Espresso, Gelato, Music!

Shari Fulton is a former student at DSM where she studied saxophone, flute, and even sang with the Student Jazz Ensemble. Unfortunately, life and work had her relocate to CA,  but her passion for music still burns! 


Shari and her husband Tom are the proud owners of Zia's, a gelato, espresso, dessert and pastry restaurant in Placerville, CA.  Aside from making great gelato in such interesting flavors as Pineapple-Passion-fruit and Cucumber-Mint, Shari finds the time to hear and book local musical talent for special evenings at the cafe. 

"We've had everything from a traditional Irish group celebrating St. Patrick's Day to classical guitarists, folk singers and of course, all sorts and sizes of jazz combos!" she says enthusiastically.

Shari is an interesting and multi-faceted lady.  The grand-daughter of Italian immigrants, she lived for four years in northern Italy and speaks the language fluently. Her passion for music is equally rivaled by a thirst for knowledge and the simple pleasures that most Italians pursue... "la bella vita" or "the beautiful life".  These interests include gelato, espresso, fine wines, wonderful food, and of course, great music!

We miss her here at DSM but wish her great success with Zia's.  Be sure to visit  Zia's Facebook page and if you're a MusickEd-er in her area, stop by for a fantastic latte or unique gelato.  Be sure to tell Shari we said ciao!

If You Build It...

There is an old marketing adage that says 'If your idea is great, people will find you'. Thanks go out to Seth Godin for that one. We have always believed the internet could be a terrific vehicle to deliver music education. Hopefully the fruits of this labor are paying off as more and more people learn about the product and services we can provide at MusickEd.com....but I digress.
















Our resident composer/arranger Mike Finkel has an encyclopedic-like knowledge of musical artists, band members and genres. He pulls from all areas of his own personal I-pod of a brain and creates amazing orchestrations. I know because he works right across the hall in office 210... (that's Mike on the left and yours truly on the right).

I asked Mike to give our readers a sneak peek at some of his latest work for the Jazz Series. He says this little beauty is 'drum 'n bass' influenced in a British dance style. Discerning ears may notice a little Weather Report flavored funk as well. We hope you enjoy the track and we welcome your comments. And by the way, feel free to test Mike's music trivia knowledge anytime!

CLICK HERE FOR THE JAZZ SERIES SAMPLE

Response to an AAJ Post

This post is in response to an article on the AAJ (All About Jazz) website. It seems that MENC (Music Educators National Conference) is coming to the rescue of Jazz Educators since the demise of the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education). OK, enough with the initials already; on with the post.

It strikes me as a somewhat sad state of affairs that jazz educators need to be 'served' and the profession needs to be 'promoted'.

I might even argue that the profession of jazz educating doesn't exist in a traditional sense of the word. After all, what are the options for a jazz educator upon graduation from college? Either work in a traditional school system where one has few if any colleagues or opt to abandon education and/or music altogether.

The goal 'to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all' is a lofty one. Perhaps MENC should contribute to a fund that goes toward teaching jazz educators business and entrepreneurial skills so they can band together and open schools in communities around the country.

Turning our attention to the health of the profession is a great idea. We should be as passionate about music educating as we are about music education. If the benefits of teaching music were as apparent as other professions, we wouldn't need to be promoted or served.