This is an archive post ~ originally published Nov. 29, 2010 and updated in 2018

The international Jazz-Harp organization in Holland sent me a questionnaire  as part of research to find out if harpists and jazz musicians support the idea of a formal Bachelor program for Jazz Harp at a conservatory somewhere in the world. Following are my answers to the questions. 

Questionnaire for research concerning the role of the harp in jazz music

Jazz & Classical

What do you regard as “jazz”?

If someone says “jazz” to me, I usually expect a musical structure based strictly or loosely on standard jazz arrangement form (intro, head, blowing, head, coda).

I expect that the ‘head’ harmony & melody will be clearly presented and that the  “blowing” will consist of  melodic improvisation over some kind of repeated/consistent harmonic structure or over a series of different harmonically structured “chunks”.

I expect that once the rhythm begins, it will be basically maintained throughout the piece (i.e. it won’t drift slower and faster like a symphonic piece);

I expect a certain harmonic sophistication.

But there are SO many different kinds of jazz and so many different ways to improvise musically that I think of jazz as a concept rather than a specific genre.

I rarely call myself a jazz-harpist these days because I generally don’t play straight-ahead jazz, though many people consider me (and call me) a jazz-harpist, in part because I was earlier known that way, because I still do play some standards, and because all my instrumental work, and some of my vocal-instrument work, involves improvisation  (specifically melodic improvisation over harmonic changes).

But I’m always using jazz concepts, structures and techniques in my writing and performing. I wouldn’t advertise myself as a jazzer simply because the general public has a fairly strict idea of the jazz genre and I don’t want people coming to my show expecting to hear a standard type of jazz – whether it’s Bebop, Swing, Latin, Contemporary or whatever – because I’m just no longer that type of player.

And that’s the main problem with ‘declaring’ genre as an artist. I made a name for myself as a jazz-harpist in the 80’s and 90’s and it can be hard to move away from that. If you’re committed to carrying on the tradition of a specific musical genre, then I think it makes sense to declare yourself as that genre.  If you’re not (as I’m not) committed to perpetuating a specific musical genre, then declaring yourself in that genre will eventually become a problem.

What do you regard as “classical”?

That’s really tough – “classical’ can be a stylistic idea or a structural one, and I guess, for me, it has to do with the intention of the composer. Wow.  This is a huge subject.  I was going to say that ‘classical’ music avoids genre-specific references – but I know that Debussy, among others, absolutely embraced Spanish/Latin musical styles (“Iberia” for example).

This is really tough because the little I know of Classical music points out that it developed from dance music in the Baroque Period, and those forms became more ‘developed’ and less ‘dancable’ during the classical period.  Similarly, a lot of jazz evolved from dance tunes.

So, I guess, for me “classical music” is any music that’s composed note-for-note and requires it being played note-for-note in order for the music to feel authentic.

What qualities must an instrument have to be eligible for use in a jazz combo?

It needs to be audible.  And I don’t even hold tight to that idea, since I can imagine a ‘deaf’ jazz ensemble with inaudible instruments. Honestly I don’t think it has anything to do with the instruments – and everything to do with the players.

Do you think it is possible for musicians with a classical background to play with musicians with a jazz background? Why (not)?

Absolutely.  But they need to think differently.  One of the most profound lessons I got in this came from my experience in the mid-90’s when I started trying to combine jazz forms with classical music ensembles.  I wrote several pieces for chamber ensemble and had the opportunity to perform them with the percussionist from my jazz ensemble.  I rehearsed with the classical ensemble for about a week, then brought my percussionist in for the last rehearsal, thinking he was already very familiar with my music so the real issue was the classical players learning the notes.   The result was a disaster with different parts of the ensemble literally “listening to a different drummer.”

The rhythm was completely dissonant and it undermined the piece.  This was for three reasons:

1.     The classical musicians were used to listening to each other in a different way from the way jazz ensembles traditionally listen – the classical musicians were listening and responding in a more breathing, phrased way.  They were also much more used to WATCHING each other for the rhythm.   The jazz percussionist was used to setting up a groove that would form the backbone of the ensemble.  The classical musicians weren’t used to listening to that for their downbeats. So the two mindsets: jazz and classical, were fighting over the beat, even though they were each playing wonderfully.  The fault was mine as a composer/arranger – I didn’t have the experience to understand that integrating these two elements would take a lot more time and effort.

