Three Stars: John Kocur
John Kocur, photo by Veronika Lukasova
"Collaborating with Christylez has been a great blessing," said Kocur. "He always puts on great shows with musical substance and a positive message."
Kocur's own musical journey began in his native Long Island. With encouragement from his parents, he began playing the saxophone in elementary school and eventually fell in love with the music of greats such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker. He then discovered more contemporary saxophonists like Kenny Garrett and Michael Brecker, which only deepened his interest in jazz and led him to enroll in the music program at George Mason University. After receiving a bachelor's degree in Music Education, Kocur continued his studies, and went on to complete a master's in jazz studies at Howard University under the tutelage of Charlie Young. While at Howard, he cut his teeth with the program's excellent jazz ensemble, and also spent two years playing with Three Stars alum Thad Wilson's jazz orchestra.
Things really started to pick up for Kocur when he was named an Artist-in-Residence for the '08-'09 season at the Music Center at Strathmore. In 2009, Kocur released his first album, The Smoker, a collection of original acoustic jazz. And this year, Kocur was awarded a residency with the Kennedy Center's prestigious Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program, which teams emerging artists with world class musicians for two weeks of intense instruction and performance.
Recently, Kocur also made his foray into the world of jazz academia. He joined the faculty at Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria Campus, where he will teach an Improvisational Techniques class and is starting up a community jazz ensemble.
Kocur recently took some time to answer questions from DCist about his music and recent experiences.
Visit John online at: www.johnkocur.com
See John's group next: After a little down time, the quartet will be playing the Manassas Wine and Jazz Festival.
Buy John's album: www.cdbaby.com
Questions for John:
What did you want to achieve artistically with The Smoker? What was the writing and recording process like?
My main goal with The Smoker was to get some of my original compositions on recording. I was fortunate to have a great band [Amy Bormet - piano, Oliver Albertini - bass, and C.V. Dashiell III - drums] and they contributed some great solos. The songs were ones I had been storing up for a few years. We had previously performed all of them at shows in town so the band was already familiar with them. When you are funding a project yourself, you do not have the luxury of a lot of time in the recording studio. We laid the tracks down in one weekend. Almost all of the tracks are the first or second take. The jazz recording process is so different than most music you hear on the radio today. There is very little overdubbing or layering, if any, so what you are hearing is very organic and spontaneous. This is only possible when you are working with musicians of a very high caliber and I was blessed with that. Jeff Gruber at Blue House Productions in Silver Spring, MD did an excellent job with the sound engineering. Projects like this are only possible with the help of many talented people and I can't thank them enough.
You were a Strathmore Artist-in-Residence and a participant in Jazz Ahead. What were these experiences like, and what did you get out of them?
Both of those programs are amazing opportunities in the D.C. area for up-and-coming jazz musicians. I was an Artist-in-Residence at the Strathmore for the 2008-2009 season. We put on three shows at the Mansion at Strathmore and did an educational workshop on beginning jazz improvisation. The shows were a blast and I had a great time being able to play some of my original music for a good audience. The Mansion is such a beautiful setting to hear or play music. The Artist-in-Residence program also does a lot of work to further your professional career. The relationships that I made were invaluable.
I just got home last night from the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center. The program is carried on in the name of the great jazz vocalist. We performed numerous shows at the Kennedy Center and took a mini-tour to Wilmington, DE and Reading, PA. Jazz Ahead is helping to keep jazz alive by bringing some of the best young jazz musicians in the world together to perform original music. College music programs are great for learning the history of the music, something that cannot be undervalued, but at some point, an artist needs to find their individual voice. The mentors in the program were world class musicians like Dr. Billy Taylor, Curtis Fuller, Carmen Lundy, Winard Harper, Dr. Nathan Davis, Chip Jackson, and George Cables. I feel so inspired right now just to have been around such great musicians and beautiful human beings. You learn so much just by hearing people like that tell stories. Jazz Ahead is one of the ways that the tradition of great jazz is being passed down to younger generations.
What skills did you develop in these programs that you wouldn't have been able to develop otherwise?
The main thing I learned from the Artist-in-Residence program at the Strathmore is that I could be an "artist," not just a saxophonist. If you have a clear goal in mind, and you are working for the right reasons, anything is possible.
The main thing that I took away from Betty Carter Jazz Ahead is that I can be an individual and not compromise the tradition of the music. Jazz is a music that has a tradition of innovation and individuality, but at the same time we need not lose the essence of what jazz really is. I'm really excited about expressing myself in music that emphasizes improvisation, swing, and blues-inflected singing and playing.
What are your short, medium, and long-term goals as far as this album, and your career in general?
My short term goals are just to play for audiences as much as possible. I love sharing music with others and I want to put on some shows that show off the talented musicians we have in this area. For the long term, I would love to get to share the bandstand with some of the living greats of jazz. That way I can could really learn to play this music at the highest level possible and pass it on. I might pursue a Ph.D. at some point so I can really represent jazz music in the academic world as well. I have some plans for other albums, including an album of standards and one that mixes jazz with my Italian-Irish Catholic upbringing.
You play in a variety of settings, not just jazz. How does your playing change from style-to-style?
I always try to serve the music. Each style has its own vocabulary and you need to speak the right language in the right setting. It's just like social settings, you can be yourself but you have to use the kind of language that's appropriate for the audience you are speaking for. There are certain kinds of phrases, rhythms, and ways of playing that I will use with a hip-hop band, that wouldn't work in a swing band, or a rock band. Some musicians are musical chameleons who can blend right in any setting, whereas others have a very strong musical identity that may or may not work in certain settings.
What are your thoughts on the District's jazz scene? Who are some of your favorite artists, and do you have any favorites that might be flying under the radar?
Washington, D.C. has a history of jazz and is still very alive today. We are lucky to have numerous jazz venues Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, Bohemian Caverns, HR-57, U-Topia, and Cafe Nema. You can hear live jazz seven nights a week in clubs or in concert halls. We get to watch internationally renowned acts as well some very talented local players.
There are so many great musicians in this town. I think [Three Stars alum] Brad Linde is doing some wonderful work really keeping traditional jazz music alive. He has been bringing legends of jazz to town such as Freddie Redd and soon, Lee Konitz. Brian Settles is one of the most exciting musicians I know. He has such a beautiful tone and a very creative approach. Lena Seikaly is a talented vocalist who is leading her own band. [Three Stars alum] Reginald Cyntje is a fantastic trombonist doing some very cool things. Of course, any time that my old teacher Charlie Young plays in town, I try not to miss it. Sorry to anyone I neglected to mention, I love you all!