I'll bring it to you.

Click HERE for the Smalls jazz club live video feed.  It's pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread.  The best part is you won't miss the last train home.

Now play me some blues!

I'm not sure it's accurate, but I like this quote from Bleeding Gums Murphy on the Simpsons as he was teaching Lisa to play..."The blues isn't about feeling better. It's about making other people feel WORSE, and making a few bucks while you're at it."

Click HERE to tryout a slow blues in F

Click HERE to live dangerously with a fast blues in F

Ears...more than odd looking skin flaps on the side of your head.

So I was thinking, which is beyond what a computer can do BTW, but I was thinking... these ears of yours need growth, and I don't mean in a Dr. Spockish way.  I mean it would be nice to do more with those things up there than hang glasses, accessorize them and pump in the latest singles.  

I am loving THIS SITE right now.  Here's the game plan for your ears...step 1 - go set up your instrument, step 2 - go to the LINK, step 3 - click on melodies and choose 3 notes (or 5 notes if your feeling frisky), step 4 - hit play and then robotically play those notes back to the computer.  It's at least as entertaining as Simon, isn't it?   Do that until it's old, and then move on to the rhythm section tab...Select all progressions and jazz lick mode under call and response with short phrases to start.  In no time you'll be calling your girlfriend "man."

The only video of Clifford Brown

The great trumpeter Clifford Brown a.k.a. "Brownie" was 25 when this clip was made.  Listen to his clear articulation and dazzling lines.  He was a young master who's life was tragically cut short in a car crash in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Fred Wesley!

James Brown's right hand man Fred Wesley keeps it funky on this clip.  Notice how he plays call and response with himself.  He shoots out a little rhythmic phrase, then answers it.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Then look what it does to people, like that lady at :53 seconds in... 

Don't choke the reed!

Reeds aren't always cooperative, but maybe if you choke them less, they'll work with you.  This is sax guru Jerry Bergonzi telling you how to create a perfect embouchure.  If you are like me, you will find that Italian subtitles spice up the dish.

Lambdoma?!

Is a Lambdoma a tasty Turkish treat? Not quite. I may have stumped myself on this one. THIS SITE by Drew Lesso is for the math major in you.  It is complete with music clips to illustrate whatever it is that I'm looking at.

Thank you sir, may I have another?

So you enjoyed last week's post did you, you little bald friend of mine? Well HERE is another site to help you use your ears for more than holding up your glasses or looking suave.

Train your ears

Do one's ears need training? Yes. They do. Practice THIS, young bald monkey.

My left foot

I know there are a lot of drumming clips on this blog of mine. Further, I know that you are not all drummers. Yet there is something to be said for playing rhythmically above all else on whatever it is that you play. It's a primal thing. Somewhere in our DNA we are forced to connect with a good groove.

This clip is all about the CLAVE. A clave, according to Wikipedia, is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as salsa. It's the Latin version of the groove. There are many many different claves, most of which represent specific types of dance. Rhumba, Salsa, Bossa-Nova and Mambo are a few well known claves. Now that I'm done explaining, dig Horatio Hernandez's left foot as you listen to him solo, that's where the clave is at. BTW, claves are often played on actual claves, but not always.

Give me a reason...

Need a reason for playing? How about this...SUPERHUMAN HEARING! Click on that to check out the latest study.

Back in action!

I don't know why, but I, your blog, feel a certain pressure to post something a little extra special after this long break. I've missed you, and I know you've missed me too. So let's enjoy this moment together. Aaah. That's it. Hug it out. We're reunited, and it feels so good. Now let's cherish the love we have of jazz.

O.K., now that you are in the mood, let's talk about your sound. Think of your sound as your voice. Have you ever lost your voice? It's a really important part of communication, isn't it? Now think about how you can change the sound of your voice. What is your best voice? What do you do differently with your mouth and breathing to create your "best voice"? Could you play with that "best voice" on your instrument? I think you'll like this extra special clip from the Smithsonian I've cooked up for you...