2.     The classical instruments (particularly the strings) had their own built-in percussion (the attack).  Rehearsing without the percussionist, we’d developed that percussive element in the strings and once the percussionist came in these two kinds of percussion conflicted.

3.     Percussion is primarily used in orchestral and chamber music for color and accent – and it’s used in jazz as a fundamental tactus.  In a way, the “rhythm section” of a jazz ensemble provides a similar function to the conductor of a classical ensemble.  So what I had was a battle-of-the-bands.

If I were to do exactly the same project again, I would include the percussionist from the beginning of the rehearsal process and I would plan to segment the pieces, so that he was playing ‘rhythm-section-type playing’ in certain segments of the piece, and ‘classical-type coloristic/accent” playing when the ensemble had the lead.

What I learned in that first project – and continue to work on in writing the arrangements/compositions for electric harp and classical ensembles is:

1.     Separate improvisatory sections from “composed” sections, either by doing one at a time – or by having the orchestra/ensemble in a very focused comping role during the soloist’s improvisation.

2.     The use of percussion and the choice of whether to use it in a rhythm-section style or a color/accent style is essential to think about at every moment.  This is true for any jazz instrument playing in a rhythm section style with a classical ensemble.  In other words, if you have a rhythm section bass player, you need to think constantly about what orchestral/ensemble instruments might be conflicting with the bass player – either by conflicting with his/her rhythm, or even just by being in his/her range (which could simply muddy the power and clarity of the bass-players bassline)

Classical musicians are used to listening to each other in a different way from the way jazz ensembles traditionally listen. Click To Tweet

The Instrument

How would you describe the image of the harp (and harpists)? Would you like to see this image change? If yes, how?

This is a huge question..

It depends on what culture you’re in, but in almost every culture, the harp seems to break down along gender lines. It appears that in most all Western-Europe cultures or their colonies, it’s perceived as a woman’s instrument, though many of the most famous harpists are men. In most other cultures, especially all those colonized by Spain, the harp is primarily seen as a man’s instrument (how many female Paraguayan harpists have you ever heard of?). I’m not a historian, this is just my observation. I’d love to see a study about this.

This is another reason why I think that jazz-harpists have a unique and important role. When I was on the GRP jazz label I was one of the very few women jazz instrumentalists who were signed to any label at the time – so I see jazz-harp as having a surprisingly unique role in music, vis-a-vis gender: it connects a male-dominated genre with a female-dominated instrument, so you end up with a fairly equal gender mix – which is unusual.

I think it’s simply up to us as harpists to change the image by each redefining the instrument to fit our personal musical image – instead of refitting ourselves to fit the image of a ‘harpist.’  It may be harder to do that with an instrument as imposing as the harp, but builders are helping us by creating new electric instruments that are both more powerful and less frilly. Forgive me for this, but it’s hard to take yourself seriously when you’re playing an instrument that looks like an ornate piece of furniture.

In a jazz combo, which role(s) could the harp play (eg. accompanying, soloing)

One of the incredible things about the harp in jazz is that it can play EVERY role.  For years I played in a duo with harp & bass.  My bass player was interested in developing his skills as a soloist on bass with bow, so I got a chance to comp and solo, as you’d expect — but I also got to play basslines for him, and experiment with percussion.

One of the essentials is breaking the mindset that you have to play the whole harp at once.  Once you break away from that idea, you realize that the harp can play a purely melodic function (like a sax, trumpet, flute, clarinet), can comp (like guitar, piano or organ), and can play bass.

I feel pretty confident it could play a drumset function as well, something that will surely become even more possible with midi harps.  If you have any question about the feasibility of this, check out “Future Man,” the ‘drummer’ with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

Here are some of the roles the harp can be very effective at:

MELODIC IMPROVISATION using single notes (or octaves, or double octaves) is hugely effective, and soloing this way gives harpists a lot more chromatic fluidity.  To do this, you’d focus primarily on the strings above middle C (although single-note solos below middle C, especially using fingernails is very effective and beautiful – particularly in blues)

COMPING: focusing on the mid-range of the harp (from about G-below middle C to the C above middle C),  keeping chords dry (no breaking chords!) and often an almost instantaneous muffle – the harp is very effective in a comping role

