By Wednesday, current students should be receiving the annual summer band mailing with details about the new year, such as some calendar dates, curriculum info, marching band camp, and my not so gentle reminder to become reacquainted with your musical instrument. I've actually been somewhat busier than usual with my saxophone over the past two months. While at the Wisconsin Comprehensive Musicianship workshop, I played every day in the demonstration rehearsals. My favorite session had me sight-transposing the alto clef viola parts to alto sax on orchestra day. Then, this past Sunday, I played in a combo for a jazz service at church. We had our contemporary worship pastor on piano, along with drums, bass, trumpet, trombone, and myself. One of the three singers was my daughter, who is a regular in the group. I got to write out some horn arrangements for a number of the pieces and do some improvising as well. It was interesting doing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" as a 5/4 Latin and "Ode to Joy" as a big-band swing tune. (Neither were my idea--I just did the voicings).
Anyway, I hope you are practicing now and then and enjoying yourself wherever you are!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
July Jazz Listening
Here you go, Jazz Band members! Listen and reply by email. Enjoy!
For your July dose of jazz listening, I want you to begin with some big band music. Remember, 99% of the high schools in America have a big band as their main ensemble. That means 5 saxes, 5 trumpets, 5 trombones, and rhythm. Everybody plays off of sheet music, just like in concert band, and there are a few students who improvise. The focus (usually) is on learning the charts, note for note, with proper jazz style, blend, and balance. At its worst, it becomes the same thing as a concert band rehearsal. Our model focuses on everybody learning to improvise and creating our own arrangements of classic jazz combo tunes.
In any case, you should be familiar with the big band style and sound, and the Count Basie Orchestra is a great place to start. His album, Straight Ahead, is a classic, and it is filled with tunes that high school bands play often. After listening, write me an email about how this differs from a typical combo recording and provide your own thoughts and opinions.
If you have never listened to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, please read on. You don't need to do album three. If you know the album well, skip to recording number three.
This album is considered by many critics and jazz aficionados to be the greatest/most important album of all time. Listen to how the three main horn soloists, Miles Davis on trumpet, Cannonball Adderley on alto, and John Coltrane on tenor, differ in their approaches. Compare the two pianists, Wynton Kelly on "Freddie Freeloader" and Bill Evans on all the other tracks. Notice how the chord progressions move very slowly, especially in "So What." This was the birth of modal jazz, when Miles and others decided to focus on improvising interesting melodies by limiting the number of chord changes they had to navigate. That allowed them ample time to explore a single scale or mode. After listening, write up your thoughts about the three horns, two pianists, and any other thoughts you might have.
If you've already explored Kind of Blue in the past, listen to this greatest hits package by pianist/composer Thelonious Monk. His tunes are some of the most often played in all of jazz, and his playing style is very individual. Note how he uses clusters (dissonant bunches of closely-spaced notes), little flourishes on whole tone scales, and a very punchy touch on the keyboard. He is also a master of rhythmic displacement, meaning he will play a lick on one beat of a bar and then repeat it on another beat in a later bar, giving it a new perspective. You'll especially hear this in the main theme of "Straight No Chaser." Write up your impressions of his playing and tell me about one or two of your favorite tunes.
For your July dose of jazz listening, I want you to begin with some big band music. Remember, 99% of the high schools in America have a big band as their main ensemble. That means 5 saxes, 5 trumpets, 5 trombones, and rhythm. Everybody plays off of sheet music, just like in concert band, and there are a few students who improvise. The focus (usually) is on learning the charts, note for note, with proper jazz style, blend, and balance. At its worst, it becomes the same thing as a concert band rehearsal. Our model focuses on everybody learning to improvise and creating our own arrangements of classic jazz combo tunes.
In any case, you should be familiar with the big band style and sound, and the Count Basie Orchestra is a great place to start. His album, Straight Ahead, is a classic, and it is filled with tunes that high school bands play often. After listening, write me an email about how this differs from a typical combo recording and provide your own thoughts and opinions.
If you have never listened to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, please read on. You don't need to do album three. If you know the album well, skip to recording number three.
This album is considered by many critics and jazz aficionados to be the greatest/most important album of all time. Listen to how the three main horn soloists, Miles Davis on trumpet, Cannonball Adderley on alto, and John Coltrane on tenor, differ in their approaches. Compare the two pianists, Wynton Kelly on "Freddie Freeloader" and Bill Evans on all the other tracks. Notice how the chord progressions move very slowly, especially in "So What." This was the birth of modal jazz, when Miles and others decided to focus on improvising interesting melodies by limiting the number of chord changes they had to navigate. That allowed them ample time to explore a single scale or mode. After listening, write up your thoughts about the three horns, two pianists, and any other thoughts you might have.
If you've already explored Kind of Blue in the past, listen to this greatest hits package by pianist/composer Thelonious Monk. His tunes are some of the most often played in all of jazz, and his playing style is very individual. Note how he uses clusters (dissonant bunches of closely-spaced notes), little flourishes on whole tone scales, and a very punchy touch on the keyboard. He is also a master of rhythmic displacement, meaning he will play a lick on one beat of a bar and then repeat it on another beat in a later bar, giving it a new perspective. You'll especially hear this in the main theme of "Straight No Chaser." Write up your impressions of his playing and tell me about one or two of your favorite tunes.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Summer Marching Band Update
Hey, Warrior Marching Band members! Please check your school email accounts for a message from me about possible tunes for our first show. I could use your input on a couple of ideas. Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
