Blog entries

BrassMusician.com Forums

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I’ve mentioned this in passing before, but I wanted to remind anybody looking in about the excellent BrassMusician.com and its forums. The site is run by a fine trumpet player called Jon Gorrie, originally from New Zealand and now residing in Sweden. The main site is an online magazine about all things relating to brass instruments. The forums have been particularly interesting for me, and I’m proud to be a regular contributor over there. If you have any questions or concerns about playing, or anything to do with your instrument, please stop by. There are a lot of smart and helpful people there.

Great video of the Harry Connick Jr. band with Roger Ingram.

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Earlier today I ran across the following great video of the Harry Connick Jr band on YouTube. It looks like it’s from the “Swinging Out Live” concert video from the early ’90s, although it’s not a chart I remember – I think I only saw that concert on an edited version on British TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9tVe_lS4Ns

The song is “Something’s Gotta Give”. It’s a great arrangement and the band is cooking. In particular, Roger Ingram is at his spectacular best on Lead Trumpet. This may be one of the best video examples I’ve seen of him!

Mel Lewis Interviews now online.

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I’ve heard of the Mel Lewis radio interviews, conducted in the late 1980s, before but had never had a chance to listen to them. They are one of those resources that used to do the rounds among other drummers, often on increasingly poorly copied cassette tapes! Yesterday, I was made aware that they have been made available to listen to online. Check them out at the Percussive Arts Society‘s website.

Bus Chatter

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The bus is home today – much as it has been for the past few days, and will be for the next. For the next 7-8 hours, we will find various ways to entertain ourselves. Before movie time, much of that will involve sleeping or conversation.

It’s fascinating to hear the discussions going on around this mobile room at 8:30am. Music is one topic of conversation, of course, in one corner, but other subjects range from home improvement to classic literature to the basest of humour.

This kind of thoughtful diversity is one of the great things about being in the company of other musicians. It’s hard to know if an audience fully appreciates how communicative an experience it is to play in, and as, an ensemble. The discourse off the bandstand is an extension of that, and is something I always treasure.

Then, as the fervour of recent caffeination subsides, it quietens in here. Time to plug in the headphones, read or take a nap. Or perhaps all three. We have all day…