BASS: The first thing I had to learn playing jazz on the harp was to never break bass octaves upward.  When my bass player soloed he said he couldn’t tell where the downbeat was – but by breaking an octave downward, I could play the upper note as a downbeat, put the lower note on the beat, and my harmonic rhythm became clear to him.  When Lori Andrews showed me how to do “Slap Bass” in the 80’s at some point, that completely revolutionized my playing.  I’d put the slap on the 4, the upper bass-note on the upbeat (“4-and”) and the lower note on the downbeat – by doing that it became completely clear where I was, and, in a sense, I was performing a drumset-type function.

The other thing to remember is to stay out of the way of the other players.  Don’t play bass when there’s a bass player playing.  If someone else is comping, either switch off, avoid comping (and focus on coloristic/accent playing) or keep your comping profoundly simple (open fifths) and keep your eyes glued to the primary comp-player. (“Hey! You’re stepping all over me!!!” – I heard this a lot until I learned to get out of the way)

One of the ways I learned some of this was that I spent years, when I was a lobby-and-restaurant harpist, literally looking over the shoulders of the lounge pianists during my breaks.  They were all great jazz players and happy to answer my probing questions about how they segmented the ranges of the piano to be able to perform all three functions (melody/comping/bass), and then I watched how they changed their style when they’d play with other players (bass, drums, soloists, etc.)

Do you see the role of harp in a jazz ensemble as overlapping with or equal to the role of other instruments like piano and guitar; in conflict with other instruments like piano and guitar; unique and renewing?

Great question!  ‘Til now I’ve generally seen the harp as very similar to piano and guitar.  I’ve avoided playing with pianists for that reason – though I love playing with guitarists for the same reason (I can’t explain that contradiction).  I really see the harp as the missing-link between piano and guitar:  it has the range of a piano, but the coloristic capabilities of a guitar.

Guitarists seem a little more able to simplify their roles when playing with other musicians – pianists seem to have the same trouble that harpists do of only playing part of their instrument.  I might call this soloist-itis.

As usual, I think it comes down to ‘roles,’ not instrument.  If the roles are clear at any particular moment, or if the players are sensitive enough to be able to integrate their roles, then guitar-harp can be great – I mean, REALLY great.

Which instruments do you think can best be combined with harp?

For me it’s not about the instrument, but about the players, their awareness of how to switch roles at any point in the playing and their jazz vocabulary.  I think we really need to stop thinking this way – about specific instruments.  For example, I recently played with a jazz recorder player who blew the roof off the house (er … well, we were playing an out-door concert so there was no roof, but she really rocked!), and I’ve played with Tuba as a substitute for electric bass.  Jazz Bassoon, for example, could be a great jazz collaborator for harp because it can play both a bass and a soloistic function.

The only instruments I prefer not to play with are those who focus on ONE specific function – like a trumpeter who plays their solo and then hangs back and does nothing while I’m playing a solo – that’s just not interesting to me.  I love jazz improvisation for the interplay, including the interplay of roles.

Which type of harp do you think is best suitable for jazz and why?

If you want to play standard jazz (“tunes”)  and be able to function in all 3 roles (solo, comping, bass) you’ll have a lot more flexibility with a pedal harp.  I don’t try to play standard tunes on a lever harp – though I can think of some players who I could well imagine doing that.  When I play standard jazz, I think harmonically, and I just shift the instrument through the harmonic changes – in other words, my hands think melodically and my feet think harmonically when I’m playing standard jazz, so when I do, I play on pedal harp.

Blues, however, which I consider a huge subset of jazz – I find much more effective on the lever harp, where I have a lot more control over the sound of individual strings.

Do you think the harp has its shortcomings as a jazz instrument? If so, which? Do you see possible solutions or alternatives for these shortcomings?

Of course it does.  Every instrument has shortcomings and limitations.  Just try to get a trumpet to play a convincing bassline.

One of the things that jumped out at me when I started studying orchestration is that each and every instrument has limitations and strengths, and to write effectively for each instrument you need to know both.

