Friday, July 7, 2017

#2 - July 5 - 2017 - Jory Tindall

Here are the combo updates ... thanks to all contributors.
Michael Glynn offered this summary of his group ....

This week we played a Bb blues (Easin' It), Work Song, St. Thomas, and Listen Here.  We talked about picking a couple of tunes that everyone will be able to play on, but will also be interesting for the more advanced players.  We discussed finding a couple of contrasting songs to provide variety for the band and for the audience.
I would like the students to listen to the following YouTube tracks to get an idea of how the original versions of some of the tunes we discussed sound, and to move towards finalizing our song picks.
Eddie Harris - Listen Here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHtO_i4qzM
Cannonball Adderley - Work Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCqRYneOdIM
Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA2XIWZxMKM
Miles Davis - Eight One - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUAkWhr_8EM
We took turns soloing over the blues and tried using the blues scale. 

Blues Scale:
1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 1
in G: G Bb C C# D F G 

We also started to learn the concept of connecting 3rds and 7ths when going from chord to chord. 

The 3rd of one chord is usually a half step or whole step away from the 7th of the next chord. 

Example,

  • First four bars of a G blues are G7 C7 G7 G7
  • B and F are the 3rd and 7th of G7, E and Bb are the 3rd and 7th of the C7
  • The B in G7 connects to the Bb in C7 and then goes back to the B in G7
  • The F in G7 connects to the E in C7 and then goes back to the F in G7

19 y 42 (Tune 2):

We started working on an arrangement of this tune where some people started playing harmonized parts of the melody. 

Assignment:
  • Work on memorizing the harmonized part or normal melody for 19 y 42 (Tune 2)
  • Practice the 3 minor scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic) in multiple keys.
  • Work on connecting the 3rds and 7ths of chords in a blues. (You can find blues backing tracks on youtube or download the irealb app on a phone)
FODDER FOR THE FIRE ENTRY 2:
Kyle Gaul's summary of Perdido Combo
We started our session by reading an arrangement of Perdido--which sounded great! Work at home with your metronome so that the parts all line up together well at the next rehearsal. In addition to the arrangement, work on the Perdido Etude lovingly composed by Dan. It read nicely, but continue practicing the lines slowly to achieve fluidity and poise. Everyone improvised on the Perdido changes using the "turn back to two" technique with the harmonic minor scale on the Dominant b9 chords (7 b9). We then read Cattin' (F blues) and learned the Minor Blues scale (1, b3, 4, b5, 5, 7), and the Major Blues scale (1, 2, b3, 3, 5, 6). Practice playing the Major Blues scale over the I chord, and the Minor Blues on all the others. Near the end, Dan handed out a Blues Étude in Bb. Though our Blues is not in Bb, see if you can apply the patterns in F. Looking forward to next week--keep the flame a'flicker in the meantime!

Here's what I remember doing on July 5--  

First I ran the saxophones through my "workout," trying to make sure they understand:
  1. Why each of the exercises is important, both to their development as saxophonists and to their development as improvisers.
  2. How each exercise can be adapted, tweaked, expanded beyond what's written on the page.  This is especially important in a big, varied group like that where some are at a pretty elementary level and others are more advanced and may look at what's on the page as "too easy."  If it's "too easy," then here are some suggestions of how to make it challenging.
I tried to keep a balance between actually doing the workout (i. e., horn on face) and explaining the whys and hows (horn in lap while Greenblatt blathers).   The goal of the Colony is catching fire as improvisers, and improvisers are by definition composers--they've got to get in the habit of using their heads/ears to create the music they play.  If it's just playing written saxophone exercises it doesn't contribute much to improvisational skill.  So I gotta talk them through the exercises and get them figuring out what to play next rather than just reading it.  My hope is that as the weeks go by I can do less and less talking.


Combo rehearsal.  I think our two tunes will be Perdido and Cattin', which is an F Blues head by Mal Waldron.  If we get those together then I'll add either a contrafact I wrote on Blue Bossa changes or some other accessible Latin groove tune, maybe Samba de Orfeu.  So we just did normal rehearsal on the two main tunes.  I wrote a somewhat tricky arrangement for Perdido, on which we made progress, but it still needs work.  And everyone got to solo on it.  Basically same thing with Cattin,' which we just played the head and soloed.  I'll add to that arrangement next week.

That's about it.

DG

Night and Day Combo summary by Max Bennett

The Joe Henderson group worked on Night and Day. We realized that in order to play it at the tempo of the recording, we need to play it slower at first and work up to the fast tempo. Bar 9-12 are especially hard, so it's helpful to take it slow and work on good voice leading and playing melodic lines over it. The rhythm section should avoid letting the tune slow down. 

