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jimmyjazz

By jimmyjazz
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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47127

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No snark intended . . . how about a thread for music that falls outside of the typical pop/rock/rap/country realm we post so often?  Jazz, classical, world music, marching band and drum corps, whatever.

Here's a video of the Austin McCallum HS percussion ensemble performing their director's arrangement of Snarky Puppy's "Lingus".  My daughter is a sophomore in the Fine Arts Academy at McCallum , and is the front ensemble section leader (front left on marimba).  These kids work their asses off, and it shows.

 

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 18134

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JJ - I spent two years at UNT before transferring down to UT.  Bruce Hall was the musicians dorm, and at that time, it didn't have air conditioning.  I had to walk by it every day for class and I ate at the cafeteria there.  At all hours, you'd hear the best damn music you ever heard wafting out of the dorm windows because they were all open.

Now Bruce has a/c, the windows are closed, and though I've heard some muffled noise coming out on subsequent visits to Denton, it's just not the same. 

I'm sure the music students there are still killer musicians though.  That's where I learned that it was OK to keep playing/practicing for fun, because I didn't have that kind of natural talent.  I was just never going to catch up to those guys.  

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47127

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They say that graduating from UNT is a problem . . . you should have been plucked into a touring band by then.  I can't even comprehend that level of talent.

A very good friend got her masters at UNT in French Horn.  We were sort of neck and neck in HS, but she was 2 years younger, and her ceiling was much higher.  She went on to play in the Army band for years, which is no small feat.  I got the feeling she felt like she was (a) just an OK player after working her way through Denton and (b) as a non-jazzer, just not quite at the right school, even though the talent and professors were prodigious.  Crazy how that school can break you down.

My sister lives in that world.  She has accompanied some of the greatest singers of our time -- Pavarotti, Domingo -- and plays with the Opera Theater of St. Louis and the St. Louis Symphony (at times).  She can't make much more money than a middle school teacher.  It's brutal.

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 18134

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That's the other thing I learned.  No matter how awesome you may be, there's someone as good or better, waiting in the wings to get your gig.  Then it becomes about who you know and personalities.

It's a hard way to make a living.  It has to be a labor of love.  

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JohnnyShotgun

JohnnyShotgun 34

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On 3/26/2018 at 10:40 AM, jimmyjazz said:

No snark intended . . . how about a thread for music that falls outside of the typical pop/rock/rap/country realm we post so often?  Jazz, classical, world music, marching band and drum corps, whatever.

Here's a video of the Austin McCallum HS percussion ensemble performing their director's arrangement of Snarky Puppy's "Lingus".  My daughter is a sophomore in the Fine Arts Academy at McCallum , and is the front ensemble section leader (front left on marimba).  These kids work their asses off, and it shows.

 

Nice! Mac class of 1992 here, and my son is a junior there now. He did two years in the fine arts academy but is now doing regular studies to have more time for his own band. They are all juniors at Mac and have played several clubs in town including Stubbs, Beer Land and Carousel Lounge. They just recorded their first album at the Ice Cream Factory Studio this past weekend. Props to talented kids!

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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2934

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Say jimmyjazz, I think you were in the Cavaliers, correct?  Maybe not the appropriate place for this, but wondering what your thoughts are on the #metoo movement hitting the Cadets and DCI.  I only follow it as a fan (and father, my son was in it one year).  I know it's much bigger in the Northeast, hence the Philly paper being all over it.  Might be quite a few shakeups coming.  

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47127

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Yes, I marched two years with Cavaliers.  I "know" George Hopkins -- he's a dickhead -- and the allegations don't surprise me.

Unfortunately, I think it's the tip of the iceberg.  DCI tends to foster a cult of personality approach to which kids buy in whole hog, working their asses off for a dozen hours every day at the behest of these authority figures, and it wouldn't shock me a bit that there was all kinds of sexual harassment going on, not to mention inappropriate relationships with minors.

I don't expect Cavaliers to be absolutely clean, although I have no direct knowledge of any incidents.  Part of my rationale is that I expect most inappropriate relationships would be still grounded in the basics of the birds and bees; i.e., males with females (most of the time).  I'm thinking "not a pure power play" (as can be the case with outright rape).  Cavaliers, being all male, had a higher # of gay members than you'd expect in the average group of kids, but I'd still put that number at maybe 30% of the corps, maximum.  That just leaves fewer targets for (presumably) gay staff.  I could be off on this, though.  This is all very speculative on my part.

Sad story, to be sure.  It will cripple DCI, perhaps irreparably. 

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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2934

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That's what I'm thinking.  I know the Philly Inquirer has a "tell us your harassment story" plea on their website right now, it's definitely a terrible thing but I do think they (the paper) are trying to get extra ink out of it.  Definitely when you have a lot of kids being supervised by a few adults, things are going to happen.  And it seems most of the corps pretty much run on shoestring budgets from what I can see.  A few lawsuits could easily wipe that all out (ala Velvet Knights, different situation though).

 

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Shoxthemonkey

Shoxthemonkey 1992

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I'm not sure where to put this but this seems as appropriate as anywhere. Margaret Perry, the Executive Director and founder of the Armstrong Community Music School, passed away last week. Her impact on music in the Austin area is as legit as it gets. My daughter was fortunate to find her way to the school  staff and have Margaret become her mentor. I'm sure a number of you have crossed paths with Margaret over the years. She will be missed. There will be a memorial concert tentatively scheduled for May 25.

http://www.kmfa.org/programs/18-staccato/episodes/2922-margaret-perry

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47127

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I didn't know Margaret, but she hired my friend Walter when he really needed the gig, and it turned out to be a great symbiotic relationship.  He is awesome with kids and ended up developing a 2nd career for himself.  Unfortunately, he's had to retire because he has MS and it's really becoming problematic.  He has spoken very highly of Margaret, though.

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 15136

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This song blows me away. Pull up the studio recording on Spotify to get the full impact.

The harmonies are so complex and so seldom resolve that it creates a lot of interesting tension. But when they do resolve it's hair raising.

Rustavi Choir - Chakrulo

 

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 47127

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I almost put this in the "Black Marching Band" thread, but (a) Carolina Crown isn't a marching band and (b) they aren't particularly black.

If you play brass and want to hear what a spectacularly talented, powerful, and in-tune brass line can sound like, listen all the way through.  Don't cut it short.  Boggles the mind.  Not one of these kids is 23 years old.

 

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