Tuba Legend Bob Stewart Performing Live with John Medeski and Billy Martin

Earlier this month I had the privilege of seeing one of my favorite chamber ensembles in the world Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) perform at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn.  I have seen them around 75 times in concert and I get very excited for each new opportunity to eavesdrop in person on their musical conversations.  They are three of my favorite musicians in the world and is always a treat to see them in concert. This was a very special gig with a really cool theme.  Instead of just being as an MMW show this was billed as MMW? and featured many guests.  The first set was a straight forward set featuring MMW.  During the 2nd set, one member of MMW at a time was replaced by someone creating a new trio of instruments.  The third set featured the usual trio with guests added.  It was a fantastic concept and came off famously.

Bob Stewart (who you can see killing Voodoo Child in 1976 here) was one of the second set guests and replaced the bass player, Chris Wood, for this jam.  These three had never met before appearing onstage because Bob was a last-minute replacement.  Marcus Rojas, another incredible tuba player from New York City, was supposed to make an appearance.  When I reached out a couple of days beforehand to tell him how excited I was to see him play with two of my favorite musicians in the world he told me that something came up and he wasn't going to be able to make it.  I was devastated.

Little did I know that they would replace him on the bill with a living legend of the tuba, Bob Stewart, whom I had never seen perform.  It was a night to remember and I highly recommend that you pick up the full audience recording made by taper extraordinaire Scott Bernstein (@scott_bernstein).

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/47903869" iframe="true" /]

Monday YouTube Fix: Ray Charles

This is a very special installment of the Monday YouTube Fix in honor of Memorial Day.  I hope this won't sound like lip service because it is true.  Without the sacrifices of our armed forces and their loved ones, I would not be able to travel the world performing and teaching music.  I can never even begin to put into words my gratitude for all who have served. Memorial Day is a day to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice: they never came home.  I can't think of a better tribute than Ray Charles singing God Bless America.  He just seems to get it.  Musically speaking, his embellishments are PERFECT and never overdone.  His vibrato is for my taste used at exactly the right time.  He sings from the soul and has a love for this country that is obvious.

And we can all learn from his demeanor onstage.  He concludes every performance I've ever watched with a smile that can (and does!) and light up a room.  He's certainly had a performance that he was disappointed in yet never lets it show.  He is the consummate professional and performer.

So to all who have and are currently serving: THANK YOU!

Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EVgBg&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

Glad It Wasn't Too Late

There are a few things which are very important to a musician.  I've always been very protective of my face (with the exception of Icicle-gate which you can ask  my friend and fellow low brass player Ben Denne about) and of my right hand.  I've always treated them as if they were sacred and realized that if I were ever do permanent damage to either that I would no longer be able to be a serious tuba player.  But there was one thing that I always ignored that was arguably more important than either of them.

The elephant in the room was my hearing.  I always knew you only get one set of ears but I had simply never followed through on getting any ear protection.  This is spite of the fact that between 1990 and today I've seen over 250 rock concerts! And of course, I occasionally rehearse in very tight quarters on the road with Boston Brass that can lead to some very loud sounds.

Well I finally pulled the trigger a couple of weeks ago and made an appointment with an audiologist.  When I scheduled my appointment to get fitted for a set of plugs they told me they also offered a free hearing test.  To be honest, I was scared to test my hearing.  I just didn't want to know if it was too late for me to prevent serious hearing loss.  But I realized that not knowing was going to be far worse than finding out I had a problem so I took them up on their offer.

Miraculously, the test found that I had some hearing loss but nothing too drastic! What a relief it was to find out that I hadn't waited too long.  Between 150 Phish concerts, standing in front of Phantom Regiment, and sitting next to a drum set every December in a big band I feared the worst.  It turns out my fears were warranted because I have experienced some hearing loss and I was on my way to it affecting my ability to both play and enjoy music.  Thank goodness I followed through in time.

I chose Westone Musician Earplugs with a long canal which was recommended by brass playing friends of mine.  The plugs came with three different levels: 9 dbs, 15 dbs, and 25 dbs.  I will be using the 9's for most performing, the 25's for my rock concerts, and will always have all three on hand for convenience sake.

I strongly encourage any young performers, directors, or fans of live music to invest in a professional set of earplugs before it is too late.  Mine cost $270 with all three of the settings although you can get just one level for less money.  I sure am appreciative I acted before there was serious damage.

Monday YouTube Fix: Stanley Drucker

I realized that the woodwinds have been severely underrepresented in my Monday YouTube Fix so I figure there's no better place to start than with Stanley Drucker.  Mr. Drucker was a clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic for 61 years! No that is not a typo.  49 of those years were as the principal.  It is hard to imagine that I first heard him play with the Philharmonic 21 years ago and he had been playing in the orchestra at that time for 43 years! This is a wonderful performance of the Weber Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra.  He sure makes that instrument sound easy.

Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR9oxnm66bY]

Hitting the Extremes Early in the Day

A question to ask yourself: Do you play as high as you possibly can, as low as you can, as loudly as you can, and as softly as you can every day before noon? If the answer is no try doing this each day for a week.  The progress in just one week will astound you.

Joe Alessi once commented in a master class that if you are preparing for an audition and don't touch your horn before 1 pm each day you are kidding yourself.  Wise words.

Monday YouTube Fix: Time for Three

Time for Three is one of the most original and unique sounding chamber ensembles playing today and I am very lucky to call them dear friends.  They are an inspiration to many of us for both their musical and entrepreneurial contributions to the field of music. Leonard Cohen is one of the greatest American songwriters to ever live.  This is a hauntingly beautiful rendition of his iconic 'Hallelujah.' When the music breathes, it breathes in perfect unison.  If you close your eyes and get lost in the music it is easy to forget that this is not one person making these sounds - it is that together.

Watching their communication is a master class on chamber music.  When people say there's no money in music I point to Time for Three.  Create a program that's this unique, this good, and approached with the same entrepreneurial spirit and you will make money every time.

Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_SZp_L3q4c&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

Monday YouTube Fix: Coldplay Tribute to MCA of the Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys were an integral part of my childhood.  My mother wouldn't let me buy the album License to Ill because of the very adult themes to the tunes.  In spite of this I learned the words to Paul Revere from my friends rapping it every single recess in 6th grade.  They didn't sound like anything that had come before them and that is not common in popular music.  They resonated with a large number of very diverse people which is why their legacy is so strong to this day. On Friday, one of their members, Adam "MCA" Yauch, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 48.  My Twitter feed exploded with tributes and condolences.  Then the musical tributes started streaming in from around the globe.  This one from Coldplay was quite unexpected and particularly poignant.  Many people would not have expected them to of all bands to do a tribute the very day of his passing.  This video strikes me as incredibly heartfelt.  The final lyrics of the song You've Got To Fight For Your Right To Party never meant so much.

RIP MCA.  We miss you like hell already.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVr4UP9ntLs&feature=youtu.be]

Monday YouTube Fix: Lauren Veronie

General wisdom states that all euphonium solos are either Danny Boy or faster than hell.  The end of Napoli certainly fits the bill for the later of those two descriptions. I had the privilege of meeting Lauren when the US Army Field Band and Boston Brass collaborated a few years ago and have been a big fan of both her playing and her blog/travel log ever since.  I stumbled on this clip when surfing YouTube and was very impressed.  When I hear playing as controlled and effortless as her's I take note and try to apply it to my own playing.

I've played for many audiences as old as the one that she is performing for and I realize how hard it is to make that demographic react that strongly to a performance (including a standing ovation!) But when you play like that anyone and everyone will react.

Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQdtrte2mQk&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

Monday YouTube Fix: Wynton Marsalis Quintet Featuring Frank Vignola and Mark O'Connor

Man is there whole lot of talent on one stage in this clip! These are some of my favorite performers coming together for an awesome rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown.  I got to know Frank Vignola when he was half of the duo Travelin' Light with Sam Pilafian many moons ago.  I even got to jam with him once in a hotel room in Evanston with my friend Zach Brock when Frank and Sam were in town for the tuba conference at Northwestern in 1995.  It was one of the most fun times I've ever had playing the tuba.  Good times.

I don't think that Mark O'Connor or Wynton really need any introduction.  Simply amazing storytellers.  Awesome clip!

Enjoy!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/14111149]

Teaching the Importance of Not Stopping During Solo Performance

I find that one of the most difficult things to correct in a student is a propensity for stopping - both while practicing and while performing in lessons. Of course, anything that happens over and over again when you practice will be overwhelmingly likely to also happen when you perform. Every one of my students, including those who struggle with briefly stopping to fix an error, know they are not supposed to stop. But telling yourself to not stop over and over again gets the mind thinking about one thing: stopping. To quote the great brass pedagogue Manny Laureano: “The human brain does not respond well to the word don’t.” His point is that we should always be thinking (and writing in our parts) a positive message and not its negative correlary.

Lately I’ve been taking a different approach to teaching the concept of always continuing with a performance, even one in a practice room. I subscribe to the Arnold Jacobs concept of always playing two horns - the one in your lap and the one in your head. The horn in your head should never stop because it never makes mistakes and never plays with question marks, always exclamation points.

The horn in your head should have the same autonomy over your playing that a conductor does. Imagine if Alan Baer made a mistake in rehearsal and cut off the New York Philharmonic from the back row in order to take another pass at the passage. Even a player as amazing as Alan would be unemployed quickly!

We are all capable of not stopping in rehearsals. So if we give the horn in our head the same respect that we give to conductors we will have no problem not stopping.