In Which Ryan Does Not Do An April Fool's Joke In The Subject Line
April 2024 | 5:4
Goomba and Koopa wish you many comfy cuddles this month.
What's Been Happening
This month is the heart of my heavy writing season, which obviously presents challenges but is still something I enjoy and am grateful for (even if there are moments where I lose sight of that). I certainly remember days where it felt like I couldn't accomplish the tasks in front of me, or ones where I didn't even have a taste of the opportunities to write that I have now, so the perspective helps temper my moments of frustration with myself. While it can be tough to balance being grateful with wanting things to be better, it helps to recognize that a challenge isn't the same thing as a struggle.
Put another way; it's nice to know I'm swimming when I know what it feels like to be treading water or drowning.
May your masks smell pleasant and your packages arrive without incident,
Ryan
Chart O' The Month
This is another chart that I'm surprised I hadn't shared before now as it's been in the Medium Ensemble book all the way back to our days playing at McDunna's on Fullerton Ave. (which apparently is now not even a bar let alone a venue). It was originally written for a gig we played at a street festival where they asked if we could play a set of jazz standards; I said yes and then went home and wrote the necessary charts including this one. This gig is equally famous in Medium Ensemble lore for being the genesis of the "wine in a box" backgrounds on Sabor, but I digress.
The chart itself is also from my "ideas I stole from Laurence Hobgood" period as it's based on his treatment of the tune for Kurt Elling with an obligatory Basie ending. The feel change does a great job of showcasing the really cool harmonic structure of the tune, and while the choice to feature alto had more to do with having too many tenor solos in the book at the time I don't think I could hear the tune another way now. I have lots of recordings of this chart, but this is one of my favorites because it catches both the musicianship and the fun of the band (including the "Blues Brothers" outro vamp to get me to stop talking on the mic).
Look, Nature!
This is Gary (scientific name "Garyicus Fishus") from Shark's Cove off Oahu. I hope you are as excited to see something this month as Gary apparently was to see us.
Education Notes
I had a chance to work with Kevin Ronan this month, and it was great to nerd out on some brass pedagogy with someone that has worked with groups and educators that apply concepts I use a lot but in very different ways. For example, we both use a lot of pitch bending, but tend to do so with opposite tempo and dynamic; I've been doing them at high dynamics and quicker tempo to make sure the air is doing the work and has momentum, he does them quieter and slower so they can be more about control and digging in to the bend. Beyond just being cool to get different perspectives on how to use familiar exercises and concepts, I had two important takeaways:
First, it's less important how you use an exercise than that you do so with intent. Even using something differently than it's "supposed to" is useful if you have a reason and you monitor the results.
Second, using something with intent isn't the same as blindly following doctrine for the sake of consistency. Do the thing that makes the sound.