Monteton Memories

I wrote pages and pages of my memories while on the plane home. Too many to put in one note, so I'll have to write several. Now that I'm on a qwerty keyboard again it will go alot smoother. One of my favorite moments at Dordogne Jazz School in Monteton was in advanced theory with Jonathan Brateoff, the guitar tutor. I know you probably don't think this sounds exciting, and at first, it wasn't. Jon challenged us to know our stuff quickly, because in jazz, there is no time to think. He said if we practice hard for the next five years, we might be decent jazz players. That news was almost depressing. At 1:00, the session was to end for the lunch break. At 1:00, Jon was just getting started. He had spent alot of time talking about working with a metronome, and feeling the groove, and that it was the most importance base for good playing. So at 1:00, Jon got the drummer going in a groove, and the large group of us jammed along. He brought instruments in and out for solos, and the whole while, he was dancing. Jon's passion for music is infectious. You can't take your eyes off of him when he is feeling the music, and he danced exhuberantly, all around the room in the upper floor of the castle where we rehearse. This jamming and dancing went on for 30 minutes non-stop. Afterwards, Jon said, "Now that was music." We all left feeling like we were on top of the world.