It takes the H1N1 to force a blog update

Here I am, lying in bed with a fever, cough, congestion, and what seems to be the flu. Naturally, it takes an ailment to slow me down and stop pushing forward. It must be time to write.

So what's taken place since the conclusion of the spring semester? Somewhere in there was summer break but for the life of me, I cannot recall what sort of vacation time occurred. I spent quite a bit of time playing in and around OKC, of all places. I played the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango where I met some wonderful people and enjoyed playing some terrific music at Durango Mountain Resort and the Bootjack Ranch. Other than that, where did the summer go? There were the occasional folk music gigs, pop music gigs, and recording projects, but for whatever reason, nothing is jumping out.... maybe it's the fever.

The school year started with a very motivated drum line, a young but very promising big band, and a very, very busy academic schedule. In addition to nine lessons at the college and three private students, I'm directing the steel drum band, percussion ensemble, big band, teaching a section of music literature, percussion methods, jazz improvisation, and assisting with the marching band. At some point, I have to get the basketball band up and running. In addition, there are the regular trips to Dallas, gigs with Eric Shiveley, some recent recordings at Don Richmond's studio for Michael Hearn, Nick Branchal (ASC faculty member and founder of all of the great Mariachi ensembles in Colorado and New Mexico), and Fred Hargrove.

We've accomplished a very early homecoming concert with the steel drum band, jazz combo, and big band, and another is just around the corner. Hopefully, as I continue to lay here in bed and type, the big band is rehearsing without me! Same goes for tonight's community and college steel drum bands...

Over the weekend, as this flu was starting to settle in, I rehearsed with Denver singer/songwriter, Andy Ard for an upcoming gig in Morrison. He is a wonderful musician and I am grateful to get to play with him. We met years ago at a video shoot for Eric Shiveley's movie, played a gig together with Eric a year and a half ago, and now a trio gig with a Denver bassist, Steve Millin.

It's also a pleasure to have a gradually growing rep with Tracy where we can play without too much preparation or stress. I fact, we recently performed together in Sequoia National Park at a retreat center for a wedding. A beatiful setting for a beatiful wedding. It was memorable for it's uniqueness, as well as the family of bears we came across!

In case I don't get around to another update anytime soon, some other projects include a series of clinics throughout the area, including the Colorado Day of Percussion with She-e Wu. A gig with the Taos chamber music group, Soundscapes, and a few more surprises. It's also time for another faculty recital... perhaps early May? First, I must conquer the flu, then some new repertoire.

One Week to Go!!

Greetings- These blog updates tend to be few and far between. Since the last post, I've been a bit swamped with booking a tour of Oklahoma, teaching classes and lessons, and either directing or performing recitals. The past few weeks included a performance for the dedication of some new Guatemalan marimbas for the valley's Guatemalan community, the final jazz ensembles concert of the year, a performance with saxophonist Ryan Janus, and the capstone performance for my percussionists, the spring ASC Percussion Ensemble and Steel Drum Bands performance. Everything was a success and we are a week from finals. Tracy and I have a duo recital on May 3rd at 7pm Leon Recital Hall which should be fun. We have selected some interesting works, including opportunities for me to play some tar and bendir, as well as the usual marimba,vibraphone, and drummy stuff.

An interesting opportunity closes Tuesday night with my lecture on the music of Pakistan for a class taught by 16 different professors from different disciplines throughout the semester. Could there be a country more important for our future? The preparation for my section of the course has taught me a lot about Pakistan and raised my awareness beyond the headlines.

My to do list for the summer looks promising. I cannot wait to begin!

Pandit Samir Chatterjee Followed by A Noteworthy Evening

This past weekend was packed full of fine music and positive energy for our college. I am always amazed by the many wonderful things happening in our community and how there are so many times I cannot make it to everything I would like. With the college, concert venues, a vibrant community, and of course, the wonderful natural landscape, one can find ways to be double or triple booked on the same evening. And when not attending an event, you very well may find yourself involved in the presentation of activities. In this instance, I was glad to be a part of the offerings.

