Tuesday Album Covers: Back With A Vengence

The Art of Devotion

I've found myself lately in a musical rut. I hadn't been able to find the appropriate amount of time to practice my horn at what I consider an "efficient" level.

I hate saying that phrase "find the time to practice" because I do agree with most that, that phrase is bull shit. However, I stick the word "appropriate" in there to show that I am coming from another point of view.

What I am trying to say is that my desire to excel at my instrument is a complete obsession. There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think about playing...in fact I'm doing it right now.

About a month ago I felt like, with the help of Dr. Henderson, I was getting to a whole new level. Then soon after, felt like I was plateauing and not getting better. Then all last week and a little before I felt stagnate; the tunes I had started working on still unlearned and the concepts I wanted under my fingers not accomplished.

I decided this week to buckle down and no matter how many hours I've worked, how many distractions I have, to give my horn the "appropriate" time. I noticed that in the last two days how good playing has made me feel. Usually by Wednesday I am completely zombified. Not today, today I feel good.

My religion is to my craft. The craft of making music and finding solace in what I have devoted my life to do.

Tuesday Album Covers: Tom Harrell

You would never suspect by this photo, that there is a troubled mind behind that horn.

This is the best picture I could find, but I insist you check out his new album.

The Bare Necessities

Happy Wednesday Folks!!

I am sure if anyone actually checks this blog they must notice the influx of posts recently....Well I have been trying a little harder so there.

Last night I was the first rehearsal of a Flamenco band I was recruited for out of New Haven. Some serious cats in this band! The instrumentation is me on brass, classical guitar, cello and tablas and tunes written by the members. The group sounded great! Even with tunes fluctuating between 9/8 to 7/8 to 5/8 to 3/4 meter in one section of music, it has been nonetheless enjoyable and challenging. Stay tuned, we have a performance coming up soon!

So i have been showing the Jungle Book to my students this week because at first I was behind on my grades and such and thought I deserved, and so did the kids, a little break. Well this has become quite a hit in class. I have kids dancing and singing in class. Its funny how some things work so well with them when something very similar doesn't. For instance, I did a rhythmic lesson with them last week using the rhythms from West Side Story's tune "America" and the kids loved it. We chanted, clapped and moved to the switching rhythmic groups that make up the song. Then I showed West Side Story and the kids lashed out in complete revolt!! I put on a cartoon no matter how old and they get so into it.....

...or is it because the Jungle Book just has amazing music to it??

The Bare Necessities is by far one of the best, catchiest songs ever composed. It puts me in such a good mood every time I hear it!! The kids have been singing it in the hallways. Its like God Damn Sesame Street in the building!!

Any way, enjoy your hump day folks, go download the Bare Necessities and scratch your back, the weekend is almost here.

The effect of an album

Over the course of my CD collecting years I have obtain a fair amount of listening material. Starting with my early obsession of punk rock records including local and national acts, to my Miles Davis record grabbing in High School, to my religious allegiance to Blue Note in college, my conversion to Impulse in Grad school, and my search for new and original music in adulthood, I have been delving my ability to listen to every sound I can find.

Some albums of course I often return to with a consistent feeling of awe and amazement. One such album is Herbie Hancock's The Prisoner from 1969, featuring Johnny Coles, Joe Henderson, Garnett Brown, Buster Williams, Tootie Heath and others mixing the sounds of then Herbie's sextet which pre-dates the Mwandishi band with a nonet sound with added bass trombone, alto flute and bass clarinet.

I remember buying this album very late in my Herbie collection. I must have been 23 or so and I had been so eager to obtain all of Herbie's catalog, and two albums from the blue era were left: Speak Like a Child and The Prisoner.

A friend had burnt me a copy of Speak Like a Child and I can still feel the disappointment I had felt when I first listened to it. It is another sextet album with Thad Jones on Flugelhorn and he didn't even solo! None of the horns soloed in fact and I remember that driving me crazy. I had read how Herbie used the horns as a textural effect and during that period I was so mad. I felt like it was a tease of an album. Later as my ears matured I grew to love the album and one of its tracks, "Toys" became my favorite jazz composition to play.

I was hesitant to get the next album for fear of more disappointment, so for a year or so I put off getting it. When I finally did, and I am sure it was victim of impulse buying, I loved it. It was the first time I had heard Johnny Coles and thought his playing was so perfect for the sounds the band was making. Joe Henderson proves over and over he can play in any style or form and sound as buoyant as ever. The texture the horns make over the playing and the grooving are mesmerizing and Herbie's use of the fender rhodes is so cool you crave to hear it.

The tunes have great melodies and this brings me to my point. It seems the tunes on this album are being played more and more by modern players. Just recently on his debut release, Drummer Dana Hall plays "I Have a Dream." It is clear that the sounds of the original are so modern even all these years later that the tunes when played now, sound like they were written tomorrow.

These tunes seem to get within my soul, I feel hypnotized every time I hear them. Pretty funny for an album that I procrastinated.

Here are some recordings from recent albums that feature tracks from "The Prisoner:"

I Have a Dream; Dana Hall-Into the Light

Firewater; Jim Rotondi-New Vistas

The Prisoner; Uri Cane-Toys

from Speak Like a Child

Toys; Uri Cane-Toys

Speak Like a Child; Kendrick Scott-Reverence

Tuesday Album Covers: One Sexy Motherfucker

My hero Eddie Henderson released a series of albums in the mid to late 70's that were in the cross and blend of disco and funky jazz. Apparently these albums were a hit in the UK and still are over there.

No one seems to remember the actual covers.

Love You Doc.

This is the back cover.

Tuesday Album Cover

With the upcoming Spring Heeled Jack reunion this spring, I thought I would share one of my favorite album covers in rock.