January 25, 2012

Ports

Staring into Town Lake from ten floors up, waiting for the explosion of bats that never comes.

Tonight, dinner with co-workers, some from the US, some from India. We marvel over cultural quirks. They speak of home loans rates at 14% and a college affirmative action program for the untouchable castes. Then they blame the British for coining the phrase “untouchable”. (India love/hates the British.) The program is called Reservations and seems to annoy the emerging Indian middle class. (Middle caste.) I mention a book I just read about untouchables, but no one cares.

iTunes Shares

At the moment the hotel Wi-Fi network is broadcasting several iTunes shares from people who are probably unaware that they’re sharing music with strangers. I poke around of course (they are being “shared” after all). One is labeled with the guy’s full name. So now I’m googling him. He does marketing (as a consultant) from somewhere in Texas. His taste in music is surprisingly good though, unlike his personal website. The next one is far worse and includes Kenny G. I’m done with this activity.

Note to self: disable iTunes sharing while traveling (and change the library name to something meaningless).

Tomorrow I return to the bright conference room with the six other programmers in a mad-dash effort to port our gizmo from A to B — in a short time frame with high complexity and high risk. That’s geek-speak for a good time.

Mostly though, as it is with traveling, I miss home. I love the comforts of our nest. Steph and I are an immutable pair, blissfully accustomed to spending 20 hours a day in each other’s presence. Being away is a miserable time.

Posted by on January 25, 2012 in journal and tagged , , .

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January 22, 2012

Double Time

End of a long week, the eve of an even longer one.

On Friday night, I played with HSO virtuoso Ferenc Illenyi at Ovations. Ferenc is a violinist possessed with demonic technique and ability — it’s all you can do not to get in his way! Saturday, in complete contrast, I played a big band concert with smooth jazz sensation Mindi Abair. While very different musically, both shows required a tremendous amount of upfront prep work and a clear, focused mind on game day. Perhaps the combined pressure of the two shows, knowing that a day later I would have to drive to Austin for a week of software meetings, was a recipe for getting sick (it’s official: I have the flu now!)

with Mindi Abair

Both concerts went splendidly though. Mindi’s was particularly great. The American Idol saxophonist is such a charismatic entertainer, one whose enthusiasm is contagious to both the audience and the musicians alike. But it was a long, long day too. We had a four hour rehearsal, then played a two hour show. Despite the grueling schedule (and the lurking flu) the show was a blast. It was particularly nice being able to share the experience with long-time musical pals Paul Chester, Warren Sneed, Ben Atkinson, and Keith Vivens, guys I’ve been playing with for over 25 years!

Paul, Warren, and Keith

Looking for a doc in Austin now. Hopefully I can get some meds tomorrow afternoon. Back Friday night, then off to Beaumont Saturday for another gig. Looking forward to a lighter, less demanding February.

Posted by on January 22, 2012 in music-o-mat and tagged , .

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January 14, 2012

Letters

Catherine Henderson Lienhard

My paternal grandmother Cathy Lienhard, née Henderson, was a pianist/singer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Proof that musicians always find curious ways to ply their trade, Cathy found a niche demoing sheet music to interested audiences on the radio. One can only imagine — “Here’s Cathy performing ‘Stardust’, now available for five cents at Walden Music at the corner of State and Euclid!” 

Today while cleaning my studio, I found a letter she wrote a few months before she passed away. I was 14 at the time and had just started at HSPVA where I was studying jazz piano. She writes:

Glad you are learning some other music. I love “Autumn Leaves” and ”September Song” — Weill was the guy who wrote “Mack the Knife”. I continue to increase my library of tapes of my old music: Honky Tonk, ballads, Stephen Foster, Chopin, etc.

Hope your cough is better — I know all about coughing. Oregon is no place for lungs.

(she died of smoking-related emphysema)

Such a nice letter though, an expert on The Great American Songbook sending recommendations to a young student of the same. Had I only been older (or wiser). Glad I held on to it though. Maybe it’s a grandparent’s instinct to impart wisdom in the hopes that one day it’ll become retroactively useful, or at least appreciated?

