jazz

Baroque Influenced Improvisation

Submitted by Jon De Lucia on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 00:01

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Cantata 159 by JS Bach - Luce Trio

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Lascia Ch'io Pianga by GF Handel - Luce Trio

In line with Emma Sky's post from September, on the topic of combining hip hop with classical training, I would like to discuss my new project, the Luce Trio. We are three musicians with a jazz background, performing the music of Bach, Handel and John Dowland.

I have in the past few years had a growing interest in early music, finding that much of my time it is all I will listen to for weeks. I had been working out the problem of how I could bring it into my performance repertoire, without having any connections to the classical world or any real experience playing with chamber ensembles. I decided to start my own group with musicians that I felt could interpret this music in their own way.

Thus began the Luce Trio, featuring fellow BML teacher, Chris Tordini, on bass and Ryan Ferreira on guitar. I chose the instrumentation of electric guitar with effects, acoustic bass and saxophone to give the music a different character right off the bat. On top of that we improvise over the themes. I went through and translated the original scores into chord symbols where possible, simplified sections, and opened it up so we could play them more freely while still keeping the spirit of the piece.

ARRANGING THE MUSIC

On Cantata 159, by JS Bach, I used only the intro to the bass aria. It is originally played on oboe, and when I first heard it, it sounded so much like a soprano saxophone that I had the idea of playing it on one. The melody also has beautiful chromaticisms, flat nines and flat thirteenths, which made me think of using it in a jazz context. I analyzed the harmony, wrote out standard chord symbols, C, C/B, Am, Adim, Em etc... and it's become a nice short tune that's really fun to play over.

On the piece Lascia Ch'io Pianga, from the opera Rinaldo by GF Handel, I moved the A section from the original 3/4 to 4/4 and added a simple counter-line in the guitar. On the version here we stay in 4/4 for the "bridge" before returning to the A section, resulting in a standard AABA song form, making the tune easier to play over and more open to improvisation. On the record I returned the bridge to it's original 3/4 meter and extended form, which we still improvise over, it's just harder!

We recorded in the church last week and it went beautifully. Stay tuned for the CD.

Jon De Lucia teaches flute, saxophone and clarinet with Brooklyn Music Lessons. To learn more about translating Baroque music in a jazz / improvised context, check out Jon's BML page and schedule a lesson.

Sean Hutchinson's STILL LIFE: New CD

Submitted by sean.hutchinson on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 00:01

I'm proud to announce the arrival of my first CD as a leader, Sean Hutchinson’s STILL LIFE. This instrumental trio blends acoustic instruments with an electronic ambiance, where modern grooves and singable melodies set the stage for jazz improvisation.

Personnel:

Omer Klein - Piano
Bridget Kearney - Bass
Sean Hutchinson - Drums, Production, Songs

I recorded and produced the record primarily at the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, NY. We captured some great live textures by running the grand piano, acoustic bass, and occasionally the drums, through a guitar pedalboard (and some other studio gear) then I took tracks to my home studio the added a little extra vibe on my Juno 6 synth and Native Instruments Reaktor software.

Sean Hutchinson’s STILL LIFE: CD Release Concerts

Henry Hey - Piano, Effects
Chris Tarry - Electric Bass
Sean Hutchinson - Drums, Electronics

Tuesday, May 10th @ Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2 (NYC)

Wednesday, August 24th @ the Triple Door Theater (Seattle, WA)

Thursday, August 25th @ Goodfoot Lounge (Portland, OR)

Thursday, July 28th @ Manchester Jazz Fest (UK)

Thursday & Friday, October 20th & 21st @ the Rex (Toronto, ON)

Sean Hutchinson teaches Drums, Recording & Production, and Piano with BML.

Curtis Macdonald's debut album Community Immunity

Submitted by curtis.macdonald on Sun, 03/06/2011 - 15:48

I'm very excited about the release of my debut record, Community Immunity and want to share the first track with you!

 You can also pre-order a copy and receive an immediate download of the entire album.

"The pieces on this recording are like little puzzles with moving parts that fit together in the strangest ways. The moving parts lock in with uncanny seamlessness." -Dave Douglas

Official release date: April 5th (worldwide)
Concert/Celebration: April 17th @littlefieldnyc

Personnel featured on Community Immunity:

Curtis Macdonald - Alto Sax/Compositions
Chris Tordini - Bass
Greg Richie - Drums
Jeremy Viner - Tenor Sax/Clarinet
David Virelles - Piano
Michal Vanoucek - Piano
Travis Reuter - Guitar
Becca Stevens - Voice
Andrea Tyniec - Violin

Brandon Terzic's XALAM Project

Submitted by Brandon Terzic on Thu, 09/09/2010 - 12:09

Brandon Tezic Xalam Project
Friday, September 10th 8:30 pm
Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd St.
New York, NY 10012
C A E or F train to West 4th

Xalam Project Features:

Brandon Terzic - Oud, Ngoni
Matt Darriau - Sax, Kaval, Clarinet
John Shannon -  Electric Guitar
Matt Kilmer - Djembe, Ocean Drum, percussion
Shane Shanahan - Riq, Kanjira
Chris Mees - Bass

Mid-East-African-Jazz

Its been a minute, people - I know - but this is a great group of guys at a great venue, and we finally have a name which came to me last month at Summer Stage while watching the great Bassekou Koite play one of the best shows I have seen in a while. He was playing the Ngoni or Xalam---which is one of the baddest, earthiest, most feeling, blues instruments I have ever heard. I got backstage, determined to get one, and by my good fortune they were selling them on tour and I snatched one up - Life changing! Also it’s a long time coming, but finally I am giving birth to an album - feels like its been so long - but we have the ruff cuts and it should be ready in the not too distant future.

