October 2010
1 post
Listen
December 2009
20 posts
NEW BLOG: I've Moved! →
New Year (almost), New Blog
For various reasons, I’ve decided to move the ‘ol blog to a new address. I was conflicted about doing so, as tumblr has been quite good to me for the past nine months or so, not to mention the fact that I’m losing the tumblr specific (so far as I can tell) “reblog” feature that I recently have found so useful.
Still, it’s hard to deny Wordpress, both for its...
Some Current Trends In Contemporary Classical... →
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On Free Improvisation
Free improvisation can be many things, two of the many possibilities being “amazing” and “dumb.” What distinguishes one from the other is a tricky matter to dissect, mainly because there are a ton of factors that go into even attempting a free improvisation. To be clear, what I’m referring to here is not free soloing. I’m not talking about playing a head (some semblance of harmonic and melodic...
Silent Score for a Sound Movie (Destination: OUT) →
Ornette Coleman wrote a soundtrack for a film that was never used….be sure to click “Part II” (under the picture) to get a taste.
Chet Baker's Revenge (Jazzblog.ca) →
Cameron Mizell of Musician Wages 2009 Wrap-Up →
cameronmizell:
Something You Learned This Year About The Music Industry:
Honestly, I didn’t have any epiphanies about the music industry this year. Nobody really knows what they’re talking about, and if there ever was a formula for success, it’s completely irrelevant in 2009. Until the dust settles, I just plan on working as hard as I can. It sounds cheesy, but if I can be a little better this...
The Jazz Loft Project: Elsewhere at NPR Music... →
Dave Douglas Quintet at Village Vanguard Stream at... →
adriennes:
Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Bill...
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adriennes:
cameronmizell:
“God Rest Ye Merry...
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Mosaic Records: Jazz Video Cafe →
“It’s all these kids that are really ramping up their vinyl collections,” Ms....”
– NYT
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Saturday Links
Sequenza21 summarizes the NYPhil’s new Contact! series in New Works, Free Tix!
Peter Hum has two posts on Christmas jazz; one short (Bad Christmas Jazz, Good Christmas Jazz) and one long (Grinchin’)
Greenleaf informs me that Kneebody is up for a Grammy in the classical crossover category for their Charles Ives record (which, for the record, I didn’t even know about), and they...
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On Surviving The Holidays
Don’t get me wrong. I have unconscious warm fuzzies going on in regards to this time of year, just like the next guy. But of all the things that you can’t control about this season, at least there is some comfort knowing that you don’t have to come face to face with your own death via “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,” or some other equally brain-melting and...
Long Island Here I Come
This is my official first ever mobile post, but it’s for good reason. I just got word that I’ll be a workstudy at the SIM intensive this winter, and I’m incredibly excited. More on this later.
Philadelphia Trio Asks For Recording/French... →
Ici-Bas (down here, on earth), by Tom Davis.
...
November 2009
16 posts
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TDT Records
After playing together for years, with various bass players and tunes in rotation, the Tom Davis Trio went in to the studio for the first time last night. Tom’s got some tunes he wants to get down, and though we only got a little accomplished last night, I think the end result will be worth the effort. Sample to come.
(Tom and bassist Nate Smith)
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This is the Happy Apple tune (“The New...
Hurry Up And Wait: The Second Round Ends
It took around five and a half hours from setup to bouncing, but today the recording session that will determine the next year (or more) of my life was a success. We did four tunes, three of which I really like, and one of which is still pretty cool. A few mistakes were made, mostly by myself, but overall I’m really happy with the results. This demo is by far the best sounding CD...
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Round Two (whatever)
Ok.
The grad school application process has a reputation for being strenuous, and this past week justified whatever dread I harbored about the process one hundred fold. After months of planning, after days of using my pent up energy to complete what I could (filling out forms, stuffing envelopes, hounding professors for recommendation letters, the last of which just got to me two days ago), and...
Cross-Training
Occasionally, when one is working towards a specific goal (especially, as in my grad-school applications, a long term goal), it is pretty easy to get burnt out. Sometimes several hours a day in a practice room is the quickest way to lose your excitement with regard to music in general. When I was in college, I didn’t have the luxury of taking time off, I just had to plow through and hope...
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Help Is On The Way (Jazzblog.ca) →
Peter Hum reviews Jazz Arts Group (of Columbus)’s new audience research funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and offers some suggestions on its use.
That quote in the article? From my drum teacher. Nice.
More links about the project:
Press Release
More Info at AllAboutJazz
Everybody Get Footloose; Or, Six Degrees of Paul... →
Ethan Iverson talks Paul Bley in a guest post.
Thursday Links
A review of Rez Abbasi’s new record. (Jazzblog.ca)
A compelling jazz photo blog. (EyeShot Jazz Photography)
A potentially really cool idea, involving monthly gatherings of different musicians who compose new music specifically for the occasion. (MusicCreative.org)
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This is Fred playing through one of his tunes,...
