2010 January » Shagtastic Voyage

Last weekend, the wife and I took a trip to our old stomping grounds, Atlanta, Ga. It’s a little over three hours from our home so, she thought it would be fun if we each made a playlist inspired by our lives as a couple. The way we separately interpreted this task was inspiring to me.

My wife (as many women can) has always been able to tell me what who was wearing at any point in history. She can, for almost every date, event, encounter, or any happening with even the slightest significance, tell you what everyone involved was wearing. I used to find this befuddling but, while perusing my audio library for playlist fodder, I found out that I can do that with music. All of the music I chose came from memories I have with her. For instance, the first time we heard “Move, Bitch” by Ludacris was on our honeymoon. We were just about to be in New Orleans when it came on the radio. Another one is Joss Stones’ “Some Kind of Wonderful” which we heard live at Music Midtown in Atlanta. All total, there were sixty four songs on my list representing everything from major events to a comment she made about a particular Charles Mingus tune (Better Get it in Your Soul). I remember when, where, and what we were doing when those tunes were playing.

Image via Wikipedia

For her lists (she actually made two), she chose a completely different route. While one was all the concerts we have been to (kind of similar to mine), the other was made entirely music that evoked thoughts and feelings of me. Several of the tunes I had never heard like “Hold You in My Arms” by Ray LaMontagne and “Lover” by Devendra Banhart. Then there were some classics like “Forever” by Ben Harper (long before this blasted Relentless 7 crap) and “Do You Realize??” by The Flaming Lips. For her, some of the songs’ meanings were enhanced by a shared moment but the main point was the meaning of the words or the feelings they brought out.

: Image via Wikipedia

Of course, it’s no secret that music effects people in different ways but this was, for some reason, kind of a profound moment for me. Even though many of the songs I chose represented my feelings for her, most of the value I assigned to them was based on a moment with her. A memory of a time (good or bad) that we heard that song together.

I guess the reason all this strikes me is that, for the last seven and a half years, there has been few days we have been apart (for that matter, add in the time we dated for an amazing eleven years!) yet all that music has stuck with us in completely different ways.

One thing that makes things difficult as a jazz musician in a small town is the limited (if any) chances to see/hear live jazz and it can be hard to “feel” your way through band leadership and stage management/presence without it. So, what I wanted to do was give some resources for musicians and, at the same time, maybe give newbe listeners some places to explore jazz without having to drop the money on going to a show that they may or may not like. I want to start with video; then we’ll move to audio.

VIDEO

Probably, no, definitely, at the top of my list for online jazz is the live feed from Smalls Jazz Club in NY, NY. After the flash intro, the schedule will load and you can click a link on the left to go to the “Live Video.” If you’re not diggin’ the cats that are playing or can’t be in front of a screen when it comes on, you can go to the audio archive and listen to past performances of many of the artists. Seeing musicians you look up to play/lead WHILE the are actually on stage doing it can be an invaluable resource.

Another great place to stream great videos is Jazz Corner’s JazzVission. There, anyone can upload footage of any group playing jazz. There are videos of bands at private parties, showcases, and any other performance situation you can fathom.

Of course, we all know about YouTube but many don’t really know just how much you can find on there. One particular channel, Jazz Video Guy , ran by Bret Primack has a steady flow of great jazz videos. You can also find him at All About Jazz, another great site for jazz videos and audio.

AUDIO

Back in December,Jason Parker (@1WorkinMusician), a jazz trumpeter/blogger (and helluva nice guy) from Seattle wrote a blog called “10 Jazz Resources You Should Follow on Twitter” which covered some of these (along with several different ones). While the following is not focused on Live jazz, they do give you access to live tracks. But hey, studio tracks are important, too, ya know.

My main source for internet jazzphonia is last.fm. You can listen for free, it has iPhone, Droid, and Xbox 360 apps, and it can keep up with everything you play on all your devices. It makes suggestions and lets you stream music from your own library so you can have it when you aren’t by a hard drive.

AccuJazz (@accujazzradio) has an awesome selection of jazz channels. You can pick or experiment with different types all day.

Another is Curt’s Cafe. Curtis (@curtjazz) provides a great selection and now has a blog and a Youtube channel. His blog reviews albums and makes great suggestions for your listening pleasure.

The internet can bring pretty much anything you need straight to you. Don’t be afraid of that search engine; USE IT. There are so many great things to read, watch and listen to. This list is just what I use on a regular basis. If there is something you use, comment it below OR email it to me and I may add it to this blog.

For the final installment of this little miniseries, I want to address something that young musicians (including myself…when I was young) deal with. I want to talk about stylistic diversity and what it means to making money as an instrumentalist.

In the blog, Where’s My Bentley?, I talked about musicians I looked up to as a teen ager and how they can’t make it as a musician outside of their respective groups. This is something that rings true across the board. There are hundreds of great bands where the musicians can only function in one particular element. No matter what you think, that money won’t last forever and, chances are, the style that they made all the cash with won’t either. The point is, you have to be prepared. It’s like when your parents used to say “you need a backup plan” and, with the quickness of a Black Mamba, you would snap back with “I have MUSIC, I don’t need one!” Yea, it’s just like that! Only I’m talking about a musical backup plan and, yes, you do need one. The biggest part of being a professional musician is diversity.

I’ll give you a “for instance.”

Your death metal band is running short on gigs so, you are short on cash which is really pissing off your landlord. You see an ad for a local theatre company and remember having heard that they pay well. So, you call them up. Let’s just say the production is Rent and, though a little cheesy for your taste, you handle the rock tunes well (Presuming you can read enough to pass the audition). Cool, you’re in the door. It’s not as focused on you as it is when you are playing with Death Serpent but it’s a great supplement to your financial situation. Ok, the next production is a comedy about a hick in the backwoods of Tennessee who has a love/hate relationship with a “special” goat. You go to the audition but can’t play anything close to bluegrass…hmmm, if you’re lucky the music director will give you a chance. Problem with that is money is tight and rehearsals are expensive.

Now I’m not saying you should study every type of popular music. What I am saying is being stuck to one genre can cost you a lot of money. If the opportunity comes up, take advantage of it. If there’s a gig in a style you aren’t familiar with, learn the rhythmic patterns and the popular interval/chord progressions, what inversions are prominent, etc. Don’t be afraid of it. If your friends try to make fun of you for practicing Britney Spears’ Toxic, ask them where they are gigging that night. Chances are, it’s in their own bedrooms , plus, you are still making money playing music. Isn’t that the dream, anyway?

By the way, it’s not selling out. It’s doing something less enjoyable to facilitate doing what you really, really love. If it is selling out, though, I guess you can always bus tables. Even though, by bussing tables, you’re doing something less enjoyable to facilitate doing what you really, really love…hmmm…See a pattern here?

Shagtastic Voyage

The Meaning behind the Music

Jazz Without Leaving The House

Mind over Music (pt. 3)

Follow Me

Featured DIG albums