What better way to decide that I’ll blog about my art some more than to just do it? Some insane things have happened in my music lately and it makes me wide-eyed with excitement to think of all of the possibilities that 2012 will bring.
Next month, I will graduate from the U of MN with a Masters degree in trumpet performance. My studies in my Masters program have been primarily in the classical trumpet field, though I did serve as the jazz theory TA for a semester, and have taken jazz comp lessons for three semesters (I have a BA in Jazz Studies). So when I say “If I were a classical musician….” I mean to say that I do not identify as a classical musician because the majority of the playing I do professionally is in a jazz setting.
After a nice week on tour with the pop/rock band Fatbook (www.fatbookmusic.wordpress.com), I’ve been thinking a lot about life and music. Though this isn’t necessarily a post that logically fits on our Playblog, I thought I’d post here anyway. I’ve been faced with some interesting dilemmas dealing with music, its place in society, and being away from home and on the road.
The following is my response to Cory Grossman’s article on the Lulu’s Playblog about free improvisation:
Since the beginning of my formal education in jazz, I have been attempting to listen to “free” music. I had to take a jazz listening course in middle school for two weeks at a camp I was attending and there I was exposed to the music of Cecil Taylor (who has been regarded by many as coming from the European Avant Garde rather than the American Jazz tradition, I wont get in to that), the melody ridden “who the f#^% does he think he is” Shape of Jazz To Come life-changer Ornette Coleman, and the later works of the great John Coltrane. I hated them all.
#newmusicsundays is Lulu’s Playground’s grand effort to bring you something new and unique once a week. With the advancements in recording technology, there is really no excuse for us NOT to do something like this. We at the Playground believe that bringing you something new and different every week is important for us as artists. It forces us to be creative every week, and to work hard to bring you something relatively polished and listenable. So, when you’re sitting at home in your undies, or eating breakfast with your significant other, or doing the business, or whatever, turn us on and listen. Odds are, you are going to hear something you’ve never heard before, and hopefully it will challenge you the same way that it challenged us.
Isn’t that cool?
This week: Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus
This was a new tune for us this week. We spent the first hour and a half of our rehearsal doing some guided free improvisation to get us in the right mindset. Then we started to rehearse Is “There Anybody Here…” We decided after playing through the tune a few times that we should probably do some singing (challenge #1).
On a sidenote, somewhere along the lines of forming this band we all decided that we are singers, so we sing sometimes. Its weird. and cool.
We went upstairs and watched some cool (and one kinda funny, but also cool) youtube videos of people singing “Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus” and talked over an arrangement of the tune. As you will hear, we started with some call and response, and then moved on to the tune, and ended with a little singin’ as well.
We think the recording turned out pretty nice, and it is definitely a tune that we will permanently add to our repertoire. Enjoy your new music this week!
Hello friends, fans, and family!
The beginning of the end is spawned with their fingers. They are rich for it. The future of our country, our culture, lies in ours. Yet we are shunned. Laughed at even. We work, we sweat, we are sleep deprived, we struggle. And thats just it, isn’t it? The struggle. Thats what makes our music important. Our music is what defines our culture. The American dream, really. We are American in this time, and thats precisely what makes what we do important for our future. Our children will know our struggle not through their history books, but through our music. It is what all jazz musicians have written of during their time. The struggle. And that is why this music will never die. It is too important, we are too important. Don’t work a desk job, don’t give in to the system. Our country was built on people just like us. People with ambition. Entrepreneurs. Write, play, teach, spread music. Don’t give in. Fight the good fight, and we will remember you. We will hear your music and remember a time, a place, a feeling, and thus we will learn from our past. It is our destiny to be great, to be remembered. It is our destiny to be great.
Ok, so this my first blog post in a while, and its not about music (sorry). Those of you who know me know how much I love food, so here goes my first restaurant review. Forgive me if it sucks.
Last week I was asked to come in to Jazz88 studio to talk about my new release, “For Dad.” I spoke with Maryann Sullivan on her show, Corner Jazz about my record, influences, beginnings, and inspiration. Click this link to hear the interview in its full form. Maryann did a wonderful job in preparation for the interview, and I think it turned out great. Thanks for listening!
I saw a great video yesterday from the TED talks by Benjamin Zander. His talk is on Classical music, but his points drove home for me when thinking of the way people view jazz music, and the way jazz musicians portray themselves. Mr. Zander states that the real reason people aren’t getting classical music is not because they are tone deaf (he says no one is tone deaf, I agree), and it is not because they “just don’t get it.” People aren’t getting it because the musicians aren’t really giving it to them. He says that somewhere along the line they saw a very uninspired performance, or simply heard their child’s orchestra up until he/she quit playing in the 8th grade, and decided that classical music simply isn’t for them.
