Author: Enid Williams

History

Song of the Day: “How Long Has This Been Going On”

Enid Williams

by Jerry Greenberg on February 16, 2017

Bea Christensen

New Horizons sax player Bea Christensen says she loves How Long Has This Been Going On?, a 1928 song by George and Ira Gershwin. Bea, who also performs vocals for the band, says she loves to sing How Long.  

According to Wikipedia, How Long Has This Been Going On? was composed for the musical Funny Face in 1928. Replaced by “He Loves and She Loves” in Funny Face, it was eventually introduced in the musical Rosalie (1928).  Here’s Ella Fiztgerald’s rendtion: How Long Has This Been Going On.

History

Some Observations on a Workshop & Performance

Enid Williams

Music as community

by Jerry Greenberg on January 15, 2017

I attended a performance and work shop last night (January 14, 2017) at Prairie Music and Arts in Sun Prairie. The musicians on hand to perform and lead the clinic were Milwaukee-based Jamie Breiwick (pictured left), who plays trumpet, and Mark Davis, on piano. Both are Wisconsin natives, both are fabulous musicians, and the duo perform to great appreciation by the audience.

They played a wide range of bop, ballads, and other pieces by various composers including Thelonius Monk, Barry Harris, and Bud Powell. For me, the incredibly intimate setting (you are so close to the musicians, you can almost envision sitting in with them) combined with their beautiful and at times haunting interpretations of the charts generated a strong emotional connection to them and the music.  

Prior to the show, Mark and Jamie led an informal workshop for a group of aspiring musicians. Both are music teachers in various capacities in and around Milwaukee. There were a number of dynamics going on throughout the workshop that struck me as interesting…and vital to jazz. First, the two of them were incredibly accessible.  Here they are successful musicians at many different levels teaching a group that for most part ranged from beginners to intermediate players (including yours truly). Yet, I believe they made everyone in the room feel important. Second, they brought a joy and enthusiasm to their teaching (as well as their performance later!) that was downright infectious. Finally, the workshop participants ranged in age from (estimating here) eight to 59 years. Both genders as well. And here we all were “jamming” with Mark and Jamie to Sonny Rollins’ Sonnymoon for Two.  While I can’t say new heights were achieved, I can say that everyone played with enthusiasm, and some of what we played sounded downright authentic! The highlight in my opinion came when the youngest, (Elliot, again guessing he was eight years of age), played a soulful solo including a lick Jamie had just taught us to play from one of Sonny Rollins’ live versions of the tune. Wow! The boy could have a future.

Of course I can’t say what the other participants were thinking or feeling, but for me, I came away from the workshop moved and even inspired.  Here we were in Sun Prairie, WI, where a night of music, teaching, and sharing brought together a wide range of people of different skills and abilities into a single community… with jazz as the common bond. What power. What promise. What potential.

Before closing, I must urge all readers to check out the Prairie Music and Arts, a non-profit organization committed to bringing music and arts to people of all ages and stripes. They have lots of programs and performances across all of the arts. They are bringing in some serious talent. They are doing something very right. 

News

“Recycled Orchestra” Shows Kids Passion to Play

Enid Williams

by Jerry Greenberg on October 20, 2016

Like so many musicians around the world, the members of the New Horizons Concert and Swing Bands play because of a passion we have for music… and wanting to express ourselves through music. This kind of passion is infectious and even inspirational.  But here’s a story of a passion for music that is so compelling it may bring tears to your eyes.  Give this short video a watch.

Landfill Harmonic
History

Oye Como Va — A Classic Live Version from the Master

Enid Williams

The New Horizons Jazz Band played Oye Como Va during its performance Friday July 8, 2016, at Oakwood Village. This jazz standard was written and popularized by the legendary Tito Puente. According to Wikipedia, Ernesto Antonio “Tito” Puente was born April 20, 1923 and grew up in New York City’s Spanish Harlem. Puente is often cited as “The Musical Pope”, “El Rey de los Timbales” (The King of the Timbales) and “The King of Latin Music.” He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz compositions that endured over a 50-year career. 

During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his popularity, and helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha to mainstream audiences. Puente was so successful playing popular Afro-Cuban rhythms that many people mistakenly identify him as Cuban. Dance Mania, possibly Puente’s most well known album, was released in 1958. He suffered a massive heart attack and died June 1, 2000. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy LIfetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Watch the master at work in this live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1990.

 Oye Como Va

News

Music Soothes the Savage… Blood Pressure

Enid Williams

by Jon Nelson on February 24, 2015

Got high blood pressure? Listen up!

To music that is. In the March 2015 Reader’s Digest it was reported that medical research has validated something we’ve all known for a long time… Listening to music has a calming effect. According to Reader’s Digest, in at least one study, it was found that listening to music for around a half-hour a day for about a month can have a significant positive effect on blood pressure. How significant? The researchers recorded a reduction of 12mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 5 mm Hg decrease in the bottom number (diastolic pressure). This favorably compares to the benefits of taking a strong blood pressure medication.

