Improvisation One Hundred Years Later

When I was a teenager learning about music from my bass teacher, who was an ardent fan of Charlie Parker and Lennie Tristano, the notion of improvisation intimidated me immensely. After listening intently to these guys on vinyl, and observing my teacher's raptured looks, I thought to myself, "how does one choose?"

Being far away from technical mastery of my instrument didn't help. Licks were not yet embedded in my consciousness, even as my teacher urged me to "play what you hear." I didn't as yet hear much of anything.

Yet, if that genius was intimidating, what would a brilliant improvisational genius look like today, or even years from now, given all the tools that are available to us thanks to the likes of the late Les Paul (multitrack recording and editing) and Robert Moog (synthesis)?

Our ability to alter the parameters of sound extend to timbre, waveforms and more. Things the great Parker and Tristano did not have to calculate in their amazing minds.

What will the next great musical "genius" show us? (There are so many geniuses running around, perhaps there will not be a "one" or "two" greats.)

DJ's and remixers stir my imagination. (See the Pandora Musicology Series Episode below for a description of but the smallest of sampling thinking.) Because they are fluent in thinking about the alteration of musical parameters, quite often in live settings. Granted some electronic dance music is highly repetitve. Granted also, the audience is not always paying attention to the nuances, because they are dancing instead.

But some live performances with sound remixing are truly amazing. How do these artists' minds work? What exactly is their "instrument?" How do they "play what they hear" when what they can hear is literally the entire panopoly of what they have heard before in not just music (vinyl, CDs and MP3s) but what they have found in life (movie clips, sounds of nature, the human voice and more.)

How far could a contemporary Charlie Parker go in improvising sound?

And why stop with sound?

More on that in the next post.

From Pandora:


The three members of hip hop group V.E.R.A. Clique, one producer/beatmaker (Dan Craig) and two MCs (Anderson Ray and Macsen Apollo) join producer/beatmaker Johnny Igaz to talk about sampling. We look at hardware vs. software sampling, hear how different drum tones are layered to make for fuller hits, and dissect a sampled production. Craig and Igaz both work here at Pandora as well. (11 mins.)

That link above is to V.E.R.A. Clique's site, but this one is to their Pandora artist profile.

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This Week with the Band: Takeaways

We played a great gig the other night at Kappler's Bar and Hotel in Patchogue. A quaint and clean place as bars go, literally just south of the railroad tracks.

Takeaways from this week's performance with the band:

• I am much more comfortable playing and singing out in clubs than before. People were three feet away from me and it didn't bother me a bit.
• My amp can sound fine, and so can everybody else's. But we have to have a dedicated sound person out there covering our mix. Can't rely on just the goodwill of our musician friends.The mix was good, but some anomalies arose.
  
• The crowd loved our uptempo numbers. In a short set like that, don't drop down that energy with something more obscure and slower, like we did right in the middle of the set this time.
• There are so many wonderful, talented folks out there, doing just what we did. Getting together under the auspices of our promoter/host to perform because we love it. Some of the attendees blew me away with their singing and playing ability, and inspired me to work harder at both.

Our next gig is Saturday, August 8th, at Bartini in Babylon. (bartinibar.com). Another short warm up set. More lessons to be learned. More nice people to meet.

Another Fun Musical Discovery: Bonobo

Pandora.com just keeps making my musical life better. Another great sonic revelation for me is DJ and remixer Bonobo. (The flute can be so cool.)

Here's a wonderful sample from YouTube.

Out of Suffering Comes Beauty: Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

Tonight, due to the sadness of a long-suffering friend, I find myself reflecting very much on the troubles of this life.

To console myself somewhat, I turn to one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard, inspired by great human suffering.

This classical music video is taken from the second movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3. The vocals are sung with incredible passion by Dawn Upshaw.

Górecki has maintained that the overall work is about the ties between mother and child. (One might add to that the qualifier "broken by war.")

However, the second movement particularly was inspired by a prayer to the Virgin Mary scribbled by an 18-year old girl, Helena Wanda Blazusiakowna, on a Gestapo cell wall in the Polish town of Zakopane. She would later die there.

This particular piece of the symphony is often associated with Holocaust memorials, and was even performed at Auschwitz for a documentary film.

It is still one of my favorite pieces of music.

As I listen to it, I wonder what is it about suffering that draws beauty, even sometimes incredible, ethereal beauty such as this, into this world. And, why does it have to be that way?

Music's Blessing: It Can't Be Misunderstood

A week or so ago, I posted a "tweet" to Twitter (gosh, I hate even saying that) suggesting that Music and the Mind by Anthony Storr was interesting, but contained no major revelation for me.

