School days, 'Blue' nights

The rain pours down, beating against the outside of a window on Woodburn Hall's second floor. A Miles Davis poster hangs on the wall, and piles of papers beckon from Jeff Isaac's desk and the square wooden table on which his foot is perched. Slightly slouched in his chair, a black lace-up shoe resting on the table, he pauses thoughtfully before describing himself in three words.\n"A man," he finally said with a sardonic smile. "A living man."\nUndoubtedly, his description is correct, but Isaac's contribution to IU, Bloomington and the local music scene goes beyond his mere physical presence. A political science professor, chair of the political science department and piano player for local blues band Code Blue, Isaac has certainly made a name for himself in music and academe since moving to Bloomington 17 years ago.\nHis interest in politics, Isaac said, came from his politically-minded family, as his father was active in the union movement and politics in general. But the main catalyst for his interest in politics stems from a national scandal during his teenage years.\n"The event that most shaped me politically was the Watergate crisis," Isaac said. "I was a little bit too young to fully experience the Vietnam War as a young adult. But the Watergate crisis … was a very big issue for me. It first got me interested in politics."\nAfter attending Queens College in his hometown of New York City and graduate school at Yale, Isaac moved with his wife to Bloomington in 1987 when he received a job offer from IU's political science department. Isaac has been the chair of the department for two years and is teaching a class on contemporary theories of democracy, which fits right in to his main area of political interest.\n"My area of specialty is political theory," Isaac said. "I'm interested in the history of political thought, the ways that ideas about government and political justice are debated. I'm very interested in ideas and ideologies, particularly democratic ideas."\nJames Russell, director of technology for the political science department, has worked with Isaac for many years.\n"I enjoy his openness; he's a good friend as well as a colleague," Russell said. "He's an artist, as well as an intellectual."\nIsaac's musical interest, the piano, also transpired when he was a child growing up in Queens. His parents gave him piano lessons when he was eight years old.\n"I hated practicing, but I loved playing," he said, hands folded across his short-sleeve blue shirt. "I've been playing ever since."\nDespite his love for music, Isaac's career in political science nearly trumped his desire to play.\n"When I became an academic, I pretty much gave up (playing) completely," Isaac said. "A few years back, my love for performing music was revived. But I've always loved playing piano; I've always been good at it."\nNearly forty years later, those childhood piano lessons have paid off, as Isaac is in his third year of playing piano and organ for Code Blue, whose sound he describes as "rocking yet sophisticated blues."\n"We are a very tight and rocking band," he said. "If you ever saw us perform, lots of people dance, and we often pack clubs and dance floors. Our music has a groove, it's exciting. We're exciting as performers."\n"We're also sophisticated," he continued. "I think there's a jazzy dimension to our sound, which I think is distinctive. There's a deep understanding of the blues (in our band), but also other genres of music."\nSeveral artists have influenced him musically, each for their talent of improvisational playing and each for their own distinct playing style. \n"I'm very influenced by jazz musicians in terms of general listening," he said, listing Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane as his three most influential musicians. "I'm also heavily influenced by several jazz pianists: Bill Evans, Red Garland and Lennie Tristano."\n"They're all great improvisers," Isaac explained. "And it's from listening to great improvisers that I've learned how to improvise, although I've always had a knack for improvisation." \n"There are certain things about rhythm, dynamics and block chords that Red Garland did as a piano player … that have influenced me very much. Lennie Tristano's way of breaking up rhythm and creating very complex improvisational structures has influenced me. As a pianist, no one has influenced me more than Bill Evans. There are just so many things about his style of playing, the way that he constructs chords, the relationship between his left hand and his right hand. I'm nowhere near as good a pianist as Bill Evans. But he was very foundational for me, and I continue to listen to him often."\nFor many artists, the worlds of politics and music have often collided with one another, but Isaac said his two interests balance out well.\n"Being a musician is in some ways very different from being a professor," he said, the bowl of chocolate espresso beans shaking slightly as he removes his foot from the table's edge. "It puts me in different places like clubs and bars, and it puts me in a much more expressive lifestyle, which is a really interesting contrast and complement to my academic life." \nBloomington residents have taken notice of Code Blue since its inception more than three years ago, awarding it with several reader's choice awards. It won a Best of Bloomington award in 2003 for being one of the top three cover bands, and a Best of Bloomington honor in 2002 for being a top blues band. Code Blue was named third best band in this year's Best of Bloomington, and its song "Monon Train" was featured on 2003's Live from Bloomington CD, a moment Isaac said was "an important moment in the history of the band." Code Blue's lead singer, Bobbie Lancaster, was named top female vocalist in Best of Bloomington 2003 and top solo performer in 2004.\nIsaac appreciates the recognition by local audiences. \n"It's very exciting, I think, for all of us," he said. "It's nice to be appreciated by a crowd. A lot of people that come to hear us know the blues, and so it's nice to be appreciated by people who know something about the type of music we play."\nLead guitarist David Baas believes Isaac is an integral part of Code Blue. \n"I think he has a lot of obvious musical talent," Baas said. "He's a very good keyboard player and a very good musician. He's a pretty driven person in the sense that he wants things to be the best they can be. He's good at helping the band attain that goal."\nCode Blue plays the second Friday of each month at Bear's Place and consists of Lancaster, Baas, bass player John Stith, drummer Mike Moody and harmonica player and the band's founder, Richard "Doc" Malone, a local pediatrician. Isaac sees a bright future with them, one that can take the band in different directions.\n"I think we'll grow in Bloomington," he said. "I think we'd like to record more. And then we'll have to see"\nIt's safe to say Isaac truly enjoys his position as Code Blue's piano and organ player.\n"There are many times after an engaging faculty meeting that it's a great pleasure to me to show up at Bear's Place and play some blues with my friends"