New Melodica: Yamaha P37D Pianica

My new Yamaha P37D Pianica

I just received a nice surprise in the mail; direct from Japan, a brand new melodica! The Yamaha P37D Pianica( it's a melodica, or whatever you like to call it) was highly recommended by a website I recently discovered called melodicaworld.com. ( I actually ordered another recommended model, the Suzuki M-37C Melodion, but as it is also coming from Japan, I don't expect it for another few weeks.) I've been playing melodicas since 2010 when I discovered how much fun it was to play something that used piano keys and air like a wind instrument. Clearly, melodicas are not everyone's cup of tea, and in some ways, they are more of a novelty instrument. However, I enjoy the advantages of the melodica: it's more portable than a piano or a keyboard, it's actually an acoustic instrument, it can sustain notes with the air, and it's almost like the harmonica of Stevie Wonder! ( Well, maybe that last one was a stretch.) I played a Hammond 44 Melodion a lot until one of the reeds stop working and the intonation went really bad (which seems to happen on all of them, even expensive ones). I am too busy/ fearful/ lazy to try to fix it myself, and I can't seem to find anyone else who can repair them. I also frequently play a Suzuki Pro 37; in fact, I used it on my album entitled " The Endless Mysteries. 

The Suzuki Pro 37 which I still like alot

The Suzuki Pro 37 is a bit of a different sound than the Hammond 44( although they are made, or were made by the same company); it's rather bright, but it's still more interesting than most cheap toy melodicas, and it cuts through in a jam session.  Honestly, I hadn't really had the opportunity to play melodica in quite awhile, and after seeing the Yamaha and the other Suzuki model reviewed on melodicaworld.com, I decided that maybe a new instrument or two might inspire me. Since both of these were around 100 bucks or less, I thought that it was worth the risk.

The Hammond 44, which is amazing but 5 times the price of most other melodicas

My first impression of the Yamaha P37D is that it's a pro level sounding instrument; it's in tune, it's a warm, healthy sound which can bite if you push some air. It feels pretty sturdy and the keys, while maybe not as smooth as the Hammond 44, are still pretty good.

I'm looking forward to messing with it some more in the new year. In the meantime, I made a little youtube review. I think it gives a good example of the sound. I would be playing it some more, but my infant Jordan is asleep and Liam, Kerry, and I are spending our New Year's Eve watching a movie about a rat who gets flushed down the toilet and ends up in an underground rat civilization. Hopefully we'll be in bed by 10pm. Happy New Year!

Drum Genius: Cool App For Practicing

DRUM GENIUS!

As a full time music teacher and father of 2, I have time finding the time to practice. I used to play and tour constantly, and I'm doing less of that these days. Before I was lucky enough to get called for gigs, I played a lot with the Jamey Aebersold Play A-Long recordings; I still recommend this great series to my students. The recordings feature world class rhythm sections and are a great way to practice keeping time as well as form. It's definitely more fun to play along with an Aebersold recording than a metronome.

Recently, someone recommended a phone app called Drum Genius. It's an app which has an entire menu of jazz drum loops which I believe are either samples or reproductions of loops from players like Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Stewart, and many others. There are many different styles and tempos. When I have a few spare moments, I put on Medium Swing or Fast Swing or Very Fast Swing, and it helps keep my chops up. Obviously, it's not as satisfying as playing with a real band, but it makes practicing way more enjoyable.

I made a little video to demonstrate. I highly recommend this app; I have barely explored it and it's already been inspirational. Check it out!

My New Bass Trumpet

Bass Trumpet

Upon arriving back at home in Portland, after a week in Europe, I found a huge box that my wife had put in my office; it turned out to be a bass trumpet which I had ordered from EBAY a few weeks ago. Some of you may remember that I blogged about another ebay purchase, a marching baritone, from a few years ago. The marching baritone was fun, and I did use it a bunch for some home recording; however, it's a heavy instrument, and I didn't end up bringing it out too much for this reason. My bass trumpet is way lighter and just seems more manageable. I'm not really a low brass guy, but I think I could have some fun with this instrument. Bass trumpet is kind of rare, and there are bass trumpets which list for between $2500 to $4000. This Ebay purchase was used for 200 bucks. Some of these bass trumpets are from China. I'm not really sure of the quality; this one seems fine for my purposes. For me it's really about getting used to the embouchure, air, and what we call the "slotting."

