Paul Read News

A couple of blog entries ago, I mentioned the Rate Your Professors website. Only three entries so far and two favourable. But the third, written by someone completely anonymous of course, and completely unimpressed with my teaching and abilities as an educator gave me a good whacking. Such is life. Apparently I am a ‘jazz intellectual’ who kills off the spirit and the sense of creative adventure in my students. The writer misspells my name, indicating a strong likelihood that they have not been in a class of mine for a while, if ever. Not sure why the vitriol, but at least the student voted. Anyway, such is life, isn’t it? The course the student lists isn’t even in our calendar, so it is possible that it is just some n’e'er do well out to roast whoever and whatever may lie in their path.
In the event this is a student in a class of mine: My wife Trish and I talked about this tonight. We both teach with the highest sense of purpose. We want to educate with clarity, compassion, caring, intelligence, and with the hopes that we can spur our students on to self discovery. It hurts a bit to get whacked, but I think we both know that this type of student is always going to be there. They don’t get the big picture, and they certainly don’t understand what it is we are trying to do. To the one who wrote this: consider the students who, over the years, have ’survived’ my overly intellectual approach (me…an intellectual….I kind of like that….but it doesn’t ring). Also consider the fact that you are critical of a teacher who earnestly teaches and talks about and encourages students to think about not only the past and present, but the future of the music as well. Where have you been sitting. At the back with your thumbs in your ears?

Nice to have a blog in which to rant.

Have a nice day.

Paul

Thanks for dropping by. Today was the third and final day of recording the University of Toronto 10 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra. I am extremely happy with the work of the band on this project and hope you’ll keep in touch to find out when it will be released. This is the fourth CD we’ve done since the first one in 1998. All the repertoire was arranged and or composed by faculty (yours truly and Terry Promane) or grad students (Mike McClennan) or alumni (Andrew Jones and Renee Rosnes). We decided to do one of Renee’s because she was our Smith Visitor in Jazz this year, and also, on one tune we had an extra saxophonist, faculty member and grad student, Quinsin Nachoff. At any rate, look for this to come out on the Arbor Disc label early this fall.
Too tired to comment or rant about anything further today.
Thanks for dropping by.
P

Hi
Here are some latest news updates. Lots of little things this time. On the medical front (sorry it has to take the front seat because it has dominated things again), the discontinuation of all meds in January (reported earlier) had positive and negative results. The baby went down the drain with the bathwater (horrible old expression isn’t it?) and those good, and loyal gastro-intestinal meds were, in this case, the baby. Without the help of these, I have had several severe GI flareups and two trips to hospitals (one in Brandon) and the most recent a 5 day stint in Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto. Upshot: increased meds and warnings to watch my eating and not to overdo things (!?). Much better every day now. The depression part of things is well under control at the moment, so at least, while horribly inconvenient and uncomfortable, the GI stuff is more tangible and something everyone can really understand.

In the middle of all that kuffuffle, I had to cancel a PRO (Paul Read Orchestra) rehearsal with 2 new charts ready to go and that hurt! Everyone was cool with that and we resume our rehearsals soon. Meanwhile I am writing and writing. Lots of material. Orchestration time is at a premium right now.

We record the U of T 10 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra this coming week (starting tomorrow) with three days in the studio. The band is a very good one this year with some OUTSTANDING individuals and soloists. The material is all Canadian. 2 charts by Terry Promane, 2 by Andrew Jones, 1 by Mike McClennan, 3 by me and one by Renee Rosnes. This is the band’s 4th CD and should be really good. Hope you’ll pick up a copy…it will likely be available in October or November 2006.

On another note, one of my students emailed me with this link which is from a site called “Rate My Professors“. There are two entries and so far, THANK GOODNESS, I’m doing okay.

Am going to Kingston on April 28 to hear the premiere of my Fanfare and Processional for Brass Choir (pub. BRS Music) performed by BrassWerks. The concert is at 8 pm – St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston, Ontario. The group, directed by trombonist/arranger/composer, John Palmer has a busy concert schedule in the Kingston area and has developed quite a following. My good friend and former roomate from university days (many moons ago), Rick Cairns, is a member – and an important one too – of the trumpet section. I have always enjoyed Rick’s playing, but even more, I enjoy watching him get READY to play. It was better in the old days when he had a moustache, because he could really involve it in the routine. You know how you watch some batters in baseball fiddle with their wrist band, kick the dirt out of their cleats, spit a couple of times, adjust the old cup, fiddle with elbow and forearm pads, undo and redo the velcro bands on their batting gloves, step into the box, wave for time, and then final settle in (only to take a pitch!). You know about that. My good buddy Rick used to have a pre-shot routine that was out of this world. Over the years it has mellowed and all but the inner circle will miss signs of this next Friday when he tees it up with the rest of BrassWerks, but I will be watching for it and can’t wait. All kidding aside, Rick is a fine musician and a multi-faceted talent. He is an actor, singer, trumpet player, arranger and was, until he retired a short time ago, a wonderful full time teacher!

After that, I’m off to Banff for the Rocky Mountain Festival. I’ll be doing some clinics there and breathing some of the best air we have in Canada. Banff is about 4000′ above sea level and a good place for me to see how my body reacts to this mild altitude difference (about 3K higher than Toronto). Hoping to climb in Colorado with John Davis in August….later in another blog posting I’ll go into that.

After that it is back home for a day or so and then off to New York for my eagerly anticipated lesson with jazz master Jim McNeely. I’ll report on that when I get home.

That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Paul

Please be patient. Writing music in all my ‘free’ time. Have more rehearsals coming up and have to keep at it.
See you soon.

BUT THRILLED the Blue Jays are back in town. Here we go again. we’re at .500 right now. Gotta get busy!!

Paul