Issu

e 2

- Dec

-Mar

201

2/13

Intake Session (Academic)January - February/August - September

GATE-SSTH Higher Diploma in Hotel &Restaurant Management (3 Years)T.U. equivalency for BHM (Bachelor Degree)

Sense the reputation ofSwiss

Hospitality Education

in Nepal

Intake Session (Vocational)August - September

- Only academy in Asia to win inParis 2011

- Credit Transfer access to global universities.

- Affiliated to SSTH, the famous leading hospitality academy inSwitzerland with over 45 years of history

- Perhaps the only academy to cater international flights andreach distinguished international clients.

- Visiting faculties from 7 different nationalities.

- Track record number of placement & internship in mostrespected international chain hotels.

"World Hospitality Award"

EDITORIAL TEAM Laura McManus Antonio Reyes Bejarán

WRITERS Ashesh Rai Ben Stivers Mariano E. Abello

PHOTOGRAPHERAgron DragajMariano E. AbelloJaime López Gracia

MARKETING Sunita Shakya Rajat Rai

DESIGNS Sujin Joshi

KJC magazine is published thrice a year by Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher.

+977-1-5013554info@katjazz.com.np www.katjazz.com.np

theteam

Like Us on Facebook: facebook.com/kathmandujazzFollow Us on Twitter: twitter.com/kathmandujazz

4|

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of the KJC Magazine. The Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory has now a print magazine as well as an online publication to engage and inspire musicians and music lovers in Kathmandu and all around. These first two issues have truly been a labor of love, of art, by me, the team at KJC and their hard work in researching, scheduling, edit-ing, proofreading, marketing, publishing, etc. And, to all the contributors who supported the magazine’s creation: I cannot thank you enough for all your encouragement and enthusiasm.

After 5 years, we have an average of over 300 students per semester; we’ve trained hundreds more. KJC has changed music and music education in Kath-mandu and produced professional musicians and qualified music teachers. The many scholarships given to talented and/or needed Nepali musicians make us proud; many of them are currently teaching at KJC or are studying music abroad. We also count with one of the leading music educators in the world, Dr. Gene Aitken, as our adviser and mentor. Back in 2007, he inaugurated KJC and NMES (Nepali Music Education Society), a non-profit organization linked to KJC which has been training music teachers from different backgrounds, hop-ing to bring change in music education in the country.

With its new Music For Schools Program, KJC is reaching out to as many kids as possible. Through this program KJC goes directly to the schools, provides them with instruments, highly qualify teachers and with a fully-developed curriculum, so the school can implement a quality music education component as an inte-gral part of their overall program, not as an extra-curricular activity.

This magazine is also part of this celebration! With it I have found a way to give back to all KJC students and supporters, with the hopes that it will lead us along the long path of music discovery, and that will benefit not only current students and alumni of KJC and professional musicians but also music lovers everywhere.

4|editorial

Mariano E. Abello

coursesWith its professional staff, wide variety of courses offered, frequent performance opportunities, consistent interaction with fellow musicians and outstanding facilities, the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory is developing a much deserved reputation as the preeminent center for musical study in South Asia.

1ST TRIMESTER SCHEDULE (JANUARY - APRIL 2013)Classes Starts Day Time Teacher Room

