Charlie Siefert

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I love jazz because it is an incredibly complete way to express myself in the language of music, both emotionally and technically, in a group setting. When playing with the right people, anyone in the group can take the music in any direction, and times like those are the most emotionaly satisfying times I have had in life - to both support as a bassist and have freedom of expression within the framework of a song allows me to put myself inside the music completely. Listening to jazz music, especially in a live context, can bring the same feelings, to live inside the music, and have it be a part of me. I was first exposed to Jazz in a meaningful way in Junior College. I was a bassist in the Jazz Big Band. I wasn't intrested in jazz really, I wanted to be a rock musician like Geddy Lee from Rush. When we played charts by Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie(in particular)I heard, and felt the music in a way very comparable to the way playing with the great rock records did. There was both a freedom, and technicality that drew me into the music. That was the first time I lived in the music outside of a rock context. Dizzy Gillespie is still my Jazz Hero, and is always the background on my Facebook page. I have met a number of famous Jazz musicians-bassists first-Dave Engleke-bassist with the St Louis Muny Opera and Jazz bassist; Tom Kennedy-solo artist, has played and toured with Tania Maria, Dave Weckl, currently with Mike Stern; Jim Mayer-Jimmy Buffett's bass player for many years-I have taken lessons with the afore mentioned bassists-I have also met;Jonas Hellborg with John McGlaughlin; Ray Brown with his Trio; Jeff Berlin and Billy Sheehan-both at clinics. I am acquainted with:drummer Dave Weckl-played and toured with Michel Camilo, Chick Corea Elektric and Akoustic Bands, Mike Stern, along with and extensive solo career; drummer Steve Houghton-Big Bands, also early Tribal Tech; drummer Danny Gottlieb with John McGlaughlin (career too extensive to mention all); drummer Jeff Hamilton-with Ray Brown Trio. I was very honored to meet Paquito D'Rivera a couple of years ago at the Detoit Jazz Festival-he has played with everybody from 1940's Dizzy Gillespie Big Bands to his current self named band. "Unofficially" famous people I have met and played with are the many great local musicians of St Louis Mo. The best show I ever attended has to be a tie between my first Rush concert and the several times that I have seen Chick Corea-solo, Elektik Band II, the Time Warp band. Chick Corea is right up there with Dizzy on my "best of the best" musicial list. The first jazz record I bought was...I honestly can't remember. Probably a Dizzy Big Band or Oscar Peterson Trio album. I didn't get into fusion until a few years after becoming interested in Jazz. My advice to new listeners...My suggestions for new listeners is to listen to EVERYTHING Jazz, and anything else that interests you. Listening to at least some Classical music is important also. Try to listen to everything with and open mind-try to listen to and sort out individual instruments (and find the player's names in the liner notes) on repeated listenings to Jazz albums. Modern recording tech is so good that it is usually pretty easy to find individual players on a recording, even (and especially) older remastered recordings. It is very important to understand that Jazz has a very specific History. There are many defining periods and also many periods of change. Even if you don't really like a particular "type" of Jazz-realize that it has a definite place in Jazz History. Listen to at least one recording from each period-there is a fantastic timeline and resource at http://www.jazzinamerica.org/JazzResources/Timeline - For me, a big part of Jazz listening is to find and read History books and Biographies which are about and from the period of History that the recordings come from.

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