Harelm School of Urban Music Pro Recording StudioWinter 2011 saw my first winter in New York after being away for 5 years - it seemed that New York had something brutal in store..the worst winter that New York had ever seen in terms of snowfall.  Every weekend it was “well folks, another 27 inches of snow will drop on Jersey City” an so on and so forth.  Braving the elements, however, my Harlem School of Urban Music and Recording Arts gained some real traction when we got the pro recording studio set up.

February gave me the opportunity to escape from Old Man Winter’s wrath, fleeing the city for a couple of stints with Pete Escovedo & Sheila E. at Yoshi’s San Francisco and Jazz Alley, Seattle.  While in Seattle, I got to join my good friend Thomas Marriott for a joint gig of ours at Tula’s and a concert with Michael Feinstein at Seattle’s beautiful Benaroya Hall.

March gave further respite from the historical winter in NY, allowing me to join Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra for a gig in Los Cabos, Mexico, of all places.  My Conjunto Rovira band was also asked to headline the 2nd annual San Francisco Salsa Festival.

Back at the Harlem School of Urban Music, we auditioned and recruited our very first student class and began running classes in music theory, production and recording.  The Harlem School Live! series also got underway and we were able to bring world-class NYC musicians into the facility to rehearse, record, and work with the students:

http://dougbeavers.com/hsumra-photos/harlem-school-live-ep-1/

http://dougbeavers.com/hsumra-photos/harlem-school-live-ep-2/ 

Spring

They say things really change in Spring, and that held especially true for me in April.  I found myself single after six years of a relationship, four of them while being engaged.  This naturally really made me think about my life, goals and direction in a purely introspective way.  Even at this writing I can’t help but think about what a different path I am currently on.  This is a good thing.

Late April gave me the opportunity to record on Richie Viruet’s Blue Clave All Stars DVD.  Here’s a link to one of the tunes on which I’m featured.

With May arrived better weather and some more action on the music scene.  I was able to perform with Spanish Harlem Orchestra at Erie, PA and in Harlem NYC for the annual Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival.  On the 28th, I rejoined Eddie Palmieri La Perfecta II for a gig at Jacksonville Jazz Festival.  After the awesome gig, I found myself on an elevator with two people whom you might know:

Eddie Palmieri & Herbie Hancock - I'll never forget this moment!

Summer

June 2011 saw the arrival of the Summer touring season in full swing.  In my view the Puerto Rican Parade in NYC as the non-official start to this touring season, and I was able to perform on a float with “El Loco” Willie Alvarez for 2011’s version of the parade.  My memory of this parade is somewhat fuzzy - but that which I do remember was great fun!

June also saw the end of the first official semester at Harlem School of Urban Music.  I was extremely proud of what the students accomplished and all of the work they put in.  In collaboration with the video team at HSUM, we were able to put together this short EPK for the school:

From the school, it was back on the plane for more touring.  I joined Sheila E. for her gig at The Hague Jazz Festival in Amsterdam on the 18th  and then immediately flew back to Chicago, where I joined SHO for a gig in that great city’s Puerto Rican day celebration on the 19th.  I also appeared with SHO at the Toronto Jazz Festival and then Eddie Palmieri La Perfecta II played for the hometown crowd at BB King’s, NYC in Times Square.

It was more of the same in July where I played with the Pete, Sheila, and the E Family at the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival (meeting some great friends in the process - like this legend and at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA (south of San Jose).  A week later, we did our summer stint at Yoshi’s Oakland.

It was at this point that I was notified that I was a full-fledged member of Spanish Harlem Orchestra and that I would be joining them for their Euro Tour 2011, which ended up being a blast and an experience.  Here’s the schedule from that tour and accompanying video from some of our gigs:

7/28 SHO Vence, France

7/30 Rotterdam

7/31 Paris

8/4 Marciac

8/5 Corsica

8/7 Berlin

In August I got to fly back to my “homeland”, the SF Bay Area and perform with my ensembles.  A highlight was definitely my band’s appearance at San Jose Jazz Festival featuring Wayne Wallace and Abel Figueroa in a 3 trombone front line.  Here’s video from that performance:

 Fall 2011

September was full speed ahead as well, and I was able to join Eddie Palmieri La Perfecta II for some historic gigs in Medellin & Barranquilla, Colombia.  Here’s some video from those amazing concerts:

Spanish Harlem Orchestra also toured the West Coast towards the later half of the month, and I was able to spend my birthday with them on stage at La Granada in Los Angeles.  Here’s SHO’s itinerary from that tour:

9/21 SHO LA

9/22 SHO LA Granada

9/23 SHO San Jose Cultural Arts Center

9/24 SHO Albuquerque NM

9/25 SHO San Antonio TX

October saw the pace notch down a step, but it wasn’t without an exciting trip to St. Petersburg, Russia with SHO.  Some places we never dream of going when we are young, but as it were I found myself with a ticket on Aeroflot to Moscow.  We transferred on to St. Petersburg for an amazing gig at the St. Petersburg Salsa Festival with some wonderful people.