General Music Theory

Jan. 5th Saturday 1400-1500 Inap Raj Shrestha VIII

Music Theory I Jan. 5th Saturday 1530-1630 Inap Raj Shrestha VIII

Music Theory II Jan. 5th Saturday 1730-1830 Alvaro Torres VIII

Jazz Theory/Arranging

Jan. 4th Friday 1200-1300 Marcus Dengate VIII

Improvisation Jan. 2nd Wednesday 1200-1300 Marcus Dengate VIII

Ear training Jan. 3rd Thursday 1200-1300 Alvaro Torres VIII

Choir Jan. 5th Saturday 1600-1730 Marcus Dengate VIII

Parents Choir Jan. 5th Saturday 1400-1500 Shreeti Pradhan VIII

Guitar Ensemble Jan. 5th Saturday 1300-1400 Rajat Rai Combo

KJC Jazz I Combo Jan. 3rd Thursday 1300-1400 Rajat Rai Combo

KJC Jazz II Combo Jan. 8th Tuesday 1600-1700 Rajat Rai Combo

Contemporary Jazz Combo

Jan. 3rd Thursday 1630-1730 Marcus Dengate Combo

Soul R&B Combo Jan. 3rd Saturday 1230-1330 Marcus Dengate Combo

Kids Combo I Jan. 3rd Saturday 1130-1230 Rajat Rai Combo

Kids Combo II Jan. 4th Friday 1700-1800 Hemraj Chhetri Combo

Girls Combo Jan. 5th Saturday 1300-1400 Hemraj Chhetri Combo

Rock Combo Jan. 2nd Wednesday 1630-1730 Rajat Rai Combo

Bass Ensemble Jan. 2nd Wednesday 1600-1700 Marcus Dengate Combo

Jazz Composer’s Workshop

SaturdayMiguel Fares Sawaya

VIII

Kids class Jan. 15th Tuesday 1500-1600 Shreeti Pradhan VIII

Kids Theater class Jan. 7th Monday 1400-1500 Shreeti Pradhan VIII

Winter camp Dec 30 - Jan 12 Shreeti Pradhan KJC

|76| |76|6|

Hello KJC magazine readers, my name is Ben Stivers. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a jazz piano player and organist living in New York City. I recently had the honor of performing at the 10th annual Kathmandu Jazz Festival, and now have been invited to write a short piece for KJC magazine. For those of you who heard me speak at masterclasses or in workshops, some of this will be review, but I feel the important points bear repeating, because, well they are IMPORTANT.

I will try in this article to lay out some of the keys to embarking on the study of jazz and improvising. Actually, most of this stuff applies to whatever instrument you are playing, not just piano. Its sort of a practice “road map” of some very basic things to keep in mind as you get started.

1. Practice with a metronomeI can’t stress enough how important this is. I rarely practice ANYTHING without a metronome. Not just rhythmic accuracy, but groove and swing are fundamentally important parts of jazz music. It can feel restricting at first, but becoming comfortable playing with a metronome is invaluable.

2. Practice in all 12 keysI mean practice EVERYTHING in all 12 keys. Scales, licks, tunes. Everything. It sounds hard, but it’s really not. The keys we don’t often play in are UNFAMILIAR, but they aren’t any “harder” to play than the keys we use all the time. It might be slow going at first, so maybe just try a tune you know in one different key. Write it out, if you have to. Gradually try other keys out. You will find that if you have this skill, there won’t be any unfamiliar territory as you learn new songs, or new vocabulary, because you will already have covered it by transposing a song you learned previously

3. Listen/Transcribe/LearnSpend some time really listening to jazz. The groove of it, the way the phrasing flows. I like to set aside part of my day to just listen to things with no distractions. Check out stuff you have never heard. See what it is you really like. Transcribe a solo that moves you. Listen to it, write it out as best you can, and try to play along with the record. Work in small chunks, if you have to. You can even purchase some already transcribed solos to get started, but always get the recording and play alaong. Imitating players we like is the fastest way to start to assimilate their vocabulary and make it our own. Don’t forget to apply step 2 (practice in all keys) as soon as you can.

For The Students Of Jazz Piano

|76| |76| |74. Consistent practiceThis sounds like a lot of stuff, I know. It’s very easy to be overwhelmed and say to yourself “I don’t have time today to practice this tune in all 12 keys AND work on my technique AND transcribe a solo!” or “This solo is too hard! I can’t possibly learn all of this!” At this point it is tempting to do nothing, and later beat yourself up for not practicing enough. The key to getting better is practicing something every day. Maybe today, you only have an hour with your instrument. That’s ok. Just work on one new key for a song you know, or maybe only work out 4 bars of a solo you are transcribing. The key is small steps. Sometimes, you can get in a groove where you are practicing long hours avery day, and that is great. But even if you have very little time during a given day, working on one small thing eventually leads to mastering a lot of big things.

5. Silence Your Inner Critic. Have Fun!I find that the more I study and learn about music, the more difficult it is to silence the critic inside my head. I’m sure we are all familiar. It’s the voice that says “Was that lick really swinging?”, or “I’m not sure that voicing was really hip enough.”, or “I had better play some fast stuff here so people can check out my chops!”. This voice is your own worst enemy! Try to quiet your conscious mind as you prepare to play. Get as close to a blank slate as you can. Really make an effort to be in the moment of the performance and not analyzing what has just happened. Music is occurring over time and and the most important stuff is what’s about to transpire, not what you just played. We all started this because it was fun to play music. and this clutter of critical thought can impact both our joy in playing and how good we sound. When you really hit that space where you are just PLAYING and HEARING and not thinking, you are the closest to realizing your potential as a musician. Most often, it’s not what you are playing, it’s how you are playing it that makes the difference and being able to stay in the moment is key to this.

There you have it. It’s basic stuff, but also very broad. These are principles I continue to use in my own practice. I particularly think the bits about doing at least something every day and quieting your mind as you perform are especially helpful. The study and performance of music is an enormously rewarding experience emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, if we allow it be.

TEXT - Ben Stivers

|98|Enjoying with your kids

For the Parents

My mom used to tell me that for the most difficult task in the world there’s no school or university that can teach it, and that’s being a parent. In today’s world we seem to forget what’s important. Time and money are precious but to get the maximum of it we forget about our health and about those who are close to us. You have to agree with me that something is not right in this picture and that we are the only ones who can change it; we need to spend more time with the ones who make us smile and to forget a bit about work and money.

For this reason KJC decided to help you in the way we know how to do it: through music. How about if you start being a part of your children education? How about if you have something that you can share with your child? How about if in the future you put a group together with your kid (I know, you will love this idea and probably the kid will hate it! :)) I think it is worth a try, not only for you, but for you to understand what your kid goes through while studying music.

