Latch Music's Ezine #26
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "In The Moment" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Reggie Berg - Best of the new wave of piano players.
- Featured Web Site: wattxtrawatt.com
- Featured Web Video: Bucky Ball Music
- CD Pick: Miles Davis "It's About That Time"
In The Moment
by Dave Latchaw
To me, being "In The Moment" happens when the playing of a concert, recital, gig, lesson or whatever situation, is as comfortable as playing on your own at home. Not the easiest thing to do. When performing, you make yourself vulnerable to the public or a teacher to judge the success or failure of that moment. This process of making yourself vulnerable in a playing situation is challenging because no one particularly likes to be judged. To have the potential for a successful performance, one has to rid themself of all the mental garbage that can go with feeling vulnerable, and just be in the moment with the music. The more quiet the mind is, the better the focus on the music can be, which will create the potential for the best performance you can give at that moment in time. Different people have different methods of quieting the mind. Figure out what steps you need to take to let your head be in the right place. Here are some thoughts that I work with.
Be your own judge. Understand the quality that you expect from yourself before you do your performance, and know you can always do better. The thought that a performance can always be better could be problematic to some in quieting the mind. But once one realizes that their skills should and will be always expanding and evolving, it becomes easier to think of the performance as just a snapshot of what you have been able to achieve, and where you are at that given moment. The more connected you are to an honest assessment of your own abilities, the easier it will be to realize that any opinions expressed to you by others about your performance are just that, opinions, good or bad. If you already have a clue about what improvements you still need to make before you go into your performance, then the thought of what others might think will be easier to keep in perspective. This makes the possibility to quiet your mind and be in "The Zone" easier to achieve.
Be prepared. If you are doing your preparation work to be in good shape for a performance, then you have already been judging for yourself which areas need attention in your practice. When I have done judging for jazz competitions and when I teach, if I see anxiety in students about performing and playing, it is often because of a lack of preparation. The performance is a place where the public, judge or teacher is going to know whether you have done your work or not. If you have done your work, your performance will be as good as it can be at that point in time. So, having fun and doing the best you can at that performance is the payoff for your preparation. Not being prepared and having performance angst is the payback for not doing your work!
Keep perspective. If you are in a sixth grade jazz band no one expects you sound like a touring professional band. Not that it's not a good goal, but it's not realistic. Remember, you can only be as good as you are at any given moment when making music. Being a musician means being in a constant state of evolution, how you play is always changing. When we accept that we'll play differently this week compared to next, or at 20 compared to 40, it becomes easier to embrace the moment of the performance. It's just not useful to wait for some mystical level of achievement to allow yourself to enjoy making music. One may never find that mystical level of achievement, and meanwhile miss many opportunities to enjoy making music. Every moment you make music you are just on some part of a never-ending path. We all want to be farther along the path, but try to take time to enjoy every moment of the journey. As the keyboardist in the band "Spinal Tap" says, "Have a good time all the time!".
Of course, along with that never-ending path comes the never-ending list of things to work on to improve your craft. For me, the more I learn and grow the longer the list of things to work on becomes. The list will constantly change as you progress. For example, if you have been learning to read both treble and bass clefs, there will come a point where you will accomplish this. But then there will always be something that will replace whatever you may have accomplished on your list. Always! But try to think of the list as a positive element in your progress. Without it, you can easily stagnate as an artist. Be more concerned if you don't have a list of things you need to work on.
Practice hard and then enjoy yourself! Making music is supposed to be fun. Take the time to understand what you need to do to get yourself in the place where performing music can be an enjoyable experience.
Reggie Berg
#1 Where on the Internet can people check out your music and find out more about you?
I've started making a webpage on mp3.com, the official site is www.mp3.com/reggie_berg. I recorded a solo piano album this summer featuring 8 original compositions. I'm planning on soon having all of the compositions up on the site for people to listen to.
#2 Which classical and jazz artists have influenced your compositional and playing style, and why?