Secondly, we worked on Nathan Eklunds tune. This will be our primary focus next time as he will be with us. Please listen to the recording and make sure the melody is solid. Start looking at the changes next. 

The option to bring in tunes is still available... 

Ken Weller's summary of the Green Room Combo

Our session for July 5th started with a short discussion about pieces to focus on and play for the summer. We started with playing Four by Miles Davis.

We're quite comfortable on this song and it's likely to be in our repertoire.
We then proceeded to play through three other songs including:


The assignment that was given for this week was on Four, to pick and transcribe a 4 bar lick from any of the soloists and be able to play it for the rest of the combo.

Required for the assignment:
Tempo
Personnel (players only, not audio engineers etc)
Album
4 bar lick



Jack Hillman wrote this ...

Trombone Sectional:
First, we talked about the importance of long tones. The focus was keeping a full tone consistently through all partials on the instrument. Second, we talked about false pedals. I first explained the concept of false pedals, and then explained how they can be used to open up the lower register and help cultivate a more open tone in general. Then, we talked about lip slurs. The focuses were keeping  a good tone through all registers of the horn, as well as gradual increases of speed. Then, we talked about the circle of fifths and how it can be used as a tool to practice major scales. Finally, we talked about ii-V-I patterns and the importance of learning things in all 12 keys.

Combo:
Our combo chose to play the tune Walkin' by Miles Davis. We talked about different improvisation techniques, including using the melody, using the minor blues scale, using space, and repetition. The group listened to the recording multiple times in order to learn the melody as well as listen to Miles' intentional use of space. We also focused on using repetition within solos, and how a single simple idea can be stretched and shaped into an entire solo. Sonny Rollins' solo on Saint Thomas was used as an example of this technique. 


 Tim Volpicella wrote this ...

I was very impressed with Natalie's (Groovin High) and Jared’s (Blue Bossa) ideas for arrangements.
We talked about arranging and played through some improvisation ideas. Damn they're very talented.
Looking forward for the actual band to get together. 

This from Mason Fagan .... Barbados Combo

On Wednesday, we discussed repetition in improvisation, the concept of quoting, and how to feel the groove of a tune. We used simple tunes like St. Thomas and billies bounce to get the idea across. We focused on making the students comfortable with their instruments in order to make it easier for them to have inspiration.

Here are the links to the youtube for Jory’s group playing and his presentation for you to put on the Blog.

https://youtu.be/25UxcL04KKo

https://youtu.be/LrMLj_OZGH0

And, here is a link to my dropbox for photos of the Jory stuff also…..:    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h8ligsl72e6g4ot/AAAEM40yVNc-y8P-q4UuRPj7a?dl=0

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Saturday, July 1, 2017

Jazz Colony 2017 - Fired Up! Learning to Burn #1

Jazz Colony 2017 is off to a great start ... here's summary of the EWHS Jazz Colony first meeting for 2017.  Big thanks to the Hubbard Foundation, EWHS Music Boosters, and Kennelly Keys, and Pete Bennett for their generous contributions and support making this dream a reality. For more detail about this blog and Jazz Colony ... read previous years' threads. 

Next week (July 5) ... look forward to a lesson from Kennelly Keys sponsored clinician Jory Tindall (saxophone). He will play a tune with Marina Albero and Michael Glynn then teach.  Students are encouraged to take notes and get engaged with the lesson.
Trumpets during warm-up practice routine session

Paul Gabrielson and "Get Out of Town" Combo

Marina with the "Tough Tenors" Combo

Tim Volpicella with "Little Sunflower" Combo

Michael Glynn with "The Real McCoys" Combo

Miriel and Rodney with "Night and Day" (Joe Henderson) Combo

Jory Tindall and "Barbados" Combo

FIRED UP - learning to burn - overview of nightly activities

6:30 - IGNITION CONDITIONING
homogenous instrumental group exercise session
goal: refining students understanding and implementation of a PRACTICE ROUTINE and 
WARM-UP

7:00 - SPARKING INSPIRATION
Short performance by a focus lecturer each night - Pete will try and record each session with Go-Pro for publication to the jazzcolony blog

7:10 - BUILDING TO A BLAZE
Short practice strategy or jazz theory concept 
Kids should take notes and teachers might consider adding an assignment for each week that kids should consider turning in or checking up on during the follow week IGNITION session ... might include a handout from presenter

7:30-9:00 COMBO CUMBUSTION
Groups split up and rehearse - PRO-AM style where adults, interns play with combos as well as teach, coach and consider arranging or procuring 2 tunes to focus on for the summer.