The short article went on to say that the calming effect of music is so powerful that it was actually more effective at reducing stress for folks heading into cardiac surgery than a sedative. Moreover, a group who listened to music after their surgery “fared better than patients who received the sedative.”

One theory is that music directly acts on the body’s autonomic nervous system… the system that controls heart rate and blood pressure. Score another win for music! (Pun intended.)

History

Luscious Rendition of “I Remember Clifford”

Enid Williams

The jazz world was devastated when Clifford Brown died in a late night auto accident in 1956.  Only 26 years old and still growing and maturing as a jazz trumpeter, Brown’s death left a huge whole in the jazz world.  Benny Golson penned a tribute to Brown, “I Remember Clifford,” which the New Horizons Jazz Band covered in its June 10, 2016 gig in Middleton.

Here’s a gorgeous rendition of this tender ballad by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

History

Over the Rainbow

Enid Williams

Over the Rainbow, which was played by the New Horizon’s Concert Band in Middleton on June 15, 2016, is beautifully rendered in this version by Banda Municipal do Funchal.  Here’s it is:

Banda Municipal do Funchal – Artistas Funchalenses
165th Anniversary concert – March 28, 2015
Over the Rainbow – Arr. Warren Barker
Soloist: Sandra Teixeira
Conductor: Aquilino Domingo da Silva

Profile

An Original Member of the Band, Muriel Plays Flute Because of Her Sister

Enid Williams

Turned off to the clarinet by her older sister’s practice routines, Muriel Gilbert looked for a different instrument to play… and fell in love with the sound of the flute when she attended her sister’s school band concert.  

What first brought you to the New Horizons Band?

I saw an ad in the paper in August 1992 notifying interested people who were over 50 years old, that a band was forming.  I liked the part about ‘no experience needed’ because I had only played a borrowed flute in high school, had no music lessons, and hadn’t played a flute since leaving high school (had to leave the borrowed flute behind), which was over 30 years.

Why do you play the instrument you play?

Two reasons:  My sister played the clarinet in our high school band and after listening to her squeek and squawk during her practice, I knew I didn’t want to play the clarinet, although I love the sound of a well-played clarinet now.  I attended one of my sister’s concerts when I was in the 8th grade and she was in the 10th grade.  The flute section had a featured  part in one of the pieces and I thought they sounded heavenly, so that had a big influence on my decision.  The second, more practical reason, was that I had to walk a mile to the bus stop to get to school with almost an hours bus ride, and there were no back packs in those days so I really couldn’t carry my books AND a big instrument.  So, flute it was!

What has been the most enjoyable part of your experience w/ NHB?

I love the opportunity to make music with others.  If I only had myself to listen to, I probably would have quit long ago.  I’ll never be good enough to be a solo player, but do pretty well adding a little ‘filler’ to the section.  I think learning new pieces all the time forces my mind to stay sharp and active and that’s a good thing when you get up in years.  The New Horizons Band came along at a time when I really needed something fun to do and nice people to be around.  I had been divorced after a long marriage and I found the group to be a caring and supportive group.  I had been so busy working at UW Hospital, and also working on my graduate degree, that getting out one evening a week to play music, meet new people, and finally have an opportunity to attend band camps, was just what I needed.  We were a very small group when we started (about 16 people), so we knew each other very well.

What has been the most challenging?

My parents couldn’t afford music lessons for me, so I never learned to read music very well.  Our high school band was full of people like me so we weren’t very good.  In fact the music we play in the NHB is much more difficult than anything I ever played back in high school.  I have a good ‘ear’ so that got me through a lot of difficult pieces—still does.  My goal was to take flute lessons once I retired but then I met John, married him when we were both 62yrs old, and we have stayed very busy traveling and working in our flower and vegetable gardens on our five acres out near Spring Green.

What other musical bands, endeavors, or outlets do you pursue?

I have been in the New Horizons Band since the very beginning—25 years in fact.  It is one of the most important things in my life and even though I don’t practice as much as I should, I miss very few band practices because my week doesn’t feel complete if I don’t make it to band practice.  I played a few years with the Waunakee Community Band and really enjoyed it but found I couldn’t keep up with two bands and since the NHB was my ‘first love’ I stuck with it.

What outside of playing music are you passionate about in your life?

John and I have 8 kids, 9 grandkids and 3 great grandkids between us (most are mine), and they are scattered all over the country with 3 kids overseas.  We spend a fair amount of time keeping up with them and trying to maintain close relationships.  We love to travel and see/learn new things.  We also own a one room stone schoolhouse that is about 150 years old.  It is rented now but our dream is to move there when we are ready to ‘downsize’ from our present home.  That will cut our commute to McFarland in half.  John and I also love to cook and bake together and enjoy having friends over to share a meal.