{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Clarence Penn on Teaching Improvisation, Creating "Safe Spaces" to Learn, and Creating a Movement","description":"In this interview you\u2019ll catch a lot of references. That\u2019s because Clarence was one of the most influential drummers on the early-2000s \u201cjazz renaissance\u201d that happened in New York, and on me. No matter who the artist was that was drawing out New York jazz students on a Tuesday night, you can bet the drummer was Blade, Ari Hoenig, Dan Weiss, or Clarence. (And later Eric Harland and Marcus.) And if you look up the personnel from practically any of the most influential bands of the era, you\u2019ll see Clarence in the drum seat. Two of my favorite examples: Strange Liberation, which I mention in the interview (\u201cslow down\u201d part is at 6:52) The Visitor (live version), which contains one of my favorite Clarence solos. (Solo begins at 5:20) From these examples you\u2019ll get an idea of the \u201ctension\u201d I mention in the interview between tighness\/snappiness and looseness\/irreverence, and you\u2019ll hear Clarence\u2019s \u201cpunk rock mixed with deep love for the tradition\u201d style. It took a couple of months before Clarence had a spare moment in his busy schedule, which includes commuting from Florida, where he lives with his family, to LA, where he\u2019s on the faculty of USC, but it was worth the wait. In this conversation, we speak a lot about teaching and learning, a subject of current fascination, given that I\u2019m coaching a small group of 1:1 jazz students. I get Clarence\u2019 philosophy on teaching improvisation, and the limitations of written material. We also speak about \u201csafe spaces\u201d (not in the politically charged way), and the tension between helping students by holding them accountable, but wanting lessons to be an \u201coasis\u201d in their week instead of inducing stress. And of course I can\u2019t waste the opportunity to ask Clarence about what it was like being part of a jazz renaissance, and how he feels that\u2019s different from the current climate\u2026 \u2026not to mention the boundaries of the word \u201cjazz\u201d, and why people who were in the New York scene in the early 2000s define that word differently than \u201ckids these days\u201d. If you can\u2019t tell from my writing, this was one of my favorite interviews so far, and I know you\u2019ll enjoy it too. If you dig the interview, please follow Clarence on instagram and give him a shout.   Chapters   1:13- Latest teaching gig at USC, and the value of motivated students 12:30 - the paradox of focus 18:10 - why I think Clarence was predisposed to do what he did 23:45 - is jazz dead? (hah!) 27:33 - the definitions of jazz 34:58 - bridging the gap between exercise and improvisation 42:54 - how Clarence practices time ","author_name":"The 8020 Drummer Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/the8020drummer.com\/podcast","html":"