Bass trumpets have been used in Wagner's music, but I would say you are way more likely to see a valve trombone than a bass trumpet in jazz. (Still, maybe I can get in the Downbeat poll for miscellaneous instrument.) I decided to post a short clip. Keep in mind, this is really my first attempt. The first valve is a bit slow, and I'm not sure about the intonation, but in general it seems like an ok horn. Maybe I'll become known as " Portland's Best Bass Trumpet Player." Or maybe " The Paul Robeson Of The Trumpet." Maybe I'll do a recording with all bass instruments: bass trumpet, bass clarinet, bass saxophone, bass flute, and .....bass. Oh, and bass drum. Maybe add bass trombone, which is otherwise known as Bass Slide Trumpet......

Joe Manis Masterclass And My New Hammond SK1

Joe Manis

We are continuing to have some great Jazz masterclasses at PSU. So far this year, we have had saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, drummer Scott Cutshall, and saxophonist Joe Manis. Originally from Eugene, a graduate of the University of Oregon and New England Conservatory, Joe Manis plays the tenor saxophone in a no holds barred, unapologetic manner. We recorded his sophomore CD, "North By Northwest" two summers ago, and it's been getting some great attention. Manis' clinic was equal parts performance; he's been using organ trio quite a bit, so he decided to hire me on organ and drumming wizard Todd Strait. We've worked this configuration a bunch during 2013, and it's always been a ton of fun. In between songs, Manis and Strait answered questions and talked about why they got into the music. I'm hoping we can have more informative presentations like this in the weeks and months to come.

I was happy to get the chance to play great music with great musicians, but I was really happy about

Hammond SK1

getting another chance to try my brand spanking new Hammond SK1. This is a keyboard which the industry refers to as a "clonewheel," or an "organ clone". It's not exactly brand new, but it's new to me( it was half the normal street price at Guitar Center, so I couldn't pass it up!)I've used various keyboards which try to emulate the wonder of the Hammond B3, and I've met with various levels of satisfaction. However, the SK1 has a number of great things going for it. One, it's only 15 pounds! Secondly, it has REAL drawbars, which give it the real feel of the B3. The action is also remarkable B3-like. Furthermore, the sound of the "percussion" is really authentic to me. In terms of sound, I question whether the layman would notice the difference, but if you have ever played an actual B3 and then played an organ "patch" on a keyboard, you know that there is a huge difference. For the moment, I'm very satisfied with my SK1. To be totally honest, I was thinking about phasing out the organ stuff from my duties; this keyboard is actually making me think about finding MORE opportunities to play organ gigs!

I leave you with some footage from our clinic, and you can judge the music and my keyboard for yourself!

Hanon, Czerny, Johnson

Allyn Johnson

When I lived in Washington, D.C., there were a number of great pianists on the jazz scene: Ruben Brown, Bob Butta, Wade Beach, Lawrence Wheatley, Peter Edelman, Louis Scherr, and many others. When I left D.C. for New York in 1995, I kept hearing about pianist Allyn Johnson. Not only has Johnson made his mark on the D.C. music scene, but he's also Director of Jazz Studies at the University of The District of Columbia. As a musical force, Johnson is a triple threat in that he's a true jazz musician who comes out of the Church, but also has the academic credentials to help pass the torch to the next generation. Johnson is constantly busy as a sideman, but also has a successful group called Divine Order, which features vocals and combines jazz, gospel, classical, and contemporary music.

Although there are already countless jazz and piano books in circulation, I believe that Professor Johnson's forthcoming and humbly titled volume, "Things That I Practice," stands out as an invaluable tool for budding pianists. Indeed, we all love Mark Levine's "The Jazz Piano Book." David Berkman has a forthcoming harmony book that is very exciting. However, in terms of raw piano technique, Johnson's book is a great addition to, or alternative to, the things that many pianists already seem to gravitate towards(Hanon, Czerny, Burgmuller). American Jazz Piano and it's practitioners have historically dealt with the European tradition of their instrument, arguably more so than other jazz instrumentalists.( Look at the list of Jazz pianists who seriously studied classical music: James P Johnson, Fats Waller, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans.......it goes on and on.) However, I am in favor of developing more jazz specific methods of gaining technique. "Things That I Practice" fills that void.

