By Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital Jeff Antoniuk decided to start his master classes because amateur musicians often don't get the chance to practice jazz with a group

Jeff Antoniuk does his best talking without ever uttering a word.

That's because his favorite kind of "conversations" are the musical give-and-take of jazz improvisation.

Lately, he's been giving other musicians the chance to take part in some heavy gab sessions through his new "Jazz Band Masterclass."

Mr. Antoniuk started the classes in January to give fledgling musicians the chance to hone their skills. The Annapolis resident said there just aren't many chances for nonprofessionals to play with a group.

"I was hearing my adult students ask me, 'Where do I go to sit in?"' Mr. Antoniuk said. "There was nothing."

Students come from all across Maryland, and some hail from Virginia and even Pennsylvania.

Until they signed up, most were practicing alone by playing along with recordings, which they said gets old fast. Plus, live performances have all sorts of variations, which speed up the learning curve, the students said.

"I'm just having the most incredible experience," said Elaine Levit of Annapolis, who plays piano. "This class has inspired my practice tremendously. I feel like I have so much inside of me that I need to get out. Jeff's explanations, his group dynamics are excellent."

Ms. Levit is a classically trained pianist, but playing jazz is new to her. Her husband, Rob Levit, is a noted musician in his own right, but Ms. Levit said she wanted to learn from someone else.

"You can either be married to each other, or take lessons. One or the other," she said, smiling.

Mr. Antoniuk's classes, held in the back room of 49 West Cafe in Annapolis, have up to seven students each. So far, he's put together four groups of students, some of which have already given public performances. Each group meets for two hours every other Saturday.

"You get new ideas," said Eric Brewington of Upper Marlboro, who is in Ms. Levit's group, which formed in July. "It's like a conversation, and if you play along with a CD, it's the same (talk) every time. I'm loving it."

All that jazz

Mr. Antoniuk, who grew up in Canada, always figured he'd be a physicist. But music got in his way.

He'd been playing saxophone since seventh grade and knew he was fairly good at it, so he decided to take a year off after high school to play music. It became his life.

Mr. Antoniuk eventually earned a master's degree in music from the University of North Texas, and formed a group called the Unified Jazz Ensemble after graduating. The group, which is still together, recorded five albums and relocated from the South to the Washington, D.C., area in 1996.

"When all your cylinders are firing (when you're playing), that's the best feeling there is," Mr. Antoniuk said. "Think of the best conversation you've had in 10 years, how scintillating it was. That's it. That's what it is for me."

Mr. Antoniuk parted ways with the group two months ago to pursue his own projects, but co-founder Mike Noonan said he hopes to have his friend back for some guest spots.

"We miss him," said Mr. Noonan, who lives in Annapolis.

But Mr. Antoniuk, 38, keeps busy.

Besides teaching the master classes, he gives private lessons and performs. He plays many instruments in addition to the saxophone, and is on the faculty of Towson University's music department.

"I like being a musician, but I teach too," he said. "A lot of good musicians look down on teaching. They do it to pay the bills. I prefer to teach. When I see a student start to get it, it's a thrill."

His students are pretty jazzed up, too.

"Jeff's world-class," said Glenn Spiegel of Chevy Chase, who's been taking lessons with Mr. Antoniuk since 1997 and is in the master class. "He's a fantastic teacher. All of us who like jazz don't have much chance to play. There's a real tremendous value in actually playing the music we love and not just practicing it."

Mr. Antoniuk lets his students develop their own style, which they said is another plus to his teaching.

As for his own style, well, he's not quite sure. "My playing style? I'm hoping to find it one day," he joked.

But friends said he does have a distinct sound. The 1954 tenor sax he plays has a rich tone, and Mr. Noonan said he can always recognize his friend's music.

"There's a lot of quality of the character (of the music)," Mr. Noonan said. "He's really studied the craft. He's a composer and you can hear that in his playing. His style has humor in it, emotion in it, and dynamic range. Like Jeff himself."

Terry Antoniuk said that playing style was one of things that initially attracted her to her husband. They met at the University of North Texas, where she also studied music, and have a 13-month-old son, Aidan.

Ms. Antoniuk was a music teacher herself for a time, so she knows how tough it can be. She now runs a personal chef service.

"He's such a good teacher," she said. "He knows how to present things in lots of different ways for different learning styles, so more people grasp it. It's hard work."

Play time

"All right, yeah! That was good."

Mr. Antoniuk was clearly pleased with the members of the newest master class. Even though they've only been together for a few sessions, they were already showing signs of improvement.

Standards like "Take the A Train," and "Summertime" soared as the eager students tried out different improvisational solos, all based around the melody of the piece. Feet tapped to the beat and a small audience gathered in the back of the room at 49 West for last weekend's session.

The group played parts of songs, which Mr. Antoniuk then dissected - either with suggestions to improve a solo, or with different approaches for integrating performances into the overall piece.

Mr. Antoniuk sometimes joined in on an electric keyboard to fill in the bass line, and sometimes just sat back and concentrated on the music. After running through various parts of a song, the group played a number all the way through.

"It's learning your social skills - your musical social skills," he told them.

In "real" life, class members work in fields ranging from computers to dentistry, but on this day, they all were jazz masters in training.

Lakin Ducker, who plays alto sax, certainly had the "coolness" aspect of the part down, donning a pair of sunglasses as he played and swayed to the beat.

"I love it," said Mr. Ducker, who lives in Annapolis. "It's awesome. This way, I get to meet other people who play jazz. It's fun. It's a great way to start Saturday - or any other day. Jeff does an awesome job."

Mr. Brewington, who played the trumpet and the fluegelhorn during the session, said he's gotten more confident with each session.

"Now I'm starting to get a bit more relaxed," he said. "You're on a high when you leave here," he said.

Published September 05, 2004, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2004 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.