For more than a century, the Juilliard School has been one of the most prestigious performing arts institutions in the world. Its alumni include some of the greatest classical musicians, actors and dancers of the last hundred years.
And some pretty significant jazz musicians, too.
Miles Davis studied there. So did Chick Corea, Hazel Scott, Wynton Marsalis and Christian McBride.
But for most of the school's history, there was no jazz program. Those musicians were studying classical music.
Dr. Aaron Flagg remembers that era well. He's a trumpet player who earned both his undergraduate and master's degrees at Juilliard, and today serves as Chair and Associate Director of Jazz Studies.
In 2001, Juilliard finally established a formal jazz program. This year, it celebrates its 25th anniversary.
And in that relatively short time, the program has fostered an impressive roster of musicians, including Jon Batiste, Immanuel Wilkins, Endea Owens, Sean Mason and many others.
Flagg returned to Juilliard to help lead the program in 2014. Part of his responsibility has been figuring out how to reconcile two traditions: the rigorous structure of a classical conservatory and the informal, improvisational roots of jazz.
He says, "The music is vernacular music of the people, and it needs to always be remembered that its roots are about making people dance, making people feel all human emotion."
He continues, "The important thing is, as art is being embraced educationally by institutions, is to not lose sight of what are the founding objectives of the music, while at the same time, taking the history of this music seriously enough to document it, enough to create curricula around it..."
Flagg encourages his students to take advantage of New York City, to play in clubs, attend jam sessions, and learn from musicians outside the school. But he also believes in the value of a clearly defined philosophy.
When he returned to Juilliard, he and Wynton Marsalis spent a month arguing over every word of a document called The Keys to Operational Swing, which lays out the mission of the program.
He explains, "The first assignment for a jazz student at Juilliard is to write a personal mission statement in the summer based on those three sentences. What do you wanna do, through what means do you wanna do that, how, and for what purpose? And they have to rewrite their mission statement every year."
The idea is to encourage students to think beyond the mastery of their instruments.
Because as Flagg explains, almost everyone who auditions for Juilliard can already play. For him, there's a difference between mastering the vocabulary of jazz and learning to speak with your own voice.
As he puts it, "We need artists more than we need artisans."
And that's a distinction that informs not only the curriculum but the culture of the program.
This season, Juilliard Jazz is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of concerts and collaborations, including a new partnership with the Apollo Theater.
In November, Juilliard ensembles will revisit four landmark Miles Davis albums, from Birth of the Cool and Kind of Blue to Filles de Kilimanjaro and Bitches Brew, in the centennial year of Davis's birth.
There's a historical connection here, too. When Miles attended Juilliard in the 1940s, the school was still located uptown, in Harlem, in the building that now houses the Manhattan School of Music.
He says, "We're returning home, in a way, in my mind, by taking Juilliard uptown. And obviously, the many jazz artists who debuted and played at, including Miles, at the Apollo Theater, is part of the tradition we, in this partnership, Apollo and Juilliard are celebrating."
For more information about Juilliard Jazz at 25 and its anniversary performances, visit juilliard.edu.
See the full conversation with Dr. Aaron Flagg here
