University of South Carolina Libraries
Spotlight 8 ^ Wednesday, April 23, 1986 WUSC's By SEAN REEFER Assistant Photography editor It happens .every Wednesday night from 9 to midnight ? "Jazz Track" ? the weekly jazz show on the university's radio station WUSC-FM. Your host tor the three-hour show is Terry Rosen, an English graduate student who guides you through some of the greatest jazz tunes ever written. "Jazz ? America's music," Rosen commonly calls it. In the studio doing "Jazz Track" is not the only place in Columbia you can find Rosen. On Sundays, if you're lucky, you might find him at the Marriott Hotel, sitting in with the Columbia Jazz Quartet, displaying his guitar expertise. Atlanta-born Rosen finds himself in Columbia by way of New York. Through his ii. I |j& Terry Rosen, USC English graduate stud CAR are now ac ; T7-.il TA?/; ^ I i an xyou cl I Classes beg run for 6 v For more i; the CPU of Russell Hoi Deadline: April 30, at 4:00 pm Rosen tl childhood and into his mid-tccns, he listened to the contemporary music of the 1950s, until he was first exposed to jazz. From that point on, he said, it was only natural that he play jazz. He had only a basic knowledge of the guitar. Because there was no jazz teacher in Columbia, he decided to teach himself how to play the guitar. "I was a two-edged sword. I developed a style of my own, but I didn't learn some things until I was taught them." He started out playing at jam sessions around Columbia, having a hard time at first. Other musicians tried to discourage him, but he kept coming back. After some time, his playing improved, and he started playing regularly at parties and clubs in and around Columbia. "Those were the rlavc when von I ' ^gi ^IHr yftJSdWBMMt^. i fjMfitYJw Wm ent, plays with th? Columbia Jazz Quart :cepting applic )urse instructo in Sept. 22, 19! veeks. nformation, stc :fice, 2nd Flooi "W^ ise^^^^209. '3% hinks got would get nine dollars for three hours; that was good money and we were glad to get it." When he graduated from Drehcr High School in Columbia. he went to HollvwnnH tr> nt. tend music school, but left after a year to perform his music. He was soon playing with lounge bands performing at clubs in the Las Vegas-Rcno-Lake Tahoc area. "I was in a band called the Salinas Brothers. After a show one night, the drummer and I were riding around town and we saw a guy in a tux standing on the corner, so we gave him a ride. He turned out to be the sax player for the Harry James Band," he said. "He told us that they were looking for a guitarist, and 1 ended up getting the gig." Rosen played with James for two years, MQffttHHHflHBMB&kr KflKk/ - SEAN KEtFER/The Gamecock et i I ft ations for rs. ?6 and will T- t I ? ji ; > ' 20 O ^ " 5 :V ? 3 I ]' i ^ H I M 1 I X 4 ? > > *U51J id jazz ii then joined Sammy Davis Jr.'s band. The bands in which Rosen played would perform in Vegas for six months, then tour for several months. With the James band, Rosen took a bus to the shows; with Davis, he traveled by piane. Rosen traveled to Mexico and South America for shows as well. Overall, he was on the road for four years. "1 enjoyed life on the road, but I would look at the guys who had done this all their life and could sec the tiredness in their eyes." Rosen returned to Columbia in the early 1970s to teach guitar and play at parties and clubs with his group, the Terry Rosen Quartet. "1 remember one time when a woman hired us to play a party. 1 thought it was a wedding party, but it turned out the woman was so glad to have divorced her husband that she threw a big party." In 1980, Rosen entered USC as a freshman in media arts. During his four years of study, he developed an interest in photography, which he said he still enjoys. He graduated cum laude in 1985, and decided to attend graduate school. He switched to the English department and began work on a graduate degree in creative writing. He is working on a novel about musicians on the road. "This is really a work of fiction and not a thinly veiled autobiography," he said. As an undergraduate, Rosen got involved at WUSC. What started as something to do in his spare time has deepened into an interest in radio broadcasting. He bccame the station's graduate assistant, but Rosen said he's not sure if this