What’s perhaps ironic is that years later “September Song” would become one of my favorite tunes. Coincidence or genetics? (or just mutual good taste!)

She signs off with a bit of musical notation humor:

Sometimes B# [sharp]
Never Bb [flat]
Always B natural

Posted by on January 14, 2012 in journal, tribute and tagged , , .

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January 11, 2012

Tribute To Scott

Scott Swanson was both a colleague (at Children’s Television Workshop, where we worked in the late 90′s) and a friend. He died two years ago today — his death was not a surprise; he had been dealt a shitty hand in life. The gifted author William Shunn, who worked at CTW with us, just posted a beautiful tribute to Scott. The three of us used to roam Lincoln Center when we should have been coding. We explored restaurants, spied on celebrities, and shopped obsessively at Tower Records. I posted a few pictures the week he died, but the good stuff, the tribute, is on Bill’s blog.

http://www.shunn.net/blog/2012/01/swan_song.html

Posted by on January 11, 2012 in tribute and tagged .

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January 7, 2012

Postlude

Midnight and a sky filled with eyes. Jupiter, Betelgeuse, Sirius, all uninhibited and pulsating, reminders to look beyond petty concerns. Like playing in a listening room filled with patrons too drunk and rowdy for listening. Compositions lost to chatter, leaving in a cloud. Swearing off the career you never chose, only to wake with renewed vigor, unaffected. The curse can take its knocks.

For our anniversary tonight, dinner at Tafia, then music. We’re both curious to hear Jacqui Sutton & The Frontier Jazz Orchestra. How could one not be intrigued by the thought of bluegrass mixed with jazz? I’m from Kentucky, after all. Land of the Blue Grass, grass as soft as sheets. So unlike the ugly weeds that grow in the swamps of Texas (poor St. Augustine would be horrified).

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January 3, 2012

2012 Predictions

  • There will be a 2013 (sorry Mayans)
  • You will receive at least 5 gift cards this year, all of which will languish in a drawer
  • Auto-Tune’s popularity as a gimmick for vocalists will suddenly fall out of fashion
  • The jazz community’s decade-long obsession with odd meters will finally begin to wane: 4/4 will be the new 7/4
  • Jazz categories will vanish from the Grammy ballot. Best Auto-Tune vocalist(s) will be added in their place (part of the decline predicted above)
  • Whoever is (re-)elected president will still lack the ability to govern
  • Your neighborhood Blockbuster will close, as it should have two years ago
  • One of the major cell phone providers will vanish in a merger and no one will care
  • related: Your cell phone will get stolen
  • Mark Zuckerberg will become the richest man on the planet. He will buy San Francisco
  • A sudden uptick in Finger Cancer will be observed as texting usage doubles
  • Someone on your street will buy an electric car. It will quietly run over your dog.
  • The first mobile-powered contact lens will become available commercially (at great cost and very little functionality) as humans officially begin their transition to machine

Have a great year.

Posted by on January 3, 2012 in rand-o-mat and tagged .

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December 30, 2011

Arctic

I finally unearthed my neglected studio, reattached the many black cables, blew the dust off the preamps, and immersed myself in recording. Last week I did some solo piano tracking on the Steinway, but tonight I finally started blending things with all the electronics.

Here’s a sample of what twenty minutes in this environment produced. I took a solo piano piece from the earlier session and mixed it synthetics and strange instruments, in this case a child’s melodica. The low orchestra drone is Miroslav’s Philharmonika library, the ostinato is played on Sculpture, and the nasal sounding chord swells are the melodica (recorded into the UA 610 and a Neumann TL 103). All inputs ran through my wonderful new Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 interface at 96Khz/24-bit. This thing is amazing.

“Arctic“, audio mp3 (web only)
Flash player:

mp3 link: arctic.mp3

Fun tidbit: the ostinato bit, though improvised, was scored automatically via MIDI in Logic. Pretty cool to see it notated.

Posted by on December 30, 2011 in music-o-mat, studio-o-mat and tagged , , , .

