(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of WEDU PBS.

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota.

(upbeat music) Funding for WEDU Arts Plus is provided by the Community Foundation Tampa Bay.

(upbeat music) - [Dalia] In this special edition of WEDU Arts Plus, we celebrate the musical arts in West Central Florida.

Local artisans craft and restore orchestral instruments.

- There's a lot of personal creativity involved in making a violin.

You have a set pattern that you follow.

There's a lot of ways to express creativity in making an instrument.

- [Dalia] A bonafide jazz legend who called Tampa Bay home.

- [Chick] The audience thinks they don't see me composing 'cause I'm playing, but actually, I'm composing when I'm playing.

- [Dalia] A St. Pete native brings a refreshing voice center stage.

- Your voice ain't too loud.

It's not loud enough, girl.

Sing.

Be you.

- [Dalia] And a local group uses therapeutic singing to battle Parkinson's.

- When you feel joyful, you burst into song.

You don't burst into tears.

- It's all coming up next on WEDU Arts Plus.

(upbeat music) Hello.

I'm Dalia Colon, and this is WEDU Arts Plus.

In this special episode, we've compiled local stories that highlight music from musicians to music therapy and instrument craftsmanship.

The ability to craft instruments by hand is an art form that takes years to master.

In this first segment, meet the artisans who make, repair, and restore orchestral instruments at the Violin Shop in Tampa and Sarasota.

(Rick plays violin) - So I never thought I would commission a violin because there's always risk.

You don't know what it's gonna sound like or play like, but having a violin shop here, I would come and hang out and play the violins and Dereck would crank one out every month or two, and I'd play that.

He'd let me take it home, and I'd play it.

And after about the fourth one, I was like, "You know?

This is pretty darn good.

Make me one just like this."

(chuckles) - I liken the store very much to a wine cellar for people who love good wine.

You can find some really beautiful treats in there if you look just hard enough.

(violin music) - I guess my favorite part about being a luthier is knowing that I'm bringing music and happiness into people's lives and doing that for a career.

- Dereck and I worked together at another violin shop, and about six years ago, we talked about it and decided that Tampa doesn't have a shop.

We wanted something of our own.

And we started in a small, little like 600 square foot area.

And now, it's turned into two locations.

I think we have 14 people with us now, and yeah, every day is just incredible now.

- Watching Dereck and Ethan work with their customer base and having them be so excited to get them the next product that they really wanted, it's kinda like going to buy a car.

You get real nervous.

And with them, it's just you feel like you're supposed to be there, and there's no pressure here.

And that's one of the best parts.

- I love coming to this place, whether it's just changing strings, or getting the next size up violin.

So my son is 12, and continuously we have to come, you know, for his violin.

And then my daughter plays the cello.

Everybody that works here is really personable, like they care.

They care about my kids, about the musicians.

- At Violin Shop Tampa, we have a combined experience of about 80 years.

So when musicians come in, you know, whether it's professional level, or beginner level, they know that their instrument's going to be taken care of, and it's in the best hands.

We have expert people and restoration specialists in bows, specialists in the cello and the bass.

So some instruments, they may be from the 1700s or so, and they're irreplaceable.

You know, these are items that are almost priceless, so we have the people here that can repair them properly.

We take care of that instrument very well.

And in the state of Florida, we're one of the only shops that's actively building.

We're consistently producing instruments in our workshop.

- There's a lot of personal creativity involved in making a violin.

You have a set pattern that you follow.

It's like you drawing a picture of a mountain.

You know, the mountain is there in the background, and you have your paint and canvas, and it may take the general form or the shape, but there's a lot of ways to express creativity in making an instrument.

- So when we talk about building an instrument from start to finish, we're talking about we get the raw materials in, and a lot of times, that wood has to come from Europe, so we're very selective with our wood.

That wood usually has to be aged about 15 years or so.

And then from that moment on, there's a couple things with power tools to get the big work done, but everything's pretty much done by hand.

It takes a lot of time.

The only thing bent on the instrument is the actual rib cage itself, but the top and the back, that's all done by hand.

The scroll, that's all carved by hand, so it's not something that you can just order up, and it's ready to go.

These instruments are usually ordered about a year in advance.

- Usually from start to finish, it takes about 200 hours on average to build a violin.

It can take up to 300 hours to build a cello, and for a double bass, probably 400 to 500 hours, if you want to build it properly.

- There are some specialized tools that we use for making violins.

Carpentry tools.

We use saws, and chisels, and hammers.

Some of the finger planes that we use are quite specialized.

- [Francesco] I like using chisels, and I don't like using many power tools because it takes the fun of it.

