Had an early evening gig in Kalamazoo, but I”m at home for the turn of the clock at midnight, and glad not to be out and about. A winter storm is covering the roads with snow and ice, and driving–which wasn”t fun on the way home earlier–can only be getting more treacherous.
I”m keeping this post short. Ten minutes left of 2007; six hundred seconds till 2008.
Have a happy and blessed New Year!
–Storm
Christmas has come and gone, and some time has elapsed since my last post. I spent most of last week in Washington, D.C., visiting my friend Kathy. It was a great time–fun, relaxing, interesting, invigorating, and best of all, shared with someone close to me. Kathy teaches voice at Levine School of Music and has an extensive background as a vocalist and actress. She”s smart, talented, interesting, beautiful, classy, down to earth, wise, generous, tenderhearted, and overall, simply a flat-out wonderful person and dear friend. What a treat to get a taste of D.C. with her as my guide and companion! We took in a terrific production of Fiddler on the Roof, enjoyed dinner and a world-class Cuban jazz band at the Smithsonian, strolled through Annapolis, and spent plenty of time just chilling out, watching DVDs and talking. We both needed that down-time, time to simply be.
Around half a year ago, Kathy got into swing dancing, and it has really lit her fuse. If there”s one thing I love, it”s seeing another person discover something that makes her come alive, and dancing has done that for Kathy. I mean, the woman is into it. Besides being a whole lot of fun, dancing has provided Kathy with a safe, wholesome social outlet as a single woman. Being gregarious by nature, she meets plenty of people.
Recently, at the request of the host, Kathy sang “Santa Baby” at a dance party. A gentleman named Darrel, who plays keyboards for Chuck Berry, enjoyed her performance and invited her to sing at the blues club where he plays and where a lot of the folks in Kathy”s dance crowd like to do blues dancing. When Kathy mentioned I”d be visiting, Darrel said, “Tell him to bring his horn to the club.” So of course I did.
The thing about the blues is, it”s universal and crosses all genres. It”s the one thing all musicians who play in a popular vein understand. Jazz, country, folk, rock, R&B…it doesn”t matter what your bag is, blues is still blues. It may get dressed up in different stylistic and harmonic attire, but strip it down to the foundation and you”ve still got twelve bars, a I-IV-V chord progression, and the blues scale.
I had a blast sitting in with Darrel and his band, particularly since he played in jazz-friendly keys. We started off with “Night Train,” then kicked up the tempo with the next tune and kept things moving for the rest of the set. It”s so nice to be able to go to another city, sit in with a band, and immediately get on the same page with the other musicians. What a great feeling!
But the best part was when Darrel called Kathy to the microphone to sing “Santa Baby,” to the cheers of her dance crowd. Mind you, now, for all her flamboyance, Kathy is a modest lass–but she can do “sultry” in a way that left me envying old Saint Nick. What a shining star! And what was particularly nice was that, after knowing each other for a year, she and I finally got to make music together. For me, that was hands-down the highlight of the evening.
Playing music is a pleasure almost anytime. But when you can share the experience with a close friend, it becomes a form of communication, an added form of connection, a special link of mutual joy and satisfaction. It just doesn”t get much better than that.
Eleven months have elapsed since the passing of tenor sax giant Michael Brecker. The following is excerpted from the news section of the official Michael Brecker website:
JANUARY 13, 2007 – Following a two and a half year battle with MDS and then leukemia, Michael passed away. A memorial service occurred at a packed Town Hall in New York City on February 20th. Michael was lovingly remembered in words by Susan, Jessica, Sam and Randy Brecker, as well as Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Dave Liebman and Darryl Pitt. In addition, Joey Calderazzo, James Genus and Jeff “Tain” Watts performed with Randy. John Patitucci and Jack DeJohnette performed with Herbie–who also performed with Paul Simon. Pat performed a solo piece which he composed for Michael more than twenty-five years ago.
Few tenor sax players have been as widely emulated as Michael Brecker. His sound and his approach were instantly recognizable, and his mastery of his instrument was legendary.
