Labor Day Gig 2008

The day started overcast and pouring down rain. And the prognosis was not good for an outdoor gig. But as the musician's called me to see if we were gonna cancel, I kept telling everyone we were on for the Ballard Locks gig. I told whoever would listen that the clouds would part and the rain would abate for the two hour concert. But I didn't really believe it. Guess what? That is exactly what happened.  :o)

So here are some pictures taken by my grandson, who I paid to play roadie for me today. He schlepped equipment, set up my saxes, ran cables and took pictures.

First is the one-man road crew, grandson Nicky. Then there are the horns from left to right Don, me, Suzy and Gary. Next the inimitable Sharon joined us with a nice vocal or five.

Featured are the Dissonance Rhythm section; Saul, Brad, and Rossen. Don and his trumpet-playing daughter Maiya. Finally Gary doing a solo interpretation on Jordu.

Here's the set list:

First set:

• Freddie Freeloader
• Blue Bossa
• Do Nothing (vocal)
• Embraceable You (vocal)
• Straight no Chaser
• Blues for Kim
• Nice Work if you Can Get it (vocal)
• Jordu (Gary and rhythm only)
• When Sunny Gets Blue

Second Set:

• Doxy
• Killer Joe
• Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
• Love is Here to Stay (vocal)
• Summertime (vocal)
• Blue Monk
• Night Train
• The Lady is a Tramp (vocal)
• Stolen Moments
• Jersey Bounce

As you can see this is some of my favorite songs. That's why I put this combo together, to get better at soloing and play the songs I like. :o)

Casa du Glassa is jumping. We have our son's family here, Helen from Vancouver, Suzy working, and a big gig tomorrow. This will be the busiest Labor Day weekend in recent memory. So here's a whirlwind recap and we're only halfway through!

Helen and I visit QuinnTheEskimo aka Matt and look at some toys:

For those wondering what they are looking at, they are museum-quality vintage instruments. From left to right: an alto sarrusophone, a rothophone, and a Conn-O-Sax. Yes, the $100,000 one. I'm waiting for Matt to open up a museum.

Then we hit the Seattle aquarium:

Okay, now a quiz. Name these venues in downtown Seattle:

The aquarium, weren't you paying attention.  ;o) Seattle cityscape.

Singing troubadour Thaddeus Spae, da fisherguy, and an immaculately maintained carousel. Here's hoping y'all are enjoying the last holiday of Summer 2008.

"There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will." - Anon

Here is the picture of my parents 50th Wedding anniversary with many of the people I love. It is the biggest Glass clan gathering I can remember.

Finding the time to practice is more about me than about the time allocated. There's always plenty of time... if you remove the time spent watching TV, blogging, reading in the forums, and the like. Notice I didn't say remove time with family, pets, exercise, and the like.

But I don't practice enough. In a week I usually put in 1.5 hours in lessons, 4 hours in practice with the bands I'm a part of, and 2 to 3 hours beyond that. I need to be doing at least an hour a day to progress from where I am now. Oh, and I spend two hours a week with my grandson working with him on the bass clarinet and the bari sax.

On the bass sax solo for the Grinch (to be played in December at the Seattle Center House, aka a big deal), I am close to the big, loud voicing I need and without a mic. But I haven't memorized the solo yet. And there are places where I jump an octave that need some finessing. Also, the cadenza will have two takes off to other songs, "If I only had a brain" and either "Jaws" or the "Theme from James Bond".

I could also do a piece on practicing smart. Instead of doing the stuff you like and can already do, spend time on the hard stuff, the theory, long tones, and the stylistic improvements like ubba, ubba for a swing rhythm. Still playing the music I like is soooo satisfying.  ;o)

There are so many people who could be world-class performers but who, like me, have trouble doing anything over a hour at a time. That's why I like band practice because it forces me to do so. But that doesn't help me get the difficult passages down. I'm not whining, no really, but I am voicing my biggest concern about moving forward with my music because increasing my practice time and being smart about how I use my time is gonna be key from now on. The easy stuff is mostly learned and I'm refining that as I go along. It's good to have a challenge though, isn't it? 

Pop the Champaign cork.  :o)

As I prepare for this years' Christmas concert I'm thinking I'll need a Dr. Suess hat. You see, the band is playing Ward Baxter's "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" featuring the bass sax or as the Suess man called it, the ElectoWhoCardioFlook. Sorry, that just makes me laugh, now that I've learned to spell and pronounce it.