Once the outside shape is achieved, then we can start carving the inside, and go down to the thickness that we need.

The thickness is important because from the thickness comes the sound of the instrument.

That's a very, very delicate process that requires days.

- [Dereck] I think that a lot of times, people think that music is just the instrument, or whatever talent the guy's got up in there, but if you really think about it, as much as an instrument is something to play, it's a tool.

And you can make something really beautiful out of it, and that's exactly what they do.

(violin music) - [Rick] When you have an instrument that you really enjoy, it becomes like the other woman.

You know, you wanna hold it, and play it all the time, you know?

So it's a little bit of an addiction.

- A good violin should be one that a good violinist enjoys playing.

And after doing this for 20 years, I'm just now getting what I want for my violins.

Before the musician even hits the first note, they notice that it feels good, that the weight feels balanced, the neck feels smooth.

It smells good.

It's visually beautiful to look at.

And all of those things as an artist, you need to attack, or engage, all the senses that somebody has, not just their hearing.

You know, if you built the world's most beautiful sounding violin, but it didn't possess the other elements of beauty, it wouldn't be the same.

And that brings me happiness to know that although I'm not the one personally playing the violin, bringing music and spreading music to the world, but that my hand was involved with that, and that that will be passed on for generations.

(violin music) (soft music) - For more information, visit www.violinshoptampa.com.

The late Chick Corea created jazz music for the ages.

In 2018, we sat down with him as he shared insight into his process and life in Tampa Bay.

Now, we celebrate his legacy.

(bright piano music) - I grew up in a musical environment.

My dad was a musician, and he had a band.

When I was growing up, we had like a three room apartment in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

We were right outside of Boston.

And we were up above a grocery store.

There was a pharmacy on the corner and a bar across the street.

And you know, my mother was working in a candy factory in Schrafft's in Boston.

And my dad was gigging at night with his band.

So he would bring his musicians back from the gig often.

And my mother would cook up some pasta and some potato and eggs for everybody.

And I was always interested in hanging out with them because they were all real relaxed.

And my dad would take me to the gig sometime, and I would see them play, and I'd play with them, and so I grew up in an environment of musicians creating.

And I always just felt a part of it from the very beginning.

Began to play piano.

Never thought of doing anything else.

I like to play drums.

I play a little bit of trumpet.

I fiddle around with the guitar a little bit.

You know, you wanna learn the tools of your trade.

I've even picked up a violin and scratched it a couple of times.

It's music.

All of it is music.

And I got interested in every aspect of it.

I moved from Boston to New York in 1959.

In New York at that time was all of my musical heroes.

Miles Davis' band, Art Blakey's jazz, Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver's quintet was there, Sonny Rollins was in town, Ornette Coleman was playing, Tito Puente's band, Eddie Palmieri.

That was it.

That was a rich time.

So I scooted down to New York to live.

Being a composer and arranger, it's all part of being a musician.

Composing music and performing it, to me, are kind of one piece.

I mean, it's two separate actions.

The audience thinks they don't see me composing 'cause I'm playing, but actually, I'm composing when I'm playing since improvisation is kind of like that, you know?

In composing, you kinda piece the ideas together so they get fixed into a piece that you can repeat, and then, that becomes a song.

As a band leader, or as an organizer of a group, I like to try to choose musicians and put them together to see what happens.

It sounds like an experiment.

Say, "Well, let's see.

Put this guy together with that guy, and see what happens."

I've been living here in the Clearwater Tampa area for 20 years.

I came here to relax and kinda get off the beaten path because my life has been basically touring.

I perform.

I'm on the road 10 months a year.

So when I come home, I'm not looking to travel too much.

You know?

I'm looking to hang out.

And of course, the attraction down here is it's a beautiful area.

The weather is great.

(jazz music) There's no real way to create.

Input is always coming your way, but if you only accept input and use that, then you're a robot.

If you only use what you think you should do, then you're not associating with anybody.

So there's a balance in there, to me, of how to create something.

It's a communication.

So one person does one thing, or I have an idea.

I put it down, right?

(Chick plays piano) I have an idea, and then you do something with the idea.

Then I might bring that idea to someone else, and they'll go.

(Chick plays piano) They put something else to it.

And then, it comes back.

And then it gets developed.

(jazz music) To me, that aspect of how you get your idea across successfully is very important.

How I balance myself between my own creations and other people's creations, that's the delicacy of life, I think.

(jazz music) (soft music) - To learn more about his life and legacy, visit www.chickcorea.com.

Siobhan Monique, St. Pete native and grandniece of local jazz legend, Buster Cooper, delivers songs that speak to the global human condition.

With her sultry, funky, and enigmatic style, she captivates audiences, while paying tribute to her ancestors.

