The Little Things are Pretty Big

Back at home, contemplating my “near death” experience, or my “nearly missing Monteton due to entrapment in a train bathroom” experience, I am wondering – since I was meant to be there, I hope that I did what I was supposed to do, and learned what I was supposed to learn, and exactly, what was it, and why was it worth kicking and screaming and fighting for? I’ve been trying to come up with a big profound answer, but instead, I just come up with little things.

Maybe I was there simply to have tea time with Big Dave

And a simple French dinner with Claude

Maybe I was there to be reminded of the beauty of silence

Maybe I was there to give pats on the back and to notice how other students have grown in their knowledge and playing ability.

Maybe I was there to laugh

and to dance

and to remind myself to always enjoy the music-making.

Messiaen Around in Monteton

On Thursday night the DJSS tutors joined me to perform a set of my newest tunes. It’s always a great thrill to be on stage with Quentin and Ian and Mark and Jonathan and Dorian, and of course, my best pal, Guy, on drums.

Messiaen Around is based on a 9-note scale that the French composer Olivier Messiaen created called the Third Mode of limited transposition. It’s weirdly fascinating, consisting of the first 3 notes of 3 sets of minor scales, each one a half step apart. (In this case, it’s C D E flat, E F sharp G, A flat, B flat B.) I studied it for hours and felt compelled to make a tune out of it. The hardest note to fit it was the B, but I managed it in measure 16 (whew!)

Because… was written for my friend Jim Farrelly, the wonderful sax player from Indianapolis who co-produced my Midnight at Monteton CD. Mark Lockheart joined us on this one and made it his own, he was amazing. The piece is slow and full of long notes that I love hearing on the sax. (Not that I don’t like fast notes, it’s just nice to sometimes just enjoy one beautiful tone for a long time.)

Sub Zero is a bouncy tune written to cheer myself up during the horrible winter (written January 22 and 23.) I'm pretty sure I was working on a chord voicing when this tune emerged. I always pay attention to pauses and rests when I replay the digital recorder during my improvs, becuase often that is the key to solving the piece. Jack Yardley and Michael Wright joined us on drums and bass to bring down the house (and the average age.)

Messiaen Around - http://youtu.be/ytEJy__C7YU
Sub Zero - http://youtu.be/1biR0k5pWaA

Tattletale in France

The first of my tunes was performed on Tuesday night with a great group of friends... Tanguy Pellen on his new trumpet, sax tutor Ian Bumstead, Olivier Coppi on guitar, Guy Clapham on drums, and Michael Wright on bass. The guys were fantastic, we had a blast!

In the sketches for the piece, I see that I spent a lot of time considering the rests - lots of shifting and scratching out went on. I struggled with ms. 8 because I didn't want to land on an A on beat 1 - too obvious of an answer. On the tape, I hear myself pausing to hunt for a better note. I finally realized that the key was in the pausing. So I wait until I'm almost at beat 3 before I hit the A, and then it works.

I've heard Tattletale described as "Perry Mason meets Dave Matthews" but I'm not really sure what that means. It does have kind of a noir sound which would be perfect for a theme song for a detective show, so if you are looking for music for a detective show, please be in touch...

View on youtube - http://youtu.be/Qv7EwOfN4aQ

I am Brecky, Hear Me Roar (Please!!)

When you are traveling alone and find yourself locked in the bathroom on a train in France, there's not alot you can do except pound and scream and send a text with no time for spellchecking:

"I am brecky. Bathroom door on train wointy oppen About to arriove in marmande. Help. Car 16 class 2 seat 1"

The text didn't work, but the pounding and screaming finally did, with just one minute to spare. A new tune may come of this...I already have a title in mind...

Let's Try it a Second Time

Last summer at DJSS, a mysterious gentleman handed me this mysterious note:

He asked me to write a piece for him, using that sentence as the title. I slipped the tiny slip of paper into my tiny camera bag, where it remained for a few months. I hadn’t forgotten about it, I just forgot what it said and where I had put it.



