Recently in Jazz News Category

I'll be facilitating a "Survey of Jazz Styles" class at the Third Street Center, Carbondale, CO., June 16th, 2011, from 6:30-8:30. For information on attending, click here. The following, is a tentative outline for the class.

A necessarily succinct survey of jazz styles, with guest, Bob Levey.

We'll listen to and put a little context to the following styles of jazz:

• Blues (call and response)
• • Mississippi Fred McDowell; "Soon ONe Mornin'"
• Traditional Jazz (Hot Jazz)
• • Louis Armstrong; "West End Blues"
• Swing
• • Duke Ellington; "It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Don't Have That Swing"
  • Coleman Hawkins; "Body And Soul"
• Bebop
• • Bob Levey; Stories about Stan Levey, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, etc.
  • Bebop; Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Levey, Stan Getz, etc
  • Charlie Parker; Just Friends
• Hard Bop
• • Doodlin'; Horace Silver & The Jazz Messengers
  • Joy Spring; Clifford Brown - performed by Bob and Tim
  • Giant Steps; John Coltrane
• Modal Jazz
• • So What; Miles Davis
• Avant Gaurd/Free Jazz
• • Acknowledgment; John Coltrane
• Jazz Fusion
• • Birdland; Weather Report
• Some of today's artists and their "amalgamated" music
• • Joe Lovano
  • Tim Hagans
  • Kenny Werner

My notes on Jazz Styles - click here.
My Diigo Jazz Appreciation list of links - click here.
My Diigo Webslide show - click here.
My Jazz Appreciation Bibliography - click here.

Always have your stuff when you need it with @Dropbox. 2GB account is free! http://db.tt/yrF28xq

I use Dropbox for a bunch of stuff. I can:

• put a file (e.g. a pdf) from my computer in to Dropbox, and read it later on my iPhone
• put a pdf of sheet music in to Dropbox, and play from it on an iPad
  
• do an "offsite" backup of important files
  
• share files that are too big to share as email attachments
• share file systems with other Dropbox users

Download it and install it from here: http://db.tt/yrF28xq

We'll be firing up the Roaring Fork Jazz workshop again in late September or early October 2010. Until then, keep woodshedding those bebop scales!

On Monday, September 15, we're going to fire up the Jazz Workshop again.  We'll meet from 6:00 until 8:00, and make a plan for the fall.

Here's a little video that I'd like to share of me playing with a little trumpeter.  Note her complete lack of inhibition, and how closely she listens and watches.  She, without any prior knowledge of jazz practices, is hanging in there with trading fours.  Okay, so the notes aren't quite there, but she plays with such reckless abandon, and has some serious phrasing going on.  After the session, I wondered who learned more, ALG or me.

Thanks to Carol K. picture taken Summer 2008, at Steve's Guitars in Carbondale, CO.

I'm going to adjust the RF Jazz Workshop's schedule a little bit.  I'd like to continue the 1st and 3rd Mondays at the new Roaring Fork High School band room, as usual, but change the format a bit.

First of all, I'd like to make clear that, at this point, the Workshop is just that.  It's not a rehearsal for a band.  It's more like a group lesson in jazz improvisation.  If you all get inspired to make some connections, and start a group, that's awesome!  I hope that the Workshop will help equip you with some foundational skills to make your group sensational.

OK.  Now for the schedule.  I'd like to have the High School students and adult beginner/intermediates meet from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM.  Then from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM, have a group practice session, which I'll lead.  I'm going to treat it as I would my own practice sessions, focusing on a creative approach toward working on scales, tunes, and improv.  If you'd like to sit in, you're welcome.  It'll be geared toward advanced stuff, so watch out!

See you on April 7th!

OK. OK. It's been a long time.  Here's what's new.

We've been doing the workshop all Fall and Winter, and have been steadily working towards learning theory and ways to put it to practice.  We've been doing a lot of ear training and practicing scales.

Tonight we had a parent bring pizza, so we sat around, and talked theory.  We looked at chord symbol nomenclature, and the common substitutions and alterations for the Major, minor, and Dominant chord/scales.  Then we put the dorian minor scales to use in a three chord 24 measure exercise.  We had each player play entirely solo, with no accompaniment, and try to make clear melodic, and rhythmic statements in minor.

Tomorrow, Tuesday night, we're playing at Steve's Guitars, in Carbondale, from 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM.  Bob Levey will be on drums (and Bob's brother will sit in on drums, too), Mark Gray will play bass, Justin Pfeiffer will play piano, and I'll play trumpet.  Should be fun.  Hope to see you there.

I heard Pat Metheny, Brad Meldau, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard last night in Grand Junction, CO. The concert was the quartet's first since their recent formation. It was enlightening to see how well prepared these world class musicians were. They played with no intermission for over 2 hours. I was struck by what a good musical pair Pat and Brad make. Their penchant for building melodies from each tune's thematic material made for some high moments of collaboration, and exploration (even on the first gig!) As my friend Michelle put it after the concert, "Mmmm... that was yummy!"

Starting next week, March 5th, 2007, we'll be hosting a jam session at Dos Gringos, in Carbondale, from 6:00 until 8:30. The session will, hopefully be a bi-weekly event. At 6:00 the "house rhythm section" (Tim Fox, pn.; Mark Gray, bs; and Bob Levey, dr.) will play a short set. At 6:30, high school students will be invited to join the session for a set. After the students (7:15?), adults will be invited to join the session until 8:30, or so.

Here's a short list of tunes we may choose from (the following files are PDFs. Sorry, you'll have to supply the transposition):

Bernie's Tune - Theolonius Monk

CTA Jimmy Heath

All Blues - Miles Davis

The Jody Grind - Horace Silver

Just Friends - Klenner and Lewis

What Is This Thing Called Love - Cole Porter

Whisper Not - Benny Golson

We may be able to keep our "workshop atmosphere" at this venue... we'll see. Hope to see you all there!