Jass Camp At Sea
By Mary Solsbak
The following is an email that I recieved from Mary. Sounds like a great way to spend a week! -- J.I.
Jim, thanks for the information and for the interest in our camp. As you probably have guessed, "Jass" camp indicates it will definitely be traditional jazz, and we have some of the finest trad jazz performers as our instructors. All of them have had previous experience instructing. Tom Bartlett is our trombone instructor and music director - I think he's the best in the business! Bob Schulz will teach cornet & trumpet, also voice. We've recently opened up just six slots for vocalists. Jim Rothermel will instruct reeds and also give a theory class. Ray Skjelbred is our piano instructor, Scott Anthony, banjo and guitar, Tom Jacobus bass and tuba, and Bill Maginnis, drums. The camp will be on Holland America's ms Oosterdam, one of their largest and newer ships, round trip San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Riviera. It is a 7-day cruise taking place March 22-29, 2008.
This is a camp for adult musicians. Most of the students we have signed up so far are in middle age or older, retired, members of jazz clubs and bands and wishing to improve their technique, get help with a problem, work on improvisation and have an opportunity to play with other musicians. Some of them don't have the chance to do that at home. Tuition is $350, and the cruise prices start at $1130 per person double occupancy.
We will have 10 rotating sessions for each student. Each session is one hour and will have two ensembles of 7 musicians. The first ensemble plays for 30 minutes under the supervision of an instructor while the other ensemble observes. Then the second ensemble plays for the remaining 30 minutes while the first observes. At each one-hour session, the students are scheduled into new groups with different students -- kind of like musical chairs! This gives each student the opportunity of playing with nearly every other student. We don't believe in segregating students into levels of ability and keeping them in set groups. In our experience, the better students will raise the bar for the less skilled; whereas, if they remain with musicians of similar ability, they may not advance. Additionally, each student will have one 30-minute one-on-one session with the instructor of his instrument. We don't have all the details worked out yet, but there will be at least two faculty concerts and some kind of closing concert/ceremony with the students playing. Lead sheets of the music to be used will be sent out at least six weeks before the camp along with CDs of that music.
My husband and I and partners (and travel agents) Bob & Sally McKay purposely took this same cruise last December. The ship's crew very kindly gave us a complete tour of the ship at which time we were able to locate all the possible venues to be used for instruction. These have been reserved along with enough cabins for a full complement of students and instructors (84 students - 12 per instructor) and their spouses/companions. We have also blocked every bit of available space beyond our requirements for instruction for 'jam rooms' for the students in their free time. I was an administrator of the jazz camp in San Diego for many years and noted this was something the students always wanted -- a place to jam after hours!
We have four "at sea" days and three days in port. We are scheduling the instruction around the port days so everyone is able to go ashore (but we'll have a jam room available for any who don't wish to). Port days will be free except for no more than one rotation or private lessons for anyone between 5:30 and 6:30. Dinner is second seating at 8pm.
Didn't mean to be so long-winded. I get excited thinking about it! Our faculty is very excited and enthusiastic, and I expect they are making plans I don't even know about yet! I can send you a flyer, but I've given you most of the information here, and the rest you can get on our website at www.jazznuts.com on the jass camp pages. Full cruise pricing is there as well as bios of the instructors and an application form to print out. Bios on the four of us, too, elsewhere on the site.
Hope you'll join us at Camp!
Best regards,
Mary
