Take 5

So, coming back from vacation has been quite a trial. The first thing my boss said to me after asking me about my vacation was if I was willing to work overtime.  I looked around at the precarious piles of work and agreed. I stayed late and worked on the weekend. But there were also all the other things I'd been putting on the back burner, unwilling to think about. I need to learn a brand new song that we're going to perform at RCW's Inauguration Party. I still haven't worked on it, and that looms heavily over me. Oh, and I have to do a 2-drum slant solo in it too. I don't have much experience with 2-drum slant solos. Please, come for Obama. 

But even more pressing is the performance with Mark Izu at the DeYoung Museum for their Friday Nights at the DeYoung series. I have to say firstly that Mark is such a nice guy. He is sweet and mellow and is such a sharp musician. This guy is brilliant and way out of my musical league--I'm not even sure we're playing the same sport. The fact that I get to tag along with Janet as one of the performers in this project is such an honor. Which means that I have to work extra hard for this gig. First off, it's jazz. I've never performed jazz before. Sure, I appreciate jazz--heck, it was the public radio stations in LA that played jazz that really got me hooked on music in the first place. I had no idea what I was listening to, but I would study it. I would really pay attention and try to understand what jazz was until finally I came to the realization that what jazz was is an appreciation for innovation, for expression, for feel. I mean, I still claim complete ignorance about jazz, but what really draws me in is the journey that the music takes you on. You have to let go of everything about where you think a song will take you, and instead take the hand of the musician and let them lead you to places you've never been.  It's the where-we're-going part that is a challenge to me right now.

Yesterday we had rehearsal at Mark's and I got a better picture of what we'd be doing. I took copious notes and have been looking at them all day. I can do this, I know I can. Part of it is learning what we're going to be playing, knowing when (approximately, give or take 3-5 minutes) we are going to be playing it, and letting the idea of "feel" guide the rest. Oh, and then there is the playing with Janet part. I couldn't imagine a better person to lead me on my first jazz gig, and part of this leg is learning to play with her and just feeling and anticipating. I'm totally following her lead, but part of the challenge is knowing when she is going to start, when she is going to stop, and how to work with her in between. I am glad I have worked with her so long because some of it comes natural, but some of it is studying her body language and the phrases and movements she speaks the music with. But I have to admit some it is just hanging on for dear life. It is a good learning experience. 

Another new thing for me is learning a song in 5. I think that means the song is in 5/4, but don't quote me on that. There are 5 beats to a bar, or what I imagine a bar to be. There are 5 units to a set. Oh, whatever. I just think back to the struggle learning a song in 6 was, and actually, learning this song in 5 is worlds easier. I don't know if it's experience or just the fact that songs in 5 are fun. I have a suspicion that if Janet hadn't told me the song was in 5 I would have never known something was amiss, but she told me that I probably would have been confused. I'm just curious to know how long it would have taken me to figure out something was weird. Maybe it's just a good groove. But anyhow the stressful part is that at moments I'm the only one holding down the groove, and it may be for a long time, and it will be under other people solo-ing, so I will have to be solid. Today I was at the copy machine, waiting for my endless copies to come out, and I was practicing the 5 groove. 

 

This is gonna be interesting.