B&H Contemporary Classical Composers on Jazz

(December 2006)

"Since I learned so much from Art Blakey, Kenny Clark, Miles Davis and John Coltrane along with so many other great jazz musicians while I was growing up I think it is particularly appropriate that my publisher, Boosey and Hawkes has wisely decided to begin offering a large catalog of classic jazz."
-Steve Reich

“A department for Jazz and Standards at Boosey & Hawkes, New York – that is nothing short of sensational news. I was a fan of jazz in my childhood already. My friends include a number of musicians from the Vienna jazz scene, in particular Matthias Rüegg and his Vienna Art Orchestra, and the trombonist, artist, conductor and composer, Christian Muthspiel. My friends have been telling me for ages that jazz is the poor relation in the contemporary music family. I can fully understand that. Jazz is in itself, however, mainly improvised music. A publisher prints compositions. Improvisations are continuously developing processes. Three composers occur to me spontaneously in connection with jazz and, as it were, improvisations captured photographically: Stravinsky with his “Ebony Concerto”, Bernstein with his “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs” and Gunther Schuller with his “Little Blue Devil” (from “Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee”). There are many points of contact with jazz from Weill and Milhaud through to the present day with Turnage, Adams and also myself. It will be interesting for composers such as myself to share a publisher with jazz musicians and to make their acquaintance on a creative level. I’m already very curious to find out how the new department will deal with an art form whose principal philosophy lies in improvisation - a very delicate task! But, when I look back at the publishing history of Boosey & Hawkes, again and again I come across directors and senior managers who displayed improvisation skills of genius. So, an extremely creative publisher is now joined by artists of similar creative spontaneity.”
With best wishes

HK Gruber

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