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December 29, 2011

Documentary Magic

A successful documentary can make a seemingly dull topic fascinating. The 2008 documentary sensation “Helvetica”, for example, is a film about a font and whether you had any interest in typography prior to seeing it, you certainly will by the end. ”Bill Cunningham New York” illuminates its subject matter (fashion) in the same manner. Cunningham, an 82-year old fashion photographer for the New York Times, has for the last 40 years bicycled around New York City documenting fashion trends both on the street and at high society events. He knows all the major designers, society mavens, and editors on a first name basis. Yet, he lives a solitary, austere life that in no way resembles the world he chronicles. This deeply moving film elaborates on that contradiction. My vote for Best Documentary of 2011.

Both “Helvetica” and “Bill Cunningham New York” are available on Netflix Instant.

Posted by on December 29, 2011 in film, review-o-matic and tagged .

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December 23, 2011

The Eve of the Eve

We made our patronly debut at the Sundance Theater last night, downtown’s rebuttal to the Alamo Drafthouse. Sundance’s interiors still have that new car smell with elegant sans serif lettering and 60′s browns — think celebrity ski lodge. Quite an improvement on the archetype of the sad art house. One presumes that the poor college kids who endured dirty seats and Koyaanisqatsi in the 80′s now prefer valet parking and $12 ticket prices.

Alas our film of choice soured the surroundings. A complete misery of a story that had been (mis)labeled a comedy. Consider: ”Young Adult”, the tale of an alcoholic tween “novelist” (as opposed to a mere “writer”) in hot pursuit of a married high school ex-boyfriend. Depressing, disturbing, and definitely not funny. In light of our surroundings though we forgave the film, a forgiveness made easier by plush seats and a glass of bourbon. Did I mention the bar?

The after party: a bowl of oatmeal, craft glitter, and a cat scratching his gums on Steph’s laptop. Perhaps because I’m currently wallowing through “Wuthering Heights”, I developed a sudden urge to roam the Moors sprinkling sparkly confetti (and did so, telepathically, while scooping the litter box — scented litter, confetti, same thing).

Posted by on December 23, 2011 in books, film and tagged , , .

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December 19, 2011

Early Morning Birds

I awoke early for the long-awaited Willow Waterhole sojourn. For many months my dad has been urging I join him for a crack-of-dawn bird watching expedition. Now at the end of the year, just days before Christmas, I finally ran out of reasons not to go, reasons mired in an acute fear of daybreak (phengophobia?) and screaming alarm clocks (chronomentrophobia?). It was a stunning mind over body moment, one where I managed to not only unhinge myself from a deep coma, but also arrive within five minutes of the agreed upon time. My parents, agape, threw streamers in celebration.

The three pond habitat, just south of Houston’s 610 loop, is barely noticeable from the road. However at 279 acres it’s not an insignificant tract of land. Foremost, the Willow Waterhole provides critical flood control for Brays Bayou. Should we get hit with another epic rain event, like, say, Tropical Storm Allison, the excess water will safely accumulate in its network of reservoirs.

But it also doubles as a nature preserve, which might seem odd given its location. These water bodies and their surrounding marshes live below rows of low-income housing, strip centers, and factories. Nonetheless, the Waterhole teems with exotic faunae: turtles and egrets, great blue herons and caracaras: indigenous wildlife thriving where not expected. It may well be one of the finest non-sequiturs in our strange city. A serene and oddly quiet place too, despite the occasional roar of buses and other urban rumbles.

It’s clear that the Waterhole has yet to catch the attention of the city. At least today it was completely free of other humans. But birds? The Audubon Society has counted over 120 species.

So there we were, snapping pictures, walking through muddy terrain (I definitely wore the wrong pants), training our lens on fast moving falcons, meandering herons, and stationary turtles. I shot 15 photos. My dad, 200. In the last year, he has become one of the park’s biggest advocates, visiting several times a month with gigabytes of beautiful photographs to show for it. Last summer he compiled shots of these iconic birds into a 2012 calendar, which they now sell to raise money and awareness. And of course, its inhabitants have made cameos on his radio show: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2574.htm

Here he is aiming toward a pair of Caracaras (“care-uh-care-uh”, a type of falcon):

He later emailed the resulting photo:

And others from today’s expedition:

We visited all three of the ponds in the Willow Waterhole, though I was corrected: the Waterhole prefers we call them lakes (the difference explained). Incidentally in the next few years, it will double in size with the addition of three more “lakes”.