When I did find it, I considered what to do with it. I pondered its meaning. I wondered about the word “second.” Use of repeats? Length of notes? The interval of a second, as in, a series of either whole or half steps? I came close to asking the author of the note (Michael Howard) about what he was implying, but decided I should just let it remain a mystery.

So I just started humming the sentence, to understand the rhythm of it. I noticed that “try” and “sec” had the most stress, so those syllables ended up landing on strong beats. The A section practically wrote itself, as they say. The piece begged for a B section, so I wondered what key it would move to. Up a second? Down a second? Neither worked, because the next section didn’t need to move anywhere. The feeling changed, but the key remained in A minor.

When I write with someone in mind, it gives me so much more material to work with, than to just write for an instrument or group of instruments. I know Michael’s sense of humor, I know how he plays the drums, and yet, this piece seemed to be revealing another side to him, the quiet tenderness that we only witness after he has had several glasses of champagne and has just about nodded off in his chair.

I pulled together a beautiful and sensitive band for the world premiere, featuring Dieuwke van Strein on flute, Irene Stroeer on alto sax, myself on piano, Martin Young on bass and of course, Michael Howard, stirring and brushing his drums.

Now that we’ve tried it, I look forward to playing it a second time, because Once is simply Not Enough.

View video of our performance at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMuf1m-aSkg

Countdown to Monteton - 5/4/3/2/1!

Probably the piece I was looking forward to playing at DJSS the most this year was a new one called “5/4/3/2/1,” written just after Dave Brubeck passed away. At that time, I was obsessed with his “Take Five,” and wondered if I could write something in 5/4 time that would sound as natural as his piece.

I came up with a seemingly simple and repetitive motive that worked itself around a 12-bar blues form, with one small twist in the harmony at measure 10. I instantly thought of Sandy Williams (Sandy is the exceptional guitarist on my new CD who is very open to experimentation) so I dedicated it to him, and was very proud when he said he loved it (esp. measure 10!) It’s hard to describe the feel with words, but to me, it has a hip vibe, like something from the 60’s. The word “beatnik” comes to mind. (I guess we should all wear berets when we play it. . . I wonder if Sandy ever wears a beret??) So it should be perfect for a concert in France!

I gathered a group of students and teachers to rehearse the piece. Afterwards, Ian, one of the great sax teachers, said to me, “It’s so hard – why did you write it in 5/4 time?” After my initial worry that no one will ever, ever want to play it, I remembered a discussion we had in the class that I lead at Anderson University for my composition students. Difficulty seems to raise the bar in our creativity. When we can’t solve something quickly, our minds actually get excited about the challenge. If it’s easy, I might be too bored with it and never finish, but if I’m puzzled and confused, I will probably keep going back to it.

The Monteton performance on July 22 was phenomenal, featuring Ian Bumstead and Tanguy Pellen on saxes, Jonathan Bratoeff on guitar, myself on piano, Ferg Ireland on bass and Guy Clapham on drums. Afterwards, I said to Ian, “That’s why I wrote it.” And he agreed that it was for a good reason.

Look how happy Ian Bumstead was!

You Say Nice and I Say Nice

There is nothing quite like having a little girl run to meet you when she sees you coming off the train. Aimee and her family took me to the quaint villages in Antibes and the hills above, and then back to their beautiful home in Valbonne. To get to the village, you can take a 30-minute walk through the forest. Sound dreamy? Yes, it was.

The first thing Aimee wanted to do was to play a game in their swimming pool with marbles, and see who could find the most. Being the competitive person that I am, I realized that I was losing skin on my knuckles because I’m scraping the bottom of the pool every time I make a grab. So the next time I played, I prissily plucked. (She beat me every time, by the way.)

After a wonderful dinner in the village, and a wonderful night’s sleep, and a wonderful French breakfast on their patio, we drove to Nice to visit a couple of my Monteton friends who teach at a Yamaha studio. Nice has the glorious coast on my right and many, many hotels on my left. It was refreshing (although hot) to walk through the old town, where you hear almost as much Italian as you do French, and see more Italian architecture.

