tag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:/blogs/gear?p=2Gear2018-09-11T01:20:27-04:00Alex Terrierfalsetag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/49004772017-10-20T16:38:15-04:002019-08-15T11:57:25-04:00Mexico 2017<p><a class="twitter-share-button" data-count="none" data-size="large" data-via="terrieralex" href="https://twitter.com/share">Tweet</a> <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script></p>
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<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 1:</span></strong></em></p>
<p>One more time I get to go to <strong>Mexico</strong> and I love it. It's always a great pleasure to see my friends here and play music. I took the plane on Thursday morning and arrived for lunch with my friend Ana who took me to a nice restaurant:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/e9d3ef1bd35bd5e50bdd3c92da8007ded5bc5d40/original/22637082-167552317159423-3086799064423989248-n.jpg?1508531167" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As always when I come to Mexico, I had a headache because of the altitude but I wanted to go see my friend <strong>Armando Cruz</strong> who was playing with his band at <strong>Mercado Roma</strong>. I went there with my friend <strong>Sofia Zumbado</strong>, and my friend who is a pilot was in town so he joined us as well.</p>
<p>After that concert I went to <strong>Casa Franca</strong> to see the trio of drummer <strong>Jorge Fernadez</strong>. This morning I could practice a couple hours and then I went to have lunch at the market and walked in the neighborhood where I am staying, <strong>Coyoacan</strong>.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/f19c9cc160a087a0acc611facba0e8d9e21754f8/original/22709193-747148008826956-4126600102640877568-n.jpg?1508531757" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 2:</span></strong></em></p>
<p>This afternoon I'm doing some emails and preparing some classes. Tonight I will be playing with the band of Armando Cruz.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="614" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10155333885178649%26set%3Da.10150521929838649.381978.551368648%26type%3D3&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span class="font_large"><strong>Day 3:</strong></span></em></p>
<p>I'm teaching all day this Saturday. I love sharing my knowledge with motivated young and less young students! And it's a pleasure to meet in person some members of <a contents="www.jazzvideolessons.net" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jazzvideolessons.net" target="_blank">www.jazzvideolessons.net</a></p>
<p>In this photo you can see my roommate the cat, the Coyoacan market, the square in Coyoacan at night, lunch at the market, late night drinks with friends and a good example of Mexico traffic jam!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/3fdf97ef7de67a4a6faccdeee14c85262514e069/original/22710981-230973974106635-2201266323697172480-n.jpg?1508714364" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><em><span class="font_large"><strong>Day 4:</strong></span></em></p>
<p>I could practice a couple hours this morning. After my lunch at the market I went to visit the house of <strong>Leon Trotsky</strong> who lived in Mexico and was assassinated in his house.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/57fa579ebfd2ff5e06b9f80a810c2fb6aafc312a/original/22710233-1962670550647772-4248060553706078208-n.jpg?1508714940" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em><strong>Day 5</strong></em></span></p>
<p>No teaching, no concert. I went for a run this morning in the parc and had a good laugh at the very approximate French translation to connect to the wifi. I wanted to go visit El Castillo de Chapultepec but it's closed on Monday so I'll try another day. I got to find out my touristy activities for this afternoon!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/588976beaa39791354e574196e5d2281056bdff4/original/22794402-1914870752173168-8188672101230575616-n.jpg?1508782549" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>So I found what to do this afternoon, visit the <a contents="Soumaya Museum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.soumaya.com.mx/index.php/esp" target="_blank"><strong>Soumaya Museum</strong></a>. There is an aquarium you can visit across the street, they will sell you the ticket for the aquarium and tell you it's good for the museum as well, but it's a private museum and it is free, so don't get scammed!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/df324660c5369c210ccb6eacd737435e6fc19b44/medium/soumaya.jpeg?1508974198" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em><strong>Day 6</strong></em></span></p>
<p>Sharing some knowledge again today. After a day of teaching I went to see my friends playing at the university as part of the Saxophone Festival. </p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="491" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falexterriermusic%2Fposts%2F1517249228363641&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>That night I played at <a contents="Parker &amp; Lenox" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.parkerandlenox.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Parker & Lenox</strong></a> with the fantastic pianist <a contents="Alex Mercado" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.alejandromercado.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Alex Mercado</strong></a>. This place is really nice and the audience was very attentive. I had a great time playing there.</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="747" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fparkerandlenox%2Fphotos%2Fa.391334164363931.1073741828.388926777938003%2F875893569241319%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 7</span></strong></em></p>
<p>In the morning I had a lesson with two friends, trumpetist <strong>Olson</strong> and guitarist <strong>Djuvens</strong>, whom I have known for a few years now. It's great to see them grow and develop as musicians.</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="472" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FOlsonJMusic%2Fposts%2F1845227885490812&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p>Then I went to the UNAM to be a jury for the Saxophone Competition. Always tough to decide who must get the prize!</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="339" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FInstrumentosPMauriatMexico%2Fphotos%2Fa.447749572238846.1073741828.447248925622244%2F543424546004681%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p>Alex Terrier, Diego Maroto, Israel Cupich, Alan Villanueva (2nd Prize), Jahaziel Arrocha (1st Prize), Tacher Huerta (3rd Prize), Gabriel Puentes, ???, Cristian Mendoza</p>
<p>The saxophone brand <a contents="Buffet Crampon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.buffet-crampon.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Buffet Crampon</strong></a>, which I work with, was on site to present their instruments to the students:</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="664" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbuffetcramponusamexico%2Fposts%2F830671477093156&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p>Then at night I played at Septimo with the Armando Cruz Quartet:</p>
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<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 8</span></strong></em></p>
<p>I gave a class at the UNAM in the morning, and anyone interested in learning with me can visit my website <a contents="jazzvideolessons.net" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://jazzvideolessons.net" target="_blank">jazzvideolessons.net</a> for more information.</p>
<p>That night I played with Armando Cruz at <strong>Fronton</strong> in Coyoacan. That was a good night of music and party!</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="375" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1584077831612267%26set%3Da.658087917544601.1073741877.100000301972094%26type%3D3&width=500&show_text=false&appId=132224384499&height=375" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 9</span></strong></em></p>
<p>Teaching again during the day and concert at night with pianist Alex Mercado at the UNAM, here are some photos:</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="694" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falexterriermusic%2Fposts%2F1528848460537051&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="503" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1069907166482631%26set%3Da.480045408802146.1073741827.100003900733125%26type%3D3&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><span class="font_large">Day 10</span></strong></em></p>
<p>Time to leave Mexico and spend 2 days off in Yucatan :)</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/7dce61689af4bb80ab47eca886ef5a9e3d884a10/original/23164496-511115905914786-8306198564116103168-n.jpg?1509984315" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Going back to New York for one week and then I'll be on my way to Japan! If you would like to stay informed about my tour dates, leave your name and email:</p><script type="text/javascript" src="https://app.getresponse.com/view_webform_v2.js?u=S0t9S&webforms_id=x5SA"></script>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/45570862017-01-19T23:38:05-05:002017-01-19T23:38:05-05:00Juan Andres Ospina Big Band RecordingWe recorded the challenging yet beautiful music of Juan Andres Ospina in New York on January 6, 7 and 8. Here is a clip from the studio:<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="401" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falexterriermusic%2Fvideos%2F1236436089778291%2F&show_text=1&width=560" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/45223952016-12-22T18:11:40-05:002023-10-16T10:44:48-04:00Moments of 2016: the best ones, the funny ones, and the shitty one<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">I’m visiting my family for the holidays in the south of <strong>France</strong>, I did my last gig last weekend in<strong> New York</strong>, and my next concert is on <a contents="January 3, 2017" data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">January 3, 2017</a> with <a contents="Leïla Olivesi" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.leilaolivesi.com/" target="_blank">Leïla Olivesi</a>. I can look back at 2016 and reflect on the good and bad moments. Actually I didn't have too many bad moments, so I'll mention some of the best ones, some of the funny ones and one shitty gig in Germany. </span><br><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">World Citizen Band, Ecuador</span></strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">Recently I went on tour in <strong>Ecuador</strong> with the <strong>World Citizen Band</strong>. We did a concert at <strong>Teatro Variedades</strong> in Quito. The theater was really nice and the technicians did a great job. It's worthy to mention also that they put the band in a very nice hotel and had a van to drive us everywhere we needed to go. I wish more concert organizers could understand that this does help for a successful concert. When the band is in a shitty hotel, has no one to help to get around in an unknown city, the sound guy sucks and so on, at the end of the day, the musicians are not in their best shape to create incredible music. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">That night the band played what I think was one of its best concert, if not the best. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">Here is a short video and you can<a contents=" read more" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://alexterriermusic.com/blogs/blog/world-citizen-band-ecuador-2016" target="_blank"> read more</a> about this tour. </span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NlW575LAPFU?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">Mingus Big Band</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">Playing with the <a contents="Mingus Big Band" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://mingusmingusmingus.com" target="_blank">Mingus Big Band</a> at the <a contents="Jazz Standard" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jazzstandard.com/" target="_blank">Jazz Standard</a> is always a treat for me. This is my favorite club in NYC and I get to play with some of the baddest cats around. In September we played one show that was a hair more exceptional than usual. Maybe it was because most of us were back in NYC after touring over the summer and we were all happy to be back in NYC, the band was on fire that night. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">Here is a video of me soloing over <em><strong>Fables Of Faubus:</strong></em></span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/vbb2ba02vH4?