I personally think that the harp has far fewer limitations in jazz than other instruments.  The 3 things the harp can’t easily achieve are:

1.     Fast chromatic lines (and some players can do this)

2.     Fast ½ step chordal shifts (though some shifts are easy – also some players can do this fairly effortlessly throughout the instrument)

3.     Sustained notes (and you can do that to some extent using distortion)

Somewhere I have a list of all the things the harp can do that other jazz instruments can’t — I’ll try to find that.  But the point is that any time we’re trying to convincingly be something we’re not (like when a harp tries to be a piano), we’re at a disadvantage.

One of the main reasons we harpists are perceived as having more limitations than other instruments is that there aren’t more jazz-harpist composers (or harp composers in general).  When an instrumentalist writes for their OWN instrument, the compositional questions are never about limitation, but simply about expression.  But anytime you write for an instrument that is not your native instrument, you become very aware of what it can’t do – so when jazz composers or players approach a harp, they often see it as a finicky, limited naked piano.

As we develop a true jazz-harp vocabulary, the harp’s ‘shortcomings’ will become less and less an issue.  The work the Jazz-Harp organization is doing will help us create this jazz-harp vocabulary, creating a form where those of us who have spent a lifetime exploring the harp in jazz can compare notes, skills and tricks so that we, as a community, end up with a much richer vocabulary.  In the meantime, find me any other instrument that can bend a note in 4 octaves simultaneously.

 Musical Training

What was most inspiring for you in your musical training?

I’m not sure how to answer this, but if you’re asking what my own training consisted of, I learned ukulele when I was 7 – this was essential in understanding the function of chords in music, and the concept that music isn’t structured from notes, but from harmonies that have simple names (D,  A minor).  When I was 10, my mother taught me to read simple chord charts on the piano, which was just a further development of the idea of music as harmonic structure.  Since I was always playing music I knew (show tunes), I never learned to read notes, just learned to read chord charts, to create arrangements as I felt at the moment, and to sing the melodies or improvise vocally.

I began to learn to read music when I was 19, because I was starting to compose larger forms of music and realized I’d need to write them down.  So I went back to school to learn to read and write music. While there, I began studying harp.  I was quickly offered jobs playing background music.  My repertoire was very limited (I could only play about 4 songs on the harp) so I had to improvise to make those tunes longer, and to fill in the rest of the time I simply improvised on melodies I knew or ones I made up on the spot. This was in no way “jazzy” but it was a chance to play with compositional structure, harmonic movement and melodic improv – so it was a great foundation for jazz, though I didn’t know it at the time.

A few years later, when I was better at playing harp, I heard Keith Jarrett.  I asked my jazz-aficionado boyfriend of the time if he thought I could play that kind of music on the harp.  He said, flatly, no way.  Thus the die was cast: I had to do it.

I’d played a lot of jazz standards on piano as a kid (Girl from Ipanema, Misty, Favorite Things, etc.), though I didn’t realize they were jazz standards, so I tried to simply transfer them to the harp.  It was harder than I thought.  I had no idea that certain tunes would be much harder on the harp than others.  Now, of course, I have a whole list of standards and usually have students start with the simpler ones.

Jack Nebergal, who played at the Hyatt Regency with a strolling strings group, offered me his off-nights, and along with the job, I got his tutoring.  He insisted I memorize all my tunes, showed me how to play a stride-bass, and from that job I learned the basic repertoire of standard jazz tunes.  I also got fired because I didn’t realize that every standard jazz tune is played in a standard key.  Because I came from a background with singers (where music often gets transposed as needed to fit the tessitura of the singer), the concept of a ‘standard key’ was completely foreign.

By then, I was committed to playing jazz.  I quit my harp-playing hotel jobs, joined up with a bass player to form a duo called “Classic Swing” and started playing … hotel lobbies and restaurants.  Not much different except it was a huge difference in that I was learning by leaps and bounds on the job.  We played half-classical repertoire and half-jazz.  He tutored me on how to play jazz, and since we played the same tunes 4-10 times a week, I was able to learn on the job.

When we started shifting from background to concert performances, we hired a drummer, to form the “Jazz Harp Trio.”  A few years after that, the band broke up and I was offered a record contract by the Contemporary Jazz Label, GRP.