So where does one go to find one of these wonderful Suess character hats. There are so many to select from, but I was thinking eschewing the Whoville styles and going for the always classic hat from "The Cat in the Hat" book.

I even toyed with doing the candy-striped hose and lederhosen look, but decided just the hat would be easier and cheaper.

I expect that some of my gentle readers are wondering about this need of mine to think that far in advance. Especially about Christmas time which comes so fast. Well there's compulsive and then there's me or uber-compulsive about some things. I do not want to leave this to chance.

If you are in Seattle on 6 December at 5 PM, swing by the Seattle Center House and catch the Woodinville Community Band. If you've read this blog for long, you have already heard recordings and know how good this band is. Why just last week a friend of mine from Toronto heard the Fall 2007 concert clip on YouTube and commented that community bands didn't sound that good where she came from!

I suppose I don't need to tell you that the instrument in question is the Eppelsheim bass sax that is keyed to low A. And I have been trying lots of mouthpiece reed combinations trying to get the most convincing, throbbing, low bass sound possible. I'd like to memorize the song and play it standing rather than seated. We'll see...

Oh, and voicing the ElectoWhoCardioFlook? Let's just say I'm getting there. It takes a lot of air, finesse, and iterations. My intent is to make the house shake and the little kids cry for their moms.  ;o)

Some of you know I have a habit of starting up new bands that become long-running traditions, opportunities for hobbyist musicians, and usually all about the jazz genre. To this end I've started a quasi-official Microsoft Jazz Band at work. The number of musicians at Microsoft is staggering. So many classically trained musicians, many of whom were pro musicians until they decided it would be nice to eat on a regular basis. Don't get me talking about what a cut-throat, low-paying business the world of jazz is for most jazzers.

This year the band will have some really truly stellar musicians, some of the best on Seattle's eastside. My challenge is to come up with some music that we can practice twice and then perform to a decent standard. Not only that  but this year I'm introducing a vocalist who used to be pro. Some much goodness this the four year of this project.

So here is the draft set list.

• Hayburner (Basie)
• The Red Door (Mulligan)
• Do Nothing - vocal
• Summertime
• Stormy Weather - vocal
• Goovin’ Hard
• Misty or Harlem Nocturne (lead alto’s choice)
• Makin’ Whoopee - vocal
• Blues in the Night
• My Funny Valentine - vocal
• Basie Straight Ahead
• Groove Merchant
• Jumping at the Woodside (Basie)

Yes, it's only an hour, but we do it three times on the Day of Caring if you include practice and the two gigs. I need to add two more songs. Suggestions are welcome. :o)

This stuff just tickles me.  :o)

“Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped ‘Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.’”

Read more at MSNBC...

Enjoy.

Another technology to play with...  Joy.

I found this Wired Magazine coverage from last year very enlightening.

"Twitter is the app that everyone loves to hate. Odds are you've noticed people — probably much younger than you — manically using Twitter, a tool that lets you post brief updates about your everyday thoughts and activities to the Web via browser, cell phone, or IM. The messages are limited to 140 characters, so they lean toward pithy, haiku-like utterances. When I dropped by the main Twitter page, people had posted notes like "Doing lunch and picking up father-in-law from senior center." Or "Checking out Ghost Whisperer" or simply "Thinking I'm old." (Most users are between 18 and 27.)

It might seem like blogging taken to a supremely banal extreme. Productivity guru Tim Ferriss calls Twitter "pointless email on steroids." One Silicon Valley businessman I met complained that his staff had become Twitter-obsessed. "You can't say anything in such a short message," he said, baffled. "So why do it at all?"

They're precisely right: Individually, most Twitter messages are stupefyingly trivial. But the true value of Twitter — and the similarly mundane Dodgeball, a tool for reporting your real-time location to friends — is cumulative. The power is in the surprising effects that come from receiving thousands of pings from your posse. And this, as it turns out, suggests where the Web is heading."

Read more...

So if I Twitter, will I seem younger, hipper, cool?  ;o)

I have made some jokes about the language challenges of Asians learning English. But y'all know I do it with love. So there are two beautiful Asian folk tales I'd like to share with you in this and an upcoming post.

Why should the wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger? There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Asian community.

• Thumb represents your parents
• Second or index finger represents your siblings
• Middle finger represents yourself
• Fourth  or ring finger represents your life partner
• Last or little, aka pinkie finger represents your children

Open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together back to back. Now open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb tip to tip as shown in the figure below.