I first became aware of Michael and his brother, trumpeter Randy Brecker, years ago in college, with the release of a Brecker Brothers album titled Heavy Metal Bebop. I caught up with Michael next through Chic Corea”s Three Quartets. That record opened my eyes to just how much music four world-class players could generate in an acoustical format. Michael”s quicksilver technique, intensity, and overall musicality amazed me then, and they have done so ever since. Mike had the ability to play consistently at a dazzlingly high level, spinning out fresh, jewel-like musical statements with clarity, precision, and soul.
Brecker debuted in New York at age twenty-one in the group Dreams with his older brother, Randy. He evolved into one of the most coveted side-men in the music industry, and eventually went on to produce ten of his own recordings. Mike”s early style derived from rock guitar as well as jazz, and developed over the years into his trademark inside-outside approach. His eclectic tastes led him into a sweeping array of musical associations. A brief sampler of different artists and groups he has worked with reads like a who”s who of both jazz and rock: Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Chic Corea, Chet Baker, Steely Dan, Pat Metheny, Lou Reed, George Benson, Dire Straits, McCoy Tyner, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament-Funkadelic.
The music world lost a true luminary with Michael”s passing. Thankfully, Michael leaves us an exhaustive body of work to admire and learn from–and above all, to enjoy.
Thank you, Michael. You were gifted–and you were a gift.
Alpena, Michigan, has a good brewpub, the Fletcher Street Brewery. It also has the Northern Lights Arena, where I”ll be playing tonight with the Rhythm Section Jazz Band. I call that a fine combination: a fun gig followed by a beer worth drinking. As a dabbler in homebrewing, and having a best friend who is growing into a marvel at the craft, I love a good beer–the operative word being good.
At Pauly”s, one of my favorite beer stores located in Lowell, I marvel whenever I see people standing in line with a twelve-pack of Bud. Pauly”s has an incredible selection of craft brews. When I step inside, I instantly feel like a kid in a candy store. Stacy, Pauly”s wife and an avid homebrewer, has done a fantastic job of stocking their store with a huge array of truly beautiful ales, lagers, and lambics. Going there to buy mass-produced American Pilsner is like going to a Bass Pro Shop to purchase a twenty-dollar fishing pole. Sure, you can buy one there, but for a few more bucks you can do a whole lot better.
But I digress. What I want to point out is the progression from gig to brew. I can”t say for sure that I”ll make it to the Fletcher Street Brewery tonight–the gig ends late, and I”m feeling under the weather as it is–but I can just about guarantee that while I”m on the job, I won”t be drinking. On rare occasions, I may have a single draft if I come across something that piques my curiosity, but one is my limit. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I”m a bottled water or ginger ale man. I like to keep my faculties sharp so I can play my best. That”s my personal preference. From my perspective, professionalism involves showing up not only with my instrument, but also with a clear mind.
Not that I have a problem with fellow musicians who imbibe. I do have a problem with musicians who get drunk on the job. Most, however, are responsible people who play just fine and don”t go beyond the pale. My point isn”t to moralize, but to define a priority. The music comes first.
When I”m on the job, I”m there to play–and I love to play. There are few things I”d rather do. Everything else can wait. Fletcher Street Brewery will still be there tonight when I”m finished. I look forward to sampling their IPA!
Whether you’re planning a wedding reception or private party, or looking for background music for your dinner club, a jazz combo is a great way to add a touch of sonic ambience. And the good news is, you don”t have to drain your budget in order to find something you”ll like.
How much band can you get for your buck? It depends. Seasoned musicians will typically command a higher price. Younger players may be less expensive; however, you”ll want to consider the potential trade-off in quality. There truly are some incredible young musicians, but as a general rule, you”ll get what you pay for.
However, no law says you”ve got to hire a full entourage. You may do just fine with a duo, such as a piano and vocalist or solo instrument. That can be a particularly effective solution if you”re concerned about the amount of space you”ve got to work with.
Of course, you”ll be sacrificing something in the way of sound. Add a bassist and the keyboard player will thank you. You”ll be freeing up his left hand, and you”ll love the added fullness and inventiveness that result. Plus, a trio is still small enough to offer economy of space.
If you”re dealing with a big event, though–a wedding reception, for example–you”ll probably want at least a quartet. Drums adds drive and energy that will take your listening experience up to the next level, and when it comes to setting a beat for dancing, a drummer is indispensable. Of course, in such circumstances, space isn”t likely to be a concern for you.
