Hey everyone!

Sammy took over for the week and Trista became the interview guest.

Trista Ford is a tenor saxophonist and woodwind doubler from Fairfield County, Connecticut. She is a Sophomore at New York University, Studying Jazz performance in the studio of Timo Vollbrecht. Additionally, she is also pursuing her master's in music education at NYU.

Throughout her time at NYU, Trista has performed with the New York Youth Symphony at Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and will be performing at The Times Center in May. She was selected to receive the NYYS Vargas-Vetter Ukena Fellowship in 2020 and in 2021, through which she is mentored by Alexa Tarantino.

In the fall of 2021, Trista joined the team at Playbook Jazz, a platform for joyful jazz learning in the virtual world. Here, she has created her own jazz education talk show and podcast: Playin’ Around With Playbook!

Enjoy!

Hey everyone!

This week on Playin' around With Playbook, we spoke to Paul Contos. With over thirty years in jazz performance, education, and faculty positions at UC Santa Cruz, CA State University Monterey Bay, and Monterey Peninsula College, Paul’s talents and abilities encompass worldwide performance, recording, production, conducting, and mentorship.

Paul served as saxophone clinician with The Monterey Jazz Festival for 30 yrs, as Director of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra & Monterey County All-Stars for 20 yrs, and as Education Director for the Monterey Jazz Festival (2011-2019). He continues as Director of the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra (2009-present), and is an annual guest artist in Japan, Brazil, and the United States annually.

Under Paul’s direction, many of the ensembles he has conducted have been awarded first place at competitions and festivals throughout the U.S. In 2017, Paul was awarded Downbeat Magazine’s national Jazz Education Achievement Award for Jazz Educator, and in 2015 was awarded the Champion of the Arts: Educator Award by the Monterey Arts Council.

Enjoy, Trista.

Hey everyone! This past week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, we had the chance to break up the slew of saxophonists and have on drummer and educator Colleen Clark.

Drummer, composer, educator and bandleader, Dr. Colleen Clark is the first drummer and woman to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance at the world-renowned University of North Texas, the oldest jazz institution in America.

As a player, Clark has been described as “someone to watch” and “someone who will be turning heads in jazz for years to come.”

Clark was invited by the ASCAP Foundation to lead her band, the Colleen Clark Collective, at the Kennedy Center. Dr. Clark has performed in prominent NYC venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and the 55 Bar. Her debut album, consisting entirely of her original music, Introducing Colleen Clark, was produced by Gordon Stout and engineered by ten-time Grammy Award nominee/winner, Brian Dozoretz. Clark proudly joined the Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo on their premiere performance at the Jazz Education Network in 2019. Clark can most recently be heard playing on SteepleChase record #900, Allegra Levy’s Lose My Number: Allegra Levy Sings John McNeil.

Enjoy, Trista.

Hey everyone! This week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, we had the opportunity to talk to Tanner Guss, drummer, educator, and composer.

Tanner graduated from Indian University Jacobs School of Music in 2019, as a recipient of the Kenny Aronoff Scholarship program. He was also awarded the 2017 Hal Leonard Collegiate Scholarship by the Jazz Education Network. Since then, Tanner has founded the uplifting podcast, The Happy Musicians in 2019, and continues to share his music with the New Orleans community.

Enjoy!

Trista.

Hey everyone! This week on Playin’ Around With Playbook I was able to speak with the award-winning composer, producer, entrepreneur, educator and trombonist Nick Finzer. Finzer is bringing the joy and power of Jazz to traditional fans and the most modern 21st-century audiences. He’s on a mission to be a passionate voice defining the sound of Jazz in this age.

Born into the musical world (his mother, Sherry Finzer, is a flutist), Finzer developed a fascination for the music of Duke Ellington and found himself, in high school, performing at the annual Essentially Ellington competition of Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was then that he decided to pursue a life in music himself. His budding talent was recognized by Wycliffe Gordon who began a mentorship by writing four pieces for the young Finzer while he attended the Eastman School of Music. Nick went on to get his masters at Juilliard’s prestigious Jazz program where he was mentored by trombone legend Steve Turre.

2020 saw two new honors for Nick; a Grammy nomination with Anat Cohen’s Tentet and topping the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll in the “Rising Star Trombone” category. Finzer’s 5th album as a leader “Cast of Characters” with his sextet Hear & Now was welcomed to critical acclaim, and a nationwide album release tour.

Enjoy!

Trista.

Hey everyone! This past week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, Sammy and I stepped out of our comfort zone to speak with classical bassist Nathan Farrington to get his perspective on jazz.

