Week 6 (December 29, 2009)
Entry posted by barrymclark
690 views
What is your favorite Heritage Color? And yes you have to pick just one!
155 members have voted
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1.
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Almond Sunburst22
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Amber Translucent5
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Antique Cherry Sunburst5
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Antique Natural9
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Antique Sunburst16
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Black0
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Black Translucent3
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Blue Opaque0
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Blue Translucent12
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Burnt Amber5
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Cherry Translucent3
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Chestnut Sunburst11
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Dark Almond Sunburst7
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Emerald Green Translucent3
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Gold Top7
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Natural3
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Old Style Sunburst17
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Orange Translucent4
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Red Opaque1
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Rose Natural1
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Sunsetburst7
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Vintage Sunburst14
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White Opaque1
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As posted last week, Sal and I weren't getting together this week. Still thought I would post anyways as I am still working on it regardless. This time without a get together with Sal has proven helpful too. I am able to really play around with what I have learned and beat it into my head a bit more as opposed to learning it just a little before I get a mess more crammed in there.
So, it is more of the same. Autumn Leaves played all kinds of ways. Doing some minor improv stuff. Very, very minor. Nothing to get excited about. I would, say, play Autumn Leaves with every other chord rushed a half beat. For instance, I would play the Amin on time, but play D7 a half beat early. Gmaj on time then Cmaj early and so on. Gives it a neat groove.
From there, I would tool around with the 'vocal melody' part. Making it have as many notes as syllables at first. Then adding a flavorful extra note here and there. Nothing crazy.
Again, I would, outside of the 'vocal melody' part, play single note stuff. Playing just the 3's. Playing just the 5's. Playing just 5's over the Amin and D7 then just 3's over the Gmaj and Cmaj. Do that in a few octaves. Then I would find ways to 'dress up' the boring single notes. A quick and easy way I found to add class to a note all by its lonesome is a simple slide up from a half step down nice and quick like. For the sake of argument, over the Amin, the third is a C. Slide up to the C from B. Don't linger on B or it just sounds like you screwed up. 
Other than that, I finished learning the basics of Autumn Leaves. I have found some fun in going on YouTube and playing along with other people's versions of it. This morning, it was Nat King Cole's turn!
I have been discussing with a friend over the past few weeks of the rather Zen nature of learning jazz. He sent me this quote from Bill Evans' liner notes in Kind of Blue:
"There is a Japanese visual art in which the artist is forced to be spontaneous. He must paint on a thin stretched parchment with a special brush and black water paint in such a way that an unnatural or interrupted stroke will destroy the line or break through the parchment. Erasures or changes are impossible. These artists must practice a particular discipline, that of allowing the idea to express itself in communication with their hands in such a direct way that deliberation cannot interfere.
The resulting pictures lack the complex composition and textures of ordinary painting, but it is said that those who see will find something captured that escapes explanation.
This conviction that direct deed is the most meaningful of reflections, I believe, has prompted the evolution of the extremely severe and unique disciplines of the jazz or improvising musician.
Group improvisation is a further challenge. Aside from the weighty technical problem of collective coherent thinking, there is the very human, even social need for sympathy from all members to bend for the common result. This most difficult problem, I think, is beautifully met and solved on this recording.
As the painter needs his framework of parchment, the improvising musical group needs its framework in time. Miles Davis presents here frameworks which are exquisite in their simplicity and yet contain all that is necessary to stimulate performance with sure reference to the primary conception.
Miles conceived these settings only hours before the recording dates and arrived with sketches which indicated to the group what was to be played. Therefore, you will hear something close to pure spontaneity in these performances. The group had never played these pieces prior to the recordings and I think without exception the first complete performance of each was a take."
Thanks again, Ben!
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