I fell in love with music in 6th grade. I had always liked it before, but nothing like this. The first day of 6th grade, I walked in to the band room holding my clarinet. And that’s where it all began. I met my favorite teacher ever, Mr. Ray. He was a new teacher to our school, and I know that must have been really hard for him, because the teacher before was quite popular and well loved. Mr. Ray had big shoes to fill. He reminds me of an awesome, quirky uncle. He’s funny, smart, and has a unique way of making band concerts come alive.
I started playing clarinet in 5th grade. I loved it, but I guess I didn't fully understand it, until Mr. Ray showed me how. I had decided to sign up for band again in 6th grade, and that is when I heard a school jazz band for the first time. When I heard them, I realized that I wasn’t all about the classical pieces I’d normally play. That isn’t what I wanted to play. I wanted to play jazz. I love how it sounded so free. That’s how I’d describe jazz. Free. I was inspired by how Mr. Ray could get the band to play a whole song, with barely any conducting. I could see it- it was actually the music that conducted itself. The beat, the rhythms, and cues all came at a specific time that everyone in the band knew. And that’s when I decided I wanted to play alto saxophone.
When I finally switched in early June 2012, I started practicing for jazz band tryouts. When I tried out in the fall, I didn’t make it. When that happened, I realized that it wasn’t just my sound that mattered, or my improvisation, but it was also my concert band skills, like sight reading. Especially sight reading. And that opened my eyes. Every night I would practice my sight reading, flipping to a random page in a sheet music book and attempting to play it for the first time. I know all of this happened for a reason. Not getting into jazz band, so I could get better. And I think Mr. Ray knew I could do it the whole time. In January, I was asked to fill in for Jack, an 8th grader who had dropped out of jazz band. I was thrilled. A second chance, to show everyone what I was really made of.
On my first day, I loved it. I still practiced more than ever. I would even go to Boxley’s (a jazz club) with my neighbor to learn new techniques and ideas for improv solos. I still do, when I can. I’d sit in jazz band every morning (except Thursday) and play with the rest of the band.
I’d feel that free feeling. Every morning. It was so... awesome.
What really caught my attention was when one morning Mr. Ray had said: “Jazz is caught, not taught.” And I understood that. I experienced that. I still do, every second of my life.
I still had so much to say. But I said it. I said it in an improv solo, which to me, was real... Free. It’s like I didn’t need a diary anymore... I told everyone what I had to say right then. I got it all out. Through my saxophone. Through jazz. I lived it.
“Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out your horn.”
-Charlie Parker
So what I’m trying to say, is that I found what I love more than anything else in the whole entire universe. Jazz, music, living it. Being free. Letting everything out through my music. I owe it all to Mr. Ray, the teacher I will always remember. Everyday he inspires me, doing the job that I want to do when I grow up. I hope that maybe someday I can give people inspiration like Mr. Ray does. Maybe I’ll even get to change a student’s life, like how he changed mine. Before Mr. Ray, I was just a kid who could play clarinet. Mr. Ray turned me into jazz musician. And without him, I wouldn’t be the player I am today.
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