Now that winter break’s on its last legs, it’s time to look forward to a fresh new semester and a fresh new year. Here are some of my resolutions for 2010: 1. Read. After setting down The Great Gatsby today, I realized that I haven’t picked up many jazz biographies since I started getting involved [...]
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Being involved in many music programs as a high school student has its perks, but sometimes I find myself diving head first into weekends like these: 1. Saturday, 7:30 am: The SAT. There’s nothing much to say about this one except for the fact that it pretty much rendered me useless for the rest of [...]
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I recently sent in a self-recording for an All-California Jazz Band audition (check it out at CBDA.org) — it was the first time I’d ever done a recording for anything to do with jazz. Like any good musician, I waited until the weekend before the audition tapes were due to begin recording — because recording [...]
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Thanks to my current jazz teacher (Mark Nilan, pictured in the far right), I was able to sneak into a “Groove Therapy” jazz workshop held by USC/CalArts professor Alphonso Johnson this past Friday. Though it took rushing out of school at noon and getting lost on the USC campus, it was pretty amazing sitting in [...]
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If you haven’t got the slightest idea what I’m talking about, check out yesterday’s post to see what’s been happening with the West Ranch High School jazz band. Today we opened the Real Book to Erroll Garner’s Misty: It’s one of those romantic sitting-in-a-bar-contemplating-life tunes. This recording’s got a bit of a classical touch with [...]
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Back in the jazz room at West Ranch High School I’m lucky enough to have these three things: a trendy Yamaha keyboard (a similar one to the Motif model), a jazz band-exclusive standup Yamaha piano (unfortunately, the choir has already claimed the baby grand), and the fifth-edition Real Book 1 & 2. But the keyboard’s [...]
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This week, NPR Jazz is asking bloggers like me to list five albums I’d use to introduce someone to today’s jazz. This is incredible because (a) I love today’s jazz, and (b) this is justification that I’m not crazy for running a blog about jazz — there’s more like me out there! Even though I’m [...]
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Out of all of sites that I’ve been using to update myself on today’s jazz world, the one that I constantly return to is NPR’s Jazz & Blues Page. Not only do they keep updating, but their writers and speakers all share this dedication and genuine love for music — which is one of the [...]
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If you still haven’t checked out Seis Cuerdas, here’s a little glimpse of their “Flamenco for a new generation” via Youtube: This is La Posada from their 2006 album, Solo Guitarras. To check out more of their songs & albums, visit the Seis Cuerdas store or look up Seis Cuerdas on iTunes. I’m currently addicted to [...]
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So the NPR Newport Jazz festival is over, which means NPR’s posted most of the performers online via webcast. (But rrg! I can’t find Tony Bennett anywhere.) This is pretty lame, but I’ve been waiting to listen to the Dave Brubeck Quartet webcast all day. I’m jiggling in my seat from anticipation right now. The [...]
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