A Very Hot Gig!
Posted on December 30, 2009 with 1 comment
So tonight I played a nice gig with vocalist Jack Pollard, bassist Kurt Ribak, & drummer Ranzell Merrit. We were swingin' and havin' fun. Early in the first set, Kurt noticed we were on fire - literally, with smoke and everything! The large plant next to us had a hot halogen light with one of our bags on top of it. Fire. It's cool, no flames. Jack pulled the bag, the staff turned off the light. We kept playing...
Playing music is so very much in the mind. All the years of preparation, and continued learning. Physical skill, memorized patterns of melody, harmony, song structure. Yet in order to swing, to play together in a groove, one needs to let go of that and listen, feel, breathe. I'm at my best when unaware of the Ego. I tried playing a whole solo with my eyes closed, ears wide open. Made it for quite a while, more than a chorus. Felt good. Keith Jarrett is one of my musical heroes. I'd like to try a concert like that sometime - no preparation other than the lifetime of preparation I've done. I'm getting to do something close for a recording of Chuck Bernstein's tunes with Chuck on drums and Sam Bevan on bass. We finish the recording this Monday. Don't know when it'll be out, I'll let you know.
As always, there are some people listening amid the din of indifference. That connection between player and listener is something I crave. More now than in the past, say in my 20s. I want to connect to my inner voice first and foremost, but I'm always feeling for that bond the music creates between us. It's as palatable as the chair I'm sitting in. Have you felt it? As a listener, what's it like for you?
Playing music is so very much in the mind. All the years of preparation, and continued learning. Physical skill, memorized patterns of melody, harmony, song structure. Yet in order to swing, to play together in a groove, one needs to let go of that and listen, feel, breathe. I'm at my best when unaware of the Ego. I tried playing a whole solo with my eyes closed, ears wide open. Made it for quite a while, more than a chorus. Felt good. Keith Jarrett is one of my musical heroes. I'd like to try a concert like that sometime - no preparation other than the lifetime of preparation I've done. I'm getting to do something close for a recording of Chuck Bernstein's tunes with Chuck on drums and Sam Bevan on bass. We finish the recording this Monday. Don't know when it'll be out, I'll let you know.
As always, there are some people listening amid the din of indifference. That connection between player and listener is something I crave. More now than in the past, say in my 20s. I want to connect to my inner voice first and foremost, but I'm always feeling for that bond the music creates between us. It's as palatable as the chair I'm sitting in. Have you felt it? As a listener, what's it like for you?