Jazz can include impressive technique, but ultimately, jazz is more about creativity. Johnson agrees. Here is a paragraph from the foreword:

"I've compiled these exercises together in order to inspire and ignite the creative "fire" in my students. Because music is not a sport, but yet a healing art of manipulating sound with regard to time and 
space, I believe the best exercises are the ones that spark the imagination of the artist which in turn results in the creation of beautiful MUSIC. You will notice that I have included pieces I have written that began as some of the exercises included. No exercise should be an end unto itself, but

ultimately used as a means to express the MUSIC that lies inside the heart and internal ear of a musician."

Many of the exercises are written in one key, which already means you can spend a lot of time on just moving the exercises into every key(as jazz musicians must be able to do; ask my jazz improv class about it!). The contrary motion exercises include mixing modes in the hands, which already has piqued my interest. Even more interesting are some of the finger independence and rhythm exercises, which already go beyond the traditional "piano technique" books and more into the 20th and 21st century realm. There is a 5ths exercise which is presented over Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" chord progression, which again is about the always important APPLICATION of any idea. I like how some of the chord voicing exercises are presented in a very logical way. The more logical the concept, the easier it is to start to manipulate it on your own.

The more I look through this book, the more I wish I had more time to practice. In fact, I wish I had had this book when I was really practicing ferociously ( 1991 to 1995). There is a cool section which features ostinato patterns in the left hand; it's just something to work on soloing in the right hand. There is another section on patterns, which gives this advice:

You should get into the habit of practicing patterns six ways:

1. Forward Going Up
2. Forward Going Down
3. Retrograde Going Up
4. Retrograde going Down
5. Alternating Forward/Retrograde Up
6. Alternating Forward/Retrograde Down 
 

"Things That I Practice" has inspired me to try to find some more piano practice time. Indeed, I would have to go on a sabbatical and go hide out in a cabin in the woods(with a Steinway inside) to really get into everything in this book. You can contact Allyn Johnson through his website to order a copy of your own. I wouldn't be surprised if "Things That I Practice" becomes an integral part of the jazz teaching literature in the near future.

Marching Baritone Part 1

Robin Eubanks, one of the great jazz trombone players

I've played with a number of really tremendously fine trombone players in my career: Robin Eubanks, Frank Lacy, Luis Bonilla, Christophe Schwietzer, Andy Hunter, Conrad Herwig, and many others. I have great respect for trombone players, despite all the great jokes at their expense.(What's the difference between a squirrel laying dead on the highway and a trombone player laying dead on the highway? The squirrel was on his way to a gig!)My college roommate was and currently is a really great trombonist( he lives in Boston and is playing full time.) So please don't send me hate mail for what I'm about to say.

SO.....Uhhh, what's with the slide? Is it really better than valves? Isn't much of a trombonists time spent trying to simulate with the slide what valves can do quite easily? Isn't it like using a horse and buggy when we have high speed transit? Now, some people will say that there are smears and things which are impossible on valve instruments. You can't get that with a half valve technique? Well, maybe they are right about that, but like I said, trombonists who are trying to play bebop lines would probably do a lot better with valves. (I'm really not trying to hate on trombonists! Please! Some of my best friends are trombonists......)

Bass Trumpet

My thought was that if a valve trombone magically appeared before me, my trumpet abilities would allow me to instantly double on the trombone. (I realize that the mouthpiece and air flow are quite different. We'll get to that.) However, my internet research led me to some other possibilities. I saw something called the marching trombone, which has VALVES, and looks like a big trumpet. I saw the bass trumpet, which is rarely used (except in Stravinsky's "The Rite Of Spring"), has an extremely strident tone, and also tends to be very expensive. I also noticed  things called marching baritones and marching euphoniums, and also flugabones. All of these things look like oversize trumpets. They were all kind of expensive, too.

