Into My Own

One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as ’twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.

I should not be withheld but that some day
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.

I do not see why I should e’er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.

They would not find me changed from him they knew—
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Indian Ocean Tsunami

The death toll has jumped to over 116,000.

If you want to help, here are a few links for reputable organizations:
American Red Cross International Response Fund
AmeriCares South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
Direct Relief International Assistance Fund
Médecins Sans Frontières International Tsunami Emergency Appeal
Oxfam Asian Earthquake & Tsunami Fund
Sarvodaya Relief Fund for Tsunami Tragedy
UNICEF South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts

moment of silence

Though I have tried for several days, I can find no words to measure the loss and devastation of the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. My concern only brings long moments of pause, and an unrelenting desire to reach out, and help make a difference.

Variety Pack

There's an interesting discussion a'brew on the BCM forum, entitled
"Variety Pack". Basically, a member of the forum has written in to Eric to tell him to take care not to fall into the trap of "sounding like himself". Eric's response is thoughtful and passionate, but what is interesting to me about this is the underlying question -- what IS the artist striving for, a body of work that is vast and varied, or a body of work that is ultimately honest? (It's difficult to find words that equal for this argument, but the examples to come might level the playing field.) I don't really see a reason to write this on the forum, since this really is an issue directed towards Eric, and the rest of us are merely boisterous spectators in the arena -- our cries and cheers don't really change the outcome of the sport, but it gives us a sense of participation, and thus makes it more exciting for us to watch. Let's face it, whether you agree or disagree, crusade or castigate, you're still judging Eric for what you can bear witness to -- his (unfinished) body of work. But what is really on trial is the sum-total of his artistry, which could also be thought of as the worth of his soul. So you'll pardon me if I focus on the issue as an abstract, and give Eric a break.

Recording artists are a great place to start and get a quick overview -- in a world where you're only as good as your next hit single, pop artists have to make very clear decisions -- stick with what they're good at, or diversify in hopes of greater success. The New Jerseyans seem intent on keeping it real -- like it or not, Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen and Bon Jovi sound pretty much exactly the same as they did 20 years ago. Madonna has certainly evolved, but her unique (read: slightly sucky) vocal quality is always the focal point from album to album. Whereas Beck changes so much from album to album that you can love one and hate the next, and find no continuity between them whatsoever -- clearly, Beck has chosen variety. And then there are the artists that have "evolved" enough that one pines for the days when their work had substance -- I don't know about you, but Van Halen, Metallica, the 80's lineup of King Crimson, and pre-electric Bob Dylan immediately spring to my mind. So clearly, there's a wide spectrum of successful (and unsuccessful) approaches an artist can take.

Some people have speculated that an artist quoting his/her work makes them guilty of self-plagarism. But I have to disagree -- I think it takes one's artistry to another level. Shakespeare did it. Sting does it all the time. Jazz musicians do it to themselves and to one another (oh my!). Brahms did it with his signature, and Shostakovich made his entire career out of it. Think of all the great quotes you've heard -- "I have a dream...", "Ask not what your country can do for you...", "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Do we hear these once, whisper softly to ourselves "how brilliant!" and then never speak them again for fear of being repetitious? Certainly not! A good idea bears repeating -- a great moment bears reference. And creating relevance and reference within one's body of work gives an interested audience further insight into the creator's creative soul.

There are certainly great artists that we've seen continue to evolve and develop quite dramatically throughout their careers -- Picasso and Stravinsky are the first to come to mind -- and their body of work is indeed vast and varied. But I doubt very much that Pablo Picasso moved from the blue period to his cubist work because somebody told him he might want to try a different color than blue; I would assume he felt he had probed deeply enough into that part of his soul/style/curiosity, and was compelled to explore something else. And Stravinsky also didn't move through his classical phase and his serial phase for anyone else's enjoyment -- everyone would've probably preferred a steady stream of rehashings of "The Rite of Spring" until he kicked the bucket (fortunately for us, many 20th Century composers have made it their mission to turn Stravinsky's innovation into overworked cliche... thanks guys).

