By admin | February 7, 2010
Submitted by X… Y… Jazz
Recently a piano student of mine emailed me for some encouragement. He asked me “I was wondering what you do when you don’t like the way you sound on the piano?” This is definitively a question that most students have but few dare to ask. It’s a good question for several reasons the most important of which I believe is that it goes to the heart of the reason why a musician makes music. It also says a lot about this student’s attention to the process of becoming an accomplished musician.
There is a paradoxical nature to the pursuit of educating one’s self to be a creative musician. When we’re young many of us look at great jazz musicians and assume that the mind-blowing, creative sounds coming out of their instruments are being created entirely in the moment. Jazz, when it’s really happening is so spontaneous, exciting, and off-the-cuff that it seems as if it is literally bursting out of the air molecules. For me the sign of maturity in a developing player is when they give up trying to be completely breath-takingly in the moment and develop an appreciation for the craft of being a musician. They begin to distill their creative musical ideas and work them over and over again refining both their ideas and the execution of their ideas. At this level of artistic evolution a student looks up to their mentors not only as “geniuses” but also as craftsmen (craftspeople?) and develops an appreciation for the refinement and taste that exudes in their playing. However the pursuit of the craft of music inevitably takes us through the thoroughfares of drudgery. The hours of practicing some very non-creative things as a way of unlocking our creativity seems paradoxical and it becomes easy to lose the energy and inspiration that initially was driven by this perceived spontaneity.
Acquiring the skills of a master can take a lot longer than we had initially hoped. Our practicing can seem even futile. It’s almost as if we got up every day, stood in front of the mirror and tried to “will” our hair to grow. This would be a depressing way of growing one’s hair and yet for many students (myself included) it becomes part of our process of developing our skills as a musician. It would be silly for any of us to obsessively wish we were at a different hair-length since worrying about it would have no effect on the process that is already occurring at its own rate. (incidentally we all grow hair at different speeds!) Hair length is also neither good nor bad. It’s just shorter or longer. This is the same for our development as musicians. We are all developing at our own rates and it only serves to inhibit our development to use our limited energy judging ourselves.
Once when I took a lesson with Fred Hersch I asked a similar question to him. I don’t remember exactly the words I used but I intimated the sentiment that I was often over-whelmed by the prospects of playing solo piano. Fred’s answer was: “When you’re playing music use what you know, not what you don’t know”. Over-simplistic as it seems this answer is profound because it requires one to be completely honest about what one “knows”. This honesty is, in my experience, not very common and is what distinguishes the wheat from the chaff in terms of artistic integrity. Artistic intentions become quite transparent when it is clear that a musician is playing something that they don’t grasp. It’s innocent I know but it has the overall effect on the listener as music that is trying to be something that it is not; music that is perhaps trying to impress the listener by approximating something else rather than being simple and honest and what it is.
Younger players are often mired in judgmental decisions about the “hipness” of what they play. In the case of my student I find it heartening that he is perhaps beginning to dig deeper for a meaning to what he plays. As long as this feeling doesn’t turn into obsessive self-loathing this question is an acknowledgment of the deeper sometimes darker places within that must be faced with courage and honesty as part of the process of becoming a musician.
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By admin | February 7, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Last October
I posted a review of Tom Varner’s
The Window Up Above: American Songs 1770-1998. Varner channels avant garde jazz through the French horn, which might be illegal in some states. His songbook is full of rich interpretations of traditional American melodies that accomplish the basic purpose of avant garde: expanding the original genius of the music along hitherto unsuspected dimensions. It is a magnificent album.
I didn’t notice until recently that Tom himself left a comment to that post:
thank you! got a new one out, too–you’d like it— a tentet, “Heaven and Hell” www.omnitone.com/heavenandhell has lots of info—- thanks for the listen, ken! best tom varner
I was excited and flattered to see this gracious comment. This is the first time that a jazz artist has responded to one of my reviews. I thought it only reasonable that I should obtain Varner’s new CD, so I ordered it from Amazon, along with the new Dave King recording (free shipping!) that reader Will mentioned. If I haven’t accomplished anything else with this blog, I am selling music to myself.
Tonight I have been listening to Varner’s The Mystery of Compassion. It is a delightful production from ink to beat. I love the cover and the album title. The list of song titles turns the music into a series of Zen koans: ‘How Does Power Work?’, ‘Death at the Right Time’, ‘$1000 Hat’. The music ranges from solid bop to intense avant garde wailing. Tom is no ordinary composer.
Here’s my favorite cut:
Tom Varner/Fool’s Oasis/The Mystery of Compassion
You can get it for few dimes from eMusic. Tell ‘em I sent ya. I’ll let you know about Heaven and Hell when it gets here.
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By admin | February 7, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
My father passed away on January 27th. As a practitioner of Zen Buddhism, I suppose I will have to begin celebrating that day in the future, as that is what Buddhists generally do. There is a kind of appealing symmetry in replacing the birthday with the day of passing.
My father had enormous reserves of good humor, love, and devotion. He served in the Pacific in World War II, along with three of his brothers. One of these heroes of the Republic, my Uncle Bill, did not make it back. Dad lived life on his own terms. He was one of those people who genuinely liked nearly everyone he met, and as a result everyone who knew him was better off for it. Dad was not a jazz fan. In fact, he had a tin ear. But he would have been amused to know that I am eulogizing him on this blog.
It only occurred to me tonight that Dad was born a couple of months after the great bop piano player Red Garland. So I decided to offer this post on Garland and John Coltrane in my father’s honor. Garland was part of one of the most famous rhythm sections in modern jazz, playing behind Miles Davis and John Coltrane in Miles’ first great quintet. He recorded a number of fine albums as leader, including four with Coltrane: High Pressure, Dig It!, Soul Junction, and All Morning Long.
