Many times we are blessed to have that cavalier attitude of holding down a regular gig. It's hard to not take the easy way out and just do the bare minimum. After all, you already have the gig. It's not like you have to impress anybody. I'm guilty of it, but less so than I could imagine. I am always trying to make something happen, musically speaking. I at least have a drive to produce a chart or two, which can be good but it could be a false sense of security. At any rate, it's important to keep looking forward as far as new material, new ideas, a continued sense of progress as far as addressing weaknesses of which one is made aware. Yeah come on! So, all of that said, I was up late this past week practicing and making a chart or two for the little combo known as BBE. The only time it can happen around here is in the late evening, after work, kids, dinner, cleanup, baths, trash, discussions, you name it. When the business of the house shuts down, that's my time to make it happen. Yawn. Finale had kicked my butt all around. I finally (finale-y ha-ha!) got around to mastering the concept of staffs (staves, actually) and how to size and position them above and below each other. It was a small nightmare, as the panic sets in around 11:30 on Wednesday night after dealing with it Monday and Tuesday nights already. The worst! I got it done and then worked on singing said songs: Home at Last and Hello It's Me.
I'm glad to be asked back to play in this fine quartet. Walt Austin effectively leads us through a series of tunes culled from American songbooks we all love but are sometimes afraid to consider. We play a fair amount of trad jazz, a bit of Miles, some blues, a bit of modern folk, some rock, really, whatever floats our boat. A great freedom to enjoy at our monthly appearance downtown at ye olde Capital City Club. Ran through some tunes I was suggesting: that great Steely Dan tune, the old Todd Rundgren classic, and With A Little Help From My Friends. I sang for the first time in a while. Felt good. We were gelling for the first set. Mark Letalien, fresh off his Abbey Road Live gigs, was the best I've ever heard from him. Super relaxed and rock solid. We were a bit too on top of the beat during the second set, but the first was off the chain! Must attain to that sense of groove next time out. Walt was impeccable as always. Brian fits in like a glove. It's like we had just rehearsed. My new-ish chart for Just Friends had just the right changes. Come Together and All Blues (going into a set closing Boogie On Reggae Woman) had the best grooves I've ever felt in this band. A real pleasure to lay back and feel it from within.
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