On Saturday, the college hosted a joint concert by Salman Ahmad from the band, Junoon, and Samir Chatterjee, world-renown tabla virtuoso. Salman has family ties and relationships with our director of student engagement here at the college and seriously, what better story could there be? Combine an Indian from Calcutta performing traditional Hindustani music with a rock star Pakistani from Lahore on stage performing together. Cynicism is easy. Making a difference globally is heroic. These two are making a difference. Salman works on many issues regarding peace, global health, and moderate teachings, while the latest and most inspiring cause I am aware of is that of Pandit Chatterjee's affiliation. He is working within Afghanistan to restore the musical culture, including the state-supported music school in Kabul. If you are interested in supporting this cause, make a donation here. What a cause-- returning the culture to a proud society disrupted by decades of war. Musicians can be the most cynical people on the planet, but music seems to be the one thing void of true conflict. Traveling to a war zone to teach young musicians, especially when fundamentalist religious teachings may see no place for music takes a person with immense character. How can one not be inspired by this global perspective?

Prior to the concert, Samir was kind enough to share his time with our music students by presenting a class on Hindustani music and specifically, tabla. I remember being stunned when first exposed to tabla playing and I hope those in attendance experienced that same feeling. For my students to be able to sit on the floor a few feet from his playing had to forge a connection with the complexities and beauty of tabla playing. I know it did for me! And Samir- what a great person, performer, and guru. Those in NYC and Pittsburgh who study with him are privileged individuals.

Special thanks to Aaron and Masood for making this entire event a success.

The next event was a large undertaking directed by Tracy. On Sunday, the music department hosted the first annual event titled "A Noteworthy Evening" where we were able to raise a healthy amount of money for the music department's scholarship endowment. The event was formal, involved the entire faculty performing a recital, followed by a reception with dancing to our faculty jazz combo. Following the dancing, we moved the party to the brewery to celebrate the success and mingle with friends and guests. As always, it's a pleasure to hear my colleagues perform and so much fun to play with Matt, Johnny, and Mel in the combo. We were even joined by the vocal faculty on some Gershwin and Cole Porter, and Tracy threw down some great flute solos on Moondance!

Based on the feedback of those in attendance, there's no doubt we will continue this event on an annual basis. If you are interested in donating to the music department's scholarship endowment, click here. If gifts are specified towards music scholarships (which I highly recommend), it will help us compete with other colleges in the state in our recruiting and retention efforts. I have no doubt we offer an incredible education here, and our hope is to give our students the best opportunities possible to study, practice, and prepare for their futures without the need to work three jobs to pay for school. The Noteworthy Evening was all about our students and I hope we can continue to identify individuals willing to give our endowment the boost it needs. In the mean time, every dollar brings us closer.

Next up- ASC Jazz Concert.

Thanks for reading!

North American Frame Drum Association Festival and More Events to Come

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It's the last day of March and so much to do before the end of the semester. I find that blogging helps me organize what has just passed and prepare for the next step... feeling productive while not exactly being productive.

So I live in a very remote region of the Colorado Rockies and find it hysterical that as I type this, Valerie Naranjo is at my house practicing on my marimba for the New York City Weekend of Percussion, and in a few days, I'll be hanging out here in Alamosa with Samir Chatterjee, tabla virtuoso.

This past weekend was an inspiring time in New Jersey. The North American Frame Drum Association festival took place outside of NYC and was truly an amazing experience. The biggest names in frame drumming held workshops, taught private lessons, and performed concerts. It's a small event so you really feel as though you are getting up close experiences. One of these days, I'll write more about the event, but with so much marimba, vibraphone, and chamber music to practice for upcoming recitals, frame drumming will have to wait... although I may compose something for tar, bendir, and flute for the May recital. We'll see if we have time. Regardless, I'd like to attend NAFDA North in Brattleboro, VT in October. Tracy's family is from the area, the leaves may be changing, I can visit the Cooperman factory again, and what an excuse to head back east. Here's a pic of Steafan Hannigan, Irish musician and amateur comedian.

Colorado Pan Festival is on the Horizon

Pack the Subaru with dog and go. Once in Denver, find ethnic cuisine. This time around, it was Middle Eastern on night one, Indian on night two. Dog park for socialization with "city dogs," Gabe's old designation. Shop for new phones and now Blackberry's to "enhance life." Really? We'll see...

