There’s a reason jazz musicians (and other musicians, and actors, chefs, etc.) move to NY City, Chicago, or other large metropolitan areas. They are places, as Russell Malone says in this short vid, where there are more opportunities to get your behind kicked. And when you’re learning and striving to get better, that’s exactly what you need.
Tag: practice
Jazz Guitarist Bobby Broom Talks Practice
Bobby Broom Interview on Practice (mp3)
Bobby Broom is a jazz guitarist you should know about. He’s a great guy and a fantastic musician, but you don’t need to take my word for it. His latest album with The Deep Blue Organ Trio, Wonderful!, celebrates the music of Stevie Wonder and has been at the top of the jazz charts this fall. Musicians with more street cred than me also like his playing. Bobby Broom has played with several of the grand-masters of jazz: Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Kenny Burrell, and a lot of others.
The Fruits of Practice Sound Like This: Peterson, Brown & Thigpen
The swingingest version of Duke Ellington’s tune C Jam Blues with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. These are masters at work.
The 300 Pound Gorilla in the Practice Room: Inattention
Throughout my career, if I have done anything, I have paid attention to every note and every word I sing – I respect the song. If I cannot project this to a listener, I fail. ~Frank Sinatra Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the…
Annoying the Neighbors: Place and Practice
Ever since I picked up the trumpet, practice has been a never-ending search for privacy. Mostly a failed search, too. When I was a kid learning to play, my parents banished me to the garage, and this was a great thing, even though the garage was unheated and we lived in Alaska. It gave me a space to explore without fear of annoying the hell out of anyone within earshot. It also let me escape fear of judgment and gave me the freedom to really explore the instrument and my relationship with it. Now I live in Chicago. No garage. Not even a house. I’m in an apartment and have neighbors on five sides.
Time, Practice, and Parker
I can’t see where there’s anything fantastic about it at all. I put quite a bit of study into the horn, that’s true…. I used to put in at least from 11 to 15 hours a day…over three or four years. –Charlie Parker Stay tuned for more frequent blog posts. Interviews have been and…
Jazz Trumpeter Avishai Cohen, on Practice
Avishai Cohen Talks Practice Jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen first came to my attention when Chad McCullough spoke with me about practice several months ago. I promptly checked him out and was psyched to discover a new favorite jazz trumpet player. He’s one of the most interesting players I’ve heard in a while; definitely check out his albums Triveni and After the Big…
Ethan Bensdorf: NY Philharmonic Trumpeter on Practice
It might go without saying that Ethan Bensdorf is a fantastic classical trumpet player, but I’ll say it anyway: Ethan is a fantastic trumpet player. We talked over the phone and he told me the story of how he landed the gig with the New York Philharmonic, playing with principal trumpet legend Mr. Phillip Smith, including a week spent getting his chops together on the rotary valve trumpet before heading back to New York for another round of final auditions. Ethan also shared his thoughts about practice and had a lot of great things to say. Hope you enjoy.
Goals FTW!
Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single footstep. ~Confucius _________________ A few days ago I realized that posts for the last few months have been interviews, with little writing, and I miss writing, because…
Chad McCullough: Jazz Trumpeter on Practice
Check out the interview with Seattle-based jazz and classical trumpeterChad McCullough. Last year at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, Chad and I met and after a quick chat he agreed to talk with me about practice. Not only is Chad an excellent trumpet player, he’s also got piano chops, and this influences his trumpet playing. Listen to the podcast to learn his thoughts about trumpet playing and practice. McCullough just returned to Seattle after a tour of Belgium and release party for his latest album, Imaginary Sketches (out 2-15-11), from Origin Records in the states, and De Werf in Europe. He’s a busy guy and has some other great stuff out, too, including an excellent album from The Kora Band, and he was generous enough to let me use a tune from their latest album to open the podcast. The clip that opens the interview is Over-caffeinated and Under-fed. The Kora is a West-African stringed instrument that has a great sound. It sounds a bit like a Celtic harp, but with a different attitude and more rhythm. Oh, and a giant gourd. Here’s a video clip of Kora master Toumani Diabaté in action. Chad has interesting things to share about practice and how he thinks about music that I found both interesting and useful. Hope you enjoy the interview. Have fun and good luck with your practice.
Podcast Ahoy!
Well, I’ve got a few interviews in the can and will be editing and processing them in the coming weeks. The next post to this podcast will have an interview with Nicholas Barron, singer-songwriter from Chicago, followed by interviews with classical trumpeter Colin Oldberg (principal trumpet w/ the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra), Singer-Songwriter Erin McKeown, jazz trumpeter Chad McCullough, and the most excellent Chicago Symphony Orchestra Tuba player Rex Martin. There are more interviews in the works, too, including (tentatively) Ingrid Jensen, Bobby Broom, and Josh Ritter. Stay tuned. When that first one is posted, be sure to subscribe to the iTunes podcast feed to download future interviews automatically. The first one should be up by mid-March.
Lessons from a VW
Last Saturday at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, I went to listen to Victor Wooten give a clinic. A while ago I posted a review of Victor’s book The Music Lesson, which is up for an audiobook award. For the clinic, Victor Wooten played with the fantastic and funny bass player (yes, there is another bass player in his band) Anthony Wellington; legendary jazz bassist John Clayton showed up for an improvised tune or two. The clinic was a fantastic example of playing, teaching and telling it straight. It was so good and inspirational, I knew it would be worth sharing.
The Practice of Practice 