The recordings that Glenn Gould did of Bach's works have always inspired me. I always found the way Glenn interpreted Bach's music to be such a unique contrast from the rest of the classical world. Some of my former classical teachers would tell me "I'd rather you not listen to Glenn Gould...". Because some of his concepts aren't the traditional way of doing everything, some people can't deal with that. For me, more power to anyone who plays the way they feel the music and is confident enough to go against the grain.
Chopin's music has always influenced me. There is a certain kind of soulfulness that can be found in his music. I think he's one of the first classical composers that really took composition to a deeper, more personal level.
The music of Bela Bartok is unmatched, coming from a creative point of view. The Mikrokosmos, and the Rumanian Dances...you can always find something to go "Yea, man...." about in everything Bartok wrote.
Keith Jarrett will always be one of my first big jazz influences. The lyrical way he plays ballads, or the 4 minute intros he plays on standards...man he always is a pleasure to listen to. I've always admired the way Chick Corea is always doing something new every time you turn around, ...reminds me a lot of myself in the way that I get bored with things so quickly and then have to find new things to embark on. Bill Evans, possibly my biggest influence at the current time, always blows my mind with the SOUND he could get out of the instrument. And if you study his concepts about ii-V-I's, his use of contrupuntal voicings and such...it is really incredible stuff.
I could go on and on with more influences...the list is really never ending. As I read over what I just wrote, I forgot one huge influence! DAVE LATCHAW! Dave was my first jazz piano teacher, and I wanted to make a point of the way Dave teaches has influenced me more than anything. If I would have never been lucky enough to study with Dave, none of this would be possible. So, thank you very much.
#3 What have been your most memorable performances, and why?
This is a tough question to answer. On August 24th, I performed a solo somewhat free-jazz concert at DeKalb High School. It was a great experience for me. "You're So Good To Me," a tune I wrote about a month ago was played at the concert. I got to perform it with my former teachers, John Moss-percussionist and Matt Murdock-fluglehorn. It was a really great thing to share that with them.
When I was 10 years old, I performed a concerto with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Getting the opportunity to play with an orchestra is something I'll always remember, especially being 10 years old!
My most memorable performances come when I can really reach somebody with my playing. If I can play a tune that means so much to me, and make somebody cry....well then to me, that's why I play music. Every performance is memorable, because they are all different, but only when my feelings reach an outsider....well...only then is it music.
#4 How do you think your classical abilities help in your jazz playing, and how do your jazz abilities help in your classical playing?
Everyone will tell you, "Study classical music so you can learn your instrument." I studied classical piano since I was 6 years old, and that has really helped out the "chops" aspect of my playing. I think more what I took from classical music is how to practice. Studying classical piano taught me a lot about myself and the way that I learn. I just have to slow everything way down, maybe even half the suggested tempo, and then do it 100 times and I'll be fine. It taught me to discipline myself.
So like now...when I go learn a tune in every key, first off, it takes a while to REALLY LEARN a tune in EVERY KEY. I don't know if I would have the attention span, or will power to do that if I had not gone through hours and hours of scales, arpeggios, and slowing things way down.
Now, vice versa, nothing has helped my legit playing MORE than my jazz playing. Some people find that hard to believe, but it's true for me! When I play Mozart or Bach, and run into a fast technical passage, before I played jazz I would have had a tendency to freak out. As far as technique goes, when I improvise and I want to play some fast be-bopish line, all I think about is the simple act of dropping my weight into the keys at the beginning of the phrase..and that's all the thought that goes into it. So when I related that technique over to Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, it cleaned up my playing a lot.
#5 How did the tunes and the concept of your recording "The Day Life Changed" come together?
