Q&T with Pam Morita – Music and Love and Working on Ourselves

VJC Q&T podcast host Russell Schmidt has known jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, educator Pam Morita (The Nash Futures Workshop, Paradise Valley Community College) for more than a decade. Pam is the former Director of CityJazz (an outreach of Phoenix Center for the Arts) and currently leads the Nash Futures Workshop in downtown Phoenix. Additionally, she is on the faculty at Paradise Valley Community College.Just over a month ago, Pam sat down with Russ to discuss her initial transition from classical piano student to a working jazz musician, why she has been particularly motivated to work with music students at the beginning of their jazz journeys, and even how a more optimistic worldview has allowed her to find beauty in some interesting places.Learn more about Pamela Morita here: https://pamelamorita.wixsite.com/jazzLearn more about her innovative educational program, The Nash Futures Workshop, here: https://thenash.org/education/the-nash-futures-workshop/Learn more about some of the people, places, pieces, and concepts mentioned in the podcast here:J. S. Bach – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_BachCount Basie – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_BasieTony Bennett (performing artist) – https://tonybennett.com/music.phpTony Bennett (visual artist) – https://www.tonybennett.com/arts.phpMiles Davis (performing artist) – https://www.milesdavis.com/albumsMiles Davis (visual artist) – https://www.milesdavis.com/gallery/miles-artwork/Claude Debussy – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_DebussyMichael Kocour – http://www.michaelkocour.com/Paul-Eirik Melhus (on SoundCloud) – https://soundcloud.com/paul-eirikmelhusMulgrew Miller – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulgrew_MillerMulgrew Miller (improvisation-as-language video) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyRGB_x7VSgLucas Pino – https://www.lucaspino.com/Maurice Ravel – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_RavelDiana Ross – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_RossDennis Rowland – https://www.dennisrowland.com/George Shearing – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_ShearingMiyoshi Umeki – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyoshi_UmekiJoe Williams – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Williams_(jazz_singer)Oprah Winfrey – http://www.oprah.com/index.htmlAc-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive (song) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate_the_PositiveThe Courtship of Eddie’s Father (series) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Courtship_of_Eddie%27s_FatherCrazy Rich Asians (film) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Rich_Asians_(film)Every Day I Have the Blues (song) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Day_I_Have_the_BluesThe Nash – https://thenash.org/Paradise Valley Community College Music Department – https://www.paradisevalley.edu/musicRelocation/Internment Camps – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_AmericansTempo rubato – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_rubatoUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music – https://music.illinois.edu/Thanks for listening!PLEASE SUBSCRIBE & RATE THIS EPISODE!Website: https://www.valleyjazz.org/Social Media (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/ValleyJazzCooperative/About The Host: Pianist/composer/educator Russell Schmidt has performed with such celebrated artists as Carl Allen, Michael Brecker, Eddie Daniels, Joe Lovano, Gerry Mulligan, Lucas Pino, Arturo Sandoval, and Clark Terry. Among his recordings as a leader are Anachromysticism (2012), which highlights Russell’s wide-ranging efforts as a jazz composer, Jazz Triptych, Volume I – The Sacred (2018), a collection of hymns and spirituals reimagined in the jazz language, and his most recent recording, the companion album Jazz Triptych, Volume II – The Secular (2019).After a distinguished career in academia, Russell joined Music Serving The Word in June 2014 as Coordinator of Education, founding MSW’s Valley Jazz Cooperative program in 2016. Previously, he served as Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University and the University of Utah. He was also a member of the Eastman School of Music jazz faculty, where he co-conducted the Eastman Studio Orchestra. A student of Rayburn Wright, Russell holds two degrees from Eastman.Find music from VJC Q&T host Russell Schmidt here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuao1b7Ztc7JNpUTzyorXDQ?The Questions & Tangents podcast is produced by Caleb Kilian for the Valley Jazz Cooperative, an outreach of MSW Ministries, a 501(c)(3) organization.