Phoenix-based saxophonist/composer/educator Mary Petrich stops by the VJC Q&T podcast for a spirited conversation with host Russell Schmidt. A founding member of the Nash Composers Coalition, Mary is deeply admired by her peers for her uniquely creative voice, both as a performer and composer. Join us today as we share questions and tangents on such matters as how practice habits can morph into compositions, the connection between vibration in one’s horn and vibration in the body, and even consider how the creative process might be analogous to excavation. NOTE: This episode was recorded in late February 2020. It is the final VJC Q&T episode to be recorded prior to the massive upheaval resulting from the global pandemic. While thought was given to shelving this episode–as the current state of affairs goes blissfully unmentioned throughout–the decision was made to release it nonetheless, in large part because it frequently focuses on beauty in the creative process.
Phoenix-based saxophonist/composer/educator Mary Petrich stopped by the VJC Q&T podcast in late February for a spirited conversation with host Russell Schmidt. Mary has long been admired by her peers for her uniquely creative voice, both as a performer and composer. A founding member of the Nash Composers Coalition, she is also increasingly active on the scene as an educator, including her brilliant work with the Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising program.
In this engaging interview (recorded prior to the massive upheaval resulting from the global pandemic), Mary and Russ shared questions and tangents on such matters as how practice habits can morph into compositions, the connection between vibration in one’s horn and vibration in the body, and even consider how the creative process might be analogous to excavation.
Learn more about Mary Petrich here:
Learn more about the Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising program, of which she is a Co-Founder, here:
https://thenash.org/education/phoenix-jazz-girls-rising/
Find her most recent recording, Murmuration, here:
https://www.amazon.com/Murmuration-Mary-Petrich-Openhand/dp/B019S6YOMQ
Learn more about some of the people, venues, works, and concepts mentioned in the podcast here:
Claudia Bloom – https://www.claudiabloompianist.com/
Julianne Colwell – http://voyagephoenix.com/interview/art-life-julianne-colwell/
Bill Evans – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Evans
Charles Lewis – https://downtowndevil.com/?s=Charles+lewis+jazz
Thelonious Monk – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk
Pam Morita – https://pamelamorita.wixsite.com/jazz
Terry Riley – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Riley
Wayne Shorter – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Shorter
Monica Shriver – http://www.monicashriver.com/
Brice Winston – http://www.bricewinston.com/
The Nash – https://thenash.org/
The Language of the Unknown – https://www.audaud.com/the-language-of-the-unknown-the-wayne-shorter-quartet-blu-ray-2014/
Tread On The Trail – http://www.sonoloco.com/rev/composers/glo/trail/trail.html
University of Exeter Study on the Different Effects of Poetry and Prose on the Brain – https://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112971504/effects-of-poetry-on-the-brain-101013/
Collaborative Piano – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_piano
Drop the Needle – https://nafme.org/drop-the-needle/
Motivic Cell – http://composersguide.com/motivic-cells/
Thanks for listening!
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Website: https://www.valleyjazz.org/
Social Media (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/ValleyJazzCooperative/
About The Host: Pianist/composer/educator Russell Schmidt has performed with such celebrated artists as Carl Allen, Michael Brecker, Eddie Daniels, John Hollenbeck, Joe Lovano, Gerry Mulligan, Lucas Pino, Arturo Sandoval, and Clark Terry. Among his recordings as a leader are Anachromysticism (2012), which highlights Russell’s wide-ranging efforts as a jazz composer, Jazz Triptych, Volume I – The Sacred (2018), a collection of hymns and spirituals reimagined in the jazz language, and his most recent recording, the companion album Jazz Triptych, Volume II – The Secular (2019).
After a distinguished career in academia, Russell joined Music Serving The Word in June 2014 as Coordinator of Education, founding MSW’s Valley Jazz Cooperative program in 2016. Previously, he served as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University and the University of Utah. He was also a member of the Eastman School of Music jazz faculty, where he co-conducted the Eastman Studio Orchestra. A student of Rayburn Wright, Russell holds two degrees from Eastman.
Find music from VJC Q&T host Russell Schmidt here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuao1b7Ztc7JNpUTzyorXDQ?
The Questions & Tangents podcast is produced by Caleb Kilian, for the Valley Jazz Cooperative, an outreach of MSW Ministries, a 501(c)(3) organization.