While I was traveling recently, I got a note from a reader who had very kindly purchased my CD Little Played Little Bird, the music of Ornette Coleman, asking for some analysis and explanation of […]
Year: 2014
VOQOTD: rhythm machine
“Your part isn’t the only thing that’s happening in the music; you’re part of a rhythm machine in which there are gears interconnecting with each other. Learn how to be supportive and when to stay […]
Reed interpretation: fast within slow
Our philosophy around here is to never stray too far from Reed without good reason— I have to relearn that every few years. So here’s a thing for beginning to develop the Jack Dejohnette-style “fast within […]
Transcription: Jeff Watts — Makin’ Whoopee
Another Jeff Watts transcription, from Branford Marsalis’s album Trio Jeepy. The audio is not available on our usual YouTube; but, you, know, that’s OK. Music isn’t actually supposed to be free. So get thee to […]
Very occasional quote of the day: ideas
JOHNS: I was doing […] sculptures of small objects—flashlights and light bulbs. Then I heard a story about Willem de Kooning. He was annoyed with my dealer, Leo Castelli, for some reason, and said something […]
LA session wrap-up
That’s me, Geoff Keezer, Kirk Ross, and Larry Steen. Last week’s LA recording session was interesting, fun, and unusual. The artist was my old friend, band mate, room mate, and compatriot, the songwriter Kirk Ross. […]
“Skiplet”?
In some ways I feel I’m watching (and contributing to) the death of the familiar jazz ride cymbal pattern as a musical thing, for a lot of reasons, but partly as the result of a […]
VOQOTD: Harrison Ford
A couple of more travel days before I can get back to regular posting, but here’s something shared by Alex Emanuel, a New York actor currently performing in Stew Stewart’s play Family Album, along with […]
Continued light posting
Looking at a fairly busy week here, so you’ll likely see very little of me: heading to LA this morning, to make a record with songwriter Kirk Ross, my old friend, along with pianist Geoffrey […]
Transcription: Jeff Watts — Upper Manhattan Medical Group
Here is Jeff Watts’s 32-bar solo on Upper Manhattan Medical Group, from Branford Marsalis’s album Trio Jeepy. It’s a sign of the times that Watts, a virtuoso himself, comes off as kind of un-technical compared […]
Daily best music in the world: tracks that used to get me in trouble
Here are a couple of things I was listening to when I was at USC, which used to get me in trouble with some of the other students, for playing too… aggressively, let’s say. One […]
Page o’ coordination: 5/4 with tie across the barline
Here’s a Page o’… for getting comfortable handling an accented note tied across the barline in 5/4: For the sake of clarity, I’ve written the page without the advertised ties; but you should be thinking […]