This blog is about sharing the incredible process of creating music with people. You will find snapshots of my experience as a developing artist as well as the work of those who have inspired me along the way.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Hey no problem,
I am actually not a pianist myself but a guitarist and songwriter. I love jazz and particularly Bill Evans, each chord he plays really gets me… there is something about his phrasing that is just hypnotizing.
In comparison to the guitar, the piano allows musicians to use each hand independently. This allows them to counterpoint with ease and create polyphonic textures, which makes music “deeper” than what a single guitarist could recreate. That and the natural resonance of the piano really draw me to the instrument
I will be uploading an excerpt of Bill Evans ( a part of a lecture called the Universal Mind he recorded in the 1960s with his brother. In case you have not seen it, he speaks about the universality of music and of jazz in general, Highly recommended!
What’s your name by the way? Are you a musician/ composer?
Look forward for seeing some more posts,
SP
This reinterpretation of Corea’s standard “Spain” is nothing short of genius. I find it particularly interesting because it highlights the linguistic and interactional aspects of music.
You might have heard artists or pseudo artist refer to music as a language more so than an art. I think this duet illustrates the metaphor pretty well . It’s basically a six minute musical conversation between two pianists engaged in a “call and response” game, where one presents an idea (rhythm pattern, melody or riff) and the other counters with either “complements”, “parallelisms” or “objections”.
I find this type of musical “play” really stimulating to our brains because it mimics a fundamental human process: communication. It’s for sure one of the best ways to engage crowds, so the next time you play a show, jam with your friends, play for your roommates or dj at some crappy party, try including your audience and your peers in the “conversation”, I bet you will have more fun!
Who’ s never been to a concert where the singer hums a melody and asks the crowd to repeat it?
The following days I will be uploading some of the best “conversations” I’ve found on you tube. Stay tuned!
Found item…
Here’s a recording I made in my studio one day, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues”… one of the best Marvin tunes, in my opinion. The beat is from one of Billy Martin’s “Illy B Eats” drum loop albums. I don’t remember what the guitar setup was but it had a really grimy harmonic thing going on where it almost sounds like a harmonica.
The tunes I played with Jay-Z at the Garden last year really turned my head around on the sound I want to go for. Hip hop with sweeping chord changes and a guitar approach that’s really gritty and bluesy. I’m already gearing up in my head for the next time I hit down in the studio. Getting back into the MPC, slicing up old records, creating beats and then trying to find the chord structures and melodies that stick to it the right way. The next album is a return to the blues x soul x pop x guitar mentality.
Enjoy… I’ll leave it up for a few days.
JM
I figured I’d share this… “The Price” is the first song of my upcoming album ” A New Kind Of Blue” due early September.
I wrote this song a few years back while taking a psych course in McGill called interpersonal relations. I was reviewing in the library for the final and as I flipped the pages of the book ideas for this baby flourished. I penned the lyrics and had the uncontrollable urge to go home and finish the music. The Result? a solid B- in the class but also my first recording.
The Price talks about the effect long-term relationships have in our individual identities. When we start a relationship we have a very clear idea of who we are, what we like, what we believe in and what we enjoy doing. But as we submerge ourselves in the relationship, our idiosyncrasies start slowly fusing with those of our significant other. One day, we start talking like them, liking the things they like, seeing life in a very similar perspective. In other words we start sharing our identity, and that I believe is a truly powerful occurrence.
This song asks if identity the price of falling in-love. Enjoy!