I wish to recant that statement (tweet - ugh). Storr recounted an observation by the author Marcel Proust that in the absence of language, which is inherently problematic due to its ambiguity, vagueness, etc. music might have provided an effective way for mankind to communicate.

I have been thinking about this idea for about a week now, and wishing it were true. Music provides me with such solace. But language always fails me in explaining myself. It is subject to misinterpretation. (That is probably why I have always been so enamored of the "principle of charity" in interpretation. In fact, I wrote about it in my other blog.)

I have often imagined that heaven is a place where musical celebration would take place all the time. Perhaps, if Proust is right, it is the very essence of the afterlife. Works for me.

Musical Artist Friday: Anders Trentemøller

Today, instead of writing about the latest political nonsense, I'm discussing music. More of this important subject matter to follow(!)

One of my favorite artists, among the many, is Anders Trentemøller. He creates some beautiful, amazingly layered music. I won't put a label on it. Many people do. I'll just say I love his stuff.

This piece, "Moan" is from the album "The Last Resort." (Note the use of singing birds to enhance the ambient backgrounds of the instrumental version song - along with various snaps, crackles and pops that are characteristic of his style.)

Below are the instrumental, and then vocal versions of the same song. The music video for the latter, complete with silly Soviet era imagery, is quite fun. It's also hauntingly beautiful, with the vocal support of Ane Trolle.) Check him out on YouTube when you get a chance. And buy his stuff.

2008: Mission Statement Partly Accomplished

Several years ago, during a time when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and "underemployed," I wrote a mission statement for myself. As I wrote it, I realized it was okay to aspire to be a serious "creative," because in doing so, I could share the benefits of these activities with my children, broadening their horizons at a young age in a way my I never did. Here's an excerpt from what I wrote:

"To renew a sense of value in my life, bring me back to the true interests that have been with my throughout my life and career, and draw my family, friends and those who experience my work into a world of creativity and humor with me. To allow my family, friends and associates to enjoy the social, cultural and spiritual benefits of this life, in the hopes that they also will be inspired to be creative and effective. To create cultural works that will be of lasting value and inspiration."

In the time since, I have taken a few shots at this. I experimented with some standup comedy for a while, and worked on some television commercials, corporate videos, a "mockumentary" and a horror film.

I continue to pursue opportunities in all these areas. But above all, I have come to realize that music offers me some of the most promising opportunities to achieve my mission statement objectives. I have been a musician since I started playing bass guitar with my friends at about age 14. Many years have passed, and while I have had the guitar out on and off, actively playing music has not been a part of my life.

In that sense, 2008 had already been a great year for me. I took a shot answering a Craigslist ad for a guitarist, and thanks to the welcoming Andrew Camarco, Bob Muller, John Cunningham and John Esposito, I am part of a great band - Triple 7 - whose motto is: "If I ain't having fun, I'm done."

And we are having fun. I'm learning new music, expanding my musical abilities, and meeting great people. My bandmates are all passionate about expanding their abilities and playing out, which we've done a few times now.

However, my hosts for last night's New Year's Eve bash, the extended Camarco family, could not have known how important last night was to me. Because it offered the opportunity to close out an already great year by having my kids see my band play for the first time. One of the goals of my mission statement.

Well, due to some weather and other logistical problems, some members of the band couldn't make it. But Andrew, our drummer, and his nephew Brian, a former member of the band, were available to do drums and bass respectively. At Andrew's prodding I grabbed the nearby guitar (Brian's Fender Strat - thanks Brian) and we jammed a few songs - while the rest of the crowd did what I understand is classic Camarco Karaoke.

From afar I could see the kids watching. And clapping along. Singing. Connor had already received some free drumming lessons from Andrew earlier in the evening. (He just started taking guitar lessons this year.) Later, during a break in the action, Kevin and Connor would sit while the rest of the Camarcos sang some other tunes. Kevin would also grab the mic for the first time, and just make silly noises into it, uttering his trademark hearty laugh.

It didn't matter that daughter Emma would throw up on me later that evening. (She's fine now.) Nothing could "dampen" my spirits. I had, to some degree, done what I had set out to do several years ago. It has been a long, twisted path. But here I am, thanks to some good luck and some great people.

And there are more fun gigs to come in the months and years ahead. And more improvement of my playing. We'll see how far it will take me and my family and friends.

My success here has also given me the confidence to pursue more of my goals. 2009 will hopefully bring more successes.

I also found out this week from my doctor as well that my chronic illness ("Crohn's Colitis," as my doctor unconventionally calls it) has eased off so much, that I won't need to be checked out so frequently. I am extremely fortunate to have what appears to be a "mild case" as she described it.

It started to get milder around the time I wrote my mission statement.

