Tag Archives: Jazz

Jody

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I drove 17 hours to 2009 Savannah Jazz Festival.  When I got to my sister’s house, I told her I needed to be at Blowin’ Smoke.  She said, “Not before you have something to eat”  I argued for a few minutes, but it was a losing battle.  I got my stuff in the house and had a sandwich, then we were off to the venue.

When we arrived, the kickoff  jam session had been going on for over an hour.  I can’t even begin to tell you about the energy under that tent, it was pretty awesome! My sister introduced me to a few people and those people introduced me to other people.  They also pointed out some people.  One of the people that was pointed out was Jody.  I went right up to him and introduced myself to him.  Right away, I could tell he was a class act, not yet knowing who he was.  Afterwards, I went back to the table and enjoyed the show.

A little while later, I took Gilda out of her case and told the man in charge what I wanted to play.  I didn’t know much at all, at that time, I was comfortable with a blues in F.  I ended up on stage with Jody and another man named, Roosevelt. I had know idea what was going on.  ImageThe tune they played was a tune I had never heard of.  I had only been playing for a year at this time.  I was up there doing my best Milli Vanilli impression.  Jody saw I was struggling, and in between breaths, he was telling me what to do.  I couldn’t quite grasp what he was talking about at that moment.  Then the solos started! There was no way in hell I was going first.  Roosevelt had told me how nervous he was.  I was very surprised, because he was awesome!! We were obviously coming from 2 different worlds.  I was next.  All I wanted to do was leave, but Jody told me what to do, as if he knew I wanted to walk away,  right there on the stage.  So, I did, the best that I could. I could not wait to get off that stage!

Later on, I talked with him and he was so encouraging.  He said I should learn “Sonny Moon for Two”.  I learned it that week.  It is a pretty simple melody, solos are open to interpretation. So I learned it.  I went back everyday of the festival to play “Sonny Moon” but could not get up on stage for the rest of the week.

Jody encouraged me to learn a few standards and then, the next year (if I came down) maybe I could get up there and play a tune.  Well, I went home from the Jazz Festival and gave a 30 day notice and moved back to Savannah.  I saw Jody was playing at Blowin’ Smoke on the 2nd Friday after I moved back.  I went there to see his show.  He was amazing!  During his break, he came over to talk to me. I was quite surprised that he remembered me.  He asked if I had my horn and I said “Yes.” He told me to get it and he would get me up there.  Howard Paul, of Benedetto Guitars

http://www.benedettoguitars.com/

was also up there, and he had a show a the Jazz Festival also. Jody asked me what I wanted to play.  I told him, “Sonny Moon for Two”  That is what we played.  I couldn’t believe I was playing with these guys! It was an amazing experience!

Jody came to the Square one day to play with ME! I couldn’t believe it when I saw him hustling across the way.  That also was an amazing experience! We played together for about 40 minutes to an hour. Any words he spoke, came from his heart  and was said with love and respect.Image

Since the 2009 I have not been back on the stage for the jam sessions, but Jody has invited me on HIS stage a few times.  Every time has been a pleasure and an honor.  Like I said, he is a class act.  I have seen him outside of the music realm also, and he always has time to talk. Every word that comes out of his mouth is said with love and sincerity.  I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for him.  He may not know it, but he is kind of a mentor to me.  He gave me a challenge well over a year ago, and I have still not done it.  I am not sure I want to do it.  That is between him and me.

Anyway, the reason I wrote this post is because, in a world with corporate giants and nobody having the time to give someone the time of day, this man does.  He is a family man, a friend, a mentor, a teacher and a world class Jazz musician. I should also mention he owns a mouthpiece factory.  If you play clarinet or saxophone please, do yourself a favor and check mouthpieces at http://www.jodyjazz.com/

I actually bought a Jody Jazz mouthpiece a year and a half before I met him.  I didn’t know that is who he was until later.  Thank you Jody for guidance, patience and support.

