I intended about a month ago or so to write an article sharing some insights I had gleaned from my own efforts and from what I had read in some of the entries on the TPIN site. Sadly, I did not get to it until now and have forgotten exactly what it is I wanted to convey. However, in my efforts to locate what it was I wanted to share, I came across some other thoughts that will hopefully be useful. [Read more...]
Bill Chase – Jazz Rocks!
Jazz Rocks!!
This has always been one of my favorite jazz genres. I mean it was the first sort of rock I heard. Although my mother was a very capable singer with a beautiful voice, the music available in the household was fairly limited, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole. Soft stuff, you know. No Elvis or Beatles or anything close. When I started playing the trumpet, I gravitated to the trumpet records by Louis Armstrong, Al Hirt, and of course the old ‘Echoes of an Era’ Maynard Ferguson Orchestra stuff. So, when my friends showed up one day with the Bill Chase ‘Pure Music’ album, I was completely blown away. Mind you, I was all of 12 years old at the time. To this day, that is still one of my favorites. Although, I now find myself listening to Bill Chase’s ‘Ennea’ album more than the others. Strange what age will do to you! I mean if you want a practice work out, start transcribing and playing some of that stuff. Four highly skilled trumpet players playing just absolutely amazing. Songs like Poseidon and Zeus. Oh yeah!
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