(upbeat music) - I am Siobhan Monique.

I am a conduit for my ancestors, and the daughter of St. Petersburg, Florida.

I am here to fulfill my purpose, walk in my destiny, but more importantly, I am here to let my light shine.

(soft music) My very first performance, I was three years old.

I was selected to perform in front of the church.

(light piano music) - She got on stage in front of an entire packed church for our Christmas play.

She grabbed the microphone and just ad-libbed her entire part, (chuckles) and just brought the church down.

So we were like, "Oh, okay.

Well, this is what she wants to do."

♪ Temptation ♪ - That moment was when I connected to my purpose.

I didn't choose music.

It chose me.

- Her personality was an old soul from day one.

Her facial expressions had this kinda old soul type of feel to it.

She had a very unique, beautiful darkness to her, and I think that's part of this artistry that we see now.

♪ Southern trees ♪ ♪ A strange fruit ♪ (soft piano music) - I was in awe the first time that I heard her.

She was such a demure person.

A small person, but this huge voice would come from her.

And it was so moving.

♪ Swinging in Southern breeze ♪ - I can definitely see her sound and her music being something in the '40s and the '50s and connecting with that.

And when you hear her voice, it's like this voice has been here before.

This isn't a new voice.

This isn't a pop voice.

This is a voice that has a story that needs to be told.

So she's continuing to tell the story.

So it really resonates with all generations.

(bright jazz music) - My Uncle Buster was a very essential part of the jazz era.

He played with the Duke Ellington jazz band.

And now that I look back on it as an adult, I can see the seeds that he planted for me and for my life.

(bright jazz music) - Buster Cooper is my uncle.

He is my father's brother.

That connection and Siobhan's gift of having that type of ancestral voice and connection to the great jazz legends allowed the two of them to really connect when it came to music.

(bright jazz music) - He would always say, my family calls me Boo, so, "Boo, never give up."

(bright music) I got a degree in classical voice.

I went to New York, and I was a leading role in an Off-Broadway show.

And then he got sick.

And I was missing my family at the time, and my mom was like, "Listen, your uncle, he doesn't have much time left."

So I'm like, "Okay.

I'm gonna pack up my stuff.

I'm gonna come home.

I already miss my family.

I need to see my uncle."

On his deathbed, he pulls me to him, and he said, "Listen, I want you to carry on the family legacy.

It's your time.

I give you my blessing.

And I want you to carry this through."

And I'm like, "Oh, okay.

(chuckles) That's, you know, nothing major."

And so with him saying that, I embraced, and I accepted the calling and what he was passing down to me.

And that is what you see before you.

♪ To break my spell ♪ ♪ I'm home and I'm alone ♪ Community is important to me because there is strength in numbers, and my community has shaped and molded me into a queen.

You have to give back to what has been given important to you.

- One thing I can say about St. Pete, especially the southside of St. Pete, we are still a generational city.

We know people.

We know their father, their grandfather, their great grandfather.

So there's still that generational connection that I think makes it very unique.

- It takes a village.

It takes a village that believes in you.

And in this case, establishing that base.

You know you can go home.

- [Melissa] She's actually taken on that field to go work to New York to LA, she always wants to come back to that feeling of family.

♪ We don't need no master key to save our humanity ♪ - If it wasn't for my village, my community, my family, my ancestors who constantly reminded me, "No, you are beautiful.

You are smart.

Your voice ain't too loud.

It's not loud enough, girl.

Sing.

Be you."

The moment that I decided to do that, all of the beauty.

All of the beauty.

So what I will say to you, little Black girl that's watching this right now, you're beautiful.

You're more than just a strong Black woman.

You're magical.

Be yourself.

Love yourself.

Know thyself.

That's where all of this comes from.

I'm me!

(upbeat music) (soft music) - To hear more, visit www.ancestralfunk.com.

Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disorder, often associated with tremors that can cause difficulty with speech.

The Tremble Clefs of Largo is a local group using music as therapy to help combat these difficulties and create a supportive community for people living with Parkinson's.

(bright piano music) ♪ Dashing through the snow ♪ ♪ In a one horse open sleigh ♪ - The mission of the Tremble Clefs is a nationally recognized program that is formed to help people with Parkinson's disease to help preserve the voice that they have, and hopefully, maybe even improve it.

♪ It is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight ♪ ♪ Oh, jingle bells ♪ - We have a two hour session twice a month.

I work with my leadership team, which includes Brian Lewis, who is our pianist accompanist, and Tiffany Burich, who is a speech language pathologist.

