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Jazz and World Music EnsembleRenowned drummer Bernard Purdie gigged recently on the Late Show with David Letterman, on Saturday Night Live, and twice at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The first of the performances at the Quick Center was with the student members of the Fairfield University Jazz Ensemble; the second with the Brian Torff Trio, a group led by the man who directs the ensemble - a musician and educator who has quietly but quickly established a professional, legitimate jazz program at Fairfield University. Live appearances by jazz pros are not uncommon these days on the Fairfield campus, thanks to Torff, a jazz bassist and graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, who has taught at Fairfield since 1989. Torff toured and recorded exclusively from 1974 through the mid-1980s, compiling a long list of international appearances ranging from concerts at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Tonight Show, to distant venues in South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Hong Kong. He has played side by side with such jazz heavyweights as George Shearing, Marian McPartland, Mary Lou Williams, and Cleo Laine, and wielded his bass as accompaniment to American music giants Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme and Tony Bennett. Lucky for Fairfield and its music students, Torff tired of the road life in the mid-80s and turned some of his much-demanded attention to music education. After a stint teaching at the University of Bridgeport, Torff signed on to Fairfield's music faculty five years ago and quickly threw himself into establishing a respected jazz program. It's no coincidence that Torff earned a full-time faculty position this year, just as his young program approached maturity marked by these significant developments:These developments are attributable to the passion Torff brings to his vocation. A professed "teacher by day, player by night," he teaches a range of music courses from The History of Jazz and The History of Rock 'n Roll to American Popular Music dating back to colonial times. Torff also directs the Jazz Ensemble, 15-20 students configured to create three separate performing groups-the 5 O'clock Band (7-9 students), The Jazz Company (7-9), and The Big Band (all of them together). He is founder and director of Fairfield's Summer Jazz Camp, an intensive, one-week, performance / theory / history camp for high school and college-age musicians culminating in a public concert at the end of the week. This summer, the camp takes place July 24 through July 30 with the public performance on the last day. The concert is presented as part of the Down-Town Jazz Festival on the Sherman Green in downtown Fairfield, an all-day jazzfest featuring amateur and professional groups- an event also founded by Torff. The husband and father of two also serves as musical director of the Bridgeport-based Regional Center for the Arts, encompassing high school students from five area schools. His students range from those who aspire to be professional musicians to those taking his classes just to fulfill the six-credit fine arts requirement of the core curriculum. It's no surprise that his teaching style reflects his playing style, that he approaches a roomful of students as he approaches a concert audience. "I start the class with a rough outline. If the students are responding in the classroom, we go further, we take off in new directions. I need to feel the students are growing." Raised on '60s rock artists like Cream and Jimi Hendrix, Torff tries to impress on his students the importance of knowing the roots of contemporary American music. "The blues rose from racial oppression, hip-hop rose from social surroundings. These days, everybody's category-happy. Students don't realize that the roots of the rock 'n roll they listen to are in these other forms of music. I want them to be aware of and proud of all styles of American music." His students respond to his commitment. Senior Mike Boucher, a math major and trumpet player who received an Arts & Sciences Achievement Award for his four year participation in the Jazz Ensemble, says he's most appreciative for the chance to play with professional musicians. "Bernard Purdie, Randy Brecker . . . it's great that Brian arranges for us to play with these guest artists. And with these artists on the program, we get to play for bigger audiences." The surge in Fairfield's jazz scene reflects the growth of the greater music scene on campus. It doesn't hurt that long-time music professor and former fine arts chairman Dr. Orin Grossman now serves as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences-the music program has a friend in a high place. Dr. Grossman's promotion left a gap in the music program that was filled by the naming of two full-time instructors, Torff and Richard Shillea, director of the University Orchestra and a highly regarded clarinetist active in classical ensembles around New York and New England. As a result of these appointments, the department was able to propose both the minors in Jazz Performance and Classical Performance. "The growth in the music program is connected to the growth of the fine arts as a whole," says Dean Grossman. "The performing groups have matured to the point where they can play more often, more widely, and in various combinations. For instance, we're now prepared to offer a concert combining the Orchestra with the Glee Club." Torff sees a future where the music department can attract and focus on students who want to perform professionally. The growth in the department and the creation of performing groups has undoubtedly affected applications from high schools. Torff and Shillea work with the Admissions Office to inform high school students of Fairfield's musical opportunities. Torff produced a video about the Jazz Ensemble, started a newsletter (the Jazzletter ) and directed an Ensemble performance at the open house for accepted admission applicants. Fairfield's proximity to New York allows the school to attract bigger names to concerts, and better private music instructors for students. The University's new guitar teacher is George Naha, a New York studio guitarist who has performed and recorded with Joe Cocker, Dr. John, Roy Orbison and Ron Wood. Torff espouses the best qualities of Fairfield's music program. "The students get a lot of attention here. We offer many diverse performing groups-the Jazz Ensemble, the Orchestra, the Glee Club. I can tell you that the Jazz Ensemble reaches a high standard for kids who aren't music majors. We definitely make the most of what we have." One of the people giving students a lot of attention is Torff himself, who seems to have no regrets whatsoever about ending his touring life and establishing himself in music education. "I was no longer fulfilled by road life, and I wouldn't have been happy with the isolation of studio recording-I need interaction. Now I teach artistically and play to educate, and I'm growing as a person as well as a musician. " John Courtmanche '88 from Fairfield Now Spring 1994 |
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