The important aspect to this trip as it pertains to my blog was a meeting with some fine gentlemen who are widely known for their pan playing and programs. A lunch meeting in a Golden, CO cafe with the following:

Don Prorak- leader of Pan Jumbies, the CSU Steel Drum Band, and others, as well as a board member for the local musician's union.

Rick Henson, pan player, educator, and director of the Rocky Mountain Steel Bands.

Tom Miller, one of the big names in steel drum bands. Among other things (like directing Denver University's Lamont School of Music Pan Program), he is the president of Pan Ramajay Productions, curiculum director of the Manette Steel Drum Workshop, and is a well-known recording artist.

The topic for the meeting was the creation of a western states pan festival and our target is April 2010. The idea would be to host other bands (including ours), do clinics during the day, and have the featured artist(s) perform in the evening, with a concluding mass band performance. I cannot wait to help make this happen. There's a great amount of experience amongst the group and I have no doubt it'll be a success.

If you know of anyone interested, do not hesitate to contact us!

J-

Practice time

Late spring break and still a lot to practice. More to do. This is an example of not practicing. Back to practicing.

What a difference lighting can make and a new CD.

Greetings,

With spring break only a few days away, it's great to have a plan in place. Things have been hectic around the college, but we have arrived at the trough of activity before the final crest takes hold. Tracy is on a 10 day tour with the USAF Academy Band so as I type this, she's probably playing flute in civilian attire with a bunch of people in uniform, somewhere in Indiana.

A great friend, Matt Thomas came to Colorado to do the same tour so we were able to hang out over the weekend. Matt and I met on the audition circuit almost 10 years ago, played together in the AF band, and toured together playing everything from salsa to Ugandan Amadinda. It was great to catch up and he was gracious enough to do an Afro-Cuban drumming clinic for my students.

My next clinician is Samir Chatterjee, virtuoso tabla player. I cannot wait!

As for my musical outlook, today was the first day of executing a plan for practicing. With a fundraiser gala, a recital with saxophonist Ryan Janus, a student's senior recital performance, and a duo program with Tracy all on the horizon, it's time to get to work. Additionally, I am looking forward to performing St. Paddy's Day at the brewery. Any gig I can walk to with a concertina and bodhran, drink beer, and not have to worry about driving home is a good gig. I also need to squeeze in a final recording for a documentary project on Martinique. Don Richmond is in the final stages of writing the music and I want to finish this thing for him!

Last night and this morning served as my official test run of new lighting around my marimba. Amazing what a difference seeing the bars can make.

Also, a CD I recorded the drum tracks for is now available. Check out Mike Addington here and if you like southwestern country, you'll love this album.

Off to steel drum band rehearsal. Thanks for reading!!

J-

A Day of Percussion

After an amazing week of Top of the Nation honor band, our choral area hosted the honor choir festival. As part of the event, I hosted a concert for the 100+ high school participants and their directors. It turned out to be a great night, with a performance by my steel drum band, 68 West Jazz Singers, and a closing performance by my jazz ensemble. The thought of boring the audience with some Sammy Nestico charts made me nauseous so I invited the Alamosa Salseros- a local group of dancers who are very dedicated to spreading salsa dancing throughout the community. We played some salsa, the dancers taught the audience to dance, and we had a party.

The following evening, I performed with the ASC Concert Choir at Sacred Heart Catholic Church before rushing over to the music building for a rehearsal with guest Valerie Naranjo. The 9pm rehearsal wrapped up at 2:15am, and I slept for a couple of hours before starting the process of setting up for The Colorado Chapter of PAS Southern Colorado Day of Percussion. Thankfully, Alamosa is a small town. I then ran back to Sacred Heart to perform with the honor women's choir. As soon as I was done, it was back to the college for set-up.

Preparing for a large percussion event is a bit of a logistical headache. Hosting guests, getting cumbersome instruments in place, getting mallets collected, sponsor banners hung, door prizes organized, sheet music in place, music stands piled, students put on task, signage posted, programs typed, programs proofed, programs changed, programs re-typed, programs printed, program sponsor catalogs displayed, payment of artists procured, getting the small instruments in place, finding storage space where there is none, and dealing with a power outage takes time. Yep- power outage as we were setting up. Half of the city.

