Latch Music's Ezine #35
Connections: Blog Feed
FaceBook
MySpace
Twitter
Google Buzz
iLike
ReverbNation
LastFM
PodCast Feed
My Music @:
iTunes
Amazon
Napster
Rhapsody
LaLa
ShockHound
LimeWire
iTunes Japan
iTunes UK/European Union
* "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: "Letting Go" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Michael Cooke - Wonderful sonic explorations.
- Featured Web Site: W3 Schools
- Featured Web Video: Lucas Pickford
- CD Pick: Joe Zawinul "Dialects"
Letting Go
by Dave Latchaw
As I am finishing my current recording project, "Transitions", the hardest thing to do is know when to let it go. Trying to decide whether a few more hours of sonic tweaking or re-recording parts is really going to make a noticeable improvement to a current musical statement is not an easy thing to do. More is not always better, you have to keep perspective on who you are trying to please. There comes a point where one has to become detached from a project in order to move on.
Spending hours immersed in the recording process will definitely improve your skill, but part of the process of improving your writing and recording ability is learning when is it time to let the current project go and move on to the next. If you have an attitude of constantly pursuing musical growth, then what you do today will be different from what you can do six months from now. So, do you wait and fiddle around with the current project or move on to the next? If you do wait, then maybe six months down the road you'll have an even better result, but will you be able to let go then? You may work your project yet another six months and keep making some sort of improvements, but if you don't let it go then, you are now into another year with the same project that still hasn't been released! The truth is, more tweaking of an old project won't necessarily make it better. It is sometimes best to let go, take from it what you've learned, and apply it to the next effort.
If you can think of each project as a snapshot of your ability at that point in time, it becomes easier to move on. When you can become detached from a project it's easier to take what you've learned from it and move on to the next. Each time your skills should be improving which will make each new project even better. If you don't let go there will come a point where you get diminishing returns for the amount of effort you put in, which is a waste of time. A creative person should be always engaged in creating. My first manager, Luke O'Reilly, used to say, "You are only as good as the last song you wrote". Don't get hung up on a project, let it go at some point so you can move on to the next. You'll be glad you did.
Michael Cooke
#1 Where on the Internet can people find out more about you and your musical activities?
Personal and music information can be found on two websites, www.blackhatrecords.com and http://members.aol.com/cookeq/. I also have two MP3.com sites, www.mp3.com/cq and www.mp3.com/michael_cooke. Information on my classical music is available at http://members.aol.com/tfbsaxman/classical.html
#2 Who are some of your musical influences that inspired you to develop your own voice, and why?
My original influences were and, I guess I should say, still are: John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Pharoah Sanders and Ornette Coleman. In college at North Texas I wanted to be Eric Dolphy. I love playing multiple instruments. The more I listened the more their influence taught me to be unique. Not only did these guys sound unique, but they also created their own style of jazz. Ornette developed a musical language he called Harmolodic. Coltrane was a founder of many styles including modal and energy jazz. In the 70’s Pharoah developed his world beat style. Dolphy worked in the third stream style and developed his own version of mixing classical and jazz. None of these jazz greats looked to the past for their sound, nor were they bound to tradition. They respected and listened to older styles, but they were interested in creating something new.
Recently, I have been listening to newer musicians: Tim Berne, John Zorn, Ken Vandermark, Julius Hemphill, Larry Ochs, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Joe McPhee, Marty Ehrlich, Ben Goldberg, Ellery Eskelin, Dave S. Ware. My music now sounds more like Zorn’s Masada, Vandermark’s DKV Trio, and Julius Hemphill. I think Tim Berne and Larry Ochs’ music and techniques have helped form many of my new ideas. The above artists have caused me to search for new possibilities in music.
#3 What was it like studying with Tony Carere, Dan Haerle and Jim Riggs, and how did they expand your musical horizons?
I studied with Tony Carere in the 80’s when I was in Atlanta. Tony was the most sought after alto saxophonist in Atlanta at that time. He learned his craft in the 50’s and 60’s. He taught me to improvise by listening and copying instead of the theory behind it. I used my ear more then my head.
At the University of North Texas, I studied with Dan Haerle and Jim Riggs. Dan taught me jazz theory: what scales go with what chords, how to look at groups of chords. In Jim’s master classes, he taught subtle jazz expressions as we played transcribed solos of famous saxophonists. I’ll never forget the session on tonguing. My teachers taught me the basics of playing classic jazz.
In 2002 after the release of my CD Statements, I started to study with Larry Ochs, one of the founders of the ROVA quartet (http://www.rova.org/). I went to Larry to find ways to express my new musical ideas. I learned new ways of dealing with time and form. I have studied his "radar" techniques for guided improvisation. Some of these ideas were applied to orchestral works and my new jazz compositions. Larry has been instrumental in helping me discover new directions for my jazz.
#4 How did Black Hat Records get started, and what is its focus?
Black Hat Records was born in 1999 to record acoustic jazz as art. Black Hat’s goal is to release music that helps jazz move forward as an art form. Hopefully we will be able to continue to release music and create an adventurous sound that people will recognize as Black Hat Records.
Black Hat Records allows me to keep the rights to my music and not change or compromise my style.
#5 What do you want listeners to get from your solo recording "Statements", and your quartet release "Searching"?
I hope the music takes the listener on an adventure to places they would not normally go. Both CDs demand the attention of the listener. They are not background music. The songs express a wide variety of emotions. Some are soft and contemplative; others loud and aggressive. From disturbing to beautiful, the music on the CDs can take listeners to many parts of their psyche.