It’s so great to see David and Johan at the studio. Seeing Monteton friends outside of Monteton helps Monteton feel more real, I guess. They were busy painting and prepping for fall, but David took a little time to play some blues with me.

I Didn’t Know It, But He Was a Poet

The great thing about traveling alone is meeting interesting people that you may not have talked to if you were with a companion. My next leg of the journey was to visit my 8-yr-old friend and piano student Aimee, who lives in the charming village of Valbonne, in the hills above Antibes, which is right on the Mediterranean coast.

But first, another 4-hour train ride, and this time, a smiling gentleman named Jean-Luc sat in the seat beside me. I never know exactly how to start the conversation, except to say the unexciting line of “do you speak English?” Which is what I said. It turns out that he was heading home after a poetry conference, where he was one of the presenters. (He told me this in English.) We had a wonderful conversation, talking about music, mainly. He said something about good music and good poetry connecting our hearts with our minds (except he said it even better, because he is a poet.)

If you read French and would like to read his writings:

http://loiseaudefeudugarlaban.blogspot.com/

Moanin' in Montpellier

Good-byes are painful in Monteton. Generally, we just say “see you next year” so that we can get through it. No crying from me. But after the tiredness of a four-hour train ride to the next city, the sound of a jazz guitar duo in the streets of Montpellier got me little teary. I found a sweet little restaurant that gave me the best view of the concert, and took my time eating, listening, and watching the little paper hearts that were scattered over the patio blow in the wind.

The concert took place here

Top photo: Not the concert, but you get the idea

Christian brings (even more) magic to Monteton

Last year, I met Christian, a jazz pianist from London preparing for his final year of college. We only had a couple of hours together, because he had just arrived for week 2, and my week was ending that night. But he seemed fascinated about my compositions, and I love to talk music talk, so we found a practice room where I could play and tell the stories behind the music. He was one of the best audiences I have ever had, listening and responding with great enthusiasm!

This year, he was back, now a graduate, and now, one of the teaching assistants at the school. He said that our conversation last year inspired him so much that he had been writing all year. Several of his innovative tunes were played during the week, too. Oh, and he’s a magician by trade. I’m hoping that he can magically transport me back to Monteton real soon!

One-O-Four is Smokin' Hot

It is two weeks until Monteton and the temperature in Indy is incredibly high, so I’m forced to stay inside and write. A fast tune with a Latin feel emerges, the melody falling mostly on offbeats. I get to a certain spot, about 8 bars in, and I can’t figure out what to do next. After several experiments that got me nowhere, I tried putting the idea in another key. It was amazing to me what a difference this made. The piece took on a whole new character just by having the 6th note in the tune go down one step lower than the original idea. Suddenly it’s slower, more sultry, with long, long melody notes. So, do I scrap what I first thought of and make this a slow piece, or is there a way to merge the two ideas? I tried, but . . . no. Instead, I made 2 different songs, inspired by the Indiana heat wave:
One-O-Four and Smokin' Hot Ballad.

I passed out music at the rehearsal for One-O-Four, and said I was open to changes or suggestions. But Ian, who is a great sax player and one of the teachers there, kept saying, no, let’s do it the way you wrote it. I had a 6-bar B section with a swing feel, which is a little unusual, so I didn’t know if they were going to like it for improvising on. But Ian said something like, "you made it different, and that’s what made it special." So great to have such encouraging words for my work.

Everyone put their hearts into the performance - they were hot, hot, hot! Afterwards, Irene came up to the stage with tears in her eyes. She had heard the two guitarists, Olivier and David, rehearsing in the afternoon, and said they were amazing. But she didn’t know that they were playing something I had written.

