| Dave
Champion
David
earned a Masters degree in Music Education from VanderCook College in Chicago.
He has studied privately with Jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd. Mr. Champion
performs jazz and new music in and around Philadelphia. Present musical
activities include pioneering the Harmonic Trombone; a slide trombone which
has been amplified, harmonized and processed through the use of electronic
delays and effects. He creates soundscapes, ranging from truly Ambient
(minimal and nearly motionless) to Aggressive (dense and rhythmic layers
of sound). David lives with his family in Doylestown, PA and teaches music
in the Lower Moreland School District of suburban Philadelphia. At the
Gate to Moonbase Alpha in October 1999, Dave played with Ted Casterline
and the Perfect Pieces of Fruit.
Jazz
'Harmonic trombone'allows for exploration
September
4, 2000
By
Kevin L. Carter
INQUIRER
STAFF WRITER
Trombonist
David Champion remembers a lesson he had with Roswell Rudd, one of his
earlier teachers. Rudd, one of jazz's most avant- garde, out-there trombonists,
lived in a woodland cabin in southern Maine in the mid-'80s. Champion,
who was living in New Hampshire, would visit Rudd weekly for lessons. "He
was great at just being open," Champion said. "He had wide-open ears."
One
time, Rudd greeted Champion, then sent him home. "My assignment for the
week was to sit and play pedal tones, the long, long, long tones, for as
long as I could. I was to sit there and listen to the entire harmonic theory
of the tone. I did that, and out of nowhere would pop this note that had
always been there, but I had never heard it before. As basic as that was,
it was a great thing."
Champion
is now 43, a middle school music teacher in the Lower Moreland School District.
His time with Rudd, as well as his encounters with other musicians, has
contributed to the style he exhibits in solo concerts. He will be playing
at the Fringe Festival's Fresh Ears performance Tuesday at Old First Reform
Church (153 N. Fourth St., 8:30 P.M., $10).
"I
don't know how to describe it to you," Champion said. "I guess you could
say it's in the ambient vein. Not in the dance music sense, but more like
[Robert] Fripp, or [Brian) Eno, or [trumpeter] Jon Hassell. I have the
trombone, and it goes through a microphone and into a harmo- nizer and
a couple of different delay units. I lay down some loops and play along
with that stuff."
Champion
said the solo shows are in "somewhat of a space-music style. I just try
to explore the different possibilities of the sounds thetrombone can make.
I let the [electronic] effects just sort of cultivate a sound, and I listen
to it for a while and see what I can add to it."
He'll
get 10 minutes. Period.
"I
might have to prepare something beforehand," Champion said. "I could just
be barely warming up in 10 minutes. I've done soundscapes that go for three
hours."
He
said he has played in all types of jazz ensembles, and still plays in local
big bands and "jam" or "groove" groups.
"I
love the traditional - Bill Harris, who played with Woody Herman, Frank
Rossellino and J.J. [Johnson]. My favorite guy today is Gary Valenti, who
had the gig with the Carla Bley Band. He does stuff that just makes you
want to scream."
One
of his favorite settings, however, is improvising - without amplification
but still solo with Japan-born, Philadelphia-based percussionist Toshi
Makihara.
>
"It's been a really incredible experience for me. It's opened up a whole
new set of possibilities."
Champion
moved to the fringe, so to speak, because "I had a jazz background, but
I had been getting somewhat bored with playing the same stuff," he said.
"I
began listening to Jon Hassell. He began getting me interested into what
I call the harmonic trombone. Those guys are doing some amazing things."
He
sometimes brings his avant- garde aesthetic into his classroom. "What I
really like about this is the opportunity I have to create my own lesson
plans. If there is something that I am doing that is not working, I have
the freedom to explore other options."
 Kevin
L. Carter's e-mail address is kcarter@phillynews.com
David
Champion, by day a middle-school music teacher, will get 10 minutes in
the Fringe Festival's Fresh Ears performance Tuesday. |
