I'm almost at the end of performance season. The Bingtones recently played a double bill at the Little Fox opening for the Sons of Champlin. It was like the Fillmore except everyone's 40 years older, in the lobby drinking. Also memorable, we opened for Lydia Pense and Cold Blood on the big stage at Jackson Rancheria casino. I played a couple of casuals at UnWined with ad hoc jazz quartets, two gigs with master saxman and entertainer Frank Ramos, and a couple of gigs with Dennis Dove's great RB Xpress. Cool Fire featured Gene Washington on vocals at the Rockit Room in San Francisco last August 24. And we had a powerful jam with Carlos Joe Costa (visiting from Vancouver) on flute and congas, and the great Will Nichols on piano, September 23.
I learned a lot this year, including how to focus on my strengths and avoid my shortcomings. In order to be a more effective musician and progress toward a leadership role I need to address the weak spots, improve my instrumental skills, develop my ear and work on arranging using Finale's PrintMusic program. So I'm staying "in the crib" for the next 6 months. I'll pick up a gig here and there, but sending out promo packs for Cool Fire so we can get some festival gigs next year is first on the to do list.
I set a 2 year goal to set up up a Northwest circuit much like the circuit I played in the mid-60s booked by the McConkey Agency out of LA. Bumped the priority on this after I ran across a fantastic venue - just off 101 north of Garberville in Humboldt - The Riverwood Inn. But you better be on your game to gig there as they feature artists like Little Charlie and the Night Cats, Norton Buffalo, Maria Muldaur and Joe Louis Walker! Craig Horton will be there 10/12.
It may take me two seasons to develop the performing group and a list of venues. The idea is to have a figure 8 that winds up 101 through Humboldt County, then through Grants Pass, up I-5 (Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, Portland), 97 through central Washington (Yakima, Wenatchee, Lake Chelan) and central British Columbia (Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon) and back via Vancouver BC, Seattle (Dimitriou's Jazz Alley possible?), Portland again and I-5 straight south. Maybe the 7 Feathers casino near Roseburg, Ashland, Redding (Lewiston?), The Vets in Mt. Shasta, Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico (?), Village Green in Folsom, Oak Grove Brewery, Torch Club Sacramento. Pretty ambitious, and booking is a time-consuming nightmare. Plus I need to hone my skills, pay attention to repertoire, build a show that's worth the money.
So I'll be "taking it to the bridge," but not like Sonny Rollins. That was then and this is now, and I'm a different person. Nevertheless, I will be working hard on piano, flute, alto, tenor, vocals. Also both chromatic and diatonic harp, even my shakuhachi! In the studio, multi-tracking dubs will require some Fender bass and a little chanking with the Peavey strat. Developing arrangements for larger ensembles means working in the MIDI studio, plus running the PrintMusic program, and some drum machine programming.
Not forgetting the "avant" side of things either, recently inspired by Evelyn Glennie's film Touch The Sound and Amy X Neuberg. If you're interested in free jazz, Check out Penumbra by Bennie Maupin, anything by Henry Threadgill, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Clark Baldwin. Here's a nice clip, not free jazz, dig Clark's alto solo on At Last! Plus, link to Clark's latest ensemble effort House of Time. Clark was a great organizing and motivational force in the recording of Mystic Light's CD, "Source Code." Working to fund a full-on release of that serendipitous avant garde event which also features bassist Vic Behm and drummer and percussionist Carmen Baraka!
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