Category: Music

New Song: Mobility

Here’s the third in my ongoing series of jazz demos. I’ve been enjoying doing these as a vehicle to present new songs to my jazz group. I haven’t had much time for recording lately, and the last two songs of my Buzzy Tonic album Elixr are sitting there half done. But it can take months to produce a rock song, while I can whip off one of these in just a few hours.

My previous songs Dark Skies and Your Dancing Shoes are now in regular rotation in our jazz group. One is a ballad and the other a funk/soul number. I figured it’s time for an uptempo swing number. We’ve been doing alot of hard bob in the group, Hank Mobley and Dexter Gordon and that kind of thing, and this song is in the zone. Well, maybe more Sonny Rollins or Cannonball Adderly. I’ve never written anything in cut time before, and this one is around 200 bpm. The main riff is something I’ve had in my bag for a long time, it was just a matter of giving it some structure. It’s funny how a good bridge can really make a song. It’s like a commentary on the A section. You have to decide what aspects to contrast or change up, what to keep as-is, and what to take further. In doing so you come to understand the essence of the song. The song begins and ends with a drum solo, since this kind of groove is right in our drummer Mike’s bag. I can hardly wait to get some recordings of the group performing these.


Gig Announcement: Carl Jung Foundation presents The Dionysian Dynamics of Jazz

My friend and former trumpet for Seven Jazz West, Gary Trosclair, is putting on a combination semniar and jazz concert on Friday June 3 at the Carl Jung Center in Manhattan. You might know CJ Jung from his writings on the collective unconscious, or his influence on Sting’s songwriting in the Synchronicity era. I didn’t know he had a center named after him here in town, but I had a feeling.

Gary’s day job is a psychologist, author and lecturer, and expert on Jung, so you see it all makes sense. Gary had to leave 7JW about a year ago – had some dental problems – but now he’s playing trumpet again and put together a group for this event called The Archetypal Jazz Quintet, mainly players from the Haven Street Quintet, some of whom were also in 7JW and are some of the best players I know. It should be a really fun and interesting time. I’ve never really thought about jazz from a Jungian perspective, although doing so for just a minute or two lights up some interesting lines of thought. So I’m really keen on hearing what he has to say.

More info on the event here:
http://www.eventzilla.net/web/event/cg-jung-foundation-presents-the-dionysian-foundations-of-jazz-2138860416

Gig Announcement: LEFT HOOK at Fisherman’s Net May 14

We’ve been hard at work, learning another batch of new tunes, this time some classics by The Beatles, The Band, some funky and abstract Bowie, and some Al Green (not an artist whose name begins with a B, I know). Lots of good stuff. Hope to see you there!

LEFT HOOK
Music with a punch!
Westchester’s classic rock Funk & soul party band

Saturday May 14, 8:30 PM
Fisherman’s Net
129 6th St. Pelham

Victory Lap

Lots going on these days. Last night LEFT HOOK played at Victor’s in Hawthorne. I bought one new piece of gear for this show: a lightweight collapsible handtruck to help schlep the PA from the car to the hall. It really came in handy cuz Victors is up on a hill so you have to go up a big ramp and thru two or three rooms to get to the place where the band is playing.

I played Victors a couple years ago in my old band with Gus, and we didn’t have much of a turnout because there was an unexpected November snowstorm. Well last night we didn’t have much of a turnout either, a couple of friends of Jeannie and Gus, and whoever was there at the bar anyway. But band sounded great, and the people who were there really dug it, and the bar paid us well. Ken got a new 4×10 cabinet which has alot of presence. As fate would have it, on the way home there was an unexpected storm of hail and sleet, and this morning my car was covered in ice.

We didn’t add any new songs for this show, but this week we’ve got a bunch lined up to work in for the next gig. I’ll be singing some Bowie. Psyched about that.

…

You may have noticed that, recent hailstorms notwithstanding, winter is over and spring has arrived. Daylight and sunshine again. I’ve been kinda sick the last few weeks and have only just been feeling better again, so I haven’t had a chance to much yardwork yet. Today I was gonna do the first round of raking and trimming, but it was too cold and windy. I did get some grass seed down a few days ago before it started raining, in the spot where the stump used to be, so hopefully that’ll take.

Easter came early this year. Last weekend Martin’s came down on Saturday and we went to Jeannie’s parents on Sunday. The kids have been off from school all week. Nice to have a little family time. I gave Lizzy another driving lesson today. She drove to her old elementary school and back. Learning to deal with real streets, stop signs, turn signals, other cars, and pulling in and out of parking spots. So far doing very well, but still hasn’t gone above 20 mph.

I got my Mustang on the road a couple times. This spring it started right up, no need to charge the battery. I took it in for an oil change and a safety inspection, and my mechanic told me it’s got some leaks in the underside including the differential, so hopefully there’ll be a nice day net week where I can get that taken care of.

