How to start a Band

I was sitting in a bar the other day with a blues band on stage, at first I thought “hey this is pretty cool.” but after an hour, I wasn't convinced they had ever changed songs, they just took dramatic pauses every five minutes or so. Playing the blues doesn't mean you're limited to one twelve bar progression and six notes for lead, chord tones will still give a very strong blues sound if played over that twelve bar progression, however using what we know about chord substitution we can make that twelve bar pattern very different and much more interesting. Let's do it ... Read Full Story

Maurizio Miotti, a regular reader from Rome, wrote in with a great question. He says, " My saxophone teacher tells me that I can study music theory and harmony, but if I want to improvise jazz music I have to listen, memorize and play “jazz phrases”. The same situation with learn a new language: you can study grammar but when you talk with someone, you have to use idiomatic expressions because grammar is a set of theoretical roles (sometimes “a little distant” from the current language) and pre-defined phrases are more efficient for communication." This a very good analogy. Jazz is a universal language ... Read Full Story

This weekend I caught a few, "free" shows, at the a marching band festival in Sommerville, MA. It was very cool at times, and very strange at others. Nevertheless, you cannot go wrong hearing live music. There were bands representing New Orleans, France, Portugal, and Sommervilles very own: Tufts University. It was defiantly something to admire. My ears were open and defiantly taking each sweet sonic sound for pleasure. The band from New Orleans, "The Big 7" blew me away. They were 7 brassy horns that dominated the atmosphere and easily attracted the biggest, formidable crowd. They played big beat things, very southern yet ... Read Full Story

Availability Checker: www.musicmastersinc.djintelligence.com/availability Tim Wilsey creator of "Soulful Rhythms," is a strong pillar at the base of Music Masters Entertainment's Foundation for Jazz. Soulful Rhythms is an organization of professional musicians dedicated to performing all styles of Jazz music at your special occasion.. Jazz music runs the spectrum of styles as does the various groups from Soulful Rhythms. From traditional Jazz standards to Smooth Jazz and from Latin Jazz to Dixieland. Soulful Rhythms plays the popular jazz music of today and the traditional jazz of yesterday. Soulful Rhythms Duo’s, Trio’s, Quartet’s, etc include: • Solo Piano or Guitar (also available for the wedding ceremony) ... Read Full Story

If I had to pick one person who taught me the most about music and about life in general it would have to be Herb Pomeroy. Herb was a master at so many different things. His mastery of the art of Jazz improvisation was a magical thing, he may not have had the greatest chops in the world but I've never heard anyone improvise like Herb. Because he was also a master composer and arranger he developed his solos like symphonies. Every phrase was related to the phase before it and after it. He was a person who had high standards of personal integrity, ... Read Full Story