Try to separate your thumbs representing the parents and they will open because your parents are not destined to live with you for your whole life. You typically leave them to live on your own sooner or later.

Rejoin your thumbs as before and separate your index fingers representing siblings. They will also open because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and lead their own separate lives.

Now join the Index fingers and separate your little fingers representing your children. They will open too because your children will usually get married and settle down on their own some day.

Finally, join your little fingers and try to separate your ring fingers representing your significant other. You may be surprised to see that you cannot separate your fingers. As told to me, this is because soul mates have to remain together all their lives, through thick and thin!

Okay, I'll admit this is sappy but fun. Be well.

I subscribe to the Web MD emails for various areas of human health topics such as Men's Health. And this week's missive includes coverage of Dr. Robin Smith's book Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Good Marriages. "Gentle voice notwithstanding, psychologist (and national television personality) Smith pulls no punches and minces no words in her heartfelt caution against the danger in believing "that you don't need what you do need." Truth is the theme here, and Smith guides listeners in how to recognize it, speak it and make it a part of the marriage." - Publisher Weekly.

So the Web MD coverage lists some the good doctor's questions in a piece called 25 Questions to Ask before you get Married. (Warning, NSFW.) My first thought was, it would be the rare youngster who knows the answers to all of these questions. Some of them are formulated through years of experience. And what about those people who's expectations of a mate are so high that there might not be any one person who can meet those standards?

When Suzy and I met we were teenagers. Okay, for those who would ask, she was 15 and I was 17. We were not very experienced in life and certainly not in what we wanted in the future. So we wandered around learning as we went, making some mistakes, but for the most part doing the things we wanted to. Along the way I became a Major in the Army, a Microsoftie, and a hobbyist saxophonist. Suzy became a nurse who specializes in preemie babies, crafts person (creating furniture, wedding dresses, and custom drapes for example) and a hobbyist musician.

We had two kids, traveled the world from Alaska to Germany and beyond. We've experienced a chocolate martini, more jazz concerts than you can shake a stick at, and a life of explorations. We've performed in theater pit orchestras for shows like 'A Chorus Line' and 'Anything Goes'. We created our own jazz combo, the Dissonance performing for four years now. And we toy with a sax quartet call 'Professor Gadget'.

And unspoken, as brave as these exploits have been (Have you ever auditioned for a part in semi-pro band, saved a babies' life, or laid a minefield out in Europe?) the more intimate and private parts of our life match match in intensity and passion.

Would a book telling us how to find and select each other have helped? I don't think so. We are the sum of our genetics, environment and upbringing. If life isn't going well for you and this book helps, great. But if you have to be told to pick someone who will respect you, want the same things you want, and take care of you like you are the most important thing in their lives, I'm not sure a book is going to be much help here. If you have selected a mate that is anything less than you deserve and then had to spend a lifetime of 'making it work' and possibly deep regret... well, I just can't relate.

BTW, I'm listening to the soothing vocals by Renee Olstead from her self named CD. It's a very sultry, nice background music.

So this is where they all end up.  ;o)

The Summer Olympics are here. This hit my desk this morning and it made me proud to be working here. :o)

On the eve of 08.08.08 and the excitement around the XXIX Olympiad, Microsoft and NBC Sports have teamed to deliver event coverage on a scale never seen before on the Internet, let alone on TV.  NBC and Microsoft will be streaming more than 3,500 hours of Olympics video to millions of online viewers in the United States, including LIVE coverage of every minute of competition from 25 sports. This is the largest media event ever done on the web, an unprecedented moment in the history of the Internet. 

MSN is providing distribution of NBC Olympics video content --  which lives exclusively on the MSN network -- to all of our US visitors. Here are all the ways you can experience the 2008 Summer Olympics from Microsoft and NBC:

· Click http://www.nbcolympics.com/video to jump right in and experience high-quality, interactive video using Silverlight.  This could even be better than being in Beijing! Get amazing, crisp HD video quality on the web that’s always optimized for your connection using Silverlight’s new adaptive streaming capability, watch up to four live streams simultaneously in the same player, and get expert commentary (hot-linked so you can go back right to the exact moment that Michael Phelps touches the wall for gold) all within a rich Silverlight application running within the browser.

· Beginning tomorrow and throughout the Games, the MSN homepage will prominently feature a dynamic Olympics module which will enable people to see results (or hide them if you don’t want any spoilers), get the latest news and see exclusive video coverage. Our partnership with NBC and the world-class editorial team in MSN will make MSN the best portal for up-to-the-minute Olympics coverage.