Volunteers BBQ - Learning to Burn with Tim and Michelle Nye!!

Summary of 1st night rehearsals .... 

My combo in room A111 "Perdido" worked on an arrangement of Perdido that Dan Greenblatt made. We talked about the structure of the tune and how to approach soloing on the changes. We focused a lot on the harmonic minor scale and how we can use it to make really cool solos. For example, the first chord in Perdido is a C-7 so we figured out what notes would be appropriate to use to interpret that chord. We then worked on Dan's version of blue bossa and learned a melody that he came up with. We learned his melody by ear and discussed getting away from looking at music when playing jazz. I explained to our drummer how to have more dynamic contrast between soloist to give them something to work with and to make things more interesting for the listener. Finally, we closed with a F blues and everyone took turns soloing. - King Dawidalle

Dan Greenblatt's take on the "nugget of knowledge" for the evening was based on the "Turnback to ii" process. 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzoGR9KaGamTWnFiR21GVktnc0U

Please check out Dan's excellent Jazz Instructional book Minor is Major published by Sher.

http://www.shermusic.com/1883217776.php

Combo: Get Out Of Town (Paul Gabrielson, Gordon Tibbits, Ken Weller)
When we got together, we decided to start with the tune, Oleo. After we had all had a chance to improvise a chorus or two, Mr. Gabrielson decided to focus on the bridge and what we could do there. He talked about how improvisation can be something as simple as a repeated lick being transposed.
The example that he had of this, was taking the 4-note chromatic melody at the beginning of Thelonius Monk’s “Blue Monk”, and beginning it on the 3rd scale degree of each chord in the Bridge (D7, G7, C7, F7, lick starting on F#, B, E and A respectively). After that, he had us play that ascending lick very slowly in time with rhythm section comping.

Inline image 1

To add a new level to it, Mr. Gabrielson had us play the second and fourth licks descending from the top note of the lick rather than ascend. 
Inline image 2

By doing this, he showed us that “simple” licks have a huge amount of potential to be used while improvising.

After the lesson on Oleo, our combo played a funk version of Blue Monk and ended with the tune, Four.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Henderson combo:
We learned a "contra-fact" Mr. B wrote based on Sidewinder by Lee Morgan (in C major). We also played through Night and Day (in D). We talked about doing some of the things from the recording or thinking of a different arrangement. Lastly, we played through Professor Dissendadt by Nathan Eklund. All of this music was challenging - the key signature especially. 

Links:

We have the opportunity to play some great music, but only if you "provide the wood for the fire". Please bring in ideas or actual physical copies of tunes you want to do this summer for next time (this could include contrafacts or originals). - Max Bennett
Attachments area
Preview YouTube video Lee Morgan - The Sidewan - The Sidewinder
Sun Room Combo (Little Sunflower) worked on playing the blues in new keys, particularly A and Ab with the hopes of opening up our ears and getting comfortable with all parts of our instruments. We then agreed on a few tunes for the first stint; Groovin High, Nardis, and Blue Bossa. The goal is to create unique arrangements by the time we perform them. Natalie, Jared, and Edward are taking the first steps with arranging and will come to week 2 with some basic harmonies and concepts. 

I [Joel] handed out a worksheet with suggestions for getting comfortable with identifying and playing chords by showing everyone a chord matrix exercise, as well as a preface on how to listen and be present when playing. I accompanied this by a list of drummers and bass players for everyone to go home and check out (this is our only official homework). 


JAZZ COLONY WEEK 1 HANDOUT

Getting comfortable with identifying chords:  
  • Major = M, Maj, Maj7, 
  • Minor = m, mi, min, -
  • Dominant = 7  
  • Augmented = +, aug
  • Sus or Sus4 = Perfect 4th replaces the third of the chord
  • o = minor third, diminished fifth, minor seventh
  • o = minor third, diminished fifth, diminished seventh 
  • ( 2 = 9, 4 = 11, 6 = 13 )
Strengthening your ear: (a daily activity)
Preface
A core component of participating as a jazz musician requires active listening of the music and tradition (duh). As a part of your daily routine, you will begin to notice idiosyncrasies and common motifs that will strengthen your musicianship, depth of knowledge, and ear. Jazz is a kind of music that lives and breaths (i.e. dancing), and as a listener and player it is indispensable to learn to be present. The greater we can manage to hear the many ‘conversations’ in any given recording, the more rewarding the music becomes. Becoming a good listener is paramount in being both a student of the music and in use on the bandstand. 
Short list of cats to dig (week 1)
Drums: 
Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones, Paul Motian, Jack DeJohnette, Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Kenny Clarke, Chick Webb, Art Taylor, Joe Chambers, etc.
Bass: 
Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Ron Carter, Sam Jones, Charles Mingus, Art Davis, James (Jimmy) Garrison, Charlie Haden, Milt Hinton, Peter Ind, Cecil McBee, Jaco Pastorius, etc.
Suggested Practice Material:

