Another concert down

Our semester ending concert was last night on the UAH campus. It was a lightly attended affair, but the crowd was enthusiastic and very much into it by the end of the evening. Our band played the most songs and so we were able to show off our chops a little bit more than the other bands, as we also had a broader selection of songs. Our tempo was off on one or two of the songs, and we got desperately lost twice but made good recoveries both times. I acted as emcee for our band and I think if nothing else, I was the best emcee on the evening. It was fun.

Now, with that out of the way, I've got to concentrate on my jazz theory class and start studying up in that, making sure I understand every Aoelian, flat 2, sharp 5, pentatonic, harmonic, 13th, etc. I've already decided to take the test day off, and that should allow me to cram everything I'll need to get a decent grade on the test and hopefully pull myself up to a secure B, if not an A. I'm also going to jump start my critical listening project, which has been languishing these last few months. I picked up some new CD's which will have to be added to my database, so while I'm listening to them, I can also be advancing my CLP.

It's a delightful kind of euphoria when the concert is past, the obligation to practice is gone, and all that's left is the music and the memory of its performance. As tired as I am, I feel good about the whole thing. An hour before the concert, if you had asked me, I'd've told you that I'm not so sure this playing and performing jazz is a good thing. During and after the concert, I'd've told you there's no greater feeling in the world.

I still feel that way.

Busy, busy, busy

I've been so busy at work and getting ready for the jazz combos concert, my blog has fallen into cobwebs. Sorry about that. The good news is, after tomorrow, I won't have any music that I'm rigorously practicing or working on, so I'll be freed up to do some listening of new music I bought, and some reviews of jazz books I've got on hand. I plan to use the four day holiday weekend to accomplish that and hanging the Christmas lights, since Mrs. S will be away visiting her family.

It's a good feeling the day before the concert, because there's no going back.

By the way, saw "Mamma Mia" live last night. It was fun, but I felt the music was dragging the whole time. I guess having grown up listening to ABBA sort of jades me when it comes to remade versions. Plus, since it is a traveling Broadway show, they have to have some recorded stuff instead of live. Still, I recommend that show (the movie not so much) if you haven't seen it yet.

Something always worth reading...

Something always worth reading, besides this blog, is any Wall Street Journal article about jazz. Here's a link to the latest:

Terence Blanchard

Thanks for stopping by today.

Rhythmless practice

Just after I got back from Las Vegas a week and a half ago, I sat down to work on our band tunes, and I had a hard time getting my drum machine to work. I fiddled with the power switch and adapter connection and eventually got it to run, after a fashion. A few days later, with only four weeks until our concert, it refused to start up at all. I took it apart and tried to clean the connections and whatnot, but it was done. Since I had bought it used and got basically two years out of it, I decided it was time to buy a new one. Then I found out how expensive these suckers really are. So I went used again on e-bay.

I was really concerned about buying a used machine, because sometimes people are pretty lackadaisical about shipping off their used items. But I found a machine I wanted and was able to get it at a price about one-third of new. Imagine my surprise when I got the machine sent to Alabama (from San Diego) in just three days. I was delighted.

Until I turned the machine on, that is.

It didn't work. The sound was fading in and out, and both channels did not work properly, either in headphones or with jacks. Turning down the volume and messing with the jacks and adapter cord and connection helped (just like with my old machine that gave up the ghost), but I was worried. Since I could make it work, however, I decided to see how it performed over the weekend. Unfortunately, I found some of the buttons and functions inoperable, especially the ones which would allow me to eliminate the bass sounds so I could play just with the drum tracks. So, I am still without a drum machine and practicing with no rhythmic support (not good).

Of course, I will try to get my money back on the defective machine, but with less than three weeks to the concert, I can't wait around and guess at quality anymore, so I ordered a brand new machine from a reputable dealer on Amazon.com. Hopefully they will succeed in getting me the machine this week so I can get back to practicing with precise rhythm and timing.

Solo pianists and band performers can take liberties with time and timing in jazz (sometimes), but in a large combo with lots of solos and parts that bounce back and forth and respond and call, time and timing take on a new importance and "criticality". The level of my performance depends on being able to eliminate this rhythmless practice and get the timing as well as the notes of my parts down as soon as possible.

Come on, Amazon, don't fail me now!