 

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RPM Challenge 2013: Finished

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I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish this year.  Gilda needed repair, and I didn’t have the money. All I can do is give a HUGE thank you to my brother, Kenny, for helping me with that.  I am ever so grateful! There wasn’t enough time to find musicians and rehearse before the recordings and I lost 5 days due to a cold and food poisoning.  Then yesterday, the nightmare of printing my cd cover and label.  Thank goodness for the patience of my brother -in-law, Ed. We weren’t able to print the label and cover I wanted, due to software issues.  My computer wouldn’t install his printer. After many trials and errors, we just put text on it.  Lining it up with the templates wasn’t easy. I wanted to use a sketch for my cover that someone did of me a few years ago.  Her name is Charlotte, she was here with her family on vacation, and sat in the Square and did this.  I thought it would have made a nice cover.  Maybe when I get a new printer.sketchI was also up to the wee hours of the morning waiting for the audio files Pete sent me to download.  I had to make sure they downloaded properly, it took a few hours, but it worked.  I got it out in the mail by 11:34am.   Unfortunately, I made the cd with just me.  I wanted to add other musicians to give it a little more depth and a different sound than what I have been doing, there just wasn’t enough time.  I am hoping to be able to build off this in the very near future.  I also hope you enjoy what I made.                                                     studio 1

I actually was able to record in a studio.  That was pretty cool.  We had three sessions at Hamilton Hall and it was a lot of work, but fun work!  Pete was very patient with me, as I did many takes.  He gave me some good input and did the mastering.  It was great working him. I hope I am able to work with him again when I get other musicians.  It was also pretty cool to do a Haiku based from a photo my friend Diana sent to me (that can be found in my previous post) along with all of the Haiku I wrote and track titles.  I also want to say a big thank you to my friends and family who were very encouraging along the way.  This is my 5th Challenge and I think it was the most difficult for me.  I love when February 1st comes.  It gets me out of the long January funk and back on track.  I love The Wire for starting this (I think) 8 years ago.  It is amazing to see and hear all the music people create in such a short time. Please go to the RPM Challenge site, and see what others are doing. There is a link in my blogroll to the right.  Yes, it is difficult and sometimes can be stressful.  But you come away with something that you never thought you could do.  It is amazing, people sign up from all over the world to do this! It is fun to hear all of the different ideas they come up with.  Again, check it out sometime when you have time, thank you!

FinishedCD pic

RPM Challenge 2013: The Second 10 Days

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During the first 10 days, I didn’t feel very productive.  I had done a lot of research to figure out certain scales and/or chords to get an authentic sound, and in the first 10 days only had 3 progressions written.  Also, I had been sick for several of those days.  I was feeling very discouraged about not getting my Challenge cd finished.

In the last 10 days, I feel I made up for that. I now have 10 Haiku written and 10 progressions down.  I have worked very hard and continued to look up certain scales and chords to match what I am saying in the Haiku.  I have 5 based on literature, it kind of became a theme after my first two.  The other 5 came from various places or thoughts I had.  I would like to share all ten of them–

1,  Myshkin, the Poor Knight/ Heart torn between two women/ Tragically, lost both

2.  24601/ All he did was steal some bread/ He is, Jean Valjean

3. On a Knight’s errant/ To honor the Peerless One/ With his trusted Squire

4. Poems, short stories/ A master of the macabre/ Mysterious death

5. Gollum and Precious/ Together for Centuries/ Consumed by Passion

6. She’s from Canada/ Now living in Australia/ The Orange Blossom

7. Warm soft summer rain/ In the Squares of Savannah/ Gilded by the sun

8. Cafe barista/ A cappuccino in hand/ Frothy heart on top

9. Changes will happen/ Good, bad, or indifferent/ Never lose yourself

10. Glorious sunshine, On a chilly Winter day/ Chase those blues away

Number 10 is a Haiku based on a photo by my friend Diana.  We have done a couple collaborations in the past and I asked her if she would send me a photo and she did. To see more of her work, click on Life Thru Blue Eyes  on the right, in my blogroll.

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Now that I have all of my progressions and Haiku written, all that is left, is to record.  I had to take Gilda to shop (today) because there are all kinds of leaks and she is very difficult to play (A huge thank you to my brother for helping me with that!). Also, I have to do the album cover work and then I can send it off.  In some ways, this time of year is my favorite time of year. This is my 5th RPM Challenge and it sets a fire under me to come up with new ideas.  It is most helpful, especially after the long, cold month of January.  I am looking forward to seeing the end product of this project.  I hope you enjoy it too!