More on the Willow Waterhole project: Chronicle Story

Posted by on December 19, 2011 in journal, rand-o-mat and tagged , , , .

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December 13, 2011

StayCay

2011, I dub thee a blur.

It’s the first week of my stay-cation, three weeks of it. A time to catch up. A time for vows. I vow to reply to the gobs of email, phone messages, and subliminal suggestions. I vow to practice and read and sleep more. I vow to stop vowing.

I’m taking a break from recording solo piano tracks today. It’s been a December tradition since I was in high school: The December solo piano tape. I have a box filled with them. Back then they were recorded on Memorex or worse with a cheap mic on a Radio Shack cassette recorder. Nowadays I use $1000 microphones with 24-bit/48Khz digital recording software running through a shiny new Macbook Pro. How times have changed.

Double gig tomorrow, then a busy weekend playing holiday parties. After that I’m free of gigs for the rest of the year (whoop!). Lots of cool shows booked in January though including two at Cezanne and a big one with Ferenc Illenyi at Ovations.

Posted by on December 13, 2011 in music-o-mat and tagged .

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December 9, 2011

Rooting for Kelly

Houston guitar virtuoso Kelly Lancaster has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. This is going to be a tough battle and without health insurance it’s going to be even tougher. To help cover his costs, a fundraiser has been kicked off.

Kelly was blessed with tremendous musical talent. He’s also a warm, funny guy. And while he has lots of love radiating his way, he needs more than just well wishes at this point. Please help if you can.

Donation page: https://apps.facebook.com/fundrazr/pay?crid=07a8d1ccee814405b7d940ae2a966476

Forum: http://jazzhouston.com/forums/messages/19887?fpage=1

Posted by on December 9, 2011 in tribute and tagged .

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December 7, 2011

Picks for Best Music of 2011

I admittedly didn’t explore music this year as much as I have in years past. This shortness of this list reflects that. Still, I came across several exceptional recordings in 2011.

Little Scream “The Golden Record”, wistful girl waxes melancholy. It’s a formula that gets me every time.

tUnE-yArDs ”Who Kill”, the brain-child of Merrill Garbus, a singularly talented multi-instrumentalist and the year’s most exciting newcomer. “Who Kill” gets my vote for Best of 2011. If you haven’t seen her NPR Tiny Desk concert, wait no more!

The Decemberists “The King is Dead”, brainy alt country. That they wrote an “Infinite Jest” tribute song had no effect on my vote.

We Are Augustines “Headlong Into The Abyss” Brooklyn Indie Rockers who sound a bit like Coldplay. Epic sonics. I really like these guys.

St. Vincent “Strange Mercy”, a woman, an electric guitar, a soundscape, and bite. She put on a great show at Fitz last month.

Apparat “The Devil’s Walk”, Sigur Ros, if they sang actual lyrics in English.

Sophie Hunger “Sophie Hunger”, a brilliant vocalist, guitarist, and pianist from Switzerland. The music runs a gamut from solo acoustic guitar blues to PJ Harvey-esque post-rock. The closing track “The Train” is a complete summation of her talent.

Barton Hollow “The Civil Wars”. In 2004 I sat alone in a small Nashville club listening to Gillian Welch. It confirmed everything I loved about the musicianship heard on her recordings. It was transformative. Barton Hollow takes me back to that club with a touch of Iron & Wine and The Swell Season added for flavor. Simple, acoustic, direct.

Gretchen Parlato “The Lost and Found”, a tremendous jazz vocalist with an R&B twist. I wrote a review of this CD for AllAboutJazz last spring. Parlato tweeted me a Thank You. That her producer/co-writer was once my piano student had nothing to do with my gushy pronouncements. Parlato really is the best of ‘em.

