Thanking Hank
Hank Jones, one of the world’s most revered pianists, entranced the Harvard community during “Thanking Hank: A Salute to Hank Jones,” a four-day artist residency in April. Events included a concert featuring Jones with the Harvard Jazz Bands and educational sessions with students and the public regarding his career and creative process. “I was amazed by Hank Jones’ sheer musicality,” said bassist Eric Wehrenberg-Klee ’05.
Tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, a Grammy Award winner, joined the festivities to honor his collaborator. The residency was presented by the Office for the Arts and Harvard University Jazz Bands, and made possible with the support of the Richard J. Scheuer, Jr. Fund and the Office of the President. Events were documented for the Office for the Arts’ jazz archive.
After being officially greeted by University Marshal Jackie O’Neill in Wadsworth House, Jones performed a sublime solo recital to a wildly enthusiastic group of Harvard students and staff in the Faculty Room in University Hall. The artist graciously introduced each of ten standards that included a blistering rendition of “6 on 4” by Oliver Nelson and a richly harmonized, poignant interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s own “Monk’s Mood.”
During his Harvard residency, Jones rehearsed and conversed with 36 undergraduates from the Sunday and Monday Jazz Bands, at one point generously joining them in an impromptu three-hour jam session. He also met with six graduate students from the Department of Music to discuss highlights of his career, which include working with jazz greats Sarah Vaughn, Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald.
On April 8, Jones was celebrated at a formal luncheon by faculty from Harvard, Berklee College of Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the New England Conservatory, as well as Boston jazz journalists and Harvard students and staff. All hailed Jones with personal reflections, including the sharing of out-of-print LP record covers. Through the Office for the Arts’ Learning From Performers program, Jones participated in a public conversation about his music, moderated by Tom Everett, Director of Bands. Before a standing-room-only crowd, Jones coached pianists Charlie Frogner ‘06 and Corey Bernhard ’05 in a master class and then improvised—four hands, two pianos—with them.
Students from both the Monday and Sunday bands met with both guest artists for an informal lunch also sponsored by the Learning From Performers program. “I thought it was amazing to ask Hank and Joe all of my burning musical questions,” said Frogner.
While visiting Harvard, Jones was an on-air guest of Steve Schwartz’s WGBH-FM “Jazz From Studio Four.” Interviews were also broadcast on Harvard radio WHRB-FM and
WBUR-FM’s “Here and Now,” which airs on 45 National Public Radio affiliates.
At the April 10 concert Hank Jones was introduced by a video of his 1997 Carnegie Hall performance of “Willow Weep for Me.” While the video faded out, the master himself magically appeared on stage, completing his “video solo” live. He followed with a solo excursion through “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning,” which at times demonstrated his stride expertise. The variety of musical formats he played with—from student quintets and big bands to duets with Joe Lovano—showcased Jones’ versatility and imaginative harmonic palette. The concert concluded with a jam session based on a 1990 Buck Clayton tune (written for the Harvard Band) in which Lovano traded solos with tenor saxophonist Kyle Nasser ’05 and alto saxophonist Marcus Miller ’08. Jones played single notes in successive octaves as he alternated his position on the piano bench with Frogner, who said, “Being with Hank Jones has been an unparalleled experience in my life.”