Here is a sample from the last in the list. Donald Byrd plays trumpet, George Joyner bass, and Art Taylor drums. It is a bit longer than the samples I usually include, but this is a special post. This recording was made, as it happens, a few months after yours truly arrived on the scene.
Red Garland Quintet/All Morning Long
My readers will know that I offer these samples to illustrate my criticism and to encourage them to obtain the recordings. My old file sharing service, drop.io, expired without warning and I have switched to a new one,
dropbox. Unfortunately, all the older links are now useless.
But here is a very useful tip: the above recordings are part of a box set of Coltrane recordings,
Side Steps. You can get this collection of Trane’s work as a sideman very cheaply from two sources. One is eMusic. The other is
Hastings, which is letting it go for $19.99. That is a
steal. Pick it up at Hastings. You get the booklet and photos.
And here is another offering from a Coltrane box set: The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings. It is from the album First Meditations, recorded in 1965 (John Coltrane (ss, ts) McCoy Tyner (p) Jimmy Garrison (b) Elvin Jones (d)). Again, in my Father’s honor:
Love
So the Zen patriarch was watching a flock of ducks fly overhead. After they were gone he turned to a monk and asked: “What happened to the flippin’ ducks?” The monk answered “they have flown away.” The patriarch reached over and twisted the monk’s nose good and hard. “Shit!,” he cried, “why did you do that?” The old man replied: “how could they possibly have flown away?”
Commentary: the only ducks that there ever are are the ducks that are here. There is no such thing as a duck that has flown away.
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By admin | February 3, 2010
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
JFJO graces us with their newest EP of their own brand of jazz (stream it on their site right now for free). One Day In Brooklyn is a short yet solid collection of tunes that fall into a wide spectrum, covering many grounds.
Catch them live here in Portland on February 19th at Mississippi Studios. I missed them when they were in town back in September due to a Beer event (which was during their Music Millennium in store) followed by a Beer and Art event at the Portland Art Museum (which was during their performance at Jimmy Maks). Can life be all that bad when you have to choose between your three passions – jazz, beer, and art? Any-whos, I feel this will be a more suited venue as Jimmy Maks can put off weird vibes for me.
One Day in Brooklyn offers six tracks of rock, hip-hop, and classical influenced/infused jazz. “The Black and Crazy Blues and A Laugh For Rory (for Joel Dorn)” – [breath] – starts off with a slow building landscape if you will – picture the subtly building scenes of a spaghetti western – before evolving into a shuffle-like beat – the climatic showdown. To conclude the track the band kicks it in high gear with a faster tempo giving way to a shuffle that makes you want to boogie like Cajun or Zydeco music does.
Probably my favorite of the bunch is “Country Girl”. An interesting mix of melodies, build ups and break downs. Each instrument stands unique here but relies on the others to create the definitive tone of the song. I know Alt-Country-Rock was a popular term a couple of years ago, but I think JFLO perfected Alt-Jazz, with a certain Country vibe, but that’s what happens when you add the lap steel to the mix, and it’s well received in this outfit.
The first two tracks give you the sense of a standard backbeat, where others offer straight ahead rhythms with accents on the third beat. “Imam” and “Drethoven” are examples of this heavier rock beat. And the third track, “Julia” a mildly building cut, takes a step back from the swingin’ affairs of the other tunes. A balled if you will, fans of The Bad Plus will appreciate this one. The band performs with a feeling of being well rehearsed and are very tight nit, while still offering a free-in the moment feeling.
The album concludes with two endings. “Drethoven,” is the epic, closing statement leaving the JFJO maker’s mark. Finally everything is smoothed out with the whimsical, “Four In One.” A well recognized Thelonious Monk composition leaving the ears begging for more. Word is that JFJO will be having a full length release due out in June, which would mark their 20th record.
2009 - Kannara Records
Brian Haas - Piano; Joshua Raymer - Drums; Chris Combs - Lap Steel; Matt Hayes - Double Bass.
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By admin | February 3, 2010
Submitted by Secret Society
Our next NYC hit is Tuesday, March 23 at Jazz Standard, as part of the New York-based celebrations surrounding the 40th anniversary of my alma mater’s jazz program. It is great to be a part of this — many of my most important musical/personal relationships began at NEC. In fact, that is where I first met and started working with Secret Society co-conspirators Josh Sinton and Sebastian Noelle. This will also be our first gig at Jazz Standard. It’s a pretty sweet room for bigbands — I have vivid memories of mind-blowing shows there by Maria Schneider’s Orchestra and John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble — and we are definitely looking forward to our own debut on that stage.
Of course, before this whole NEC-in-NYC shebang rolls in, the band is heading up to Boston for a gig at the Regattabar on February 25. Tickets are currently on sale for the 7:30 PM set — if, ahem, “demand warrants,” the club will add a second show at 10 PM, so the Society encourages our Boston-area partisans to buy early and, ideally, often.
Both the Regattabar and Jazz Standard performances will feature the return of some of our favorite guest co-conspirators, saxophonists John Ellis and Marc Phaneuf. Also joining the lineup for our Home game on March 23 is the unstoppable Ben Kono.
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By admin | February 1, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
Hello again, Tim Price here for Rico Reeds. I thought I might discuss some unique and important music played by Charlie Mariano and friends.
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady— Charles Mingus’s 1963 recording was wake-up call to jazz- - a lesson in alto saxophone expression by Charlie Mariano. Even so, today, in listening to that, one wonders why Mariano was not given his proper place in jazz he deserved-he played in a style derived from the mainstream of jazz’s development with constantly expanding horizons. Externally, Charlie’s style bore the marks of modern jazz in terms of melody, harmony, rhythm, and phrasing. His was a wholly romantic art. Charlie Mariano was always able to convey emotional depth via all musical elements.The real thumbprint of a jazz innovator!
His playing was always utterly spontaneous, and his resultant open ended saxophone sound is the stuff of which great jazz, and music without boundary’s is made.
