Following up on the jazz workshop I did last winter, I joined the Blue Bear blues workshop this semester, and it's been a lot of fun. We're called the "Subprime Blues Band," and it's been a privilege playing with such a talented group of guys, led by our excellent teacher, Johnny Nitro. I've been into the blues for a long time, and enjoyed learning how to play it over several years now, so playing with a great band is really fun!
As our grand finale, we have two gigs in December, and I'd love to see you all at either or both! First, we're playing at the Blue Bear showcase event at the Bottom Of the Hill on Monday, December 15, at 8:30. And then we're opening for Johnny Nitro at San Francisco's oldest bar, The Saloon on Grant Street in North Beach, on Sunday, Dec 21 at 9:30 PM. Please note that the Bottom of the Hill is an all-ages show, but the Saloon is for those over 21 only :).
It should be a rockin' set, with a great combination of some down-home Delta Blues, New Orleans funk, and classic blues-rock tunes! I'm even singing some of the songs! :)
It's been a long time since I last posted. This has been a really tough year in lots of ways. Still, I've kept up with my music as best as I can, and feel like I've learned a lot and improved.
I'd posted earlier about the jazz band workshop class I took in the winter. It was a ton of work, and very intense, but I persevered, and the performance at Cafe Du Nord went really well! I took the class to learn how to play with a band, and ended up learning a lot more. In hard times, having to focus on learning the music and concentrating on it was a lifeline.
I finally managed to edit the video from the show, and post it at YouTube. It's all at www.youtube.com/group/infinitude, or you can view them by the embedded videos below. It was quite a diverse set of tunes, ranging from standards/classics like "Do You Know What it Means" and "Just One Of Those Things," to bebop tunes (Monk, Charlie Parker) to bossa nova and more avant-garde stuff (Steve Coleman, McCoy Tyner).
I also had the opportunity to perform again with the Contra Costa Performing Arts Society's Jazz Piano workshop in February, and did "Tipitina" and "Georgia On My Mind." Tipitina, of course, is a New Orleans classic, by Professor Longhair, with all the syncopation and multi-cultural influences that made him great. Every New Orleans pianist has a version of it, and it reminds me of the place. And I've always loved the version of "Georgia" by Ray Charles.
Finally, it was Jennifer Clevinger (my piano teacher)'s recital in June, and I played and sang a tune I learned during the jazz band workshop, "Ruby My Dear," by Thelonius Monk (lyrics by Sally Swisher). It's a really hard tune to sing, with continual key changes every couple of measures, so I was glad I could work out the tune!
Last winter (in what may have been a bout of insanity), I signed up for one of Blue Bear School of Music's great band workshops. I've never played in a band, and this seemed like a great opportunity to learn how to play with others.
I joined the Jazz Band Workshop as the keyboard player. It's been a great learning experience, with an awesome teacher (Jim Peterson, who plays with the band Mo'Fone). And we're playing a great set of songs, ranging from standards to swing classics to bebop and bossa nova.
It's 10 weeks of lessons, and the class ends with a performance where all Blue Bear's band workshops perform. Ours is on April 2nd at 7:30 PM at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco. The band's called Infinitude. Hope you can make it! It'll be fun!
Here's the concert poster. Infinitude is on the bottom left.