The 8 tunes on the album were all written in the past 2 years. This album is a very personal matter for me because a lot of it reflects what happened in my life the past year. If you look back at some of the best compositions, they were inspired by a terrible event in the composers life. My parents, after being married 24 years, divorced this last year. Music was one of the things that kept me going through this hard time. If you listen to "I Lost You 2,"...that song is probably the most "heart-wrenching" on the album. When I composed a number of these tunes, I didn't have anything like "Oh yea, I want this minor ii-V-i progression, and then I'll take it into a key change up 2 steps..." No, nothing at all like that. I just had a mental image in my head, or a feeling, and sat down...thought for a few minutes, and started playing the sounds that reminded me of the feelings, or the images. And no, it didn't "just happen like that," I had to work for "the sound." But, that is usually my motivation for writing music. My music is ...my life.
#6 What do you think the Internet is doing for music?
The internet is doing a lot of great things for music. I really admire MP3.com because you can listen to tunes, and also buy the albums at the same time. As far as sharing musical ideas, resources, and opinions on the music world, I feel the internet is a great tool to have! I don't have to run down to the music store...I just buy stuff online. It makes important things much more accessible....I love it!
#7 What are your future musical plans?
I will attend the "Interlochen Arts Academy" for my junior and senior years of high school, studying primarily jazz piano. I really love the east coast jazz scene, so...hopefully my future can be found there. I am planning on making another original jazz piano album next year...
wattxtrawatt.com
Wattxtrawatt.com is composer/musician Carla Bley's official site, devoted to her record company which is comprised of two labels called WATT, and XtraWATT. Bassist Steve Swallow and Carla's daughter, Karen Mantler are also featured at this site. This site is not the easiest to get around on. That said, the coolest feature on the site is the downloadable lead sheets they offer of some of the great tunes that Carla Bley and Steve Swallow have written. They are two of the most important composers and arrangers of our time, and their music is a must for studying and playing. Check out Carla's tunes here, and Steve's tunes here. From the wattxtrawatt.com library you can purchase arrangements of some of Carla's Big Band Music, some of her Fancy Chamber Music, and small ensemble music. Worth the time to check out.
Bucky Ball Music
Fusion is definitely the fire that sparked me to be inspired by music. Brand X is still one of those early influences that I never seem to get bored with. How can one not dig that in-your-face rock attitude with stellar technique pushing the boundaries, yet with the freedom of jazz. Fusion is a very important element in the growth of jazz music and deserves the same respect as any other style of jazz. Bucky Ball Music is where Brand X and variations of Brand X are making their Internet presence. Check out bassist Percy Jones, Marc Wagnon on vibes and midi vibes, vocalist Sarah Pillow, drummer Frank Katz, and guitarist John Godsall, plus others on variety of short video clips. Once you get to Bucky Ball Music, click on the "videos" button at the very top of the home page. Take the time to check it out, you'll be glad you did.
Miles Davis
"It's About That Time"
Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970)
Miles was one of the best at picking a combination of players for his band that would work well for his musical vision. He inspired his bands to bring out their individual and collective brilliance. This recording has "The Miles Davis Band" opening for the "Steve Miller Blues Band" and "Neil Young And Crazy Horse", a month before the release of the ground-breaking jazz rock recording "Bitches Brew". One can tell from the recording that the rock audience was bewildered and unsure of how to respond to the music. Completely undeterred by the audience, the playing is aggressive and free, ranging from complete groove rock to more avant-garde moments. This is definitely a brilliant example of Miles taking his own voice and inspiration from the Sly Stone/Jimi Hendrix-influenced rock funk action and developing a whole new direction in his music. Miles was the constant innovator. Not many artists have changed the direction of music like Miles did. Worth the time to check out.
Musicians for "It's About That Time"
Miles Davis - Trumpet
Wayne Shorter - Soprano Sax & Tenor Sax
Chick Corea - Fender Rhodes
Dave Holland - Acoustic & Electric Bass
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Airto Moreira - Percussion
Tracks for "It's About That Time"
Disc #1
- Directions
- Spanish Key
- Masqualero
- It's About That Time / The Theme
Disc #2
- Directions
- Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
- Bitches Brew
- Spanish Key
- It's About That Time / Willie Nelson
Click here to learn more about "It's About That Time"
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