As Mariano’s world opened while living in Europe his music became a pastiche of Indian, Japanese and other indigenous musics. Through his life Charlie would continue to combine musical genres; his interest in world music never abated. Elements of these music’s inevitably found their way into his compositions and performances, as, a characteristic celebration of his musical diversity. Musicians from other cultures sought him out as a mentor and voice to add the elements they heard in their music.
Here is a stunning example of this, with some of the greatest players on the planet. EG- Charlie Mariano, Chaouki Smahi, Billy Cobham, Bobby Stirn, Paul Shigihara, Mike Herting, Yahia Smahi. Check out how Charlie creates spontaneously in the moment while paying homage to the collective spirit of being in the ensemble.WOW!
Take note also, Paul Shihihara is one of the real voices in today’s music on guitar- very personal and beautiful.
Special thanks to Charlie’s daughter, Cynthia Mariano for sending this link to me ! Thanks Cynthia!
Mariano Cobham Smahi Friends
La Rose du Sable, Thinking Of You, Album 2009 www.chaoukismahi.com
Check this great clip out-and get the CD asap!!
This music, from all musicians within, is a very unique and inspired masterpiece.Totally profound !
Charlie’s musical legacy is one of such influence that decades from now people will still be talking about him, not only as a saxophonist but as a musician and human being that gave something deep and vital to the world.
Enjoy and stay in the moment ~ see ya next week~ Tim Price
Rico Reeds Facebook Blog
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By admin | January 31, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Warne Marsh has a claim on my heart. My first introduction to serious jazz was listening to Bill Evans in the apartment of an English Professor, Mead Harwell, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. One of my first purchases was Crosscurrents, featuring the Bill Evans Trio backed by Lee Konitz and Marsh. It is still one of my favorite albums. Here is a sample from this superb recording:
Every time we say goodbye/Crosscurrents
I looked for Marsh records for years, but it is only recently that I have managed to obtain some of his own recordings. Recently I got The Unissued Copenhagen Studio Sessions. You gotta love the title: how can they be unissued if they are on this CD? This is a beautiful piece of work. How many brilliant albums are still in the can somewhere out there? Marsh is backed by guitarist Dave Cliff, bass player Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, and drummer Al Levitt.
Marsh’s tenor had a fuzzy, impressionistic sound, even when he was playing very fast. Cut your pallet first, maybe, by listening to a bit of Art Pepper. Here is one of my favorite standards from the album. You might contrast it with Booker Evin’s interpretation.
You don’t know what love is/The Unissued Copenhagen Studio Sessions
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By admin | January 31, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
When I was going to school at Berklee back in the late 80’s I spent a lot of time hanging and playing with the students at new England Conservatory. This was mainly because my close friend Kenny Brooks, a fantastic tenor player, was a student there. Through Kenny I met Rob Scheps, who was leading an all-star big band called True Colors. I played with Rob’s band for almost four years and we worked all over Boston. There were many great players that
played with that band, including Kenny Brooks, Donny McCaslin, Douglas Yates, Josh Roseman, Curtis Hasslebring, Jay Branford, Anders Bostrom, Dave Finucane, Andy Gravish, Dmitri Matheny, Wessley Wirth, and John Dirac. I would have to say that out of all of those great players the cat who really stood out the most night after night was John Medeski. John was just on another level. He had unlimited emotional energy. He could just keep kicking it up and kicking it up until he seemed like if he played any harder his head would explode, then he would push it even further. He was a madman on the piano, a true musical genius.
Medeski could play any style of music, so I can’t really say that I’m surprised that he made a huge name for himself playing ‘Groove Jazz’, for lack of a better label. I hate to call it Jam Music or even worse- Nu-Jazz, though MMW is one of the very top groups on the Jam Band circuit.
One thing is clear, MMW rocks. They can whip up crowds into a rabid frenzy and keep them there for hours. Kelpers delight! (note: Kelpers are what the Jam band musicians call the Hippie chicks who dance with their hands waving above their head, because they look like a bed of sea kelp when dancing en masse)
MMW will be performing in Portland at the Roseland theatre on Friday, February 26th at 8pm and Casa Valdez is giving away TWO FREE TICKETS to the show!!!!!
So here are the contest rules:
1.You must live in the Portland metropolitan area
2.You may not be an employee of Casa Valdez Studios (there are none anyway)
3. You must love MMW (write one sentence expressing your devotion)
4. You must give me the names of four other bands/musicians that John Medeski has played with other than MMW.
So send an email to casavaldez@comcast.net with your name, address, why you love MMW, and the names of four other groups that John Medeski has played with (besides True Colors). The last item shouldn’t be difficult for anyone with an internet connection. The winner will be chosen at random from correct submissions and I will send you a pair of F-R-E-E tickets in the mail.
Good Luck!
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By admin | January 27, 2010
Submitted by Secret Society
Guest post by Sam Sadigursky
Tremendous thanks to Darcy for allowing me this space to share my work. I’m very excited to release Words Project III: Miniatures on January 29 at Galapagos (the same space where Secret Society kicked off the release of Infernal Machines) and thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the evolution of The Words Project, which has thus far been my focus as a leader and composer.
I wish I could say that I’ve been a lifelong reader of poetry and that this venture evolved naturally out of that. This couldn’t be less true, actually. I’ve always loved reading fiction, but never could achieve the quietness of mind that poetry demands. I read and memorized the requisite poetry fed to us in school, but beyond that I wasn’t exposed to much of it. Given how marginalized it is in our culture it’s easy to ignore. I can’t even say that I was ever very interested in song lyrics, even. I’ve always loved listening to music of any style with singers, but like many musicians I tended to ignore lyrical elements in favor of musical ones.
