In the past year I’ve been teaching a lot of ukulele classes in the Portland schools. I’ve also done a lot of shows at area retirement homes. I think that playing and teaching music with young and old has given…
Music is Your Friend For Life
I often tell my young students “if you make friends with music now, music will be your friend for life”. At least in my own life, I have found this to be true. I have considered music to be my…
Thelonious Monk
The story of Thelonious Monk is a story of contradictions. A musical revolutionary who lived long enough to be considered old-fashioned. A man with a reputation for erratic behavior who was also a devoted husband and father. A piano player…
The Jazz Loft Project
The Jazz Loft Project is a story told in fragments by disembodied voices. It is a successful work of art made from the ruins of a failed one, a complete work made from an intentionally incomplete one. It is the…
Artists as Workers
In 1935, with the country in the grips of depression, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Federal Music Project, part of Federal Project Number One, which included related programs for visual artists, writers, and the theater. Despite his patrician upbringing, FDR…
Charlie Parker
I’m not here today to talk about Charlie “Bird” Parker as a musical revolutionary. I’m not interested in discussing his troubled life and early death. I don’t want to debate whether he’s the man who destroyed jazz or the man…
Curtis Mayfield
I’m not sure why more people don’t dig Curtis Mayfield. Even a lot of musicians I’ve met don’t know much about his work, or aren’t into it, at least at first. Some find it overproduced, in that 1970s way when…
Fame and Obscurity in the Music Business
Many people strive for fame, but few can actually handle it. Fame invades your personal life, alters friendships, and creates a lot of trouble. This is why I have always made sure never to become famous! Several recent films illustrate…
The Persistence of Muscle Memory
In my last post, I mentioned that many people who pick up an instrument that they used to play are surprised by how much they remember, even if it’s been years since they last played. The primary reason for this…
I Used to Play in the School Band
When people find out I’m a music teacher they often tell me some version of the following: “Oh you play (flute, clarinet, saxophone)! I used to play (flute, clarinet, saxophone) in the school band. I really liked it but (I…