VIEWS, REVIEWS and INTERVIEWS

Music Ed Magic

Interview of Jack by Matthew Warnock  February 2009

MW:  In your opinion how has technology,  especially the internet, changed the landscape of guitar  education in recent years and where do you see it headed in the future?

JG:  With the current mass availability of instruction, it's more difficult than ever to create your own voice.  When Frank Zappa auditioned players, he looked them in the eye and said,            "What do you do that's fantastic?"   When hiring teachers at    MATC (Milwaukee Area Technical College), I would also ask that question.  Nine out of ten applicants recoiled and couldn't give an answer.   I would also ask ,          "What do you do that no one else can do?"  Needless to say, I wound up with an incredible, fully-functioning faculty that turned out extraordinary musicians.  Remember that most of the great music legends were self-taught.  They didn't have the internet, instruction books, DVDs, teachers or music school:  Charlie Parker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Tal Farlow, George Van Eps, Lenny Breau, Johnny Winter, Eddie Van Halen, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Gary Peacock, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Stitt, Thelonius Monk, Wes Montgomery, etc.   These guys were self taught musicians.  They can play one note, and you know exactly who it is.  Now ask yourself, what degrees do these guys have or what school did  they attend?  You don't know, don't care and it doesn't matter, it's about the music.

      When I was chairman of the MATC music department, my goal was to create those kinds of unique musicians within a school environment.  When I hear those students now, I know that I've achieved that goal.  They all graduated from the same place, but don't sound like each other, or any of their teachers.

      In 1972, during gigs, numerous audience members would say to me, "Jack you sound like Wes Montgomery, or like John McLaughlin or like Pat Martino.  I responded by not listening to a single guitar player live or on record for the next ten years, which was how long it took for me to start sounding like myself.  Now folks say, "Jack, you don't sound like anyone I've ever heard."  I still don't listen to other guitar players these days.  I have worked hard to attain individuality and maintain it.

MW: How did you get your start as a guitar teacher?

JG: I started teaching bass guitar in a music store at the age of 14.   I made more money teaching than having a paper route.  One day the store owner said if I taught guitar, I could recruit more students.  Since I didn't have a guitar he sold me an old Harmony archtop for five bucks that the previous owner had painted orange with a paint brush.  Having never played guitar before, I bought Mel Bay's book 1 and started to teach myself the basics.

MW: Did any of your teachers have an influence on your private teaching approach?

JG: I wasn't interested in what was being taught in school, so my teaching approach became based on what I would like to receive as a student.  I had one great college theory instructor, Ted Ashford, who wrote on the board the first day of class,  "You don't have to learn this stuff, but someday you will have to compete with someone who did."  He was a jazz pianist, with a doctorate from Julliard, who only taught at my school for one year before quitting to join a rock band.  He was the finest teacher I have ever encountered.  I was afraid to miss even one class during the entire year.  Each class was unique and mind blowing.  Everyone in that class turned out to be a powerful musical force.  I dropped out of college when I found out he wasn't going to return the next year.  I have always used Ted Ashford as a model.  I asked him one day, "Mr. Ashford, how can I get gigs?"  He said, "Jack go home and practice."  I practiced 16 hours a day for six months.  Then gigs started to appear and have continued for the last forty years.  I recently went over the 11,000 gig mark and am still playing 2-5 gigs per week.

MW:  You have written a number of instructional books and recently released an instructional DVD.  How did you approach these educational publications as compared to how you approach a private lesson?

JG: Those books were originally written as things for me to practice.  When I began studying the guitar

I found that there wasn't anything in print to help me get where I wanted to be as a guitarist.  In general,  I've found that most guitarists aren't very original.  (John Coltrane didn't have a guitarist in his band because there wasn't one who could "hang". )  I've worn out 3 copies of "158 Exercises for Saxophone" which is what Trane used to practice every day.  There aren't many books for advanced guitarists because there is more money in creating books for beginners.  I created  these teaching methods to help myself develop an original voice on the guitar.  I found it difficult to hear my own unique voice when practicing other guitarist's materials.   Saxophonist Sam Rivers practiced his own exercises so he wouldn't sound like Coltrane.  If I teach someone, the approach is unique to that student.  I help them create their own practice materials, become themselves and achieve their own vision. 

