August 09, 2024
Paul Carr’s All-State Jazz Audition Essentials
Conquer All-County and All-State with these strategies from the eminent educator and saxophonist.
Maryland-based saxophonist Paul Carr is one of those rare jazz educators who doesn’t need to bring in outside help when he wants his students to work with a respected professional jazz performer. He is that performer, with a steady schedule of festival and club dates and an extensive discography.
On record and on stage, he collaborates with some of the finest jazz musicians currently at work. To wit: His most recent album, The Paul Carr Legacy Quartet, features pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lewis Nash. Carr’s approach matches the forward-looking language of John Coltrane with the bluesy comforts he picked up in his native Texas, from saxophonists like Don Wilkerson and Arnett Cobb. He also learned plenty about soul power and showmanship as a member of Conrad O. Johnson’s legendary Kashmere Stage Band.
“Paul always stressed the importance of listening and transcribing.”
For over two decades now, Carr has nurtured new generations of improvisers in his Jazz Academy of Music (JAM), which offers ensembles during the school year as well as a popular summer camp. JAM ensembles also perform at the annual Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, which Carr organizes and programs to reflect his dedication to the swinging, blues-rooted principles of classic straight-ahead jazz.
In its relatively brief history, JAM has earned recognition as an incubator for nationally recognized talent, such as the saxophonist and singer-songwriter Braxton Cook, one of jazz’s fastest-rising stars, whose original music melds jazz and neo-soul. Members of Carr’s bands have also garnered a reputation for making the cut, year after year, in All-County and All-State jazz ensembles. Through a combination of common-sense guidance and hard-earned wisdom, Carr has developed a knack for shaping many high-octane young players who repeatedly triumph in their auditions.
“Paul always stressed the importance of listening and transcribing the great saxophone players and saxophone sections,” reflects Cook, who played in the Maryland All State Jazz Band and went on to Juilliard. His studies with Carr included Johnny Hodges’ work with Duke Ellington; Charlie Parker with Jay McShann; and Cannonball Adderley. “These were great examples of amazing soloists who knew how to blend in a sax section and lead a sax section as well.”
“Still to this day,” he adds, “transcribing solos is one of the best ways I can develop as a musician. When it comes to production techniques and singing, the same tenets apply. I study the mix, drum sounds and vocal tone of others’ music and try to match them until I decode how to get a particular sound. This skill set carries over into everything I do.”
Carr has developed a knack for shaping many high-octane young players who repeatedly triumph in their auditions.
As an educator whose programs teach hundreds of kids annually, Carr appreciates the support in instruments and lessons that Music & Arts provides. “I think Music & Arts is great. They’re out in the neighborhoods,” he says, going on to explain how his JAM students come from all over the D.C. metropolitan area, so an organization with plenty of locations is particularly helpful.
We recently contacted Carr, a Vandoren performing artist, to learn more about the strategies that give JAM kids the edge at All-State auditions. Highlights from that conversation appear below.
Jazz Doesn’t Take a Vacation
As far as advice goes, it’s simple enough: Play as much as you can! One of the reasons his students have a leg up on the competition, Carr says, is that they’re enrolled in his camp and practicing during the summer. Keeping the chops up when school and band programs aren’t in session is paramount. Even before the audition materials have been announced, Carr’s students are building confidence and internalizing concepts they’ll be tested on during the school year. “That foundation they get in the summer helps a whole lot,” he says.
When Carr discovers he has a student with All-County or All-State aspirations, he’ll give them features in the ensemble as well as music to practice reading. “I just start putting them in situations so that when they take the audition,” he says, “that audition is just a byproduct of stuff they’ve already been doing.”
Stay Informed (That Means You, Band Directors)
In order to knock the audition out of the park, students have to know when and where it is. So they should be mindful of video submission deadlines and live audition dates, especially if their jazz-band director isn’t. “A band director who is a friend of mine has everything posted when you walk in the band room: All-County, All-State,” says Carr. “His students can see the deadlines and requirements day after day.” Unfortunately he’s the exception and not the rule.
It’s perfectly understandable, Carr says—too many band directors are perennially overworked and overwhelmed—but a little more attention to audition prep and planning would go a long way. In addition to helping individual students realize their goals, the increased awareness would allow All-County and All-State band programs to attract the best talent.
“The thing about jazz is that half of the music is not on the paper…”
Dig Into the Materials Early and Often
How soon should focused preparation for the audition begin? As soon as the requirements are posted. Typically, auditions will include scales; the reading of etudes; performances of composition excerpts in contrasting jazz styles (swing, Latin, bop, jazz-funk); and a couple choruses of improvisation over a common form (often a blues). Students should locate the audition music asap, as well as any available professional recordings of the music. These don’t need to be official educational backing tracks. Students simply need to hear something to aspire to as they play along—performances with all the swing, tone and phrasing that great jazz musicians bring to the table. “You’ll know what the music should sound like,” Carr says, “which will make it very tough for the judges not to choose you.”