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">Seclin</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">In May I flew from <strong>Los Angeles</strong> to <strong>Seclin</strong> to play a concert for <a contents="Buffet Crampon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://buffet-crampon.com" target="_blank">Buffet Crampon</a>. Well, if you’re French I guess that made you smile. Seclin is a town in the north of France near Lille, very contrasting with Los Angeles... </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">I arrived in Seclin and met <strong>Gino Samyn</strong>, another <strong>Buffet Crampon</strong> artist who plays the <a contents="Senzo Saxophone" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://alexterriermusic.com/blogs/blog/buffet-crampon-alto-sax-senzo" target="_blank"><strong>Senzo Saxophone</strong></a>. I had met him for the first time when he came to <strong>New York</strong> to play a concert. He is a teacher in Lille and helped organizing the concerts and classes I gave there. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_large">I met that afternoon the musicians I was going to play with that night. We had only one rehearsal and our concert that night was off the charts. I really enjoyed playing with the band and the public was also very receptive. <br><br>Here is a short video of the concert: <br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ODO_bvbOL5U?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></span><br><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">Coartjazz</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">In August I spent a week teaching in a remote village in the mountains in the south of France for <strong>Coartjazz</strong>, organized by <strong>Magali</strong> and <strong>Jean-Marie Deray</strong>. I had a great time working with <strong>Tina May, Pierre De Bethmann, Federico Casagrande, Felipe Cabrera, Matthieu Chazarenc, Louis Moutin</strong>, and with the students in this wonderful environment and playing jam sessions at night. I'm looking very forward to <strong>Coartjazz 2017</strong>!<br><br>Here is a photo of the teachers from our concert:</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/588f7b9eb6adba9d598908113d4474a247a50e26/original/14141975-1373987939291970-5625543094302461165-n.jpg?1482346120" class="size_l justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">Jazz A Vienne</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">Another good moment teaching was at <strong>Jazz A Vienne</strong> with pianist <strong>Cedric Hanriot</strong> and drummer <strong>Donald Kontomanou</strong>. It was very challenging for us to get 40 teenagers to play together and prepare a concert but it was very rewarding and I'm also looking forward to teach again there in July 2017.<br><br>We're missing a few students on this photo but I think it shows the atmosphere:</span>
</div>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/8523e4558a9bb8dac59afde18ae37588f76af0cc/original/13615387-1061984693890099-304468568688755318-n.jpg?1482346806" class="size_l justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br><br><span class="font_large">Now the funny moments.</span><br><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">Mexico</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">I love Mexico and I'm very happy to go there regularly and play with my friends. Sometimes it can be challenging to get used to the flexibility of Mexican organization and its funny moments.<br><br>I played a concert in duo with <strong>Alex Mercado</strong>, who is a fantastic Mexican pianist, for a big festival. Now we're talking about hundreds of artists from different countries coming to play this festival that lasts several weeks. The day of the concert, the location of the concert changed about 3 or 4 times. Then, a couple hours before the concert I am told that Alex is going to play on a synthesizer. Yes, a synthesizer, not even an electric piano. At that point I had to tell them either we play on a real piano (like discussed before and written in the contract) or we don't play. They didn't get a piano but they found another venue with a piano, and we had to drive an hour to get to the new location. When we arrived a guy was tuning the piano but because it had not been tuned in years, it was very flat and the tuning changed during the concert. <br>In the end the whole thing was pretty funny and Alex and I had a lot of fun playing together:<br><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/YnNzqgpMH4k?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></span><br><br><br><span class="font_xl"><em><strong>Brussels</strong></em></span><br><br><span class="font_large">Another funny story: I'm in Brussels with my friend bassist <strong>Rob Duguay</strong>. We arrived to the club and they literally forgot there was a concert that night. Funny, right? But they had to get a bass for Rob, so now the guy is frantically looking for a bass in Brussels. We did get the bass and played our concert with about 2 hours delay.</span><br><br><em><strong><span class="font_xl">The shitty gig when we got screwed by the club</span></strong></em><br><br><span class="font_large">Now here is something that pisses me off. Clubs that screw you. Luckily I don't get too many gigs there, because I get screwed once, but rarely twice and never a third time. I played in that club in <strong>Berlin</strong>, I was a sideman so to avoid the leader to have any problem with that club I won't say the name, even though I think he should never play there again (I sure won't). We knew that the club didn't officially charge a cover but customers were asked a 10 euros "donation for the band" and we packed the club so we were confident we were going to make decent money. That was without counting the cut that the club takes out of the donations! <br><br>See, I understand they don't want to take risks, they just want to sell beers, and asking for donations instead of charging a cover is one work around, I get that, I have no problem with this. But if the club is not taking any risk, not paying the band a minimum guarantee, not promoting the show, basically doing nothing but selling drinks, why would they take a cut of the band money without the band taking a cut of the bar? Specially when they do not make us aware of that little nugget in advance. <br><br>I can't mention here all the great times I've had this year playing with so many musicians in different countries. I'm very grateful to have this opportunity of playing music with them, and I'm looking forward to some more music and traveling in 2017.<br><br>Big thank you to anyone who expressed even remotely some interest in my music! Happy holidays, merry Christmas and all my best wishes for 2017 to everyone!<br><br>Alex<br><br><em>PS: if any professional musician reads this, he/she will probably think "only one shitty gig in a year? I don't believe it!", and he/she would be right.</em></span>
</div>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/44919542016-12-01T13:47:45-05:002016-12-03T10:27:21-05:00World Citizen Band - Ecuador, 2016<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/bcb20700053a92b917b30d5e91e930c0c2b12b81/medium/14590869-1168754863174417-5926452555151310848-n.jpg?1480616269" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br>I got back yesterday night from what was probably one of the most fun tour I did. We were in <strong>Ecuador</strong> with the <strong>World Citizen Band</strong> for a series of concerts and 2 days of teaching at the<a contents=" Universidad De Las Americas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.udla.edu.ec/" target="_blank"> <strong>Universidad De Las Americas</strong></a>.<br><br>I flew on Monday November 21st to Panama City, a two-hour layover to which we added 2 hours waiting on the plane because of bad weather. I landed in Quito at 1am and finally arrived at the hotel at 3am. <br><br>Life on the road with a band can be difficult and tricky. You spend your time with the same people almost 24/7, wake up early, travel, play, go to the hotel late, repeat. Sometimes you travel in luxurious conditions, sometimes not. Touring with this band was so easy, everybody is professional and friendly. We enjoyed the great moments, met the challenging ones and accepted the sometimes not so luxurious conditions.<br><br>The first night we stayed at the Hilton, so we felt like successful musicians, went to the pool, the gym and the sauna. Here is the view from my room:<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/c444815002dea7c755e0a6689b2be90b84925760/original/15043964-201032217015319-6123587881840672768-n.jpg?1480615116" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The following night we slept on a bus and drove 8 hours from Quito to Cuenca. We arrived at sunrise in a hostel that was nothing close to the Hilton...<br>Here are our faces after a night of trying to sleep during the bus ride:<div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="466" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falexterriermusic%2Fphotos%2Fa.1175617779193456.1073741874.118961571525754%2F1175430909212143%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe>
</div><br>In Cuenca we played at the <strong>Teatro Sucre</strong> and we flew back the next morning at 7am to Quito, then drove to Ibarra where we played at<strong> Cafe Arte</strong>. We drove the next day to Quito where we played at night to the <strong>Teatro Variedades</strong>. That was a really great night where the band played at its best. Here is a short clip:
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</div></form></div><!--End mc_embed_signup--><br>The following day, that's Saturday if you were wondering, we flew to Guayaquil to play at the <strong>Art Center</strong>. It was also Ramiro's birthday, the leader of the band, so we had a long night out.<br>Here is a shot from our hotel in Guayaquil where iguanas live freely:<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/34dd97240e5c3a63a86d7d5312083eafcdaaa45c/original/15048091-1350963714914004-1885406727872970752-n.jpg?1480616588" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br>On Sunday we flew back to Quito and took the day off to rest. On Monday we taught at <strong>UDLA</strong> and at night we were invited to join a colombian band at <strong>Cafe Democratico</strong>. On Tuesday we spent the day teaching at UDLA again:<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/0ba7cbcc23e9fa3a756256f69c02cf0f27a4038a/original/14498968-1259565147460358-7254674399779880960-n.jpg?1480617889" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Some of us flew back home that night, some of us the following day. It was a great tour and I want to congratulate Ramiro for organizing this and all the musicians of the band for playing to such a high level. I hope there will be more music to be made in the future with this band.<br><br>Until the next flight!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/a4cd32573db7ad731b73982d63061de8ca3edf83/original/15258545-1129863360463145-4181396944670687232-n.jpg?1480618041" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Ramiro Olaciregui: Guitar<br><a contents="Tomasz Dabrowski: Trumpet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tomdabrowski.com/" target="_blank">Tomasz Dabrowski: Trumpet</a><br><a contents="Marcos Merina: Piano" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/marcosmerinomusic" target="_blank">Marcos Merina: Piano</a><br><a contents="Rodolfo Zuniga: Drums" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rodolfozuniga.com/" target="_blank">Rodolfo Zuniga: Drums</a><br>Kenneth Dahl Knudsen: Bass<br><br>Thank you to <a contents="Buffet Crampon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/" target="_blank">Buffet Crampon</a> for their support.<br> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="760" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falexterriermusic%2Fposts%2F1185362031552364&width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe>