MW:  You are such an experienced and accomplished performer as well as an educator.  How has your teaching experience influenced your perorming and vice-versa?

JG:  In 1994, I was at Tal Farlow's house and told him how frustrated I was with my playing and that I hadn't improved for a long time.  He asked what I did all day.  I said that I taught 40 guitar students per week.  He concluded that I was hearing my instrument played poorly 40 hours a week and that we are the products of our environments.  Since I was head of the music department, I immediately hired a guitar teacher and stopped teaching guitar.  I then taught Music Appreciation class which used recordings by the masters.  I scheduled those classes in a different part of the building so that I never heard anyone play the guitar except me.  I also exclusively played my 70 compositions on most of my gigs.  (Wayne Shorter, Thelonius Monk, Jackie McLean and Horace Silver did that.)  It didn't take long for my playing to improve.

MW:  What advice do you have for people who are just starting to teach guitar?

JG:  I think you have to have a clear vision of what you want to do.  Do you want to be "a guitar player who teaches guitar" or do you want to be "a guitar teacher who plays guitar"?   There is a big difference between the two.  During the periods when I taught,  I vigilantly maintained my identity of "a guitar player who is teaching."  It resulted in different choices.  The music teachers who play instruments could be better players if they would turn their thinking around the other way.  I feel that if you can't do it, you shouldn't try to teach it.

MW: What advice do you have for students when they are looking for a private teacher?

JG:  First, you need to know what you want to do.  Then learn who the best teachers are to help you get there.  I didn't care where my teachers lived,  I found a way to get there and pay for it.  I drove 16 hours each way from Milwaukee to New Jersey many times for lessons with Tal Farlow.  I flew to Los Angeles, rented a car, and drove 4 hours for each lesson with George VanEps.  I drove 2 days to New York for a lesson with Billy Bauer.  It was expensive, but those guys are dead now.   Last week, I flew to L. A. to study with Jimmy Wyble.  You can always make more money, but great teachers may not always be available for you.  I've driven 23 hours to Toronto from Milwaukee numerous times, just to hear one of the legends play.  You can't duplicate the experience of hearing someone live, in the same room,  with a CD or DVD. 

Now when someone emails me for lessons, finds out that I live in a different part of the country than they do, and says 'it's too far to go', I know that they wouldn't have been serious students anyway. 

Guitar One Magazine
The 10 Best Guitarists in the U.S. (you probably don't know)
by Mike Mueller, March 2000

   Jack Grassel has been performing music since he was 4 years old. In the interim, he has been an instructor at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in the Jazz Degree Program, won several local music awards, and authored a wide array of guitar instructional books. Currently, Jack is the Coordinator of Music Instruction at the Milwaukee Area Technical college, teaches at the National Guitar Workshop, and maintains a schedule of more than 250 performances and seminars per year.

   Upon hearing him seamlessly weave bass lines, rhythm chords, and melody lines-all at the same time-as well as noting his incredible command of the instrument, we knew Jack Grassel was a shoe-in for "Best in the U.S." And if you're into lead guitar chops, Jack shows complete mastery in that arena as well, construction melody lines on the guitar with the same technical prowess John Coltrane demonstrated on his sax. Simply put: He sounds like no other guitarist you've ever heard befor

Just Jazz Guitar Magazine,
Review of "Live @ The Uptowner" CD                

Kirk Tatnall, Jack Grassel,  Ernie Adams
by Vince Lewis, February 2006

    Jack Grassel is an extremely versatile guitar player with a modern soloing concept that is well ordered and logical. His previous recordings have consisted mainly of standards and original material based in that genre, as well. Players who are proven in their craft in so many styles often feel the need to experiment and grow musically , as can be perceived on this CD.

   Joined by former student Kirk Tatnall and drummer Ernie Adams, this free-wheeling romp through some interesting and thought-provoking material will challenge the listener from start to finish. The duo is performing on the Superax, an instrument that was invented by Grassel. It enables the players to play bass and guitar strings on the same neck. This allows a trade off between bass lines and guitar parts, eliminating the need for a separate bass instrument.

