December 2nd, 2008, posted by Eric
I see you there: scanning your Google Reader instead of doing your work. Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Instead, I will offer you some interesting arts-related tidbits to round out your selection of smarmy political commentary and funny animal videos.
One thing that has been on my mind lately is community. I’ve been reflecting on how grateful I am for the communities around me (via some essays for a workshop application) and the fascinating ways in which they intersect. Salsa dancers and journalists, undergraduate music majors, bloggers, community activists, jazz elders, marketers, neighborhood associations, theater employees, rich entertainment clients, local politicians: I affect and am affected by my participation in all of these and more. I am only a moderate Facebook-user, and I am new to Twitter. At that reasonable level of non-addiction it is easy to see how these technologies really do help connect busy people to each others’ happenings, even if is only by a thin, virtual fishing line.
On a different topic, I recently reconnected with my good friend Yuri, who talked about self-publishing, pedagogy and education in the “real world” (outside of the university system) and the specific desire to start a blog/internet resource for more advanced, but ever-exploring jazz pianists along the lines of NewMusicBox. If I were to find time to be a member of the writing team, one of my first posts would most certainly be about injury-preventive technique. I’ve managed to avoid back and wrist pain in my playing for quite some time, but with some increased stress they have returned. The prerogative is to recognize the whole-body athleticism of piano playing and develop a pre-cognitive body awareness that allows you to naturally support your body and use your muscles without undue wear-and-tear. The result can be liberating. Though I am early on my journey here, I can recommend two great resources:
1. this book: What Every PIanist Needs To Know About The Body, by Thomas Mark. Not an anatomy reference tome, but rather a guided practice to how the body works when it is at the piano.
2. this person: Barbara Lister-Sink. Only an hour from where I live resides a super-friendly piano health guru, with a great DVD and training curriculum to boot. I saw her give a workshop and I’ll certainly be back for more.
The purpose of these techniques isn’t just to prevent injury, but rather to liberate the body so that a deeper musician expression might be executed, unencumbered by any form of resistance, physical, mental, or otherwise.
One last note before I head off to rehearsal: I am still in love with “Vento Em Madeira” by Lea Freire. Soundtrack of my life!
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November 7th, 2008, posted by Eric
Expanding my little slice of Web 2.0: you can follow me on Twitter here.
Last night I heard Branford Marsalis and Philarmonia Brasileira play a piece by this composer. Beautiful!
Have a great Friday.
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October 20th, 2008, posted by Eric
Anyone who has been keeping track of my shows calendar has noticed that it has recently exploded with an abundance of Beast gigs. I’m thrilled about this, it’s great to watch that band really get off the ground, but I certainly miss the weeks where one night I played jazz at a club, another was an improv comedy show: the variety of artistic experience was really rewarding.
This week, a project near and dear to my heart returns for the first time in years: a modern jazz ensemble that plays my own compositions. Back in 2005-2006 you might have remembered a group called PrimeraJazz. It was led by percussionist (and great friend) Brevan Hampden and featured a rotating cast of fiery young jazz cats playing moody, out-there, bacchic latin jazz. We held down Thursday nights at Tallulas in Chapel Hill for awhile, the vibe was fantastic. Well, this week that group returns with much of its original lineup in tact: myself on piano, Pete Kimosh on bass, Stephen Coffman on drums, Brevan Hampden on percussion, and Al Strong on trumpet. Rehearsals have been a lot of fun: most of us have only gotten to play jazz in damped-down restaurant and wedding settings lately, so here is a chance to really let go. We’ll be performing this Friday at the North Carolina Museum of Art as part of their Art in the Evenings series. There will be Cuban food and Latin American wines, and the galleries will be open for late viewing. It should be a great hang. I even get to play on a real grand piano (don’t get me started on what a luxury this is for the contemporary gigging jazz pianist)! This will more than likely be our only appearance in 2008: here’s hoping we can find some more venues and become a Triangle mainstay in 2009 (which is fast approaching!).
In other news, The Beast travels to New York City this weekend for the final round of auditions for Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, which is something of a jazz ambassadors international tour hosted by the US State Department and Jazz at the Lincoln Center. Wish us luck!
UPDATE:
Sylvia blogs about this event here.
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June 25th, 2008, posted by Eric
Lauren and I stayed in town for a few days after the show load-out to decompress and catch up with long-lost friends. I’ve been sleeping and taking lesiurely strolls around the city, a welcome change of pace from the intensity of the previous weeks. Today we fly home, so I am taking a moment to look back on my return to the theatre world.
The show had a great run and John Q. Walker (Zenph founder) couldn’t be happier. For such a small software company to write, hire, design, promote, and produce a show and have a strong NYC opening in only four and a half months is quite a feat; I need to take a moment to be very proud of that.
On opening night I was approached by jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr’s widow and son, who were both very moved (even by the live playing of Art Tatum alone) and couldn’t wait for Zenph to bring Phineas back to the stage. Sunday’s show was buttoned with a ceremony where Zenph conducted the donation of Tatum’s estate by Geraldine (Tatum’s widow) to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, which includes not only Tatum’s suits and Grammy, but also his Steinway piano!
This is the first time I’ve managed/produced such a large project, and it turned out I was more than capable (not without a requisite amount of anxiety). I was also happy to be a theatrical sound designer again, a hat I haven’t worn since college. Although I don’t feel destined for a career as a Broadway bigshot (too much inauthenticity), the real-life (and sometimes sobering) education I received while managing this show will certainly apply to many areas as I move forward in an entertainment industry career.
But now it’s time to put down the cell phone and the business cards and return to the practice room. Learning about music administration on your feet comes at the price of time to compose, arrange, and hone your craft. For the second half of this summer I will re-center myself, return all the way to my artistic roots (perhaps for the first time), figure out what it really is that I want out of an artistic life, and go from there.
I have been blogging about Zenph and Orquesta GarDel, and soon I will introduce you to The Beast, a hip hop/jazz/soul collaborative that I have been writing and performing with since last summer. I’ve been longing to consistently rehearse and perform with a jazz trio, a project which might finally materialize in the next few weeks. I feel long overdue for my next round of original jazz compositions, I just need a vehicle to perform them.
When I read back on what I have just written, how can I not feel an extraordinary sense of gratitude for the people, gifts, and opportunities in life?
Thanks for all the support and well-wishes over the past few weeks, and stay tuned for some new developments! Downtown Durham will be a welcoming sight.
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February 5th, 2008, posted by Eric
From the press release:
This program, established in 2002, was created to encourage gifted jazz composers from throughout the United States. The recipients, who range in age from 14 to 29, are selected through a juried national competition. They receive cash awards, and will be recognized at the annual ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame ceremony on June 17, 2008. The ASCAP composer/judges for the 2008 competition were: John Fedchock, Jay Leonhart, and Rufus Reid.
This marks the third time I have been awarded in this competition (also placed in 2005 and 2007). My 2008 submission was “Messengers and Providers” which you can listen to here. I am so honored to repeatedly place alongside the best and brightest rising young jazz composers!
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