</div>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/43542962016-09-02T11:16:28-04:002017-01-13T08:54:56-05:00Germany - September 2016<strong><span class="font_large">Friday September 2, 2016</span></strong><br><br>Here we go, off to Germany. Last time I went to Berlin was in January (2010 I think), and it was freezing like crazy. The weather should be friendlier this time.<br>We were supposed to have a concert in Paris tonight, at Le Duc Des Lombards, but you know it's hard sometimes for the clubs to keep track of who they book, so yeah, they double-booked and we got screwed...<br><br>So I got my ticket to Berlin to arrive at 8pm on Friday, since the first gig was tomorrow, but the Grand Master <strong>Ramiro Olaciregui</strong> got us a gig tonight at 9pm, so I hope I can make it in time! Check out the <a contents="calendar" data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">calendar</a> if you're in Berlin and come say hi. <br><br>The trip started with a crowded bus to go to the airport :(<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/86bb17555b114288b0e14a7b02c43a447c0b63e1/medium/14128814-1597029177266170-1256291796-n.jpg?1472828813" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>I am now at the airport. I got a ticket on Easy Jet. Now, I know it can be a hassle to travel with an instrument on planes, specially with low cost airlines. Since I literally have to jump from the plane into a cab to go to the gig, I thought maybe I should buy an upgrade to get my two items onboard. What a pleasant surprise when the person who checked me saw I had a musical instrument and told me I could just keep both items!<br><br>So now I do some free advertising for <a contents="Easy Jet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.easyjet.com" target="_blank">Easy Jet</a> because that is such a big relief to have a musician friendly policy!<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/43b203bbd00978980ea54dc796e2e8bf5268c0c5/medium/14073313-153707515071863-1163413031-n.jpg?1472829457" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>Sitting at a table with my espresso and typing these words, security announcements are being broadcasted in loop. With armed soldiers walking around. Paris in 2016, good job...<br><br>The plane was pretty late but since I could keep both items with me I jumped off the plane and got in a cab and arrived at the club 5 minutes before the downbeat. Good thing I practiced a little bit on the plane!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/e33083d0408647f1563a16bd4951fa68da40363a/medium/14128913-157718388004268-1714968098-n.jpg?1472982285" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><strong><span class="font_large">Saturday September 3</span></strong><br><br>I could take a walk in my neighborhood along the canal. I've noticed a few things about berliners:<br>- they like to drink beer at any time and anywhere (street, trains etc...)<br>- they like tattoos a lot<br>- it seems there is as many Americans living in Berlin as French living in NYC<br>- Berliners love biking<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/eadbbed7d2ab4723cad072fb42cada6afd143e61/medium/14128919-1043759192359544-1451230514-n.jpg?1472982623" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/8f8074412a0dce93522f7dccedbfec2e55f9864d/medium/14099615-193965994350239-1392931109-n.jpg?1472982632" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>At night we play at this club called <a contents="Zig Zag" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.zigzag-jazzclub.berlin/" target="_blank">Zig Zag</a>. The house was packed and the band played really well. The place is nice and the staff very friendly but the deal for the band is questionable...<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/b397282458f71ef98aea7c17d93170a4041a10fa/original/14099437-1758299281074792-1140575790-n.jpg?1473239456" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><strong><span class="font_large">Sunday September 3</span></strong><br><br>Früshtück in Berlin ;)<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/4f7a6510582dc8f04714e913c008b19ba727dd5c/medium/14145429-1525828837496040-3586876-n.jpg?1472982647" class="size_m justify_center border_" /> <br><br>Tonight we are playing a house concert, check out the <a contents="calendar" data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">calendar</a> for details.<br><br><strong><span class="font_large">Monday September 4</span></strong><br><br>I spent the day walking around, visited Tiegarten Park, the Reichstag, the Wall Memorial and finally arrived at the B Flat jazz club for our hit.<br>Here are some remains of the wall. When I think that an American candidate for the White House has the idea of building a wall as his main idea, I'm reminded that repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome means you're crazy or stupid (could be both too).<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/2c2326d9de3bdefafc6cce44943a4270cd6bdac1/medium/14099774-743510539129901-92478150-n.jpg?1473238594" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>We had a great time playing that night, the band was really hot, it's so great to play with the same band several nights in a row and get to really explore the music.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/cdc90be41bc2476c5e78eecf477475eab9eaabac/original/14294864-1763688793896898-712480655-n.jpg?1473239341" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br> Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/2702432016-06-02T09:27:54-04:002022-04-06T02:55:58-04:00Saxophone<div id="fb-root">Equipment is no more than 10% responsible of your sound. You are 90% of it, if not more. I will sound very similar if I take your set-up. It will be different of course, but the sound is produced by ME, not the gear. The gear is a detail. A very important one though. All that to say that you should not expect the gear to make you sound good but only to help you express it.</div><br>I have bought my <b>Keilwerth</b> saxophones in 2000: <b>Soprano SX 90, Alto Model 75 and Tenor Model 75</b>. For a moment I was briefly involved with another brand and I came to realize my Keilwerths were simply better for me. I remember when I tried my alto in Paris I thought I had found the alto of my life (still have to find the wife...). I have traveled the world with it and recorded all my albums. I am looking forward to play some more music for years with my Keilwerth saxophones.<br><br>Different brands and models do have different sounding qualities due to the tube conception (mainly the diameter of the bore) and the quality of the brass used. Also one should know that a saxophone will change a little bit over time and open up.<br><br>One sound characteristic of Keilwerth, I think, is a big and spread out sound. That doesn't mean it's better than a straight and focus sound. It depends on what you like and are looking for.<br><br>Mainly what I like in this brand is the quality of these instruments. Every components is of the highest quality and here are some points I would like to share:<ul> <li>The brass used: I do not know the details of the conception of the brass used by Keilwerth but all the professional repairmen I know told me it was very good. Mostly the keys are strong but a repairman can still work on them to adjust if necessary. A lot of cheaper brand will use a cheaper material and the keys will bend too easily.</li> <li>The felts are of very good quality, they don't get flattened easily like poor quality felts you can find on some brands.</li> <li>The pads: the leather used for the pads must be of the highest quality to resist time, dust, humidity etc...</li> <li>The corks: on your neck, if you have a poor quality cork, it will get worn out very fast and you will have to get it fixed. More annoying is having poor quality corks on the keys. You can change the height of the action of the keys with those corks, so you need them to be durable or it will get flat easily and that will result in leaks.</li> <li>The craftsmanship: I have had my saxophones for 12 years and everything works perfectly and smoothly. Those instruments will still be playing music long after I leave this earth. These instruments are handmade in Germany by talented and professional craftsmen. With some brands that are not so careful about the quality, you may have loose keys, corrosion, problems with screws etc...</li>
</ul><br><b>Specifics about the soprano:</b>
<ul> <li>The Keilwerth soprano is a real one piece: some brands make a one piece soprano with actually two pieces. If you look between the top keys and the cork, you may look or feel like a little bump in the metal. If you look inside the soprano you can actually see very clearly that the top part (what could be considered the neck) is a separate piece put inside the body and then soldered.</li> <li>The tone holes: the straight tone holes on my Keilwerth soprano are higher than some other brands. I do not know if that has any impact on the sound, but repairmen seem to agree that it is good in case of an accident if some work is need on a tone hole. If you look at the tone hole on your soprano and see that some are almost right on the level of the body, hope that you will never have to get some work done there!</li> <li>The left hand table keys are specific to the soprano: that means the table is a little smaller than for the alto and the tenor. Sounds obvious, right? Well, that is the kind of details you will notice on a lower quality brand, the left hand table is the same for soprano, alto and tenor, so you end up with a huge table on your soprano.</li>
</ul><br>Specifics about the alto and tenor Model 75:<ul> <li>The neck and the bell are in silver, which I feel tend to make the sound a little brighter than the black nickel model for instance. I have a large and powerful sound that I like.</li> <li>Rolled tone holes: Al Maniscalco from Keilwerth explained to me "they do not necessarily impact the actual timbre of the sound, they do effect the way sound projects from the horn. Imagine the rolled tone hole as a "miniature bell" at each hole - the curved edges help to project the sound a bit differently than a straight hole would". Repairmen have told me it also reduces the chances of leaks. Also it is softer on the pads than the straight tone holes that can damage sooner the pads with the sharp edge.</li>
</ul>I am going to update soon this blog with videos about the alto and the tenor.I appreciate vintage horns but I have never been a fanatic of vintage horns. The ergonomy is often bad and it can be difficult in the extreme parts of the register and the tuning can be questionnable. Keilwerth saxophones have a great ergonomy, great action and excellent tuning.<br><br><br>What do you think about this? Please share with me your thoughts, suggestions, questions etc... tell me what saxophones you are playing, what and why you like or dislike, things you have done to improve your horn etc... I want to know!!!Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/40961812016-03-19T14:20:00-04:002017-01-13T08:54:56-05:00Books on creativity<p>This is following up the blog with a selection of my favorite <a contents="documentaries on creativity" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://alexterriermusic.com/blogs/blog/6-great-documentaries-on-creativity" target="_blank">documentaries on creativity</a>. <br><br>I love reading books, I think it’s probably the single greatest thing that happened to humanity. Today we are overwhelmed by the amount of information and books are part of this ocean. It can be difficult to find the good ones among the not so good ones or the complete crappy ones. <br>Here is a list of suggested readings (I put the Amazon links to the English versions, I imagine you could find these books in different languages):<br><br><strong>Zen In The Art Of Archery (Eugen Herrigel)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375705090&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=4UMCWQ7PXUJRE4VB"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375705090&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0375705090" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /></p>
<p>Since its original publication in 1953, Zen in the Art of Archery has become one of the classic works on Eastern philosophy, the first book to delve deeply into the role of Zen in philosophy, development, and practice of Eastern martial arts. Wise, deeply personal, and frequently charming, it is the story of one man's penetration of the theory and practice of Zen Buddhism. </p>
<p>Eugen Herrigel, a German professor who taught philosophy in Tokyo, took up the study of archery as a step toward the understanding of Zen. Zen in the Art of Archery is the account of the six years he spent as the student of one of Japan's great Zen masters, and the process by which he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. As one of the first Westerners to delve deeply into Zen Buddhism, Herrigel was a key figure in the popularization of Eastern thought in the West, as well as being a captivating and illuminating writer.</p>
<p><br><strong>The War Of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936891026/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1936891026&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=KXVYLB3U7V4G7ZVL"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1936891026&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1936891026" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><br>A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. hat keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself. Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life.<br> </p><strong>How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: 7 Steps To Genius Every Day (Michael Gelb)</strong><br><a><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0440508274&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0440508274" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><br>Gelb discusses each of the 7 principles in relation to what da Vinci accomplished, thereby giving this book a built-in history lesson.<ol> <li>Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life. </li> <li>Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience. </li> <li>Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience. </li> <li>Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty. </li> <li>Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination ("whole-brain thinking"). </li> <li>Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise. </li> <li>Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; "systems thinking."</li>
</ol><br><br><strong>This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science Of A Human Obsession (Daniel Levitin)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452288525/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0452288525&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=PRBU2PZKSA3C2DEA"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0452288525&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0452288525" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><p>What can music teach us about the brain? What can the brain teach us about music? And what can both teach us about ourselves? </p>
