Band makes sound investment

Author: Melissa Marshall

Middlebury College is a community renowned for its diversity and commitment to promoting the student body's involvement in many different endeavors and activities, so it was somewhat shocking to discover that it has no formal jazz ensemble.

"When I came to Middlebury here as a first-year in the fall of 2004, I must admit I was kind of surprised that the campus had no formal jazz ensemble. I just assumed that a college of Middlebury's caliber would naturally have a student jazz band as an integral part of the music scene. When that turned out not to be the case, I joined the student ensemble, Sound Investment, and became president the next year," said Derek Long '08, who, besides being president of Sound Investment, is also a talented tenor saxophonist.

Noticing this less-than-impressive state of student jazz on campus, Long and fellow musician, Tristan Axelrod '08, teamed up with Dick Forman, a jazz piano and voice teacher, who became their director. Together, they pushed for the shaky student ensemble to become an official component of the Middlebury music department.

"I just love this genre of music. When I got to Middlebury and saw that jazz wasn't as popular here as it had been at my high school, I decided I had to change that somehow. Once I had gained some clout as president of Sound Investment, I went to Peter Hamlin [Chair of the Music Department] last fall to discuss the possibility of making the band an integrated music department ensemble. He agreed and the seed was more or less planted," said Long.

Before Sound Investment, whose history is tumultuous at best, the only other option for jazz players besides sporadic shows at The Grille or gigs to play background music at parties were the weekly jazz workshops led by Forman. "The workshops, in my opinion, were instrumental in keeping interest in jazz alive at Middlebury; basically, they amounted to a weekly jam session loosely structured around lessons in jazz and improvisation theory," said Long.

However, as Axelrod points out, the development of Sound Investment does more than just offer students a place to express themselves through music. "It sends a message to jazz musicians that their talents, dedication and interests are appreciated," he said, "and that's a powerful thing. Not to mention, jazz musicians who are music majors or minors can use Sound Investment for performance credit, as opposed to being forced to play in the orchestra or chamber singers as has happened previously." As Long explains, that these were the only avenues available for credit was not only insulting, but also very Eurocentric. "It sent the message that skills such as improvisation and rhythmic virtuosity, trademarks of genres like jazz, which had considerable contribution from African-American musical culture, were academically worthless. By supporting Sound Investment, the school is changing its antiquated opinion, and the campus is going to benefit by having a more vibrant and educated music scene."

Most importantly, Sound Investment seems to be focused on the ideals of jazz music, a genre synonymous with self-expression, creativity and passion. Long emphasizes that "jazz is unique in that it fosters a kind of two-fold social dynamic, especially with a big band. When the big band plays in an ensemble, it is harmony and cooperation in the traditional musical sense,.. the same kind of harmony you could find in an a cappella group, a classroom, or a sports team. On the other hand, jazz has always been about highlighting the individual-a very American trait, through the featured soloist. In that sense, jazz encourages quick thinking and improvisation in a way that few other art forms do. I think the campus as a whole could benefit immensely from an emphasis on that kind of original thinking."

With such thinking, Sound Investment now attempts to break onto the Middlebury music scene.