Much research exists on the benefits of music to the brain of a child and the brain of an adult. Music not only covers all school subjects (math, physics, geography, history, sports, etc.), but the most important part is that we learn how to listen and when to speak, we learn to socialize, we learn to have fun…all this while learning a new language.

Last Saturday we started the KJC Parents’ Choir, a project that involves parents in what we are doing at KJC. Five parents came and really enjoyed it - big smiles all around! We want you here as well; we want to form a big parents’ choir and I promise you that you will be hooked on it, enjoy it and look forward to Saturday at 2PM to

arrive for you to sing in your choir. This is a promise; and if you do not enjoy it, we will return your money back. (By the way, it is FREE).

What you have to do:- Nothing at all, just show up- You DO NOT need to know music at all. If you are a total beginner that never ever touched an instrument, then this is for you- Have fun- Be open-minded to let us guide you and polish the talent within you

|98|What the benefits are:- Learning a new language- Learning something that your kid is learning- Making new friends, meeting new people- Learning how to relax and have a great time- Doing something that will take you away from your daily routine- Getting involved with your kid’s music education- Spending more time with your son or daughter - Challenging yourself to do something you think you are not good at

Let us prove you wrong. Let us prove to you that there is a lot of talent inside you and that you DO have an ear for music which is not developed yet.

TEXT - Mariano E. Abello

Glimpses of 1st Nepal Music Education Festival

PHO

TOS:

Agr

on D

raga

j (w

ww

.agr

ondr

agaj

.com

)

Glimpses of 1st Nepal Music Education Festival

|1312| |1312|Entangled with Confusion

‘You guys look anything but confused’, my friend said following Con-fusion’s recent win at Jazzmandu’s Jazz for the Next Generation competition

I couldn’t disagree.

But for agreement, I have to derive conclusions from the time I joined KJC.

Six months ago:I sat outside the studioStunned with the music insideYet being a criticI had some suggestions.Practice session breakThe door opensI feel flabbergastedFour of my good friends walk outI had never knownThey were in the Jazz combo!My suggestion was selfish now:‘I think I should be in the band’

That is how it all started, naturally, just like that. And being really good friends besides just band members, for me, is the reason why we guys looked ‘anything but confused’. Not that there aren’t any mistakes, but that we have found our own way of hiding them presentably!

I am the youngest member of the band with respect to age and duration. It has only been two months since I joined Con-fusion officially but I have studied these guys carefully from the very beginning. They share a common dream with me: breaking the limits to music. More precisely, we want to create a scene of ‘fusion’ which doesn’t just mean that the Tabla copies a drum groove. Fusion should create a scene

|1312| |1312|which gives us an open space to blend in the cultural aspects of our music to create something such as ‘real fusion’ here in Nepal.

Two months ago:We see a box in front of usnamed ‘Musicality’But since we don’t have all the keys to the door,We cant find a way in.But then again,We watch more optimisticallyAnd found that the boxhad four other doors!!Now we know,One of the keys we haveCan open at least one door.And when we enter the box...We unlock all other doors...from inside.

The best thing for me about Con-fusion is that apart from working as a band, we are loyal in doing our individual homework to ensure independence. When we work together, we are talking ‘Interdependance’.

Got confused?? Well that’s what Con-fusion is all about, and this:

Yuvash VaidyaI have never met a person like him. I mean I have known people like him but never met. And maybe that is why he is the most precious member of confusion for me. From my view, Yuvash is not just a piano player in the band but a motivator and a very good strategy builder. I very much take Yuvash as the kind of person who is just like his hair; messy but with a certain hint of a defined outline.... clearly reflected in his original composition: Orchid which Confusion performed at Jazzmandu 2012, and which actually created a very positive impact on the judges’ panel.

|1514| |1514|Ankit Raj SuwalWell well well. I don’t know if there is any point for me shouting at Ankit dai in practice sessions to really keep a check on his guitar effects board for weird sounds! Because no matter what, at the gig, THIS GUY IS KILLER! Ankit is lazy. But then a creative lazy who knows what to do, not possibly at all the right times but at THE right time i.e. gig!

Pratik BaniyaHe is a typical class topper; the guy who does most of his homework and is equally familiar with the classical repertoire as he is with the jazz. He denies the fact but I deny him... because he certainly will be one of the best bassists of Kathmandu. Pratik plays the same role of Yuvash, motivating and pushing the band but only in a more direct way: by maintaining the tempo and the groove of the songs we do on stage!!

Rishav Acharya...Is the Nepali version of Dave Weyckl and Benny Greb. For me, Sanki (so they say) is one of the few drummers in Nepal who has his own definite tone that separates him from other drummers. He is unique yet versatile. And he is a bedroom practice guy. I bet you can never see him free of a metronome or a drumstick!!

Plus me!! :)TEXT - Ashesh Rai

PHOTO - Sanjog Rai

|1514| |1514|