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Community Compass: Jazz educator to preside over competition

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It’s a battle of the bands with a single winner, but in this contest, “everyone walks away with something,” says Gene Aitken, a music teacher recognized as a prominent jazz educator in the US.

Aitken, who was recognized as Jazz Educator of the Year last year by Downbeat, the major US jazz publication, will be at the Taipei American School (TAS) on Sunday to preside over the Mercedes Amateur Jazz Competition.

The activity, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and the American Institute in Taiwan, will be presented by ICRT Morning Show hosts Bill Thissen and Rick Monday, who have billed the event as a search for the “next Wang Chien-ming (王建民) of jazz.”

But Aitken’s style of judging will differ from a rock n’ roll showdown. Each group will play three songs; after a band finishes, Aitken will get on stage and appraise the performance on the spot.

His comments will aim to be constructive — in these types of events, Aitken said he often interacts onstage with musicians: He points out the stronger aspects of a band’s performance, often asking them to play certain parts again and suggests different ways to play less successful segments.

Instead of thinking about things in terms of “right and wrong,” bands will get “new ideas on how to approach things … to enhance what they’re doing,” Aitken said in a phone interview with the Taipei Times from his home in Colorado.

Aitken, who has a PhD in music from the University of Oregon, boasts a long and accomplished resume as an educator. For nearly 25 years, he served as director of jazz studies at the University of Northern Colorado, which is famous for its education program and an award-winning jazz program.

HARMONY

In 2003, Aitken helped to form a youth orchestra program in Thailand devoted to fostering ethnic harmony among Southeast Asian countries. He worked on a similar program earlier this year in northern Iraq as part of the performing arts group American Voices, which often works with US embassies and consulates worldwide.

Aitken has experience teaching Taiwanese students, many of whom he taught while serving as director of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. He praises them for their “technical ability” and “musicianship.”

But like many career-minded Asian music students, Taiwanese tend to favor classical music. Aitken said that such students could actually benefit from jazz, as it requires skills that differ from the “interpretive” approach needed in classical music.

“When [students play] jazz, they have to be creative,” he said, adding that jazz helps students develop “self-confidence” and the “ability of self-expression.”

And on a practical level, aspiring professionals should consider their job prospects.

“In the world today … you can’t be just a jazz player or a classical player — you have to be both,” Aitken said.

Competing in this Sunday’s event are six local groups selected by several jazz professionals in Taiwan: saxophonist Tung Shuen-wen (董舜文), the Taipei combos JEG (這個爵士樂團) and Rich Huang Jazz Band (黃瑞豐爵士樂團), and veteran jazz guitarist Geddy Lin (林正如), who owns the Riverside Music Cafe in Taipei.

Lin said the contestants were chosen from a pool of 11 bands, but all of the bands have been encouraged to attend for the educational experience.

Winners or not, all musicians will come away from this event knowing “what they are doing well,” Aitken said.

This Sunday’s event is free and takes place from 1:30pm to 6pm at the TAS at 800 Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 6, Taipei (台北市中山北路六段800號). It also features a non-competitive performance by the school’s jazz band.

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