South African Association for Jazz Education

by Nicky Schrire
September 2009

Hello Sunny South Africans,

New York is about to embark on an Autumn of bare branches and emptier streets - but only slightly since this is forever the city that never sleeps. I have now been here almost 3 weeks and every day I adjust a little more and feel less like a tourist. That said, I still have a moment every single day where I find myself in awe of a towering brownstone building or the view of the Hudson stretching out alongside the banks of New Jersey. This city will never cease to amaze and overwhelm me - and I hope that remains the case for the full duration of my stay here.

When I arrived here I had very few expectations and was simply excited to be in a new environment that would challenge and inspire me. Settling into my dorm room has been easy enough and is made easier by the fact that I have a window overlooking dense, bustling Harlem with a corner of the steely blue Hudson River lying under the George Washington Bridge. This view calms me in moments of homesickness and anxiety - especially at night when everything morphs into blackness, punctuated by the red, orange and yellow sparkling city lights. It’s truly beautiful and surreal.

I am in my second week of lectures as a Master’s student and my teachers are wonderful - both nurturing and brilliant communicators and enthralling to listen to. One of the reasons I chose to come to the Manhattan School of Music for graduate studies is that their vocal department is for graduates only and tends to be very small. I am 1 of 4 jazz vocalists in the whole school (of 800), and 1 of 3 girls in a year of 25 entering grad students. Add to that the fact that I come from South Africa - a great conversation starter and rarity! I wanted to attend MSM because of the vocal faculty. At the time I applied, I wanted to learn primarily with Kate McGarry - an earth mother figure and 2009 Grammy Nominee. Since being accepted, Kate has decided to leave NYC which means I am left studying under three extremely divine and capable (to say the least) gentlemen - Peter Eldridge (my primary teacher), Darmon Meader and Theo Bleckmann. I feel very lucky and excited to be in the presence of such great singers as well as the myriad of vocalists passing through the city that I may have the chance to learn with at some point.

Another learning opportunity comes in the form of the jazz gigs happening nightly throughout the city. There’s no doubt that NYC is like a sweet shop for jazz musicians - the choices on any given night are endless. I’ve been here under a month and have already seen Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Keith Ganz, Kate McGarry, two singers singing the fully orchestrated music of Maria Schneider (while Maria watched in the audience), Kurt Elling, and the list will go on.  In between school and gigs, I’ve pounded the pavements of this enthralling city exploring areas from Harlem to the West Village. The buildings, the food, the people both intrigue and educate me. I love walking into grocery stores and looking up and down the aisles assaulted by choices - soy, salty, sweet, sparkling, supersized. Despite the novelty of it all, there are times when I long for the familiar aisles of Woolworths and Clicks - there’s plenty enough choice and I don’t have to multiply my total by eight! I have also found a surrogate South African family in the form of Kathy Tagg, Golda Schultz, Marc Uys and more. It’s nice to know that there’s a Utopia of SA musicians living in NYC and I now have a home away from home - a New York infused with a good pinch of Capetonian “gees”.

Editor:  Nicky will be sending us a monthly LETTER FROM NEW YORK