[Dixielandjazz] More on Youth Jazz Mentoring

[Don Ingle]

Bob et al:
Over the years I had a great deal of pleasure working with younger 
wannabes on trumpet or cornet. Perhaps the best result's of my mentoring 
was with one of our own (though in hiding of late) OKOM regulars, David 
Jelema. He was a very young teenager who hung out at Lost Valley Lodge, 
a resort in Michigan where my ad hoc jazz band played. Tom Pletcher was 
on the band on cornet, and I was on trombone since there were no 
trombonists handy and Tom was as good as it gets for the cornet chair. 
David was in awe of the Bix style and Tommy played it as well as any. 
But David lacked the basic stamina and breath and support training, so I 
began to work with him on long tones, lip flexibility exercises, and 
getting his diaphragm muscles to work properly. Tom and I let the 
younger fellow sit in with us as he began to put it together. I told him 
the best thing to do now was to get a good basics teacher when he left 
for the fall school session in Maryland, and he did. Today, David is one 
of the better Bixian cornetists and Tom Pletcher and my candidate for 
outstandng mentoree.
When we did a little concert here in Michigan a few years ago, we played 
a chorus of three cornets and even did several rounds of fours, and on 
the tape it is hard to pick up who was who, so much in synch we were 
with a Bix influence.
It was not only a lot of fun, but a pleasure to hear him on his own -- a 
true cornet sound with Bix overtones but his own ideas well spoken 
through his cornet -- which, I might add, was once my own. But that's 
another story, If the opportunity to work with a youngster interested in 
OKOM comes along. grab it. The pleasure will be all yours.
.Don Ingle

Robert S. Ringwald wrote:
> And Simon Stribling who has been mentoring Bria Skonberg and the 
> Mighty Aphrodite.
>
> We have a gal here in Davis who has two youth bands and works with 
> them for free.
>
> There is another one who started a youth band when the kids were in 
> about the 6th grade and kept them together until they all graduated 
> from high-school.
>
> And how about that great bass player in LA, can't remember his name 
> off hand.  he is doing a marvelous job with the kids down there.
>
> There are so many of these mentoring types that Steve does not know 
> about.
>
> And, when I am on a paying gig, I am not going to ask a rank amateur 
> to sit in with my band.  AS I said in an earlier post, if one comes in 
> who is good, maybe not pro quality but I see the potential, I will ask 
> him/her.
>
> But to inflict a beginner or no-real-talent on the audience and on the 
> person signing the check, no way.
>
> And remember, there are no OKOM bands working 6-nights a week except 
> for Jim Cullum.  And Jim has often asked youth players to sit in with 
> his band.
>
> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
> 916/806-9551
> www.ringwald.com
> -- 
> Leader, The Fulton Street Jazz Band
> www.fultonstreetjazz.com
> -- 
> The Boondockers (jazz and Comedy)
> www.theboondockers.com
>
> "The bottom line of any country is, what did we contribute to the world?
> We contributed Louis Armstrong." Tony Bennett  -- 
>
>
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