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Fred Hersch (Pt. 4)
At dinner, as he told stories about being called up to Art Pepper’s bandstand at a gig in the 80’s, I tried to get my head around Fred’s personality. Throughout his four-day visit to Columbus, I would get glimpses of his nature, which I used to piece together some infinitely small idea of who Fred Hersch was. The fact that he rarely smiled communicated something to me, although I’m not sure...
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Fred Hersch (Pt. 3)
This is really hurried. I have to run and meet him in a half hour. I will make up for this with a legitimate summary later in the weekend. For now, here are yesterday’s highlights:
1. Fred taught improvisation at Capital (which I missed)
2. Fred taught Audiation (ear training) at Capital, which consisted of him playing tracks from his laptop for us to digest and discuss. Selections...
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Fred Hersch (Pt. 2)
It was just me and Dr. Cox and the two kids when Fred arrived. Dr. Belck, whose house (and kids) it was, was out getting ice. He had graciously decided to host a few students and faculty to welcome Fred when he got into Columbus, and as a result I got to hear Fred Hersch relay stories of jazz and New York for upwards of two hours. Fred seems laid back, which made the fact that he intimidated me...
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Fred Hersch
On Wednesday, legendary pianist Fred Hersch will arrive at my humble alma mater, Capital University, for three days of clinics and lessons, culminating with a benefit concert at OSU on Sunday.
Throughout the week I will be fortunate enough to get a fair amount of one on one time with Fred (or something close to it), which I’m anticipating will be illuminating. I’ll post updates as...
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Words
As a lover of words and all related discussions, I highly recommend this read from Peter Hum’s latest post. Besides an interesting dissection of the connotations of some of jazz’s most frequently used terms, the post gets to the core of the issues, questioning the meaning of using such words at all.
About three quarters of the way down the page you’ll notice the words...
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CIM Recommends/Columbus Events
It has occurred to me recently that my rate of musical intake may be slower than that of my peers, and by that I mean that I usually like to sit on a new record for a while before jumping into a new one. This is the way I have always operated, since I was memorizing Smashing Pumpkins songs in high school. I tend squeeze everything I can out of the record before moving on, and I may have this...
October 2009
8 posts
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Things:
A couple of them:
First of all, I would like to continue the discussion on musical authenticity, mostly because I don’t feel as though I came close enough to answering my own question as I might have. I’m going to hold off for a day or two more, however, because:
Second of all, I am currently in a kind of do or die situation with regards to my grad school applications. The first...
Study Shows: Arts Good (GreenLeaf) →
Boston Jazz Party I: Steve Boudreau reports on the... →
So far so good, especially because of this video from Lake Street Dive:
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What Is (Musical) Authenticity?
Today when I finally had a chance to catch up on my jazz (blog) reading, I found this video on this blog, which prompted all sorts of confused thoughts to fly across my brain. Let me first get this out of the way: I like Jason Parker’s blog (especially the 100 CDs project he just started), and I’m not trying to call his musical judgment into question. It’s just that,...
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Here is a sample of some of the concepts discussed...
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Inside "Intro To Polyrhythms"
In the world of jazz drummers there exists two kinds of players: The ones who replicate the styles of the great masters, and the ones who create their own styles. Ari Hoenig is surely of the latter category, and one of the primary components of his unique sound is his ability to manipulate the timefeel of any tune, metrically modulating at will, not just with one idea, but with an entire groove,...
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The Future of Music Journalism (JazzBeyondJazz) →
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Links (and good ones, too).
Ok, yeah. It’s been a little while. But I have lots of goods to deliver in the coming week. Worry not.
To begin, here’s a bunch of great reads by people who are not me:
As always, NPR continues to lead the way in new music accessibility, streaming entire albums online. Here’s Vijay Iyer’s Historicity, The Flaming Lips’ Embryonic (notable because the blueprints...
September 2009
26 posts
Quick Update
Phase Three has commenced: My requests for letters of recommendation have been emailed. Now I just have to hound three professors for a month until I have a total of 12 sealed, signed envelopes (with my name and proposed major on them) that contain verifications of my greatness.
There’s lots of good stuff happening in the blogosphere, but I’m kind of swamped today. Check the...
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“Sweet And Lovely”
Aaron Quinn:...
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Round Two (Pt. 2)
In the ongoing endeavor that is my grad school application process, phase one is officially complete. I had a recording session this past Thursday to knock out a few things for my audition tapes, and though I will likely need another session before my portfolio is mailed, I’m mostly really happy with the outcome.
My friend Aaron is also going through this process, so we tag teamed the session in...
Sunday Links
Old Misconceptions II: It’s OK for New York Musicians To Retire With No Pension (Jazzblog.ca)
Just Make Us Look Cool (Note Vijay Iyer’s Comments)
New Interview With Billy Hart
I’ll Give You That, By Aaron Quinn
(see...