Again...

It's hard to write dazzling prose week after week, which is why I don't. I shoot for workmanlike and sometimes get to passable. So, here we go again with another installment of the Jazz Workshop blog. I arrived a bit late and the group was already working through "How Insensitive," so I snapped the photos you see here and got my axe out to jump in.

We started out the instrumental hour with Ira(tenor sax today instead of alto), Steve (trumpet and flugelhorn), Todd (trumpet), Ken (drums), Kevin (guitar) and our youngest participant, Jack (trumpet). Wes (tenor sax) rolled in a few minutes later and then over time were joined by Toria (vocals), Annie (vocals), Dick (vocals), Margo (bass) and Thaddeus (baritone sax). Kevin popped out for a bit to watch his son's basketball game (good priorities there).

The songs du jour included "How Insensitive," "Blue Monk," "My Romance," "Once I Loved," "Jordu,""Autumn Leaves," "I Remember You," "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "The Very Thought of You," "I Cover the Waterfront," "Alfie," "Come Sunday," "By The Time I Get to Phoenix," "Con Alma," "Here's That Rainy Day," "Sugar," "I Should Care," "What Is This Thing Called Love," "Solitude," "I Could Write a Book," "Sandu," "I'll Remember April" and "Just Friends." 23 tunes on a warm (relatively) sunny Saturday afternoon.

In the photos we have (from the top) Ira looking contemplative, most of the lineup during the instrumental hour (Jack, Todd, Kevin, Steve and Ira), Kevin playing what looks like a C7b5, and the view over Ken's shoulder.

So there it is. Next week, it'll be the instrumental hour form noon to 1:00 and then with the vocalists from 1:00 to 3:45.

Every Song Is An Experiment

The thing about jazz, for the musicians and audience alike, is that you never know in advance how the song is going to turn out. There's always improvisation going on from the soloists and the accompanists. It is a fluid art form that is created in the moment. The most rewarding jazz is created right at the intersection of "I know this" and "what the heck is going on?" For about 32 years the jazz workshop has been providing an opportunity for musicians to experience that intersection every week.

Despite the dip in the mercury (hmm, like many of our metaphors that one is outdated- like "taping" music or TV shows- because hardly anyone uses a mercury based thermometer any more) we had 14 lucky folks come out to McRae Park to engage in the experimentation that is jazz.

There were a couple o' newbies today in Paul (vocals) and Lachel (trumpet); a few relatively new folks in Ann (vocals), Todd (trumpet); returning old hands in Sam (trumpet and trumpet-synth), Annie (vocals and workshop coordinator), Steve (trumpet and flugelhorn); and the regulars including Ira (alto sax), Wes (tenor sax), Gene (drums), Kevin (guitar), Margo (bass), Ken (drums) and Tim (guitar). We crowded all these folks and their equipment into the classroom at McRae Park, which is actually an easier room in which to hear than the gym-sized room we're usually in.

Songs for the day included "Gentle Rain," "Don't Get Around Much Any More," "Beautiful Love," "How Insensitive," "Tough Talk" and "Blue Monk" during the instrumental hour. Paul was the first vocalist to arrive and started off with "Fly Me To The Moon," not bothering to use the mike and the PA. From there we played through "Jordu," "All of Me," "Bye Bye Blackbird," "I Should Care," "Wave," "Pick Yourself Up," "Georgia On My Mind," "But Beautiful," "Desafinado," "Dolphin Dance," "Sophisticated Lady," "Don't Go To Strangers," "It Might As Well Be Spring" (wishful thinking there!), "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Satin Doll" and then Sam called "St. Thomas" for the closer. This song has often been the closer although since Sam has been on hiatus with the workshop we don't play it often.

So there you have it, another fun afternoon with the jazz workshop!

In the photos: at the top we have Margo, Ann, Ira and Sam from left to right. Next are Kevin (left) and Steve (right). The third photo is Margo laying down the groove- the relationship between bass and drums is one of the defining things about jazz. And the fourth photo is Sam with his trumpet synth controller.

Auld Lang Jazze

The Jazz Workshop opened its account for 2010- by the way, this is the 32nd year for the Workshop!- in style with 14 musicians braving subzero (Fahrenheit, that is) temperatures. The room was nice and warm with all the tunes, though, so we didn't give a thought about the ice and snow until we were packing up and leaving. Attendees included Steve (trumpet), Sheila (vocals), Gene (drums), Bob (guitar), Annie (vocals), Jonathan (bass and a first-timer), Peter (baritone sax), Candy (viola and vocals), Ira (alto sax), Kevin (guitar), Toria (vocals), Thaddeus (baritone sax), Ken (drums) and Tim (guitar).