Marching Baritone

 I remembered how much my sister Dana enjoyed played the baritone horn in high school. I figured that baritone is somewhere between a trombone and a euphonium in terms of timbre(trombone being bright and euphonium being much more mellow due to it's conical shape.)And I saw a really great deal on a brand new Hoss marching baritone(with case!) on EBAY, so I threw sanity to the wind and put in my credit card. Well, my marching baritone arrived TODAY! I was cautiously optimistic, especially considering that I already own many other instruments and barely have the time to practice them. However, I wanted to get a taste for low brass. I had only picked up a trombone maybe a handful of times as a joke, or when I was a Music Education major in college.

My new Marching Baritone

In some ways, I proved my point; playing a marching baritone is in some ways like playing a trumpet an octave lower. However, the amount of air is quite different, and will take some getting used to. Also, it is twice as heavy as a trumpet, and my left shoulder got tired very quickly. Furthermore, I think it will require some embouchure adjustment, since the negotiation of intervals with the lips is quite different on this double sized mouthpiece. Still, it was fun to be able to pick up a new instrument and be able to play something without having to learn a completely new fingering system.

I shall keep my readers informed on how this little experiment goes. I might include some youtube videos at some point, but for now, I have included photos, and you'll just have to imagine how it sounds.(Not great. But not terrible.) I showed the new instrument to some of my colleagues at PSU, and I'm pretty sure they think I need professional psychiatric help.

Yes, the amount of air needed for a marching baritone is much greater than what is needed for the trumpet; I felt dizzy after playing for only ten minutes. I actually fell asleep. While I slept, I had a strange dream; I dreamt that I left my marching baritone in the backseat of my car, and parked it on the street. When I returned to my car, I found that my car had been broken into ;now, there were two marching baritones in the backseat.......

Mainstage: Live Synths With Your Computer

George Duke, a great musician and a nice guy

Last year, I did a little tour of Japan. One night at one of the clubs in Tokyo, the great keyboardist and producer George Duke came down to listen; he was in town playing at the Cotton Club. I got to speak with him a bit, and he was talking about his tenure with Frank Zappa's band. Duke described how difficult it was to work with the analog synthesizers of the 1970's, especially live. "Back then, we had no presets, no saved sounds," he confided. " I had to use all the cables and knobs, and try to remember which sounds were for which tune. And then Zappa would give me the evil eye and say 'that's not the sound you had before'...."

What the screen looks like for Mainstage

Boy, have we come a long way from those days. Now, keyboard players have limitless possibilities, thanks to laptop computers. I've used a Mac laptop for years as a portable synthesizer. (Admittedly, there is always the risk of a laptop crashing. But if you think about it, there is always a risk with any electronics. I've never only used the laptop; I like to have a hardware synth, or at least a Fender Rhodes as a back up.) The application that has been working well for me is something called Mainstage, which comes with Logic Studio. I used to use Logic for my live synths, but Mainstage is really set up for a keyboardist to mold to his or her desires. All you need is a USB controller, a USB cable, and some kind of audio interface( I use the Apogee One, it works really well with Mac) and you are ready to go. (Oh, I almost forgot, you might want to have a foot pedal, because this is something that can help you to hands-freely switch sounds during the gig.)

Mainstage is very user friendly. If you already are familiar with Logic, you will have no problems with Mainstage. You can choose a preset template or start with a blank slate and add sounds. Logic comes with tons of great sounds built in and arranged in a very convenient way. On the left side of the virtual interface is the Patch List, where you have all the names of the sounds, and you can add as many sounds as your computer's RAM will allow. In the center is a visual representation of your virtual keyboards, and you can edit parameters here, or below that screen. On the right, you have a sort of virtual mixing board, where you can set the volume, and layer each patch with new sounds, or add effects, such as reverb, chorus, etc....

The editing capabilities are incredible. You can layer, split, transpose, add effects, tweak, and even set the tuning as you like. The ease of editing within the computer is so much easier than on a keyboard. And you can add so many sounds, and create your own much easier. Additionally, you can run audio through Mainstage and use the effects for maybe a real guitar, or a real Rhodes.

I've been using a laptop for synths for many years; I probably first attempted it with Lonnie Plaxico's band. I then started using it regularly for my Mad Science trio; I used it to augment the Hammond B-3, or Nord Electro, which is a much more portable substitute for a real Hammond. Buster Williams asked me to bring my set up many times, and I also used it for a tour with Lenny White's band. I think one of the reasons Jack DeJohnette asked me to join his band was because he wanted me to do some synth stuff.

