Free For All

Those antlers must create a lot of wind resistance.

What's the matter, Guy? Had enough of Intellectual Property and decide to move on to Intelligent Primates?

BTW Brad, my intent was not to hijack your thread; I thought these two artists were so closely related it might be OK to include them both here rather than start another thread that would probably have similar content.

Today is also Billy Higgins' birthday. Blakey and Higgins, two of the best of all-time. Between the two of them they did much to define the Blue Note sound. Salute, gentlemen.

Sounds do-able depending on how long it takes to get mics placed and get sounds. My advice is to do no more than a couple passes (definitely no more than three) at each tune before going to the next one. In my experience after a couple tries you start to second-guess yourself and basically start to think too much- spontaneity inevitably declines. Move on to the next tune and come back later for additional attempts. If you're making demos to use for shopping for gigs the cuts should be fairly succinct and not too rambling, although you could always edit a longer take for the purpose of a demo. If this is just for your own pleasure stretch to your heart's content! Good luck JK! Keep us informed of your progress!

I'm hoping the gig and/or the hang were documented w/some postable pictures.

Wow, I'll admit I didn't know he was still around. He was a very funny man; I saw him on many shows when I was younger. RIP

Thank you Brownie! While we're at it, wasn't there another recording circulating of Clifford practicing or something like that? Maybe giving a lesson? Is it worth pursuing?

Brownie?

Have some fun with Dubya (use left click for control)

Bueller?

Anyone heard it?

I would also be interested to hear from those who have heard either one. Both look interesting!

People always ask that question at clinics and such, and I've thought about it a lot. My answer is along the lines of "My goal is to not think so much. My goal is to be able to spontaneously react to the music, the other musicians and myself by freeing my conscious mind from dealing with fundamental issues". Obviously not all of these fundamental issues are within your control, but many are, specifically those connected with playing your instrument, and knowing and accessing to the appropriate vocabulary. I don't want to think consciously about how to play the instrument, or scales/modes/chords, or time or form. I think one of the most important reasons we practice is to get a lot of these things happening on a subconscious level. I want to close my eyes and listen to the music, and react accordingly. All those aforementioned things need to happen automatically. I like to use the analogy of driving a car- the first time you drive, you're very self-conscious about doing everything correctly and are focused on all the individual tasks. At some point those things become automatic and you just get in and go w/o thinking about it. If something is wrong with time or form or something else (and it may not necessarily be your problem), conscious thought has to be focused upon those fundamentals, and a higher level of group interaction is delayed if not aborted. It's like a plane taxi-ing on the runway but is too heavy to take off. I sometimes have dreams about playing in a situation where there are no obstacles at all between my imagination and what's coming out the bell of my horn. Those dreams are invigorating and lead me to believe that "if you can dream it, it's possible". That's the kind of thing that is an antidote to feelings of frustration or discouragement and encourages those practice sessions.

The main reason I play nearly every day is that as a brass player I can't lay off very long before the "chops" start to deteriorate. What takes weeks or months to build up can disappear in days, so a lot of my practice is what I refer to as "maintenance"- exercises to build up the chops and work on technique. I frequently do this practicing while watching sports(or something) w/the sound off (like watching TV at the gym while doing cardio stuff). The practicing I do beyond that is when I need to really concentrate (TV off!) and focus. Like I said before, more is not necessarily better- whatever keeps you within sight of your goals. Everyone here who plays knows how long they can lay off before it starts to affect their playing.

Yes, both very good books. For some reason I connected more with the Inner Game tennis book more than the music version. Not sure why- I do play tennis, but I don't think that's at all a prerequisite to benefitting from the book. Check 'em both out. Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery is also a good read along similar lines.

We'll see if there is a post #2. Then I'll jump on the welcome wagon. In the meantime, Evan's doing a great job at the ol' Organissimo Chamber of Commerce. EDIT: Catesta, on the other hand...........................

***BAD PUN WARNING*** It's set in a restaraunt, so I'd guess they're waiting for good dough.

I try to get in a couple hours per day on my axe. I also am currently doing a lot of writing/arranging and that probably ranges from 2-4 hours per day. I teach about 8 hours per week. Any "idle time" (in the car, at the gym, walking the dog etc.) is spent THINKING about the above as well as listening to music. This "idle" time is often some of the most productive, especially in regard to writing/arranging. Without the horn or piano (which can often end up being obstacles to the creative process) I "hear" the music only in my head and frequently find solutions reveal themselves more readily; it's easy to get caught up in voicings/theory/technique and overlook musical/melodic/rhythmic issues. I've read about this and have heard it referred as "creative visualization". It also ties in with some aspects of Zen, which are detailed in some of the "Inner Game" books (The Inner Game of Tennis is not about music, but the concepts relate directly to music and it was one of the most helpful books I've ever read). My instrumental practice time is sacred because I get to focus on playing and hopefully shut out the distractions for awhile. This is sometimes hard to do, but it's a good exercise in itself. It teaches you to be able to "turn on" the process of concentration quickly. One can practice for 12 hours a day and get less out of it than one who practices 2 hours a day- quantity does not guarantee quality.

Not much to add to what Sangrey said! I think a lot of your musical options will depend on the goals of the group- if you looking at this as a means to make money, then you will need to be prepared to play in an "appropriate" manner to satisfy the needs of a variety of circumstances (audience, club owner, type of gig etc.), perhaps sometimes in a manner you might feel is comprimising your goals. I'm not talking about pop tunes or anything like that; I mean you might be playing jazz standards in a environment where it might not be appropriate to go too far "out". I'm not saying you shouldn't try things, but sometimes you have to pick and choose when it is appropriate. When money meets art compromise becomes an issue. If you are playing purely for your own enjoyment "appeasing an audience" would obviously be less of a priority. That being said, I think (and this is my opinion) and have always thought that all roads to playing "out" must first pass through some other disciplines, like bebop for example. I've heard players who have chosen to play out because they were simply too lazy (or chose not) to deal with fundamentals of jazz harmony, phrasing, rhythmic variation etc. Someone like Ornette to me obviously has studied bop, blues etc. and it comes out in his playing. Then there are also a lot of players who in my opinion are bullshit artists. I think of bebop as comparable to baroque music- very structured, melodic, sequential, sometimes fairly narrowly defined. I think every player should study bebop (and baroque for that matter- I consider studying Bach's Cello Suites on trombone as some of my most significant jazz study!). The problem, and this is where jazz education is justly criticized IMHO, is when these "discplines" are taught not as a means to an end, but and end in and of themself. It's important to study and master styles, but the next step should be to use these skills to further the music, explore something new. Many music schools ignore that last step, and that's why there are so many "clones" graduating from jazz programs. Always be open to exploration, but study all the styles of music (this is the "apprenticeship" that Sangrey refers to). Be ready to go in whatever direction the musical moment dictates. It's just like developing a vocabulary. I've said this before, but Clark Terry puts what I'm trying to say very succinctly: "IMITATE - ASSIMILATE - INNOVATE"

Just bumped this up in hopes of further discussion.

One of my favorites! He plays great on this:

No "hang chops" here! What, do you "have a life" or something? 11:30 is when the hang BEGINS! How often do you get the chance to hang w/the boys? You can sleep when you're dead! Sorry, Kevin, just bustin' yer ballz. Go on to bed now Mary.

From the thread title I thought maybe she had "switched teams".

Get 'em both. The first is better, but they're both excellent, even if you're not a big Bennett fan. If you are a fan, this is some of the best Tony IMHO- he and Bill hook up very well.