I didn’t learn a lot on my first album (I was pretty shell-shocked), but on my 2nd, I teamed up with producer/guitarist Chieli Minucci and his percussionist-partner George Jinda (their band was called “Special EFX”).  They were master players and Geroge was “timing” obsessed.  He insisted I go back and work for hours and hours with a metronome, which I did. We made 3 albums together, each better than the previous – but each less commercially successful than the previous. Even after my contract with GRP ended, George and Chieli and I made one last album, in Budapest, that was unquestionably the most beautiful studio album I ever made. It was never officially released (OK, a brief unsupported release by a small company).

I toured for years in Germany with my band (harp, bass, drums, percussion and sometimes guitar), but then three things happened that shifted me away from a purely jazz career:

• I became very interested in developing a repertoire as soloist with orchestra
• I wanted to focus more on my first love, which is music-theater.
• I got really sick of the expense and stress of touring with a pedal-harp and started working with both CAMAC and Lyon & Healy to develop viable harness-harps

So those are the areas I’ve focused more in for the past 10-15 years.  Now my jazz training and understanding are more an integrated part of my work, I train harpists in the curriculum I learned and developed myself – but I don’t overtly call myself a jazz-harpist.  It’s not like I’m “beyond” it in any way, it’s just integrated into a more personal whole that defines my personal style.

What have you missed in your musical training? Were you able to obtain this otherwise, and if so, where and how?

My greatest regret is not having better ear-training.  I keep meaning to address this in my life and I keep not doing it so, no, I haven’t obtained it.  However, I’ve become very proficient with Finale software and that’s allowed me to compensate, at least on paper, for the lack of this skill – but it’s not really a compensation.

Do you think colleges should offer a program for jazz harp? If so, what should this program consist of? If not, why not?

Maybe not every school, but any school with a strong jazz program certainly.  I have my own jazz curriculum, based on the way I learned, but I’m sure that each jazz harpist could create their own – and probably each very different – curriculum.

I personally like to get people playing, both solo and ensemble, immediately; get them able to actually play and improvise using simple jazz charts and avoiding substitutions and altered chords at first.  I want to make sure that their time (rhythm) is strong, that they can play in some basic rhythm time-feels (Swing, Latin: Samba & Bossa, Ballad, Jazz Waltz, Bebop and 5/4) and that they have completely internalized the harmonic structures/forms, understand the structural roles (soloing, comping/rhythm-section playing, bass function), and can spontaneously create a basic jazz arrangement (intro/head/blowing/head/coda) on a simple tune as a soloist, can provide a simple comp & bass function for themselves with Left Hand while improvising with Right Hand.

I want to make sure they’ve completely internalized the basic ‘guidelines’ of standard jazz, know the standard kinds of intros and codas, understand where and how the exchange of the “blowing” soloist takes place, where the form of the tune starts (i.e. if there’s a pickup, the blowing form starts on the downbeat and generally doesn’t include the pickup).  Most of these guidelines are so ingrained in jazz players that they don’t even know they exist, but especially when you come from a different musical culture, having them made clear is essential.

Once players are fluent on that level, I like to start adding alterations and substitutions one at a time (like: for the next month, every time you encounter a dominant 7 chord, add a flat nine) so that they can coordinate and integrate chromaticism with playing that’s already fluid instead of having to constantly calculate harmonies in their heads while trying to play.

Actually, I like to have students experimenting with more harmonically complex charts early on, but I like to keep that kind of exploration separate from actual playing because I want them to be able to concentrate on listening, time and form when they’re playing.

The point of this type of curriculum is that they are playing real music from the beginning; the forms, structures and roles become ingrained from the beginning, using the simplest harmonic forms possible.  That gives them a foundation and on that foundation, they can spend the rest of their lives exploring, adding, substituting, altering, chromaticizing, etc.

What do you think of the study materials that are available for jazz harp?

I haven’t taken a good look at what’s out there – I do feel remiss that my own curriculum and materials aren’t more readily available.

What do you think of the way harp is taught in music schools?

I don’t have a lot of experience with this, but regarding jazz-harp, I’m generally frustrated when harpists (or any musicians) are taught to value chromaticism over time (rhythmic clarity), harmonic structure, arrangement and an understanding of how to play with other players.  But I’m not sure if that’s what you’re asking.

 Improvisation

How did you learn to improvise?

