March 2008

'Wait, what genre is this?' Answer: 'Who cares?'

March 29, 2008 20:55

I've decided my life is far too confusing at the moment to blog about. I'll probably just make myself more annoyed in the process. So I'm going to talk about something far more cheerful: music (surprise!) . . . :)

This week I went to a workshop at my school about jazz music education. Not entirely related to my performance major and my current work teaching private classical lessons, but I thought it might be interesting. And it was. Probably the coolest thing I got out of it, though, was a free CD. The guy giving the lecture gave out a free album to the person who knew the punchline to this joke: "What's the difference between a jazz musician and a pizza?" (Do YOU know the answer? ;) Anyway, so the CD he gave me is this fantastic album by the group The Unbande called Alto Logic. As you probably guessed from CD title, the band (led by former Turtle Island String Quartet member Danny Seidenberg) plays music for two violas and (get this) Chapman Stick. Mhmm . . . :) Even though I got the CD at a jazz workshop, that certainly isn't the only thing on here. There's plenty of bluesy material, but also rock, pop, classical, swing . . . it's probably the only album I've discovered that goes from Bela Bartok to Led Zeppelin within a single track. ;) It really is a great album in all respects - content, arrangements, performance. Hah, my only complaint would be that the packaging is too ugly to do the group justice! But seriously, check this out. I've been listening to it all weekend and can't put it down.

As I was listening to Alto Logic, I couldn't help thinking. Gee, ummm, how exactly would you classify this music anyway? Is it jazz, rock, classical? Yes and no. And more. The way I like to look at it is that these guys don't play one particular genre so much as just plain old good music, regardless of where it came from. And that's my favorite kind.

Here's some more of my favorite unclassifiably amazing albums:

We Just Burned This for You, by Time for Three, which is available both on their website and on iTunes (yay!). I have to thank Caeli for her great interview on these guys. That was how I first heard about them, and I've been hooked ever since. Again, they're really hard to classify. You can definitely hear their classical training come through, and tracks like Csardas and Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5 take from classical compositions pretty directly. But on the other hand, they can play a pretty wicked Orange Blossom Special. So, so much fun to listen to.

Another of my very favorite albums in this same vein (which I'm sure many of you have heard of) is Appalachia Waltz, a collaboration between Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer, and Yo-Yo Ma. I don't think I could ever get tired of listening to this CD. In fact, I doubt I could ever get tired of hearing its title track, one of the most beautiful melodies ever written. I've played it on my own, just from learning it by ear, but the other day I downloaded a piano trio arrangement off Mark O'Connor's website. Even with just the addition of the cello part, it was beautiful. Again, while the main flavor of this album is fiddle, there are classical, Celtic and Americana influences. Not to mention original compositions by Edgar Meyer, the bass god.

. . . who really is in a league of his own. Seriously, not only can Meyer play the bass better than anyone else alive (at least that I know of), he also plays the piano, guitar, mandolin, dobro, and banjo. Plus, he writes and arranges a lot of his own music. Just take his recent solo album. Not only did Meyer compose and improvise all the music here, but he plays all the instruments himself. And the result? Again, utterly unclassifiable. I mean, is it classical, jazz, folk, blues? Nope. It's Edgar Meyer. You just can't put a label on the guy.

Love it. :)

9 replies | Archive link

Busking and Keeping Busy

March 16, 2008 15:20

I've always wanted to try my hand at busking, and on Friday I celebrated the start of spring break by playing my violin in downtown Lawrence. I've wanted to try busking for a while, but was a little nervous about playing music by myself. So I grabbed coffee with one of my friends and she stuck around while I started playing. I picked a spot downtown that was in the middle of the block, but intersected with a little aleyway. There was a nice little ledge off to the side that I could sit on and prop my violin case against. I just unpacked my violin and played the first fiddle tune that came to mind. I didn't think to put any seed money in my case, but people started dropping in dollar bills almost immediately. I played all the fiddle tunes I could think of: strathspeys, waltzes, reels . . . I hadn't really planned anything out, though I kind of wish I had. I found myself running out of music, so I repeated everything. I wanted to try some classical pieces as well, so I played some Bach that I'd been teaching my students lately. People seemed to like the classical just as much as the fiddle stuff, which was encouraging. Although, I did have this one weird thing happen. I was playing some Boccherini and this one guy came by and said (in what sounded to me like kind of a mean voice), "Go back to the conservatory, orch dork!" And yet, he still gave me money so . . . hah, that was kind of weird. I'm hoping he was just kidding. But overall I loved the experience. It gave me a chance to brush up on fiddle tunes that I hadn't played for ages. My favorite part though, was watching the little kids. They'd just stop and stare, entranced by the sound. If I smiled at them, they always smiled back too. It was so cute. :) And you know another cool part? I actually earned a decent amount of money. I only played for an hour and a half, but there was about $30 in my case when I was finished. That's as much as I earn teaching! I definitely have to go busking more often. It makes me want to expand my fiddle repertoire. I've resolved to practice at least one fiddle tune a day. I also want to figure out a collection of classical pieces that would work.

I'm glad I discovered the joys of busking — I think it'll be a fun project to give me a break from all the busyness of classes and rehearsals. I feel like I have so much responsibility this semester. Orchestra, chamber music, and recitals are keeping me very busy. It's been kind of hard figuring out how to prioritize it all. As concertmaster, I feel obligated to devote a lot of time to learning the music. We just got the music for out next concert a couple weeks ago, and I've been scrambling to learn the part. We're doing Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture, Tchaik 5, and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (with Brian Lewis as soloist). The Tchaikovsky in particular is a real challenge, both because of the length and the technical difficulty. I'm also playing a lot of chamber music right now: sonatas with three different pianists as well as a string nonet. On the one hand, it's great because I love chamber music. But on the other hand, it's a little overwhelming to have that many people rely on me. I feel kind of bad because I haven't had as much time to practice my solo repertoire over the last couple weeks. Over spring break I have some time to finish getting the orchestra part under my fingers, and the chamber music I'm learning isn't particularly challenging, just a time commitment. I should be able to get back into a more balanced schedule once the term resumes. Even though I'm so busy, I'm happier this semester than last semester. Orchestra and chamber music keep me motivated and challenged, and help to make up for the lack of learning that goes on in my private lessons. I'm still pretty sure I want to transfer for my junior year, but until then, I know what to do to stay busy and motivated.

5 replies | Archive link

More entries: April 2008 • February 2008

March 2008

'Wait, what genre is this?' Answer: 'Who cares?'

Busking and Keeping Busy

Subscribe

Laurie's Books