I spent a number of years in New York in search of what my own contributions here would be, dipping my feet into as many waters as I possibly could. I was involved with a few groups with singers and started to feel a shortage of new vocal pieces that involved lyrics (rather than wordless vocals), and many of the newer works I heard didn’t have very challenging lyrics or content. Having long loved the art-song tradition, I set out to find some initial poems to set, and started calling singers over to sing through my work. The directness to the human voice and its mysteries were thrilling for me, and I found myself thinking and working differently than ever before. Fortunately, I also began to discover a deep well of talented young singers eager to take on new material, which furthered my interest in this venture.
The first pieces I set were by Lithuanian-Polish poet and Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz, whose work I’ve continued to set to this day. There’s a certain simplicity to his work that makes it highly typical of the kind of work I enjoy setting. The ideas in his work are by no means simple, but the use of language has a direct quality that makes his work conducive to musical setting. When poetry reaches a certain level of abstraction, there’s no longer room for the kind of music that I would like to write. Similarly, there’s a lot of poetry that tells something akin to literate story, which also doesn’t intrigue me as a composer. It’s difficult to define what lies in the middle of these two extremes, but I do tend to know whether I can set a work within the first few lines of it.
I’ve sometimes wondered whether it’s the poetry that I set to music or music I set to poetry. It’s probably a little of both… There have been times when everything has started simply with the words in front of me, a musical gesture or phrase that arises from the first stanza, with nothing else preconceived. Other times, there is a more intentional process, where I’ll employ a musical idea I’ve been toying with or use a certain stylistic notion in crafting a piece.
I don’t tend to dwell too much on the meaning of a poem before I start working with it. Perhaps this is out of impatience or over-eagerness, but I feel strongly that my job is not to filter the meaning of any work for the listener. I try my best not to interpret these poems or put any sort of definitive stamp on them. I simply want to color them and make them come alive in a unique way. Great works of poetry, like great works of music, can mean different things to us at different times. This is one of the beauties of art in genearal. Certain works can fill us with sadness one hour and be completely exhilarating the next. We bring our own experiences to whatever we take in, and it’s not my intention to subjugate this process by governing the experience of a poem. By the time it lands in my hands, the poem is a complete work of art on its own. It doesn’t need my efforts to be read or to thrive. It already exists in its full flowering, and this is a humbling thing that I always try to keep in mind.
One of the greatest challenges of this genre for me continues to be how to fit all this into the jazz continuum, one that is based on improvisation. Many of the longer works I’ve set demand long forms and it’s difficult to know where improvisation should fit in, or whether there’s a place for it at all. Personally, it’s unappealing to simply use words as a launching point for extended improvisation. I’ve always wanted to frame my work primarily around the poems themselves, and always have them be at the center of my work. Thus, I want any solos or improvisation to function somehow within the poems themselves, to make this all feel like one, creating the illusion that the words and the music came out of the same mind. All the principles of tension and release in music really come to the forefront. Sometimes improvised sections function as a release and other times they build tension or intensity from a place where there was not before. Other times they simply function as a breath within the poem, a chance for the listener to take in what has come before.
Melodically, my own voice tends to guide me when I write. I do my best to forget my background as an instrumentalist and try to think like a singer. I also keep the use of melody in everyday speech in mind. We all use varying degrees of pitch inflection and rhythm when we speak, and thus we’re so easily able to accept lyrics that are sung as a natural extension of everyday speech. Perhaps this is what makes so many of us want to be singers, to further the expression that language allows us, and possibly communicate things where speech falls short. To this effect, I tend to use mostly close intervals in my writing that mirror the intervals of everyday speech.
Words Project III: Miniatures comprises material that I’ve written spanning back to 2006, primarily songs that had never fit into the framework of what I’ve done previously both live and in the studio. The project started quite spontaneously…. I called Michael Leonhart to sing through some songs I had written for male voice, and he hit the record button and we started tracking. A few months later, vocalist Sunny Kim was in New York, and I decided to bring her into Michael’s studio to record a few things. Based on how well these two experiences went, not long after I chose material for an entire record of short songs.
Sometimes I had conceived arrangements and instrumentation before going into the studio, and other times these things came together as we worked. Most of the tracking was done individually, which allowed Michael and I plenty of room for editing and experimentation. I wanted to create a unique world of sound for each piece on the record, and used a lot of uncommon instruments and sounds in order to achieve this. Sometimes I had a good idea of what a piece would end up sounding like and other times tracks unfolded themselves from something more unknown.
The miniature aspect to each piece is really what holds this record together through all the changes of texture and instrumentation. These are musical portraits or glimpses, maybe akin to a collection of short poems or stories. I’ve always loved listening to collections of short pieces, whether they be art song or piano preludes. I love the challenge of creating interest in a piece quickly, constructing something that is short yet feels complete, taking a more microscopic look at the arc of a piece of music, and connecting a collection of short pieces to one another in order to assemble a larger work.
The broad mix of styles reflects the many kinds of music that have shaped me, perhaps never so apparently as on this record. There are very few improvised solos on any of the tracks, but to me the way this record was recorded gives it the feel of a jazz record, and most everybody who appears on it comes from a jazz background, although they all bring much more than that to the table. In any case, I’ll leave this to the listeners to decide where they want to put this album…
For more information, please visit newamsterdamrecords.com or samsadigursky.com. The CD will be available on iTunes and Amazon on January 26th. The release party will be January 29 at 8 PM at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn as part of the Archipelago series.
Watch a video here.
Visit Sam’s blog at www.theoneseat.blogspot.com.
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By admin | January 25, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
A rooster is getting ready to retire from his gig at the Farm….he sent the word out to some young roosters to come up and audition for the gig….the first young rooster comes up and scats the bird solo on Night in Tunisia…..nothing happens the sun doesn’t come up no dogs start barking……….the next young rooster comes up and does Trane’s solo on “Giant Steps’………still nothing happens…a third rooster comes up and does Ornette’s thing on “Ramblin” still nothing happens
….Finally the Old Rooster says, why you sad motherf#$%&@s , and clears his throat gives a little cough and cry’s out COCK A DOODLE DO >>>> COCK A DOODLE DO >>>>>. the sun comes up dogs start barking the farmer wakes up and all the rest…..The old rooster looks at younger ones and says…
“I TOLD YOU SAD MUTHA’ FUKAS, YA GOTTA LEARN THE STANDARDS FIRST !!”