<p> In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin (The World in Six Songs and The Organized Mind) explores the connection between music - its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it - and the human brain. Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, Levitin reveals: </p>
<ul> <li>How composers produce some of the most pleasurable effects of listening to music by exploiting the way our brains make sense of the world </li> <li>Why we are so emotionally attached to the music we listened to as teenagers, whether it was Fleetwood Mac, U2, or Dr. Dre </li> <li>That practice, rather than talent, is the driving force behind musical expertise </li> <li>How those insidious little jingles (called earworms) get stuck in our head </li>
</ul>
<p>Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language. A Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, This Is Your Brain on Music will attract readers of Oliver Sacks and David Byrne, as it is an unprecedented, eye-opening investigation into an obsession at the heart of human nature.</p><br><strong>The Mysticism Of Sound And Music (Hazrat Inayat Khan)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570622310/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1570622310&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=4GQLETFGYJEJ2STL"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1570622310&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1570622310" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><p>Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe—and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. The Indian Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927), the first teacher to bring the Islamic mystical tradition to the West, was an accomplished musician himself. His lucid exposition of music's divine nature has become a modern classic, beloved not only by those interested in Sufism but by musicians of all kinds.</p><br><strong>Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art (Stephen Nachmanovitch)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874776317/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0874776317&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=5I7M7G5FW5XX4CZY"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0874776317&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0874776317" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><p>Free Play is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about where art in the widest sense comes from. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms. </p>
<p>Free Play is directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity. Filled with unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors, it reveals how inspiration arises within us, how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured by certain unavoidable facts of life, and how finally it can be liberated - how we can be liberated - to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play, with our own authentic voice. </p>
<p>The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art, of recovering free play and awakening creativity, is about being true to ourselves and our visions. It brings us into direct, active contact with boundless creative energies that we may not even know we had.</p><br><strong>Stockhausen On Music</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714529184/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0714529184&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=MAPWARKUUCKPDYVF"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0714529184&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0714529184" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><p>If a genius is someone whose ideas survive all attempts at explanation', writes the well-known contemporary musicologist Robin Maconie, 'then by that definition Stockhausen is the nearest thing to Beethoven this century has produced. Reason? His music lasts. </p>
<p>With penetrating philosophical and spiritual insights Stockhausen describes, in this collection of lectures and interviews conducted in English, a whole new universe of sounds and events.</p><br><strong>Conversing With Cage (Richard Kostelanetz)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415937922/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415937922&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=PR5YSZTB746PMMCQ"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415937922&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0415937922" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><br><br>This book is the ideal introduction to John Cage's world, offering in the artist's own words his ideas about life and art.<br> <p><strong>School For Cool: The Academic Jazz Program And The Paradox Of Institutionalized Creativity (Eitan Wilf)</strong><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/022612519X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=022612519X&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=G42PIFFM7YPDAK34"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=022612519X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=aletermus-20" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /></a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=aletermus-20&l=as2&o=1&a=022612519X" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" width="1" /><br> </p>
<p>Jazz was born on the streets, grew up in the clubs, and will die—so some fear—at the university. Facing dwindling commercial demand and the gradual disappearance of venues, many aspiring jazz musicians today learn their craft, and find their careers, in one of the many academic programs that now offer jazz degrees. School for Cool is their story. Going inside the halls of two of the most prestigious jazz schools around—at Berklee College of Music in Boston and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York—Eitan Y. Wilf tackles a formidable question at the heart of jazz today: can creativity survive institutionalization? </p>
<p>Few art forms epitomize the anti-institutional image more than jazz, but it’s precisely at the academy where jazz is now flourishing. This shift has introduced numerous challenges and contradictions to the music’s practitioners. Solos are transcribed, technique is standardized, and the whole endeavor is plastered with the label “high art”—a far cry from its freewheeling days. Wilf shows how students, educators, and administrators have attempted to meet these challenges with an inventive spirit and a robust drive to preserve—and foster—what they consider to be jazz’s central attributes: its charisma and unexpectedness. He also highlights the unintended consequences of their efforts to do so. Ultimately, he argues, the gap between creative practice and institutionalized schooling, although real, is often the product of our efforts to close it.</p>
<p><br><br>I would love to hear your thoughts about these books. Don't hesitate to comment below, I'll be happy to discuss! <br>If you like these books, don't let your friends ignorant, share this page with them!</p>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/39694632016-01-03T10:34:42-05:002021-02-08T08:41:31-05:00Buffet Crampon Alto Sax Senzo<iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="gt38uut-RzQ" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/gt38uut-RzQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gt38uut-RzQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="300" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/39582542015-12-11T09:15:42-05:002018-05-26T17:19:24-04:006 Great Documentaries On Creativity<p>Here are 6 documentaries I find particularly interesting and watch often (click <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://alexterriermusic.com/blogs/blog/books-on-creativity" target="_blank">HERE</a> to check out the books).<br><br>Definitely one of my favorite videos on the subject: <strong>John Cleese On Creativity</strong></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Pb5oIIPO62g?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Do you want to stay connected? Sign up for my amazingly interesting newsletter!</span></em></p><script type="text/javascript" src="https://app.getresponse.com/view_webform_v2.js?u=S0t9S&webforms_id=x5SA"></script>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The creative Brain: How Insight Works</strong><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xy9ag1" width="480"></iframe></p>
<p>It is a feeling we all know - the moment when a light goes on in your head. In a sudden flash of inspiration, a new idea is born. Today, scientists are using some unusual techniques to try to work out how these moments of creativity - whether big, small or life-changing - come about. They have devised a series of puzzles and brainteasers to draw out our creative behaviour, while the very latest neuroimaging technology means researchers can actually peer inside our brains and witness the creative spark as it happens. What they are discovering could have the power to make every one of us more creative.</p>
<p><br><strong>Everything is a Remix</strong><br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/139094998" width="500"></iframe> </p>
<p>This documentary discusses how creativity requires influence and through examples in music, video, arts, science, we see how everything is a remix!</p>
<p><br><strong>Teaching To See</strong><br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/45232468?color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="500"></iframe><br><br><br><br><strong>PressPausePlay: </strong><br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="vimeo" data-video-id="34608191" data-video-thumb-url="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/235835339_1280.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/34608191" frameborder="0" height="300" width="480"></iframe></p>
<p>The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities. </p>
<p>But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out?</p>
<p><strong>RIP! A Remix Manigesto</strong><br><br><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.nfb.ca/film/rip_a_remix_manifesto/embed/player" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Filmmaker Brett Gaylor and mashup artist Girl Talk explore copyright and content creation in the digital age. In the process they dissect the media landscape of the 21st century and shatter the wall between users and producers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br>I would love to hear your thoughts about these videos! Don't hesitate to comment below, I'll be happy to discuss!<br>If you like these videos, don't let your friends ignorant, share this page with them!</p>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/38438582015-09-05T17:48:32-04:002015-09-05T18:01:04-04:00Interview Leïla Olivesi<iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="vimeo" data-video-id="138409930" data-video-thumb-url="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/533749957_960.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/138409930" frameborder="0" height="281" width="500"></iframe><br><br><br><br>The album <em><strong>Utopia</strong></em> is available on <a contents="Itunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/artist/leila-olivesi/id262024725?at=1l3vtoH&mt=1&app=music" target="_blank">Itunes</a>, <a contents="Amazon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=leila%20olivesi&linkCode=ur2&tag=aletermus-20&url=search-alias%3Daps&linkId=SA6EQV4ZY25Y3EXM" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br><br>Contact <strong>Leïla Olivesi </strong>on her <a contents="website" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.leilaolivesi.com/" target="_blank">website</a> with the receipt of your purchase of the album <em><strong>Utopia</strong></em> and tell her you watched this interview to receive <strong>a free bonus track!</strong><br><br>Visit <a contents="www.jazzvideolessons.net" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jazzvideolessons.net" target="_blank">www.jazzvideolessons.net</a> for the master classAlex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/37320212015-06-06T22:01:31-04:002017-01-13T08:54:55-05:00Roy Assaf, Second Row Behind The Painter<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>This was originally published on <a contents="www.jazzvideolessons.net" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jazzvideolessons.net" target="_blank">www.jazzvideolessons.net</a></em><br> </div><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205816598%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-09JAN&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br> <p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">I'm really happy to share with you the very first interview for Jazz Video Lessons! I'm glad that my good friend Roy Assaf agreed to be my guinea pig, we did run into some technical difficulties: it was intended to be a video interview but that didn't quite work... my voice is very low and I tried to improve that but it's not perfect so I apologize. But the content is great. Roy is a great musician from Israel, I met him in Berklee and he's been since leading a successful career based in New York. He is sharing some of his experiences with the Dizzy All Stars, some advices to young players, to musicians who want to come to NYC, we will talk of course about his album Second Row Behind The Painter and how he put the band together and wrote the music, and finally he will answer some of the questions we received from JVL students. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation, feel free to share ideas or questions in the comment section below!</p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The recording <em><strong>Second Row Behind The Painter</strong></em> is the debut album from the <strong>Roy Assaf Trio</strong>. The album marks the second recording as bandleader by internationally renowned pianist/composer Roy Assaf. The trio includes <strong>Raviv Markovitz</strong> on bass and <strong>Jake Goldbas</strong> on drums. Roy Assaf has performed and toured with jazz greats including the <strong>Dizzy Gillespie All Stars, the Mingus Big Band, the Slide Hampton Sextet and the David Sanborn Group</strong>.</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><em>Second Row Behind The Painter</em> showcases the unique artistic vision of the trio as they strive to create music for both jazz aficionados and audiences yet to discover jazz. The album's title is derived from one of Roy's childhood memories in Israel of an older blind man who often sat in front of him during Yom Kippur services. The magical aura that surrounded this man left a vivid impression and spoke to his profound belief in the importance of learning from older, experienced people in continuing to grow musically. <em>Second Row Behind The Painter</em> is available on <a data-mce-href="http://astore.amazon.com/albumsjvl-20/detail/B00JWX8CG0" href="http://astore.amazon.com/albumsjvl-20/detail/B00JWX8CG0" target="_blank"><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Amazon</span></a> and <a data-mce-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/second-row-behind-the-painter/id926043077?uo=4&at=1l3vtoH" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/second-row-behind-the-painter/id926043077?uo=4&at=1l3vtoH" target="_blank"><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">iTunes</span></a>.</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><em>Second Row Behind The Painter</em> is an album that speaks to people of all ages and cultures. Recurring melodies combined with danceable rhythms invite listeners to accompany the trio on a musical journey. The band's vision of creating a unified voice is evident throughout the album. Assaf's original compositions explore many of his artistic and personal passions: <strong>Babel</strong> is inspired by the 2006 film, <strong>Budva</strong>, is a love letter to the coastal town in Montenegro, and <strong>Con Grew</strong> is dedicated to the late <strong>Mulgrew Miller</strong>. In addition to Roy's original pieces, several inventive arrangements are seamlessly integrated into the group's larger vision, including the Israeli song <strong>Kvar Acharei Chatzot</strong>, and the late French pianist <strong>Michel Petrucciani</strong>'s piece<strong> It's a Dance</strong>.</span><br><br> </p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For more info about Roy Assaf, visit his website</span><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><a data-mce-href="http://www.royassaf.com/" href="http://www.royassaf.com/" target="_blank"> http://www.royassaf.com/</a> </span><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">and </span><a contents="http://www.cplnr.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.cplnr.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cplnr.com</a> for career planning, private lessons, group sound and much more.<br><br><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Roy Assaf also appears on my album <strong>Roundtrip</strong>. Check out his burning solos on the title track, his swing on <em>Overnight Flight</em> and his tasteful touch on <em>Song For Keli</em>.</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><a data-mce-href="http://alexterriermusic.com/player-roundtrip" href="http://alexterriermusic.com/player-roundtrip"><img src="//jazzvideolessons.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Cover-Roundtrip-300x266.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Cover Roundtrip" height="266" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></a></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">What do you think about this conversation? Feel free to share in the comment section below your thoughts and let's keep the conversation going!</p>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/37320202015-06-06T21:53:22-04:002017-01-13T08:54:55-05:00Herbie Hancock, Possibilities<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I just finished Herbie Hancock's memoir, a must read to anyone remotely interested in Jazz. Easy to read and really interesting, I learned so much about Herbie. You can find the book on <a data-mce-href="http://amzn.to/1PpYzXO%20" href="http://amzn.to/1PpYzXO%20" target="_blank"><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Amazon</span></a>.</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670014710/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0670014710&link_code=as3&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=CRAYO2NI7AIDU24Z" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670014710/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0670014710&link_code=as3&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=CRAYO2NI7AIDU24Z"><img src="//jazzvideolessons.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/herbie-hancock-possibilities.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="herbie hancock possibilities" height="346" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="230" /></a></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I would like to share some some extracts, perhaps some will start a conversation:</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><em><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"We all have a natural human tendency to take the safe route - to do the thing we know will work - rather than taking a chance. But that's the antithesis of jazz, which is all about being in the present. Jazz is about being in the moment, at every moment. It's about trusting yourself to respond on the fly. If you can allow yourself to do that, you never stop exploring, you never stop learning, in music or in life"</span></em></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Have you taken the safe route at some point, or the unsafe one? What do you do when you have to make a choice?</span></strong></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><em><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"I had been playing classical music since I was seven, so I was pretty good at reading music, but Don could do something on my instrument that I couldn't. He was creating the music himself, in the moment, rather than reading it off a page. [...] "Man, how did you learn to play like that?" I asked him." [...] Don laughed and said, "Well, if you like what I did, the first thing you need to do is get yourself some George Shearing records." He told me to listen to how Shearing played and then try to imitate the parts I liked."</span></em></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>How was the first time you heard jazz music? How did you feel?</strong> I remember I was in total amazement when I saw a big band for the first time, it was a shock, I couldn't move and I stayed right in front of the saxophone section for the all concert, I think I was 6 or 7.</span></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><em><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"At every moment onstage players are making choices, and each choice affects every other member of the group. So each player has to prepared to change directions at any given moment."</span></em></p>
<p data-mce-style="text-align: justify;" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">That's a quality of jazz music I often talk about. When you improvise, you have to react to what's going on, and you always have multiple choices, actually it's really infinite, but the key is to be able to make a choice and go with it! That's what practicing is about. Only my two cents. What do you think?</span></strong></p>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/36432012015-04-06T09:33:27-04:002020-01-29T19:23:09-05:00European Tour With Rob Duguay<div style="text-align: justify;">It is one thing to study music and another to live the musician's life. Next week I will start a month-long tour with my good friend the bassist Rob Duguay. I hope that we will still be friends after spending a month together almost 24/7!<br><br>I will start one day earlier with a masterclass at the music conservatory of Cergy Pontoise and a concert that night with the students. On Tuesday 14 we will be playing at the Duc Des Lombards in Paris with drummer Donald Kontomanou.<br><br>For a more accurate list of the concerts, visit the <a contents="calendar page" data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">calendar page</a>. If you are in the area please come say hi, and if you are interested in booking us for a concert or private event, it might still be possible so just <a contents="contact" data-link-label="Contact" data-link-type="page" href="/contact" target="_blank">contact</a> me!<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> </div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/31ef8d4f41066477d3c5eb302a2bed819812145f/medium/10968530-787514608003777-5370972617699168116-n.jpg?1428328859" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption"> So we are Sunday April 12 and I am flying to Paris... in Business class (just making clear for talent buyers my traveling requirements). Stretching my legs and drinking champagne in preparation for take off. <img class='size_m justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/85fc1204154b39cffd5330c30f6870ca477e5774/medium/img-3351.jpg?1429365968' style='text-align: justify;'> <img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/1b54d7065d9c60cd5e5be6a9dbbd7617f5b7be92/original/img-3357.jpg?1429365860' style='text-align: justify;'>Still needed to take a nap at the airport before driving to the conservatory for the class<br><br>We landed Monday morning. I had breakfast and took a shower at the airport before driving to Cergy Pontoise to meet the students and work with them during the afternoon.<br><br>Guillaume Perez is the saxophone teacher at the conservatory of Cergy. I met him when we were studying at the Nada and Lili Boulanger Conservatory in Paris some 15 years ago. It was so nice to reconnect with him and see the great work he is doing with the students.<br><br>We worked all afternoon on some of my reharmonizations of standards, which is something I do a lot. Sometimes I just keep the reharmonzation as it is, and sometimes I transform it in an original composition. Guillaume had selected a reharmonization of the standard <strong>On Green Dolphin St</strong> I wrote for my first album <a contents='Stop Requested' data-link-label='Player Stop Requested' data-link-type='page' href='/player-stop-requested' target='_blank'>Stop Requested</a>, my composition <strong>Overnight Flight</strong> (a reharmonization of Night And Day) recorded on the album <a contents='Roundtrip' data-link-label='Player Roundtrip' data-link-type='page' href='/player-roundtrip' target='_blank'>Roundtrip</a>, my composition <strong>Alligator Blues</strong><span style='text-align: justify;'> (based on Gingerbread Boy) recorded on <a contents='my album with Kenny Barron' data-link-label='Alex Terrier NYQ Featuring Kenny Barron' data-link-type='page' href='/alex-terrier-nyq-featuring-kenny-barron' target='_blank'>my album with Kenny Barron</a> </span>and a reharmonization of the song <strong>Just You Just Me</strong> that I haven't recorded yet but I did a lesson about this song on my educational <a contents='website' data-link-label='' data-link-type='' href='http://jazzvideolessons.net/portfolio-items/just-you-just-me-part-1/' target='_blank'>website</a>. <br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/3c8a40dd79b5fe3dde9a9796fe7c3ac8a9f5bd63/original/11159985-926737624057165-4855931191131336572-n.jpg?1429367634' style='text-align: justify;'><br>After spending the afternoon rehearsing, we all went to the theater to soundcheck for the concert. At the end of the soundcheck I put my saxophone on my flightcase but it slided and fell, bending 2 keys. The low Eb couldn't open and the low C couldn't close. I was lucky a student had an extra saxophone I could use for the concert!<br> <img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/c8a3e7a8464898b5b56e8e68305ebb6405868143/original/11140234-677269489067098-6749636154264967697-n.jpg?1429367966'>After the concert I rode the train to Paris and had a nice chat with one of the student, André, who was on the train with me.<br><br>The next morning at 10am I had a rehearsal with pianist Leila Olivesi. She recently recorded a new album and we will play at the Duc Des Lombards on May 8th and 9th. Despite a saxophone that was not working properly, I managed to do the rehearsal, and it's always nice to play with Leila and her band (guitarist Manu Codjia, bassist Yoni Zelnik and drummer Donald Kontomanou).