New Toy
Well after many years of dealing with a bad tuner I finally took the time to buy a new one. I just picked up a new
Korg Orchestral Tuner the neat thing about it is that it has an adjustment for the meter (you can make it respond fast or slow, it also can echo back to you the note you just played. But the really great add-on I bought was the optional
clip on mic. It clips onto my instrument (leg of the bridge) and plugs into the regular 1/4 inch jack - using this setup I don't get the wandering needle syndrome when tuning in a loud room or when other people are playing.. If you are a musician you then you should definitely check it out (
horn players can use it to)!
Shirley Horn
As you probably know by now the great Shirley Horn passed away on October 20th.
Honestly I never really listened to a lot of Shirley Horn (I have mostly been focused on trios). Anyway I got ahold of a podcast from
James Knox and he spoke so eliquently about her that I had to start listening.
All I can say is WOW! As a musician it warms my innards to hear the woman.. It makes me extremely sad that I never got the chance to see her in person (damn I should move to San Francisco!)
James has also created a on-line radioblog of some of his most loved Shirley Horn music.. Check it out his disc 1!
My Shirley Horn Box Set - Disc 1So what am I going to do about discovering Shirley Horn (tounge-in-cheek). Well.. I'm going to go out and get a few albums and (particularly the one w/ Charlie Handen) and try to absorb them.. It's going to be a fun trip..
For more information on Shirley, you can check out the
Shirley Horn Discography Here is also a writeup on shrill (nicked this from James Knox's Site)
Jazz Veteran Shirley Horn Dies
By Bill Holland, Washington, D.C.
Shirley Horn, the Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist known for her intimate, whispery vocals and top-drawer piano playing, died yesterday (Oct. 20) at Gladys Spellman Nursing Home in Cheverly, Md., following an extended battle with diabetes. She was 71.
Always respected critically, Horn became an unlikely star in her 60s with a series of luminous albums for Verve Records throughout the 1990s. Accompanying herself at the piano, Horn and her trademark vocal style also became a major influence on younger jazz singer/pianists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones.
Horn was nominated for nine Grammys in the last decade. She won the best jazz vocal performance award in 1998 for her album "I Remember Miles," dedicated to her good friend and mentor Miles Davis.
On several of her Verve albums, she worked with top arranger Johnny Mandel. On others she augmented her trio with guest artists like Davis, Wynton and Bradford Marsalis, Gary Bartz and Toots Thielmanns.
Horn began playing piano at age 10. At 18, she was awarded a music scholarship to Juilliard, but financial difficulties kept her in D.C. After studying music at Howard University, she began her career in the late '50s as a pianist in local restaurants and nightclubs and eased into her role as a vocalist. She was a headliner at Washington's now-defunct One Step Down for more than 20 years.
In 1960, Davis coaxed Horn to open for him at New York's Village Vanguard after being captivated by her debut recording, "Embers and Ashes." That engagement led to a contract with Mercury Records, where she cut albums with Quincy Jones and other top arrangers. She also sang on the 1968 movie soundtracks of "For Love Of Ivy" and "A Dandy in Aspic."
Despite critical acclaim, Horn rarely toured, instead remaining in D.C. to raise her daughter. When Verve signed her in 1987, she was ready to expand her horizons. For her 1996 album "Main Ingredient" she convinced the brass at Verve to record her at her home in the nation's capitol. It was a casual affair.
As jazz royalty like drummer Elvin Jones and tenorman Joe Henderson and others arrived from New York at midday, Horn, brandy snifter in hand, invited them into her kitchen, which was packed with friends and food. As Jones said at the time, "When I wasn't playing, I was busy eating Shirley's beef and beer stew."
Horn previously told Billboard of the session, "I wanted it to be like the old days when folks would get off work at two or three, drop by my place, and play till dawn. Good company, good food, good music."
Horn cut back but did not stop touring in recent years due to her diabetic condition, which eventually resulted in the amputation of a foot. She is survived by her husband, a daughter and two grandsons.
Good Night Shirley....
Been a long time...With good reason!
Well it's been a long time since I have blogged about my musical journey.. I normally don't like to reveal personal information on the net (because as we all know there are plenty of wierdo's out there in cyberspace) but in February I had a huge life changing event occur..
My Wife and I had a beautiful baby girl.
She weighed 8lbs 3oz.. Perfectly healthy and full of life..
So (as you can imagine) music has taken a back seat to learning to be a parent! As a result I have come up with some great names for songs.. Some of the better ones are:
Daddy's Girl
Camille's Follies
Diaper Down
One From Two
Now that she is almost 6 months old I feel that I'm almost ready to get back to my musical journey to theoretical freedom and harmonic connectivity.. So world get ready!
Lemmie Backup
I would like to apologize, If you are reading my blog for the first time you probably would like a bit of history - Well here it goes..
[cue the music]
Early on I started playing instruments when I was in 1st grade - the school Iattended was really cool and encouraged (no, actually demanded) that youdo something musical.
Now somewhere around that time (+/- a few years) I played a recorder for about a 1/2 a year. Now I did this even thought I thought itwas really gross (because they would wash them out between students) - which leads me to string instruments.
I soon found out that if you wanted, you could dump the recorder for a violin. So there I was a young black kid (the only spot im class) - playing the violin.
The start of a great relationship!
Man,
Wednesday I had my first class, working session, discussion with TC, my theory mentor (thats a good title for him). We met at a local coffee shop and he really opened my mind with regards to music theory!!! Some of the things he mentioned I kind of knew (deep in the recesses in my mind) but somehow the way he explained everything really connected with me.
Our conversation included the following
- The structure of Major scales
- The definition of dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolean and locrean scales (wow, I remembered them in order!
- Notation
- Treble clef transcription (I used to know it)
Well.. at the end of our session TC had identified a lot of tasks that I need to work on.. I gotta write out all the modes of all the scales (in treble & bass clef), play them on my bass, memorize the cycle of 4ths/5ths, dissect a few standards and write out some rhythms!!! Whew, I'm gonna be a busy boy over the next few weeks..
Tonight is the night!
Well after a few fruitless attempts at writing music, I have decided that I need to take some theory lessons. To that end I located a Theory instructor (it took a lot of phone calls).
What do I hope to get out of this?? Well I'd like to be able to write a lot of the tunes that cycle through my head on a daily basis. For the most part they fall along the lines of a Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis and the like.. Who knows - maybe one day I'll be known as a 'Bassist & Songwriter'
... I digress - So tonight I have my first lesson - I hope all goes well...
The loss of a loved one..
I was really sad to hear today that my cousin Warren died yesterday in Copenhagen. During my early years I didn't really see much of him but as I grew older I began to understand the contribution that Warren had made to the Arts community.
Orignally from Detroit - Warren eventually landed with the
Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe and toured the world - using modern dance and his body as the brush, and the stage as his canvas. Last year (for our honeymoon) my wife and I spent a week with Warren and Karsten in Copenhagen and we had the best time - the love, the support and the energy recharged us and made us feel warm!! I would imagine if I could talk to him right now that he was agree that he led a wonder-
full life and lived life to the utmost - Warren we miss you!
For those of you who read this who are not friends or close family - If you want to read more about Warren, you can
click here for his website, here for his
PlaybillArts Obituary,
Detroit News Obituary,
Cleveland Plain Dealer (1/4 down page).
Warren Spears
5/2/1955 - 1/8/2005