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By admin | January 25, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
The harmonic major scale (simply a major with a flat sixth) is a relatively new addition to Jazz improvisation. It has an interesting exotic sound and can be a important element of a modern Jazz musician’s vocabulary.
Music theory always lags significantly behind what musicians are actually playing on the streets. There are many useful “exotic” scales like the harmonic major (some of which are only one or two notes different the handful of scales that most Jazz musicians are taught in schools) that have been used by players for years without showing up in any Jazz theory books. Saxophonist Matt Otto is bringing the world of Jazz theory up to speed with his new book on the harmonic major scale entitled Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol.1.
Here’s what Otto has to say about his book:
I finally finished my first book on jazz improvisation. After years of practice journals and outlines for the ultimate jazz tome, I finally realized that I’m not Mick Goodrick or Hal Crook (no matter how much I practice) and in general, I always liked a music book with a fairly narrow focus; with “baroque counterpoint” for example, you know what to expect. After much deliberation, I decided to take one concept that inspires me constantly, that I really enjoy practicing, and write a book about that. After digging through my practice logs, and organizing boxes of semi-legible manuscript, I found a lot of material about creating an original, non-cliched, modern vocabulary, as well as a lot of melodic examples from the harmonic major scale (an Ionian scale with a b13). So, I ended up writing a book on how to develop an original melodic vocabulary for improvisation using specifically the harmonic major scale.
The book outlines the various ways I’ve come up with to practice scales, melodies and harmonies while focusing on developing an original melodic vocabulary. Included are not only a lot of lines, melodies and “licks” (if you will), but the methodology I used to create them. This workbook leaves a lot of space for musical exploration and creation, although there’s plenty of written material if you just want to play through it and glean a few new ideas that speak to you. The following table of c
ontents will give you an idea of just how comprehensive this publication is. I’ve put a lot of time and thought into this book and I really believe my work can benefit other musicians. At $11.95, I think you’ll find it a good investment!
In his book, Otto has created a template for what hopefully will be an entire series on the topic of applying different exotic scales to Jazz improvisation. The structure of this book is very well thought out and an ambitious student could easily use the template of the chapters to develop an entire Jazz vocabulary based on exotic scales. If fact, after reading Otto’s book I put together an interesting lesson plan for my own students using this same template.
The chapters in this book are as follows:
- Modes and Chords
- Arpeggiated Voicings
- Rhythmic Displacement
- ii-7 V7 I Maj
- V7 i minor
- Melodic Sequence
- Random Intervals
- Diatonic Cycles
- Triad Pairs
- Combination
This book is written by someone who has spent years incorporating these ideas into his own musical vocabulary, so everything in it is useful on a very practical level. If you listen to Otto’s recordings you can clearly hear him use these harmonic/melodic ideas in his improvisation.
The modes of the melodic major scale can open up new melodic ideas and expand the vocabulary of the modern Jazz musician. This book is a innovative new addition to the world of Jazz theory, there is simply nothing else out there like it. It has given me valuable teaching material for my students as well as giving me something interesting to work on myself. I look forward to seeing future volumes of Matt Otto’s Modern Jazz Vocabulary.
(click above graphic to enlarge)
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By admin | January 25, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
NPR is doing jazz a tremendous service with its Live at the Village Vanguard series, which I have heavily pushed here. The current offering is
a concert by Lee Konitz, backed by Dan Tepfer on piano and Matt Wilson on drums. Konitz’ alto has 82 years of heart behind it. I first heard him on a Bill Evans album,
Crosscurrents.
I am too tired tonight to reflect on all the joy that Konitz has brought me. But consider this sample, from one of Konitz’ greatest albums:
I Remember You/Motion
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By admin | January 24, 2010
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
The last weekend of February — and the last of the Alaskan Airlines/Horizon Air PDX Jazz – looks like it’s going to be an epic one. February 27 and 28 offer a slew of conversations, jams, and performances worth checking out. I’m overall pretty bad with posting about upcoming events on this blog, so pardon if these listings often seem sporadic. The festival hosts dozens of workshops, discussions, and performances that should cater to any breed of jazz fan. Catch their whole schedule of both free and ticketed events here.
- February 27 offers a Conversation with Dave Holland at 12pm, and a Conversation with Pharoah Sanders at 6:30pm. Both of those take place at PCPA’s Art Bar.
- Also on the 27th, the Dave Holland Quintet performs at 7:30pm at the Newmark Theater.
- An event that I guess takes place on both Saturday and Sunday is a PDX Jazz Jam hosted by Darrel Grant. This starts Saturday at 11:59pm on the ground floor of Norse Hall.
- On Sunday the 28th catch a performance by the great Pharoah Sanders at 3pm. Also at the Newmark Theater.
I always try to catch a handful of educational talks and conversations each year, unfortunately my work situation has changed drastically since last and not sure if I’ll be able to make any of the events. Financially I can only probably make it one performance this year, so it’s still a toss up between Holland and Sanders. It’s a rough choice, Holland is legendary with his early ECM recordings, the Circle Band, his work with Anthony Braxton on Arista Records, and even contributions to Miles Davis sessions. But how can I pass up the opportunity to see someone who has performed with Coltrane, on such ground breaking records as Meditations & Ascension, and has developed outstanding recordings on labels like Esp-Disk and Impulse.
Also, a recent newsletter by the Festival organizations mentioned that the discounted package deals are running out fast with a handful remaining, and if you purchase tickets at the PDX Jazz office, not only will you received cheaper rates for fees, but you’ll also receive a free jazz CD — while supplies last of course. Please check their website for office hours and ticketing information.