For this event, I hosted Valerie Naranjo, Shilo Stroman, visual artists Kathy Park and Henry Woolbert, and Jon Latta and his Ft. Lewis College percussion ensemble. (Jon and I played together in the Air Force). The Fort Lewis students set up, rehearsed in near darkness, and then the we headed off for dinner to the west side of town where power was still present. As soon as the students sat down at the SLV Pizza place, the power went out. The entire town without power, hungry students, and a pending rehearsal sent us to the next town over for a marginal dinner of Mexican food and some student interaction between the two studios. We made it back to Alamosa by 8pm, met Shilo and Valerie, and began a four hour joint rehearsal.

After a few hours of restless sleep, it was back to school for the event. The last minute details always take more time than it should- late students, a locked men's bathroom, a jammed printer, etc etc before a morning rehearsal with Valerie. We finished that rehearsal, my jazz combo rehearsed with Shilo, and Tracy and I rehearsed for the first time on a duo piece. Here was the order of events:

10am- Master Class with Valerie Naranjo on her gyil transcriptions- deceptively challenging works on marimba. Four of my students played and did a great job.

11am- Remembrance Performance- Valerie, Tracy and I, and my percussion ensemble performed works in memory of many in the community and extended musical community who we recently lost.

12-1:30- Zimbabwean Marimba Clinic- Valerie led numerous community members in the study of some Zimbabwean music, with the help of my studio.

2pm- Shilo Stroman drum set clinic- Musical Glue- a great concept for a clinic. Shilo played with my jazz combo and I was very proud of them all!

3pm- Ewe Dance and Drumming with Jon Latta and the Ft. Lewis Percussion Ensemble. This event was similar to a recent clinic we had on campus by Jon's teacher, Mike Vercelli.

4-6pm- a concert featuring Valerie, Shilo, the ASC Steel Drums, ASC Percussion Ensemble, and the Ft. Lewis Percussion Ensemble. We concluded with some very powerful Zimbabwean and Ghanaian works with everyone involved- it was a blast!

By the time the event was cleaned up and everyone left, it was pushing 8pm.

I am grateful to all who helped make this event a success- with a special thanks to Valerie, my students, the president of our jazz club, Leslie, and of course, Tracy.

Moving on.

Almost March

One of my favorite news sources is local- the slvdweller. Not only do they provide links to the happenings pertaining to life in and around the valley, they also magically find links to bloggers who mention the valley. Today's discovery made me laugh. Their set-up is Defining Culture and the blog post suggests a lack of cell phone coverage signifies a lack of culture. Clever. As a side note, I've never had coverage problems here. In fact, the post contradicts itself by commenting on text messaging... anyhow. The post reminded me of two things: a. living here is a choice that's not for everyone and b. I should update my blog.

I want to begin with letter a. A couple of conversations come to mind. A great friend and financial supporter of my steel drum band once told the following story: A woman asks a local what the people are like in this town. The local responds by asking what the people were like in their last town. The woman responds, they were friendly, caring, thoughtful- everything you'd want in a community. The local responds that yes, that's what the people are like here as well. Moments later, another woman asks the local the very same question and the local responds with the same follow-up question. The woman states the people in the previous community were cold, rude, and disingenuous. The local replies with a yep, that's what you'll get here too. I don't think I need to point out the moral to the story.

In a discussion during our water "crisis" in Alamosa, a friend shared he is always secretly glad when the valley gets negative press. As a long time resident and self-admitted xenophobe, he's happy to keep others out who would otherwise muck up the wonderful community we have here.

Part b to this post intersects with my weekend. The blogger mentioned above was apparently a band director who attended our recent Honor Band. This year, we hosted the great Ray Cramer- the retired director of bands at Indiana University. He conducted the Wind Ensemble, as well as split conducting duties with Jamie, Tracy and I for the Concert Band. I personally enjoyed conducting- working with high school students who want to be here is a treat. As a conductor who loves to conduct but doesn't often do so, I had to reflect on what is most important to me as a musician. I've always appreciated a conductor who inspired, had artistic expression, and held me accountable for my parts. Tough was good, but rapport was essential. The students who attended the honor band were great and I was honored to work with them!