Scott Kinsey

Now I realize that there are many jazz listeners and musicians who are immediately turned off when you even mention "synthesizer" or even "keyboards". I think it's a shame that so many are so close minded. After all, acoustic instruments are tools invented by man, just like electronic instruments. And furthermore, acoustic instruments can sound terrible in the wrong hands, as I'm sure you can imagine.

I've never shied away from playing keyboards. And to be honest, I've never considered myself very good at it. There are players like Adam Holzman or Scott Kinsey who are really first call for that type of thing. But because I've tried to incorporate it into what I already can do, I think I've gotten some work that I might not have if I only billed myself as a "jazz pianist."

I sort of regret the fact that I missed the 70's and the real analog gear. But the cost and effort to play analog synths in working situations is a huge hassle. The amount of variety I've been able to get out of Mainstage would be impossible in the 70's. I'm hoping to get deeper inside the program and see what new sounds I can create in the future.

My Brand New Pocket Trumpet

My new CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet

Some of you out there know that, before I was a jazz pianist, I was a trumpet player. I started playing in the school band in 4th grade. I actually went on to do my undergrad at Peabody Conservatory in classical trumpet and Music Education. I never had the natural talent for the instrument; I actually had major embouchure difficulties which made high range and endurance a major struggle. My teachers, Lee Stevens and Wayne Cameron, really tried to help me, but I never developed enough to be consistent. But I was so stubborn that I persisted, insisting that I was meant to be a trumpeter. But then, the piano suddenly became important. I was only learning piano to improve my understanding of harmony. But I sort of got lucky getting gigs on piano in Baltimore. I had so much paying work as a pianist that upon graduation from Peabody in 1991, I proceeded to quit the trumpet entirely.

However, I decided in 1998 that I wanted to give it another try. Unfortunately, I had sold all my  trumpets in 1991( I had a Bach Stradivarius Bb, a Bach Strad C for orchestral excerpts, and a Shilke D/Eb for playing the Haydn Trumpet Sonata and so forth). So I went to Sam Ash in New York and bought a cheap Holton Symphony Bb trumpet. I couldn't really tell if it was any good because all the horns I tried sounded terrible; I hadn't touched a trumpet in years so I had NO embouchure at all. The horns weren't terrible: I was terrible!

So I messed around with trumpet again for a while, for about two years. Then I put it down again for another 5 years or so, and then in 2005, dusted off the Holton Symphony and decided to try again. When I accepted the job at the University of Manitoba in the Fall of 2009, I was assigned a trumpet student. This inspired me to practice so that I would be able to explain and demonstrate physical and musical concepts more readily. I still struggle with the physicality of the trumpet, but I'm better than I was in college. I also have had so many more musical experiences that it has helped my musicality on the instrument. I can oftentimes play tunes that I know on piano but have never played on the trumpet.

Not a Piccolo trumpet!

All this is a preface to what is essential a product review of a recent purchase:the CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet. For those of you who don't understand what a pocket trumpet is, it's essentially a regular Bb trumpet, only the tubing is coiled much more compactly, so that the trumpet looks smaller and takes up less space. But the notes and fingerings are the same. (Some mistake it for a piccolo trumpet, which is pitched an octave higher than a typical Bb trumpet. Piccolo trumpet is used for baroque music such as Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #2, or it's used for some orchestral music, such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exibition.)

Don Cherry

The most famous musician to exclusively play a Pocket Trumpet is avant-garde jazz musician Don Cherry. Cherry played at first a custom made pocket trumpet from Pakistan, allegedly, and then played a pocket trumpet made by Besson for the rest of his life. Cherry claimed that the idiosyncratic nature of the pocket trumpet made him get some sounds out of the horn that were useful in modern musical settings. ( The only other person I can think of that I know who uses a pocket trumpet on a regular basis is drummer Ralph Peterson. I've been on gigs where Peterson pulled out the pocket trumpet and played stuff that many full time trumpeters would envy.)

"How does it play?""I don't know, but it sure is RED!"