So we come back to the original question -- what IS the artist striving for, a body of work that is vast and varied, or a body of work that is ultimately honest? While it may be possible to achieve both, at some point or another, one's intentions will be called into question. It seems the best answer we can come up with as creators is, "it's up to us as individuals to decide what's important". The audience gets to decide whether they want more of your sameness, something different from you, or whether they've had quite enough (and wish that David Lee Roth was back in the band... oops, sorry). Regardless, at some level a true artist's vision and intention will strive for something beyond what Eric so appropriately referred to as "blunt fingers and clumsy minds".

Google-whacked

It's the holidays -- have some spare time on your hands? Well, I don't -- but here's a great new timewaster for all ye who can't get enough of the online experience. It's called "Google-whacking", and it's like crack cocaine for internet geekiness.

Here's what you do: log onto google.com (or your preferred internet search engine). Now choose two words (and ONLY two words -- with no + sign between them) and see if you can find only ONE website that contains those two words. Sounds easy? Just try it. "Sidewinder" and "daisychain" came up with 1,520 results -- "kafkaesque" and "chutney" came up with 115. You've gotta get pretty funky with this to make it work. Here's an abridged version of my attempt:

I started with "lugubrious" and "spectrometer". Not bad, only 66 websites.

I decided to try a different direction -- "fraudulent" and "cryptonomicon". Oooh -- bad move, 779 websites.

Next attempt "epinikion" (that's not even English) and "miasma". Awww c'mon -- 4 websites?!?!?

How about "wammajamma" and "laundry". One website! Success!!!!

Well, not really. Technically, that's not a Googlewhack, since "wammajamma" isn't a real word. But eventually, I came up with "giraffe" and "microtonality", which is a legit Googlewhack. At least it was. Until just a moment ago. Now it's on two websites...

Sounds stupid? It is. BUT JUST TRY IT ONCE.

Happy Holidays

Hey folks, I'm up in Northern Michigan to spend time with my family, my girlfriend and her family (they happen to live in the next town over), and to have some much-deserved R&R time. So have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday weekend, and I'll get back to the blog in a few days!

new projects

OK, as a commercial composer, I am in a very interesting position today. I've got two new games, and the producers aren't suggesting any creative direction for the music -- at this stage in the game, it's up to me. This is a rare-afforded opportunity, and can either have very creatively liberating or frustratingly stunting results -- in other words, they'll either like the direction I take, or they won't (and I'll have to rewrite it). This has some to do with the actual music I come up with, but it also depends on the character of the producer.

Some producers take the attitude of "hey -- you're the professional, we pay you for your expertise, you do what you think would work best." Now granted, if you stray outside of the lines of good taste, the producer is gonna have something to say about it. But for the most part, this kind of producer sees the harmony and positive results in allowing creative people to do creative work.

There are other producers who take a different approach -- "I don't know what I want... but I'll know what I DON'T want." Alot of times, we creative-types attribute this kind of approach to a lack of vision, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that in a lot of cases, it's a lack of confidence. Confidence in the quality of their people. Confidence in their decision-making ability, and the confidence to follow that decision through. And confidence in their own ideas -- many of these folks are frustrated creatives themselves.

The professional attitude is to treat all these situations equally:

You like what I've come up with? GREAT.

You don't like what I've come up with? No problem -- I'm interested in your input (however insightful or obscure it may be), and I'll go back to the drawing board.

You don't like this idea either? Perhaps you can offer me more guidance -- clearly I'm not conceptualizing this like you are, and I want to understand where you're coming from.

You still don't like what I'm coming up with? Tell me what you've liked about what you've heard already -- I'll work with those ideas, and I'm sure we'll get this project on the right track.

You STILL don't like it? OK, forget about this project -- tell me what kind of music you like to listen to. (I have had projects that have actually gotten to this point!)