   This work comprises all original material, described as free, hardbop, funk, electric jazz by Grassel. The opening track, "Jade Castles", sets the mood with a floating rhythm figure underneath some energetic and free soloing by both players. "Song For Bill", and "Mom and Dad's Blues" offer a traditional swing rhythm moving beneath modern boppish single lines showcasing the technical ability of both guitarists. Adams is a fine drummer who provides solid support throughout the session. "Bossa Mama" is a nice uptempo Latin selection. The closing track titled "Noctilucent Vectors" shows the trio's true enjoyment of working together.

   Fans of Jack Grassel expecting a straight-ahead swing album will be surprised by the tunes on this disc. It should be listened to with a open mind and an appreciation of the group's very modern approach. Listeners who enjoy this style of music will find it to be a truly remarkable journey.

The Journal Times " Sounding Board"
by Patrick Fineran, March 2000

   The other night I had a dream about music. Not the usual one where local folks and festival organizers show up and wildly appreciate the great talent. No, in this dream a swan came to me in a club. The swan was tall and graceful and had gold inlaid frets running down the length of its neck. Rather than wings, the swan had four arms with sparks shooting from its fingertips. The swan floated up to a mild-mannered patron and opened its mouth. Out came a beautiful Hofner guitar. The swan laid the instrument at the feet of the startled man and said melodiously, "Take this and show others that it can do what no others can."

   At that, the man got up on stage, plugged in and let loose with a sound that caused some to cheer and others to weep. With the shimmering, vibrating guitar seemingly an extension of the man, he became a full orchestra. The man played bass guitar, rhythm and lead guitars all at the same time on the single instrument.

   The swan hovered above all in the crowd and said, "Appreciate what you have before it's gone." and burst into a flaming shower of arpeggios and disappeared. Hmmm, maybe I should stop having mushroom pizza right before bed.

   I really don't think a magical swan taught Jack Grassel to play guitar, but someone did a pretty remarkable job. In case you're not familiar with Grassel, he's the guy who comes to the Yardarm to perform with his wife, Jill Jensen. She's the one from the Pontiac commercials and Readers Poll winner for Favorite Female Vocalist. You know - Jack and Jill!

   Through innovative noodling Jack is able to play bass, rhythm and lead parts all at the same time. For tech heads out there, here's how he does it: On his own invention, the "Superax", Grassel has the bottom two strings electronically transposed down an octave and the signal sent to a bass amp. The top four strings get isolated and are sent to a guitar amp. For those who are only interested in the end result, it sounds like a chorus coming from one man.

   Don't get me wrong. It still takes some pretty amazing talent to make all this electronic mumbo-jumbo sound good. Grassel possesses some pretty amazing talent. Guitar One Magazine named him one of the "10 Best in the U.S." guitarists in its March issue.

   "Upon hearing him seamlessly weave bass lines, rhythm chords and melody lines - all at the same time - as well as noting his incredible command of the instrument, we knew Jack Grassel was a shoe-in for "Best in the U.S." the magazine said. "And if you're into lead guitar chops, Jack shows complete mastery in that arena as well, constructing melody lines on the guitar with the same technical prowess John Coltrane demonstrated on his sax. Simply put: He sounds like no other guitarist you've ever heard before.

Guitar Player Magazine
by Jim Fergusen November, 1989

   It's a basic truth that well known players represent only a small percentage of the country's talent. If you visit Milwaukee, check out Jack Grassel, a brilliant, progressive jazz oriented player who penned our Sept. '89 Masters Series, Power Practicing. Adventurous to a fault, Grassel explores everything - from "straight ahead" to modal to outside to avant garde - as long as it involves improvisation. His latest album ("If You're Too Crazy for Your Body") teams him with bassist Hans Sturm and drummer Mike Schlick, and features five extended tracks, each of which displays his formidable technique, musicianship, sense of humor, imagination, and ability to do the unexpected. Highly recommended.