The end of October threw a total screwball - a full fledged Nor’ Easter on the 29th.  The same day that SHO was to leave for Boston for a concert that evening.  Half the band was diverted on to Amtrak and we arrived in Boston 30 minutes before the showtime.  “But I thought you said you wanted to be a musician.”, said Mother.

Trying to hustle back to Penn Station NYC to catch Boston train!

November finally slowed down and allowed me to focus on the Harlem School and on composing my next recording.  One gig that was a total treat was performing with Terese Geneco and Shaynee Rainbolt at Yoshi’s Oakland CA for a tribute show for the legendary arranger Russ Garcia.  Russ was supposed to be there but he had to stay back in New Zealand due to doctor’s orders.  Terese and Shaynee skyped him in on video and we were able to play his arrangements for him and for the audience live.  Sadly, Russ passed a mere week later.  Some gigs you never forget.

2011 ended with a bang with a stint at Yoshi’s San Francisco with Eddie Palmieri and a show in Folsom CA (close to Sacramento).  Besides having a great time, I learned some definitive lessons from these particular shows.

A day after it was a rush up to Eastern Canada for tour with Spanish Harlem’s “Salsa Navidad” show, where we performed in St. Catherines, Kingston, and Toronto.  The Toronto show in particular was special with an amazing venue in the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall.

Finally, 2011 winded down and I was fortunate enough to be able to vacation with my family in Maui HI.  It made me realize the time you spend relaxing and seeing the world is just as important as the time you spend hustling and working.  They are truly yin and yang.

9/21 - Los Angeles CA 8-9p AARP Convention, LA Studios

9/22 5-8a Live Taping Primera Edicion (Univision) 

        Live Taping -  Lanzate (Telefutura)

       10p - Show at the The Granada LA

9/23 San Jose CA -  9:45p Spanish Harlem Orch. w/guest Tito Puente Jr.

9/24 Albuquerque NM -8p Old Town Albuquerque
9/25 San Antonio TX 8:30 Travis Park Jazz’s Alive

Wayne Wallace, Doug Beavers & Jimmy Bosch, - SF Salsa Congress 2008

Doug Beavers "Titanes del Trombón", featuring Wayne Wallace and Abel Figueroa, will kick off the 2011 San Jose Jazz Festival on the Kaiser Permanente Stage at 6p.

Buy Tickets

Watch and read more about Titanes del Trombón here.

Doug Beavers, trombone
Wayne Wallace, trombone
Abel Figueroa, trombone
Carlos Rosario, vocals
Murray Low, piano
David Belove, bass
Josh Jones, drums
Danilo Paiz, percussion
Edgardo Cambón, percussion

Recorded here at the Harlem School of Urban Music @FDA , these guys really showed a professonal acumen and readily demonstrated the attention to detail that they've installled into their extensive rehearsing schedule.  Check out and download free these three tracks and witness what has made this band a New York City and international phoenomenon.  

Orq. Harlem Riverside

Frederick Douglass Academy Auditorium
Friday, June 10th, 7p.

2581 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
Harlem, NY 10039

Orquesta Harlem Riverside, feat. Hector Aponte,  Bobby Porcelli, Ivan Renta, Maximo Rodriguez & co-conductors Ray Santos and Doug Beavers will present a special debut feature concert on June 10.  The concert will present the full repertoire from the Orquesta’s upcoming debut CD.  World renowned Harlem Samba, under the direction of Mr. Dana Monteiro, is also slated to perform.

Hector Aponte
Jorge Maldonado
Luis Blasini, vocals

Bobby Porcelli, a. sax
Ivan Renta, t. sax
Javier Olivencia, b. sax
Richie Viruet, trumpet
Gino Pickart, trumpet
"Bomberito" Zarzuela, trumpet
Carlos Padron, timbal
Eric Velez, congas
Pedro "Porcholo" Segundo, bongo & campana

Desmar Guevarra, piano
Maximo Rodriguez, bass
 
Doug Beavers & Ray Santos, co-directors

Video from May 19th Preview Concert

Harlem School Live!, Episode 2 feat. Orq. Harlem Riverside

Donate $1 and receive new music from the Harlem School Live! sessions!

