Practice Recap

Awesome job last night, guys! Solid work and major headway through the charts. We've almost got all of "The First Circle" put together, and once we get that, it's going to be polish, polish, polish. Only thirty-five measures to go, right at the beginning. Malaguena will be ready by April and I love that there was more attention to articulations and dynamics there.

That's the thing now: major attention to articulation and dynamics. We need to start taking everything to the next level now that we've got our heads around the pieces. And that next level is the flow and the feel of the pieces. I would suggest listening to multiple recordings on the Internet and getting an idea of what's going on in the other parts that are not in your own. Of course, if you sense one is more important, bring your part down, etc.

And remember, the Samba should be "elevator friendly." "Samba Ti Kaye" and "Ride the Wind" are both warm downs from the first two charts and rest pieces before the "blow your face off" closer. They're strategically placed in the set to be that way. So, you guys know what to do and what needs to be worked on. Let's keep the energy up - only six weeks to the first performance.

Next Practice: Monday 02/22/10

At the next practice we will have the French Horns in attendance from 8-9, which means that the first hour will be devoted to charts other than Malaguena and the second hour will be Malaguena-heavy. And when we say "other than Malaguena" we mean, "The First Circle." Because it needs the most work. I hope people aren't becoming too frustrated with this piece. Remember, this is a grade 6+ chart, and 6 is the highest grade. If we can pull this off, we get a and A+ for the semester.

Of course, this isn't school. So this is just all metaphor. Etc.

See you guys tomorrow! ;)

TAMPICO!!!! a.k.a. "LOL"

So, Jon and I just can't get this piece out of our heads. Mostly, we wind up singing along to the first couple of lines and then adding "SALT PEANUTS!" after that. We think it might be neat to punk (a.l.a. Ashton Kutcher) some jazz band competitions with this piece by running up to the judges and bobbing up and down singing the following lyrics: (every time "Mexico" is said it is pron. "Me-hi-co")

refrain:
"I, Tampico, Tampico,
on the Gulf of Mexico
Tampico, Tampico,
down in Mexico."

SALT PEANUTS!!!

Anyway, you can listen to the recordings, and tons of Stan Kenton stuff for free at: http://www.tuxjunction.net/jb32.htm. Of special note is the full MALAGA at the bottom (1972 recording).

Practice Tonight!

The local weather reports have mostly stated that any snow that does fall before 10PM is negligible and will probably not accumulate. By tomorrow, the highest prediction of accumulation is two to four inches, mostly occurring late at night tonight and into the morning. So, hoping for the best, we will have practice tonight at the church. If you cannot make it based on any snow that may be falling prior to practice or if the roads in your area are bad and backed up, do not hesitate to call and leave a message or text about your attendance.

Should the weather reports be inaccurate (which is always a possibility) and should reports with more substantial inclement weather come in before 3-4 PM, messages will be sent out via phone and the facebook group.

See you all at the church tonight... :)

Practice Monday!...?

Hey everyone! I know, the blog hasn't been updated in a while. But we pretty much know what the work is for the future, and it has a name: "The First Circle."

The most important update here is that tomorrow's practice, February 15th, has become officially "tentative." Check the blog tomorrow morning for an official decision. The reason for the "tentative-ness" is because of more expected snowfall in the area. It's one thing to have practice a couple of days after a snowstorm has stopped, but since the snow is expected somewhat before, during and after practice and accumulation reports are not negligible, we may cancel practice tomorrow. The other question is whether or not the church will be open if the snow starts early and is heavy by the time 7 o'clock rolls around.

So stay updated on information as it comes with the new storm. As many of you know, a good number of people in band drive fairly long distances to come to practice, and based on the last snowfall, those in the area know how terrible the roads were ploughed in Doylestown Borough. In inclement weather conditions, we have to preach safety first. In any event, should Monday rehearsal be cancelled, the next week we will still be continuing work on "The First Circle" and "Malaguena" and expect more french horns to be at that practice to coordinate the latter.

Stay safe in all of this crazy weather - I don't think we've seen a winter like this in this area (at least) for a number of years. And if you haven't seen it yet, do watch the original Stan Kenton "Malaguena" recording on youtube. That Stan, he was an interesting dude. :)

Track List for Sample/Practice CD

Here is the promised track list for the CD's:

1. In the Stone by Earth, Wind & Fire, arr. Paul Murtha
2. The First Circle by Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays, arr. Bob Curnow
3. Samba Ti Kaye by Mark Taylor
4. Ride the Wind by Les Hooper
5. Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona, arr. Bill Holman, trans. Bob Curnow
6. Work Song by Nat Adderley, arr. Geoff Keezer
7. It Might As Well Be Spring by Oscar Hammerstein II, arr. Mark Taylor
8. But Beautiful by Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Frank Mantooth
9. Artemis and Apollo by Johnny Richards, arr. Bob Curnow
10. Prodigal Son Revisited by Wayne Horvitz
11. Follow Me by Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays, arr. Bob Curnow
12. Intersecting Lines by Les Hooper
13. Malaga by Bill Holman

Recap and Next Practice Info

Hey everybody. Good job on Monday night. We made some real headway on In the Stone and Ride the Wind. There was a good deal of chatting going on about where to place additional solos and such, and as pieces become more polished, these are the kind of issues that will arise in turn. It's nice to have the drum solo added into "In the Stone" and I think where we placed it is decent. Comment below if you think otherwise (or on the facebook wall), and that way we can continue the conversation outside of practice and save time in practice.

Next week the french horns are coming in to practice and so for half of the practice we will be extremely polishing (to a brilliant luster) Malaguena. The other portion of practice we will be working a lot on "The First Circle," as that's the piece that needs the most work of the whole set.

So again, great job, and see you next week.

P.S.: The track list for the CD will be on the next blog post, as well as a couple of links to pieces under consideration for the summer and beyond. Next year (2011) is the 100th birthday of both Stan Kenton and Johnny Richards (who did a lot of composing for Kenton). So, you might want to listen to the Cuban Fire Suite... youtube it... because some of us are thinking ahead that if all goes well... next year... it might be a birthday bash... ;)

Practice Tonight!

This is just a reminder that we have practice tonight, and you should refer to the previous blog posts and facebook messages (if you utilize facebook) for what we will be working on.

And on a side note, we will be handing out CD's like the one used at practice last week that contain samples of most of the pieces and one full recording of the monster piece. We hope that these will be useful as a practice tool and for some to listen to some things we are considering chart-wise for the future. :)