I AM CRUISING!!  

OLIVIA RIVERBOAT GIG TO GERMANY AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC!!  WOOHOO!

IF YOU LOVE THE CELEBRATION AND SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON, THIS IS CRUISE FOR YOU AND ME!!  

Looking for a fun time this Sunday, 11/24, 5-9pm?

Stop by:
Hamburger Marys Singer Showcase/Open Mic

This event is at the newly remodeled back room of Hamburger Marys (formerly THE PATIO) this Sunday, 5-9pm. Featuring a surprise guest artist. It’s free and open to all ages. Sign up and sing! All styles. We have song lyrics and backing tracks. Or sing “old school” piano bar style with Dr. Dee. Grab a bite, enjoy the fun staff and full bar while you catch a song or 2 or 3.

HAMBURGER MARYS SF
531 CASTRO STREET near 18th
415-580-7145
https://www.hamburgermarys.com/sanfrancisco/

SMILE ORANGE PROJECT

The SMILE ORANGE PROJECT is a musical experience consisting of a live band directed by Dee Spencer that performs the soundtrack for the film Smile Orange. The score is composed by arranger/trombonist Melba Liston and transcribed/arranged by Spencer. Watching the 90-minute movie with a live band is the best way to experience the project. The music combines soul, R&B, jazz, pop and blues with traditional Jamaican sounds. The SMILE ORANGE PROJECT pays homage to two great artists: author Trevor D. Rhone (1940-2009) and Melba Liston (1926-1999). Smile Orange is a satirical farce about the daily lives of native Jamaicans working in the tourism industry. The debut performance as a stage production took place on 1971 at the Barn Theatre in Kingston, Jamaica. This production was subsequently adapted and commercially released as a motion picture with a full Jamaican cast in 1976. Melba Liston’s musical score was used in the motion picture version. Sketches of the original scores are housed at the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. In July 2018 I visited the archive and gained access to Liston’s manuscripts. I initially discovered Smile Orange in the archives previously in 2011 as a member of a group of four researchers called the Melba Liston Collective. Interestingly, I served as a music copyist (remember those?) for Melba Liston in NYC in the summer of 1982. What does Smile Orange mean? Rhone’s title is embedded in Jamaican tradition and mythology. Inside this slapstick comedy is commentary about the social conditions of the Jamaican workforce with sharp comparisons to slavery. The characters of Smile Orange, who work at the fictitious Mondo Beach Hotel, must use their “smiles” as tools for survival. According to a myth dating back to the slave trade period, eating oranges causes sterility. The orange growers used this to preserve the crop. Interestingly, oranges are enjoyed by everyone throughout the film.

https://youtu.be/UiuazNp20is

 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o6ts0mwh41j4bdn/AAANQoFHIjdsXSEnyJBMxuiPa?dl=0

New collection of nine original solo piano "vignettes"  for relaxation is available now at CD Baby:

http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/deespencer2

SAN FRANCISCO - The sounds of Aretha Franklin filled the lounge of Beaux, a San Francisco bar and dance club, on Thursday night where three Bay Area female musicians paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul.

Renee Lubin, a performer with Beach Blanket Babylon for more than three decades, paid homage by singing Franklin's songs.

Lubin is also a vocal coach at San Francisco State University. Like Franklin, her musical background came from church.

"I grew up in the church. I see Aretha, hear the sound of her voice. You realize where all of that beautiful mixture came from," said Lubin. 

On keyboard is Dee Spencer, professor of musical theater at San Francisco State. 
　
"You feel her energy. It's undeniable," said Spencer. She says "Respect" has become an anthem. 
　
"People today look at that song and use it as part of the civil rights movement, as part of the women's march. And people are walking around going R-E-S-P-E-C-T," said Spencer.
　
These artists say they first heard Franklin's music as young girls when family members played her records. They admire her versatility and ability to convey emotion. 

"She didn't just do R&B, she did jazz. She did rock. She did gospel. She was amazing," said Lubin. 
　
Deborah Coley is a professional vocalist by night and works at a hospital by day. 

She says the power of Franklin's music is in the way it spoke to people. 
　
"I found her to be very empowering to women and to people of color about standing up for yourself, doing what was right, believing in yourself," said Coley. 
　
Her influence, these women say, is undeniable: a powerful female artist in control of her own destiny. 

IMG_2273.MOV.mov

AMAZING

WOMEN

IN JAZZ

This course will examine the contributions of

women instrumentalists and vocalists

throughout jazz history including Early New

Orleans and the Swing Era. Women played a

vital role in the development of America’s Art

Form: Jazz. This course will examine early film

footage as well as classic recordings made

popular by vocal legends such as The Boswell

Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah

Vaughn, Rosemary Clooney and others.

Instrumentalists/composers/arrangers such as

Melba Liston and Mary Lou Williams will also be

included.

This course will add to your enjoyment of the

upcoming season at SFJAZZ

Dianthe “Dee” Spencer (Ed.D University of San Francisco) is

Professor and Chair of the School of Music and Dance at San

Francisco State University where she founded the jazz studies

undergraduate degree program in 1990. She served on the piano

faculty at Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) prior to her

appointment at SFSU. Dee served on the governing boards on

the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and the SF

Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

(NARAS). As a keyboardist, Dee has recorded with vocalist Lenny

Williams and Bernard “Pretty” Perdie. Her debut CD “Vintage

School” was released in 2002. In various settings, Dee has

performed with jazz greats Clark Terry, Jimmy Scott, Regina

Carter and Grammy‐nominated R&B artist LEDISI.

