The Practice Room

Amanda Monaco

Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing the Lascivious Biddies perform, with our own Amanda Monaco on guitar. In addition to performing with the Biddies, Amanda has her own jazz quartet, the Amanda Monaco 4, and is in much demand in jazz circles in New York. Her book, Jazz Guitar for the Absolute Beginner, is available from WorkshopArts, and she teaches beginner and intermediate jazz on WorkshopLive.

The Biddies are tight. Their songs are well-written and smartly-arranged; the band plays them with a laid-back 1960s jazz feel that’s very engaging. Amanda’s solos are fleet and unpredictable, with lots of breathing room. So many guitarists try to fill up every beat with notes, with not a thought for phrasing; Amanda can crank out the sixteenth notes when she wants, but always takes a more thoughtful approach.

She’s a graduate of William Paterson University, where she studied with guitarist Ted Dunbar, pianists Kenny Barron and Harold Mabern, and bassist Rufus Reid. She’s a big fan of Jim Hall (aren’t we all?), and also recommends Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green as essential listening for guitarists.

JJA Nominees

The Jazz Journalists Association has just announced the finalists for its 10th annual Jazz Awards. The awards will be announced June 19. Among the nominees:

Lifetime Achievement in Jazz: Roy Haynes, Andrew Hill, Lee Konitz, Marian McPartland, Paul Motian

Pianist of the Year: Kenny Barron, Bill Charlap, Fred Hersch, Andrew Hill, Keith Jarrett, Jason Moran, Danilo Perez

Organ-keyboards of the Year: Joey DeFrancesco, Larry Goldings, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Craig Taborn, Sam Yahel

Guitarist of the Year: Bill Frisell, Jim Hall, Russell Malone, Pat Metheny, Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel

Acoustic Bassist of the Year: Ron Carter, Henry Grimes, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Christian McBride, William Parker

Electric Bassist of the Year: Richard Bona, Bob Cranshaw, Matthew Garrison, Christian McBride, Steve Swallow, Stomu Takeishi

 

Classical bug bites Billy Joel again

From Playbill Arts we have this news:

A piano concerto based on music from pop star Billy Joel's 2001 classical album Fantasies and Delusions will premiere at the Eastern Music Festival on June 24. 

Pianist Jeffrey Biegel will perform the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the EMF faculty orchestra. Biegel had initially asked Joel to write him a concerto, but due to time constraints the pop star suggested that some of his solo piano pieces be reworked into a concerto. 

In a statement on his website, Biegel, who arranged the piano section, said, "In utilizing the music already published as Fantasies and Delusions, the selections chosen came to my mind as a conception for a cohesive concerto in four movements of various styles and moods."

The concerto is structured in four movements: Fantasy, Sorbetto, Reverie, and Nunley's Carousel Waltz. Joel also approved Phillip Keveren to orchestrate the score. 

Stuart Malina, music director of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra since 2000, will conduct. Malina shared a 2003 Tony Award with Joel for the Broadway musical Movin' Out, which makes use of Joel's songs.

The Eastern Music Festival is held annually in Greensboro, North Carolina. The 2006 lineup includes violinist Joshua Bell, mezzo Frederica Von Stade, pianists Garrick Ohlsson and André Watts, and the Canadian Brass.

Jazzfest

Let’s tip our hats to the folks who put on the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which opened this weekend despite long odds. Yesterday you had Bob Dylan, Keb’ Mo, Ani DiFranco, BeauSoleil and about 40 other acts. Today will feature Herbie Hancock, Trence Blanchad, Dave Matthers, Etta James, CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, and on and on. Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Fats Domino, Ellis Marsalis, Little Feast, Keith Urban, Jimmie Buffett, Robert Randolph and the Family Band will all be there this weekend or next. Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote a nice piece about opening day.