appointment will lead to a career in radio. "1 don't make decisions and plan the results. I do things and if they work out, hey, that's cool. If not, then we learn from our mistakes. The only, thine that L plan to do is never stop playing music. I'm not a horn player whose chops (a term among horn players that refers to their mouths) could wear out. As long as I don't get injured, my chops will last as long as I do." He has been hosting "Jazz Track" for two years, and will continue until he graduates this fall. The show features a large variety of jazz, from small groups to big bands and vocals. "1 try to keep the songs under eight minutes to keep the listeners' interest. If they don't like the song and it runs longer than that, they will probably change stations," he said. Somccpc^i.^ USC names student aff | j u? M j A Met iCO< y engrt HHH ! ^ mi .ucctss in -.^nr B5||g | _ : I <^?Name 1 I Addre far SMIM tan mmn ! in ? I City _ J PIZZA FAC # LARGE PEPPi PIZZA hurt S EXPIRES 5/2186 m m H MAIN STREET LOCATION 01 lusic is t sail < !*? Ml _'Jy v xp. & I H&gjj|pk^^ -grl Rosen, the graduate assistant at WUSC, "One night, the requests were very slow and I said, 'I wonder if anyone is listening tonight.' Later the next week, I received a letter from a local businessman supporting the show. 1 realize that there arc people out there who 1 will never meet, so I try to make the show as fun as possible to listen to." One thing Rosen does is "jazz talk," giving definitions of terms jazz musicians use in their everyday lives. Two examples are "hip," which is just being cool, and ''having eyes for something," which is really liking something. Rosen doesn't plan his shows song for song. Instead, he takes tiiuugii music 10 lasi tne entire show and plays whatever he feels is right for the time. "Even with all the music I have and WUSC's great jazz library, I sometimes have trouble finding something to play. When that happens, 1 just go into the music library and pull something that I'm slightly familiar with. Sometimes I'm surprised with what I find." Rosen said he thinks it's unfortunate that so many of today's talented musicians go unnoticed. n s mc nature 01 society and of the music business today. We live in a world where a musically under-educated audience has a large buying power and the music business caters to their demand. Many people today feel that 'old' means bad. Good music is timeless. TilFPERIECf SUBSCRIPTION GAMECOC 5S Sta Enclose o check payable to The Gamecock in t return to: Student Media Business Office, Box , 799 TORY 928 S. It riuNCHi ERONI i " 3 p: Personal P 5.99 1 and a Rb8' : just : e] mv MAIN I ^MJJ-MinmilM1JMaillII _ - T - - . imeless SEAN KEEFERfThe Gamecock hosts 'Jazz Track' A # "Classical critics revere musicians who died over 200 years ago. Why can't we pay the same respect to those who died only 30 years ago or 20 years ago? Why they have to be on the scene today makes no sense to me," he said. as tar as jazz fusion goes, Rosen said he doesn't care for it. "Rock is rock, and jazz is jazz. Never the two shall meet." Some ^ of Rosen's favorites include ^ Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Sarah Vaughn and Phil Wood. "My personal interest comes out in the show. That's i'ue gn-.at thing about WUSC. All the DJs have the freedom to show their style and reflect their personal preference. It's just not like commercial radio. I'm going to take advantage of it while I'm on the scene." ? For now, Rosen will continue to host jazz track every Wednes aay nignt and teach guitar. After earning his master's degree, he said he plans to stay in Columbia and pursue writing, photography and playing in his band. His band has included musicians Andy Watson and Frank Duvall. His wife, Sue, sings vocals and plays piano in the band. ||| What Rosen will be found doing most, though, is slaying in touch with jazz through his guitar. "It's like Oscar Peterson said ? 'You don't start to play anything until you're 50 anyway.' So maybe there's a chance for me." , : -V, : :' ;>; '?'V& : GIFT ? i * I TO THE : H! i I I I I ite Zip I he amount of $18 00 () year) and J 85131. USC, Columbia. SC 29208. ; 1770 : flAIN - USC | EON'SPECIAL I m. m epperoni Pizza S ular Coke? * $1.59 KPIRES 512/86 ? STREET LOCATION ONLY |?| O J