In a nutshell…
* Consider your needs, your options, your limitations, and the tradeoffs.
* Consult with the band leader. He or she may offer suggestions that fit your unique circumstances.
* Finally, at the risk of stating the obvious, plan well in advance and budget for what you’ll be delighted with, not what you can get by with. You’ll love the payoff as your guests compliment you over and over on the fantastic band!
It’s your wedding reception and it’s your money. So the band you hire should have no problem with playing your song. You know: the one you and your sweetheart pick for the first dance. The one that sets the tone for the dance floor. That, and any other song you particularly like.
Of course, you need to take a few steps to ensure that you get what you’re hoping for. Here is some sound advice from The Knot: “Explain what you’re thinking about in terms of musical selections….If there’s a song you really want to incorporate and [the band doesn’t] know it, they should be willing to learn from sheet music you provide them. If they’re resistant to the idea, find out if it’s because they think it won’t work with the instrument (they are, after all, more in the know than you; ask them to come up with some doable alternatives of a similar style). Or if it”s a case of just because, this is the time to do the cha-cha out the door.”
Assuming you’ve decided to engage a jazz combo for the live music at your reception, let me expand on the above with a few pointers:
* Discuss with the band leader well in advance which tunes you’d particularly like to have. If the leader doesn’t have a certain tune in his or her selection, then the two of you can work out how you’ll obtain a lead sheet for the band. Alternatively, you can describe what you”re looking for and ask for suggestions.
* Be realistic about your expectations. Jazz bands can be quite flexible, but they”re still jazz bands, not variety bands. If it’s a ballad you’re looking for, such as “Tenderly” or “My Funny Valentine”; or if it”s a swing standard a la “Take the A Train” or “Just Friends,” then you”re in the sweet zone. On the other hand, “Free Bird” probably isn”t in the repertoire.
That’s a general rule of thumb. Each band has its own degree of flexibility.
* Exploit the versatility. Good jazz bands are uniquely adept at creatively reinterpreting tunes. So…”Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise”: is it a ballad, a bossa, or a swing tune? Answer: It can be just about anything you want it to be. The band may make that choice spontaneously in performance, but you can capitalize on the possibilities. Maybe you”ve got a favorite tune that you”d like to hear done a bit differently. No problem. Just ask.
I had a blast playing in church this morning! Most praise team music isn’t complex; it”s primarily diatonic stuff that gives me a chance to work extensively in a particular key center, hashing out pentatonic licks, bebop scales, and so forth. It felt particularly good to be playing nice lines in the altissimo register–like, “Hey! I can actually get around up here!”
But this evening in my practice session, I drilled down into more complex material. Last year I was working heavily on my diminished whole-tone scales. More recently, I”ve been hammering out my Jewish scale, which is one name I”ve heard applied to the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale. I”ve been running the same digital patterns over both scales, working my way around the circle of fifths to develop facility in every key.
Both the DWT and Jewish scales have built-in tones that work perfectly with altered dominant chords. But each scale has its own very distinctive sound. So I”m now implementing a new approach in my practicing that will help me integrate the two scales fluidly, so I can rapidly shift from one to the other. Tonight, I took the tone center of Bb and worked on both scales in it. I chose Bb because I find it to be one of the more challenging tone centers for these scales, particularly for the Jewish scale.
Challenging is good. I like “challenging”–particularly when I can feel the results settling into both my fingers and my ability to hear more colorful melodies and note choices. Love those flat ninths and flat sixths! It takes work to get them onto my palette, but I really value having the ability to toss them onto the musical canvas when and how I choose.
Growth: there’s no end to it in music. There’s always something to learn, some new discipline to work on. The endless demands of mastering an instrument can be frustrating at times. But they’re also one of the things that, for me, make playing the sax so fulfilling.
Whew! Back from Dallas, where my mother, sister, and I spent Thanksgiving with my brother Brian, sister-in-law Cheryl, and new–and first-ever–nephew, Samuel. This trip down there was my introduction to Sam, and I must say, he”s cute as a button. Handsome, too, and with gobs of personality. I would go so far as to say that, when it comes to all-around, world-class winsomeness, this little guy has monopolized the market. He”s certainly got his mom and dad wrapped around his little finger, not to mention his grandma and aunt. As for me, well…”Uncle Bob” (gotta get used to that concept!) found himself feeling unashamedly moist around the eyes as he sat there in the couch, looking down at that sleeping little black-haired baby boy cradled in his arms.