I don't know what the future holds, medically, or musically. I pray a silent prayer every day to a darker God than that of my childhood that I and those I know and love will escape tragedy. But I am deeply grateful for the good things that 2008 has brought. And more hopeful for the future than I have been in some time.

Confronting the Guitar Gods in My Basement

I've been playing the guitar for over 20 years. On and off. Sometimes highly motivated and sometimes not.

Lately, I responded to an ad on Craigslist and joined a band with a great bunch of guys.

We play a lot of classic and hard rock: Rolling Stones, Judas Priest, Stone Temple Pilots, Ramones, Tom Petty, etc. As we work up a set list of 30 songs, and prepare to play out live, I've never wanted to practice more. It makes a huge difference to have people around with similar passion, driving you forward as an "artist."

So, of late, I'm down in my basement, at all hours of the night, using a Korg Pandora PX4 to rock out into headphones without waking the family. It's an awesome device, with lots of effects, modeled speaker cabinets, drums and bass to accompany, in different keys and tempos if you want.

Now, I'm studying and playing the chord changes, and the solos of many great players. Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" has been assigned to me for the solo. I've got most of it down now. I don't care that some little kid on YouTube can play it already. Or, that there are fifty other kids there showcasing their Van Halen chops. I'm on my own journey.

I'm somewhere I've desperately wanted to be for many years. I played as a teenager and it was a great time. After that it was hard to meet normal human beings to practice with. So, I just listened intently for many years, and stared at all my transcription books, the jazz standards, the stack of lesson tapes with my old teacher who loved Larry Carlton and Sonny Rollins, and wondered.

I'd pick it up from time to time, but if you want to rock, you need a band. Finally, I made a move.

Now, I'm not only learning the songs, I'm also re-learning the brilliance of my beloved artists from a new point of view, that of technique. The subtlety of their musical phrases, the fingerings of the strings to get just the right sound - so easy to screw up! -- just adds to my appreciation of music I already love. And I want to keep learning until I'm 100.

Because of this, and because the band mates are a great group, all of my problems seem so much smaller. I leave every rehearsal feeling great. It's the kind of thing I read about in Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way." Doing "creative" stuff, and being in a "creative community" is just something you have to do. And I've not done enough of it these many years.

I'm not going to let time pass like that any more, and I don't care if it leads me to perform in nursing homes and jails. That's not the point.

Many people who know me, my wife included, laugh somewhat incredulously at my enthusiasm. To look at me is not to think "rock and roll."

But, when I am alone, staring at the transcriptions, and noticing for example, how Leslie West takes a simple blues lick and turns it into an exquisitely fat, emotional guitar wail, and then I duplicate it, that knowledge is now deeply a part of me. And I know who I really am, and I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Photo used under Creative Commons license courtesy of Tres.

Short Film: God is a DJ

Who says you can't make a fun short film with a philosophical theme? This is a beautifully conceived work of art. (Although, the DJ strikes me as a demigod rather than the full deity.)

My Favorite (Internet) Radio Station

Okay, I'm one of those people who grew up listening to Three Dog Night on a transistor A.M. radio, and thinking it was the coolest thing ever.

My love of music and ability to have control over the dial is probably why it seemed so cool. So, you can only imagine the heaven that I am in now that we have glorious Internet radio, on platforms such as Live365.com, Pandora.com, Yahoo! Launchcast and more. Not to mention tons of archived music video on YouTube et al.

My absolute favorite Internet radio station is called modernera.fm. Someone in San Francisco has exquisite musical taste, and programs the songs all day long on the Live365 platform for a nominal fee. In return, they cover all his permissions, royalties etc. What a great time to be alive.

Modernera.fm features classical, jazz and ambient music from the 20th and 21st centuries. It's truly been an horizon-expanding experience for me, as I have enjoyed great artists such as Brian Eno, William Orbit, The Aqua Velvets, Blue Man Group and more. I've even bought some of the tracks I've heard via download or CD.

Modernera.fm is just one of millions of burgeoning new stations on these exciting Internet platforms. Long live Internet Radio!

Thoughts on Gary Numan

British industrial rocker Gary Numan fascinates me. Not only do I love his deeply engaging and original sound, but some of his works are thought-provoking and powerful.

His "Prayer for the Unborn" (below) is a remarkable statement of dissatisfaction with God, who didn't intervene in the death by miscarriage of Numan's unborn child. Whether you are an atheist (as he is) or not, you can understand the frustration he expresses here. In fact, as this song demonstrates, Numan's atheism seems to be directed at a God who is hearing, but not answering him.



Critics note that Numan, who in his early career struggled with some very derivative work, has finally discovered a unique voice and vision as he wrestles with darker themes.

Gary Numan's official website