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By admin | January 24, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
I have been listening my way through the 41 tracks on Charlie Mingus’ Passions of a Man. I am thinking that is not only the definitive Mingus collection, but one of the great treasures of modern jazz. Mingus clearly had that genius that most distinguishes jazz: the ability to dig deeply into the veins of various musical traditions, pull out the ore, and melt and mix it into jewels worthy of any crown. I also suspect that Mingus rates as the second greatest small group leader, surpassed only by Miles Davis. So what if he was nuts?
Another reason this collection is priceless is that it includes so many great jazz masters. I have almost everything Eric Dolphy recorded under his own name. Now I have more Dolphy. Good. In addition, there is Jackie McLean, Pepper Adams, Mal Waldron, Horace Parlan, and Bud Powell.
Passions of a Man includes
- Pithecanthropus Erectus,
- The Clown,
- Blues and Roots,
- Mingus at Antibes,
- Oh Yeah, and
- Tonight at Noon.
All of them are good, but numbers 1 and 4 are worth their weight in gold. Mingus at Antibes is one of the finest live jazz recordings. Ted Curson (tp) Eric Dolphy (as, bcl) Booker Ervin (ts -1/4,6) Bud Powell (p -6) Charles Mingus (b, p -1/5, b -6) Dannie Richmond (d). Here is a sample:
Prayer for Passive Resistance
And on the recording Oh Yeah, there is Booker Ervin and Roland Kirk. I have pushed Booker Ervin pretty hard on this blog. I think he is one of the most under-appreciated geniuses in the business. Roland Kirk is better appreciated, but I have pushed him as well. Also on the album are Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Doug Watkins on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums. Here is a sample:
Hog Calling Blues
This is a long post, but I am not out of steam yet. A second box set of Mingus available is The Complete 1959 Columbia Recordings. This is a three disc set with Mingus’ magnum opus, Mingus Ah Um, Mingus Dynasty, and a third disc with alternative takes from the first two. If you don’t have the first two, this is a reasonable purchase from eMusic (28 credits). If you do have them, you can always download the third disc.
Mingus Ah Um is one of the core recordings in any good jazz library. Mingus Dynasty is almost as toe-curling good. The band: Richard Williams (tp) Jimmy Knepper (tb) Jerome Richardson (fl, bars) John Handy (as) Booker Ervin, Benny Golson (ts) Teddy Charles (vib -1/5) Roland Hanna (p -1/5) Nico Bunick (p -6) Charles Mingus (b) Dannie Richmond (d, timp). Booker Ervin again, and Roland Hanna! Here is one last delicious sample:
Song with Orange
Well, that’s a pretty good bunch of Mingus. I can’t resist mentioning another album available from eMusic. The Town Hall Concert (1964) consists of two very long, very fine recordings. eMusic has it for, well, two credits. More Eric Dolphy. More brilliant jazz.
Okay, that’s enough work for one Friday night. Here in the Dakotas, ice and snow are coming in. Mingus is keeping me warm. If you like what I am doing, drop me a line.
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By admin | January 24, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
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By admin | January 24, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
Here’s a nice interview with NEA Jazz Master Yusef Lateef from WGBO’s Checkout show. He talks about his musical influences and development, world music, his involvement with Islam, and his current work.
Yusef Lateef interview
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By admin | January 22, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Last night I was looking through stuff on my hard drive and ran across a great video lesson on melodic minor scales by John Stowell that I had never posted. This TV show was produced a few years ago by Darren Littlejohn of Portland Jazz Jams and directed by myself.
In this 24 minute lesson John clearly explains and demonstrates how to apply melodic minor scales to many different types of chords. He gives helpful ways of practicing these different applications as well. Stowell is a master of modern Jazz guitar and it is a shame that more people do not know about him. He has a totally unique approach to 
improvisation.
This lesson is quite useful for all instrumentalist, not just guitarists.
Melodic Minor lesson with John Stowell
(you may need to download a Quicktime plug-in if you do not have one)
John Stowell solo guitar video- PJJ tv
John Stowell’s web site
Bye Bye Blackbird- mp3
Milestones- mp3
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By admin | January 21, 2010
Submitted by Casa Valdez Studios
Joe Diorio is an underrated monster guitarist and was one of the first instructors at the Guitar Institute of Technology. He has recorded ten albums, written several instructional books and is currently teaching at USC.
Dan Johnson transcribed this of Joe’s on Autumn Leaves.
Without You- mp3
Invitation- mp3
Joe Diorio’s MySpace
Meet Joe Diorio @ All About Jazz
YouTube Joe Diorio pentatonic lesson
YouTube Joe Diorio solo guitar concepts
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By admin | January 20, 2010
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
I’m always trying to create similarities between free jazz, and specifically Ornette Coleman, with Minimal and Conceptual Art. Just like Ad Reinhardt’s famous quote, “art is art, everything else is everything else.” For Ornette, the same could be applied — sound is.
Ornette played in the moment. He was only concerned with sound and wasn’t restricted with chords or specific keys. Nothing else mattered, not the past, not the future, but the moment in which sounds were made. Before 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz concluded, they discussed how The Shape of Jazz to Come changed jazz mostly for the second half of the 20th century out of any of the other three albums featured.
Lou Reed shared that he couldn’t “understand a negative reaction” to Coleman’s playing. I often argue that The Velvet Underground seemed more inspired by Ornette Coleman than perhaps other Rock and Roll music. “Not a day goes by when I’m not humming ‘Lonely Woman’,” Reed said.
Coleman always wanted to immediately create something new. He was never satisfied with the norm, and for that, his music was so important for the next stages and sculpting of jazz. He’s influenced rock, neo-classical, and a whole movement of jazz musicians through the 60s, 70s and beyond. Seeing Coleman perform and having the opportunity to shake his hand back in 2008 was one of my greatest joys.
