Music and Creativity
Posted on Jan 11, 2010 in Thoughts, Web Music | Comments Off on Music and Creativity
Benjamin Zander talks with a passion about the interpretive art of classical music. But it’s not just about classical music it’s about any music with depth. I feel the same way about improvisation and jazz. I love the freedom in his phrasing and I love how he shows how music is a unifying force in life. The capacity to dig further and not just...
Read MoreEducation and Creativity
Posted on Jan 11, 2010 in Thoughts | Comments Off on Education and Creativity
Found a really nice talk on education. Given the devaluation of the arts in modern society I feel it’s worth a listen:
Read MoreGuitar and MIDI at Gryphon
Posted on Dec 28, 2009 in Featured, Thoughts | Comments Off on Guitar and MIDI at Gryphon
Musig Quarterly At our MuSIG meeting at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, over 30 of us were treated to a fascinating and impressive presentation on guitar synthesizer controllers by Dimitri Vandellos and Warren Sirota. Versatile performing artist Mark Hanson, who teaches guitar at Gryphon, was our host and did a great job making sure that we had...
Read MoreThe Hairy Ape
Posted on Dec 7, 2009 in Thoughts | Comments Off on The Hairy Ape
Many years ago I had the extreme fortune to work with one of Jazz music’s true legendary figures; Max Roach. Max was the composer for the live score to Eugene O’Neill’s ‘The Hairy Ape’. This production was done by the Berkeley Repertory Theater and was directed by George Ferencz. I’ve included a number of reviews from the...
Read MoreMIDI Guitar
Posted on Dec 7, 2009 in Thoughts | Comments Off on MIDI Guitar
Found an article published by the MUSIG Quarterly reviewing a guitar and MIDI demo I did with Warren Sirota at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto quite a while back. Guitar and MIDI at Gryphon The sad thing is that not a lot has changed regarding guitar controllers and the MIDI spec in general. When I get a chance I’ll review the latest controller...
Read MoreThe relevance of jazz
Posted on Dec 7, 2009 in Featured, Thoughts | Comments Off on The relevance of jazz
Nice quote from Mr. Rollins. The Jazz Session » Sonny Rollins on the relevance of jazz. “I think that the relevance of jazz depends on what you think jazz is. For instance, if you think that jazz is a piano trio playing in a small nightclub — they’re good musicians, maybe have a girl singer — and you come in and there are people smoking and sitting at tables …...
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