It’s one thing to play jazz with a “Latin flavor” and quite another to play Latin Jazz. This interactive session with live demonstrations will provide you an approach that will help you and your students to access, interpret, and play music that honors the rich musical traditions of Latin America in an authentic way. The clinic will focus on Brazilian and Cuban music, but the approaches shared can be applied to any musical tradition. Don’t quantize, “authenticize!”
Darryl Singleton
- Biographical Information
I am Dr. Darryl Singleton. I am Asst. Professor of Black Music in America and Social Justice, Jazz Percussion teacher, and Jazz Area Coordinator at Washington State Univ. I lead “Crimson Ties,” WSU’s world music ensemble and I am advisor for Mariachi Leones del Monte. In my home, Washington, DC, I taught at Duke Ellington High School for the Arts, and the University of the District of Columbia, going on to teach band and percussion at Grambling State Univ. and then Texas Southern Univ., finishing my tenure at TSU as Interim Director of Bands.
Performing highlights include playing the percussion book with Gladys Knight, Jennifer Holliday, Phyllis Hyman, and Aretha Franklin. Before leaving Houston, I played drums and percussion with the Conrad Johnson Orchestra (jazz). I also served for 16 years as timpanist/principal percussion in the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra. It was in Houston where I spent 18 months on intensive study of Latin percussion styles, jamming weekly with native Cuban and Brazilian musicians.
I currently play drums and/or percussion in 4 groups, including a duo with my co-presenter, César Haas. My jazz compositions have been performed at TMEA and most recently at the NAfME All-Northwest conference by Jazz Northwest, WSU's faculty combo. I have a passion for authentic performance of music, regardless of style. I advocate for cultural representation and celebration, rather than appropriation. This is what led to the development of “Don’t Qauntize: Authenticize,” with plans for similarly-themed presentations in the future. I use ProMark sticks and mallets.
I am Dr. César Haas, a Brazilian jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. Performing highlights include concerts with renowned jazz artists such as Chris Byars, Alex Noris, Brian Dickinson, Fernando Huergo, Paul Meyers, Richie Vitale, among others. Recently, I released my first album, “Brazilian Images” featuring Bobby Militello, a former member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. While in New York earning my doctorate at Eastman, I co-led the Ibeji Quartet which was active in upstate NY, including a performance in the Rochester International Jazz Festival. An original composition, Mangabeu, was selected to be part of the Jazz at Eastman Album.
I currently direct the Washington State University guitar studio, which has nearly doubled in size since my arrival in 2021. Also included in my teaching schedule are jazz theory and jazz history. Both of those responsibilities are a continuation of faculty begun at Eastman, where my efforts were rewarded with the Eastman School of Music Teaching Assistant Prize for 2020-21. Along with teaching duties, I maintain an active recording and performing schedule here in the Northwest but have still had the opportunity to perform and guest lecture on the East Coast and in Brazil.
My current research work is to examine harmonic techniques from 20th century composer Vincent Persichetti and apply them to jazz improvisation, composition, and arrangement on the guitar. My doctoral lecture recital presentation on this topic was nominated to the Eastman Lecture Recital Prize.