Orquesta Harlem Riverside homepage

May 27, 2011

As a lot of you may know, I’m heavily involved in the fields of Latin Jazz and Afro-Caribbean music.  Afro Caribbean music and its marriage to Jazz (most call this Latin Jazz) excites me.  All of the thousands of rhythms of its great tradition are infectious to me.  Afro Caribbean music gets me up in the morning.  I find myself dancing its rhythms and steps in the mirror at any given time for no apparent reason.

It’s a major part of my career as a musician.  I’ve studied it and made the most important friends in my life because of it.  I compose it and arrange it.  I teach it everyday to coming generations of musicians.   I get to watch on satisfyingly as students get the hang of playing a rhythm in clave and get really excited about it.  They take it home with them and create their own variations and gestations.  They come back with their own melodies, based on these rhythms.  Few things in life satisfy me more than that.

In addition to my own projects, I get to tour and perform with the major figures that are standing behind the current protest to the categorical cuts in the Grammy awards.  In the next month alone, I will have the humble honor to perform with 9-time Grammy Winner Eddie Palmieri, Pete Escovedo and his Latin Jazz Orchestra, and the 2-time Grammy winning orchestra Spanish Harlem Orchestra, led by Oscar Hernández.

As of late, I’ve been trying to figure out just where I stand on this intensifying debate, which is currently generating a lot of awareness as a result of street protests in Los Angeles and press conferences both here in New York and my hometown, the San Francisco Bay Area.  Personally, I feel that this is a tough issue - I can see parts of both sides of the coin.  It wasn’t until I felt that I could see clear missteps in the decision that I decided to weigh in.

“Adding Value”

Most can see the need to add value to something.  We all do it at some point or another.      We refurbish our kitchens.  We invest.  We can thusly see the impetus to make an award an object of desire and an object to be lauded.  

The way that the NARAS Board of Trustees has gone about cutting categories attacks the very fabric of this country and our greatest asset.  Our diversity.

This was wrong.

It should have never been done.  At the very least, voting members of NARAS had to be made aware of a such a sweeping decision as it was being made.  NARAS, of which I am a part, is a democratic organization which comes to decisions about entries, nominations and awards via its voting members and its Board of Governors.  The voting members of NARAS and its corresponding Board of Governors in the different cites should have been informed and been a party to this decision.

Importance of Diversity

How can cutting an award category attack the diversity of a nation?  Quite simply, in its long term implications.

The Grammy award is the summit of success for most of us who are part of the process of creating music.  How can generations to follow not be discouraged to create music based on the styles which represent the cut categories?  The mere possibility of receiving a nomination inspires creators in these styles to create their own takes of the music which has influenced them.  The result will be less music created in these styles that are 100% American, by definition.  We therefore lose diversity, as a nation.

We have to be clear here - the chance of a musician specializing in Cajun music or “Traditional Blues” or Latin Jazz to actually win a Grammy has been reduced to nearly 0%.  In our current climate, (insert discussion of major labels vs. indies and independent musicians here) there is no way that a musician specializing in the forms representing the categories can compete against artists with more of a mainstream influence that have been folded into the same category as they have.

So why would a person influenced by these styles put it all on the line to 1) become a musician of these styles and to 2) create their own music on an album, putting most of their life resources on the line to do so?  It clearly won’t be to be internationally recognized by receiving a Grammy award.  For a lot of us, being recognized with a Grammy is certainly the biggest part of the dream.  Even being nominated would be the most validating prize in a life of sacrifices.

The way to celebrate the great diversity of this country (and for that matter, the world) is to promote it.  You keep these categories intact - they do not “devalue” the Grammy in any way.  If any of us were to win a Grammy award outright in our area of specialization we would be ecstatic.  Nothing could take away from the significance of that vaunted award.  

It was difficult enough to win a Grammy before these changes went into effect.  Just ask 60+ year Latin Jazz veteran Pete Escovedo:

“I was fortunate enough to be nominated in 1989 for my recording entitled “Mister E.” That nomination inspired me to work harder at my profession – to reach for the ultimate goal – A GRAMMY – which at some point in my life I hope to achieve.”

The NARAS representatives arguing for the cuts have countered with a numerical analysis on the present number of categories versus past.  This is well beyond a “numbers” issue.  When you deal with sacrificing the diversity of our country’s music, to merely add value to an award, you have fallen out of touch with the mission statement of NARAS and have dropped the ball when it comes to what should be its true priorities, cultural awareness and diversity being chief among them.

Where I DON’T Agree with the Protestors

There have a couple of points and issues that have bothered me in regards to the protestors of the Grammy category cuts.

First, I think calling for the immediate resignation of President Neil Portnow and the Board of Trustees is insensitive and ill-advised.  I personally know folks on the “Secret Sub-Committee” that was formed and what they have done to promote diversity before the round of categorical cuts.  Some in particular are friends that I hold very dear and have readily demonstrated efforts to spread cultural awareness and diversity through the MusicCares program.  Asking for their resignation in NO way sets the stage for an amicable resolution to this issue.  This in fact jeopardizes the main goal of having the cut categories reinstated.

