Paul Renz is the Director of Jazz Studies at WBSM (since 1996) and graduated summa cum laude from both Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. Paul shares his thoughts with us today on the school, and the joys of being a teacher and a professional musician. If you’re interested in taking lessons with Paul or joining a jazz ensemble, please contact our front office or register online.
I was hired at the West Bank School of Music in 1993, shortly after moving here from Norfolk, Virginia. So I’ve been teaching at the school for 18 years. When I started with the school there were no formal jazz classes being offered, so I proposed to develop a jazz studies program that would include jazz theory, improvisation, jazz composition, and arranging classes, as well as jazz ensembles. In the span of 18 years, I have met, recruited, taught, and befriended many wonderfully unique and talented people. The jazz program has continued to grow and is now an integral part of the school curriculum. The ensembles in particular have flourished. I have been teaching 4 adult jazz ensembles, essentially uninterrupted, for the last 12 years. Performing in the community – clubs, restaurants, churches, recitals, and in-home concerts – is a major component of the jazz ensemble program. There is nothing like impending gigs to motivate students to hone their skills and hunker down with the repertoire. I think that providing students with opportunities to perform, and the process of preparing and practicing for gigs, as professionals would, is one of the most unique and defining aspects of the ensembles I direct. As all musicians know, it is extremely hard to meet on a regular basis with other players, much less having an educator and professional musician to coordinate the rehearsals, guide and mentor. (students invariably blossom in this environment and crucially, learn to listen to other players and function as a jazz ensemble – supporting and responding to one another) There is a significant, untapped market for this kind of “guided” ensemble playing and the WBSM is striving to meet that need.
I perform frequently in the region, as a solo guitarist, and with my own larger groups – trio, quartet, and quintet. Booking gigs is one of the most challenging aspects of being a professional musician. It requires a whole different skill set that has nothing to do with music ability, building and maintaining your chops etc…You have to be a good “people-person,” amiable, articulate, organized, and altogether buttoned up. You have to know the business, and know how to gauge what you can ask for (money) given the wide array of venues you’ll be approaching. This single impediment – the required business acumen, persistence, and personality needed to get gigs – is largely responsible for the drop-out syndrome that plagues so many musicians. I address many of these issues at my Jazz Insights Blog, and hope you’ll take some time to check it out. http://paulrenz.com/blog
I feel good about my own evolution as a guitarist and composer. I continue to practice 2 or 3 hours a day, in addition to my normal teaching schedule which puts the guitar in my hands for another 4 to 6 hours. I never tire of it. I am constantly surprised and delighted by the complexity of the guitar, and to realize that even after 30 years of arduous study and disciplined exploration, I make fresh discoveries and forge new music connections daily. I find this mind-boggling and truly inspirational.
I love helping students make discoveries of their own, and to see the satisfaction and joy they derive from recognizing their own development and progress. And I love helping students make music with others. This is not easy, but it is damn fun. I always advise students to be happy with incremental progress, and not to measure it day by day. Learning to be a good musician and fine player is an incredibly slow process, often frustrating and demoralizing, and the most important step toward proficiency, ongoing advancement, and eventual mastery is to understand and accept how long it will take. Set goals, mark your progress every 6 months or year to year. Commit and savor the journey. It is not for the faint of heart, or weak of will.
I have always loved the blues. I love jazz standards and also modern interpretations of the same. I also love Bach and music from the Baroque and Classical periods in particular. When I studied jazz at Berklee College of Music in the early 80’s I easily listened to as much Bach, Beethoven & Mozart.
I am influenced by so many jazz musicians, I can scarcely begin the list. Here are some of my favorite guitar players:
Traditionalists-Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Jimmy & Doug Raney, Lenny Breau, Ted Greene, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlowe, Cal Collins, Jimmy Bruno, Frank Vignola, Howard Alden.
Modernists-Mike Stern, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Pat Metheny.
Blues, Fusion-BB King, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford.
I love Miles, Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, Warren Vache, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Richie Cole, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Benny Green, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, Jaco Pastorious, on & on & on.
I have a good number of recordings under my name. The most recent releases, In My Own Hands and ReBop, feature Anders Bostrom, a dear friend and extraordinary flute player from NJ. He and I attended Berklee together in the 80’s and reunited for these projects after not seeing each other for twenty years. The other members of the quintet are gifted musicians from the Twin Cities. Another of my CDs, Beyond Blues, garnered the Excellence In Music Award, Best Of Minnesota edition of MN Monthly Magazine. In the classical genre, my “A Symphonic Poem,” was recorded by The Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland, and was released on Robert Black Conducts, MMC Recordings, 1994.
My newest endeavor is offering a summer jazz camp on the Upper Rideau, a beautiful lake in Ontario, Canada. It’s a spectacular setting where for 5 days jazz students, teachers, and professionals alike, convene to study and play jazz while vacationing at the same time. The only distractions are fine food, magnificent lake and woods, (swimming, hiking, canoeing, or just doting upon the beauty of it all) and the occasional mosquito. This year’s dates: August 2nd through the 5th.
