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A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.
This clip of 'Straight Life' live is from the 1975 DownBeat Awards and features an incredible lineup: Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Chick Corea, keys; Stanley Clarke, bass; Lenny White, drums; Airto, percussion. Too bad you don't find too much music like this on television anymore.
Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwY9hup3eIw]
Yesterday while surfing the web in search of brass knowledge I came across a great find. Julia Rose's website, Julia's Horn Page, is a great resource for horn players and brass players in general. One of her posts is a wonderful collection of quotes from some Arnold Jacobs master classes she attended in 1993. You have to read all of them yourself for sure. You can find them here. Below are a few of the notes that really jumped out at me. That being said, you really want to read all of them on Julia's site. The more Arnold Jacobs the better in my books!
- You can’t use the sensory system primarily when embarking on a motor activity.
- Be a storyteller of sound.
- The horn in the hand must be a mirror of your thoughts.
- Accuracy comes from the brain, not the chops.
- 15% of thought on respiration, 85% on music.
- Don’t fight old habits, replace them with new ones.
- Whether long or short tones, always play with the same quality of tone.
- It’s the buzz that plays the horn, not the air.
- Match tone qualities when slurring octaves.
- High notes are nothing but a fast vibration. Low notes are nothing but a slow vibration.
- Take music you know and put it in the high register. It will take a little time, but it will develop with more practice.
- Song and wind are very simplifying concepts. The only challenge in playing is musical.
Did I mention that you should read all of the notes? You can find all of the quotes on Julia's website here. The quotes above are less than 5% of the notes she has in her post. Like I said before, you can't have too much Arnold Jacobs!
Bob Stewart playing Voodoo Child live in 1976 with funk tuba breakdowns. That pretty much says it all.
Seriously, what else needs to be said?
Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIwosiW4X1Q]
I saw someone mention all of the resources available on the Midwest Clinic website today on Twitter. This inspired me to go perusing through the handouts from the last several years and one that caught my eye was from Jamey Aebersold's 2008 session 'Anyone Can Improvise'. Page 8 of his PDF is an exhaustive list of what he deems historically significant recordings. The key to speaking any musical language is of course fully immersing yourself in it so I was curious to see how many were new to me. His list is filled with all of the usual suspects: Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Wes Montgomery, Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Buddy Rich, Joe Henderson, Bill Evans. The list goes on and on and on.
I own a number but some of the names were brand new to me. I immediately opened up Spotify to see what I could find. I was able to find 92 of the 103 albums on Jamey's list were available on Spotify. Some of them were not completely available but I'd say 90% were the entire album! It is 776 tracks and the length is listed as 3 days! I made a playlist for my own reference and figured it was a valuable tool for all players and teachers so I thought I'd post it here.
Jamey Aebersold's 'Historically Significant Recordings' Playlist on Spotify
'Anyone Can Improvise' Handout from Jamey Aebersold's 2008 Midwest Clinic by that name. (PDF)*
Enjoy!
*A full list of the albums is on page 8 of Jamey's handout.
For your reference, here is the list of albums from Jamey's list which are not currently available on Spotify:
John Coltrane - Mainstream 1958 Frank Rosolino - Free For All Stan Getz - For Musicians Only Lester Young - The President Play's with The Oscar Peterson Quartet Red Garland - Groovy Miles Davis - Steamin' Lee Konitz - Subconcious-Lee Milt Jackson - Bags Meets Wes Woody Herman - Keeper of the Flame Miles Davis - Miles Smiles Miles Davis - Nefertiti Johnny Griffin - Tough Tenor Favorites
I have had some interesting discussions with some folks recently about practicing. Those conversations have focused on the fact that practicing is both an art and a science. 2011 saw me get a lot more organized about my approach to practicing with the help of Lance LaDuke's new book 'Music Practice Coach' (also available as an eBook). I highly recommend his workbook for all students and specifically all teachers. It has made me think quite a lot about my approach which is always a good thing!