As usual we began to gather about noon and started out with a set of instrumentals including "All of Me," "Alone Together," "All The Things You Are," "Stardust," "Blue Bossa" and "Jordu." Sheila led off the vocals with "Dearly Beloved" and the rest of the session included "Pick Yourself Up," "It Could Happen To You," "In Walked Bud," "Autumn In New York," "Blue Room," "I Don't Know Why," "A Foggy Day," "Shiny Stockings," "All Is Love Is Fair," "How High The Moon," "Song for My Father," "Summer Samba," "Got My Mojo Workin'," I Thought About You," "Four" and "This Masquerade."

Lots of laughs, some good playing, a few flubs and a few things learned along the way. That's what happens at the Jazz Workshop.

Next week (1/9/10) we'll be back: 12:00-1:00 for instrumentals and then 1:00-3:45 with the vocalists.

In the photos: at the top are Steve, Peter and Ira from closest to farthest; the middle photo is Toria; and the bottom photo shows jamming in more way than one- it's what happens when you have four musicians and one chart.

Happy Holidays!

A "happy holiday of your choice" to all. There will be no jazz workshop on 12/26/09. The next workshop will be on 1/2/10.

'Twas the week (just about) before Christmas and just for a lark
All the jazzers were jamming down at McRae Park.

OK, I was going to do a whole rewrite of Clement Moore's classic Christmas poem but it got to be too hard to get the rhymes and the meter going well. Too much like actual work...

Today we had the last Jazz Workshop of 2009 and some might (inaccurately) even say the last one of the decade. To see the year out, we had a nice turnout of twelve people: Ira (alto sax), Bob (guitar), Owen (accordion), Kevin (guitar), Gene (drums), Candy (viola- a first for the Jazz Workshop), Toria (vocals), Wes (tenor sax), Annie (vocals), Thaddeus (bari sax), Paul (piano) and Tim (guitar).

Kicking off with the "instrumental hour," we played "Blue Bossa," "Milano," "Minority," "My Romance," "Bluesette." With the vocalists, we then essayed our way through "A Child I Born," "Like Someone in Love," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "East of the Sun," "Satin Doll," "Corcovado," "What Is This Thing Called Love," "Sannta Blues," ""Embraceable You," "Yardbird Suite," "Misty," "One Note Samba," "Pick Yourself Up," "How High the Moon," "Jingle Jam," "It's All Right With Me," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Dream," and "The Christmas Song" (a.k.a., "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire").

Next week, on 12/26/09, there will be no workshop. Have a happy holiday of your choice! We'll be back in action on 1/2/10 (is anybody else having a hard time believing that it's almost 2010 already?).

In three days the days start getting longer! W00t!

Santa Baby

Today was the "Santa Breakfast" at McRae Park, for which the Workshop provided a couple hours of music. I was too busy to take pictures and not smart enough to give my camera to someone else. D'oh!

Present for the gig were Annie, Dick and Reno (vocals), Gene and Ken (drums), Owen (accordion), Kevin and Tim (guitar), Peter (bari sax), Ira (alto sax), Wes (tenor sax).

We covered some of the tunes listed from last Saturday plus a few more ("Rudolph," etc.).

Update for the workshop schedule: regular workshop on 12/19/09 (instrumentals 12:00-1:00, with the vocalists 1:00-3:45), no workshop on 12/26/09, and then resuming the weekly regular workshop schedule on 1/2/10.

The Christmas gig is here

Every year there is a "Santa breakfast" at McRae Park and they ask the Workshop to provide music. This week at the Workshop we found out that the Santa Breakfast would be next week. Well, that's short notice! So we spent the time today setting up songs for next week.

Today we had four (four!) new vocalists turn up for the workshop. Three of them seemed to come together and the fourth came on her own. Unfortunately since we were feverishly working on the songs for next week we did not have space for these folks to have a chance to participate. Hopefully they will come back some time! Had I known this would be the case, I would have put mention of it in the Craigslist ad. Unfortunately Annie found out about this from the Park District on Friday, so it was too late by then. I feel bad about that.

Today we had Annie (vocals), Toria (vocals), Ken (drums), Ira (alto sax), Wes (tenor sax), Owen (accordion), Jeff (bass), Norman (piano), Luis (bass), Reno, (vocals) and Tim (guitar). I think that's everyone.

The songs today were predominantly holiday music- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Feliz Navidad," "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," "My Favorite Things," "Sleigh Ride," "Santa Baby," "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," etc.

Next week we will play from 10:00-12:00 at the Santa Breakfast at McRae Park and we won't have a regular Workshop session that day. Tentatively we will have a Workshop on 12/19/09, not on 12/26/09 or 1/2/10 and will resume our usual schedule on 1/9/10.

In the photos: on top, that's Annie, Toria, Reno and Ira. We were having fun. Really. In the middle photo is Norman. The bottom photo is Owen's hand and accordion keyboard.