 

Truth boxes

While the guitar may be the center of the musical universe for many of us, there is much to be learned from people who play other instruments – like, for example, the trombone. Brad Edwards at the Bone Zone recommends three “Truth Boxes”: the metronome, the tuner and the tape recorder. Some of his advice is a touch trombone-specific, but not so much that it doesn’t apply to everyone else, to:

Truth box #1: The METRONOME

The metronome is the first gadget you should buy to assist you in your practicing. When choosing a metronome, here are a few features to look for:

• Choose a machine that gives a clear, easy-to-hear click. Machines that provide      subdivisions or metrical groupings of beats are helpful at times.
• A volume control can be very helpful.
• I prefer using a dial instead of a button to change tempo markings. On many machines, using a button to change tempos can be a real nuisance.
• Another useful feature is a metronome that clicks in time from the moment it is turned on. This feature is particularly helpful if you are taping yourself. As you listen to yourself on tape, you may want to turn on the metronome to check your rhythmic accuracy. Surprisingly, many machines generate their first click somewhat randomly after being turned on thus      making it impossible to synchronize metronome with tape.

Truth box #2: The TUNER

It is now possible to get an excellent quality tuner for a very reasonable price. While using a tuner, it is important to remember that you should use the tuner to help make your ears more sensitive. Sometimes musicians get hooked on the tuner, staring at it constantly to make sure they are right in tune. Often they get into the bad habit of constantly fidgeting with their pitch to the detriment of their tone quality. Remember, if your tone is not centered it is unlikely your pitch will ever be consistent. Don't sacrifice tone for pitch!

Truth box #3: TAPE RECORDER

Although high end professional tape recorders are priced out of the reach of most young musicians, it is surprising what can be learned even from a $20 model right off the Walmart shelves. Even with a cheap tape recorder, you can check your rhythm, listen to your phrasing and catch uncentered notes. You can also work on intonation. I have tried out several inexpensive tape recorders and have found, for example, that most of them played back in tune. I played a note into a tuner while recording myself and then played back the recorded note (on the same machine!) while checking the tuner.

Thanks, Brad.

Guitars, cars and stars

Our pal Mark came across this lovely model from the current Fender catalog – the Toronado Special Edition. He says, “This limited edition Fender is soo cool looking, I want to rent some vintage Starsky and Hutch episodes...” (In case you’re either too young or too intellectual to see where Mark is going with this: Starsky & Hutch were these two detectives, see, and they had this very cool car, a Gran Torino with tomato-colored paint and a white stripe, and… well, actually, that’s about all.)

In the goofy-yet-endearing-Fender department, I will see Mark’s Toronado and raise him a Starcaster. Fender didn’t make these for long – I guess not enough people wanted amoeba-shaped 335 knock-offs back in 1977. They’ve doubled in price on the vintage market over the last few years. We know Fender’s not shy about using old designs, since the Telecaster is 60 years old and still selling like hotcakes, so why not  a re-issue Starcaster? As it turns out they’ve re-used the name for a student-level guitar, so I don’t imagine we’ll see any more of these anytime soon.

Jam with Jabo!

Jeff Bihlman, WorkshopLive faculty, sent in this video of his band, the Bihlman Brothers. Enjoy!

Why didn’t you tell me?

Modern Guitars has a set of photos from the 2006 Rhythm & Blues Cruise, which looks like a great way to spend a week. What is it? It’s a boat ride from Ft. Lauderdale to – well, Ft. Lauderdale, of course, but with stops at Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Belize. On board you would have found Taj Mahal, John Hammond, Hubert Sumlin, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Thackery (preparing for his NGW gig this August, no doubt), Corey Harris, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, Joe Bonamassa… you get the idea.

Perhaps you have the same question I do: Why am I finding out about this now? If so, don’t get too worked up; it seems they do this every year.

(Thanks to Modern Guitars for the tip, and to Joseph A. Rosen for the photo of Jimmy Thackery and Tab Benoit.)

The Sonar Axe

We bring you this item from Engadget.com without further comment:

  With its Hal-like red eye and green-lit aluminum rods, the Sonar Axe doesn't look like any guitar we've ever seen — and we suspect it doesn't sound like one either. About the only thing it has in common with a guitar is that you can play notes by moving your fingers up and down the "neck" — however, that part of the instrument is actually the space between those two rods, where you play, theremin-like, by moving your fingers in the air. At $425 with a lifetime warranty, it may be just the thing to add a groovy space-age sound to your band.

Celebrity playlists on iTunes

I just discovered Joe Satriani's celebrity playlist in the iTunes store.  It's really amazing his choices of songs. I can't post his comments here, but here's one new way to learn about musicians and what they're listening to. What are you listening to?