As a result of my renewed focus on how to practice my radar has been up for conversations on the subject. Last night on Twitter I stumbled on a very interesting blog post about practicing (hat tip: @brasschatter). The blog is called Study Hacks and is not specifically a music blog but a blog about "why some people lead successful, enjoyable, meaningful lives, while so many others do not."
The author interviewed an accomplished piano player about his practice habits and how they differed from others:
Flow is the Opiate of the Mediocre: Advice on Getting Better from an Accomplished Piano Player
I found the post insightful. What do you think?
With all due respect to my fellow tuba players, when I model my phrasing after someone I go straight to the source: singers. I had the privilege of seeing Jessye Norman perform along with Kathleen Battle for the first Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert at Tanglewood in 1991. Seiji Ozawa lead the Boston Symphony in a performance of Mahler 2 that is still to this day the most moving concert I've ever witnessed. I remember being particularly struck by how angelic Jessye's voice was that evening.
This is from a live recording of her performing that very piece on January 8, 1984 with members of the National Symphony and Baltimore Symphony conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
It feels like it takes her forever to change from one note to the next in what amounts to an effortless flow of beautiful tone. She is simply a stunning singer. Unfortunately there is no video of the performance and the sound quality of this clip isn't the best but I still had to post this.
Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEY9DdU55JM]
It is that time of year that most of us make New Year's resolutions. Whether it be joining a gym and going only 5 times or dieting for only a couple of weeks, we frequently don't even come close to realizing our goals. So this year I've decided to make a productive resolution that is also fun: I'm going to spend at least one hour a week watching great music on YouTube. It's that simple. The amount of amazing performances which are at the fingertips of anyone with an internet connection today is simply stunning. The fact that I have not been taking full advantage of this mind-boggling resource is silly.
2011 saw the introduction of the online music streaming service Spotify to the United States. Spotify inspired me to listen to more music this past year than I had in recent memory. It is a wonderful service and makes doing my research (for the tuba in my head) incredibly easy. It even inspired a very cool listening project that I'm doing with the George Mason Tuba/Euphonium studio called the Studio Listening Lab.
Spotify has inspired me to bring my research to the next level. So I've decided that 2012 will be the Year of YouTube for me. There is something to be said for watching the best musicians in the world do what they do right before your very eyes.
Below are two clips from a jam session that I never knew even happened. Two of my favorite bass players are Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and George Porter Jr. (of The Meters). These guys are two of my bass clef heroes and without YouTube I wouldn't even know that the two bands shared a stage in 2006 with the two of them trading solos! Not only did I learn of it's existence but I got to watch it! After two short clips I felt inspired and energized.
So here's to my 2012 being the Year of YouTube!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U422nSBi3TE]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naKJ9JYxj7A&feature=related]
What is there left to say about Joe Alessi? He is simply put one of the absolute finest musicians I've ever had the privilege of performing with in my career. This is a very moving performance from the memorial service of the late great Fred Mills. So musical and so powerful. The thing that gets me most about Joe's playing is the ends of his notes. We all do a great job, especially brass players, of noticing when the beginning of a note isn't how we want it. In my opinion, Joe ends notes as well as anyone in the business.
Enjoy and keep the family of Fred Mills in your thoughts this holiday season.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEDwrm-fhRA]
My good buddy Wes Funderburk brought this clip to my attention last week on tour with Boston Brass. I can't say I've ever heard a solo banjo with big band clip before but I was blown away. This guys groove, phrasing and articulation are simply stunning. And there is simply no possible way to fake a smile like that one. Not possible.
Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j714N05_SeQ]
Glenn Gould. I am at a loss for words to describe his impact on me as a musician. The two words I keep coming back to in regards to this performance of Bach's Piano Concerto No. 7 in G Minor are elegant intensity. He was a truly special musician. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyOf_L4cNHc&feature=related]