The Stanford Business Reporter

Issue date: 12/3/01 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Author, Shani Jackson, MBA1

Artist #1: Monifa Porter, MBA1

Artist #2: Stefan Moores, saxophonist

Artist #3: Denise Durante, pianist

Some folks rely on a six-pack to bring it on. Others prefer a little accounting. Still others will track over an hour away, to San Francisco, just to get some. I am talking, my fellow GSBers, about entertainment. Though many of us go through great efforts to entertain ourselves in this thriving city of Palo Alto, some of our friends at the GSB find entertainment in themselves. For this story I took time to talk with three artists we have in the GSB. They are artists in the making, or ones that have established themselves. This story let me see that we actually have many artists in our midst! We will see more from them.

Artist Profile #1: Bassist Monifa Porter, MBA1

Monifa, how did you pick up the bass?
When I was in the 4th grade I asked my father for a bass. He bought me a violin. I played that little wussy piece of crap instrument for 4 years before abandoning it for woodshop. After 17 years of repressed resentment toward my dad, I bought myself a bass 2 years ago as a Happy New Millenium present.

How often do you get to play (considering your hectic schedule)?
I pick it up about once a week, get frustrated, berate myself for not practicing more, and put it down again after about 20 minutes. Then I glance at it longingly over my bundle of econ dittoes.

Have you ever played in front of a crowd?
My largest crowd was my pre-Cuba going away party. I forced my friends to play Metallica and Tracy Chapman songs with me on acoustic guitar, upright bass, and harmonica. We were a mess. I loved it. My second largest crowd was in a hotel restaurant in Havana. I entertained some American tourists with another novice player. She played the tres, a Cuban guitar. We got booted by the management.

What do you think about as you groove?
Often: Where do I put my finger next? Occasionally: Holy shit! I'm doing it!!

Who is your inspiration?
Hmmmm....I guess the guy who played the bass in my elementary school "Orchestra Day" presentation. The musicians who move me these days aren't all bassists but clearly, they're beyond brilliant: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bernice Johnson Regan, and Me'Shell NdegeO'cello, to name a few.

What is your bass playing fantasy? Where are you playing? What is the occasion?
I am in a club playing Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazzy improvised phrases. The kind of thing that folks are moved to dance to but are also occasionally stopped in their tracks, stunned by an unexpected twist in the groove.

Certainly not in the GSB, eh?
Uhhhh, no. I modeled it in Excel and given my GSB time constraints and the amount of practice I’d need to be able to play that kind of music, I'd be qualified to take the stage in 127.6 years. I hope to graduate by then.

And now, on a more serious note…

Artist Profile #2, Saxophonist Stefan Moores, MBA1

How did you pick up the sax?
I happened across the final night of Montreux Jazz Festival when I was biking through Europe in 1992 [Note to readers—I too did the math. Either Stefan was older than I knew, or he was quite the adventurous high schooler! Turns out to be the latter]. The headliner was James Brown and the opening act was a very young Joshua Redman, who has since become a serious name in jazz. After hearing him play the sax I cursed the fact that I had wasted four years on piano lessons when I could have been playing a much cooler instrument.

How often do you get to play (considering your schedule)?
Unfortunately I haven't been able to play much since I've been here. The combination of a loud instrument and many close neighbors doesn't work very well. In the past I was playing a couple of times a week, mostly jazz and old rock (Beatles, Stones) stuff.

Who is your inspiration?
On the sax it's pretty tough to beat Coltrane. I also like Stan Getz (especially when he teamed up with Astrud Gilberto).

What do you think about as you groove?
I don't think. That's the beauty of it. It's pure mental and physical freedom. It's unlike anything else (well... almost anything else). [Ladies, we won’t follow up with Stefan on this one. We’re just talking about saxophones now. Nothing more.]

And finally, the more experienced, but says herself, “I am not a masterful pianist. I am just a girl who loves to play, anything from classical to rag to 'pop.' “

Artist Profile #3: Pianist Denise Durante, MBA1

How and when did you pick up the piano?
I began playing piano when I was 10. I believe my passion for music grew from my involvement in dance. When I was four my mother enrolled me in ballet lessons and I fell in love with it. Years of lessons means hours of listening to great classical pieces, and eventually, I suppose, you can't help but let the music as well as the dance become a part of who you are. I guess as I got older, I realized that I was truly intrigued by the piano. To this day, there's just something so thrilling about watching (and of course listening to) a pianist with their fingers rolling over the keys.

How often do you get to play (considering your schedule)?
With the first-year schedule and so many new opportunities, it has definitely been a challenge to find time to play. Ordinarily, my time spent playing is very random; sometimes every day; sometimes just on the weekends; a half-hour or a couple of hours. I realized over the course of midterms that I had not retreated to Littlefield much at all, which is unlike my usual routine [take note folks—one lucky night you might happen on a free concert by Denise in Littlefield]. I have been absolutely remiss in not taking the mental breaks for something I truly love, and something I probably needed to mentally recoup after all those exams. That will change though!

Have you ever played in front of a crowd? How big? When? Where?
I have played for audiences and have done some competitions but not for a long time now. I don't know how big the crowds ever were, but we're not talking huge. Although I've played for groups, I really play for myself (and my mother - who likes to use me as her CD player when at home, calling out songs she wants to hear while I practice). I don't claim to be any master pianist, not even close.

What do you think about as you groove/play?
Nothing. Honestly, that's the best part. When I play, I stop thinking. I just listen and feel and go. And it absolutely comes through for me in the sound. When I'm thinking, I play 'rough'. But when I'm just feeling, that's when I like what I hear.

What is the biggest stressor you use your piano to release from?
Everything. I use the piano as my detoxifier from all the day-to-day stresses. It's just an opportunity to escape and to release. It's amazing sometimes how much better I feel after an hour of playing; I'd compare it to the feeling you get after a great back massage.

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