Op-Ed: Der Spiegel Fails To Deliver On Jazz Education

The German magazine Der Spiegel writes in its February 16 article "Akademische Weihen statt 'learning by doing'" about the current state of jazz education. The reputable magazine fails to examine the subject in depth, and most importantly its own particularly strong European aesthetic of academic values. Der Spiegel hints that European values of order and system would enhance jazz education. The article fails to recognize the fundamental fact, that America – while similar to Europe in many aspects – is largely built as a reactionary discipline to the old European cultural, not the least a religious, burden. So is jazz, whose early development was a consequence on a multicultural clash, which eventually became an indispensable virtue of a new nation.

The article starts off by trying to compare staggering record sales to the booming jazz education scene. Der Spiegel misses several basic facts: CD sales have partly moved to the internet driven domains, downloads and streaming subscriptions. Concertgoers have, with the help of videos and particularly YouTube, developed a new consciousness for music which they are prepared to spend money on. Previously, when no such media was available, these opinions would be formed at the concert, and in lack of alternatives, the opinion would be favorable to the live performer. Jazz education programs, however, as tragically incomplete or even misleading as they may be, have been able to maintain their position as an authority for studies of this art and tradition, and – as Der Spiegel rightly notes – jazz careers.

Jazz is a young art. Many around the world still believe it cannot be taught, but only felt. The underlying problem of jazz education is that it is driven, or "inspired" by performers who seldom teach, but merely demonstrate their own development and ideas. In other words, these performers of fame, who function as guest lecturers at universities and colleges, merely deliver sugar to students, who are looking for beef and vegetables, in order to develop their fundamental skills. In European classical music the idols are composers, not performers, and the ink of the large works have dried long ago. It is obviously easier to teach. This is not to say jazz would be better off with a European academic model. Not at all, it needs its own teaching legacy.

The real scholars of jazz are very few. They go unnoticed by jazz magazines and nearly all record labels. Thus, aspiring students are seldom aware of their mere existence. Trumpeter, arranger and Professor "Superieur" Herb Pomeroy (1930-2007) made a 110-semester career at Berklee College of Music, passing on his own developed courses "Line Writing" and "The Music of Duke Ellington" to several generations of musicians. These courses had a substantive syllabus which were all results of Pomeroy's scientific development and judgment. He amended the course every year with small updates. In Europe, pianist, composer and educator Alvaro Is Rojas has for twenty-five years developed the most comprehensive jazz theory program to-date, with corresponding ear-training exercises, improvisation methods irrespective of the students' stylistic preferences. Rojas actually talks for style-neutrality while practicing, and where the individual expression grows subconsciously while concentrating on hearing oneself, rather than transcribing recordings.

Jazz scholars are needed, for guest teachers will never be able to deliver the beef, which is based on long-term objectives. Unfortunately, these dedicated heroes are very few in number. When teaching will be an honor of priority in order to assist younger generations – take them as your children – frantic touring and glossy pictures in jazz magazines as a measurement of success will be remembered with nostalgia.

Picture: Rigmor Gustafsson – a jazz vocalist with comprehensive skills in improvisation – has studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden; at Mannes College in New York; and privately with Alvaro Is Rojas. She was also mentioned by Der Spiegel, as the magazine interviewed one of her former band members.