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On Wednesday, Dec. 8, Caleb Chapman played the national anthem on saxophone at the Utah Jazz's sold-out game against the Miami Heat at EnergySolutions Arena.
Claiming the spotlight is an unusual position for the 37-year-old Pleasant Grove musician. He spends most of his time directing the spotlight toward the eight youth bands he leads, including the internationally acclaimed Crescent Super Band.
For his work directing those bands, featuring more than 100 of the state's finest young musicians, Chapman was named the John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award by the Berklee College of Music and the Jazz Education Network. He will pick up his award on Jan. 8 at the music educators conference in New Orleans.
"I don't have any special training," Chapman understated. "Maybe that's why I feel that this honor is slightly misplaced."
The award was created to recognize an outstanding international educator whose results bring distinction to his or her students, said Lou Fischer, co-founder and president of the Jazz Educator Network and a professor of music at Ohio's Capital University of Music.
Fischer praised Chapman's love of teaching. "They can sense that. We've very proud of him."
The award honors John LaPorta, who left behind a career that included stints playing alto saxophone and clarinet with Woody Herman, Charles Mingus and Lennie Tristano to teach for more than 30 years at Berklee.
Chapman learned of LaPorta's career from his mentor, Ray Smith, professor of music at Brigham Young University. Chapman, a native of New Hampshire, attended BYU to study under Smith, and since graduating has endeavored to follow LaPorta's inspiration.
Chapman, who founded The Music School in American Fork in 1999, also created the Crescent Super Band, a group of 22 high-school musicians that has become one of the country's most acclaimed youth bands. Last year, 25 graduating seniors who had played in one of Chapman's eight bands received partial or full university scholarships amounting to $1.3 million in tuition fees.
Chapman, who is married and the father of four, beams when he talks about his 11-year-old son, Porter, who recently successfully auditioned for Chapman's New Bop Big Band. Chapman, of course, recused himself from his son's auditions.
Jeff Coffin, the saxophone player for Dave Matthews Band, nominated Chapman for the award. When the two musicians met, Coffin heard about Chapman's newly created high-school band and asked to hear some music. Chapman handed over a CD of the Crescent Super Band. "I thought he was playing a joke by playing a professional big-band recording for me," Coffin said. "At that moment, I knew Caleb had something unique and special going on."
Since then, Coffin has made special trips to Utah to perform and record with the Crescent Super Band, and he's not alone. The group has collaborated with guest artists from groups such as Journey, AC/DC, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Tower of Power, Genesis and even the horn players from the Rolling Stones.
In addition, the band has performed in jazz festivals all over the world, including recent performances in Italy, France and Switzerland. In August, Chapman will lead the group on a tour of Asia.
"I could sing his accolades forever," Coffin said. "What he can get out of high-school students is amazing. There's college bands that don't sound as good."
The key to his teaching, Chapman said, is to treat his students like adults and to set high expectations. "[My bands] continue to blow me away. I know these kids are capable of unbelievable things."
Suzy Lind, 20, a BYU student, has studied music with Chapman for nearly a decade. When she joined one of his bands she was 11, and even at that young age, Chapman treated her as an adult. Because of those expectations, she became a better trumpet player than she ever imagined. "Caleb had a knack for pulling in people who wanted to [collaborate], rather than just showing up to perform and leave," Lind said.
Lind also nominated Chapman for the award, saying that he put students interests and talents center-stage, rather than his own. "Caleb is a powerful and dynamic leader who has the ability to inspire students," she wrote in a nominating letter. "This ability, mixed with his knowledge of and love for jazz, exemplifies what every teacher should be."
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