RPM Challenge 2013: The First Ten Days

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When February 1st finally arrived, I was ready to get started on my new Challenge cd.  I went right to work, looking up scales and progressions that are used in Russian music.  The first Haiku I wrote was in reference to Dostoevsky’s, “The Idiot” –

Myshkin, the Poor Knight,  Heart torn between to women,  Tragically, lost both

I wanted to use scales that Russians use.  I was even able to find pentatonic scales so it would fit in with the confines of Haiku Jazz.  I got started right away on chord progressions, using Georgian triads that I also found.  Since I have not written progressions in a few years, and haven’t really had to think of transposing, I did all the progressions in my key. I transposed them and a few days later, realized I did it backwards.  Are you kidding me?  So, I did it all again, in a simpler form.  I still feel I will improv my part over the progression.  In my mind, it seems like a good idea, I guess we’ll see.

On the 4th, I came down with a nasty cold.  I didn’t understand that, as I had just gotten over strep from a week before.  I hadn’t been sick in three years then I get a one two punch.  And that isn’t the worst part, I also got food poisoning!  So, from the 4th to the 8th I was pretty much laid up. I lost some valuable time there, but I am not daunted.  On the 9th I got right back to work, with a progression for a Haiku I wrote in reference to “Les Miserables”–

24601,  All he did was steal some bread, He is- Jean Valjean

I wanted to start with these two first, I think they are the more difficult ones, due to the research I did on them.  Now I am able to get to work some of the other Haiku.  I gues being laid up wasn’t a total loss, it did give me time to create another one–

Cafe Barista, A cappuccino in hand, frothy heart on top

I have a couple more I had before I got sick, but I will talk about those as I do them.  I still have 5 more Haiku to write, find a couple of musicians to play with me and space to record this in. It could be I do them solo, then go back with other musicians and layer over my part.  We’ll see what happens.  For now, it is off to my work station to get busy! :)

Thank you for following along!

 

A Visit from the Masters

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This is not a story I tell many people, but I am going to tell it here.

One night, about two and a half years ago, I had a dream that seemed to be much more than that.  I was in this club that appeared to closing for the night.  I don’t know what time it was or even what city I was in.  There were a few musicians over in the stage area, so I went towards them.  All of a sudden, Sammy Davis Jr. was standing in front of me.  I don’t know everything I said up to the point where I said to him, “What do you know about Jazz?”  I looked around and I saw Cannonball Adderly sitting by the stage.  He wasn’t talking or anything,  he may have just put his horn away, I don’t know.  Sammy Davis Jr. chuckles at my question and said, “Kid, maybe I don’t know that much about Jazz, but this man does.”  He pointed to the side with his thumb, and there was John Coltrane.

At this point in my life, I was listening to the “Kind of Blue” album all of the time.  I still do from time to time.  I don’t know how to play anything on it.  It is a goal of mine to learn at least one tune by ear.  A challenge a friend of mine gave me a long time ago and I have not done it yet.

I look at him and say, “John Coltrane” and shook his hand.  He said to me, “Kid, I don’t know much.  I just know I love to play music. As you can see, we obviously aren’t in it for the money.  It is all about the music”  He went to say a few more things, I don’t recall.  I do recall as he spoke, he was so overwhelmed with passion about what he said, tears were falling down his face.  I hugged him, Cannonball came over and hugged too.  Sammy Davis Jr. patted us on the back, we were all crying at this point.  We just kept repeating, “It’s about the music”   When we pulled back and stopped hugging,  Sammy Davis Jr. said to me “Kid, you need more of that!”

That is when I awoke.  It was 2:18am.  I wanted to go back, but obviously I couldn’t.

Sometimes when it is a slow week or in some cases, a slow month, I get caught up and lose my way as to why I chose to do what I do.  Obviously, like John Coltrane told me, it isn’t about money.  It is about the music.  I forget that from time to time and I need to never forget that.  I will always remember my visit from the Masters and remember-

IT’S ABOUT THE MUSIC