HEY… check out the new website!!!
http://www.freejazzvancouver.com
The Free Jazz Vancouver recordings on Youtube have increased quite a bit this month.
September is a busy time for most people (I’m actually much busier than I was last year around this time) and what better time to start new projects.
Since one of our members deserted us to get further education in the States, Free Jazz Vancouver has been surviving with two people. Me and the drummer.
How do I feel doing this? Well, ideally I would like to have a bass or instrument with chords but if we can keep this up for the next while people might say, “Hey, this is something a little different.”
My initial fears were suppressed after our first recording together. It’s just a matter of dumping enough ideas one after another. Walter Lovell (drums) has big enough ears to feed off my ideas and he’s known how I play for a long time. It’s all good fun.
I’m pleasantly surprised about one of our recent takes. Generally speaking all takes are done once (it wouldn’t be free jazz if things were carefully rehearsed).... there’s a nice quick few notes played by Walter at the beginning of the tune. I create an immediate head (this is forgotten by the end where I finish with something different) and start the improvising. One of my “bad habits” is doing too much of the elephant-wailing stuff... in this recording I use it once, which works well. While I hit the climactic note Walter keeps the tension going for a little longer... and for some strange reason he calms down while I’m about to create the ending. The tune is in 3/4 time... maybe this is something that’s got to be explored more with the drums and trombone setting.
To listen to the tune click here... I named it a “Pretty Little Tune” because that’s how I felt after my first hearing of it.
