The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 23, 1986, Page 8, Image 8
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
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Terry Rosen, USC English graduate stud
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For more i;
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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
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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,
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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.
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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
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return to: Student Media Business Office, Box
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hosts 'Jazz Track' A
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"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."
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85131. USC, Columbia. SC 29208. ;
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