Enjoy your summer!

I'll try and put some stuff on the old bloggy from time to time, but for now I'm just going to take in the skywriting on this beach in India.

"Sing it Jared!"

Odd, in Bb

This link is odd, and will save you a trip to the east village or Brooklyn.

More Muppets!

"What if you and I just get right down to it and do this little beauty, eh?" Zoot Sims is on the honks. "Forgive me Charlie Parker where ever you are." Classic.

Jazztown Heights, NY

Feeling lost now that AP exams are done and the concert is over? Are you a senior perhaps? Before you take up needlepoint check out a few HS jazz band alumni. They were just like you not too long ago.

Let's start with some La Strada, an amazing band in Brooklyn. I feel like I'm listening to the Beatles when I hear this, wow. Devon Press, the bassist and Ted Lattis, the guitarist have both been forced to play the 12 bar blues in their pasts.

Now let's get hip to some Dorian Charnis, a composer, pianist, and all around fun guy to be around. Be sure to visit his music page, you'll be impressed.

Alright, you want to burn on some bebop right? No one is as burning as alto saxophonist Mike Dopazo. This is sickness...listen to Cherokee, listen to Chelsea Bridge, yikes.

On to some of saxophonist Dave Carroll's stuff with the band Love in Stockholm. Dave is an instrumental music teacher in Quincy, Massachussetts right now. I love the tune Allston, but it's all very funky and in the pocket. Pull the shades, or your neighbors will see you getting down with your bad self.

Speaking of your bad self, check out Jason Press's funk band...Joe Mamma's
Jason knows how to break it, break it, break it down.

That's all for the moment, but we'll keep you posted...literally.

The Economy...of notes

This is what beautiful music is all about. Listen to Chet Baker sing (self taught), then listen to Chet play (mostly self taught) and then ask yourself how did he do that?
I'll give you the answer..........wait for it...........wait for it...(put a biscuit on your nose and salivate just staring at it's yumminess, it's more fun that way)...he's a great listener. He's using and trusting his ears! AND...it turns out you have a set of your own. Good job...eat your biscuit. Now start listening to yourself when you play, and create something cool.

"Pretty" Purdie

Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is the world's most recorded drummer. Dig his pfft pfft on this clip. If you are surprised by the pfft, pfft, don't fret. He is surprised too, even after all these years. Pfft pfft. Surprise is where it's at.

Star Wars!

I'm not sure what to say about this one, other than it's amazing!!! Stacy Hedger (a.k.a. Miss Douglas) is playing outside of the changes most of the time on this one. Fortunately, she can win you back with expressive choreography.

Autumn Leaves on the first day of spring!

Enjoy this by clicking HERE, it rules! Look around while you're in there. Remember, 3rds and 7ths, 3rds and 7ths, back and forth. Look at the whole notes in the melody then figure out where those notes are in the scale for each chord and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Hey! Try this little exercise... pick a note and try and stay on that note for as long as you can as the chord changes move along. Jam out on it. Play it a few times to find a good note that works. Discover the relationship of that note to each chord. Make it your note. You own that note. You raised it. You pulled it out of obscurity. You and that note can hang out on the weekends. You and that note have a special bond. You and that note are going to prom together. Then solo, but always go back to your note, because you have history, you and your note.

Graph it!

If "Duran Duran" had a board meeting, this is what you might find on the easel. Click HERE for some wonderful graphs illustrating your favorite songs. There are too many good ones to pick a favorite, but having lived through the eighties, I do lean towards the "Billie Jean" pie chart.

The importance of music

Karl Paulnack is a pianist and director of the music division at Boston Conservatory. Click HERE to get his beautifully worded explanation as to why music is so important. It's an interesting read.. there is a little history, a little anecdotal stuff, and some touching moments that bring the whole point home. Special thanks to Mr. Goetz, master bassist and teacher extraordiare for passing this one along to us in Jazztown Heights.