Nathan Farrington has been the principal bassist for LA Opera since 2016. He regularly appears in the bass sections of many of America’s top orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony.

He also pursues chamber music and solo opportunities avidly. He has appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Olympic Music Festival, the Chamber Fest in Cleveland, and at the Da Camera Society. Wherever he is performing, Nathan makes sure to take along his trusty guitar and paris singing and playing operatic arias and folk songs alongside his bass playing.

In addition to his performance interests, Nathan is deeply interested in cinema. His LA based audio company, Hazard Audio, connects top classical minds with the artistic minds in movie and TV production. His life in each of these fields has helped him engage in new and interesting projects highlighting the natural strengths of each of the two worlds.

Enjoy!

Trista.

Hey everyone! This past week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, we spoke with the amazing educator and performer Matt Wilson.

Wilson has released thirteen albums as a leader. His latest recording, Honey And Salt (Music Inspired By The Poetry Of Carl Sandburg), was recognized on over thirty worldwide “Best of 2017” lists, including Top Ten in the National Public Radio Critics Poll, JazzTimes, Irish Times, Boston Globe, Jazziz and All About Jazz. The album received a coveted 5-star review (masterpiece) in DownBeat. Wilson has made thirteen recordings as a leader for Palmetto Records since 1996, including acclaimed releases by the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts & Crafts and the Christmas Tree-O.

As an educator, Wilson has led workshops and masterclasses at colleges and universities, jazz festivals and conferences around the world. He has served numerous residencies, including at the Centrum Jazz Workshop, Stanford Jazz Workshop, Litchfield Jazz Festival, Jazz St. Louis and Cornish College of the Arts. In addition, he is a faculty member at the New School, San Francisco Conservatory, LIU Post, Sarah Lawrence College and the Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Holland.

Enjoy!

Trista.

At the center of my Ideal Educational Community, music is accessible to all. I am constantly seeking how I can achieve this. In my search, I had come across Just Accessible Music, also known as JAM. JAM aims to “provide a forum for music and research that is inclusive for all regardless of background, age, disability, skill-level or musical interests.”

This week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, I had the opportunity to talk with the head of NYC Jam, Laura Ziegler. It was incredibly informative and inspirational in my pursuits to create a music classroom that can reach and teach everyone.

Until next week,

Trista.

Hey everyone! This week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, Sammy and I spoke with saxophonist and educator Walter Smith III.

“The New York Times describes tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III’s work as “fabulous.” 2022 brings Smith to new heights with his most compelling and reflective album to date. In Common III is set for release the Spring of 2022 featuring some of the most important and talked about artists on the scene including Matt Stevens, Kris Davis, Dave Holland and Terri Lyne Carrington.

Walter is currently leading ensembles in a number of configurations for performances from trio (TWIO), quartet, or quintet (IN COMMON).. Walter is also a Vandoren Artist, appearing in workshops, and guest residencies.”

Enjoy, Trista.

Hey everyone! This past week on Playin’ Around With Playbook, I had the opportunity to talk to percussionist and educator Sean Dobbins.

Sean Dobbins got his start as sought-after Detroit area jazz sideman at a young age, when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. As Sean’s Career progressed, he found himself the recipient of many awards and accolades including the “Woody Herman Jazz Award,” an award for outstanding musicianship, as well as the Louis Armstrong Scholarship. Due to Sean’s great talent both as a player and an educator, he has been the focus of countless news articles, jazz radio programs, and documentaries. Currently, Sean is on faculty at the University Of Michigan, Oakland University and Wayne State University. He has served as the Artistic Director of Jazz Ensembles for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and is currently the Executive/Artistic Director for the Southeastern Music Academy (southeasternmusicacademy.org)

In 1999, Sean was asked to become the director of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Summer Jazz Program. This program was designed to help educate and inspire young artists as they began their quest of learning jazz. In 1998, a year before Sean’s arrival, the program was in jeopardy of being canceled due to low enrollment. In 2000, a year after Sean took over the reins, the enrollment more than tripled and a year later, the group was featured on WEMU, a national jazz radio program.

Dobbins has amassed an impressive list of playing companions. He has performed/toured/recorded with Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, George Cables, James “Blood” Ulmer, Marcus Belgrave, Larry Willis, Rodney Whittaker, Claude Black, Johnny O’Neal, Paul Keller, Tad Weed, Kurt Krahnke, Jon Hendricks, David “Fathead” Newman, Donald Walden, Cyrus Chestnut, Barry Harris, David Baker, Randy Johnston, Marion Hayden, Mose Allison, and a host of other great musicians.

Enjoy, Trista.