You STILL don't like it?!?!? Tell me about your childhood...

all I can say is "wow"

Ian Simmons (the artist who did the cover for the latest BCM album) came by to give me a Christmas gift. It's THE framed original artwork for the cover. This is hundreds of hours of work, and I KNOW it had to be hard for him to part with it. I'm utterly speechless, and overwhelmingly touched. Thank you, Ian.

Oh, and evidently, my Santa Claus imitation did the trick. So another happy Christmas because of my sneaky, underhanded phoniness. Remember: I also do birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs...

Ho Ho... umm, Ho?

I've got to make my yearly phone call to Ella and pretend that I'm Santa Claus. This is the third year her father has put me up to this. This is undoubtedly the most stressful call I will make this year, as each year gets harder than the last. I have to assume she's getting older. And smarter. And I'm always concerned that she's going to snare me in some "how-do-they-come-up-with-this-stuff-at-5-years-old" logic that will catch me in a lie (i.e. there's no reindeer named Pokey, I don't sound like I'm smoking a pipe, the elves don't really have a dental plan, etc.), and then I will be responsible for "the Christmas that was ruined because Jim did a lousy Kris Kringle immitation".

Of course, the other side of the coin is that if I continue to do it too well, eventually I'm going to be speaking to a mal-adjusted 46 year old spinster who waits by the phone for a call from the only real man in her life -- the one whose belly shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly. Or at least, she imagines it does...

To be realistic, I still have the imagination of a very creative 5-year old on my side, so I will probably once again pull this phone call off. But there will come a day, I'm sure, when Ella will come home in tears and tell her parents that a kid at school said Santa doesn't really exist. Her parents will look at each other, and they'll heave a big sigh. They'll sit her down, dry her tears, and they'll finally come clean. And knowing Ella, she will take the news bravely, like the big girl that she already is.

And I know, after she's regained her composure, she'll set her jaw, look them straight in the eye, and in a firm tone of voice, ask:

"So then WHO was it that was calling me on the phone every year?"

Midwest Aftermath

It's 9:05 AM and I'm still in bed. I've been up since 6:15. I'm a raw mixture of jangled energy and bone-weary exhaustion. My brain is racing from all the stimulation of the last few days. Can't sleep. Not ready to get up.

The phone rings -- it's Steve. He's on his way to a concert reading of "MetaMarch", and wants to know if Eric wants to go with him. Eric can't answer the phone himself because he's asleep on the bathroom floor. He's been there the entire night. Evidently the cold tile floor was far better than my snoring. I can't believe he didn't wake me up. Now that's a buddy.

Newman meets us for breakfast. He thinks he's lost his coat. He can't find his wallet. We're all just BARELY holding it together.

We go back to the room to pack. We've forgotten the key. We convince the housekeeper to let us in by describing the contents of the room. Two half-eaten pizzas on the floor. Two dozen autographed posters on a chair. And an electric guitar in the closet.

We pack. We go down to Steve and Newman's room. They're packing.

Message on my phone from Nicki. Gotta go.

Midwest 2004 (day 2&3)

Wow. Where do I start?

I could talk about the conversation with Bob Parker -- a man I hadn't seen in 4 years, who I originally talked to because he wanted to play Chaos Theory with his band. Since I'd seen him, he'd been diagnosed with Leukemia. He lived in a bubble for 2 years. He received bone marrow and stem cell transplants. And now here he was, standing in front of me, free of oxygen, and probably free of leukemia, asking about making plans for performing Chaos Theory again...

or I could talk about Eric's luncheon with the Woman's Band Directors International...


Milt Allen (conductor on the new BCM CD for "Courage & Compassion" and "TranZendental Danse of Joi") and me hanging out in front of the BCM booth.

I could talk about going out to dinner with Mark Camphouse (highly acclaimed composer), Gary Green (director of bands for University of Miami), and Michael Colgrass (Pulitzer prize-winning composer)...

or I could talk about Vandercook's performance of Newman's "Moon by Night"...


Gil Wukitch, Jim Kull, and Newman discuss the "Avenue X" commission.

