What a differnce a little warm weather makes! We had a good crowd out there that sat and enjoyed our set for Java Monkey's wine tasting event last night, Thursday April 14, 2011. Hey, does that mean it's tax day today? How can that be? Well, anyways, kudos to Jason for passing around the tip jar while we had a few warm bodies out there. It gave us a few extras duckets when the pay was doled out at the end of the night. Musically, we played a good mix of originals and some crowd pleasing standards. We have a lot to choose from, it seems. One that we played that came out well was Wayne Shorter's Yes or No. I remember finding a cd copy of Juju in a cutout bin at Tower Records in D.C. back in the late 80's. I was looking for some Wayne, and this was the album since I loved Yes or No from the Real Book and the jazz labs I had been a part of. Ah, memories of a jazz neophyte. Well, the tune is somewhat Coltrane influenced. What I take away from it is the harmonic changes, especially the 1st eight bars: 4 of what is essentially a C over D chord: C/D but labeled as a D7sus4 with a sustained E as the melody (so it's a D9sus4 with the chordal tones of d, g, a, c, e). C major has the tones c, e, g so the d & a act like the power chord fifth under the C. That how it could be thought of. The 2nd 4 bars are Dmaj7 (Dmaj9) so the f# is now audible, along with the c# major 7th. It's like a cloud has been lifted from the tension. The bridge or B section is basically a walk through 4th's in the key of Ebmaj (Lydian with a raised 4th occasionally). Hard to generalize, but I like the A half-diminished versus the more tonic Abmaj7. Well, that's my theory moment this week. Other standards pulled out were Mercy Mercy Mercy & a request for Lullaby of Birdland by our audio engineer friend from Eddie's Attic who showed up as were about to call it. Here are some shots that are worth sharing.
Wine enthusiasts relaxing inside as Jessica offers another tasting.
The incredible brews on tap, overshadowed by the righteous coffee drinks and wine selection. Just look at the choices. It's almost sad to order a beer since it means there are 5 others you can't have while you're quaffing this one!
Miss Jessica kindly poured me a small glass of the Sierra Nevada Summerfest pilsner to try in addition to my pint of Avery. The fellas will tell you that I was a happy camper for the remainder of the break!
Self portrait as we were packing up.
Adrian with our bud from Eddie's Attic whose name promptly escaped me. He requested and was quite appreciative and impressed to hear Lullaby of Birdland, which is a favorite of mine as well.
Extra special mention goes to the Fonkenator, who honored me with acknowledging my 1-year anniversary with the Adrain Ash Group. He brought me a present of 3 brand new 12-foot long 1/4 inch patch cables! Very nice cables too! Sweet! Thank you Guy!!!
One last thing: saw Planet Zu yesterday at Georgia Perimeter College's Jazz on the Lawn series. Very inspirational in terms of my budding songwriting. I think good smooth jazz may be my ticket. I'm a trad fan but I honestly am a bit intimidated by all of the theory, heritage, and the plethora of tunes out there. Well, these jazzers can lay it down: Dan Baraszu on guitar (primarily a nylon-string electic), David Ellington on Hammond B-3 (I hear he genreally kicks the bass but he doesn't in this line up), Joseph Patrick Moore on fretted and fretless basses, and Marlon Patton on the drums. Spencer and I sat next to Greg McLean, who had just finished playing. The weather was perfect for a picnic lunch. Here's a pic from my vantage point - darn tent pole right in the middle of the stage view.
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