This is my third blog posting on a website dedicated to jazz and the saxophone, and frankly, I don”t feel like writing about either. Music, after all, is just a slice of something much larger called “life,” and at its best, music gives voice in some way to what life is about.
When I was a young man, I defined so much of life, and myself, by music. I saw through a very narrow lens. But the lens has grown much bigger as I”ve gotten older. My playing has improved–but more importantly, by the grace of God, so have my heart and my outlook on life. A long history of shaping experiences somehow filters in to inform the stuff I play and–when I slip on my singer/songwriter hat–the songs I write, infusing them with an added dimension, a richness I hope my listeners can feel.
In a strange way, as music becomes less consuming, it becomes more meaningful. The less that music is its own message, the more it has something to say. It becomes a voice for many things. In some way, from now on, little Samuel will find his way to and through my horn. Not through any conscious effort on my part, I”m sure. But there will be a little more gentleness, an added dash of laughter, an extra playfulness, a deeper sense of wonder, and a touch of sadness as well, all with Sam”s wide, innocent brown eyes behind them.
Life is a long song. May we play it sincerely, passionately, and well.
L’chaim!
I”m still in search of the perfect note.
Last Sunday I played a big band gig with the Grand River Big Band, where it was my privilege to sit next to tenor man Hugh DeWitt. In the middle of a killer R&B tune, Hugh slid up effortlessly into his altissimo range to nail a beautifully placed note–a long, screaming tone that couldn”t have more clearly declared itself to be the emotional high point of the tune if it had hung a sign around its neck that said so.
There was a perfect note if ever I heard one.
I’ve spent years developing my technique on the sax. I won’t say I’ve mastered bebop, but I’ve got a good foundation in it, and when I”m in peak form, I can really get around my horn. I can play fast.
nBut these days, my goal is to slow down and let fewer notes say more, with greater creativity and conviction. It’s a challenge. Certain tunes and styles are so energetic that I naturally gravitate to a flurry of chops. It takes discipline to slow down, un-busy myself, and see what I can do with fewer notes.
I”m getting there. More and more, my internal editor is informing my playing, guiding me toward the union of technique with melodic taste and harmonic sensibility to create musical statements I’m genuinely pleased with. Sometimes I could even swear I’ve hit the perfect note.
Musicality is what it’s all about. The point really isn’t to play slow any more than it is to play fast. The point is to play musically, to make technique serve beauty and taste at any speed. That’s my goal. I’m not where I want to be yet–but I”m a lot closer than I was five years ago.
Phil Woods. If you know that name at all, you say it with reverence. What a master of the alto sax and the bebop language!
Phil is a torchbearer for the American songbook, steeped in the history and tradition of jazz while always maintaining a fresh voice. In his hands, the old standards acquire inventive and refreshing reinterpretations, while newer, contemporary tunes root into a deep and sweeping musical legacy. Depending on the context, Phil”s ideas pour forth with relentless ferocity or tender and exquisite lyricism, all with a buttery smoothness that belies the man”s phenomenal command of the horn.
If you ever are fortunate enough to catch Phil Woods live, watch his fingers. The striking thing about them is, there”s nothing to watch. His fingers barely move. The most amazing, jaw-dropping double-time passages come tumbling out of his horn, but his fingers seem barely aware of it. That is economy of motion, if you please! And always with that fat, generous sound and highly personal sense of swing that instantly identify Phil as the man behind the horn.
I remember my first exposure to Phil back in my college jazz days. Having heard of him from a fellow sax player, I went out and purchased his I Remember album. Good choice. That old vinyl LP opened my eyes to the relationship between beauty and technique. I couldn”t get enough of the album. My Phil Woods collection grew and continues to grow, but I Remember remains one of my favorites.
You can’t play alto sax and not go through Phil. He has influenced my playing perhaps more than any other alto player, and that includes Bird and Cannonball. I”m sure you”ll read more about him in my future posts. For now, it seems appropriate to begin this blog with a tribute to a true jazz legend–the nonpareil Phil Woods.
Be sure to check out Phil’s website.