This is my beautiful and talented crew from the world premiere performance of “One-O-Four.” Back Row: Terry Knight/drums, Ian Bumstead/sax, Guy Clapham/percussion, Tanguy Pellen/trumpet, Olivier Coppi/guitar, me/piano, Nic France/bongos, David Besnard/guitar. Front Row: Ferg Ireland/bass

And the smokin’ hot players for the world premiere of “Smokin’ Hot Ballad.”
Dorian Lockett/DJSS director and bass player, me/piano, Ian Bumstead/sax, Quentin Collins/trumpet, Guy Clapham/drums, Jonathan Bratoeff/guitar.

One-O-Four (youtube video coming soon!)
Smokin’ Hot Ballad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=Kfr7LI0uGZY

le tour de Jack

This piece has quite a back story [read Egg, Chips (and Beans) from 2010 blog post.] To shorten things a bit . . .I wrote a piece for Jack’s dad, John, a few years ago, and last year, Jack asked me to write one for him. Jack is 20 now, and just finished his first year of college in London, studying jazz (he’s a great drummer.) I’m always motivated to write when I return home, so Jack’s tune was the first project I jumped on. I had asked Jack to sing a beat, a percussive line, into my digital recorder, that I might use for inspiration. I wanted to write something funky, and I wanted to use his rhythmic idea somewhere in the piece.

To then have the opportunity to bring the piece to Monteton almost a year later, and to perform it with Jack himself, well, that was one of my favorite moments of the week. From my journal, “Hard to put words into the pride I feel after the first performance of my work here in Monteton. So many kisses and hugs afterward. People so happy about the music. During the moment, things felt surreal. I loved the lighting on Jack as he played his solo. Watching Ian,Jonathan, Ferg and Jack – it was mesmerizing, hypnotic. Just a great feeling, coming off the stage and being congratulated by my friends.”

I’ve watched the video over and over, and am just amazed at everyone’s performances.

See video (sorry about the blurriness):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0r3v8gBW4Q

Reality Check

When you are in Monteton, it feels so real.  It’s not a dream.  It’s real, and nothing else is.  At least that is what Mornington said at around 5:00 in the morning, which was still evening to all of us after the concert on Friday night. 

Magic is another word that is often used when describing this place.  A few of us were at the breakfast table across from a man that was new to us.  I had noticed him taking photographs at the concert the night before, and assumed he was doing a story for the newspaper.  But he said he was an artist, staying in Monteton for a time just to paint.  He didn’t speak much English, but he did say, “Monteton. . .magic.”

A good friend of mine has heard me pine and whine, year after year, about going back to Monteton.  When I returned this time around, she sat me down (over the phone) and said something to the tune of – I don’t want to hear you saying if or whether.  You need to just say you are going back, and plan on it and believe it. 

So . . . it looks like I’ll be going back to reality the same time next year.

--Becky

Le Piano Vache

My last day in Paris, I had a big treat awaiting me: dinner with a real Parisian in a real Parisian restaurant, followed by a gypsy jazz guitar concert! Claude, a guitarist and fellow Monteton student, escorted me a few blocks away from where I was staying to a tiny place that tourists don’t know about (except for that couple from Cleveland sitting beside us.) I loved the vibe there – so much character, so many layers of posters and pictures and writing on the walls. To get to the toilettes, you go through the bar (2 steps away from your seat) and up very steep steps, to a very ancient looking second floor. (It’s strange to me that I find the smell of old buildings in France somewhat pleasant. The mix of stone and wood and who knows what else.) While we were waiting for the food, in walked the gypsy guitarist that we were about to hear in concert. He sat by Claude and they exchanged a few words. Claude introduced me as a pianist/composer from the states, and Rodolphe shook my hand and spoke to me briefly in English.
After a lovely dinner, we strolled over to Le Piano Vache. (The logo is kind of a stick figure cow with a body made of piano keys.) We entered into a dark, small but lively place, to the back room. There is a bar, an old upright piano, rustic small tables and chairs, and a few musicians setting up. A trio (2 guitars and a bass.) The room is also full of character, with layers of posters and writing on the walls. We sat about 5 feet away from the musicians. The music started and Rodolphe was a beast. So strong and confident, playing jazzy riffs and also some showy, gypsy-style riffs. So enjoyable, amazing, fantastic, brilliant.

