A little video from the gig

For those of you wondering how my gig went: It went well. Here's a solo I played on one of the pieces. Unfortunately, the piano is very quiet (and the video is in portrait format).

Friday Album Recommendation: Vi & Tinga "Sempremente"

Today I would like to recommend the Bossa Nova album Sempremente by Vi & Tinga. It contains 11 beautiful original compositions with melodies that you will find hard to get out of your head. In particular the soft and touching guitar work by Björn Tinga is quite impressive and it goes well with the somewhat hypnotic voice of Vitória Magalhães Piai. Unfortunately, I cannot say anything about the lyrics, because I don't speak the language. Great album to bring you through a rainy winter day. You can listen to this album for free on bandcamp.com or buy in there.

Gig in Totnes

Hi,
On Sunday, 14th of December 2014, I play at the Landscove Village Hall. This gig marks the end of an amazing Jazz workshop I did under the leadership of Neil Maya. It starts at 7.30pm and it's free.

We will play:
- Tenor Madness
- Sweet Georgia Brown
- Milestones
- Night and Day
- Big Girl Funk Machine (by Neil Maya)

Hope to see you there.
Michael

Exploring Open Mic Nights (2)

I did check out the "Woodside" pub and it's a very nice location to practice playing solo in public. I think I will do my first open mic gig there. Maybe on the 21st of December if it's possible on that day. I would do it on the 14th, but that day, I will play a gig with my jazz course in Totnes, and one gig per day is sufficient for me.

"The Turning Point", original composition and solo

I composed a new tune last week. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. And since I like modal jazz very much, this is a modal piece. For the jazz buffs among you: It's a modal tune consisting of two bars of Eb mixolydian and two bars of Gb lydian with a very short, but beautiful melody.  I called this tune "the Turning Point" because composing jazz tunes on the piano is getting easier and a lot of fun.

Recommendation: Matt Lawton

About once a week, I write a very short review of some musician, singer, band, composer etc or I recommend some music. For this week, it's just something I found on bandcamp: Matt Lawton. Very fine funk jazz. Check it out:

https://mattlawton.bandcamp.com/album/the-optimist

Getting ready for open mic gigs

With my solo gig coming up, I decided that I want a bit of solo giging practise. One idea is to play a few tunes at an open mic night. I found two open mic places in Plymouth, not too far from where I live: The Rakuda Bar on Wednesdays and the Woodside on Sundays. I spend some time at the Rakuda Bar last night and there was little, but nice audience. However, it is outside and I am a bit worried that my fingers might be too cold. I will try anyway, I think, in mid December or January. I hope I have time to check out the Woodside on Sunday. I heard there are really good musicians there. In any case, I need to decide on a set and get ready.

Also, I found a bass player who might join our little band.

My First Solo Gig

Finally, my first real solo gig is scheduled. It's on the 31st of January 2014, at Column Acoustic in the Devonport Guildhall, Plymouth, which is the building you can see on the picture above. While the surroundings of the guildhall are quite different now, the building itself still looks pretty much the same. Come and hear me play.

"Watermelon Man"

I wrote a little solo piano arrangement for Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man". Check it out. If you want to know how to play it, let me know in the comments.

 

Straight from the Heart

I often do a kind of free improvisation without any structure or prior planning. I just focus on my feelings at the very moment I play - I don't even think about chords or tones, harmonies or scales, but I just focus on how I feel and what is inside myself.

It's my advice to anyone who plays an instrument, no matter what style you play: Once in a while just play your instrument, without thinking, or without being conscious of what you're playing. Play uncensored, let you feeling flow out, no matter how it sounds.

One year without doubts

Today is the 1st of August 2014. It's the day I am turning pro. Not in the sense that I am making my living as a musician from this day on. In fact, at this point in time, I am making absolutely zero money from music. I am turning pro in the sense used by Steven Pressfield, meaning I am starting to do the work. It's no longer a secret dream or a hope inside me, but I am working on becoming professional with all the time and energy I have.

In January 2014, I have increased my daily piano practise to two full hours per day. While keeping up this time for practising, I will now add some time for song writing. This will not be easy, as I have a full time day job. However, my song writing and music composition abilitity has always been my major strength. I believe it will be the basis of my professional life as a musician.

They say "doubts have killed more dreams than failure ever will". I have experienced such doubts all my life. They have managed to keep my dreams chained into a little corner of my brain. So for this one year, I will make a commitment not to waste any energy or time with doubts. Every time I will catch myself doubting, I will tell myself that at least for this one year, I will try and put all my energy into trying as hard as I can and not waste a single moment with doubts.  I will try to believe in me.

Let's see where that will get me. Stay tuned.
Michael