One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ~ Bob Marley
There have been some interesting videos on YouTube and we have been reading some hot blogs this year. We thought we would take the time to point to some of our favorites. Feel free to add some of your favorites in the comments of this post.
1. The One O'Clock Lab Band Plays Yesterdays
The One O’Clock Lab Band for 69 years has been the premier ensemble of the Jazz Studies Division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton. The band has performed and toured in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, and The Netherlands. Since the 1970s, the band’s albums have received seven Grammy nominations, including two for Lab 2009. Steve Wiest, a three-time Grammy-nominated composer-arranger-director and Associate Professor of Music, directed the O'Clock Lab Band from 2008 through the summer of 2014. ~ Wikipedia
We can’t stop playing against this. So many good ideas, multi-tones, edgy-ness, vibrato techniques, and just good sound. Expand the window to fill the screen, turn up your sound system. Listen to it a couple of times. Then grab your sax and enjoy.
2. Scott Dart's Transcriptions
The SDartSax
- Artist: Maceo Parker
- Album: Prince – One Night Alone CD3 (1992)
- Track: We Do This
- Instrument: Alto Sax
Since we lost Prince, I haven’t listened to anything else. It’s been very bittersweet to re-discover corners of his vast catalog that I had forgotten about!
This week has been all about the three-CD set “One Night Alone”. It features both Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer prominently, so expect a bunch of solos from this set over the next month.
The thing I love about this set is how it shows Prince’s versatility. You don’t hear any synth-pop dance tracks. If you dropped the needle in random places, you’d might think it was a live P-Funk show. In fact, George Clinton makes an appearance on this track – re-uniting with his old sideman Maceo.
The solo is meat and potatoes Maceo – super funky and in the pocket over a slow, heavy groove. I’d love…
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3. Merlin Williams' Woodwind Doubling Series
Our good friend Merlin, a professional musician, speaks with authority about being a musician. In this episode, he talks about what it is to be a paid musician on a cruise ship. This video is an excellent education tool for those considering their own qualifications and wanting to know tips and tricks to being a successful pro.
Happy holidays and may next year bring you some most excellent gigs.
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