By Aidan Levy
Pianist Christian Sands has toured with Christian McBride’s Inside Straight, performed with vibraphonist Stefon Harris and collaborated with McBride on the soundtrack for The Contradictions of Fair Hope, a documentary narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. But first and foremost, he’s a master’s student in the Jazz Arts program at Manhattan School of Music. Sands met Harris, a 1997 graduate, when Harris returned to the school to conduct a master class, where Sands made a strong enough musical impression to launch a performing career at the top of the game. Nevertheless, he decided to hold on to his mortarboard and stay on.
“I figured it would be a great opportunity to just continue with the family that I grew up with,” says Sands, who is going into his second and final year of the master’s program. Even though at 23 his accomplishments would qualify him to teach in his own right, there are still a few people out there who can show him some tricks. In the past through Manhattan School, he studied with Jason Moran and Billy Taylor, and he’s currently studying with Vijay Iyer. “Every week, my mind was blown,” he says. “I would have lessons on Wednesday and I would tweet, ‘Just left his house. My mind is oozing out of my ears.’”
As Sands enters his valedictory year as a student before finally leaving the nest, Manhattan School of Music’s jazz program is growing as it initiates new blood into the flock and marks its 30th anniversary. The milestone will be celebrated with a series of special events, starting Sept. 21 with an evening dedicated to composer Tadd Dameron featuring the Manhattan School of Music Concert Jazz Band, led by program chair and percussionist Justin DiCioccio. On Oct. 19, DiCioccio conducts the MSM Jazz Philharmonic in a program of Ellington works arranged for full orchestra. On Oct. 26, as part of the Harlem Nights series, the Grammy-nominated MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, led by percussionist Bobby Sanabria, performs a program in honor of the Apollo, Savoy, Woodside, Park Palace and other venues that presented Afro-Cuban jazz.
On Dec. 4, the MSM Chamber Jazz Ensemble, also directed by DiCioccio, presents a full recreation of Oliver Nelson’s seminal album, The Blues and the Abstract Truth. Other events include concerts featuring artist-in-residence saxophonist Dave Liebman and trumpeter Jon Faddis, and the fifth annual Charles Mingus High School Competition. Festivities culminate in a program at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola from April 2 to 7, featuring the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, a night of emerging artists with MSM alumni, combo performances featuring guest artists culled from the faculty, and a tribute to Gil Evans in honor of the Evans centennial. This year’s master class offerings include Christian McBride, Fred Hersch and Maria Schneider.
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The program began in 1982 when the institution created a jazz department, one of the first in New York, and by 1984, courses toward a master’s degree were offered. In 1987, the school launched its undergraduate program. Manhattan School of Music had already established its classical pedigree, which attracted jazz luminaries Max Roach, John Lewis, Ron Carter and Donald Byrd, all of whom had some success before enrolling, but it ironically took years for the concept of a university jazz program to migrate to New York.
The program began in 1982 when the institution created a jazz department, one of the first in New York, and by 1984, courses toward a master’s degree were offered. In 1987, the school launched its undergraduate program. Manhattan School of Music had already established its classical pedigree, which attracted jazz luminaries Max Roach, John Lewis, Ron Carter and Donald Byrd, all of whom had some success before enrolling, but it ironically took years for the concept of a university jazz program to migrate to New York.
“No one really knew exactly where it was going to go, so I think the first couple years were hit or miss,” says bassist Harvie S, a faculty member since 1984, who counts Drew Gress and Todd Coolman among his first students. “Over the years, because of the great musicians that have been there, it’s snowballed into being quite a major program.” After current chair DiCioccio took the reins in 1999, the program expanded its stylistic range beyond straight-ahead jazz, S says. “Justin completely opened it up to all styles—contemporary styles and avant-garde, but traditional also. He’s gone to great lengths to get the classical musicians involved in the jazz program.”
read more on: http://jazztimes.com/articles/63105-manhattan-school-of-music-s-jazz-program-celebrates-its-30th-year
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