JAM: February/March 2006 Issue: Feature Story

John Blair: From UMKC to the BMI
Jazz Composers Workshop

When one spends just a little time with JAM contributor John Blair (also known as “The Shadow”), it's clear that he has been one busy man.

John is finishing his Doctorate in Composition at the UMKC Conservatory. “I came here because of the quality of the faculty”, John shared at a Gramercy Park diner. “Chen Yi, who is my dissertation advisor, is well known in the classical world. The school gave me a great deal to come here. And then knowing that Bobby Watson was here made the decision easy. I could continue to work on jazz composition informed by classical work.”

John's compositional interests are in classical and jazz. “I became hooked early. I remember as a kid — I was nine or ten — hearing some music from the television. It was Benny Goodman playing ‘Rhapsody In Blue'. I was mesmerized. By the time I was thirteen and fourteen, I was transcribing charts by Bill Finegan.” This is very similar to Bob Brookmeyer's early self-study.

Blair is also a pianist and trombonist. “I wanted to play piano, but my parents wouldn't get one. But my dad had this old smelly trombone in the closet, REAL smelly, so I started on it.”

After high school in Houston , John attended Montgomery College in Houston and Sam Houston State . He also has a Master's from Butler University in Indianapolis . But it was Donald Erb, a jazz trumpeter from the Cleveland Institute, who encouraged him to use both jazz and classical influences in his writing. “It's interesting how modern classical teachers discourage improvisation. It is clear that the masters — Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and others — were also master improvisers. You can go back to Catholic singing in the thirteenth century, which was also improvisational”.

John is now participating in the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City . The Workshop was started in 1988 by Brookmeyer, author and historian Burt Korall, composer/arranger Manny Albam, and is currently led by Jim McNeely and Michael Abene. “We meet weekly at the BMI building. We bring in our work, either written or recorded, and get feedback from Jim and Mike, as well as the rest of the participants. The last Tuesday of each month, the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra comes in and plays our charts. My first reading is at the end of January, when a piece I call ‘Shadow Unit' will be played. In June, our compositions will be played at Merkin Hall.

“I had submitted a tape to the workshop but had forgotten all about it when Jim called me to invite me to join last summer. Needless to say, I dropped what I was doing and moved to New York . The opportunity was not something I wanted to miss.

“There is a real esprit de corps in the class. The participants come from a variety of backgrounds, so you learn a lot from their comments, like how a certain section won't work on sax, things like that. Plus, being in New York and in the Workshop itself is a tremendous networking opportunity.”

In addition to completing his work at UMKC and the BMI Workshop, John is preparing for a busy remainder of 2006 and 2007. “I'm working on some arrangements for Kevin Mahogany. We met down at Soundtrek. In Spring, 2007, my work will be played at Darmstadt Academy in Germany . This will be jazz and concert music. Jazz informs the music. I hope to be able to take an ensemble from Kansas City with me. I will be participating at the International Jazz Composers Symposium at the University of South Florida . I am also completing my big band album. I'd like to finish it in April or May in Kansas City .” Add this to guest lectures at several other universities, it is clear that John is a very busy man.

As for the big band album, he is particularly proud of a composition called “Cosmic Residue”.

So how did “The Shadow” get started? “It was Bobby Watson. He noticed that I seem to have the ability to seemingly be in several places at the same time. He'd be looking for me, and I'd be right behind him, or I'd be coming into the room. Well, he started calling me Shadow, and it has stuck.”






	Search our site:		John Blair: From UMKC to the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop When one spends just a little time with JAM contributor John Blair (also known as “The Shadow”), it's clear that he has been one busy man. John is finishing his Doctorate in Composition at the UMKC Conservatory. “I came here because of the quality of the faculty”, John shared at a Gramercy Park diner. “Chen Yi, who is my dissertation advisor, is well known in the classical world. The school gave me a great deal to come here. And then knowing that Bobby Watson was here made the decision easy. I could continue to work on jazz composition informed by classical work.” John's compositional interests are in classical and jazz. “I became hooked early. I remember as a kid — I was nine or ten — hearing some music from the television. It was Benny Goodman playing ‘Rhapsody In Blue'. I was mesmerized. By the time I was thirteen and fourteen, I was transcribing charts by Bill Finegan.” This is very similar to Bob Brookmeyer's early self-study. Blair is also a pianist and trombonist. “I wanted to play piano, but my parents wouldn't get one. But my dad had this old smelly trombone in the closet, REAL smelly, so I started on it.” After high school in Houston , John attended Montgomery College in Houston and Sam Houston State . He also has a Master's from Butler University in Indianapolis . But it was Donald Erb, a jazz trumpeter from the Cleveland Institute, who encouraged him to use both jazz and classical influences in his writing. “It's interesting how modern classical teachers discourage improvisation. It is clear that the masters — Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and others — were also master improvisers. You can go back to Catholic singing in the thirteenth century, which was also improvisational”. John is now participating in the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City . The Workshop was started in 1988 by Brookmeyer, author and historian Burt Korall, composer/arranger Manny Albam, and is currently led by Jim McNeely and Michael Abene. “We meet weekly at the BMI building. We bring in our work, either written or recorded, and get feedback from Jim and Mike, as well as the rest of the participants. The last Tuesday of each month, the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra comes in and plays our charts. My first reading is at the end of January, when a piece I call ‘Shadow Unit' will be played. In June, our compositions will be played at Merkin Hall. “I had submitted a tape to the workshop but had forgotten all about it when Jim called me to invite me to join last summer. Needless to say, I dropped what I was doing and moved to New York . The opportunity was not something I wanted to miss. “There is a real esprit de corps in the class. The participants come from a variety of backgrounds, so you learn a lot from their comments, like how a certain section won't work on sax, things like that. Plus, being in New York and in the Workshop itself is a tremendous networking opportunity.” In addition to completing his work at UMKC and the BMI Workshop, John is preparing for a busy remainder of 2006 and 2007. “I'm working on some arrangements for Kevin Mahogany. We met down at Soundtrek. In Spring, 2007, my work will be played at Darmstadt Academy in Germany . This will be jazz and concert music. Jazz informs the music. I hope to be able to take an ensemble from Kansas City with me. I will be participating at the International Jazz Composers Symposium at the University of South Florida . I am also completing my big band album. I'd like to finish it in April or May in Kansas City .” Add this to guest lectures at several other universities, it is clear that John is a very busy man. As for the big band album, he is particularly proud of a composition called “Cosmic Residue”. So how did “The Shadow” get started? “It was Bobby Watson. He noticed that I seem to have the ability to seemingly be in several places at the same time. He'd be looking for me, and I'd be right behind him, or I'd be coming into the room. Well, he started calling me Shadow, and it has stuck.” RETURN TO FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2006. All rights reserved.