I could talk about BCM's 2 hour meeting with Jeffrey Renshaw and his proteges, discussing the NewMusicBox interview and the future of the wind ensemble...

or I could talk about the serious possiblility of going to Brazil this year... not once, but TWICE.


Dennis Fisher and Steve talk about Steve's new piece, "Stampede".

I could talk about my conversations with Steve Reineke, David Holsinger, Phillip Rothman, John Mackey...

or I could talk about looking over Jeff Gershman's arrangement of Frank Zappa's "G-Spot Tornado" BEFORE it has it's world premiere at the CBDNA convention in New York City...

But I just don't know where to start.

Midwest 2004 (day 1)

Today was the first day of the Midwest Educator's Convention. For those who are unaware, about 12,000 band directors from around the world descend on the unsuspecting city of Chicago -- and for the past 4 years, BCM has been there. This is the 5th year all four of us (Eric, Steve, Newman, and I) have been here, and I think this year is starting out in a far more bizarre fashion than ever before.

For starters, the ceiling was leaking over our booth -- no one else's booth, just ours. In response to this, we went for our usual rebellious flair and moved all of the furniture out of the booth and into the aisle -- giving us EVEN MORE exposure to the baton-waving masses. Eric conducted his new piece, "Lux Aurorum", with the Northview High School Chamber Orchestra (yes, there were actually STRINGS!). A member of the Tokyo Kosei (possibly THE greatest wind ensemble on Earth) came by to tell me that they'd be performing Chaos Theory this year!

Newman and Bill Berz (Rutgers University) discuss Newman's latest commission...

... to be premiered at the CBDNA National Convention in New York City this February.

Director Chuck Throckmorton checks out the new BCM tunes from the aisle of the convention hall! Who needs a stinkin' booth?!?!?

Artist Ian Simmons (who did the cover for the new BCM CD) stopped by and signed a few posters for us!

After the show, instead of hanging out in the hotel lounge, Eric, Steve, and I went to meet Nicki at SpaceTimeTanks for an hour-long float in sensory deprivation chambers. It was Steve's and Eric's first time, and they were totally into the experience.

So after a little sushi, a little sake, and a little chocolate ice-cream, it's time to call it a day... and prepare for DAY TWO.

exchange rate

Here's the final mixed version of that American money tune -- remember, I only had a few HOURS to write and record it, so be gentle...

and for the seriously curious, here's the original sketch -- the one that was "too British"... keep in mind that this is a quick sketch to give the producers the flavor -- this is not finished orchestration.

(please don't download these -- I don't own the rights to them and neither do you!)

life in the fast lane

Yesterday was a looooooong day.

I managed to finish preparing everything for that recording at the last possible moment. Ed Harrison came in to play snare drum and concert crash cymbals (piatti). He did a great job and played very musically. Then Melanie Cottle came in to layer the 6 french horns. Gorgeous, flawless playing.

As soon as I finished this, it was off to the chiropractor (*CRACK!*), then score production -- proofreading (there are ALWAYS corrections to be made), printing, photocopying, and binding. By then, it was 2 AM.

This morning I woke up at 7 AM, cleaned my apartment, rented a large car, and loaded it full of CD's, posters, and other Midwest booth accessories. I'll finish mixing the "money" tune, and take care of some other loose ends, then go pick up Newman and Steve at the airport. After that, I'll either come back and keep working, or help set up the booth. Then we'll run around town buying all the stuff we forgot (i.e. sharpies, headphone splitters, flyers for performances, etc.), grab some food, and prepare for tomorrow: DAY ONE OF MIDWEST.

Stay tuned to this blog for all the late-breaking news on MIDWEST 2004...

got my mojo workin'

OK, it's 10:30 AM. I'm finishing up the writing on that new direction for the "money" music I started writing yesterday. Then I've got to create parts, and start recording trumpets at 3:30, orchestral percussion at 4:30, and french horns at 5:30. After that, I have a chiropractor's appointment at 7 o'clock (yeah, my back is still outta whack), then I go to Kinko's and print and bind scores for Midwest, which starts tomorrow.