________________
Jazz did a lot for America, and the mid-20th century was such a relevant era. 1959 focused a lot on the crucial times during the civil rights movement. Even garnering the success of these musicians, they were still often confronted with unequal opportunities. This film did an amazing job arguing that jazz played a major role in the strive for equality. One of the best lines was from Stanley Crouch when he said, “Obama doesn’t know it, but jazz is the reason he was elected.”
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By admin | January 20, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
Here’s a scoop: you can get Charlie Mingus, Passions of A Man: The Complete Atlantic Recordings, from eMusic, for 12 credits. That’s 41 songs, including about 6 albums, for the price of one. In honor of the recent holiday and today’s election in Massachusetts I offer this sample:
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
The Civil Rights Movement began in a church. That’s all I got tonight.
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By admin | January 18, 2010
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
Last Friday I sat in the Whitsell Auditorium through the re-screening of Cool. I was giddy and excited to see 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz. Featuring highlights on Kind of Blue, Time Out, Mingus Ah Um, and for me most importantly The Shape of Jazz To Come. The audience was provided with the insight of individuals consisting of jazz writers, critics & historians Ashley Kahn, Stanley Crouch, Nat Hentoff, producer George Avakian, Charles Mingus’ wife and the Mingus Big Band’s art director Sue Mingus, the Village Vangaurd’s Lorraine Gordon. While also featuring musicians Lou Reed, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Joe Morelo, Charlie Haden, Jimmy Cobb, and the voice of Ornette Coleman from a 2009 interview. The movie was divided into five sections; one segment for each album, and the fifth for how each artist responded to the times and how the times responded to each artist.
Last year, Fred Kaplan published a book titled, 1959: The Year Everything Changed. Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus wrote about here. This looks like a must for anybody even remotely interested in Mid-Century America. It’s certainly on my list.
Kind of Blue, jazz’s most selling album, started the discussion. Who else but expert Ashley Kahn consulted us about this historic achievement in jazz. Kahn mentioned how the session was just another day at the office for these players. Just a mere seven hour session, all cuts being just first takes with the exception of one, no one, not even Miles himself, expected this album to be so crucial to jazz. Charlie Haden described Davis’ playing as completely individualistic and unlike any other trumpeters technique. And just like in the movie Cool, this film discussed Davis’ approach to render his language as a continuation of bebop.
We were then transitioned into Dave Brubeck’s, Time Out. I don’t think I even even have to go into the success of this record — or that “Take Five” is probably one the must played songs in jazz. During the 50s, the U.S. saw Dave Brubeck as quintessential middle America. With the Cold War at it’s peak, his quartet was sent overseas to tour Eastern Europe. In a way, he was used as an ambassador to represent the “cool” and the freedom of America. Brubeck himself pointed out a contrasting hypocrisy here. Many black citizens were striving for their own civil liberties on America’s own front.
What I appreciated most was the film discussing the quartet’s commercial success, which was mostly to white, middle America. Many individuals considered Brubeck a racist and sell out. However, Brubeck never intended to turn jazz towards any specific audience and his quartet was merely creating music in which he felt jazz should head. I couldn’t agree more when Stanley Crouch when stating that Brubeck’s quartet was far from racism and commercialism, it just so happened to be what the public latched itself to.
Much of the touring and exposure to Eastern European countries inspired many of the compositions on Time Out. For example, “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” the melody was taken from Turkish folk music. Brubeck also shared a lot of great stories about the quartet. We heard about the struggles for stage popularity between Joe Morello and Paul Desmond, the conflicts with racism and segregation for bassist Eugene Wright while performing in the south, and even how Brubeck received the idea for “Take Five’s” time signature while backstage observing Joe Morello tapping on his lap in 5/4.
Charles Mingus was no exception when it came to struggles with race and the recording industry. And with a passion and temper as bold as his, it was no surprise to see outlandish displays of anger on stage. But often you may find Mingus’ satirical criticism of these issues in his own compositions, especially on Mingus Ah Um. Mingus created a direct response to racism and civil rights with his composition, “Fables of Faubus.” A response to Arkansas’ governor, Orval E. Faubus, in which Faubus opposed the Supreme Court rulings to enact integration. In fact, he had originally written lyrics for him and Dannie Richmond to share, but to avoid controversy, Columbia Records banned them from the album.
I believe Mingus is the bridge between bop and the avant-garde. He encouraged freedom in improvisation, and like Coltrane, wanted to get to the roots of jazz while creating something new. I believe Mingus’ album, The Clown, is his strongest. It’s Conceptual, free, powerful, timeless and here to stay.
Coming up I’ll post part two for Ornette Coleman’s highlights of 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz.
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By admin | January 17, 2010
Submitted by this SHAPE OF JAZZ
The Portland Art Museum’s NW Film Center has their 27th Reel Music Festival going on. Typically each year they have a handful of rare screenings on Jazz. This year is no exception. What’s particularly interesting is the double screening of two 2009 British films. Cool, which profiles the resurgence of Cool and West Coast jazz after the debut of Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool. The other is titled, 1959: The Year That Changed Jazz, a documentary on the influential year which saw great releases such as Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come, Davis’ Kind of Blue, Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, and Mingus’ Ah Um. Four titles that any jazz fan should, if not, already own in their collection.
I had gotten to see the screening of Cool this past Sunday but unfortunately the print of 1959 hadn’t arrived in time, so I will certainly be in attendance tonight to catch both. Cool started out with the introduction of Miles Davis’ ninetet that was organized in 1949. A gathering of musicians who wanted to take the stylings of bebop and “cool it down.” Just like bebop, these musicians wanted to move jazz further from the entertainment spectrum and closer to a creative intellectualism.
The film was filled with wonderful transitions employed by a soundtrack of melodic, ambient, and abstract tones by creator George Taylor. The sounds of vibes, bass, piano, harp, and minimal horn aided in the landscape of synergetic archival footage consisting of beaches, art museums and galleries, city highways, and urban areas. With also a lot of clips of musicians composited over these scenes. Scrolling quotes by musicians contributed to the narrative of the documentary and supplied a peek into the impressions of greats such as Dave Brubeck, Art Farmer, John Lewis, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and others. All of this contributed to the mood, lifestyle, and feeling of “cool.”