· Get the latest medal counts by sport or by country, or find out about all 10,000 of the athletes competing in the 2008 Summer Games using the Live Search Olympics Instant Answer

· Install the new MSN Toolbar that gives you one click access to the medal tally and many other highlights.

· For us Zune babies starting tomorrow, Zune Marketplace will kick off a series of daily 2008 Olympic Games videos from NBC Sports, giving viewers special on-the-go access to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The footage will include memorable highlights from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, “best of” compilations, “best match” replays and a post-Games wrap-up feature.

For a behind-the-scenes look at what was involved, check out the Olympics channel on onTen and CNET’s take here, along with press coverage of Microsoft’s participation in the Games, including yesterday’s Seattle Times and today’s Seattle P-I.

Let me know what you think of the coverage.

Egan's Ballard Jamhouse is presenting two of Dave's groups just a few days apart, and I hope you can make it.  This intimate venue is a great place to play, and hear, music:

Trio Real - Saturday August 9th

Groove-oriented jazz tunes featuring:

• Devin Lowe (bass)
• Brad Bohl (drums)
• Dave Anderson (alto & baritone saxophones)

Hear sound samples at http://www.myspace.com/trioreal

Saturday, August 9th, from 11-12 pm, Egan's Ballard Jamhouse, Ballard, 1707 NW Market Street, $6.  21+ to enter. This new group features talented young bassist Devin and a swirling cauldron of Brad Bohl rhythms, as we perform originals and other material with a raw, experimental and funky sound.  We're adding the big, bad baritone sax to the mix.   Full food and drink menu.  http://www.ballardjamhouse.com/

Dave Anderson Quartet - Tuesday August 12th

Jazz originals and modern standards featuring:

• John Hansen (piano)
• Evan Flory-Barnes (bass)
• Adam Kessler (drums)
• Dave Anderson (tenor & soprano saxophones)

Reviews available to read at http://www.daveandersonjazz.com/music_press.html

Tuesday, August 12th, from 7-8:30 pm, Egan's Ballard Jamhouse, Ballard, 1707 NW Market Street, $6, all ages.  This dinner hour set brings the quartet back where it started, with special guest Evan Flory-Barnes on bass (found a cool YouTube Video about Evan).  Full dinner and drink menu.  http://www.ballardjamhouse.com/

Also, I'll be at the Triple Door with partner-in-crime James Baumgart...

JB/DA Duo - Friday August 8th

Friday, August 8 JB/DA Duo with James Baumgart (guitar), Triple Door Musiquarium, no cover, 5:30-8 pm, Downtown, Seattle.

Hope to see you out!
best,

Dave Anderson

In the NYT this morning:

"In its drive to go green, the technology industry has so far focused mainly on big targets like corporations and especially computer data centers, the power-hungry computing engine rooms of the Internet economy.

Next come the hundreds of millions of desktop and laptop personal computers in households worldwide."

Read more...

It's amazing how many people don't realize how much a computer monitor requires. I'm hard pressed to walk away from mine without putting the machine in sleep mode. At work I notice some monitors on when arrive early in the morning, hours before the owner will start using the computer.

"The potential savings in both dollars and pollution is huge, analysts say, when the estimated one billion PCs in use globally are taken into account. The research firm Gartner estimates that 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions resulting from information technology and telecommunications are attributable to PCs. Data center computers account for 23 percent, and the rest is attributable to printers and telecommunications equipment."

Is this an ah ha moment for you?

We are having so much fun with little Amelia, our new German/Aussie Shepherd mix 8-week old. You might remember we rescued here at the Woofstock festival. I hear my brother Andy has a new pure breed puppy so I'm throwing down the gauntlet, let's see pictures.  ;o)

Here are a couple of close ups; this dawg is NOT afraid of the flashing camera. Can you say prima donna? She looks almost like a beagle if you aren't looking too closely. She will be about 50 pounds full grown if not a little bigger.

Amelia is still trying to get used to the whole collar thang. But she loves stealing Macy's mouse. Then when Macy comes running, and she does, Amelia jumps her and the wrestle. Okay, are you puppied out yet?

This stuff fascinates me. I thought I would share it with my blog posse. You kind of intuitively, okay maybe that's just me, believe this to be true and they go and prove it. Way cool...

"Turns out, it is a small world.

The "small world theory," embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication.

With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances." 

Read more...