OUTLINE OF TOPICS:

∙ — Early New Orleans and

Chicago Jazz

∙ — Swing Bands

∙ — Ella, Billie and Sarah

∙ — Pianists

∙ — Instrumentalists

∙ — Current Touring Artists

 FOR MORE INFO:

CALL 415.817.4243

 EMAIL olli@sfsu.edu

Faculty spotlight: Dee Spencer

Associate Professor and Chair of Music and Dance Dee Spencer, a jazz pianist, talks about growing up in a family of musicians, the importance of practice and her golf game. 

Can you provide a summary of your areas of expertise and what you do here at SF State?

I'm beginning my second three-year term as chair of the School of Music and Dance. I've been here since 1990, and I started the jazz program back then. My areas include jazz piano, I coach jazz voice, I've taught music ed courses as well. I've taught in many, many areas. Jazz history, theory. I created a new theory class as an alternative for students who are looking for something more contemporary. I'm across the curriculum in a number of ways.

What about music initially interested you?

I grew up around music. I don't think I had any choice. Music kind of chooses you. My parents were musicians but not professionally, so everybody was active in performing music in my family. I'm the only one who decided, "Oh, I think I'll do this for a profession." I grew up around jazz too. At that time, I was classically trained, but I always loved jazz. My parents were very open but they insisted I maintain my classical training. And to this day I tell my musicians, my jazz players, "Look, you've got to learn your fundamentals. Classical is a way to get your discipline, your fundamentals down. Then you can play anything, but you've got to get your technique."

What is your favorite thing about teaching at SF State?

I love the students here. The students are amazing. It's the most diverse and interesting and fascinating and inspirational body I've ever met, and from every walk of life. I just never tire of our students. 

What do you enjoy about living in the Bay Area?

What's not to enjoy? First, the climate. This is the most beautiful place on the planet to live. Anything you want is here. The best food, the best wine, the best culture, the best of everything. Music, dance. This is where things are created. We're the creative juice for the rest of the country. This is where people aren't afraid of being creative. They go out and try new things and eventually things catch on and become trends. I love being here. It's just a very, very important place for creativity.

What do you think makes SF State unique?

This campus has such an important history, and it's such an important place for social justice. We have that social justice component that not many universities on the planet have. And we're closely tied with our urban mission. We have to serve the city. We're the city's university, and that's an important role. I used to do the high school all-star band years ago. I do the San Francisco Symphony's "Adventures in Music" program, where I go to elementary schools. To go into every elementary school in the city is just an amazing experience in and of itself. I love that program.

Do you have any good study tips for students in your field?

You have to love the process of things. Our society tends to put a lot of emphasis on the end results of things, but you have to love practicing. You have to love learning, and you have to love the process of learning and improving your life. And you have to realize you are your best investment. I tell my students this all the time. Don't worry, you're going to get some ROI on yourself. You will. That's what college should be about. Learning, investing, growing.

What is something about being a musician that would surprise people?

I think people are surprised by the amount of practice it takes to get a performance together, and how many hours it takes. People tend to think that people perform well because they're talented. I think talent's overrated. People say, "Oh, you're so talented, Dee!" If they only knew how many hours I had to spend where I sounded absolutely horrible and pathetic just to get to the point where this actually started coming together and sounding good.

What kinds of people tend to excel in music?

You can't be too sensitive, but at the same time, you want to be a sensitive artist. You've got to be able to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again because things aren't always going to go well and you've got to be able to have a real strong sense of self. Most artists who are successful know who they are, trust in themselves and really have a sense of self confidence. It's so easy to get discouraged, but the best artists are the ones that just keep on rolling.

Tell me about your most treasured possession inside your office at SF State.

I like having my pianos, because any time I feel like I want to play something, I just go over and play piano. I just played this morning. I give lessons in here, so I had a student and we both played together, and my whole day after that was great. I've played the piano every day I've been here. It's like five steps away. Get up. Go back. It's nice to have that. I'm very, very blessed.

What is something that people might be surprised to know about you?

I'm an avid potential golfer. I love to play golf. I recently started taking lessons. I've been a hack for maybe four years, and I was like, "You know what? I have to get a teacher." So I've been studying for the last year, and I'm getting better, thank goodness. There are so many parallels between golf and music. I have to practice. There's a drill involved, like a warm-up for music. You have to concentrate when you're out there. You have to have the rhythm of your swing. A lot of musicians are golfers, I've found.

How would you describe our students in three words?

Simply the best. Those aren't original words. Those are Tina Turner's words.

Faculty Spotlight focuses on some of the many faculty who make learning happen at SF State. For more on how SF State Makes Things Happen, visit http://www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/overview.html

file:///Users/cherylbrown/Desktop/Dee's%20R3s.pdf

Here's a snippet of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" at McKenna Theatre on Saturday November 1, 2014.

file:///Users/dspencer/Desktop/IMG_0704.MOV

Here's an article about my participation in an amazing SF Symphony program:

http://news.sfsu.edu/dee-spencer-helps-bring-music-citys-children

Dee Spencer helps bring music to city's children

 http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/life/015323.html