I'm feeling good
So I think I'll try out a new color scheme. I was never really into the colors I had before, so I'll give this a shot. So why the good mood? Here's the rundown.
Last night, we (ISU Jazz Ensemble) had dress rehearsal with special guest Bobby Shew. It turned out to be about two and a half hours long, which isn't too bad. We did get a lot done in that amount of time, and afterwards I took my book home to study a chart. A chart. Not several which I should already know by now, just one. Cubano Chant. Why? I'm glad you asked. Dr. Kelly was asking for volunteers on the solos, and my hand went up. I'd never improvised before. However, I had the chord changes since we got the chart out, to be fair. Ashley (Tenor 1) said "you should do it," and since I AM the lead (and only) alto, and I don't want everyone to know how much of a pansy I am, I agreed.
Once that was straightened out, Dr. Kelly explained the form of the solo section. Since I'm obviously an idiot, I didn't pay any attention to this, and thought only about myself. As in, "Now what do I do?" Once my solo came around, I was fairly lost fairly quickly, and, to be fair, it sounded fairly crappy. "Oh well," I decided, "I'll ask about the form afterward and study it a little." So I did.
Today. I put in an hour of work at the Jazz Festival for my Jazz Procedures class as part of our assignment, then hit the practice room. I outlined the basic form of the solo (AABA, typical of most jazz tunes), and worked on my improv a bit. A bit. I don't have all day, let alone several weeks to be a good soloist. But, I refuse to suck, so I put in some time. And prayer.
We had our performance at 1:00 today. It went well, and Dr. Kelly already has emailed us a compliment he got from a judge, saying that this was the best ISU Jazz Ensemble's sounded in years. I was nervous the entire time, and I'm not even sure why. Cubano came and went, and I did my solo. I think I did well, but I honestly can't remember much of it. I should have stood, and next time I probably will. My mind was so pre-occupied that I was afraid I'd knock the mic over or something. I wasn't embarassed of myself afterwards, though. Now I have an excuse to actually practice on my improv and take solos to get better. This was a big step for me. It's so difficult to take that first time, especially for me. I have a comfort zone surrounded by sharks, snipers, pirhanas, bears, poison ivy and electric razor wire. So it's somewhat difficult to leave it. Fortunately, the pirhanas can't survive long in salt water, so that makes things a little easier. Exploration is a pretty big deal for me.
Tonight at 7:30 is Bobby Shew's Quartet at the Recital Hall. I'm looking forward to it. My brother David and his wife Lindsey might make it, which would be wonderful. I don't get to see them much when I'm here away from home. Again, they may not be able to make it either. Apparently both of their children are under the weather, and they don't want to overload Mom with two sick girls.
So that's the weekend so far. More eventful than usual, which I think is a good thing. Unfortunately, the ISU women's BBall team suffered their first loss of the season to rival MSU. The men apparently won today, however, on a last-second shot by David Moss.
Last night, we (ISU Jazz Ensemble) had dress rehearsal with special guest Bobby Shew. It turned out to be about two and a half hours long, which isn't too bad. We did get a lot done in that amount of time, and afterwards I took my book home to study a chart. A chart. Not several which I should already know by now, just one. Cubano Chant. Why? I'm glad you asked. Dr. Kelly was asking for volunteers on the solos, and my hand went up. I'd never improvised before. However, I had the chord changes since we got the chart out, to be fair. Ashley (Tenor 1) said "you should do it," and since I AM the lead (and only) alto, and I don't want everyone to know how much of a pansy I am, I agreed.
Once that was straightened out, Dr. Kelly explained the form of the solo section. Since I'm obviously an idiot, I didn't pay any attention to this, and thought only about myself. As in, "Now what do I do?" Once my solo came around, I was fairly lost fairly quickly, and, to be fair, it sounded fairly crappy. "Oh well," I decided, "I'll ask about the form afterward and study it a little." So I did.
Today. I put in an hour of work at the Jazz Festival for my Jazz Procedures class as part of our assignment, then hit the practice room. I outlined the basic form of the solo (AABA, typical of most jazz tunes), and worked on my improv a bit. A bit. I don't have all day, let alone several weeks to be a good soloist. But, I refuse to suck, so I put in some time. And prayer.
We had our performance at 1:00 today. It went well, and Dr. Kelly already has emailed us a compliment he got from a judge, saying that this was the best ISU Jazz Ensemble's sounded in years. I was nervous the entire time, and I'm not even sure why. Cubano came and went, and I did my solo. I think I did well, but I honestly can't remember much of it. I should have stood, and next time I probably will. My mind was so pre-occupied that I was afraid I'd knock the mic over or something. I wasn't embarassed of myself afterwards, though. Now I have an excuse to actually practice on my improv and take solos to get better. This was a big step for me. It's so difficult to take that first time, especially for me. I have a comfort zone surrounded by sharks, snipers, pirhanas, bears, poison ivy and electric razor wire. So it's somewhat difficult to leave it. Fortunately, the pirhanas can't survive long in salt water, so that makes things a little easier. Exploration is a pretty big deal for me.
Tonight at 7:30 is Bobby Shew's Quartet at the Recital Hall. I'm looking forward to it. My brother David and his wife Lindsey might make it, which would be wonderful. I don't get to see them much when I'm here away from home. Again, they may not be able to make it either. Apparently both of their children are under the weather, and they don't want to overload Mom with two sick girls.
So that's the weekend so far. More eventful than usual, which I think is a good thing. Unfortunately, the ISU women's BBall team suffered their first loss of the season to rival MSU. The men apparently won today, however, on a last-second shot by David Moss.