Kevin Hays “Variations”, post-classical solo piano from a jazz great. Many years ago Hays departed NYC to hole up in New Mexico for peace of mind and time to practice. He has since returned. If this recording is any indication of what that hiatus produced, then I only hope he repeats the trip soon. Glorious classical-infused excursions.

****

Postscript: I wish I could have added the new Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver, and Radiohead albums to this list. They just didn’t make it for me.

Posted by on December 7, 2011 in music-o-mat, review-o-matic and tagged , , , , .

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December 5, 2011

Monday

My toes are cold today. Living in a 1920′s pier-and-beam house is not unlike living in a refrigerator. It’s fine though. The alternative is a cracked slab foundation and I’m already bored with this topic.

The Underground Arts Market was a smashing success. Pictures here: flickr pics

Played at Cezanne a few hours after the market ended. The first set was a jewel. I wish it had ended there. By the second set, three hours sleep finally took me down. I closed my eyes while I played mostly because I was too tired to open them. Afterwards, I went to the old Bibas @Westheimer/Montrose with a group of friends for late night grease. Exhaustion continued to work into my spine, through my eye sockets, down my leg. Hopeless. I slept very hard that night.

I found immense relaxation this week working on a Chopin Etude, playing the hard passages over and over and over and I think even the cats are sick of hearing it. There’s something sort of zen about doing methodical technical work. It’s certainly helped my overall approach to the instrument. I really must keep this new mode of classical study going.

Also this week, because there wasn’t enough going on already, I decided to rewrite most of the code that runs my pet project, JazzHouston.com (a love/hate relationship since 1996). The hosting company proved horribly unreliable. I had to find a new home for it. But moving it required a significant upgrade to the code. It was a parallel obsession: me coding, steph working on soap, together in the same room, silent for hours at a time, taking breaks for food. We agreed it was the most intensely focused either of us have been in many years. At least at a sustained level.

Other news. We sold our rental house a week ago and on the same day got news from the City regarding the shop space. Tomorrow construction resumes.

And now I’m on the last 50 pages of an amazing book, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”. It’s a magical Japanese historical work that’s kept my full attention for the last week or so (when I wasn’t co-running markets, selling houses, writing software, or playing gigs).

Posted by on December 5, 2011 in books, rand-o-mat and tagged , .

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November 18, 2011

25 Things, a meme reborn

During the year that I was on Facebook (2009), I participated in the viral survey called “25 Random Things About Me”. The idea behind it was simple: you list 25 random tidbits about yourself and post it in hopes that people find you more interesting. It proved incredibly appealing (and annoying) and for about a month everyone had one to share.

Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of the list I made then (I wish I did), so in the spirit of vanity I’m going to do it again, from scratch based on life as it is in 2011.

25 Things

  1. I don’t own a microwave.
  2. I have cats, not children. They sleep on my face.
  3. I hold my breath while sleeping. This is not related to #2.
  4. I went to third grade at the US Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. I once spent an afternoon roaming the subway system there, alone.
  5. As a teenager I lived in perpetual terror that someone was going to slip me LSD. Ironically, this actually happened to my wife Stephanie at a party.
  6. I’ve forgotten most of what I learned in grad school.
  7. It’s true, my brother has a very high IQ, but I’m taller.
  8. I’m more likely to learn Finnish before I die than finish Infinite Jest.
  9. I often struggle to remember the names of things. I will call a chair a curtain, or a dog a grape. This is a quirk I inherited from my mom, the other musician in the family.
  10. Buying a Steinway was the best $35,000 I’ve ever spent.
  11. In the past couple years I’ve discovered that I love exercising
  12. And reading (or should say, re-discovered)
  13. When I stay in hotels I never turn on the television.
  14. I almost burned my house down when I was 11.
  15. I once owned a bar in rural Texas.
  16. I once camped out in a parking lot waiting for Steph to get off work, then pretended to run into her as she was leaving. That contrived encounter morphed into our first date.
  17. When I was 9, I had a man crush on Barry Manilow. I even performed “I Write The Song” for my fourth grade class. I later dumped him for Stevie Wonder.
  18. When I was 14, my hero was Michael Boddicker, someone you’ve probably never heard of, yet his work as a studio synthesizer player was ubiquitous during the early 80′s (“Thriller”, “Xanadu”, “Flashdance”). I wrote him a six page fan letter. Three months later he responded. I still have the letter.
  19. Winning the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in sixth grade was my first great moment in life, mostly because I wanted it more than anything and worked my butt off to get it. Proof that any goal can be attained if so desired.
  20. That being said I have no talent for sports.
  21. I dry shave
  22. …while driving
  23. In retrospect, I wish I had majored in something other than Mathematics.
  24. I can name all the Best Picture Oscar winners since 1966. I’m always eager to demonstrate this important skill.
  25. Every day I suggest an alternate name for myself, like “Today I think I’m going to change my name to Uma Thurman”. I usually forget these monikers within ten minutes.

