In Which Ryan Is About Time
November 2024 | 5:11
Koopa and Goomba are glad their blanket warmers are back.
What's Been Happening
The idea that the only constant in life is change is old enough that the quote is attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. The idea that you need to be ok with this and live in the moment is old enough that it seems to be a central tenet of most Eastern philosophies, and the balance between acceptance and striving seems to be the basis of most modern ones.
I'm assuming I'm over-simplifying, but in case I saved you a ton of reading; you're welcome. Regardless, fall has long been a time of change and resulting introspection for me; it's when I got married, and when I've gone through some of my toughest mental health challenges. It's the end of a season and the start of another, both professionally and in a literal hemispheric sense. While I was out East helping my folks last month, I passed my high school, middle school, and elementary school, and was struck with memories of feeling like I would never make it to let alone through the next school. I was simultaneously struck with how quickly it went by in retrospect, and how long ago that was, and how physically close the campuses are given how far away they felt in the moment.
I'll be real; I don't necessarily have somewhere I'm going with this any more than I have an idea of where I'm going next month <note to self, check calendar to find out where I'm going next month>. But I suspect you're like me, and some of you need to know that if it sucks right now, it won't be forever, so keep going and make sure you ask people for help along the way. And if it's amazing right now? It won't be forever, but that's not a reason to be sad; it's a reason to smile more right now and make sure you can remember this when you or someone you love needs it later.
May your masks smell pleasant and your packages arrive without incident,
Ryan
Chart O' The Month
Those of you following along at home are well aware that I have an extended relationship with the song "Autumn Leaves", and this is actually my favorite arrangement of the song. The chart is by Tom Harrell, and Tom is a topic unto himself but if you haven't checked out his writing or trumpet playing please do so. I was actually introduced to this record by fellow Bluecoats alum Kevin Stahl, and it's stuck with me ever since. I love the balance of misdirection (ex. starting with the countermelody to disguise the tune) and putting things right down the middle of the plate (ex. the opening statement of the melody in flugels and how swinging Snooky Young is on the lead trumpet part). I still come back to this chart as one of my iconic examples of "here is how to present a jazz standard" whether for listening pleasure or learning how to be an arranger.
I actually liked this chart so much that I reached out to Tom about 10 times during grad school, and finally his wife sent me a message saying that they only had about 3/4 of the score and parts from when they recorded it, but that she would send me that if I was interested. Needless to say I was, so I input what she sent me, transcribed the rest, and sent her back the completed project, so I'm also proud to have done a small part in preserving one of my favorite pieces.
Look, Nature!
This is a picture from my phone from a beach on O'ahu, which illustrates that a) Hawaii is also so pretty it even looks good when I take blurry phone pictures, and b) sometimes the most useful thing I can do during a visual block is stop distracting Matt Hartwell and go to the beach.
Education Notes
It's been great to get back into teaching and judging this month! Hopefully everyone's Band-tober was successful and as always hit me up with anything I can do to help.