The honor band is a large recruiting effort on our part. Recruiting is hands down the most difficult part of higher ed. Actually, I should say for music higher ed. It's not a problem for a math professor who will teach math whether a math major shows up or not. They spend very little time recruiting, while on my day off today, I've sent over ten e-mails, put the finishing touches on my upcoming Day of Percussion, and pondered other approaches. This upcoming week, we have the honor choirs on campus, followed by the Day of Percussion, and then a week of classes before I head to Ft. Worth for some rehearsals. It never ends. Although, March is a nice break before the onslaught of recitals we call April. More later...

Everywhere you look.

Greetings,

When I moved to the San Luis Valley in December of 2005 (actually, I moved Tracy here in the summer of 2005 but spent a few more months in California), I expected the music scene to be just a bit limited. At the least, I'd be one of the only drummers in town. Upon arrival, I met my next door neighbor who just so happened to drum for a traveling band back in the day and who still plays around town.

So much for that notion.

As it turns out, there's a lively scene here, and a plethora of artists of all walks of life with a variety of backgrounds, levels of dedication, and an assortment of talent. The following is a story of one such person with a. the varied background b. immense dedication and c. bottomless talent.

One day, I was helping a neighbor (different neighbor than the above) remove weeds from the alley when the conversation turned to careers. Upon learning I'm a percussionist, she put me in touch with a recent expat from Denver who was working on a movie and needed a drummer for a music video shoot. I was given a tune to learn and arrived on scene to what would prove to be an interesting evening, where I played far more tunes than expected with this guy fronting the band while this guy worked a video camera, hosted a large crowd at his self-built home, and then sang/played guitar with us. This began my relationship with Eric, his dogs, and his music.

On the rare occasion I meet such a person, I'm always so very impressed by someone who puts their art before traditional concerns (wealth, fame, status, etc). Artists who can relate their life back into their art, even if it's not their traditional medium, are the most inspiring. Eric, the musician and recording engineer, became a film maker with little to no background in film making. His first endeavor, Everyone But You, clearly an arduous task, caught my attention (and not just because I appear for .2 seconds in the video shoot scene) as a multifaceted story capable of capturing an environment, a life in music, and the twists and turns such an artist takes. To date, I've watched the film nine times and am still captivated by it's story, soundtrack, videography, and meaning. The movie won awards at indie film festivals but there's a lot more to his creations than seeking validation from others.

Eric recently "completed" the film with the making of a video set to an original song so hauntingly beautiful, it stands alone without any need for the visual element of a video. Putting the video into context with the rest of the movie- the rest of his life here in the San Luis Valley- creates a depleted mood and takes the experience to a whole new level. This video is classic Eric ingenuity and creativity, if there's such thing as "classic" Eric.

Check out the video, listen to the words, put it into context, and if you haven't done so already, watch the movie. While you're at it, download some of his tunes off of his site. Better yet, buy his work. You won't be disappointed.

I'm very glad my neighbor put us in touch. I'm perpetually inspired by Eric's dedication to art, his musicianship, and commitment to our community. He has a., b., and c., and so much more.

And it begins again...

After a much needed vacation, the semester has begun in full force. We are lucky to be experiencing rather moderate weather, so the desire to wake up and get to the campus isn't dampened by the -20 degree weather outside (-5 is much more manageable). Having said that, a week in 88 degree temperatures and many cervezas on the beach in Mexico may have freed my mind (and thawed my spirit).

Up until our trip to Akumal, I've always felt guilty on vacations. When not feeling guilty, I've wanted to accomplish something pertinent- like study a new technique, learn something culturally significant on my agenda, or read the "history of"" this or that. I was recently expressing this sentiment to a friend when she responded, "you were doing something- healing." While this statement may sound a bit existential, I have come to believe she's right. A clear mind and relaxed body is needed to prepare for the onslaught of recitals, concerts, recruiting, festivals, and classes that is the collegiate spring semester. The semester began with the least amount of stress I've ever felt, and in addition to accomplishing some recordings, practicing, taking in pre-inaguration coverage (and a limited amount of football), I feel ready to give 110% to my students and colleagues from day one.

And if not, Cancun's not that far away.