I also take issue with calling the cuts racist.  To be fair, mainstream categories were cut as well, and these categories include artists that are of mixed race and musical background.  True, cutting categories of musical diversity will lead to a homogenization of music in general (which is highly unfortunate), and this, in my opinion, is very much going in the wrong direction.   But I just can’t see how this process is explicitly racist.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

All things considered - cutting these categories will systematically result in a “cut” in desire to create this music of diversity.  The music, and therefore the culture, of this country and of music followers and fans the world over will suffer tremendously from the standpoint of the stimulating rhythmical and stylistic components that make it exciting.   General awareness and inclusion of these diverse styles in music will eventually be lost as a result.

To this capacity, I stand in opposition to the categorical cuts to the Grammys made by NARAS.

Doug Beavers
Trombonist, Arranger, Composer, Educator 
Program Director
Harlem School of Urban Music and Recording Arts @
Frederick Douglass Academy, Harlem NYC
Advocate of Diversity in Music
mail@dougbeavers.com

You can read the interview here.

You can add the new Harlem School RSS feed by clicking here.

It’s been a busy start to 2011 here in snowy and blustery New York City. I’ve been busy with a couple of interesting projects and have been reflecting on a productive yet challenging 2010. I’ll dive right in with a recap of 2010:

In this issue: West Coast Tour, Reviews, Harlem School Update, Conjunto Rovira Returns, Recommended Listening

2010 Recap

Two Shades of Nude2010 saw the release of my second CD as a leader, Two Shades of Nude. It was a humble pleasure and honor to record with this sterling list of NYC cats in 2007 and it brought much relief and a sense of accomplishment to finally bring out this jazz nonet recording to the world en masse on Origin Records. The album managed to peak at #33 on the Jazzweek radio chart and continues to collect very well-received reviews. The CD release party at Yoshi’s Oakland, CA was a big hit and resulted in sold out shows.

2010 saw plenty of traveling abroad with multiple artists including Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Pete Escovedo and Don Omar. We were able to visit beautiful people and parts of the world in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Spanish Harlem is nominated for a Grammy this year and I was thrilled to be a part of their first DVD release filmed at the HOSTOS Performing Arts Center in the Bronx, NY. Look for the release later this year.

On the composition front, my symphonic tone-poem American Transgressions for Orchestra commissioned by Timothy Smith and the renowned Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra debuted last November to some great reviews. This work is actually the first movement of a planned symphony that will involve the use of a battery of latin percussionists. More to come on the progress of this work!

In the education world, my relocation back to New York in October found me saying good-bye to my post as part of the jazz faculty at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, CA, a post that I grew increasingly fond of as I witnessed the amazing development of our students in that program. As I begin my new post as Program Director for the new Harlem School of Urban Music and Recording Arts, I will continually look to the development of these students as a goalpost for my own current students. More follows below on some of the cool things we are planning for this technologically innovative program!

The year culminated with my relocation back to New York City and the burrowing in for the long winter that is currently underway. While snowed in, I’ll be doing principal composition and arranging for my next release and re-connecting with my friends and peers from this great hive of activity. Here's what's on tap in the coming weeks:

 update: harlem school of urban music and recording arts

Pro Tools HD Accel 2 with C|24 Console @ Harlem SchoolCurriculum for the Harlem School is nearly completed and technology keeps on rolling in. We’ve just installed a brand new Pro Tools HD Accel 2 System (ours is pictured at right!) with a C24 mixing console in the pro recording studio, housed at Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. We are also in the process of installing audio interfaces for each of the 27” iMac student workstations running Apple Garage Band and Sibelius First. We are slating the grand opening of the school for March 1st!

conjunto Rovira returns!Wayne Wallace, Doug Beavers and Jimmy Bosch

Doug Beavers y su Conjunto Rovira returns to the SF Bay Area for two more hard-hitting shows:

March 9 Conjunto Rovira at Shattuck Down Low -Berkeley CA

March 12 Conjunto Rovira Titanes del Trombón (feat. Wayne Wallace, Abel Figueroa and Doug Beavers) headlines SF Salsa Festival 2011!

recommended listening/reading

I’ve added a couple of new features to the website, including a new arranging section/discussion and a “Currently Digging” section, where I outline some of the things I’ve been checking out in detail over the past couple of months. (#1 on my list right now is the new Stanley Clarke recording. Freakish!)

Feel free to visit and leave a comment as to what you are checking out right now.

Wishing you a happy and successful 2011,

Doug Beavers