Student Jazz Syncopation Enlivens Performing Arts

By JACOB KRAMER

Last Thursday, as six Vineyard students ambled out on stage at the packed Performing Arts Center, it was clear they were unaccustomed to playing for such a large crowd. Their apprehension was understandable. They were about to play with Phil Wilson, a jazz legend in his own right, and as he explained, they had only rehearsed on three occasions - two days in Boston and once before the show.

All worries were allayed by the first bars, as the students melded strings, skins and brass into tripping melodies and articulate solos.

The students were the opening act for Vineyard Vibes, the four-day festival staged by the Berklee College of Music. Performances from Thursday through Sunday spanned a range of genres, from jazz and mambo to rock music and gospel.

Although the main acts each night were all students, professors or alumni of Berklee, two of the opening acts featured young Island performers. On Thursday, recent graduates from the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School set the stage for the jazzed up Wizard of Oz Suite by Mr. Wilson. And on Saturday, The Unbusted, a Vineyard rock group, warmed up the crowd for Juliana Hatfield.

The Jazz Band All Stars performing Thursday included David Bouck, Eric Herman, Adam Lipsky, Niko Ewing, Matt Rosenthal, and Eric T. Johnson. They opened with The Cameldriver, a challenging composition by Mr. Wilson, played in five-four time. The piece was surprising. Mr. Wilson started it out with a slow, Mideastern flavor accompanied by a strong bass line, then threw in an abrupt switch, with the horn section breaking into much brighter, big band-style playing.

Listening to the opening septet, one never would have guessed that Mr. Wilson wrote Cameldriver for a much larger orchestra. But he played an extended version with his Rainbow Band later in the evening.

The jazz band and Mr. Wilson took turns alternating between tightly composed riffs and improvisational solos.

Mr. Lipsky went first on piano, starting out tentatively, choosing each note with care. He was followed by Mr. Ewing's calm, fluid ad-libbing on his cherry red Fender guitar. Along the way, Mr. Wilson gave the audience a few choice slides of the trombone - a taste of what they were in store for later.

They next played Cedar's Blues by Cedar Walton, a brassier and high-spirited piece. It was with this song that the high school band really shone: Mr. Herman worked out a lively solo that meshed well with the tune, and Mr. Lipsky came back stronger with an intricate, extended solo that continued through the crowd's applause.

Their participation in the show was made possible through an outreach program funded by Vineyard Vibes. Earlier in the year, the students spent time in Boston under the tutelage of Mr. Wilson.

With him, the horn players learned crucial skills such as how to breathe circularly and had their first in-depth lessons on the logic and technique behind great jazz solos. Mr. Wilson, who has performed with such greats as Louis Armstrong, Herbie Hancock and Frank Sinatra, was enthusiastic about his pupils.

"These kids did a great job. They are very talented young musicians who have a serious need for top notch teachers," he said. "What they need is focused direction. I gave them the confidence to focus at the level that they are currently on - they need to raise that level and keep their ability to focus as they improve."

As for the students, they said they were in awe of Mr. Wilson.

"He's an incredible teacher - he knows exactly how much encouragement to give along with his critiques," Mr. Lipsky said. "He knows what buttons to push, and how to finesse a mistakes into a teachable lessons."

In addition to piano, Mr. Lipsky plays banjo and guitar, rock, bluegrass, classical and jazz. He plans to take a year off and then attend Hampshire College; he hopes to become a professional composer. "I want to write innovative music and really express something with - that is exactly what I want to do," he said.

"I learned as much from Phil in those three sessions as I did in all of high school," Mr. Bouck said. "He put so much more depth in it - at school it's the basics, but Phil put it all together. I mean, he opened the door for the rest of my life." Mr. Bouck will be attending Endicott College, and hopes to continue his musical career there.

Though part of the same festival, the music Saturday night at the Hot Tin Roof could not have been further from the bubbly jazzified renditions of Wizard of Oz tunes at the Performing Arts Center. The Unbusted opened for Juliana Hatfield, rocking out to a crowd of bouncing teenagers, some of whom sang along to the catchy, angst-filled lyrics

In its various incarnations The Unbusted has been around for eight years, but this latest group has been together for one. It features Joe Keefe on vocals and lead guitar, his younger brother Sebastian on drums and Ben Smith on bass.

All are Islanders, born and raised. They are self-taught musicians, having learned the basics from their parents, who at an early age who introduced them to The Beatles and Bob Dylan. These days, they draw from different influences, including as Weezer, Nirvana, The Strokes and Ms. Hatfield's old band, The Lemonheads.

Mr. Keefe was thrilled to open for her. "It's awesome to be invited to play among world-class musicians, especially because we're not Berklee students."

He added: "It's so great to be here with Julia - she puts on an excellent show."

The Unbusted needn't have worried about comparisons to Ms. Hatfield - they drew the larger crowd of the evening.

Many Unbusted songs center on heartbreak and romantic troubles, but a few break out with an optimism that reflects the band's latest successes. Choruses such as "We're on a roll" and "I think she said we're gonna' make it" sound like references to their pending signing with a record label. A professionally produced album will be out in the coming year.

Unbusted has also toured the country with Cheap Trick, and three of their songs were featured in the Farrelly brothers' movie, Stuck on You. George Davis, the deejay at WMVY Radio who introduced the set, was very optimistic about their future.

"It's wonderful to see how far they've come, they have a tremendous future ahead of them. The the sky's the limit."

As for encore performances, he warned, "Pretty soon you're not going to be able to catch them here at all - they'll be bigger than the Vineyard."