Posted by on November 18, 2011 in rand-o-mat and tagged .

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November 16, 2011

The Illenyi Family

You must watch this! Houston Symphony violinist Ferenc Illenyi performing with his three talented siblings at a concert in Hungary. Ferenc is the violinist on the left.

Ferenc is an amazing virtuoso with perfect pitch, perfect technique, and a tremendous passion for exploring new music. He recently recorded a classical-jazz-gypsy CD (on which I played) that I hope will be released soon. Stay tuned!

Posted by on November 16, 2011 in music-o-mat and tagged .

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November 16, 2011

Allan Holdsworth, Houston, 11-15-2011

Guitar legend Allan Holdsworth brought his prog-fusion juggernaut to The Horn Tuesday. The 65 year-old Brit showed no sign of wear and tear as he unleashed torrents of notes up and down the neck of his signature Carvin. At the same time, often in the same tune, he showcased a disarming sense of etherealness via volume swells, effects, and jagged chord voicings. In short, he reaffirmed his legend: Holdsworth is a peerless guitarist.

Surprisingly, the star of the evening was not Mr. Holdsworth; it was his 26 year-old drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr. Dubbed “Sir Ronald” by Holdsworth, Bruner’s electrifying speed proved controlled and steady even at its most frenzied. At one point Holdsworth mumbled “I’ll never be able to follow that”. That Bruner would punctuate his phrases with an enormous grin added an innocent charm to his antics, one that Holdsworth and veteran bassist Jimmy Johnson seemed to enjoy immensely.

The set ran through Holdsworth classics like “Fred” and “Water on the Brain”, all played flawlessly and at high volume. Afterwards, the band walked among the crowd to pose for pictures and sign autographs. Though the turnout was small, everyone in attendance was an adoring fan. And Holdsworth was every bit the gracious host.

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Posted by on November 16, 2011 in jazz, review-o-matic and tagged , .

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November 15, 2011

Porch Concert, in review

It was not the ideal day for a porch concert. A dank November morning, 83 degrees and humid. Earlier it rained.

Yet we had one anyway.

Most of the block remained indoors at first (it’s hard to compete with 5-ton air conditioning units), but once Spencer began singing, the people began to appear, some standing, others seated on blankets. Spencer’s high range and excellent pitch quickly cast a swampy trance across the lawn. I can always tell how a musician is doing by watching by mom, a former orchestra violinist and a highly skilled pianist. She has a incredible sense of music and is particularly attuned to the emotional content of a performance. Sitting in her rocking chair, she closed her eyes and listened. She dug him.

Next up was Andrew Hager, a polymath whose has talents include singer, guitarist, playwright, music historian, theater director, composer, and teacher (HSPVA, UH, Alley). He sang a series of original compositions and, like Spencer, wowed us with his upper register and heartfelt performance. We took a short break so that I could setup a keyboard, then the great Houston vocalist Sheri Lavo took the stage (because ‘took the porch’ just doesn’t sound right…). Our group segued into a trio when Bob Chadwick appeared with his arsenal of wooden flutes. The band grew again with the arrival of guitarist Erich Avinger. Bob and I left Erich and Sheri to finish the afternoon set just as the bug repellant began to lose its efficacy.

