jazz standards to the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses." Those are appropriate tunes for JazzCode performances, led by Norwegian drummer Carl Stormer, because they are part of a 90-minute demonstration for business people, explains Scheps.
"Carl's concept is predicated on presenting short, concise solos that are thematically based so the audience can understand where our solos come from." The music is set up so Stormer can demonstrate the principles and techniques that make for effective spontaneous teamwork -- and show his audience how they can employ them in their own work.
His message? The "right" note is the one that fits. The most effective solo is the one that best enhances the whole.
The magic of music is produced by combining unity and spontaneity. To accomplish that -- whether in the fluid set Scheps and bassist Glen Moore will play at the upcoming Portland Jazz Festival, or in a 30-second solo in a Nelson Riddle arrangement with the Oregon Symphony -- jazz players employ the same principles.
Interaction is key. And context is everything.
Lynn Darroch is a Portland writer; lynndarroch@yahoo.com
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