I remember clipping this video of a random busker playing some funky bari sax in New York subways about 10 or so years back. I wonder whatever happened to that guy?
There he is. Looks like Leo was recently at the Royal Albert Hall in London playing front man on the song Moanin’ at the BBC Proms.
The early internet had some absolute amazing creations. This is one of them. A fantastical mashup of Star Trek TNG and an ode to sausage by Friendly Rich. It’s been out for almost a decade, and only has about 300k views – which is a crime and shows people still lack quality taste even in the modern, post-truth internet era.
Hiromi Uehara, in my opinion, is one of the greatest largely unknown pianists of our time. She is part of the rising Japanese inflation with jazz that has become a growing centerpiece of modern Japanese culture. The thing that most makes her stand out (and makes has amazingly unique in the normal jazz scene) is her absolutely crystal clear technical ability and mind blowingly accurate control of her dynamics. It is like listening to a concert-pianist technical expert, one that has mastered every nuance of the piano’s tones and dynamics, and yet is playing what is usually a more ragged jazz genre.
Here’s a song of hers that I have been listening to and keep listening to again and again. The crystal clear runs without a hint of slur or slop along with dynamics are astounding. Each listen I’m more amazed at how there is not a single sloppy note or missed dynamic in the whole piece – and that each note plays perfectly into the mood and feel she is weaving:
It makes me believe the purported story by someone who attended a master class by house band member Tony Grey. Grey is a bass player who record and toured with Uehara. He told the class that every morning he and the other bandmates would wake up with a hand written note that detailed every single mistake they got wrong the night before.
Here’s another astounding piece that demonstrates an ever increasing progression of the most crystal clear jazz improvisation on top of a well known tune. She first imitates a harpsicord by putting metal rulers on the strings, but I think it really gets amazing starting around 3:04, 5:15, and 7:05.
The demonstration of technical perfection while progressing through every jazz style in the book blew my mind again and again. A modern Japanese artist performing a German composer’s music remixed in the jazz style from African Americans on an instrument invented in Italy. Amazing.
Here’s some great links to find interesting and fun things in Portland.
Summer events:
Sometimes called Tuvan throat singing, Anna-Maria Hefele gives one of the most musically rigorous and thorough description of how it works. Super bonus points for demonstrating it with actual audio spectrum analysis to prove her points.
File this under something you don’t see every day – Gunhild Carling rocks a bagpipe in a way that no Scotsman ever experienced.
Do you feel you were robbed because you were born too early to catch Pink Floyd live concerts? Brit Floyd is probably the closest you’ll ever get to experiencing them live. The sound is nearly perfect. I hope I can see them.
NearHear is a very cool way to find out about music in your area. You tell it where you are, a date range, then it lists all the upcoming bands/singers on that date. Not only that, but it has a direct link to their spotify account so you can sample their music without having to leave the site.
You can also select the venue/genre you want and send that playlist to your Spotify account. Pretty darn cool.
I have twice now missed Puddles’ visits to Portland. The first time because I didn’t learn about the concert, the second due to COVID safety measures.
I personally find his mash-ups to be some of my favorites. You’d be surprised how common song timings match random lyric selections. How about mixing Stairway to Heaven and Gilligan’s island?
Or try Folsom Prison Blues using the lyrics to Pinball Wizard:
Dennis James shows us around 2 of the more unusual musical instruments – ones that require wetted hands that make their glass parts sing. The Cristal Baschet and Glass Armonica are fascinating historical glass instruments.
The Glass Armonica was invented by Benjamin Franklin and was purported to be dangerous to both players and listeners by driving them mad or even killing them.
The Cristal Baschet was developed by the French brothers Bernard and Frncois Baschet as a sculpture that could be played to produce music. They also invented an inflatable guitar and an aluminum piano.