The Paul Renz Quartet tours ten cities this November, performing here in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Nov. 9th & 10th, and then on to Chicago and points east. We perform almost exclusively original music that I’ve composed and arranged. Details of upcoming gigs are always posted at my website. http://paulrenz.com
Meet Paul Renz
I was hired at the West Bank School of Music in 1993, shortly after moving here from Norfolk, Virginia. So I’ve been teaching at the school for 18 years. When I started with the school there were no formal jazz classes being offered, so I proposed to develop a jazz studies program that would include jazz theory, improvisation, jazz composition, and arranging classes, as well as jazz ensembles. In the span of 18 years, I have met, recruited, taught, and befriended many wonderfully unique and talented people. The jazz program has continued to grow and is now an integral part of the school curriculum. The ensembles in particular have flourished. I have been teaching 4 adult jazz ensembles, essentially uninterrupted, for the last 12 years. Performing in the community – clubs, restaurants, churches, recitals, and in-home concerts – is a major component of the jazz ensemble program. There is nothing like impending gigs to motivate students to hone their skills and hunker down with the repertoire. I think that providing students with opportunities to perform, and the process of preparing and practicing for gigs, as professionals would, is one of the most unique and defining aspects of the ensembles I direct. As all musicians know, it is extremely hard to meet on a regular basis with other players, much less having an educator and professional musician to coordinate the rehearsals, guide and mentor. (students invariably blossom in this environment and crucially, learn to listen to other players and function as a jazz ensemble – supporting and responding to one another) There is a significant, untapped market for this kind of “guided” ensemble playing and the WBSM is striving to meet that need.
I perform frequently in the region, as a solo guitarist, and with my own larger groups – trio, quartet, and quintet. Booking gigs is one of the most challenging aspects of being a professional musician. It requires a whole different skill set that has nothing to do with music ability, building and maintaining your chops etc…You have to be a good “people-person,” amiable, articulate, organized, and altogether buttoned up. You have to know the business, and know how to gauge what you can ask for (money) given the wide array of venues you’ll be approaching. This single impediment – the required business acumen, persistence, and personality needed to get gigs – is largely responsible for the drop-out syndrome that plagues so many musicians. I address many of these issues at my Jazz Insights Blog, and hope you’ll take some time to check it out. http://paulrenz.com/blog
I feel good about my own evolution as a guitarist and composer. I continue to practice 2 or 3 hours a day, in addition to my normal teaching schedule which puts the guitar in my hands for another 4 to 6 hours. I never tire of it. I am constantly surprised and delighted by the complexity of the guitar, and to realize that even after 30 years of arduous study and disciplined exploration, I make fresh discoveries and forge new music connections daily. I find this mind-boggling and truly inspirational.
I love helping students make discoveries of their own, and to see the satisfaction and joy they derive from recognizing their own development and progress. And I love helping students make music with others. This is not easy, but it is damn fun. I always advise students to be happy with incremental progress, and not to measure it day by day. Learning to be a good musician and fine player is an incredibly slow process, often frustrating and demoralizing, and the most important step toward proficiency, ongoing advancement, and eventual mastery is to understand and accept how long it will take. Set goals, mark your progress every 6 months or year to year. Commit and savor the journey. It is not for the faint of heart, or weak of will.
I have always loved the blues. I love jazz standards and also modern interpretations of the same. I also love Bach and music from the Baroque and Classical periods in particular. When I studied jazz at Berklee College of Music in the early 80’s I easily listened to as much Bach, Beethoven & Mozart.
I am influenced by so many jazz musicians, I can scarcely begin the list. Here are some of my favorite guitar players:
Traditionalists-Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Jimmy & Doug Raney, Lenny Breau, Ted Greene, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlowe, Cal Collins, Jimmy Bruno, Frank Vignola, Howard Alden.
Modernists-Mike Stern, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Pat Metheny.
Blues, Fusion-BB King, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford.
I love Miles, Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, Warren Vache, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Richie Cole, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Benny Green, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, Jaco Pastorious, on & on & on.
I have a good number of recordings under my name. The most recent releases, In My Own Hands and ReBop, feature Anders Bostrom, a dear friend and extraordinary flute player from NJ. He and I attended Berklee together in the 80’s and reunited for these projects after not seeing each other for twenty years. The other members of the quintet are gifted musicians from the Twin Cities. Another of my CDs, Beyond Blues, garnered the Excellence In Music Award, Best Of Minnesota edition of MN Monthly Magazine. In the classical genre, my “A Symphonic Poem,” was recorded by The Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland, and was released on Robert Black Conducts, MMC Recordings, 1994.
My newest endeavor is offering a summer jazz camp on the Upper Rideau, a beautiful lake in Ontario, Canada. It’s a spectacular setting where for 5 days jazz students, teachers, and professionals alike, convene to study and play jazz while vacationing at the same time. The only distractions are fine food, magnificent lake and woods, (swimming, hiking, canoeing, or just doting upon the beauty of it all) and the occasional mosquito. This year’s dates: August 2nd through the 5th.
The Paul Renz Quartet tours ten cities this November, performing here in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Nov. 9th & 10th, and then on to Chicago and points east. We perform almost exclusively original music that I’ve composed and arranged. Details of upcoming gigs are always posted at my website. http://paulrenz.com
links
http://wbsm.org/teachers/?mytabs=1#Paul%20Renz
http://paulrenz.com
http://paulrenz.com/camp
http://paulrenz.com/blog