1. For this week, check out the above mentioned names for drum and bass and see what you can find! Anyone willing to share an album the following week(s) can post them to the blog.
2. Try practicing your ability to identify and play chords using the chord matrix exercise. Get together with a friend; many somewhat mundane exercises can become much more tolerable (and in fact enjoyable) with a partner. 
3. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
If you need to reach me for a question, concern, or want to discuss anything musical: 

 - Joel Steinke


Jazz Colony Summary (Kyle Brooks - summary)

Marina’s Combo
6/27/17

Blues After Dark (Tune 1):
  • Learned melody and took turns soloing with blues scale and parameters.
Blues Scale:
1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 1
in G: G Bb C C# D F G

We practiced soloing with only 3 notes, adding a restriction made soloist listen more and play more creative rhythmic ideas.

Other possible Restrictions when practicing soloing:
  • Only play within a certain range (P5 between C and G)
  • Only play quarter notes, only play eight notes, only play triplets, etc.
  • Only play short phrases (2 or 3 beat phrases)
19 y 42 (Tune 2):
  • Learned intro and started to work on melody
Worked on 3 different types of minor scales and played them.

Natural Minor: 
12b345b6b78
 A natural minor scale: A B C D E F G A

Harmonic Minor (raised 7): 
12b345b678
A Harmonic minor scale: A B C D E F G# A

Melodic Minor (raised 6 and 7 up and lowered 6 and 7 down) : 
12b345678: A B C D E F# G# A = up
A B C D E F G A = down

Assignments:
  • Work on minor scales and learn them at a fairly quick range
  • Practice soloing with restrictions and the blues scale, examples above.
  • Learn the melody for Blues After Dark and 19 y 42
I had a blast with my women combo! Although we had no drummer we were able to work on Benny Golson's "Blues after dark" and we worked with it on several topics:


- blues scale 
- call/response among ourselves and other musicians as a way to build phrasing and direction on solos. That invited us to think about a motive or cell to explore instead of just playing notes one after the other;)
- Assignment: blues scale, listening to the original version and for those who know more about jazz improvising I told them to practice over the chord changes as well.

We also worked on my tune "19 y 42", Latino standard that I brought last year for my clinic;) we worked on:

- Minor modes; natural, harmonic and melodic.
- identifying the tension/resolution relationship in a harmonic and melodic environment (Dominant-tonic, harmony, and Major 7th to 1st, melody).
- worked on the rhythm of the melody and harmonic rhythm (the chords fall and start on the 4th beat before instead of the downbeat)
- assignment: work with G minor scales for everyone. For the bass and piano working on the harmonic rhythm and the tumbao written down on he chart.

Looking forward for the next one on Wednesday!
Hugs;

Marina Albero

"The Real McCoy"
First rehearsal - Tues 6/27

summary by Dylan Allrud-Faltisco 

-Oleo-  
We allowed extra time for students to start building more in their solos, flesh out motifs and explore rhythm changes more deeply. We alternated soloists on the bridge during the heads in and out of the song.

-Listen Here- 
We assembled the groove on the bass and drums. We focused on energy and timekeeping in the rhythm section to keep the groove strong. We gave each soloist the time they needed to build a dynamic and exciting solo at a comfortable pace, and branch out creatively over a simple and fun chord progression. 

-Bags Groove- 
We gave students a couple of choruses each and traded 4's with the drums. We discussed the versatility of the blues scale as well as growing your note choice by exploring the blues. At the heads, we alternated soloists to fill in the rests between each phrase of the melody. We worked on locking in the rhythm section's quarter notes on the ride and bass so we can swing tighter and stronger.

Finally .... Mr. Bergevin is performing next Thursday, July 6th in Shoreline ... students, staff and readers are welcome to attend this all-ages show. Reservations recommended ... 
206-365-4447

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Thursday, September 1, 2016

#10 - finale - Marina Albero

Great summer!  Thanks to all for summer 2016.