<img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/48e45cf85fc721632479daebc31631c3e97986a5/medium/10321615-821805927869256-1981905850179523927-o.jpg?1429368376' style='text-align: justify;'>Her album Utopia is released on the label Jazz & People and you can purchase it on <a contents='Amazon' data-link-label='' data-link-type='' href='http://amzn.to/1FiUGiE' target='_blank'>Amazon</a> and <a contents='Itunes' data-link-label='' data-link-type='' href='https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/utopia/id967943090?ign-mpt=uo%3D6' target='_blank'>Itunes</a>.Then I went to the Duc Des Lombards to have a quick rehearsal with Rob Duguay and drummer Donald Kontomanou. We had a really great night and I want to thank the staff at the Duc and especially Lois Ognar who takes great care of the musicians. Also shout out to Buffet Group and Aurelien Amzallag for bringing two brand new Keilwerth saxophones directly to the club so I could choose one to play the concert! On top of making great instruments, they are amazing people, thank you!<img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/2e3acdb83cd89ef8f9ff06604025d7cd7773edfc/original/fullsizerender.jpg?1429368927' style='text-align: justify;'><br><br>On Wednesday I went to the Buffet Group factory in Mantes La Ville to bring back the saxophones and to get my horn fixed. Again, thank you for the big help. Their technician Anthony did a great job and fixed my saxophone in the afternoon so I could keep on my tour with my own horn. Then my good friend Philippe Leconte guided us through the factory for a little tour. It is really incredible the number of operations necessary to make an instrument and it was inspiring to see the passion and the attention to the details the workers have.<br><br><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/786a9df46a2e264538dafc6ee08fc73b52c20956/medium/img-3359.jpg?1429365870'> <img class='size_m justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/54bcffbffceb557878425903ad71a8720c339f42/medium/img-3360.jpg?1429369512' style='text-align: justify;'><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/1ec00c822400fdbc1721b327ef3f573a6ec11742/original/img-3363.jpg?1429369879'><br>Buffet Crampon bass saxophone from 1929<br><br>After that I drove back to Paris to play with Rob and drummer Jean-Pascal Molina. Jean-Pascal is not only a great friend and drummer, he owns a very nice restaurant called La Timbale. Always a pleasure to play there with J-P (and eat too!). We had many friends who stopped by and jammed with us so we had a lot of fun that night!<br><br>The following night, we played with J-P again but at his brother's restaurant, Le Débonnaire. Same idea: nice place, good food, good friends, good music, late night!<img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/8604cad0a598ece2f313a652b486221f7b558f7f/medium/img-3366.jpg?1429369937' style='text-align: justify;'><br><br>Firday was off, but I did go out to see my friend saxophonist Melissa Aldana who played at the Duc Des Lombards. Always fun to meet friends and neighbors from New York somewhere else in the world!<br><br>Saturday is off too so I'm catching up with emails, website etc... Tomorrow morning I'm going to London for 2 days. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it is right now in Paris...<br><br><br><br> I took the Eurostar at 11am and it is quite convenient I must say to be able to ride a train from the center of Paris to the center of London in about 2 hours. They must know how convenient it is because the ticket price is ridiculously expensive. Quite incredible to be on a train under the water, couldn't see any fish though!<br><br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/5fc5601c6842da35f0769b529c3f5ed1b43d7bf8/medium/img-1219.jpg?1430060322'><br>Nice ceiling at the London St Pancras train station<br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/5a010bf69fee21b53a51f9829b03d3583d972f6d/medium/img-1216.jpg?1430060280'><br><br>The weather was actually pretty nice and it was still early so I decided to walk to the venue, which was about a 30 minute walk from the train station. It is not useless in London to write on the floor where to look when crossing the street! I met Rob at the venue, Tredwell's. The venue was really nice and the staff super friendly, and the food really good, so Rob and I had a really nice time there. After the gig we went to a jam session in a club I forgot the name. There were some really great players there and I rode the bus back home with my friends Thomas and Sarah who live in a huge loft in a neighborhood called Seven Sisters. <br><br><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/769d0c5aace7e2fd9c8a775eb690d0c5d743d1c4/medium/photo-2.jpg?1430061512'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/a28833beea6307bdf4ca5563aad7c11f9ed479ad/medium/img-1217.jpg?1430060356'><img class='size_m justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/bedbbcdb273e1c0950ae754b43c58442f8720c01/medium/img-1212.jpg?1430061401'><br>The next day I spent the day with Thomas and Sarah. We walked along the river and had some fish and chips in a restaurant by the river that opened in 1616! Rob joined us and suggested we'd rent some bicyles to ride around London. The weather was really gorgeous so it was a good idea. We went to the Big Ben of course and then to a park where we spent the rest of the afternoon.<br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/2e47740665862f25c97b365f36b48d72d67c0130/medium/photo-5.jpg?1430062274'><br><br>That night we played at the famous jazz club the Ronnie Scott's. They have two rooms, the main stage on the ground floor and another stage on the second floor. We played the main stage with drummer Enzo Zirilli and pianist Ross Stanley, two excellent musicians. I wasn't feeling very well that night, having quite a bad headache but still I enjoyed the performance and did my best to play the challenging compositions of Rob!<br><br><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/bdc65263c72f68329afbcc175edc4685e385397f/medium/photo-2.jpg?1430063021'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/199065c44a53200b8cb72e22961892bc97220974/medium/photo-1.jpg?1430063012'><br><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/cef92351c0d7fa6864133dea5796687e2ee30baa/medium/photo-5.jpg?1430062877'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/e3d8ae5aa5c5e8ba2be91b72cac531b89744e5ba/medium/photo-4.jpg?1430063759'><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/78692541a14f509ac3c1576122aa7101a670d3c2/medium/photo-3.jpg?1430062858'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/d29e4c7c61c0c0099ab26b15844bd302d6398f97/medium/photo-2.jpg?1430062851'><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/968c1ffd364cfa47083d118dc2ec05b19f190fb3/original/photo-1.jpg?1430062841'><br>Because I had a bad headache (is there such a thing as a good headache?) I went back home pretty soon after our hit. We had to wake up fairly early the next morning to get our plane to go to Milano. <br><br><br>Tuesday April 22nd, it's time for us to leave London and go to Milan. We decided to book our flight with Ryanair because it's super cheap. One reason why they are the cheapest is they always use the least convenient airport. Differently put, their airport is far! But hey, we're on tour so we're trying to save a few bucks whenever it's possible! So we wanted to go to the airport by bus, but when we arrived at the bus station we realized the traffic was so bad we'd never make it in time so we had to change plan. We decided to go in the tube and hop on a train to the airport. More expensive than the bus but faster. We finally made it to the airport and got on our plane. Low cost airlines do have cheap tickets, but then you have to pay for everything. Make sure you print your boarding pass or you will have to pay to have it printed at the airport! Now, here is a little tip: have it on your cell phone or tablet, go through security and have it printed for free at the gate. You're welcome.<br><br>For a short flight like this, it's really fine to fly a low cost airlines, but the Ryanair cabins are really awful. Bright yellow and blue... Of course you have to pay for everything on board so make sure you got some food and water.<br><br>We arrived in Milan and met Erica. She is an italian artist and we will be playing at the gallery where she has her art exhibition. We had dinner in a great little restaurant and talked about music and art all night.<img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/2d79bfcc482d376dfd336a698750dbce269ed5e0/medium/photo-1.jpg?1430068526'><br><br>The next day Erica, Rob and I walked around the city and then Rob and I played at the gallery that night. All my Italian friends talked pretty badly about Milan, but I got to say I found it to be a beautiful city and I enjoyed very much the people I met.<br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/b268c8ce8f288c313e7d104dff69de18064eb004/original/photo-3.jpg?1430068513'><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/304bf4cfb39a2ed2a5617710960382a8c0ab8e8e/original/photo-2.jpg?1430068398'><br><img class='size_m justify_left' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/9c41bed7c1fb3402d747036fecd062b3127047b6/medium/photo-1.jpg?1430069098'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/ad3f255d6e1969e7f3ef84e31cb48a55380b5a7e/medium/photo-3.jpg?1430069073'><br><br>The next night we went to listen to the quartet of guitarist Sandro Gibellini and clarinetist Alfredo Ferrario with bassist Roberto Piccolo and drummer Massimo Caracca in a club called Baretto. Alfredo has a beautiful sound on the clarinet, great swing and musical ideas. Sandro was also very impressive. They invited Rob and I to play with them and that was yet another late night hang.<br><br>I also had the pleasure to meet saxophonist Iwan Roth. He is a legendary classical musician and we have been talking a lot about music by email and Skype, so it was really great to meet him in person. On this photo we are in front of La Scala where he has played many times. It was very inspiring to talk with him, he has such a young spirit, thank you Iwan!<br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/197403cce05b587ec7dcf82076a7aa6813e9b3a7/medium/photo-5.jpg?1430069081'><br><br>Time to go back to Paris. I went to see my friend saxophonist Jon Boutellier playing. He has such a beautiful sound on the tenor! I really love his playing and his quartet was really burning that night (pianist Fred Nardin, bassist Geraud Portal and drummer Romain Sarron). He was kind enough to invite me play some tunes with them.<br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/3bde303281d7c69d91a6b128430c8b4dfb485889/original/photo-1.jpg?1430070439'><br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/50b479d0c0f4442d22e90ae4b967544ecea10af3/medium/photo-2.jpg?1430070447'><br>We have a few days off until flying to helsinki on Tuesday. Talk to you then!<br>I flew on Wednesday May 29th from Paris to Helsinki where I met Rob and Timo Hirvonen who runs Koko Jazz Club. We stayed the first night at Timo's house and the next day we woke up, played some music the three of us, went to the sauna and then drove to our hotel in Helsinki. We had a blast playing at Koko, I wish all the club owners could learn from Timo Hirvonen and Anna Veijalainen how to run a club and make musicians feel good. I am always amazed to see how in the jazz business, the club owners seem most of the time to make a point to be extremely rude to the musicians. They don't seem to realize that this does have a huge negative impact on their own business. Well, that is not the case with Koko jazz club in Helsinki. Thank you so much Timo and Anna for your hospitality and professionalism, we really had a wonderful time in Helsinki.<br><br><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/ef5e98c344422f682d678c7b9ca2e6d93ed62f94/medium/helsinki.jpg?1431554281'><br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/39341e253fc36b8808a4fa884bc652e0a286e835/original/rob-duguay-alex-terrier-koko.jpg?1431554341'><br>From Helsinki we took a boat to Tallinn in Estonia where we played in a club called Philly Joe's. The old part of the city is wonderful, with most of it being like it was centuries ago. We spent two days in Tallinn and then rode the bus to Riga in Latvia. There we gave a class at <b font-size:='' line-height:='' lucida='' style='color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: '>Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. </b>That same night we played at Cafe Dali, a very nice room packed for the occasion. <br>The following day we gave a concert and played with some students in the store Mūzikas Centrs with the support of Keilwerth and Buffet Group.<br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/404e14d6719ad2e4fb9cf754a8481a509fffb4c5/original/class-riga.jpg?1431555482'><br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/88f04c3b70ba5843950c7a6606d926e7dd1715b0/original/class-riga-2.jpg?1431555607'><br>Riga was our last leg of the tour with Rob. He went back to Finland for some concerts and I flew to Paris to play two nights with Leila Olivesi at the Duc Des Lombards. Congratulations to Leila, she made a wonderful album and packed the club for 4 concerts which is not small feature. <br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/0419c73b652852b09bb25c0edac0279d6f5c3742/original/leila-duc.jpg?1431555925'><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/f1c59553f4ab12da1b9ecee2992f4cd9ea943690/original/leila-olivesi-duc-des-lombards.jpg?1431555927'><br>After our show my friend Jon Boutellier played with his quartet with another good friend of mine, pianist Franck Amsallem. It was great to hear them, the band was really burning, and again I had the pleasure to sit in and play.