Messing around with the coronet

this is a fun video I made. I basically played some licks on this coronet I own and chopped it up a bunch to make this video. Every time I look at the video, I think I look like Jeff Tweedy from wilco. Its mostly about the hair and sport coat. I don't think I look as strung out as him though. lol. No offense Jeff, you write great music, but you you do look a little pasty. So every now and again I bust out this coronet and play some stuff on it. I will also put a mute in and play it for the yoga classes that teach. I will play something chill with long meditative tones in it. I am better with a trombone, when it comes to brass. I like the slide action and I can read music with the trombone, whereas I can't with the trumpet, but I can improvise on the trumpet. I enjoy some of the dynamic motion that is created in the edits of this video. When I repeat some of the quick bits it forms a nice visual motion. Anyway, probably by today's standards it is low fi. And I am cool with that. I like my stuff to have some character and not be completely polished. I think when stuff is too polished it is boring. But on the other hand when something is too rough it gives me a headache or can be annoying.

Playing My Drums with Brushes

Here I am in my music room at my house in Baltimore. I am playing with brushes. This is a great technique for playing jazz, and sometimes I find it akin to DJ scratching. Something about the roundness of the movement of the brushes kinda relates to the roundness of the movement of records. I love syncopation and the rythm that comes from jazz music. It's all about having a steady foundation with room for improvisation over top. I think too much improv gets murky and misdirected, where as too much structure gets boring, predictable, and stale. When you have the synthesis of the two then you get magic! I really miss playing these drums. I used to play them for hours on end but then, somehow I came to the realization that they are really loud and so now I don't play them as much. Soon enough I will get a soundproof penthouse apartment or a house out in the woods where I will not bother anyone and no one will bother me. I will both be able to play as loud as I want and I will have quiet when I want as well. oh yea! It's gonna be nice. I played drums in a Heavy Metal band for a couple of years, but had to quit because I got tired of the music, but it is something I still have a slight interest in and think can be used for interesting new innovations. One day, I may perhaps get a double bass pedal and work out some magic with that. I am wondering what are the possibilities of using that in a Jazz-Fusion situation. Synth heavy with syncopated double bass pedal? hmmm... must investigate. When I was in the Hardcore band I had to use the heaviest sticks necessary. That was a lot different than what I normally do. I am used to a lighter touch and that scene was anything but light

Live @ Joe Squared

This was a wonderful night of playing at Joe Squared, the Best Pizza place in Baltimore!! They have a real hip performance space and provide a PA which is very nice. The background noise in this video is a bit much but at least you know it is live! I made a ton of tips that night!! That made me feel really good. Like people were really digging what I was playing. I actually made more in tips than the amount I was paid by the club. That has never happened before. i had to empty out the tip jar to make room for more! Even a homeless man who wandered into the bar gave me a whole quarter! I thought he was thinking about taking money out of the pitcher but he added to it. this video is of a little jam, me be-bopping over a bluesy piano riff. I felt pretty hot that night. Oh man, it feels good to let loose with some scatting vocals while I'm laying down a steady riff! Make sure if you're in the Baltimore area you come get amazing pizza and music at Joe Squared. They have two locations, one on North Avenue, and one at "The Power Plant" in the inner harbor. You won't be dissapointed!

Piano Improv

This is a video I made with an excerpt of a performance I did at An Die Musik in Baltimore MD on July 2nd, 2011. I enjoy the lilting spacial use of improvised melody with hip chord changes in the left hand. The tempo is slow if not so romantic that it does not have a particular tempo, or rather oscillates between various tempos. Lately I am leaning more to this style of playing. I used to employ a more steady driving tempo, pretty constant with a strong left hand. But now I am liking a more ethereal touch. Even when I am listening to music, I have been leaning towards a slow dragging blues or a ballad, as opposed to an uptempo beat.