Category: Listening

Soul Jazz

I recently read Soul Jazz:  Jazz in the Black Community, 1945-1975, a book by producer, writer, and critic Bob Porter.   When I first heard about it, I felt like it was right in line with what I’ve been interested in learning about and listening to for the last 5 years or so:  popular instrumental music […]

Learning By Ear

I recently had the opportunity to make a couple of videos for young students on learning music by ear.  The opportunity was through the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra’s Jazz Scholars program, of which I am proud to be a part.  I believe that learning music by ear and transcription is an invaluable part of playing […]

Transcription Clip – Joe Henderson, “Song For my Father”

When I was 15 my family went to Berkeley CA to visit my brother at college, and the Tower Records store there had a CD called “The Best Blue Note Album Ever”, a double-disc compilation. I was getting into jazz/BAM at the time but I don’t think I knew what Blue Note was. I bought […]

Tour Blog, Fall 2018, Day 3

I’m a day or so behind but I’m going to keep going! In Lincoln, Nebraska we played the Zoo Bar, a small blues club that opened in 1973. The walls were covered with old posters and flyers with some of the biggest names in blues music, all of whom had played the Zoo Bar at […]