At some point, I'm also going to go pick up the BCM posters (posters? did somebody say posters?!?), clean my apartment (for Milt Allen, who's staying at my place this week), pack for the show (I basically live down at the Hilton for 4 days), rent a car to shuttle the BCM boys and junk around in, AND I'm supposed to have dinner with Eric Whitacre tonight...

Gotta run!

if first you don't succeed...

The producers came back with a response this morning. One of them liked it. The other one didn't. Said it sounded too much like "Mozart", "too British". Said it "sounded like British money, not American money". OK, that's cool... so, 4 hours later, and I've submitted two more sketches. One is American money portrayed as bold, dynamic, orchestral, and sounding an awful lot like the soundtrack to "Independence Day" (which was written by a Brit, but don't tell them that!). The other is American money portrayed as sounding high-class and stylish, and a whole lot like the big band sax soli I wrote last week (if they like that approach, I'll rip myself off).

Waiting to- HOLD IT, phone ringing...

(seriously -- the phone rang while I was writing this!)

OK, just got off the phone. He likes the orchestral approach. So if you'll excuse me, I have to schedule musicians for a recording session and finish writing this music before tomorrow morning -- that is, if I want to make this deadline and be at the Midwest Convention.

stalemate

So here I am, writing my brains out on a Saturday. The gig: write something fun that sounds like "money". It's got to be finished by Monday morning, so I can record the musicians. That means all the writing, hiring of musicians, and copying of parts has to happen tonight and tomorrow. Originally this was going to be a brass quintet, but I decided it was too likely to get shot down, so I've gone for a Baroque chamber orchestra in a jaunty cut-time dance to see if that'll fit the bill.

I wrote half of it, turned it into an mp3, and sent it to the producer. Called him up -- he's gone out to dinner. I have no idea whether this is gonna do the trick, or he'll want something faster, or more modern, or... so now all I can do is wait...

TSO RANT

For those of you who don't frequent the BCM forum, there was a question posted recently about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- what I thought of them. 'Tis the season to be outspoken, so I thought I'd share some holiday cheer and explain why I think the Trans-Siberian Orchestra blows. I feel a very, very deep, profound revulsion for this music and there is no way I can keep it to myself any longer. What I am about to write is more of a rant than an organized rationalization -- I realize that if I haven't offended any of you TSO fans yet, I'm about to. Bigtime. Trevor asked the $100,000 question, and now he's gonna get the 4-alarm answer.

WHY THE TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA BLOWS:

1. IT'S NOT MUSIC, IT'S COMMERCE. First rule of the record business -- Christmas records sell. Why, you ask? Because there are an ungodly number of thoughtless dingleberries out there who don't care enough to buy a thoughtful gift for a loved one, and instead, buy them something that they can't use for another 364 days. Is this the TSO's fault? YES. When you look at a discography that includes FOUR Christmas albums and ONE concept album (that as far as I can tell, was an abysmal failure), that can mean only one thing. Do you think the leaders of the TSO are just HUGE lovers of Christmas music? I THINK NOT. Their motivation is to make a LOT of money, and to do it in a repetitive, reflexive, regurgitative, UNCREATIVE way -- by exploiting the spirit of Christmas... over... and over... and over... and over... they're not just sell-outs -- they're sell-outs on Santa.

2. IT'S BAD MUSIC. OK, I've established it's vile motivation. Let's look at what it really is... is it rock music? C'mon people, just because it has an electric guitar doesn't mean it rocks. They've yanked the teeth out of the rock so it's harmless. Now the only damage this music could possibly do is gum you to death. It has an orchestra... is it art music? Speaking for myself (and this is probably the only time you'll read that in this entire rant), it does nothing to illustrate or illuminate anything for me, and it's not particularly innovative or even well-crafted. So what is it really? It's a bastardized form of rock and (dare I say it?) classical music -- it's the worst of both worlds.

3. THE ORCHESTRATION IS INSIPID. How tragic to actually assemble so many trained, skilled musicians and then offer them ham-handed parts that offer only the most simple-minded motives the orchestra can create. (this goes for Metallica's S&M album, which in my outspoken opinion, is also 90% crap.)

