That picture at the top; ROSELAND BALL ROOM NYC. I played there! I took that picture when I was walking in the " hood" and knew that it might soon begone. Sadly it has. I played there with no name dance bands, Meyer-Davis club dates, Latin Bands all kinds of bands including Harry James. It's gone now, but it once was! History! I first met saxophone player Harold Ashby there. He was with a NYC big band for a short period, after Duke Ellington, we become fast friends. I could go on and on. Practical application...real world is what lasts. Get it? I hope so.....it's life!!
PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1. of, involving, or concerned with experience or actual use; not theoretical 2. of or concerned with ordinary affairs, work, etc. 3. adapted or adaptable for use 4. of, involving, or trained by practice 5. being such for all useful or general purposes; virtual TRAINED BY PRACTICE. Get out there, and make the music stronger.
Take a deep breath and listen. I’ve taught at a lot at Universities and this is something every student benefits from -one of the key things that is the ultimate is REAL TIME reading. In a nut shell... It is important to read different manuscripts. You need to train your eye to be comfortable with many styles of penmanship and music fonts, as you never know what will be thrown at you unexpectedly! Notice all the " stuff to shed "on my blogs I try to use different fonts- use my handwriting ( I also used to do music copy- calligraphy too. Broadway shows, at Berklee for John LaPorta so many folks and also Artie Shaw and a Ellington Broadway show.) If you use this targeted sight reading mind set, student gets exposed to many style of music within a manuscript.Your goal is to play the gig, every gig is different. That said, another issue is so many people think only one way- think more open. Sal Nistico used to tell me, Learn to FEEL time and not count time. Ok, this is a crucial step in taking yourself to next level of rhythmic understanding. Understanding the ideas presented here will greatly benefit your ability to sight read music, and strengthen your foundation.In case you need to know about Sal- Sal Nistico- was a major influence on me. Sal was a friend.I studied with him on and off,from 1970 till the last time I ever saw him in 1982, he NEVER wrote anything down either.He said-if you want to learn it YOU WILL remember it. When I first met him he was playing a Menza mouthpiece on his Conn 10M . That was 1970 in Boston when he lived in our apt building for a few months. Years later around the time..he lived in NY. He had switched to a balanced action Selmer and metal link.Then I 'm sure LaVoz were something he was using. Like Med Hards. Sal was a fan of Frank Wells. I know if he was using Links during his Woody period Wells worked on them. Now listen to this- Pepper Adams told me once , that Sal read the Thad and Mel band book AT SIGHT on his first gig. That must of been something !I know Sal was one of the hardest workers I ever met. There is a record-Called " Neo Nistico" on Beehive records. My transcription of - 'Fe Fi Fo Fum' by Shorter is in my " Great Tenor solos book". To me that solo shows Sals growth from a big band high energy player to where he was wanting to be as a player. Sal told a great story about Trane. They were buds- but the first time Sal met Trane was on a subway. Trane came over to Sal , and told him he loved how great he played. Sal told me ya could always know if Trane was home cuz you'd hear his sound all over the block when he practiced. Search Sal out on youtube- this is someone you need to know of.
https://ricoreeds.blogspot.com/2016/05/tim-price-bloggin-for-daddario.html
I have a huge poster of Sal in front of my music stand in my studio.That guy changed my life !
Something to think about too - Jam more- create sessions. play! At its core jamming is all about collaboration, instinct and innovation. One musician may start things off but it is the obligation of every other musician to build on that, take it further, push the envelope and ultimately take it to a new place. To get jamming to work each player must pick up on other players thoughts, translate them, add to them and then pass it back to them for the process to perpetuate itself. Done well it creates a powerful chain reaction of energized collaboration and creativity that produces something new and wonderful.It also allows you to tap into a deeper, more diverse brains trust that can lead to ground-breaking new ideas for your organization.
~ Till next week- Tim Price
