Sunday, August 26, 2018

August 25, 2018

Next Time: Saturday, September 1, 1-5 pm, Hook and Ladder (Lake and Minnehaha)
Add-A-Tune: Cousin Mary (II-93)

CANCEL! CANCEL! NO JAZZ WORKSHOP THIS WEEK!Hook and Ladder is closed for the weekend; no arrangement with TowerLight has been made.


Present this week were Sam (trumpet and trombone), Wes (tenor), Raphael (bass), Steve H (piano and soprano), Craig (guitar), Victor (vocals), Annie (vocals), Carl (trombone), and Dick (vocals).

We got underway with Little Boat (I-245), Sam's Add-A-Tune. Raphael got the next call, choosing the tricky Black Diamond (I-46). Yours truly went way more traditional with For All We Know (I-145). Victor took a spin as an instrumentalist with Basin Street Blues (II-37). Craig, having solved his mechanical difficulties, opted for Pure Imagination (III-327). Annie, also in instrumentalists mode, called I'm Beginning To See The Light (I-200). Carl got us to do all the parts on So What (I-364). Wes decided on an old favorite, Doxy (II-111). Sam brought the instrumental segment to a close with Cantaloupe Island (II-76).

Victor kicked off the vocalist portion with Stardust (II-367). Annie opted for something a bit bouncier, I'm Old-Fashioned (III-186). Dick's first choice was In A Mellow Tone (I-206). Victor got us looking through our books until we came up with Deep Purple (IV-103). Annie gave us a good workout with the shifting 3/4-4/4 signatures of Little Girl Blue (III-243). Dick went to I Should Care (I-194). Your scribe got to call the instrumental break, and we did an alternating Latin/swing version of Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (II-355); it sounded better in his head.

The vocalists took another round, Victor kicking things off with Ain't Misbehavin' (III-13). Annie tackled the ballad If I Loved You (II-192) with a light swing. Dick's third was a favorite, Out Of Nowhere (I-318). Victor took one last spin on Blue Skies (II-58). Annie went full ballad on I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance (II-173). Dick turned to Have You Met Miss Jones (I-172). For one last combined vocal/instrumental, Dick suggested Just Friends (IV-237), with everyone taking a a chorus.

Participant Picks

Little Girl Blue
Nina Simone
Peter Nero
Chet Baker
Dave Brubeck


Just Friends
Sarah Vaughan
Dexter Gordon
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane and Friends


Enjoy!

--SJH

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

August 18, 2018

Next Time: Saturday, August 25, 1-5pm, Hook and Ladder (Lake and Minnehaha)

Sam's Add-A-Tune: Little Boat (I-245)

Your scribe was a little late, though not as late as originally expected, and not late enough to miss the downbeat on Sam's Add-A-Tune. Present were Sam (trumpet, trombone), Jeremy (piano), Alex (guitar), Steve M (alto), Victor (vocals), Craig (guitar), Terry (harmonica), Steve H (soprano, piano), and Dick (vocals). 

The Add-A-Tune was What's New (I-420). Things picked up slightly with Jeremy's choice, Stolen Moments (I-384), followed by Alex's pick, Nica's Dream (I-299). Terry called All Blues (I-18). After so many relatively slow tunes (though All Blues got a little rambunctious at times), Raphael changed gears with Tizol and Ellington's Perdido (II-311). Craig completed the first round of instrumental only with Till There Was You (II-400). 

Working without a microphone, Victor got a few shots at vocals, going with favorites Stardust (II-xxx) and Avalon (II-25). Steve M called the instrumental break, Why Do I Love You (II-425). Somewhere in here, several people left, and yours truly took over on piano. Victor opted for Blue Skies (II-58) next. Dick stopped in for a visit and decided to sing one, I Could Write A Book (I-186). Victor took another, Bye Bye Blackbird (II-xx). Your reporter got a chance and called for It Could Happen To You (II-204). Terry opted for another Miles Davis tune, Blue and Green (I-51). Raphael chose one that he wanted to do last week, Recorda Me (I-xxx). We finished off with Steve M's surprise choice, Charlie Parker's Quasimodo (IV-352). 