Crepuscule came and we moved indoors. Our neighbor Les read poetry while Erich and I improvised a soundtrack. He was nervous to join us, but it worked out really well. Erich and I played duets for an hour or so (bliss!), then Lisa Stout joined us for a vocal trio. By this point, 10pm?, I gave up letting them play for another hour.

A nice day despite the rocky start. It was so nice to see friends and neighbors sharing in this musical soiree. The outpouring of potluck was staggering too. Now what to do with all these unmarked dishes….

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Posted by on November 15, 2011 in music-o-mat, review-o-matic and tagged .

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November 10, 2011

Tiny Desk Concert: Marketa Irglova

We need more of this in the world — two unaffected artists straight-up making music, no gimmicks, no pizzazz. Marketa Irglova and the talented newcomer Aida Shahghasemi performed a three song set on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. The second piece was a real highlight, a traditional Iranian song “Dokhtar Goochani” sung in Farsi with Shahghasemi alternating between vocals and percussion. I had to pause after it ended; it’s simply mesmerizing and proof that beautiful music transcends language.

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/142093707/marketa-irglova-tiny-desk-concert

Marketa was the co-star of the wonderful film “Once”, which may be the best movie ever made about musicians. Watch it just to see the scene in the piano store where he teaches her his song “Falling Slowly”. Christ, goosebumps.

Speaking of “Once”, Swell Season’s 2009 set on the Tiny Desk Concert is classic. If you’re pressed for time, just skip to the end to hear “When Your Mind’s Made Up”. Glen Hansard performance is holy shit, jaw-droppingly good. And he’s so casual about it. Freakish talent in that one.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111679769

Posted by on November 10, 2011 in music-o-mat and tagged , .

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November 8, 2011

Porch Concert Sunday, 1-6pm

This Sunday we’re hosting the second annual Ralfallen Porch Concert. Several performers, lots of food, and a troop of dancing squirrels (*). Still working on the lineup. Confirmed thus far: Singer/Songwriter Spencer Franklin from Austin and jazz vocalist Sheri Lavo. More as we get them. This event will be extremely kid-centric, by the way. So bring ‘em if ya got ‘em.

UPDATED and evolving SCHEDULE:

1pm: Spencer Franklin (Austin)

2pm: Andrew Hagar and friends

2:30pm Sheri Lavo, jazz vocalist

3:30pm: Bob Chadwick and his exotic wood flutes (with me)

4:30pm: Kid’s Concert

6:30pm: House concert with HSO violinist Ferenc Illenyi and guitarist Erich Avinger (also with me)

All times subject to “-ish”. Playing it by ear.

* not really, squirrels can’t dance silly

Posted by on November 8, 2011 in music-o-mat and tagged .

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November 6, 2011

Dovekeepers Cover Photo

A little tidbit about the cover photo of Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers. It’s a photograph by Joyce Tenneson, a photographer in NYC who shoots large-format polaroids on chocolate film. This particular photo is from a book called Light Warriors. My wife Stephanie was Joyce’s style assistant for this book and the one that preceded it, Wise Women (in which she also appears). In particular, she worked on The Dovekeepers shot. Perhaps we should read it.

More on Tenneson:
http://www.tenneson.com

Posted by on November 6, 2011 in books and tagged , .

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November 5, 2011

Sans Solecisms

With Steph and Lisa consuming disaccharides disguised as pasta. We’re sitting in a Montrose bistro with Lisa’s 2004 Del Dotto Cave Blend – BYOB, corking fee applied. The waiter skunks the cork into the bottle while trying to open it. A decanter to the rescue. Quite delicious a half-hour later. The lasagne meanwhile tastes not unlike a fatty, sugar salad. I eat two bites.

I remember Lisa buying that bottle in Napa with Larry in 2007, just months before he discovered the lump. I sure do miss him…

Lisa, Larry, Me: 2007

***

Bear in Heaven sounds like Jane’s Addiction dry humping The Cocteau Twins.

And I don’t even know what that means.

God Bless this weather.

Posted by on November 5, 2011 in music-o-mat and tagged , .