Finale Colony is guest artist Marina Albero - pianist and composer from Spain

Obsesion - Softly as In a Morning Sunrise,  and more

Check the link if you missed it. Big Thanks to all the contributors and students and especially the Hazel Miller Foundation, Edmonds-Woodway HS Music Boosters, Pete Bennett and Kennelly Keys Music.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa4d8AMES-LMsD6KBr_wzZDY1LKUozyBg







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Monday, August 29, 2016

#9 - Randy Halberstadt - learning by ear

Here is the link to the 9th Jazz Colony Session for 2016 on August 22nd. Randy has some great ideas that he squeezes into a short time frame. 

Presentation #2 - Autumn Leaves - sing it, then play it - 6:42 is the beginning of a synopsis of the practice technique picking out a tune BY EAR ....

at 8:40 he heads into the power of knowing and playing your CHORDS!

On the video titled "Part Two" Randy Demonstrates and summarizes.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa4d8AMES-LNSHRUmN972WRQIaaUrtitO

Next Week - Marina Albero - piano

Thanks to Pete Bennett for the great videos and to the Gauls for helping with the BBQ burgers.




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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Session #8 - Clif Swigget - Harmony Cloud - Ear Training - Aug 24th Instructions

Latest Videos  from JC Colony Session 8 - thanks to the Fisher's for the wonderful Chili Feed!
From Session 8 with Clif Swiggett
Clif Bio - here
http://jazznightschool.org/faculty/clif-swiggett/

1.  Faculty Song – "Blues for Alice" Clif, Michael Glynn, Nelda Swiggett, Brady Hearn :  https://youtu.be/vblkku_bKio

2.  JC 2016 Session 8 – Clif Swiget Presentation – 
Harmony Cloud:  #1 -- https://youtu.be/0y8X4mIvkpY
3.  JC 2016 Session 8 – Clif Swiget Presentation – 
Harmony Cloud:  #2 -- https://youtu.be/dZwlhp3-OeE
4.  JC 2016 Session 8 – Clif Swiget Presentation – 
Harmony Cloud:  #3 -- https://youtu.be/PeVl_m_-jXg
5.  JC 2016 Session 8 – Clif Swiget Presentation  - 
Harmony Cloud: #4 -- https://youtu.be/Uh_bJM2OxrM
August 24th - 2017

 CPM and EWHS Parents will want to bring:
1.  Their own Chairs.
2.  Their own drinks (could get hot)
3.  Bring their Friends or those who like Jazz.

 All Jazz Colony Students arrive by 4:30 and plan to stay for the whole event.  Volunteers providing instruments including Drums, Amps, Bass, etc arrive by 3:30 to get everything set. You will be thanked with a dinner certificate for Anthony's Beach Cafe.

 Rotation:

4:30 - 5:15-- CPM Group with Steve Treseler director

5:30 - EWHS Combo Groups:  (each group about 20 plus  minutes)

        1.  5:30 -- Carnival Combo -- Leader Gordon Tibbits - 2-3 songs

        2.  5:50 -- Highlife Combo -- Leader Tim Carey/Jory Tindall/Dan Chappelle - 2-3 songs

        3.  6:20 -- Pros/College Play -- Tim, Jory, Dan, Steve, Gordon, Michael, Jake
                1-2 songs.....

                Student performers eat pizza while listening to pros.... about 6:20 - 6:45

        4.  6:50 -- Motian Sickness -- Leader Shawn Schloegal and Max Bennett -- 2-3 songs

        5.  7: 15 -- Straight Life -- Leader Michael Glynn - Nathan James -- 2-3 songs...

        6.  7: 40 -- Full House  -- Leader Jake Bergevin 
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Monday, August 15, 2016

#7 - Mark Taylor - approach tone arpeggio exercise


1.        Mark Taylor song:  https://youtu.be/hU74STTBOHI
with Jory Tindall, Shawn Schloegel, Tim Carey - "In Your Own Sweet Way"


2.        Mark Taylor clinic 8-9-2016:  https://youtu.be/SrShkpYH-uw

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Monday, August 8, 2016

Colony 5 and 6 - videos and resources Anton Schwartz and Mark Taylor

Video From the Session # 5  7-26-2016  -- Anton and Faculty Song:    https://youtu.be/LdypFQkr2_M

                Video From Session #5  -- 7-26-2016 --  Anton Presentation - Circle of Fifths:  https://youtu.be/yHQ5VqvwcME


                Video From Session #6 - 8-2-2016 --  Mark Taylor and Faculty song:  https://youtu.be/a5abaUKVSEo

                Video From Session #6 - 8-2-2016 -- Mark Taylor presentation:  https://youtu.be/kfXuHRxYoGA

A short group of videos or photos from Sea Jazz on 8-3-2016  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa4d8AMES-LPIUblF81GmHKbqqqkFXUuC
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