by Neal on February 8, 2010
Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley on alto sax in 1974.
Nat Adderley on trumpet
George Duke on piano
Walter Bocker on bass
Roy Mccurdy on drums
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At the Newport Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
“Cannonball” was his childhood nickname. Adderley spoke to his his audiences in clubs and on television about the art and moods of jazz.
He played with Miles Davis who said of Cannonball Adderley, “He had a certain spirit. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but it was there in his playing every night.”
by Neal on February 7, 2010
The harmonic structure of a song sometimes seems to restrict you.
If you play a certain note against a certain chord, they will clash.
However, having a strucure forces you to work with it in creative ways.
If you’re watching a sports match, the players follow rules.
It wouldn’t be interesting if they got into the stadium or court and just did whatever they wanted.
Some poems, for example, the haiku have a very specific structure too.
And the haiku can be beautiful.
The structure helps set up a groove in music and lends itself to creating patterns that are related.
by Neal on February 6, 2010
For a time I played around with synthetic reeds on saxophone….
Cane reeds were making me mad- I had switched mouthpieces, so my old reeds didn’t seem quite right with the new piece.
So synthetic reeds can be tempting! You just put them on and play a consistent reed….
But the sound isn’t as good.
You sacrifice a better sound for a consistent experience- a reed that lasts longer and each one you get plays the same.
But then I realized that it wasn’t worth it, I wanted a better sound again.
So I’m back on cane!
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