Another big question!  Musically, I learned music via reading chord charts (not by reading music) and I started composing as a kid, and was writing musical theater from about the age of 12. I don’t consider that kind of writing ‘improvising’ but it gave me a foundation in compositional structure, which was invaluable in internalizing ideas about jazz arrangement.

The first structured teaching in improv I had was in movement improv in highschool, and when I was 17 I basically ran away from home and joined a dance-and-theater collective, so I was doing dance and theater improv daily.

Once I started playing jazz, it took me a long time to understand that standard jazz generally focuses on melodic improv.  Meaning: you’re not changing the form of the tune, you’re just improvising ‘over’ it.

I mostly learned by watching other people – getting as physically close as I could – and this includes pianists, harpists, guitarists mostly.  I also learned a LOT from the people I played with.  I would just ask them for help or …well, some of them were pretty grumpy so I got feedback whether I wanted it or not.

All of that was helpful.

Having a background in theater and movement improv was both helpful and confusing.  I often expected a much more expansive idea of improv (something between standard jazz improv and Free-Jazz), like I’d find myself saying things like: “OK, for this chorus, let’s BOTH improvise melodically, together” and I’d get these strange looks.

So I basically pieced the guidelines together through a series of weird looks. The few times I asked for information on the fundamentals of how jazz actually ‘works’ I got negative feedback like, “Hey man – there aren’t any shortcuts! You gotta live the music.” Now I realize the guidelines were so ingrained they had no idea they were following them, so they couldn’t explain them.

In what context(s) do you improvise (eg. jazz jams, folk jams, free improv)?

I like improvising in any context including some very interesting improvisational concerts my husband and I produced a few years ago, called “Inviting Invetion” where I improvised with a chemist and a journalist. I love theater improv, dance improv – and musically, I like improvising in straight-ahead jazz, classical and free-improvisation so long as it’s truly interactive.

What do you consider to be the most important rules in improvisation? Is there a rule that you would like to change, and if so, how?

My most important rules are:

• Listen & watch
• Never say no (to an idea) – always say yes and move forward from there
• Understand what role you are playing at any moment
• Fully embrace your new role if there’s a role-switch
• If you lose the time or the form look forward to where you can rejoin the form. Don’t try to ‘fix’ the mistake

Who were your musical examples when you learned how to improvise?

The musicians I was playing with.

Geography & Heritage

Do you consider it important to be aware of the heritage and historical development of the music you play? If so, in what way does this affect your experience of the music? If not, why not?

Heritage and history are certainly interesting, but only if they help inform or liberate my playing, not if they confines it.  But I think that jazz as a musical structure and jazz as a ‘musical genre’ are two different things.  The concepts that jazz structure and improv are built on can be used for anything from a business model to a party game; but jazz is also a cultural movement and a musical genre. You can play “jazzy” melodies, rhythms or chords without being able to improvise a note; you can be a great melodic improvisor without understanding the harmonic structure of a jazz piece.

Heritage/History/Tradition can both expand one’s experience of improvising, or can make you feel like you have to fit into a specific musical box.  So you just have to be conscious of making sure that whatever you learn increases your freedom of expression both as a soloist and as an ensemble,  rather than boxing you in.

Do you think that a musician’s nationality and/or personal background are of any importance when he’s playing jazz? Why (not)?

Our nationality and personal background effect everything in our lives, but nothing should affect whether or not someone should feel the have the right to play a certain type of music.

That’s easier said than done, of course. Sometimes when I’m playing jazz on an ornate concert harp I think of a cartoon I once saw in the “New Yorker”: a wealthy woman sits at the piano, playing and emoting.  Her husband sits nearby, the evening paper open in front of him.  He’s saying, “No, Martha, you do NOT have a right to sing the Blues.”

It’s definitely harder to reach authenticity when the culture or the way you’ve grown up seems opposed to the artform you’re working in.  But you’ve got to work with what you have.

Do you think the history of jazz and the history of harp are related? Why (not)?

Sure.  They’re probably related in hundreds of ways – I only know a few.  As I understand it, John Coltrane asked his wife, Alice to learn the harp; jazz harp tunes have been recorded since Jack Teagarten; Dorothy Ashby and Corky Hale were both important jazz names in the 50’s and 60’s.  Andreas Vollenweider, while not considered a jazz player, was very important in the contemporary jazz movement from a sonic standpoint if not from an improvisatory one.

