Around ten years ago I sat down to transcribe the first track off Bill Holman's first major self-led big band album "In a Jazz Orbit," and before I knew it I had written out all 9 tracks. I had been listening to that record over and over for years and ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3pt4p1ZjrI Despite the four-deep horn section, Skunk Hollow Blues has a three-part counterpoint on the head, some solo space with simple riff backgrounds, and one of the gnarliest shout sections of the swing era, all at a tempo perfect for beginner dancers and written with utmost efficiency. Written by ...
Communication is a critical component of the success of a big band, and without, a band can easily crash and burn, or at the least, waste a lot of time and goodwill. Difference between "jazz" and a "jazz orchestra" “Jazz” implies improvisation and spontanaeity. This is often true in the ...
Before we get going here, let's get one thing out of the way. If you have an opinion of Robin Thicke, get it out of your system right now, because this case isn't about him. He's creepy. Fine. Are we done smugging it up about how much better we are ...
Flying Lotus’s latest album, “You’re Dead!” is stunning. One of the best albums of music to be released this year. If you haven’t listened to it yet, get on it. Most of the tracks stuck with me in some way, but one that hit me hardest on the first pass ...
I got an email today promoting the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, a 4-day event located in Rockville, Maryland in mid-February. I hadn't heard of the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, but the roster looked pretty good. I was mainly intrigued by their first annual "'Jazz Voice' Vocal Competition." I am not a singer, ...
For two weeks in September 1948, the Miles Davis Nonet, a semi-informal group of young jazz musicians coming of age in the early days of bebop, played a live set, about an hour or so long, of newly-composed music that would ultimately be a significant contribution to the evolution of ...
Earlier this summer I sat down to transcribe a wishlist tune I had discovered on my favorite Youtube account, a tune called “Flying the Coop,” recorded by Chubby Jackson’s band in 1950. I soon picked up a full album of Jackson’s band and proceeded to get all of the recordings ...