The "Tristano" school

A lot of players are heavily influenced by Lennie Tristano, most notably alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, who was a pupil in his "New School for Music". He is often considered part of the West Coast "Cool Jazz" movement, but his technique is certainly coming from a different place than Miles Davis or Chet Baker. His lines are are long and windy roads that take your ears on a complex harmonic journey. Not really the laid back West Coast thing that we're used to, right? Check him out.

Baby steps to "Giant Steps."

You're probably wondering what this "Giant Steps" tune is that you keep hearing and reading about. Here is what you need to know...It's one of John Coltrane's most famous recordings, and one you should own a copy of. If a tune were a mountain, this one is a peak improvisers often attempt to climb.

In it, John Coltrane introduced a new way of improvising (and playing over a ii-v) using tonal centers a Major 3rd apart from one another. Let me explain...
If you start on G and go down a Major 3rd, it brings you to Eb. Then go down a Major 3rd and it will bring you to B, right? From there, another Major 3rd down takes you back to G. So it's G-Eb-B-G. Big steps, eh? One might say "Giant Steps." It's a tritonic way of splitting up an octave. (It's also an Augmented triad, but who cares? Not me.) So in his composition he substitutes this tritonic stuff for good old fashioned ii-v's and voila, a whole new thing.

Here is the subtitution for the first move from G to Eb. The regular ii-v would be Fmin7 to Bb7 to Eb. He does this...In the key of G, start with BM7 to D7 to GM7 to Bb7 and end on Eb. Up a minor third, down a fifth, over and over to the target. These are called "Trane changes." Sound complicated? They are and they aren't. Go HERE, this link will play it for you and visually show you what's up.

Listen up!

Where do you hear music? As a deaf percussionist, Evelyn Glennie has a truly unique perspective on how we perceive music. In her presentation she asks the audience to "experience the journey of the life of the sound." Not a bad idea.

Now vs. Now

Music is always changing. As Chris Rock said to the audience at the MTV music awards a few years back..."Don't make no plans for next year 'cause a lot of y'all ain't going to be here.... You know how it is in music: fickle. Here today, gone today!'' I feel like the drummer in this clip is on to something new. He has a garage band-ish sound like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers or The White Stripes, yet with his unbelievable chops and feel he's taken that sound in a different direction (and a different time signature - this little vamp is in 7). Let this clip heat up, it gets crazy. Notice how he keeps the hits together, despite going loco on his kit. The guys name is Mark Guiliana and he began playing music at 15. I think you might enjoy this little interview of him HERE. So this is jazz now.

Freddie Hubbard!

If you've never checked out Freddie Hubbard before, or if you're looking to buy your first jazz album (and the store is out of Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue,") you should go pick up Oliver Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth." On it you'll hear Freddie Hubbard, the 24 year old trumpeter in this clip, tearing up some blues based modal tunes. It's a classic album, but so are all of Freddie's albums. What I (your favorite blog) love about Freddie is the element of surprise that he brings to every solo. He is constantly challenging the listener- playing fiery, tight and intense one moment, laid back and free the next. He always keeps you wondering...what is he going to do next? Hey, what are you going to do next? Let's have a sandwich.

Duke Ellington and the band

The one and only Duke Ellington. This clip features Cat Anderson on trumpet playing some ridiculously high notes, Paul Gonsalves (more on him later) on tenor sax, and Buster Cooper burning on the baritone. Yes, I said baritone! This tune is called "The Opener."

A super clip for Trumpeters with writers block...

The Pencil Exercise
You're in AP English, staring down at the blank sheet of paper in front of you. Time is slipping through your hands, your mind drifts...Wait! Quick! Stick your pencil in your mouth Jack Kerouac! If your trumpet playing doesn't improve, your kissing might, and just in time for Valentine's Day. Special thanks to trumpeter, teacher and composer Mr. Torrente for this, and the previous two clips.