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lucasb

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Posts posted by lucasb

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Thanks for listening and for the comments/compliments, guys! :)

     

    It made me realize- it could be really funny to make the mood of a standard with ultra-happy lyrics into music totally opposite that and vice versa. Like playing some bi-polar tricks on the audience. ;)

     

     

    Doing these can be a good practice tool (or I should say, "have been for me") in terms of 1) internalizing some new voicings I'm studying as well as 2) organically coming up with new ones while working a tune out.

     

    Certainly always good to practice a voicing/concept/etc. in 12 keys but for my learning style it sticks better in context of a tune.

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Thanks for sharing, nathan!

     

    General thoughts to anyone: Recently I find myself a little conflicted on the concept of reharms, if it means a total revamping of a tune. Sure, nothing wrong with expressing a song in a new way when it's musical, and in jazz solos we explore a tune in a myriad of ways. And I'm all for stretching on a song, but when the song is someone else's, the head should be somewhat faithful to the original. Perhaps if I'd changed the term "reharm" to simply "arrangement" it may be more acceptable to take liberties - although I've done some arrangements, they've never been my focus.

     

    Definitely there was a bit of semantics happening with the word "Reharm". Personally it always meant a bit more to me than just a few substitutions. But there is certainly a line where it becomes a "re-write" more than a reharm.

     

    Interesting in Jazz- you have the contrafact- Bird does Ornithology on How High The Moon to name one of hundreds, and then the reharm- Trane does Body and Soul and sticks Giant Steps changes in the bridge.

     

    SK- what do you think it is/what about something like 26-2? Trane reharms Confirmation but then writes his own head on top of the reharm anyway. I guess that's almost a "inspired by" type of situation.

     

    My version Chelsea Bridge was about as obscure as I could ever get and it was on purpose since we were in a sort of "guess the tune" vibe for the week. Not my usual reharm and especially since I avoided the melody on purpose to keep the secret. I doubt I'd ever play that on a gig or record it like that, it was more just for 'lab' purposes, throwing ideas around in here. It would be fun for me to take the changes I did there and re-insert the melody as much as possible. I think it would sound cool back in context rather that deconstructed to the nth degree... Anyway, it was fun for me.

     

     

    So all that talking aside, I do have a nice (recognizable lol) arrangement/reharm of What's New, I'll try to post it tomorrow.

     

    Love this thread!!

    (Talking music plus I get to hear SK and Dave Ferris and all these other great pianists play) :)

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    After a while the whole concept of better or worse just drifts away and it is just about what you play in the moment, and then the moment is gone. I couldn't play that again if I tried, but thats good though as next time something else will happen.

     

    Fabulous statement! :thu:

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Ha, all these years I never noticed that they started the same like that, but it does end after the Gminor for the most part. I guess I just thought it was one hip reharm after that! Oh well, maybe I'll get the next one...

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Dave, those takes are both killing! Really beautiful stuff! But I haven't figured the tune out yet... hahaha. :)

     

    I appreciate you guys sharing these, I look forward to picking your brains because all the clips have been really awesome. Plus Dave and Steve- you both have some kind of nice setup for recording those pianos! I'm sure it's been mentioned throughout the board here so I'm behind on all of that but really great sounds!

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Uh-oh, I hope the sound file isn't messed up for you guys, it sounds fine over here. It is pretty rubato so I don't know if that makes things weird...

     

    Steve, I enjoyed your over the rainbow as well. Very nice! I had never heard the Keith Jarret version before but I actually like to do that tune (don't ask why since I usually avoid obvious standards) but I looove playing it as a brutally slow ballad.

     

    Gonna give you a listen Dave! ;)

     

    If anyone gives one more listen, I think the second 4 of the bridge and the very end are the most obvious places where the melody is quoted close to the real thing. I know it is a pretty oblique re-do though... If I played the melody straight it would be a dead give away. No fun in that! ;)

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    All this talk reminded me of something I heard a few years back (and got to see the reharm chart for). Jim McNeely (of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra) did this suuuper hip reharm of 'In the Wee Small Hours' where the melody was in the regular key but the changes where transposed a whole step (down, I think). Man was it slick!!

     

    Thanks to Facebook (ain't the internet lovely?) I was able to track down the info on it since I couldn't remember what tune it was but my friend added that it's on the VJO record "Lickety Split" if you want to check it out. ;)

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Lucas, just for participating and being a good sport, you still win your free trip to Hawaii, or a Fazioli, your choice. :) (I guessed "Joy Spring" too - Dave didn't say I was wrong, so I'll take the Fazioli.)

     

    My tune was based on Bill Evans' "Waltz For Debbie", but in 4/4. So there's no waltz or Debbie in it. Just the form of the tune, and most of the original chords.

     

    I played it once on a PBS special with a good horn section, and it worked.

     

    So when will my tickets arrive? :D :D

     

    I'd never have placed it, but I was hearing that part where it goes to Amajor briefly in the 2nd ending ever time and it was definitely ringing a bell. Very nice, and I'm sure that special was killer.

     

    Thanks for pointing me to this thread. ;)

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The "Nice Work" quote was a red herring, Lucas. That's not the tune. But thanks for trying - unlimited guesses available.

     

    !! Darn, I caught that and then saw Dave's line about 'no matter how hard i try..." so I just went with it. That'll teach me to look for the shortcut! Back to listening...

    The Reharm Room

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Well, If I guessed right, then Dave is really dropping some groaners in the above post...

     

    I heard "Nice Work If You Can Get It" in there, Steve. But Dave, yours still has me baffled. I'll give it another try or two...

     

    Sounds great, guys!

    Introductions?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hi all! I just signed up at the suggestion of my friend and fellow organist Jim Alfredson!

     

    My name is Lucas Brown, I'm a Jazz organist here in Philadelphia. I also play piano, and here and there take out my Rhodes and an eensy bit of synth.

     

    As many of you may know, Philly has a great Jazz scene and I'm blessed to be a part of it working with so many wonderful musicians. It's good! :)

     

    On gigs I usually use a Korg CX-3 with a midi contoller on top to give me 2 manuals. I run it through a Motion Sound Pro-145 and with all the tweaking I've done, it sounds pretty good IMHO! At home I have a really old B that has aftermarket percussion made by god knows who long before Trek existed. I run that through a nice 122. It sounds great, but lives in the living room. On occasion I take out a midi controller and use my laptop running Reason to use the synth sounds in there. I tend to use the Wurli sample and the Analog synth in it the most, but lots of possibilities!

     

    Funny, I don't think of myself as a gear-head but that's a lot of talk about equipment! (Sorry!) Anyway, nice to have a forum to ask questions about it and share stuff. I've been reading with interest the threads about the Nord C1 and C2...

     

    I look forward to reading and jumping into the discussions! I'm mostly a Jazz and Classical fan, but always looking to check out new stuff. Thanks!!

     

    Check me out- www.lucasbrownjazz.com I have a ton of videos up on there, including one just from last week with some friends of mine (one of whom some of you may know!). That's at http://vimeo.com/5337698.

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