“Santhe” – Sonic Improvisation
This was today’s improvisation and thought I would share the live video. It starts with mellow vibes and turns into a wrangling of the electrons. I hope you enjoy!
Tag: Improvisation
“Lapses” – New Improvised Piece – Video and Free Download
Today I released a new improvised piece called “Lapses”. This is a moody journey that relies on sonic development and manipulation to create a “scene”. Sometimes when improvising with these instruments it feels like I’m on a ride – this was certainly the case for this one. Headphones or good speakers are highly recommended for this one. I hope you like it!
You can download the recording for free here:
The sounds used on this piece were created by the Moog Mother-32, Nord Lead2 and Fender Rhodes.
Aiko’s Dance – Live Piano Performance
I just posted a new piano performance of my piece called “Aiko’s Dance”. I hope you like it!
You can listen on Spotify here:
Obsintha – Improvisation with Nord Lead 2, Rhodes, Moog Mother-32
Today I was improvising with three of my old inanimate friends and thought I would share the result. The red keyboard on the top is called a Nord Lead 2 and I’ve probably had it since the year 2000. The little black synth sitting on top of that is called a Moog Mother-32 and I used it for the bass sounds by playing the keyboard in the middle. The bottom instrument is an 88-key Fender Rhodes.
I hope you like it!
Show Announcement – July 3rd (Early Show)
On Wednesday at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles, we’ll be doing our second installment of new music. This show will feature two of the most impressive vocalists around.
The show will be from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. It’s 21+. Gold Diggers is located at 5632 Santa Monica Blvd. This is a free show – no cover.
Loren Battley will be debuting her new original music project. She is currently on tour with Michael Bublé and has performed vocals with groups such as Pomplamoose, Low Leaf, Knower and many more.
Here is Loren performing with Michael Bublé on Good Morning America earlier this year…
Blake Lewis is an innovative force as a vocalist and beat boxer. He launched to stardom after finishing 2nd place on American Idol in 2007. His originality made him stand out and he has since continued to perform his solo material as well as collaborative projects. Here is his incredibly original performance from American Idol…
Blake will be doing an improv set with KJ Sawka and I. It should be fun to make music with these creative forces. Here’s a little clip of KJ Sawka doing combining drum acrobatics and electronics on a radio show…
If you are getting this via email and can’t see the videos or links, click here.
Live Clips with KJ Sawka and Tim Lefebvre
A few moments from last week’s show were captured and I thought I would share them here. It was a true honor to perform and improvise along with these two legends. I’m thankful to everyone who filled the room and made it a special night.
Here are the clips (you may need headphones or good speakers to feel the bass properly)…
Reggie Watts, Louis Cole & Michael Stegner Trio Monday at Zebulon
I wanted to post a reminder about Monday’s show at Zebulon. I’m very excited and honored to be playing with these geniuses.
You can order your tickets here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1677226
The Facebook even page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/756192954571352/
Here’s a little promo video with sounds from the last show…
If you are getting this via email and can’t watch the video, click here.
April 16th at Zebulon – Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and Michael Stegner Trio
Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and I will be playing another improvised show on April 16. Novena Carmel will be kicking the night off with a DJ set.
The doors are at 8:30 pm. The cover is $10 (order in advance as the last two have sold out).
Order tickets here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1677226?utm_medium=bks
Facebook even page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/756192954571352/
Here is a sample of what the last show sounded like (click here if you cant see the video):
Here is our bio in case you want to learn more about the project:
Fate would have it that Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and Michael Stegner all happened to have flat tires simultaneously in a small town in Idaho last September. After meeting in the local tire shop lobby, they struck up a friendly conversation and realized that they each had an affinity for handmade vegetable dumplings. This was the beginning of a musical relationship that has seen them perform in 251 countries and seven states in January alone. Their emotional performances innovate while drawing from their no-wave, shoe-gazing electro and ambient trip-hop heroes.
One guy who saw them in Bulgaria last week said it was the best show he’d ever seen.
New Improvisation with Reason
For the last several years I’ve been learning more about sound design and electronic music. My students would push me pretty hard when we would work on these concepts forcing me to keep pace. I’ve finally gotten up the skills with the tech to start improvising more freely. Here’s as short sample something I improvised today when working with a program called Reason. First I programmed the drums and the sounds, then improvised on the keyboards. I hope you enjoy it!
If you can’t see the video in your email, click here to view it.
Sonata Form and Jazz Solos Rethinking what it means to "solo" in jazz
A couple of years ago I began to shift away from using the word “solo” with many of my jazz students. This was especially the case for beginning improvisers or the ones who were preoccupied with the chord progressions or playing a barrage of disconnected patterns or licks. Many of them started to sound way better in a very short amount of time.