"Searching" is the beginning of a quest, a quest for my sound. The music on this CD looks more to the past than the music on "Statements". The group explores many directions of music - "that can make your synapses pop at once." I know one listener likes to listen to "Searching" before he starts studying because he says it gets his mind moving.
"Statements" is a very personal CD; I attempted to tell stories from my life. (Events from 2000-2002) These stories or ideas are ones that most people can relate to. When they listen they might think about events in their own life.
#6 Who are the current members of your band, and how do they complement your musical vision?
My new group, CKW Trio, is comprised of Alex Kelly on cello and Andrew Wilshusen on percussion and, of course, me on woodwinds.
Alex Kelly (http://www.alex-kelly.com/) is completing a D.M.A. in Cello Performance, with additional studies in Composition, from the University of Oregon. As a cellist, Alex has performed throughout the United States and Canada, for the past ten years. In the past three years, he has premiered almost one hundred solo and mixed chamber works. His versatility is demonstrated in his variety of styles, ranging from renaissance to romantic, from avant-garde to pop. It is this versatility that made me ask him to be the first member of this new group. While he does not have a jazz back ground, his experience in playing avant-garde music allows him to create interesting sounds on his cello. His experience with improvised music helps him to explore the new forms used by this group.
Andrew Wilshusen (http://www.andrewwilshusen.com/) is always seeking to explore the boundaries of music. That is exactly why he is in this new group. His keen ear and fluid coordination make him a drummer whose rhythms range from minimalist colorations to polyrhythmic tirades. He always has the perfect compliment for his band mates while propelling us to new heights. His drumming has been referred to as heart-felt, communicative, explosive, and highly imaginative. Andrew also plays with trumpeter Eddie Gale (http://www.eddiegale.com/) who has worked with John Coltrane. That experience makes him the perfect drummer for an adventurous group, like CKW Trio.
#7 How has the Internet changed your musical activities?
It changed the business side of music for me. It has given me other opportunities for promotion, to reach people who would never have found me. On one of my CDs, I give an extra track to those who have purchased it on the net. The Internet also helps me with research for my many musical projects. I use the Internet to find radio stations that are not in my area but who are hip to my style of music. Many times it helps radio stations find me. The Internet helps me to make good deals on pressing CDs and distribution. The Internet has not really affected my music directly, only in putting my music out for people to discover.
#8 What future projects should people look for from you?
I am hoping to expand CKW Trio to a quintet. I would like to add a trombone player and a Koto player. (A Koto is a Japanese musical instrument similar to a zither, with 7 to 13 usually silk strings stretched over a convex wooden sounding board.) The expanded group will record and release a new CD.
On the back burner I want to work with video artists and do live performances as sound tracks to their artwork. I am planning to write another orchestral work using Larry Ochs’ "radar" techniques in October. I hope to do a CD with a Chinese drum ensemble.
With any luck I will be able to complete all these projects and to share them with all of my fellow music lovers.
W3 Schools
To develop a successful music presence on the Internet it is important to take some time to learn what goes on behind the scenes of your web site. Even if it is just to create some links on your MP3.com, Ampcast or Vitaminic page. W3 Schools has a very extensive site of easy to follow free tutorials for various computer codes, useful for making and understanding web sites. There are also web building references, try-it-yourself examples, and quizzes to test yourself when you complete lessons. If you can learn to play an instrument you can learn some code! Go to W3 Schools to make progress with your understanding of the web, and web site building knowledge.
Lucas Pickford
Lucas Pickford was the guest artist for "The Zine" #25 August 2002. At his website there is a great streaming video demo of his band playing live. This is an excellent marketing tool for booking his band or to get people to come out and see them live. When you visit Lucas's site, scroll down the main frame to the "ITEMS" section, then click on the streaming media symbol. Check out this quartet with Lucas on bass and Steve Hunt on keys at Lucas Pickford's web site, Pick's Place.
Joe Zawinul
"Dialects"
"Dialects" is an important recording for anybody who works with midi. Working with midi is easy, but it is common for music produced by midi to sound mechanical. Not that there isn't a time and place to sound mechanical, but to really master midi is to make the recordings sound organic and natural. Zawinul shows that he's a master of using technology with his multitude of synths and use of the vocoder. The music from "Dialects" is obviously inspired by Zawinul's world travels. The musical moods explored vary from frenetic to contemplative. Bobby McFerrin and the vocal ensemble are icing on the cake of this global musical adventure. Dialects is a great recording for study and just for the sheer enjoyment of cool music. Get it today!!
Musicians for "Dialects"
Joe Zawinul - Synthesizers and Voice
Bobby Mc Ferrin - Improvised Voice
Carl Anderson - Ensemble Voice
Dee Bellson - Ensemble Voice
Alfie Silas - Ensemble Voice
Tracks for "Dialects"
- The Harvest
- Waiting For The Rain
- Zeebop
- The Great Empire
- Carnavalito
- 6 A.M. / Walking The Nile
- Peace
Click here to learn more about "Dialects"
Home
Site Map
Twitter
FaceBook
MySpace
Free Mp3 Downloads
Contact Dave
Satisfaction Guarantee
Free Radio
Recordings
Blog
Bio
Hire Live Jazz
Lessons
Copyright © 1999-2010 Latch Music All Rights Reserved