It is possible to cram for an audition, and Carr says he’ll have students who want help just three weeks out from the audition deadline. But that approach is ill-advised. “Sometimes it works,” says Carr. “And sometimes it doesn’t.”
Paul Carr’s Vandoren Setups |
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Seek the Sound
So what are those judges judging anyway? Meeting the necessary technical requirements of the audition is crucial, obviously; you can’t fake your way out of playing the music well. Beyond that, Carr says, “number one is confidence.” The other most important factor is a player’s sound. A unique and affecting sound is the holy grail for any jazz musician, and a competition judge with experience directing big bands will hear a player’s sonic imprint like a master chef looks at a vegetable stand or a butcher shop. “The evaluator hears it and thinks, ‘OK, that’s a sound I could work with’; ‘that’s a sound that’s blendable’; ‘that’s a sound that could be played out as a feature, and it’s in tune and it’s great.’”
Practice Makes Perfect and Soothes the Jitters. Yoga Helps Too
Basically, Carr encourages would-be All-Staters to practice. And practice some more. And if all else fails, try practicing. A student should have the audition materials ingested so deeply that they could take or leave the printed music. As the audition deadline nears, says Carr, “I’ll turn the music around just to see how well they know it.” Once the notes themselves have been absorbed, other facets of the performance can be finetuned and enlivened—especially rhythm. The music just needs to feel right, with the laid-back yet assured phrasing that defines the best improvisers. “The thing about jazz is that half of the music is not on the paper,” says Carr.
Playing along to the recordings will help students unlock the rhythm, and help them handle performance anxiety if the audition is in person. “If you’re a human being who is living and breathing and blood is going through your veins, there’s gonna be a little bit of angst before you play,” he says. “As old as I am, I still feel it too.”
“The more prepared you are,” he continues, “the more the anxiety level goes down.” If audition day comes and a student simply can’t keep it together, they should try to just play. Don’t worry about the competitors milling around the hallways or the etudes or even a count-off; just try putting air through the horn and having fun. Nothing settles the nerves like playing your favorite music well.
During the past decade, Carr has incorporated into his teaching the relaxation and focus techniques he learned through his own yoga study. In particular, the pranayama method of controlled breathing has helped him and his students reduce anxiety prior to a high-stakes performance—and these techniques could certainly be beneficial in an audition setting.
Opening Quotes
If, as is sometimes the case, the improvisation portion of the audition is optional, always opt to improvise. If it comes down to two applicants who did equally well with the written music—which happens with some frequency—the student who improvised will get the spot over the student who didn’t.
Because the emotional intensity of an audition typically isn’t great for raw creativity, Carr strongly recommends students have three or four quotations or motifs at the ready. “I know everybody wants improvisation to come out of the sky and get into their head,” he says, “but you have to actually put stuff in the computer before it comes out.” Beginning with a classic solo quote from jazz history or a familiar, rehearsed phrase will calm the student’s nerves and help them find their harmonic and rhythmic footing before they take bigger risks.
A Video Audition Is Not a Video Rehearsal
If you haven’t been a student musician since the advent of Zoom and the smartphone, you might be surprised to learn just how much of the audition process is conducted via video nowadays. So while jitters are much less of a concern, continuity is still required and must be readily apparent; in many instances, students will need to record their audition video in front of a running clock.
Carr is quick to point out that just because a student can record and re-record their audition as much as they like, they shouldn’t need to. “If you’re recording this 19 times,” he says, “you haven’t practiced it enough.” As far as the actual production of the video, students can use the technology they probably already have in their pocket. Current iPhones and iPads capture excellent sound and video, Carr says, and generally do the trick.
Listen Up, Rhythm Section
Again, Carr recommends that all his students listen and play along to as much of the audition music as possible. Students need to hear it to better understand the phrasing, articulation and other nuances. But the rhythm section really needs to focus on listening. Judges are going to want to hear a swinging, self-assured rhythm-section player who feels comfortable supporting and sometimes guiding a big band. Drummers especially need to understand the leadership angle of their role. They call the drum stool the throne for a reason, Carr explains. “When you’re playing drums in a big band, you’re basically the second band director,” he says. “So you need to be all seeing, all knowing, all hearing.”
Don’t Be Too Cool for School
The peril of having such dedicated, gifted students, Carr says, is overconfidence. To a high-school kid who is already on the path to becoming a professional musician, an All-State audition might seem like a breeze. But judges will notice a lack of preparation and respect for the process regardless of how talented a player is. If Carr asks a student about an upcoming audition and receives a response like “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s all good,” he’ll insist on hearing a runthrough anyway.
More often than not, he’ll notice at least one element that needs work. And even if the student has the music down pat, there’s always more that can be done to spice up an audition. The etudes in particular can be a bit “benign,” as Carr puts it, so he’ll help students add tasteful dynamics to differentiate their performance. “I’ll put in a turn here, a turn there,” Carr says. “So when the judges hear it, they say, ‘Wow, this sounds a little bit more musical.’”
In the end, the judges want to hear jazz students who are well on their way to becoming jazz artists.
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