Which country do you think offers the most chances for the development of harp as a jazz instrument? Why?

That’s a really tough question.  I mean, jazz is generally considered an American (U.S.) art form, but the swing rhythm likely comes from Celtic music, the African influence is fundamental to Jazz and so on – meaning that the fundaments of jazz are spread throughout the world, so what’s most important is finding people willing and able to teach it in an environment in which you can learn.

Thus said, any environment where there are a lot of other students studying jazz is probably the best environment for harpists to learn in.

Repertoire

How would you describe your repertoire (eg. standards, classical, world music)?

Originals mixing of jazz, world, Blues, Flamenco and music-theater.

How would you date your repertoire (eg. mostly 1700’s, mostly 1950’s, or mostly new compositions)?

Mostly original compositions written in the past 30 years.

What you think of the repertoire that is available for jazz harp? How could this repertoire be improved or expanded?

I personally feel very guilty that I haven’t published a curriculum, and that have have so little sheet music published.  I am dreadfully guilty of not providing more jazz harp repertoire.  Probably the easiest way for this to change for me would be if I were commissioned to make my own arrangements public.  Without that kind of support, it’s very difficult for me to find time to put down on paper what’s so easy for me to improvise.

I haven’t made lead-sheets of my music public, in part, because the few times that I’ve made available music that isn’t written note-for-note, I’m deluged with questions and confusion about it.  So at the moment I just avoid doing it – but it’s probably something I should reconsider.

What advice would you give to a composer who want to write a jazz piece for harp?

I’d have a lot of suggestions, but here are a few:

1.     Spend some time alone with a harp, just exploring how it works, including exploring how the pedals work

2.     Do NOT try to write for it like your would for piano. If you want an instrumental equivalent to think about during the composition process, it’s better to think about vibes or xylophone instead of piano or guitar.

3.     Seriously consider using electric harp unless you’re writing a solo piece

4.     Except in completely solo sections, consider focusing the harpist on single-line melodies (like you would any other soloist – flute, clarinet, trumpet, bass, violin, etc.), but double the melody at the octave or double-octave to bring it out above the ensemble, especially if you’re working with fast tempos – in other words, don’t have the harp playing bass, comp and melodic-solo at the same time unless they’re playing absolutely solo

5.     Give the harpist at least one rubato section (for example – a solo rubato intro) where you can explore rich, extended, altered harmonies and glory in the fact that technically the harp is a pitched-percussion instrument with an exquisite sustain and decay – but try to avoid using it harmonically when the rest of the ensemble is playing unless it’s comping for a solo instrument

6.     Once the audience has seen how rich the harp is (for example, in a rubato intro), then show them how percussively melodic it can be.  In other words, explore the instrument by approaching it as it it were a variety of different instruments:  first a richly harmonic harp sound, then like steel drums, then like guitar strums – then create a “bass solo” for harp that lets the incredible bass range of the harp shine — but whatever you do, don’t treat it like a piano.  I can’t say that enough.

What is your background?

• Name? Deborah Henson-Conant
• Education? UC Berkeley – BA
• Current occupation? Performer/Composer
• Accomplishments? Grammy Nominated recording artist; multiple releases (DVDs / CDs / Books / Sheet Music) including straight-ahead jazz, contemporary jazz, spoken word, world, children’s; Arts Grants from Meet the Composer, NEA, Massachusetts Arts Council
• Since when active as a musician, and on which instruments? Since 7 years old – began on ukulele, then piano & guitar, then harp
• Since when and in what way active in jazz or any style other than classical? When starting harp seriously in late 70’s, I improvised on pop music and musical theater (in background music situations);  in early 80’s I shifted to straight-ahead jazz , first with harp & bass and later with harp, bass & drums; in the late 80’s I had a contract with GRP records and focused on Contemporary Jazz with various ensembles, but particularly with members of the group “Special EFX”  (guitar & percussion); began including spoken word & vocals in the early ‘90’s; in mid- and late 90’s began arranging original material for orchestra and chamber ensemble and performing as a soloist; also around the mid-90’s reconnected with my first love, musical-theater and began creating and performing one-woman-musical theater (and in some cases one-woman backed by orchestra).  I continue to use improvisation and jazz forms (especially Blues) in my shows, regardless of format, genre or style.