Also this gig at Zinc will be the start of our monthly residency there, which will be, usually, the first Friday of every month opening up for my good friend Sylvain Leroux’s Band Source. It will be a great night, musically and vibe-wise, and I really need and appreciate everybody’s support.

Love,
B

Jesse Elder - Live Concert / CD Recording at BargeMusic

Submitted by jesse.elder on Wed, 08/04/2010 - 00:01

Jesse Elder & Logan Richardson
Live Concert / CD recording
BargeMusic
Monday, August 9th, 2010
www.bargemusic.org

In addition to playing 9 new compositions I've written specifically for the duo accompanied by master contact juggler Blake Habermann we will be collaborating with a film by Petr Salidar. We'll also perform 2 of Petr's compositions.

We need all of the live energy we can get for this unique collaborative experience. Be there while my second CD as a leader is being created. I'll have an e-mail list so that everyone present can pre-order a free CD as my way of saying thanks so much for your support.

Tickets are $10 for students/children & $20 for adults. The proceeds will help pay for all of the costs associated with putting out the album. There will be wine, tea, coffee and hors d'oeuvres for a modest suggest donation.

Logan Richardson - Alto Saxophone
Jesse Elder - Piano/Composition
Petr Salidar - Video/Composition
Blake Habermann - Contact Juggler
Jesse Patch - Videographer
Reed Taylor - Recording Engineer

Here's a little bonus, Jesse Elder Group at Smalls:

Jesse Elder's CD "The Winding Shell" Reviewed on eJazz News

Submitted by jesse.elder on Tue, 10/06/2009 - 12:33

CD Reviews: Jesse Elder “The Winding Shell” CD-2009 Off
Posted by: editor on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 11:34 AM

Glenn Astarita

Original Posting on eJazz News

Here, forward-thinking pianist Jesse Elder employs tenor sax titan, Gary Thomas along with talented jazz saxophonists Chris Cheek, Logan Richardson and Jeremy Viner. But Elder varies the program and finalizes the album with four piano duets, featuring Aya Nishina. Simply stated, Elder offers a bit of mind candy for the average jazz enthusiast, as the album title does indeed, parallel the content of his multifarious compositions.

Weaving saxes, false endings and Elder’s dynamic reengineering of themes are just a few of the underpinnings that generate gobs of excitement. The band also tosses in a few off-kilter treatments amid bustling rhythmic forays, crisp accents and intermittent treks into the freer realm. Elder possesses a broad musical vernacular, where some of these passages are constructed upon classical frameworks within the comprehensively arranged and largely, winding movements.

The frontline sax section often projects a sense of urgency to complement several melodic intervals. Thomas’ monstrous chops are in full force here, as he morphs a top-down soloing approach with blistering flurries. On “Kiss Rain,” the unit fuses sanguine storylines with whimsical sentiment, sparked by Elder’s huge block chords and melodic overtones. Then they interject a bit of funk via staggered flows and harmonious unison lines during the peppery jaunt titled “All Moments.”

Elder and Nishina interrogate each other while exploring various modes of counterpoint and structure on the four duets simply titled “I – IV.” They improvise through classical, jazz and avant-garde elements while also dishing out some rather haunting propositions. Sure enough, Elder is on track to impart a significant presence within global jazz circles due to this irrefutably, persuasive debut release. – Glenn Astarita

Track listing: Surrender; Solar Plexus; The Thoughtful Nudge; Flight Of The Pelican; Rotating Canvases; Kiss Rain; Red Paint; The Winding Shell; All Moments; I; II; III; IV.

Personnel: Logan Richardson: alto saxophone; Gary Thomas: tenor saxophone; Jesse Elder: piano; Christopher Tordini: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums; Chris Cheek: tenor saxophone; Jeremy Viner: tenor saxophone; Aya Nishina: piano.

John Beaty's Guide to Saxophone Practice - Part 1a

Submitted by john.beaty on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 00:52

The most important tool in getting better on any instrument is a good practice schedule. This multi-part article covers the 4 areas that I find to be most important when practicing saxophone:

1. SOUND PRODUCTION
2. FINGER COORDINATION
3. ARTICULATION
4. STYLISTIC APPROACH

Depending on the time I have available to practice, I split these four areas up over as little as 30 minutes or as much as 12 hours. It is important to note that these exercises can be applied to all levels of saxophone ability!

AREA 1 - SOUND PRODUCTION

Part 1a - Embouchure and Long Tones

Sound is the most important area of saxophone. If you have a good sound and can only play three notes, at least people will still want to hear those three notes. As a basic starter to making a sound on the saxophone it is important to point out that the bottom lip covers the bottom teeth and the reed sits on top of the bottom lip. The upper lip does not cover the upper teeth and the teeth directly touch the top of the mouthpiece. The top of the tongue should be touching your top teeth in the back, while the mouthpiece enters your mouth at an angle. Try to place the air into the top of the mouthpiece, do not blow directly into the mouthpiece. After you have made a few sounds it is time to get used to producing the sound.

Saxophonists often talk about "long tones". It isn't a big secret, you just play one note for an extended period of time. Place your favorite metronome at 60 BPM and start with G. (If you are advanced start with the lowest Bb and go to the high F chromatically). To practice the long tone start playing soft and crescendo (get louder) over 4 beats, for the next 4 beats decrescendo (get softer). That is a total of 8 beats. Then add a beat to each side, meaning 5 beats while you crescendo, and 5 beats while you decrescendo for a total of 10 beats. I recommend going at the very least 8 beats on both sides, 16 all together. If you feel you need and can take more go for it.

Video example of part 1a:

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