Here is a Flickr set of some nice pics of the second night of the Lucky 7s gig at The Velvet Lounge:
Category: Personal
Back from Chicago, with mp3s
While this post isn’t a podcast in the sense of me talking with theme music, etc., it does contain some mp3 links.
I just got back from Chicago, where I spend a week rehearsing/performing/recording/performing some more with the Lucky 7s. I feel really good about the new material, and expect that we’ll have a new CD out in a few months (now that I’ve said that, I am sure it will be a year).
For those of you that missed the shows (you know who you are), here are some live mp3s.
These were recorded at The Hungry Brain in Chicago on July 22, 2007. Keefe Jackson was unable to attend this performance, so Dave Rempis is playing tenor sax on these recordings.
#6 (mp3) written by Jeb Bishop
Ash (mp3) written by Jeff Albert
Jaki’s Walk (mp3) written by Jeb Bishop
Future Dog (for Jaki) (mp3) written by Jeff Albert
These are two improvised pieces from our performance on July 22, 2007 at The Hungry Brain in Chicago. This was Lucky 7s plus guests. The musicians are listed by each recording.
Improvisation (mp3) by Jeff Albert (trombone), Josh Berman (cornet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Dave Rempis (tenor sax), and Jason Stein (bass clarinet).
Improvisation (mp3) by Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Jeff Albert (trombone), Tim Daisy, (drums), and Dave Rempis (tenor sax).
This music free to share under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License.
Lucky 7s Chicago performances
I’ll be in Chicago this coming week performing and recording with the Lucky 7s. Lucky 7s is a group that I co-lead with Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop. Other members of the group are Josh Berman, Keefe Jackson, Jason Adasiewicz, Matthew Golombisky, and Quin Kirchner.
We will be performing new material, as well as stuff from our first CD. We will also spend a couple of days in the studio, recording what should be our next CD.
The performances are:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 @ The Hideout 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago
Friday and Saturday, July 20 & 21, 2007 @ The Velvet Lounge 67 E. Cermak Rd. Chicago 9:30 PM
Sunday, July 22, 2007 @ The Hungry Brain 2319 W. Belmont, Chicago
The Hungry Brain gig will have some guest action as well. Dave Rempis and Jason Stein will be with us, and there are some other invitees that I haven’t heard confirmed so I won’t mention their names, but it will be fun. We’ll probably do one set of Lucky 7s material, then a set of improvisations by various combinations of Lucky 7s and guests.
Please join us for any or all of these nights, and be sure to say hello. If you can’t get to Chicago, I am hoping to put a piece or two from each night on the free mp3 section of the Lucky 7s site. I’ll probably cross post them here as well.
Merle’s Miles for MS
I got turned on to this guy on a trombone list I am subscribed to. He is an amateur bass trombonist. From his website:
Merle Knotts, an MS patient, is pedaling 3,300 miles on a recumbent tricycle from Marietta, Georgia to Oak Harbor, Washington to attend his 50-year high school class reunion. He is soliciting tax deductible donations to the Georgia Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for the fight against Multiple Sclerosis and hopes to raise at least $10 per mile between now and the end of the trip.
There is a cool journal of his trip, with great photos of the sights along the way. If you would like to support his cause, you can do so here.
RIP George Brumat – Owner of Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
From Jason Patterson, who books Snug Harbor (New Orleans’ premier jazz room):
To all the Friends of Snug Harbor,
Owner George Brumat died yesterday peacefully in his sleep of an apparent
heart attack. This has been a huge shock to everyone associated with the
Snug but we know George would want us to keep on keeping on. So the business
will remain open even though there is a big hole in all our lives now
without his presence. If you want to make a testimonial of any length about
George, please e-mail it to Jason@snugjazz.com. We will announce
arraignments for funeral and memorial event as they are confirmed. Thanks
for your thoughts and prayers.Yours in overcoming adversity,
Jason
Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
George was a great club owner. I know that is hard to believe that any club owner could be great, and I know that none of them are perfect, but George was the greatest I have ever dealt with. He always treated the musicians with respect. He listened to what we did. He gave the musicians financial guarantees. I always knew the minimum amount of money I would get when we worked for George. On good nights there was more than I expected in that little brown envelope, but there was never less, even if the club was near empty.
I remember when Snug reopened after Katrina. It was one of the first times I thought things might eventually be ok. I am sure George lost loads of money in those first months, but he was open, and still paying the bands, because that was what he could do to help the city. And it definitely helped lots of folks spirits. George was a class act, and I will miss him.
Look to the rainbow…
Sometimes the best thing to do after a night of dealing with an anti-musician is to go fishing. You never know what you’ll see. (The crummy camera phone photo doesn’t really do it justice. It was gorgeous.)
New Orleans New Music Ensemble concert 6/27
From Janna Saslaw‘s gig announcement email:
It’s time for another New Orleans New Music Ensemble (“No Enemy”)
concert! This time we have five new, hot-off-the-presses pieces for
chamber orchestra by New Orleans composers Jeff Albert, Leo DeJesus,
Ryan Olivier, Jimbo Walsh, and Rachel Woods, with Charles Taylor,
conductor. It’s classical, jazz, pop – grab a drink and view the art!
Meet the composers! You don’t get to hear a “band” this big playing
this kind of music in such a relaxed setting any old time!Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 7:30 PM
The Big Top Gallery
1638 Clio St. (between St. Charles and Carondelet)
Admission: $10, $5 for students and seniors
I love this group. New Music in fun venues. One of the early discussions proposed a guideline that we should only play places that had a bar in the same room as the stage. I know my pieces sound better if the audience is loosened up a bit. This is not only music by composers that are still alive, but by composers that are in the room. Once we did a Bruce Bennett piece that was several years old, but most of the stuff isn’t even several weeks old. The first rehearsal is tonight, and I finished printing the parts for my piece for this concert on Tuesday, so I am WAY ahead of the game this time around.
If you are in New Orleans next Wednesday, please come to the concert. If you are not, say a prayer of thanks for the musicians (and composers) who are willing to do stuff like this for the love of creation more than the money (which there is more of this time, but still not too much).
If we get a good recording, I’ll post an mp3 of my piece here.
50 mpg
Last Wednesday I bought a used Toyota Prius. I filled it up right after I got it. On the way back from a gig in Lafayette last night, I stopped and got gas. It didn’t really need gas, but I needed to get out and stretch my legs. I had driven 350 miles on that tank, and it took 7 gallons. That’s 50 mpg. That can scratch your brain on a few levels.
Magnetic Ear at Saturn Bar
Last Thursday was the first in a two month long run of Thursdays at The Saturn Bar by Magnetic Ear. If the first gig was any indication, this will be a fun summer hang. Martin is making curry and serving it for free while it lasts. The food was slammin’ this week. He made a vegetable curry and a lentil curry along with rice and roti. The food is usually ready by 8 PM and the music starts around 9. We don’t play much past midnight, so come out early.
The band is excited about the chance to play regularly, and we had some great moments last week. I am looking forward to hearing the music grow through the summer.
MTO Signed Sealed Delivered
I’ve always loved Stevie Wonder. There is something special to me about his genius.
Steven Bernstein‘s Millenial Territory Orchestra does “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The first time I heard it, I couldn’t get with it. I couldn’t get over my Stevie expectations. Today as I sat doing some computer drudgery that track came on. It was in the background. I wasn’t really paying attention. I didn’t even realize what tune it was until Doug Wamble’s vocal came in. It caught my attention, and somehow my expectations didn’t have time to hop on. That track is way bad…
I need to go back and listen to everything I’ve ever not dug with new ears.