Oh, but I haven’t mentioned my favorite part. Each time Rodolphe would start a new tune, the guys behind the bar would SHUSH everyone LOUDLY. Wow. It was all about the music. The locals were so excited to be in the audience, they scooted their chairs as close to the musicians as they could, and they listened!

Time to Go

I now know how to flush every type of toilette in France.  You’ve got your lever on the floor that you step on.  Your pull chain hanging from the ceiling.  Your metal pull sticking up from the top of a little hole on the tank (I’m guessing that that one was make-shift.)  The sub-divided, flat rectangle on top of the tank that you push in.  The same rectangular piece, but mounted on the wall.  And the quarter-sized circle on top of the tank that you push in.

Do What Comes To Mind

I’m at the Tuileries Gardens near the Louvre, trying to get a good picture of the formal, perfectly coiffed bushes. Standing on a bench is not going to elevate me enough to see the patterns that I would be able to see from the sky. I look around and notice the ferris wheel at the little amusement park just behind me.  Immediately, I tell myself it’s a stupid idea.  I can’t ride a ferris wheel!  Then I’m reminded of my words – “write what comes to mind.”  I decide to substitute “do” for “write” and let my feet lead me to the Wheel of Paris.

My negative voice tries again.  “It costs money?  I’m not paying that!”  The pal on my other shoulder counters with, “Well, how else are you going to get that view?”

I step firmly to the ticket line, and enjoy a fabulous view of the entire city – the Seine, all of the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Couer, the Louvre, some skyscrapers to the west that I didn’t know existed, and of course, the Tuileries.

Au Piano Muet

Friday night/Saturday morning in Monteton sort of blurs together.  The concert ended at about 2 a.m.  Then it was time to say good-bye. Which for me lasted 3½ more hours.  A couple of hours of sleep, quick packing, and a quick breakfast later, I’m back on a train to Paris.  I arrive early evening, and notice a favorite restaurant that I happened upon last year, just steps away from my hotel.  My plan was to go straight to bed and catch up on sleep. . .but I couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing salad from Au Piano Muet. . . In a trance, I found myself seated there, asking for Savoyard salad, with the to-die-for bacon (“red ham”) cubes of emmental cheese, local tomatoes and the perfectly simple dressing.  After filling every inch of my stomach, I went straight to bed for a well-deserved 12 hours of sleep.  (To make up for the 24 hours of sleep I had had during the entire week in Monteton.) 

World Premieres!

Seven world premieres in seven days, eight performances total (two of “Once is Not Enough!”)  I’m so thankful for all the wonderful friends who performed my music with me in Monteton:

My Knee Mo’ – David Marlton-clarinet, Tanguy Pellen-sax, Dave Besnard-guitar, Dorian Lockett-bass, Guy Clapham-drums

Once Is Not Enough – Quentin Collins-trumpet, Ian Bumstead-sax, Jonathan Bratoeff-guitar, Ferg Ireland-bass, Guy Clapham-drums

Can’t Let It Go – Quentin Collins-trumpet, Ian Bumstead-sax, Jonathan Bratoeff-guitar, Ferg Ireland-bass, Guy Clapham-drums

Spring Swing – Ian Bumstead-sax, Dave Besnard-guitar, Ferg Ireland-bass, Guy Clapham-drums

And Then There Were Two – Quentin Collins-trumpet, Ian Bumstead-sax, Claude Broclain-guitar, Ferg Ireland-bass, Guy Clapham-drums

I Digress – Steve Pringle-piano, Ian Bumstead-sax, Jonathan Bratoeff-guitar, Ferg Ireland-bass, Nic France-drums

Bullet Proof Blues – Quentin Collins-trumpet, Mark Lockheart-sax, Jonathan Bratoeff-guitar, Ian Bumstead-sax, Alex Moore-bass, Manu Feramus-drums

(We played Spring Swing on Tuesday night, July 26, and unfortunately, I ran to the stage without getting someone to push the record button for me.  If anyone happened to catch this on video or audio, please let me know!!)