However, most trumpet players consider pocket trumpets to be little more than a novelty. Before I purchased my pocket trumpet, many tried to dissuade me, saying that pocket trumpets are "stuffy" and "out-of tune" and "cheaply made." Indeed, you can go on Ebay or Amazon and find pocket trumpets of many different colors for less than 100 dollars. I'm sure these horns are crap. But there are also pocket trumpets which are $1500 and up made by real companies like Benge and Kanstul. Even Monette, which makes the most expensive trumpets(10,000 dollars and up) made at least a few pocket trumpets, as I have heard.

After doing a lot of research on line, I found many good reviews of the CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet. CarolBrass is a company based in Taiwan, and they are various distributors in the U.S. I found a brand new CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet being sold on Ebay for $750 through California Music Supply. It took a couple weeks to ship to Winnipeg from California. When it finally arrived, I was excited, as I hadn't bought a new trumpet since 1998!

Case Closed!

I was surprised at the compactness of the trumpet case; it looked like a small briefcase in which you might smuggle diamonds. Don Relic, who owns California Music Supply, threw in a small soft case that he calls the Tiny Toga for the pocket trumpet. If you were very careful with it, you could probably put the pocket trumpet in the toga and then put it in your knapsack. Also, Don said he would make sure the valves were well oiled, and sure enough, when I took the horn out and started to fiddle with it, the valves were fast. Not the fastest I've ever played, but fast for a new horn, for sure.(Sometimes the valves need to be "broken in" a little.)

Monette Mouthpiece

The trumpet came with a Bach equivalent 7C mouthpiece. They usually come with a 3C, but I actually asked Don to include a 7C, since that was what I was using when I ordered the trumpet. However, in the interim, I had borrowed a Monette B6 mouthpice from a local trumpeter named Andrew Littleford. Now, I've been using a 7C since 1998. But I had been hearing rave reviews about the Monette mouthpieces. (In fact, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen had suggested that I use a Monette mouthpiece with a pocket trumpet in the hopes that it would sound better.)My first impression of the Monette B6 mouthpiece was that it was the most incredible mouthpiece I've ever played! However, sometimes the honeymoon ends quickly with equipment, and now I'm not as bowled over as I was initially. But it still feels good to play, in terms of comfort. I'm going to try the Monette mouthpiece for a little while longer before making my assessment, which would result in me actually ordering one for myself(and they are very expensive: 300 bucks and up just for the mouthpiece.)

So I inserted the Monette B6 mouthpiece into the pocket trumpet and played a bit. My first impressions were pretty good: it has a nice mellow tone, and felt pretty good in all registers. The things that took a little getting used to were holding the trumpet, since the third valve slide on a pocket trumpet is operated by the left thumb, as opposed to the left ring finger on a normal trumpet. I will admit, when I play low D and C#, the notes which are very sharp on a normal trumpet, I have a hard time getting this slide out. I'm getting better at it the more I play, though. Also, I thought the overall intonation was very good, but sometimes, the accuracy of hitting the notes where I'm accustomed to feeling them was a little different. Again, the more I play it, the better it feels.

Most people are mesmerized by the look of the horn. I got the one with the "satin" finish on the bell, which makes it look almost vintage. Some people have called it "cute". I agree. And most people have remarked that it sounds good. Like I said, the more I play it, the more I like it. I'm not sure if full time trumpeters would ever totally replace their normal Bb with a pocket trumpet. Still, what with the airlines constantly cutting back on what you are allowed to bring on flights, it's definitely worth considering, especially for those who just want to have something to practice on vacation. For me, I'm bringing it on my next road gigs as a leader (I wanted to be able to bring the trumpet and the melodica;I think both of these could fit in one bag....). I'm also hoping to bring the pocket trumpet on my tour with Jack DeJohnette in May. Maybe Jack with let me play a few tunes with the band....

So to conclude, I give the CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet a hearty endorsement. Especially when you consider the price, you get a high quality horn for pretty reasonable cost. CarolBrass makes regular trumpets, flugelhorns, cornets, and trombones as well. I have my eye on a CarolBrass lightweight Bb of normal size. So many instruments, so little money.........

http://www.carolbrass.com/index.php
http://californiamusicsupply.com/
http://www.monette.net/newsite/