Every set my band High Summer plays includes at least one fully-improvised song — even Miriam’s lyrics. Here’s one from our recent ZenBarn gig.
Summer Music Blast
Here are some gigs I’m doing this summer, click the links for more info!
7/13 — Vermont Jazz Ensemble @ Middlebury Green
7/26 — Barika Block Party! @ Burlington NNE
7/27 — Maple Roots Festival @ Morse Family Farm, Middlebury
8/1 — Saturn People’s Collective @ Hubbard Park, Middlebury
8/7 — Maple Street Six @ American Flatbread, Burlington
8/15 — Barika @ Hubbard Park, Middlebury
8/16 — High Summer @ Camp Meade, Middlesex
8/22 — High Summer @ Hubbard Park, Middlebury
8/29 — Onion River Jazz Band (on tuba!) @ Basin Harbor Club, Vergennes
8/31 — High Summer @ Deva’s Farm
Eaglehawk Trio
One of my favorite points in teaching is when a student becomes comfortable enough with reading notation and confident enough with their technique to be able to play their own part while I play a duet part right next to them. It really amps up the fun we can have! This spring I was lucky enough to have three students who were eager to try an exciting and ambitious trio by Eric Ewazen, a terrific composer for brass. His music is often exciting and uplifting, but full of hidden pitfalls for the performer, because he modulates keys so frequently. These kids put in such great effort to learn this music separately in a matter of weeks, and we got together last week to try it all together. Enjoy the result!
December Blast
Here are my upcoming gigs! Comp tickets are sometimes available, so if you’d like to come let me know!
Sun 12/3, 2pm — Vermont Trombone Choir @ Vergennes Opera House
Fri 12/8, 9pm — High Summer @ Sawtooth (Hanover NH)
Sat 12/9, 7pm — Brian McCarthy Big Band @ McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael’s College
Fri 12/15, 8pm — High Summer @ Stowe Cider
Sat 12/16, 10am rehearsal, 1pm concert — Tuba Christmas @ Church St, Burlington
Sat 12/16, 7:30pm — Musica Solaris @ First Congregational Church UCC, Burlington
Sun 12/17, 3pm — Musica Solaris @ UCC Waterbury
April Music Blast
Upcoming Gigs
April 6-8: The Sound of Music @ Harwood Union High School (7pm nightly, 1pm Saturday matinee) details
April 9: Easter Sunday @ Williston Federated Church
Student Opportunities
Jazz Jam @ The 126 — Wednesdays 9-11pm — HS students only with parental permission
Trombone Choir — Tuesdays 7-9pm @ UVM Southwick Music Hall
April 22, 3pm — Jazz at Lincoln Center @ The Flynn
April 30, 3:15pm — Vermont Youth Orchestra Community Playalong!
May 7, 3pm — VYO Concert “The Lost World”
June 26-30 — Summer Symphony Camp
May — VT Youth Orchestra Association Auditions
Monteverdi Recital, April 9
Several students recently performed on a virtual recital hosted by the Monteverdi Music School. Big congratulations to Gretchen, Molly and Noah for their performances, but also for their drive to keep on practicing during a pandemic, when ensemble playing is pretty much non-existant. It is not an easy thing to do, but these students have shown their grit and should feel very proud of their achievements. Here are their performances. Thank you!
The next recital is on Friday, May 14th at 6pm, and will include students Cosmo, Farah and Ben. Here’s the zoom link if you’d like to tune in.
Bach Chorale 57
I wanted to go back in time a bit for this one. In college, the trombone choir would play a lot of Bach Chorales. It’s a great workout and a beautiful experience. I picked a new one and tried it out here. Also wanted to see what I could do with audio simply picked up on my iPad, instead of using mics and an interface as I usually do.
Planning on recording more of these soon (with some quality mics and editing), and uploading four versions, each with one part missing. Students will be able to use these as playalongs, so keep checking back!
New Section and Resources!
Many kids have started learning a band instrument this fall with no band to play in! To help give new trombonists some encouragement and clear guidance, I’ve started a video series called Learn to Play Trombone. So far, it demonstrates some key concepts and beginning exercises in the Tradition of Excellence method book. Hit the playlist button in the top-right corner of the video screen to browse, and let me know if you have questions or suggestions on what else I should cover!
Matt Finders, Duet 2 (Bb Blues)
I like this duet for students learning about how to play over a Bb Blues. It’s got several good bebop and blues ideas, while keeping in a comfortable register. The accompaniment track isn’t any generic groove, either! It had hits in all the right places, making it much more lifelike when you’re playing along. There’s a little more unison writing than I’d generally like, but for students, it’s excellent affirmation when playing the same licks as your partner.
Signal Boost: Lassus Trombone as a work of racism.
I just read a very important post by Doug Yeo, in which he discusses the history of Fillmore’s Lassus Trombone, a piece I remember playing in High School. At the time, I had no idea that it and its companion pieces were musical caricatures, direct descendants of the racist minstrel shows of the 19th century.
I’m sharing this link because I feel it’s extremely important that trombonists, especially white ones, reckon with this history. Even if you’ve never heard of Lassus Trombone, this post illustrates how pervasive systemic racism is, leaching into even something as fun as High School band. Take a few minutes to read it.
Be forewarned, there are racist depictions of African-Americans in this post.