Audio files are available at:  http://www.mediafire.com/?4zw6087ll4e5k

Video links:  https://www.facebook.com/video/?id=748632754

Once is Not Enough video (thanks to Tanguy Pellen!):  https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150276183146168

I Digress

When people ask me about my favorite moment in Monteton, it is very difficult to choose.  There are so many that I have jotted down.  I’ll just start talking about one of them, and we’ll see where it goes. 

I asked Steve, one of the piano tutors, if he would consider performing one of my tunes.  “I Digress,” was so difficult in every way, between the complex chords and the off-kilter form and the rhythm, that I had trouble playing it once the head was over and it was time for comping and soloing.  I really enjoy his playing and wanted to hear his take on it.  He said yes, and helped me gather up some of the other tutors (Ian, Jonathan, Ferg and Nic) to run through it on stage.

I was in the front row, on the edge of my seat.  The performance was nothing short of electric, amazing, astounding. Maybe because of the difficulty, each musician was fully engaged in the moment.  If there had been a video camera on me, you would have seen big bright eyes and a huge smile throughout.  I probably made the loudest “woo-hoos!” when they finished.  The guys came off stage, and said “That was hard!”  But they also said that they loved it. 

Jonathan, the guitar teacher who I have great respect for, and who played most of my new tunes throughout the week, gave me some wonderful compliments that will keep me going for a long time.  “You are a great jazz composer.  Where are you coming up with these ideas?  This one is so modern!  Who are you listening to??”

I had been working on the piece for two years.  Twenty-two measures, and it took me that long to figure out?  The original idea pretty much came to me all at once, on an August day in 2009.  It was the naming of the chords, the understanding of the bass line I had in mind, and the confusion about how to perform it that kept me from showing it to anyone.

The moments after that performance were surreal.  It was like I had made the final touchdown and won the game, and was being hoisted up on the teams’ shoulders to a cheering crowd.  Except that it wasn’t really like that.  No one actually picked me up.  The next piece on the list was already in progress, and the audience had moved on to listen and cheer for the other players. It was just one of those times when you felt like it was all worth it.

Once Is Not Enough

Which is why I have made it a goal to return to Monteton, year after year (this being my 4th.)  “Once Is Not Enough” is also the title of a piece I wrote and dedicated to this 10^th anniversary of the Dordogne Jazz Summer School.  Back in January, a warm, breezy, latin-style tune started emerging.  Looking at all of the scratch-outs, shifts and revisions on my manuscript paper, I know it didn’t come to me easily.  What I thought I “should” do, which was return to the opening phrase at the end of the head, did not work.  I kept at it until I realized that there was one more thing to say, a high point I needed to hit at measure 25, in order for the arc of the piece to be satisfying.

I had been thinking about it for months, and it finally made sense that a trumpet was the necessary lead instrument.  Quentin, Ian, Jonathan, Ferg, and Guy joined me to perform the piece during my Tuesday morning presentation.  We had to opportunity to play it again for the big Friday night concert, when the entire village comes to eat paella and listen to the music the various groups had been rehearsing throughout the week.

Once is not enough, because. . .

• A once-in-a-lifetime experience should be repeated.

• I’ve connected with people who have become some of my best friends.

• The paella

• I can’t get enough of the British, Irish, Scottish, French, Italian, Swiss (and more) sense of humor.

• It’s a fabulous place to try out new music!

• There is so much to learn in jazz, and the teachers are wicked good!

• I need another view of the countryside to provide another year’s worth of inspiration!

• I haven’t learned enough French yet.

Video from the Friday night performance:  https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150276183146168&comments

Listen to audio of both performances at:   http://www.mediafire.com/?4zw6087ll4e5k