Jazz Demos II – Your Dancing Shoes

Here’s another jazz demo in what I hope will become an ongoing series:


The group liked my last song, Dark Skies, but they really love this one. Your Dancing shoes was originally written as song with lyrics, and I recorded it for the Buzzy Tonic album Elixr. But since my rock band is not really open to doing originals and my jazz band is, I thought I’d try a jazz arrangement of it. It has a funk-boogie feel, in the same zone as songs like Red Clay and Mercy Mercy Mercy, and it’s great fun to play. They bass player Jay was particular enthusiastic after having just read the sheet music, and our drummer Mike wants to do the song in the Wednesday jazz group.

As an aside, our piano player Rich recently sold his business and retired and is going back to school to study jazz piano. He’s a really good piano player already even though he told me really only started playing and studying when was 50 years old. He’s 60 or so now. You really gotta admire that. (He’s also one of those guys who works out, so like my brother Martin he appears alot younger than his age in both looks and energy level.) He’s been encouraging me with my composing, and I’ve been encouraging him to write some stuff to bring to the group too.

Gary has been continuing to record our rehearsal, so hopefully sometime soon we’ll capture a good performance of these new originals. Meanwhile I’m gonna go ahead with my next jazz demo, a thing I’m calling Buzzy Blue.

Lefts and Rights of Passage

I’m happy to say that the show at Michelle’s school was a smashing success. The theme this year was Give My Regards to Broadway, and it was basically a revue of show tunes. There were alot of talented kids in this year’s graduating class. Some years there’s just one or two eighth graders, but this year there were more than thirty, including a good handful of soloists. They did the same Phantom/Les Mis medley that we did in the Cabaret show a few years ago, and I’d say they did a better job. This is the fifth year or so I played in the band in its various permutations, maybe the seventh show. It gets easier and more fun every year as I’ve gotten to feel familiar with this group of musicians, and at this point I’ve played with everyone in the group. My playing is at a level now where I can read thru the songs once and pretty much be good. I only learned Friend Like Me when we were setting up for the first show.

Another highlight: Michelle had a ukulele solo in We Are Made of Stars. We practiced that one together a few times. She nailed it.

…

Today I gave Lizzy her first lesson in driving a car. I gave her a basic safety primer then took her to an empty parking lot and had her practice driving around slowly, doing circuits of the lot, mainly just lifting her foot off the brake and letting the car roll. Once she got comfortable with starting and stopping and steering and shifting between park and drive, I let her give it a bit of gas. She got up to 11 mph (17kph) one time! Then on the way home I had her drive the last block to our house and park in the driveway. She did very well and was quite thrilled. Next time I’ll have her go in reverse and learn to park with a bit of precision, and maybe even try some neighborhood streets, get up to 15 or 20!

Showtime!

Spring is creeping closer. Days are getting longer and warmer. No flowers yet, but I’m thinking of taking the Mustang out already! Lots of music events happening these days with the kids. Lots of running around.

Lizzy just finished with her school play yesterday. They did a production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. It was very well done. Lizzy was in the chorus and had one line (she did great!). The fact that she’s new at the school notwithstanding I was a bit surprised she didn’t get a bigger part, being and experienced singer and all. But it turns out there’s alot of talent at that school. All the leads were superb, as was the orchestra. I guess it’s a high school after all, and I’m more used to the K-8 or K-12 performances. They did four shows in four days and it was a huge amount of work and she had a great time, and a bonding experience for the kids. But on to the next thing.

This coming weekend is honor band. Both Lizzy and Michelle are in it. Michelle still plays clarinet regularly in her school band, but Lizzy is dusting off her flute for the first time in a while. Still, they’re both very excited as always.

Then the week after that is the musical at Michelle’s school. The eight graders are the big kids in this production, and this year they have some good talent too. I’ll be playing in the orchestra for this one, and so last week I got a couple CD’s and a big packet of sheet music. I’ve listened thru a couple times and read thru it once, so I’m set for joining them in rehearsal next week. I’m doing ukulele on one song, We’re All Made of Stars. Michelle learned the uke part too, so she’s gonna do it on stage while I double her from the pit. So we’re practicing that song together every day.

Gig Announcement: LEFT HOOK at Victors in Hawthorne

Hi everyone, okay our next gig is the first weekend of April. Hope to see you there. I don’t think we’ll be adding very many new tunes for this, but mainly tightening up what we got to take it to the next level.

If you google Victors you’ll see the first review says it’s an awful place, like some guy got in an altercation with one of the regulars and blamed it on the establishment. Who knows? I gotta tell you I’ve played gigs there before and it’s just fine. It’s a good size room with a great big bar and good veiws from most everywhere. They have live bands an open mics up there alot.

LEFT HOOK
Music with a punch!
Westchester’s classic rock Funk & soul party band

Saturday April 2, 9 pm
Victors Bar & Grill
500 Commerce St. Hawthorne