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪ ♪ Jingle all the way ♪ - We have been given a grant from the Parkinson's Foundation, so we are able to provide the sessions at no cost.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

We start out with a 15-minute simple stretch that I lead them through just to get all the kinks worked out, and get them loosened up ready to go.

And then Tiffany takes them through a variety of facial and vocal exercises.

- Speech therapy for a Parkinson's patient's so important.

It's a neurodegenerative disease, and so their motor neurons are affected and their dopamine levels are affected.

So we do vocal function exercises to improve the intent because a lot of times, they are very soft-spoken.

They also have a flat affect on their face and expressionless at times, so we try to work with the muscles along the face, and try to help them show more expression when they're communicating.

We try to work on the articulation with concise and precise sounds.

We're gonna articulate them nice and precise, and then we'll do it with the piano.

Let's give it to me one more time.

- Mi, me, ma, mo, mu.

- And we also have them bring it all together for singing to bring in the prosody in their resonance so that they're able to string words and sounds together.

And all that is power housed by their breathing, which we work on their respiration, and working on singing from the diaphragm so they have enough support to express themselves.

Five times.

Let's do it.

- I was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2012.

- I've had Parkinson's since about 2007.

- I'm a newbie.

I've had Parkinson's about a year and a half.

- My birthday is May 24th, and the 26th I was diagnosed.

So I'm gonna wrap it up and keep it now.

(chuckles) - When you get Parkinson's, you're in denial.

First thing you do is be going through denial.

It can't be.

It must be something else.

- [Pete] Well, at first, I was angry.

Why me?

We went back with four generations in our family, and nobody has it.

- Parkinson's has a sneaky way of diminishing a lot of the skills that we have, like walking, talking, moving, loving.

And Tremble Clefs just gave us a more positive feeling, me at least, and a joy.

I look forward to Wednesdays.

- Parkinson's is basically taking medications and keeping moving.

And whatever can do that, accomplishes that, is good for you and gives you hope.

- Seven, eight.

- [Leah] We have a lot of care partners that come to the program, and we encourage that.

I think it's a real bonding experience for them.

And that way, when they're home, since we only do meet twice a month, it will encourage them to do practice on their own.

- We've been married 57 years.

She sings too, so that's good.

We try to practice once a week at least.

- I'm happy that my daughter encouraged me to participate 'cause it wasn't something that I would've done entirely on my own.

I would've thought about it, but I don't know that I would've had the courage.

- Oh, my wife has been a terrific supporter for 60 years, not just the last couple years.

I'm the luckiest man in the world when it comes to that part of life.

- Whatever he needs, whenever he needs it, I'm there for him.

And we've been married 60 years, and we've raised five kids and 14 grandkids, and now we're going through this, and we've always gone through things together.

- She sings right next to me, and sings right along with me.

Maureen has got a unique voice.

- I like the singing part.

When I was a kid, I didn't have a very good voice (chuckles).

And my kids would say to me, "Ugh, just mouth the words, mom."

(laughs) But here, they tell you you can sing, so (chuckles).

- Being the director of the Tremble Clefs is the most uplifting experience I have had as a speech language pathologist.

It's overwhelming, to be honest with you.

The feeling that I have about it is just pure happiness.

A lot of times, you'll see me with tears up here because I'm so proud of them, and I'm so happy to see how happy they are and how proud they are of themselves that now they are able to express themselves and communicate.

- Yeah, there is a marked improvement from singing and being involved in that along with the boxing that I'm involved in for Parkinson's.

Yeah, I'm doing a lot better now.

- Well, I have a stronger voice than I did before.

Before people would always say, "What did you say?"

And I'd have to repeat myself, and I'd tell them, "Well, I'm just rehearsing the first time.

Hearing what my thoughts are.

And if I think they're worthy of repeating, I'll repeat it louder."

But it didn't always happen.

- Met a lot of different people, and we have all different backgrounds.

And we get to be friends.

And it's good 'cause we realize that it helps us with raising our voice, doing the exercises.

It helps slow down the onset of Parkinson's.

- [Pete] I enjoy the friendship that we made, and we're not alone anymore.

That's the biggest thing.

- And that gives you power.

You know, they say there's power in numbers, and it's certainly true.

- Music is just an emotional part of us, and it gives just so much joy to everybody involved.

- When you feel joyful, you burst into song.

You don't burst into tears.

It's definitely therapeutic.

It's a program that I'm glad we have here.

(soft music) - For more information, visit www.thepalmsoflargo.com/parkinsons.

And that wraps it up for this edition of WEDU Arts Plus.

For more arts and culture, visit www.wedu.org/artsplus.

Until next time, I'm Dalia Colon.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) Funding for WEDU Arts Plus is provided by the Community Foundation Tampa Bay.

(bright music)