4. THE BAND SUCKS. There is a long tradition of hard/progressive rock that has elevated our expectations of rock musicians. Led Zep. Black Sabbath. Rush. Metallica. Iron Maiden. Queensryche. Dream Theatre. The TSO band parts are trite and hackneyed. These guys are more inspired by Andrew Lloyd Webber than any real musicians of the genre they exploit.

5. THEY HAVE NOTHING OF ANY VALUE TO OFFER. Actually, that's not totally true. I did see a music video of their's once that had some hot chicks in it. Other than that, their music and their concepts are pandering and simple-minded.

6. I'M SICK OF HEARING THAT CHAOS THEORY SOUNDS LIKE THE TSO. Do you hear any sleigh bells in Chaos Theory?!? Do any of my solos sound like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"?!? There are electric guitars and french horns in both -- that's about where the common ground ends. Same thing with any comparisons with Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and my personal favorite, the Metallica S&M album. Sorry folks -- I'll smile, I'll be polite, but you're KILLING me when you tell me that you can't hear a difference.

7. THE TSO ARE DOING WHAT I WOULD KILL TO DO, AND THEY'RE DOING IT BADLY. Yes, I am positively green with envy. These guys stand at the doorstep of extraordinary musical potential, and what do they do? They sing Christmas carols to serve their own fiscal greed. They could still do what they do, and at least TRY to do it with some artfulness, but they'd rather count their lucre than create. Their ungracious sacrilege against the great glorious gift of music offends me. And I swear when I get the chance, I won't do it like they're doing it.

They're heeeeeeeeere...

Yes, they're here.

They're in the back seat of my girlfriend's car, as well as the trunk, and there are a few in the passenger's side seat as well.

They look gorgeous. They sound fantastic. They WILL be at the Midwest Convention this year.

BCM - MEN OF INDUSTRY.

100%

R.I.P. Darrell Abbott

"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage in Columbus, OH. 3 other people were killed in the shooting rampage.

Totally, totally senseless.

R.I.P. Frederick Fennell

An e-mail from Fred Fennell's daughter...

I want you, and the greater music community to know that my father died peacefully in his sleep early this morning, Tuesday, December 7, 2004. Elizabeth and I were by his side. I had promised him that I would do all I could to get him back to Siesta Key so he could watch the sun set over the ocean. With the help of Hospice, he arrived home in time to see the brilliant orange and pinks in the western skies last evening. A bit before Midnight, dad told me he was "frustrated and disappointed." When I asked him,"Why?" he replied, "There's no drummer here yet. I can't die without a drummer!" I told him that I loved him, and that "Heaven's best drummer was on the way." Moments later he said, "I hear him! I hear him! I'm OK now." This was my final conversation with my dad.

I was blessed to be able to dress my father in his finest set of tails after he died, complete with the usual struggle with his tie. Elizabeth asked if he could be "dressed up" and I could think of nothing finer for a lasting memory. Dad asked to be cremated and that I scatter his ashes in the woods at Interlochen, Michigan this summer. This, of course, I will do.

Fondly,

Cathy Fennell Martensen

Real Life

I'm not complaining -- please don't think that I am. I am blessed with so much every day, it's amazing. But I do want to paint a picture of just one day's concerns as I fire up the old computer and set off on the day:

My big band chart is only half-written. The session is tomorrow. I have no band. Yet.

The other tune, the TV gameshow tune, is going to be a transcription of the theme to the Hollywood Squares TV show. But I haven't started it at all. And it's due Friday. So I guess I need to schedule musicians for tomorrow as well...

I'm recording Pat Morita today at 2 PM -- remote from Las Vegas. I have no hookup numbers, and Pat hasn't returned his w-9 form to the signatory (the folks who pay union talent for us). The signatory also called today to tell me that it appears that Richard Simmons' agent (I'm recording Richard on Friday) is trying to pull a fast one on us, so some discussion must take place sometime today...