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November 1, 2011

Transcriptions: Herbie-isms

Pianist Herbie Hancock has had a profound impact on jazz and an even deeper impact on jazz pianists thanks to his uncanny harmonic and rhythmic prowess. There are a handful of so-called Herbie-isms that are worth adding to your cache of piano tricks. Most pianists have been copping his octave roll for as long as they’ve been playing, but the fun stuff is in the cross-hand interactions. Both Hancock and Chick Corea have made an art form out of the two handed piano patterns (as opposed to approaching the instrument with horn-like single lines).

This first sample is from his electrifying solo on “Shiftless Shuffle” from the Mr. Hands album. Here he takes a R-R-L-L-R-R-L-L pattern moving around a pentatonic scale in D minor (Dorian). Near the end he changes the rhythmic pattern from 2-2 to 2-1 creating even more excitement. It goes by really fast too!

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Listen:

Here’s a pattern he used on “Succotash” from his groundbreaking latin jazz trio album Inventions and Dimensions (also released as Succotash). He starts the phrases with a single-line suspended triad outlined in an octave — 1, 4, flat-5, 1 —  moving in back and forth in half steps, then adds the left hand playing a mirror image pattern against it. He also adds rhythmic tension by doing this in four note triplet groupings. This is a sample, the whole passage involves variations on the second measure, sometimes in groups of 3, 4, and so on.

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Listen:

This next clip is from “Sly” on Head Hunters. The sinister sounding ascending major 7 shell is definitely a Herbie trademark. It’s unclear whether he’s playing this all in his right hand, or whether he’s covering the bottom note with his left hand. Try them both!

Click on the image to expand:

Listen:


Further listening: Miles Davis Four and More (1964), Lee Morgan Ceora (1965), Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (1964), Inventions and Dimensions (1965), Headhunters (1973), Thrust (1974), and Mr. Hands (1980).

Posted by on November 1, 2011 in jazz education and tagged , .

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October 31, 2011

Compulsion Toward Obsessive-Compulsive Obsessiveness Disorder

I occasionally frequently develop transient obsessions. A few weeks ago I decided to spend a day avoiding my own reflection. This is a difficult task. It means walking head down into the bathroom, closing your eyes as you pass wall-sized mirrors. It means turning your eyes quickly from darkened glass and reflective eating utensils. You can’t imagine how many things effectively reflect an image until you try to avoid such items.

While exiting my car a few hours into this challenge, I instinctively glanced at the vehicle’s tinted windows. Eye contact! I let out a slight yelp, quickly turning away as if I had seen Medusa herself. Did this count? I blew it a few more times before the day ended. Like I said, it’s a hard endeavor and not a particularly rewarding one either, especially, I would imagine, for those with hair and sloppy eating habits.

Day two began with high hopes of repeating this game, to perfect it, but upon casually looking up at the mirror with a mouthful of toothpaste I realized the gig was up. I stared at myself for a long moment, then began shaving. Or some such activity I had skipped the day before.

***

Last week I met friends at a late night eatery after the year’s strangest musical engagement — playing for swing dancers at a chocolate confectionary in the Rice Village. They (my friends) were abuzz from seeing Michael Pollan speak. Pollan, best known for his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, is the great anti-sugar crusader, a prophet of good nutrition, a naysayer to the packaged food industry. They gave me a ten minute summation which included phrases like “most health food is a scam” and “do you ever check the sugar content of these so-called healthy items?

Steph and I have since become obsessed with reading the sugar contents on packages. It’s a new game, particularly at grocery stores, the two of us yelling out numbers like “40!” and “28!” I’ve been increasingly anti-sugar in general, but only in a vague “I should consume less sugar” sort of way. Now I have data. A sugar pack is about 5g. That protein drink I was downing post-workout? 38g of sugar!! By comparison, a 12oz can of coke has 39g. Those yummy Greek yogurts? 20g. The “all-natural” cereal? 18g.

It’s a conspiracy to kill and mame.

Your enemy:

C12H22O11

(which sort of looks like Medussa’s hair)

Posted by on October 31, 2011 in food, journal, rand-o-mat and tagged , .

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