One of the many pleasures of the Advent season is playing the annual shindig at the home of Scott and Jennifer Rose. They're great people, and they throw a fantastic party. And one of the many pleasures of playing there is that we get to see Paul Soupiset as a civilian. He sat and listened to us for a while; we had no idea he was drawing. Behold, it is good.
Back in 1960, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn got the idea to do some jazz interpretations of the Nutcracker Suite. This year, some cats from the SA jazz scene decided to get hold of those charts and put on a show.
It's this very weekend, Friday, December 4th and Saturday the 5th, at the perennially cool Josephine Theater. Check my events page for more info. Meanwhile, Jim Beal Jr. wrote a nice piece on us on the front page of SA Life, in the Express-News. Check it out — and we'll see you there.
I've had a few people express interest in getting hold of my song "Let Justice Roll." I've just this moment put up a package for you: a high-quality mp3 of the song, a lead sheet, and slides with lyrics and music for PowerPoint or MediaShout.
The whole thing is a bargain at four bucks. You can pay with credit card or through PayPal, and download it immediately.
I wrote this song back in November, on November 5th, when the Scripture reading for the following Sunday was Amos 5. The song came pretty quickly. I was eager to find out whether it worked in a worship setting.
The congregation really liked it (it quickly became a favorite for the praise band). I've tried it out with a few other congregations when I've led worship as a guest leader, and it's been very easy to teach and lead, and for other musicians to pick up.
My first recording of it was a scratch, done in about thirty minutes. This time I took my time and tweaked every track and every note. I'm pleased with the result, especially with my first chance to record with the superb vocalist Sarah Smith.
I also like the Dennis DeYoung tribute synth line in the second and third choruses. I knew it needed something, and, strangely enough, that's what came to me. Works, doesn't it?
Every year I write a new song for Catherine. Each year it's something different: a bossa, a ballad, a traditional Chinese flute melody. This year, she woke up and found a new song on her computer, entitled "Love Me Forever."
I've always enjoyed electronica, especially deep house, and the formal openness that it allows and even demands. It's interesting to compose it and see why it does what it does, why the cliches of the genre are there. In this case, the insistent beat provides a grid for the flowering melodies and riffs that overlay each other in shifting patterns, and the voice provides a much-needed human dimension against the electronic backdrop. Meanwhile, the urgent tone of deep house suits the material well, giving it an emotional propulsion that I'm very pleased with.
So, here it is, my love: a digital flower. Happy birthday.
One of the many many reasons it's great to be in San Antonio is the rich music scene. I think everyone who lives in any city besides New York or London at one point gripes about how lame their town is; but, having been to many places across the globe, I can say confidently that, on any given night of the week, you're likely to find some superb live music — of all styles, including jazz. I think of it as a pretty tight little demimonde, but then get whacked on the head regularly with how many, many, many incredible jazz artists there are around here.
Just the other day, I counted myself among the lucky ones at an intimate gig over at Carmen's. The San Antonio Jazz Workshop, a rotating group of young jazzers, more or less in their twenties, get together several times a month to deliver a sound unlike any jazz group going in town these days: urbane, gentle, funky, with solid original compositions played by sensitive, inventive musicians who know all about teamwork. That night it was Jordan Pollard on electric piano, Logan Keese on trumpet, Andy Peck on string bass, and drummer Dees Stribling.
Fortunately, I had my mobile studio equipment with me; the result you'll hear on the Protagonists Jazz Party on 91.7 krtu.org at the end of August. (This next Tuesday's Jazz Party is an all-blues program, recorded live in a patron's living room, and not to be missed.)
Meanwhile, I give you a piece to whet your appetite: a ten-minute journey through "My Contemplation," an original composition by Jordan Pollard. You'll hear people chatting in the background, glasses clinking, waiters moving around — but also an appreciative audience who knew that their sustained attention would be rewarded at every turn. My Contemplation.
Ah, our modern Library of Alexandria! Will its wonders never cease?
You might have thought I was being sarcastic, but nope: the entire Codex Sinaiticus is online for you to peruse, as if you were a scholar of the ancient world.
Do you really believe that all men are created equal? And they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?
Truths, yes. Self-evident, not at all. How grateful we should be to those who stated them in such an unforgettable way.
Since I first composed and shared it, several people have asked when and how they can get a good recording of it, rather than just the radio show feed. But in the past few days, since I shared it in conjunction with things i did in 08, there's been a real demand.
So, I've got it up and running, and you can now purchase a good recording of the Sacred Harp Suite. All nine songs, plus extensive liner notes that build on the information you hear in the radio show, for nine bucks even. You can pay with credit card or through PayPal, and download it immediately.
Just in time for Lent! It's things i did in 08!!! Read all about my stupendous year. (And catch up on your favorite episodes from previous years.)
I've got to say that 09 has been busy for me so far, particularly because of the Epiphany project. To see it all in one place and read more about what's behind it, go to this spiffy page, where you can see them all at a glance.
