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| Eric Seddon at BLU Jazz + (Mardi Gras 2016) |
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| George Foley (piano), Eric Seddon (clarinet), Bill Fuller (drums) at BLU Jazz +, Mardi Gras 2016 |
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| Eric Seddon, Bill Fuller (drums), Gene Epstein (bass), Bob McGuire (guitar) at BLU Jazz +, Mardi Gras 2016 |
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Mardi Gras Photos from BLU Jazz +
A big easy THANK YOU to all the great folks who came out in lake effect snow to make BLU the hottest spot north of New Orleans on Mardi Gras! What an audience...dancing tangos to Sidney Bechet's 'Petite Fleur', roaring for two new songs I wrote for the occasion ("BLU Mardi Gras" and "East Market Street Parade"); they even got a second line going through the club at one point! All in all a special night for this club's first Mardi Gras bash!
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Saturday, February 6, 2016
New Tunes for Mardi Gras
Readers of The Jazz Clarinet will already know that my Hot Club is playing the first Mardi Gras bash at DownBeat listed nightclub BLU Jazz + in Akron this Tuesday at 8pm. Our mission as a band has been to deliver top level performances of New Orleans style jazz, encompassing the entire history of the genre, from the earliest spirituals and songs through the various popular revivals, right up to the present day. I'm fortunate to have several songwriters in the band, and we'll be bringing you some of the best new material out there in our upcoming gigs, beginning this Tuesday, when we'll debut two new numbers: "BLU Mardi Gras (Blue Mardis Gras)" and "East Market Street Parade."
Get your beads ready, folks--hope to see you there!
Get your beads ready, folks--hope to see you there!
Benny Goodman's Vandoren
A few weeks back, I posted a picture of what was almost certainly the reed used for Artie Shaw's famous 'Stardust' solo, while commenting how rare it is for reeds to survive long after they are used.
Well, yesterday evening I had another rare opportunity to see, of all things, one of Benny Goodman's reeds: one which is part of Cleveland clarinetist, saxophonist, and jazz historian John Richmond's private collection. The reed in question was part of a commemorative booklet put together for friends of Goodman after his death--the reed, attached to a gold string, serving as a type of bookmark.
The tip is quite damaged, but the Vandoren print on the back is as clear as ever. Many thanks to John Richmond for permission to publish pictures of this rarity.
Well, yesterday evening I had another rare opportunity to see, of all things, one of Benny Goodman's reeds: one which is part of Cleveland clarinetist, saxophonist, and jazz historian John Richmond's private collection. The reed in question was part of a commemorative booklet put together for friends of Goodman after his death--the reed, attached to a gold string, serving as a type of bookmark.
The tip is quite damaged, but the Vandoren print on the back is as clear as ever. Many thanks to John Richmond for permission to publish pictures of this rarity.
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| Benny Goodman's Vandoren (John Richmond Collection) |
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| Benny Goodman's Vandoren (John Richmond Collection) |
Monday, February 1, 2016
Eric Seddon's Hot Club * Mardi Gras 2016 * BLU Jazz +
Eric Seddon * clarinet
Jim Davis * cornet
George Foley * piano
Bob 'Mad Dog' McGuire * banjo + guitar
Gene Epstein * upright bass
Bill Fuller * drums
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Why Play Jazz? Why Listen to Jazz?
FAQ:
Why play
jazz?
Because it
engages the complete musician: the creative intellect, the body, the emotions,
the soul. It demands historical knowledge infused with personal creativity:
each musician an historian, interpreter, and actor upon the stage of history,
simultaneously. It insists upon mathematical mastery of the twelve tones and their
various implications, then adds an infinite number of notes in between. Jazz is
an endless system which allows musicians to grow into who they were intended to
be, sharing the journey as they do so.
Why listen
to jazz?
Because it
engages the audience in a similar manner. The audience is present to witness,
every night, the continuous growth of an art form that contains the expression
of many peoples, countless souls: the musical hopes, dreams, loves, sufferings
and prayers of the ages, continuing in front of you on that bandstand. But it
goes even deeper for a jazz audience, because they actively participate in that
history. The emotion and spirit that the band receives from the audience in
return for what they’re throwing out there, that grows between an audience and
the musicians as the evening progresses: that is the great driving force of
jazz.
Friday, January 22, 2016
On Sound
You're never done working on your sound. It's in a state of constant flux, because the weather is always changing, and you're always changing, getting older, stronger, weaker; and you're equipment is always changing, aging, being slowly altered each day you play it. I've heard every single one of my musical heroes during a down cycle or a bad day. It's sobering and reassuring. Everybody has them. Most of the jazz greats end up blasting too much at times; many classical players get into a timid zone when they struggle. Even when everybody digs what you're doing, if you don't like it, and if you know something is wrong, you have to keep listening, keep searching, keep refining. It's a dance with perfection. You can't reach it--you are not perfection-- but you can dance with it. The key is to not become antagonistic towards perfection: to not turn it into a boxing match instead of a dance. Because when it becomes a boxing match against perfection, you lose.
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