Spotlight on... Dick Forman

Author: Jonathan King


Audio produced by Radio Arts Middlebury.

From delivering sizzling pianos solos at his jazz group's Mahaney Center for the Arts (CFA) Concert Hall appearance to energizing the Beaux-Arts Ball as director of the Sound Investment, music instructor Dick Forman provided the drive behind the Jazz series at last weekend's dedication ceremony of the CFA. The Campus spoke with Forman about the genesis of his passion for jazz and the ways he continues to explore the style with students at the College.

The Campus: When and how did you become interested in jazz?

Dick Forman: Like most of my students, in late high school I started seeing that there was more to life than what I had long been doing musically. Like most of students, I was classically trained as a kid. Though I didn't want to give up classical music, I saw that there were other things going around, and as I looked to my friends and other people my age who were exploring this rather intriguing jazz music, it just seemed like a very cool thing to do. Through college, I told myself, "Well, this is actually pretty rewarding music to play." That's what started it all.

TC: Two years ago, the Sound Investment achieved its status as an official performance ensemble in the Music Department. Has the group's performance capability improved with this increased departmental support?

DF: Since the Sound Investment took on the mantle of something a bit more serious, it has attracted students who are interested in doing things seriously to the point that I'm feeling pretty good about where the band is right now. Listen to them at the dedication ball. They're doing some really fine work. It's just a joy.

TC: The Sound Investment performs in a variety of different venues on campus, ranging from lindy-hops to more formal concert hall appearances. Do you or the Sound Investment prefer any particular setting?

DF: Though working in different spaces and for different audiences always requires a different way of doing things, I think they're all valid and you get different things out of doing them all. The music initially was written as dance music and it's still just a joy to play for people who want to dance. The first public performance we've done in this renaissance for big band was in McCullough for a joint event with lindy-hop. The first time people in the band looked up and saw 50 people dancing in front of them was just a moment that I'll treasure forever. These huge grins broke out. It's a little tricky when you've got reed in your mouth to smile, but, nonetheless, they really enjoyed it. The audience also really loves it. The chance to actually get the music into your body as opposed to just treat it as some sort of formal thing is really wonderful.

The next fall, we said, "You know, we're ready for some more difficult material that isn't really dance work and that would involve a different sets of skills." So we moved into the concert hall for our debut performance. This really brought everyone up a notch. They realized that the music can be very serious, and that in order to play it well, you really need to work at it.

TC: Tell us about the Dick Forman Jazz Group.

DF: It began a little more than 20 years ago when I found myself playing with the same group of people over and over again. It became a vehicle for all of us, but I think especially for me, to really grow. When you start playing with the same group of musicians over time, you begin hearing things differently, you begin working differently and you begin taking risks differently, all of which makes the music richer. So we embarked, with a certain degree of luck, on a series of high-profile gigs at festivals, public radio and things of that sort. Gradually, we became quite solid. Unfortunately, due to illness, people moving and things like that, the band has changed its membership quite frequently. But, that said, you make lemonade out of lemons. I've found phenomenal new people and also held on to people who I think are just the most superb players who have ever crossed my path. That's allowed both me individually and we as a group to play the kinds of things that we wouldn't have attempted before and to work in a variety a styles. Though it sounds cliché, we push the envelope and keep reaching for new and different things. You need new ideas from different people in the process of creating music.