Recording from Twain's

Eric Fontaine is a great Atlanta jazz saxophonist that has a running podcast for his recordings. Recently I was recorded at Twain's playing with him at the jam session. The tune was Rhythm-a-ning, the Monk "standard". Check it out here http://tinyurl.com/yhb5fv8. As I listened to the recording, I heard that I need to outline the form more clearly. That was evident when I stopped playing--no one knew when to jump back in. That's usually a sign that it wasn't clear.

Also I was dragging the tempo in my solo. And I didn't quite know the changes. But other than that...

And while you're at check out Eric's other podcasts. He's a burning player. http://podcast.ericfontainejazz.com/?p=home

Wine Tasting

I don't know why, but jazz and wine tastings go well together. Today I played at the Emerging Art Scene gallery at The Stacks lofts. It was an enjoyable event although I didn't drink any wine. I need all of the faculties I can get. And it went well--looks I'll be getting some repeat business.

Jam at Twain's

Last night I attended the weekly Tuesday night jam session at Twain's. It's a fabulous session and Joe Gransden and the band are top-notch yet I struggle trying to pinpoint why I attend the session. In other words, what needs am I fulfilling by attending? So this blog plost attempts to work that out.

Logistics
1. It's a late night for me (close to midnight)
2. It's very crowded so lounging around is not easy
3. It's a loud environment so chatting is difficult

Good Side
1. Real positive vibe - everyone's in a good mood.
2. Joe and band are very patient and generous.
3. It's good to be around people and meet new folks.
4. House band is amazing!
5. Most musicians that sit in can play very well

Less Than Good
1. It's very popular -- so if you sit in for more than 1 song, consider yourself lucky.
2. You don't have control over who you play with so you don't always get to play with the burnin' players. But that's typical of all jam sessions.

So in summary it's 25% music, 75% people-related stuff (meeting new people and strengthening relationships). So I need to change my mindset and think "this is mostly about being with people who love jazz like me".

What's Been Going On

Not to many posts recently. All those pings are just echoing in cyberspace I guess. About 6 1/2 weeks my wife gave birth to our 3rd child (name is Esther). I've been very fortunate to keep the weekly going (diaper fund!) and have recently enjoyed playing with trumpeter in the neighborhood and just tonight a great flute player (flautist?) who is into Brazilian music as well as jazz. So more to come. Over the summer I'm going to try to get some kind of a restaurant gig on an "off night". Stay tuned. Literally.

Weekly Gig

The venue hasn't changed, but the time frequency has...

I'll be playing weekly at San Francisco Coffee in Candler Park neighborhood of Atlanta.

The music is from 10 AM to 12 Noon.

"Mahj"

I wrote this tune years ago for my wife's friend Majorie...everyone called her "Mahj" (Boston accent). It's to be played in a modern even eighth style. This is the tune courtesy of the midi in Finale Songwriter.

Finale Notepad - First Try

I downloaded the trial version of Finale Notepad so that I can write some lead sheets. Here's my first try. I'm trying to figure out how to play the midi file on the blog