Writing Jazz

Was up into the wee hours last night working on a new jazz chart. Actually, "new" might be a misnomer. The initial idea for this tune was written on a piece of staff paper that has been floating around since college. Really. A couple of years ago I committed it to Sibelius, scored out about the first 45 seconds, then left it. When I updated to Sibelius 6.1 this June, I used it as the experimental first file to be opened with the new version.

Surprisingly, it has been coming along pretty well. I am eagerly experimenting with not using the piano to write this one, but simply using the notation program. So far so good. I'm finding that I am exploring different changes than I would otherwise reach for at the piano. Sometimes force of habit sends me back to the same changes because they fall easily under the fingers. When looking at the written page,  I tend to see a chord and think, "Well, what if we sharp that and raise the five?"

As for the tune, it's an easy swing, a lot of open 10ths at first. That was the original idea: to simplify. Nothing fancy, just swing. And while the harmonic language is a little more expansive now, I still want it to be a "toe-tapper." Also, I've come up with a new idea for a middle section at a slower tempo. I thought of doing this under a trumpet solo, and still will, but that solo will ultimately lead to a ballad section that reminds me a little of the third movement of "The Channel One Suite." Hmm. I should go back and listen to it again, to make sure it doesn't sound too much like Channel One. Anyhow, it sounded great last night.

I'll try to put up a screen shot, then maybe an audio file draft later. I've got lots of "Day Job" things to work on right now. We'll see what time allows. Bye.

Restart # ????

Hey there, it's been a while. Not much. How 'bout you?

To save time, let's get to the point. The keyboard is up on the main floor, the laptop, the Yamaha 8-channel and the mic are all I need. A new schedule allows for a set amount of time everyday for writing and recording (two separate activities, by the way).

So all that's left is to actually DO it. The plan is simply this: There is a certain set of tunes that I refer to as the "Better Late" album. These include "Charlie Brown," "Unfinished Business," and a host of unfinished tunes. All of them share this sort of starting over, not too late theme. I will take the day's predetermined time to write, and when that time is up, I move to another task. This is mostly an attempt to overcome that dreaded habit of having to reach a "logical stopping point" before I can feel good about leaving the project. Furthermore, it's this worry about reaching the logical stopping point that often keeps me from starting, as in, "I'll barely have begun when I'll need to stop, so why start in the first place?"

Let's see how it goes.