Several people have emailed me, desperate for Chaos Theory scores and parts. I've got to write them back to tell them that as much as I'd like to help out, they've just gotta wait.

I'm recording Gus Savalas -- the brother of the late (and much more famous) Telly Savalas, later this afternoon. I haven't heard Telly Savalas' voice since I was 4 years old and my Dad was watching "Kojak", so I'm not gonna know if Gus sounds like Telly until someone ELSE hears it and says, "Who the Hell is that supposed to be?!?"

I still haven't printed out Courage & Compassion scores for Midwest. I have no finished TranZendental Danse of Joi score. And Hal Leonard is out of Chaos Theory and Reflections, so I need to do another run of those. SOON.

Other things? Yes, but there's no way I'm going to get to them today. Better dash -- I've got many the fish to fry.

Chronic Harmonizer

I harmonized all day. I harmonized all night. I woke up early this morning to harmonize some more. Some people think I could go blind from all this harmonization. I figure the worst that can happen if I keep up this much harmonizing is that I'll grow hair on my palms.

(I forgot to mention yesterday... this sax soli is not 6 or 8 bars long -- it's 24 bars long! That's two full choruses of pretty much straight running 8th notes, and steady running drop-2 chords just ain't gonna cut it. I'm gonna post this sucker when I'm done just because it's too much effort NOT to show off. We record on Thursday. I still haven't booked the band. This is gonna get interesting. Stay tuned.)

Sax Soli

OK, today I gotta get writing -- BIGTIME. First order of business is gonna be this jazz big band chart I've gotta bust out pronto. I'm going to do a saxophone section feature, which means a TON of five-part harmonization. This may be a walk in the park for some composers, but for me, it's like pulling teeth. God bless the jazz idiom for giving us more harmonic choices than Miles Davis' autobiography has swear words...

Gotta run -- my ink well, feather quill, and ruled parchment are waiting...

i thank you God for most this amazing day

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any -- lifted from the no
of all nothing -- human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e.e. cummings

News from the Turtle Herd

Do you ever have a million things you need to get done, yet you can't manage to pull one of them off? I've got a KILLER "to-do list" that I can hardly bear to look at. I've got classy big band music and cheezy TV gameshow music and triumphant brass quintet music and even zesty Spanish concert band music that all needs a'writin', and I can't seem to get on the good foot. Can't seem to get my mojo workin'. Can't seem to pull the thumb out. And I need to -- OH BOY do I need to.

I give you Fever...

Yesterday's musical triumph was creating a music-minus-one version of the Peggy Lee classic, "Fever". My buddy's wife is going to sing it at a Christmas party, and I owe him a favor for helping me out with the BCM CD. Even though it was all done with samples (John Patitucci's acoustic bass and Bob Clearmountain's drumset), I tried to do the best job I could -- it would've been easy to just whip it out quick and dirty, but it seems like anything I take on, I want to try to do it to the best of my ability. Besides, even though it's an easy tune, I can still learn something about groove from the bass player's note releases, or the drummer's less-spazzo-and-more-crafted drum fills. And while I was layering finger-snaps (being careful to vary my snapping technique and mic proximity to make it sound like different people!), I thought of my former teacher from USC, Joe Harnell. Joe was a great teacher and musician and a super-nice, personable guy. One of the lesser among his many musical accomplishments occurred while at those Peggy Lee recordings sessions -- he was the one who suggested they snap their fingers on that track!

NewMusicBox

There's a new BCM video interview conducted by Frank Oteri for the NewMusicBox Web Magazine. We did this back in October at the American Music Center in New York City -- CLICK HERE to check it out...

back to the grindstone

Life (and it's reflection -- the blog) had veered away from music for a while... I'm here to tell you that we're back in business, and business is good. I've got 5 cues to write this week (probably a brass quintet with synthestrated orchestral backup), as well as some T.V. gameshow-style stuff due next week. AND I've got to get back into the score-and-part production routine... so I'm sharpening my pencils and booting up Sibelius as I write this...

Zoomquilt

I thought this was very cool -- CLICK HERE