Another realization on the road to understanding jazz

For those who have been reading this blog for more than a year, you are probably aware that I graduated from college a mere three years ago this May. I’m proud to say that at the tender age of 43, after achieving credits at 6 different colleges over a period of 26 years, I obtained my BSBA degree. Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself. I would say, however, that as hard as I worked, with as many solo and team projects, assignments, papers, etc. that we had to complete, no single project that I undertook toward my degree required as much time and hard work as the project I just completed for my jazz arranging class: a seventeen piece arrangement of Bill Evans’ “Peri’s Scope” with a lick from Thelonious Monk’s “In Walked Bud” thrown in for good measure (or eight good measures).

To complete the 150 bars or so, I estimate that I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty hours. It required complete reworking of the saxophone soli – twenty four bars of five parts. It required at least five hours just learning the software (Finale) to compose. It required two critiquing sessions with my instructor and classmates (three if you count the one for the soli). It even took about forty-five minutes just to print out the parts, make adjustments, reprint them, etc. etc. Then yesterday evening, the big band sight read it, got some tips and insight from me (not much), then played it through once more.

Finished.

All that said, I really enjoyed it. As much work as it was, the feelings of accomplishment and completion were just exhilarating, and it makes me feel good that I can get back to my regular, non-scholastic life. First order of business is to buy myself some jazz CD’s and get all my music that’s been laying about organized. In order to do that, I’ll have to find some shelves to put it on.

And I’m looking forward to keeping up with this blog once again.

What to do the day after Herbie Hancock's 70th birthday

Listen to Cantaloupe Island.

Yoity Tot Big Band CDs

So, as I said some time ago, I thought that in order to get more CD’s on the Yoity Tot list, but to be fair to all, (that is, never have to relegate any CD from the list because I come across something I like better) I thought it expedient to break the list into two. One is for “regular” jazz CD’s, the other for big band CD’s. (I could go even farther in expanding genres, and I might someday as the list expands.) My big band CD collection is not that big (oops) yet, so the list is basically everything I own that is big band. The regular list is my top 25 as I see them today.

I still have some CD’s I haven’t even listened to yet, leftover from my crazy buying spree a month or so back. I’m having fun and enjoying them, going through them slowly, finding gems, learning things, just loving jazz.

Anyway, check out the lists over on the right.

Wynton Marsalis Concert Report

Sat in the front row. Couldn't see anything except the piano, bass and saxophone section (which is half the band, but not including Wynton, so not too bad). These guys REALLY know how to play. Unbelievable. It was just fabulous. Check it out:

This is what the papers had to say.

How can this be interesting?

Last night I watched what turned out to be an incredibly interesting movie, "It Might Get Loud". You wouldn't think that three guys talking about music and specifically, about the influence of electric guitars on music, would be something worth watching. Then, when you learn that the three guys are Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White, well, you might be inclined to think, maybe, just maybe it might be interesting. But I'll tell you what, that movie was damn near incredible. You just can't believe the stuff those three guys share during the movie, and the music, well, it goes without saying it's great. The insight that expands on the music, it's just stunning.

The movie starts out with Jack White nailing some boards together. He wraps what looks like a straightened bed spring around a nail at one end, nails the other end to the far end of the board, jams a Coke bottle under it, nails a small block of wood to the larger piece, nails a pick up onto the small block, plugs the sucker into an amp, grabs a pick and a piece of pipe, and lays into it with a raunchy, twangy, electric buzz that sounds better than any garage band you'd care to name. He throws the stuff down, looks at the camera and says, "Who needs to buy a guitar?" After that, you can't help but watch the rest of the movie.

My two biggest impressions and how they relate to jazz: one, 90% of the music they talked about and cited as their inspiration was blues or blues-based. (Jack White's favorite song of all time is a guy singing the blues and clapping - no band, no accompaniment, nothing. And it's a real record!) And two, The Edge is by far the closest thing to a jazz musician, as he talks about things like voicings, inversions, eliminating notes from chords to change the sound, and a whole plethora of things that jazz musicians talk about all the time. No wonder U2 has the appeal that they do. They're the jazziest troupe in popular music!

I'm serious: put "It Might Get Loud" on your Netflix queue, your Blockbuster list, or your Red Box target list. You won't be sorry.

Admitting to going a little crazy of late

The job is literally killing me, sending me to the doctor every week as bad things happen to my body, such as my arm going numb one night (better now, thanks), gaining eight pounds in two weeks (dropped four since), and even losing a crown from my wisdom tooth. To cope, I just decided to keep myself occupied with music. And since I’m studying jazz arranging, I’ve been focusing on big band stuff to keep my muse energized. Here’s what I’ve acquired, just in the last two weeks:



By far the CD getting the most listening right now is Abdullah Ibrahim’s Bombella. The WDR Big Band just blows Ibrahim’s arrangements right out the door and halfway up the street. If you could hear the sound of energy, this is what it would sound like.

A close second is the Bill Holman Big Band compendium. Talk about fun music! I’ve only listened to about five songs so far because I can’t stop myself from going back for seconds and thirds. The thing is just amazing.

In third, I have to go with Buddy Rich for two reasons: one, he and his bands embody the west coast sound and are similar enough to Stan Kenton as to be confused with those great works, and two, his version of Love for Sale is probably the best ever recorded. Brilliant.

And this recent trend gave me a good idea that I’m happy to announce here: I’m doing away with the Yoity Tot “B” List and breaking it out into The Yoity Tot Big Band CD list and the “regular” Yoity Tot CD list. It’s going to take me a little bit to put those together, so keep watching this space for that change.

Keep it jazzy, folks!

Joshua Bell and Jazz

On Valentine's Day, Mrs. S dragged me kicking and screaming to a chamber music concert to hear the violinist Joshua Bell. (Well, not kicking and screaming, because I did buy her the front row seats that she asked for. Let's just say I was dubious.)

Even as the ladies ooh-ed and ahh-ed over his good looks (see below), Mr. Bell knocked my pink-heart socks off!



I'd never heard such violin music. His control was amazing, his stamina that of a marathoner, and his mastery of dynamics and tone was just phenomenal. He's recently been dabbling in popular music and jazz, and since Funny Valentine was on his last CD, I felt pretty sure he'd play that for the Valentine's concert encore. He decided to play something different, but it was fantastic too.

We got several autographs and talked with him for a little while at the dinner after the concert. We met some fascinating people at the concert, too.

What's the point?

The point is, one month from last Thursday, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be in Huntsville Alabama for a concert, and what Mrs. S. and I have discovered is that when a big name star, like Joshua Bell or Wynton Marsalis, comes to your small home town, you'd better make the time and effort to go and see them. There's nothing quite like the relatively intimate show that consummate musicians and entertainers can put on, as proved by Mr. Bell and as Mr. Marsalis will no doubt prove in just less than a month.

For the record, Mrs. S. and I paid about $250 for season tickets so we could be guaranteed of seeing Mr. Marsalis's concert, and while tickets for that are still available, two nights after the Huntsville concert for the concert in Atlanta, Wynton Marsalis tickets are going for $165 apiece (if you can find them). That means Mrs. S and I will be seeing Mr. Marsalis in concert for a discount, and we got to see two musicals for free.

Can't beat that with a timpani mallet.