Participant Picks

Quasimodo
Charlie Parker
Paul Motian & the Electric Bebop Band

Blue Skies
Duke Ellington

Blue and Green
Miles Davis

Perdido
Duke Ellington (1940s)
Duke Ellington (1950s)
Duke Ellington (1960s)
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie

Enjoy!

--SJH

Sunday, August 12, 2018

August 11, 2018

Next Time: Saturday, August 18, 1-5pm, Hook and Ladder, Minnehaha and Lake, Mpls.

Add-A-Tune: What's New (II-420)

Another Saturday at TowerLight, which we finally got rolling around 11:25. Present at the start were Sam (trumpet/trombone), Steve C (piano), Steve H (soprano), and Raphael (bass). We were soon joined by Steve M (alto), and before 1:00, Carl (trombone), Annie (vocals), and Victor (vocals).

We began, as usual, with Sam's Add-A-Tune, this time How High The Moon (I-180), switching for the final chorus to its offspring, Ornithology (I-317). Yours truly, inspired by recent Muzak, opted for These Foolish Things (II-392). Steve C had a short list, and went with The Blue Room (I-53). Raphael returned to one we had tried in previous weeks, Slipped Disc (II-353). Back to Sam, we went Latin on All The Things You Are (I-22). Your scribe wanted to give the soprano a workout on Tangerine (II-380). Steve M got his first pick, turning to Dexter Gordon's Cheesecake (II-82).

The vocal part started with Annie reprising The Blue Room. Victor called the immortal Stardust (II-317). Annie chose the somewhat sad Old Man From The Old Country (I-308). Basin Street Blues (II-37) was Victor's next choice. Carl got the call on the instrumental break, and we got to use the Gil Evans chords on So What (I-364). Vocals again, with Annie turning to It Never Entered My Mind (III-205). Having taken a few weeks off from it, Victor opted for Avalon (II-25). Annie's call was Let's Fall In Love (II-237). Victor followed with All Of Me (I-20). Steve C picked our instrumental break tune, You Took Advantage Of Me (I-460). For our last round of vocals, Annie chose an easy-going version of The Way You Look Tonight (II-415). Victor settled on Blue Skies (II-58). Without A Song (II-428) was Annie's last pick. After some searching, Victor scatted his way through our last song of the afternoon, Ain't Misbehavin' (III-13).

Participant Picks

How High The Moon
Arvell Shaw (with Louis Armstrong)

Old Man From The Old Country
Nancy Wilson/ Cannonball Adderley

The Way You Look Tonight
Paul Desmond/Gerry Mulligan


Enjoy!

--SJH

Monday, August 6, 2018

August 4, 2018

NEXT TIME: Saturday, August 11, 11am-3pm, TowerLight, 3601 Wooddale Ave., St. Louis Park


Three people showed up at our most recent Workshop in TowerLight, but it was a good three: Steve C (piano), Raphael (bass) and Steve H (soprano). Here are the tunes we played together over three and a half hours.

Lady Bird (I-235)
Afternoon in Paris (I-12)
On A Slow Boat To China (III-309)
Mean To Me (III-274)
Bolivia (III-56)
In A Sentimental Mood (I-207)
My Foolish Heart (I-286)
East Of The Sun (III-104)
Tangerine (II-386)
Some Day My Prince Will Come (I-367)
Wave (I-431)
If You Could See Me Now (IV-203)
Scrapple From The Apple (I-351)
Little Sunflower (II-244)
Jitterbug Waltz (II-214)
Rosetta (II-332)
Dolphin Dance (I-119)
It Could Happen To You (II-204)
Summer In Central Park (III-375)
Midnight Sun (III-276)
Skylark (III-356)

--SJH

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Next Up

Next Workshop: Saturday, August 4, 2018, 11am-3pm at TowerLight (3601 Wooddale, St. Louis Park).

July 28, 2018

Attendee's:  Steve C./Piano, Raphael/ Bass, Sam/ Trumpet, Carl/ Trombone, Annie/ Vocal.

Tunes played:  Lucky Southern, In A Mellow Tone, Pent Up House, Five Spot After Dark,
                        The Nearness Of  You, I'll Remember April, Take Five, Doxy, Jeanine,
                        Nica's Dream, Sugar, Blues By Five, One Mint Julep, Shadow Of Your Smile,
                        My Little Suede Shoes, I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, A Sunday Kind Of Love.