".........but I digress."
Jeff fucking Chappell, the man they call J-Dawg Chappellicious
I fucking love this man. He just gave me extra credit this week for correcting him during his lecture when he said that the free jazz movement from the 1950s into 60s could be likened to the Expressionist art movement around the same time, when in fact he was thinking of the Abstract Expressionist movement (shut up I'm an art major!).
Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the Chappell love, and since you can't experience his awesomeness first hand, or see him play "Flight of the Bumblebee" with his hands crossed, or play a flaming piano with his teeth (although, truth be told, I haven't either. But it's only a matter of time...probably on the last day of class), here are a couple quotes:
(From Peter Danilchuk's facebook: after messing up an organ solo in Jazz Improv)
Peter: God, I destroyed that"
Jeff Chappell: "At least you were total in your destruction"
"My rap name is J-Dawg Chappellicious. Dog being spelled with an A-W-G, naturally."
(A VHS tape was having tracking problems in the VCR)
"Someday I hope to bring this classroom into the 90s."
(From his website: Q&A section)
"How old were you when you started playing the piano?
I began formal lessons at the age of 7, but I was playing before that. My earliest memory of playing the piano is standing up to reach the keys and improvising a piece of music about the ocean. Strange, for someone living in Missouri."
“Don’t your hands ever get tired?
No, I’m just getting started."
"Your music made me cry.
Was it that bad?"
And last, but definitely not least
"You asked if I had any questions at all. I do. What is the meaning of life?
To understand the meaning of life, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of meaning. Let me explain this by giving an example: If I were to walk past the house where you live, it would mean nothing to me because I have no connection with that house. If you were to walk past that house, it would mean a lot to you because you have a lot of connections with that house. Therefore, meaning results from things connecting with other things. The more connections you can find in your life, the more meaning it will have. And if you can know that you are connected with everything else, then your life will have the most meaning possible."
I fucking love this man. He just gave me extra credit this week for correcting him during his lecture when he said that the free jazz movement from the 1950s into 60s could be likened to the Expressionist art movement around the same time, when in fact he was thinking of the Abstract Expressionist movement (shut up I'm an art major!).
Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the Chappell love, and since you can't experience his awesomeness first hand, or see him play "Flight of the Bumblebee" with his hands crossed, or play a flaming piano with his teeth (although, truth be told, I haven't either. But it's only a matter of time...probably on the last day of class), here are a couple quotes:
(From Peter Danilchuk's facebook: after messing up an organ solo in Jazz Improv)
Peter: God, I destroyed that"
Jeff Chappell: "At least you were total in your destruction"
"My rap name is J-Dawg Chappellicious. Dog being spelled with an A-W-G, naturally."
(A VHS tape was having tracking problems in the VCR)
"Someday I hope to bring this classroom into the 90s."
(From his website: Q&A section)
"How old were you when you started playing the piano?
I began formal lessons at the age of 7, but I was playing before that. My earliest memory of playing the piano is standing up to reach the keys and improvising a piece of music about the ocean. Strange, for someone living in Missouri."
“Don’t your hands ever get tired?
No, I’m just getting started."
"Your music made me cry.
Was it that bad?"
And last, but definitely not least
"You asked if I had any questions at all. I do. What is the meaning of life?
To understand the meaning of life, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of meaning. Let me explain this by giving an example: If I were to walk past the house where you live, it would mean nothing to me because I have no connection with that house. If you were to walk past that house, it would mean a lot to you because you have a lot of connections with that house. Therefore, meaning results from things connecting with other things. The more connections you can find in your life, the more meaning it will have. And if you can know that you are connected with everything else, then your life will have the most meaning possible."