<br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/31f787a697a1cca42300d844ec98feda4e61c9b9/original/alex-terrier-jon-boutellier.jpg?1431556404'><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/4390357323ef2316b4f08658595029ed023eb65b/original/alex-terrier-franck-amsallem.jpg?1431556402'><br>Sunday was off so I went to the theater and I flew back to New York on Monday, in Business class on the Boeing 777 :)<br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/4f328b22339302ee2a31c55905f52faa7cc7d52e/original/business-777.jpg?1431556579'></p></div>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/35773052015-03-05T13:54:24-05:002017-01-13T08:54:55-05:00Miami 2014It's a pleasure to come back to Miami and play with some old friends. I was home for only 2 days since my last trip but the weather was so bad in New York that it was not so hard to get up at 5am for my 8am flight.<br> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/56a7c8bc01c95be90b7ab6c2eeedfc6ba689ead3/medium/image.jpg?1425574313" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">The day before I left<br><br> Oh yes when it snows it's nice and fun, but when it melts it's not so fun anymore... And when it rains on top of that, it's time to go south!<br><br><img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/a20caa27d9105388db378219fd193ba60d82a128/original/img-3252.jpg?1425576157'><br> On my way to the airport, 6am, raining in NYC, sunny in Miami :)<br>I travel quite a bit and I have to say I really like Delta Airlines. Nowadays it can be really annoying and exhausting to go through an airport experience, so when you have to do that at least once a month (many of my friends travel much more than I do) I appreciate an airline that seems to be really trying to help the traveler. Here is a little tip: whatever airlines is the most convenient for you, try to stick to it and get in their frequent flyer program. It really works, at least with Delta I can testify! I always pay a coach economy seat, but because I'm a Delta Elite Member (they always try to flatter your ego with chosen terms...) I am automatically on the upgrade list and on domestic flights I think about 50% of the time I get to fly First Class for the price of the Economy. Frankly, that does make a difference after a 3-hour night! Spending 3.5 hours on a plane is easier in a large seat with a nice breakfast, priority boarding, free champagne (I didn't have champagne for breakfast that time, but I sometimes do!).<br><br>Oh, one more tip for travelers: I use seatguru.com to choose my seats, you can see which ones are the best on every airplanes, so even if I'm not upgraded, at least I can choose (most of the time) the best available seats in coach. On that flight I made sure to get an exit row seat (be careful if you are just in front of the exit the seat does not recline), so that's pretty good because I have plenty of leg room. But hey, First class is just better, first row and window seat baby, that's as good as it can get!<img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/db7be197d38fa204178d7d6e99f17b5a1482cf0c/medium/img-0170.jpg?1425576669'></p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/74616501cd48550be5defcb1e0044570aaec05ec/original/img-3257.jpg?1425577131" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">Here I am with my friend Aldo Salvent</p></div>
<br>Saxophonist Aldo Salvent released his first album and it's a great record! You can find it <a contents="on this page" data-link-label="Amazon Store" data-link-type="page" href="/amazon-store" target="_blank">on this page</a> in the album category. He is finishing his Masters Degree at Florida International University where he is studying with the great saxophonist Gary Campbell, and we will play his graduation recital on Thursday. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/4fc8c6cb0a164f656bb735ad765f21ecea843f37/original/1b67072d9025dcbef5e83e17af8c3d33.jpg?1425577446" class="size_l justify_center border_" />After a quick lunch we go straight to rehearsal. Aldo has some really nice compositions that are challenging and fun to play on. In this photo you can see Hal Roland on piano, Jose Albizu on bass and Jerry Purpose Jerome on drums. <br><br>After the two-hour rehearsal, Aldo had a class so I took a room and practice for another two hours. I'm having a challenge with my students, we just started practicing some exercises I got from saxophonist Kirk Whalum, chek it out http://jazzvideolessons.net/portfolio-items/kirk-whalum/ <br><br>Around 6pm we left for our concert at The Fish House, a funky little room that sounded surprisingly good and the audience was really listening and receptive so it was nice to play there. I was with saxophonist David Leon, drummer Rodolfo Zuniga and bassist Jose Albizu. I felt a bit old because Jose is 19 years old and really playing his ass off, and David Leon is only 21 although his playing is not only impressive but has a maturity that is actually quite rare even in older players. Even his attitude was surprisingly mature, he leads this concert series in this place with great confidence, yet he makes everyone feel welcome (far from being a usual thing in the music world...). And he is a beast on the saxophone, just wow!!! You should really check him out. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/dc1daeff20d45cca6b3e08d7db4e0434c0b848dc/medium/img-3263.jpg?1425577094" class="size_m justify_left border_" /> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/7a95fefe30cdff8ce53085ba4fa5921b5eb7e251/medium/img-3262.jpg?1425577093" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/6d88d04a088d87ce65c4ff9ba01bf95412c5dbf7/medium/img-3260.jpg?1425577117" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">The room had a New Orleans vibe!</p></div>Ok so after our set there was a jam session, so local musicians come and play and hang out. I was already blown away by David Leon, but now comes in this 12-year old kid, a student of David, and boy he can play! I mean I think he is going to be like a Chris Potter. I didn't have half of his improvising skills and confidence at his age. Check out this video, Rodolfo is not making it any easier, he is playing just like with any other musician, and the kid is hanging there! His sound is so good and he plays really musical which shows he has an understanding of music rare for his age. He even already has a bit of an attitude, like the "real" jazz musicians of New York. Let's hope he doesn't forget the importance of humility, which is a great part of Music.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="vimeo" data-video-id="121388234" data-video-thumb-url="http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/509624654_1280.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/121388234" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320"></iframe><br><br>Today I'm doing emails, updating my website etc... We'll go to Florida International University later this afternoon for Aldo's recital at 7pm. Then at 10pn we'll be playing at Lilt Lounge, check out the calendar http://alexterriermusic.com/shows for the details, if you're in the area come and say hi.<br><br><br><br>We are now Friday morning, I had just a few hours of sleep so I'm trying to recollect what we did yesterday while drinking my coffee. We played Aldo's recital at Florida International University. It was a very special moment for him, the end of a 2-year voyage studying at FIU. Aldo is from Cuba, so, to use his own words "I'm used to eat shit", excuse his French. For those who don't get it, he has not always had it easy. He left Cuba many years ago to live in Costa Rica where I met him. I call him the Godfather because he is very proactive and get things done. When he arrived in Miami 2 years ago knowing no one, starting from zero again, it was rough. I knew it would take him just a few months for him to get known on the local scene and get some gigs. <br>Aldo is a very genuine person and he was quite emotional at his recital. He thanked very sincerely his friends and teachers, and he made us laugh without intending to. He wrote a piece for his girlfriend who lives in Costa Rica, so he mentioned he lived there, and then says "I have a girlfriend there.... too", but with the pause everybody understand he said he has two girlfriends. He called me his "white brother", which is one way to put it. After presenting his teachers, who are in their 70's, he announced the tune "Santa Amalia" which is "a club of really old people in Cuba, like 60 years old", that made his teachers feel very good!<br><br>We had a great time playing his music, which is by the way on his first album! Support him and buy it! Just click on the photo below:<br><a contents="" data-link-label="Amazon Store" data-link-type="page" href="/amazon-store" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/c783eb42b308f8f0c2d2a15e2fc0628df21d9cfe/small/captura-de-pantalla-2015-03-05-a-las-15-59-42.png?1425589219" class="size_s justify_center border_" /></a><br><br>After his recital we rushed to our show in downtown Miami, Lilt Lounge. Pretty neat place and the acoustic was actually really good. We could play without microphone which is what I prefer. They were playing some good jazz and a live concert of Eric Dolphy on the TV screen. Considering that most of the time all you can see on TV is football, that was really cool!<div class="captioned justify_left"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/3f00f64f3b9b3e7a7cb2dc15cd281737b8cef07e/medium/11018432-1543631815889806-1245524204-n.jpg?1425654403" class="size_orig justify_left border_" /><p class="caption">Eric Dolphy</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/526ce502fb3dec4c4fd02d2688efc0970f19af14/medium/img-3270.jpg?1425654428" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption"> My talking mic, pretty cool!</p></div>
<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/8478610377ebf175b7ba23e5436d0882e2730dcb/original/img-3285.jpg?1425654341" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">Alex Terrier, Jose Albizu, Rodrigo Zuniga</p></div>
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<br>That was a really nice hang, right by the water, perfect weather (hello new yorkers!!!). We got back home around 3:30am and woke up at 8am. Now I give a class at FIU at noon, then I will play for a student's recital again at 2:30pm, rehearsal at 7pm and show at 10pm at Le Chat Noir. See you there!<br><br>I always feel like a tightrope walker when giving a clinic to young advanced musicians at a college level. Who am I to give then any kind of advice anyway? Well this was actually pretty fun to talk with the FIU students today, thank you guys for acting like I was saying something interesting, I appreciate the kind and classy gesture!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/5f6fc4bc9784bc700184c93d97e1248d518bef06/medium/11025668-904120089652252-7227387289134649276-n.jpg?1425688811" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">With FIU teachers Mike Orta on piano, Jamie Ousley on bass and Rodolfo Zuniga on drums.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br> <br>Our show at Le Chat Noir was great. First the management of the club was super nice with us. It is rare enough to be noted. I am always surprised how the relationship between club owners and musicians is most of the time very poor. I do believe that the all Jazz business would do much better if their two principal actors were having a more positive business relationship, but that's another topic. So the guys at Le Chat Noir are super nice and warm, the place in itself is pretty cool. There is a restaurant on the first floor and the club in the basement. This is actually a pretty big room and the audience was really receptive. I was pleased to see some of the students from FIU in the audience.<br>Tonight we're playing at the Globe. Check out the calendar for details! <br><br>I am now back home and yesterday was a looooong day! So let me go back to Saturday night where we played at the Globe in Miami. It was fun to play with the band but I can't say it was fun to play next a room with a private party blasting some noise (some people call that music?) with only a plain door to separate both rooms. <br><br>We got back home around 2am, just when the time changed to 3am, great! So we woke up at 5:30am to go to the airport and catch my plane at 7:30am. It's a good thingI was upgraded again in 1st class so I could get a breakfast onboard and sleep a little bit.<br>We couldn't land when we arrived in NYC because of traffic on the runway so we had to circle around for 30 minutes. Now I got to rush to the rehearsal in Chelsea with Marianne Solivan Big Band. I'm really happy she asked me to play, she is one of my favorite Jazz singers and her band is killing! One rehearsal and to the gig at Smalls where we played 2 sets.<img class='size_l justify_center' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/b6738e8f1224f90c59d1dc76c03c8456755c57d7/original/marianne-big-band-2.jpg?1425926841' style='text-align: justify;'><br>Marianne Solivan: vocal<br>Todd Bashore: Alto, arranger<br>Alex Terrier: Alto (I wrote one arrangement but it's nothing near to what Todd and David write, so hopefully I'll do better on the next one!)<br>Stacy Dillard: Tenor<br>Carl Maraghi: Baritone<br>David Gibson: Trombone and arrangement<br>Peter Nelson: Trombone<br>Andy Gravish: Trumpet<br>Mike Sailors: Trumpet and arrangement<br>John Chin: Piano<br>Neal Caine: Bass<br>Chris Smith: Drums<br><br>Marianne Solivan released a new album and you should get it!<a contents='' data-link-label='' data-link-type='url' href='http://alexterriermusic.com/blogs/blog/marianne-solivan-spark-2014' target='_blank'><img class='justify_center size_m' src='//s3.amazonaws.com/content.sitezoogle.com/u/58129/f07d074c37a127fd59c430aa9333b08c1a373561/medium/spark-cover.jpg?1417981140'></a>I finally got home around midnight to find out there had been some water damage coming from the roof. So that coming week doesn't look like it's going be as fun as the previous one!</p></div>
