Ravinia--Summer Music Under the Stars

Those of us here on Chicago's North Shore are blessed with one of America's truly great summer music fests, Ravinia. Located in a beautiful park setting in a neighborhood just east of us in Highland Park, their eclectic line-up, quality sound system, and great dining choices make this a wonderful place to spread out a blanket and soak up great music under the stars. You can sit in the pavilion if you have the cash for the ticket, but I enjoy plunking down $10 or so and sitting on the lawn. The parking is pricey ($10-20), so I suggest parking in one of their shuttle lots along the train tracks on St. Johns. A free bus brings you directly to the park. Plan to arrive a couple of hours before show time to enjoy a meal and social time with friends! Look for some of your friends from band who are working as ushers this summer (what a great job!).

After perusing the schedule, I'd like to recommend the following events to my students:

Classical

• June 18, Music of Handel
• July 12, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, with actual cannons! (This will be very crowded--arrive early!)
• July 18, Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Probably also very crowded)
• July 19, Mahler's 9th Symphony (two ninths in two nights!)
• July 24, Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays Gershwin and Bernstein (West Side Story Dances!)
• July 25, Dvorak's New World Symphony (this is probably where John Williams got the Jaws movie theme)
• August 9, James Galway (one of the greatest flutists in history!) with the CSO

Jazz/Pop/World

• June 12, Ramsey Lewis (Chicago jazz legend) and his tribute to Abraham Lincoln
• July 1, Femi Kuti and King Sunny Ade, two African pop legends, guaranteed to get you dancing ($16 lawn tickets)
• August 11, James Galway (see above) playing Cuban and French jazz
• September 2, Kurt Elling (incredible jazz singer) and Ernie Watts recreate a famous John Coltrane with vocals album

If you want more information, click here for the official Ravinia website.

Memorial Day 2009

It was a beautiful day in downtown Deerfield, surprisingly so when past Memorial Days have featured thunderstorms or 90 degree heat. A rare, comfortably cool fourth Monday in May as the Warrior Marching Band once again traveled to Jewett Park for the American Legion's annual commemoration of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedoms. As usual, there were speeches made and honors bestowed, the band played our national anthem, and several alums stopped by to say hello. Recent alums like Ethan Kaplan (trumpet '08) and long graduated alums like Jerry Madden (alto sax '90). Army veteran Frank Harrison (baritone sax '92) carried a flag in the Legion's color guard as he has for several years. I spotted Herb and Vivian Landon, parents of Erica (trombone/drum major '92) along the parade route, and Bruce Stupple, retired DHS art teacher greeted me as well. It is always good to see old friends.

As we have for the past several years, we marched to the tune of "America On Parade." This is an arrangement I did a number of years ago that combines our "American the Beautiful" pregame entrance music with "Battle Hymn of the Republic." I originally put it together for the band to play in the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival parade competition. (If you're too young to know about that, it was an almost sacred event for the band each October). My favorite part of Memorial Day, however, is when we get to the cemetery just south of downtown. The drum majors, two senior buglers, and I join the queue of Legionnaires and scouts as they read the names of Deerfield residents who have died in America's many wars. It's an impressive list, beginning with a man who gave his life during the War of 1812 and ending with several names of men who died in Vietnam. I can't help but imagine that some of the latter were DHS grads who enlisted or were drafted right out of school. After the last name is read, three Legionnaires fire three volleys into the air with their rifles. Then our buglers, this year Josh Sacks and Max Polisky, play an echo version of Taps. Afterwards, there is a benediction and we parade back to the Legion Hall.

All in all, from the time we arrive at DHS to warm-up until the last uniform is checked in for the year, we spend less than three hours on this activity. While most students are sleeping in or relaxing at their family cottage, the marching band members are taking time out to pay tribute to the brave men and women who laid down their lives that we might enjoy our peace and prosperity. From Gettysburg to Normandy, from Iraq to Afghanistan, whether you agree with the politics of a given war or not, over one million Americans have given their lives in service of our country. And three hours on a holiday is a very small gesture for us to make in return.

Dissertation Update

I reached an important milestone with my doctoral dissertation yesterday. The whole process has been a series of these "red-letter days." The first came at the end of 2008 when I finished my last class. The second came in April 2009 when I passed my eight hours of qualifying exams. Then I spent all of last summer writing the 130-page proposal that spells out exactly what I plan to study. After attending a 10-day residency at Boston University in August, working with my professors and six colleagues, honing my plan, discussing the finer points of research, and doing a lot of reading and rewriting, my proposal was accepted by my professors, which means I was officially "ABD" ("all but dissertation"). My next step was approval by the Institutional Review Board.

The "IRB" reviews all proposals to make sure we researchers are using sound methods and not endangering our subjects. They looked over my work and returned it to me in October with specific questions and requests. I was able to answer all of them to their satisfaction, but I needed some supporting documentation from the state music education organizations. I finally received those letters late this spring and was able to resend my packet to the IRB. After one last minor edit, I was notified yesterday that I had passed this final hurdle and can finally begin my work in earnest. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, my major data collection instrument is a survey of high school band directors, which I now won't be able to undertake until the fall. This puts my time line about a year behind schedule, but at least I can now see a clear path forward. Luckily for me, I am still passionate about my topic, which is Comprehensive Musicianship. This refers to the teaching of diverse musical disciplines in an integrated fashion. In other words, band students can learn history, theory, and composition as part of the rehearsal process for a piece of music. If you've been in the Deerfield HS band program, you know that I have tried to do this to some extent over the years. Some directors have developed programs in which they do this in a very organized and intentional manner. I will be looking to determine just how much band directors know about this topic and how many of them engage in CM teaching. I'll be updating my blog readers throughout the process of my research. Stay tuned!