The film dips into third stream with an uncanny performance by the MJQ. A unique and powerful interpretation of a Bach composition. Cool also featured killer performances of Art Farmer, Paul Desmond, Oscar Peterson, and Diz. And on a final note, given my art background I was pleased to see the film pointing a back and forth with jazz and Abstract Impressionism. Plenty of images of Pollock and Rothko paintings. It even discussed a Brubeck release dedicated to the Surrealist Juan Miro titled, Time Further Out.
I’m looking forward to seeing it again tonight, don’t miss this double screening as it may be a once in a lifetime chance. Here’s more info provided by the PDX Jazz Fest:
PORTLANDERS: REEL FILM FEST JAZZ FILMS START TONIGHT
Catch films of history’s jazz greats and the jazz “icons among us” during Reel Music 27, an annual celebration of music andfilm running through February 7, 2010. Join Artistic Director of the Portland Jazz Festival, Bill Royston on January 31, as he introduces and talks about ICONS AMONG US: JAZZ IN THE PRESENT TENSE. ICONS, featuring several past festival artists (and some in 2010), provides a lively and insightful snapshot of today’s jazz scene, and reveals interviews with dozens of musicians from multiple generations “Terence Blanchard, Bill Frisell, Ravi Coltrane, Medeski Martin & Wood, the Bad Plus, Nicholas Payton, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, along with many others - and a wealth of performance clips and rare photographs to celebrate the past, present, and future of an art form that continues to evolve. DIRECTORS MICHAEL RIVORIA, LARS LARSON, PETER J. VOGT IN ATTENDANCE.
Additional Jazz film highlights include:
Miles Davis - Jan 15
Ornette Coleman - Jan 15
Pannonica “Nica” Rothschild - Jan 16
Thelonious Monk - Jan 16
Count Bassie - Jan 17
Ed Thigpen - Jan 17
Bill Frisell - Jan 21 & 22
Portland Blues - Jan 25
Icons Among Us - Jan 31
Full schedule, film trailers and tickets at www.nwfilm.org
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By admin | January 17, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
If you are looking for evidence that genius still inhabits contemporary jazz, Ethan Iverson’s work is a good place to start. I blogged on Iverson
back in June (sorry, but the links have been removed). Iverson has been most visible as a member of The Bad Plus, a very eclectic and unspeakably daring group including Reid Anderson on bass and Dave King on drums. To get an idea of how daring they are, they walked away from a contract with a major label (Columbia) because they didn’t like the anti-piracy shenanigans that Columbia was up to.
The Bad Plus recently appeared at the Village Vanguard, and you can download a recording of their concert from
the NPR Village Vanguard site. I haven’t listened to it yet, or to their most recent recording
For All I Care, which includes Wendy Lewis’ sinuous vocals. The group’s most conspicuous feature is their treatment of pop and rock songs. The new album has a version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’! And here is clip of the group performing Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’.
Okay, but what I really wanted to post about tonight are three albums I have listened to, with bassist Reid Anderson as leader.
Dirty Show Tunes (1998) with Iverson on piano, Mark Turner on Sax, and Jorge Rossy on drums.
Abolish Bad Architecture (1999) Jeff Ballard replaces Rossy on drums.
The Vastness of Space (2000), with Ben Monder on guitar, Andrew D’Angelo on alto, Bill McHenry on Tenor, and Marlon Browden on drums.
All three are superb recordings. You can’t help but love the title of the second one, and the titles of many of the compositions are equally entertaining. The jazz is at once very accessible and refreshingly unfamiliar in texture. Turner’s tenor dominates the first two, and I think his playing here is more compelling and brilliant than anything I have heard elsewhere. Iverson knows exactly where all the acupuncture points beneath the skin of the melodies, and he plays with a penetrating and rejuvenating touch. The Vastness of Space is maybe a little more edgy, but only a little.
I really dig these albums. As far as I know, Anderson hasn’t recorded again as leader, so when you download them for eMusic, you have a complete set. Here is a sample from each album:
Not Sentimental/Dirty Show Tunes
Todas las cosas se van/Abolish Bad Architecture
Foxy/The Vastness of Space
Please, if you like this music, buy the recordings. And while you are at it, drop me a line.
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By admin | January 17, 2010
Submitted by Jazz Note SDP
I first learned of Sonny Criss from Ken Blanchard on this blog. Cat had amazing chops and a rough life with a painful ending. This one is for you Professor and Jazz Note SDP’s audience too. There are more from this session too. Hunt them down on YouTube and check them all out. And dig Bobby Thompson’s great work on the traps.
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By admin | January 14, 2010
Submitted by Secret Society
I’m hugely, deeply honored to have been invited to join the faculty at this year’s International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the Banff Centre for the Arts, especially as the rest of the faculty this year includes the likes of Donny McCaslin, Jeff Parker, Ben Monder, Ravi Coltrane, Drew Gress, Gerald Cleaver, and others. (The program is, of course, under the direction of Dave Douglas, as it has been for a decade now.) The Banff Centre program really does offer an undiluted creative shot in the arm — I am speaking from personal experience, here — and the setting is obviously nothing short of spectacular.
The workshop runs from May 17 - June 5, 2010, and I will be there for the second week of the program (May 24 - 29). I’ll be directing a large ensemble of some description, and we’ll be working on Secret Society repertoire, as well as (I hope) works contributed by the participants themselves. I realize the application deadline is coming up extremely soon (January 15), but I’d like to encourage anyone interested in working on my music to apply — especially if you play or double on flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone sax, horn, bass trombone, tuba, etc. It would really be great to get some representation on those instruments. (If you do double on additional instruments, be sure to note that in your application!)
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