</div>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/33709752014-12-07T15:55:03-05:002017-01-13T08:54:54-05:00Marianne Solivan, Spark, 2014<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Note: this was first published on http://www.jazzactu.tv/</em></div><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="P292E74A68g" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/P292E74A68g/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P292E74A68g?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="400" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br>Available on <strong><a contents="Amazon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O69UOFW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00O69UOFW&linkCode=as2&tag=aletermus-20&linkId=A7MQPLYXHJ344MRH" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0000FF;">Amazon</span></a></strong><br>Available on <strong><a contents="Itunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/spark/id925548504?uo=4&at=1l3vtoH" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0000FF;">Itunes</span></a><span style="color:#0000FF;"> </span></strong><br><br>Maranne Solivan: voice<br>Xavier Davis: piano<br>Matthew Parrish: bass<br>Gregory Hutchinson: drums<br><br><br>Le nouvel album <em>Spark</em> de la chanteuse <strong>Marianne Solivan</strong> est une réussite comme elle nous y avez déjà habitué avec ses 3 précédents opus. Qu'il est rare aujourd'hui de trouver une chanteuse de "jazz" qui swingue et qui connaisse et comprenne cette musique et son histoire. Qu'il est bon d'écouter Marianne Solivan qui est une digne héritière de Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter ou Carmen McCrae. <br><br>Le titre éponyme qui ouvre l'album est une composition de Marianne qui signe également les paroles. Elle s'est entouré d'un des bassistes les plus solides de la scène new yorkaise, <strong>Matthew Parrish</strong>, qui tout au long de l'album assure un swingue constant. L'introduction de <em>Hum Drum Blues</em> (Oscar Brown Jr) rappelle les work songs et l'arrangement nous emmène sur un solo du pianiste <strong>Xavier Davis</strong> puis du contrebassiste.<br><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">Marianne signe une nouvelle composition <div>
<em>First Desire</em> sur des paroles de <strong>Federico Garcia Lorca </strong>qui évoquent le changement des couleurs de l'amour. Elle enchaîne avec une magnifique version de <em>Lies Of Handsome Men</em>, une chanson de <strong>Francesca Blumenthal</strong> rendue célèbre par <strong>Margaret Whiting</strong>.<br><br>Il y avait la version a capella de <em>Tender As A Rose</em> par <strong>Abbey Lincoln</strong>. Il faudra maintenant conter avec la version de Marianne Solivan en duo avec le bassiste Matthew Parrish. On revient sur un tempo medium swing avec <em>I wanna be around </em>de <strong>Johnny Mercer</strong>.<br><br>Les deux tracks suivant sont des compositions de Marianne Solivan, <em>If I Were To Love You</em> et <em>The Dove</em>. Elle accélere le tempo avec <em>This Is New</em> de Kurt Weil avant de revenir sur une ballade avec sa composition <em>On A Clear Night</em>.<br><br>Encore un swinger, <em>Ooh, What'cha Doin' To Me</em> (<strong>Richard Rogers</strong>) vous fera taper dans les mains (sur le 2 et 4 s'il-vous-plaît). Marianne Solivan fait ensuite un clin d'oeil à ses années passées au Vénézuela avec <em>El Cantante</em> de <strong>Ruben Blades</strong>. L'album se conclue avec la magnifique ballade <em>What Are You Doing New Year's Eve</em> de <strong>Franck Loesser</strong>.<br><br>Marianne Solivan se produit régulièrement à Smalls, Zinc Bar, Minton's et toujours avec des orchestres composés des meilleurs musicians de New York. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/f07d074c37a127fd59c430aa9333b08c1a373561/medium/spark-cover.jpg?1417981140" class="size_m justify_center border_" />
</div>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/33437282014-11-30T12:28:14-05:002017-01-13T08:54:54-05:00John Ellis, "Mobro"<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Note: this was first published on http://www.jazzactu.tv/</em></div><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/98c34a2a2871b843662e8312cf6b0cbb2b7bec7d/small/john-ellis-mobro.png?1417368368" class="size_s justify_left border_" />“Mobro”, John Ellis, Parade Light Records, sortie 13 Mai 2014<br>Becca Stevens, Miles Griffith, Sachal Vasandani and Johnaye Kendrick on vocals<br>John Ellis on tenor and soprano saxophones<br>Alan Ferber and Josh Roseman on trombones<br>Shane Endsley on trumpet<br>John Clark on horn<br>Mike Moreno and Ryan Scott on guitars<br>Joe Sanders on bass<br>Rodney Green on drums<br>Roberto Lange on sound design<p>Album disponible sur <a contents="Itunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/mobro/id886705109?uo=4&at=1l3vtoH" target="_blank">Itunes</a> et <a contents="Amazon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://amzn.to/1HPg1Pa" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p>
<p>Le saxophoniste et compositeur <b>John Ellis</b> s’est associé à l’écrivain <b>Andy Bragen</b> pour réaliser cette pièce de 75 minutes, commandée par la Jazz Gallery de New York. Ils se sont inspirés de l’histoire rocambolesque de la barge Mobro 4000, qui devait transporter 3000 tonnes de déchets en Mars 1987, de New York à la Caroline du Nord. Ne voulant pas récuperer les déchets de la ville de New York, la Caroline du Nord interdit à Mobro 4000 d’accoster. Voici la barge en route pour la New Orleans, puis Mexico, Belize et finalement, aprés avoir essuyé ces refus, retourne à son port d’origine à Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Assez discret en tant que saxophoniste sur cet opus, John Ellis brille ici par ses talents de compositeur et d’orchestrateur (certains passages m’ont fait penser à l’orchestration de Kenny Wheeler sur “Music For Large And Small Ensembles”). Les musiciens de l’album ont été selectionnés par Ellis pour leur capacité à communiquer le plus grand registre d’émotions possible. Il a ensuite écrit la musique en considérant la personalité unique de chaque musicien. Afin d’apprécier pleinement cet album et la vision de John Ellis, il est conseillé de l’écouter d’une traîte car chaque morceau est un chapitre de l’histoire et s’enchaîne sans discontinuité. </p>
<p>Au premier accord de la longue introduction de cuivres, entre choral et contrepoint, on sait que ce ne sera pas l’album typique de Jazz. “Anticipation” s’enchaîne avec “Sailing”, qui présente les chanteurs <b>Johnaye Kendrick</b> et <b>Miles Griffith</b> qui interprètent avec brio cette valse aux contours mélodiques inattendus. Ellis prend un solo au soprano, tout en poésie, puis le guitariste <b>Mike Moreno</b>. Miles Griffith incarne ensuite la tempête dans “Storm” et nous prévient “you are going to die”. <b>Alan Ferber</b> prend un solo au trombone. Après la tempête vient le calme avec “Rejection”, un magnifique duo avec les chanteurs <b>Becca Stevens</b> et <b>Sachal Vasandani</b>. “Mutiny/Rebellion” est un nouveau tour de force pour Miles Griffith et Johnaye Kendrick, avec des mélodies intervalliques complexes sur un tempo rapide. Prennent un solo le trompettiste <b>Shane Endsley</b> et <b>John Ellis</b> au ténor.</p>
<p>Le chanteur Sachal Vasandani chante “2nd Rejection”, un morceau qui pourraît être dans un film de Quentin Tarantino. “Military” est une pièce sans chanteur, mais avec avec des effets sonores de <b>Roberto Lange,</b> qui s’enchaîne avec “Doldrums”, un piéce composée entièrement d’effets sonores.</p>
<p>Les chanteurs Sachal, Becca et Johnaye sont de nouveau réunis sur le titre “Snarl”. “Self-Knowledge” contraste avec le reste de l’album avec une melodie plutôt joyeuse, un tempo medium swing. Encore une fois Ellis écrit une mélodie complexe et riche, sur des harmonies assez traditionelles.</p>
<p>“Mourning” est pour moi le plus beau morceau de l’album. La voix de Becca Stevens est pleine de mélancolie, on sent que la fin du voyage est proche.</p>
<p>John Ellis est né en Caroline du Nord mais a vécu un temps à la Nouvelle Orléans. Le dernier titre de l’album, “Celebration”, est dans l’esprit New Orleans: aux funérailles on pleure le défunt mais on célèbre également la vie.</p>
<p>Avec une écriture parfaitement maîtrisée, on découvre de nouvelles subtilités à chaque nouvelle écoute. Un album abouti, une collaboration de deux grands artistes, des musiciens exceptionnels, "Mobro" doit être dans votre librairie musicale!</p>
<p>Alex Terrier<br> </p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yRVJ2uNEZs8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Alex Terriertag:www.alexterriermusic.com,2005:Post/33437242014-11-30T12:19:15-05:002017-01-13T08:54:54-05:00Pete Robbins, "Pyramid"<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Note: this was first published on http://www.jazzactu.tv/</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/58129/66bd95127254ce8942fc23f30d5ba5fad3327360/small/pete-robbins-pyramid.png?1417368188" class="size_s justify_left border_" />Pyramid, Pete Robbins, Hate Laugh Music, sortie le 28 Janvier 2013.</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Pete Robbins: Saxophone Alto, Clarinette, Compositions<br>Vijay Iyer: Piano<br>Eivind Opsvik: Contrebasse<br>Tyshawn Sorey: Batterie</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Album disponible sur <a contents="Itunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/pyramid/id717518287?uo=4&at=1l3vtoH" target="_blank">Itunes</a> et <a contents="Amazon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://amzn.to/1B30lpP" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Video: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVetulnzO0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVetulnzO0</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Le saxophoniste Pete Robbins, qui est né à New York en 1978 mais a grandi dans le Massachusetts, présente son septième album en leader. Un artiste incontournable de la scène new yorkaise, Pete Robbins est un de ces musiciens qui definissent le son “brooklyn” où il vit et sevit depuis sept ans.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Avec Pyramid, Pete Robbins a voulu redécouvrir des chansons qui sont pour lui des “souvenirs émotionels”. Par celà, comprenez les chansons de son adolescence, des titres aussi divers qu’éloignés du répertoire habituel du musicien de jazz ou même du fan. Le premier track est une reprise des Guns N Roses, Sweet Child O’Mine. Le saxophoniste ne se contente pas d’explorer, ni même de se réaproprier ces tubes, il les réinvente complètement avec une créativité rythmique, une inventivité harmonique et un traitement mélodique tout à fait personnels. Il enchaine avec une reprise du célèbre Hallelujah par Jeff Buckley dont vous reconnaitrez la mélodie bien qu’elle soit écrite en 11/8. Vorp, une composition de Pete Robbins, est un clin d’oeil à son précédent style d’écriture: une forme longue avec plusieurs parties, des mélodies en contrepoint sur des ostinatis de contrebasses. Wichita Lineman est une chanson de 1968 du chanteur country Glen Campbell. C’est certainement la reprise la plus difficile à reconnaitre! Le style d’écriture de Intravenous est “un mixe de ma précedente approche de l’écriture et mon nouvel objectif de composer plutôt dans un format de chanson” précise Pete Robbins. On revient vers les années 90 avec Lithium de Nirvana, une chanson dont “mes parents avaient horreur, et qui résonne toujours en moi”. Puis vient Equipoise, une composition trés ouverte, un pretexte au jeu d’improvisation. L’avant dernier morceau est Too High de Stevie Wonder. Pete Robbins garde la ligne de basse, reharmonize la mélodie et s’amuse avec differentes métriques. L’album se termine avec Pyramid, un morceau sans mélodie, “ou plutôt l’harmonie devient la mélodie” précise le compositeur qui se soustrait et laisse son groupe clore l’album en trio.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Un album équilibré et original, Pete Robbins réussit grâce à son travail d’écriture à unir des chansons originellement tres différentes les unes des autres. Malgré la complexité des arrangements, la musique donne l’impression d’être facile à jouer. Un opus qui confirme le talent de saxophoniste, de compositeur et de leader de Pete Robbins.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Alex Terrier</p>Alex Terrier