Free Music Samplers from Amazon

Amazon.com, still a relatively new player in the online music market, is carving out quite a niche for itself with the release of several free samplers from various record companies. A lot of it is indie rock, so if you are into that, you can check out a wide variety of new tracks. There is also a variety of other genres available as well. They are giving these collections away, no doubt, in an attempt to entice you to buy more music by the featured artists. It's a great way to explore records that you might not otherwise hear. Three of my favorites:

The Koch Records jazz sampler is a mixed bag, with some instrumentals, some vocals, and a bit of smooth jazz. I do, however, really like the tracks by Vinicius Cantuaria (some nice samba), Jason Miles (a cover of "Stolen Moments"), and Jenny Scheinman (jazz violin).

I'm always looking for interesting music from cultures beyond my own, so any world music sampler is highly appreciated. The Rough Guide series is an excellent introduction to exotic sounds. This small sampler of their many, many discs goes from Guinea, South Africa, and Madagascar to Latin America and Arabia with a nice variety of Afropop and salsa.

Finally, Daptone Records offers some great funk and soul that sounds like it's straight out of the 1970s. If you want to hear some greasy horn vamps and hip vocals, check this one out!

Click on any of the album covers to go to the webpage and start downloading!

Jazz Nite 09

Come one, come all to this year's edition of Jazz Nite, on Wednesday, April 29, at 7:30 in the Deerfield High School auditorium! The Jazz Band will perform the world premiere of Geoff Shell's composition "Twilight," as well as three jazz classics: "Red Clay" by Freddie Hubbard, "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday, and "Moanin'" by Charles Mingus (not to be confused with the Bobby Timmons tune of the same name). In addition, the Monday and Tuesday Afternoon Jazz groups will each play a set. The ever-popular Choraliers and various vocal soloists will be singing some favorite numbers from the Great American Songbook of the 1930s and '40s, and the Jazz Band and Choraliers will open and close the show together in spectacular fashion. We hope to have a big crowd--it's a great concert paper opportunity for all you sophomores and juniors!

Unexpected Music

We should all enjoy life this much!

I feel this way when the Jazz Band takes over the front lobby on the day before vacation. When was the last time you made music or danced where it was unexpected? We should all do this more often!

The Joy of Vinyl

Many of you reading this post are considered part of Generation Y, or the Millenials. I myself am on the tail end of the Baby Boom. Therefore, while I have very fond memories of vinyl phonograph records, also known as LPs (for long-playing), you are better acquainted with the CD, that staple of Generation X. Many of you, however, probably own few CDs and store most of your music collection digitally on hard drives, mp3 players, and cell phones. It is to you that I address this post about the Joys of Vinyl.

When I was a kid in the early 70s, I listened to WLS, 890 on your AM dial. Yep, we kids listened to our top 40 music on an AM (meaning non-stereo) radio station. FM was for cool college kids and aging hippies. We used to collect 45s, which were 7" records with one song (the one you really liked) on side A and another (an obscure album cut you'd never heard of) on side B. They were usually 79, 89, or 99 cents at the local department store. We'd hear a song we liked (typically over and over), and then run down to the store and spend our allowance on such classics as "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers or "Loves Me Like a Rock" by Paul Simon.

As I got into junior high school and had a larger allowance, I began to discover the LP record album. This was a two-sided collection of several songs by an artist. My tastes had moved into groups like Chicago and Foreigner, re-releases of classic rock like Jimi Hendrix, and jazz artists like Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck. I would get my dad to take me to Rose Records on Milwaukee Road in Niles where they had a huge selection of titles, and I always looked for the $4.99 specials. This was the beginning of my record collection.

Now for those of you who don't know about LPs, here are several reasons why they are cooler than CDs:

1) They have two sides of 18-22 minutes each. Artists worked to craft a cohesive statement for Side A (begin with a attention grabber, end with a rocker) and one for Side B (start with something a little more daring or experimental, end with an anthemic rocker). CDs, on the other hand, are one, 70-minute long statement that often includes a lot of filler tunes that never would have made it onto the tighter, more focused LP format.

2) The album art is on a much larger canvas (roughly 150 square inches vs. 22.5). This becomes very noticeable when you look at a classic album cover like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and compare it to the minuscule CD version. When you sit down and look at an LP cover, it fills your lap. Also, artists would occasionally put a full-sized wall poster in the record jacket like Prince did with Purple Rain.

3) Many audiophiles (people who really, really love their music and can discern minute differences in sound quality) will tell you that the analog sound on an LP is warmer and more accurate than the digital sound on a CD.

Granted, there are some reasons why CDs are better--portability, durability (records sound scratchy pretty quickly), "ripability" (you can put them on the computer fairly easily), and availability of players. However, most people my age and older have a special place in their hearts for vinyl records.

If you would like to explore vinyl records in all their glory, then you are in luck! This Saturday, April 18, is Record Store Day all across America. If you go to your local independent record store, you'll be able to buy all sorts of cool, limited edition vinyl, produced just for this event. Click on the logo below to find a participating store near you!