Here's a recording of the song I wrote for Jazz Sunday on February 28th, 2010. Performers are Andrea Llafet, Piano; Don Barnes, Tenor Saxophone; Ben Lincoln, alto saxophone; Dan Schlesinger, Euphonium; Jeff Lewis, Drums and myself on Bass. Vocals by Carolyn and Lynelle Tarter.



"Out of the Chaos" is based on Psalm 130, aka "De profundis." This song came about when Jeff Lewis suggested I should write something for Jazz Sunday on February 28th, 2010, which falls during Lent. I did some research on psalms, and this one seemed to have the right visuals that I could manipulate into a jazz piece.

I knew I wasn't going to use the lyrics directly from the Psalms - I'm sure the original song in Hebrew works musically, but not so when translated into English - much less Jazz. But the concepts in the Psalm are compelling. The author is apparently writing about how his people are messing up. Things are bad. Things are getting worse. All they can hope for is God's continued forgiveness for a bunch of losers.

Regardless of where you stand spiritually, this strikes me as a really strong message for any of our relationships. We screw up. We're forgiven by whoever we wronged. And then probably screw up again. It's not our intent to mess up our lives, and the lives of those around us. But we do, and then we hope for the best.

Here's the original Psalm 130 as found in the Revised Standard Edition:
A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

And then, here are the words I used in the song:
Out of the chaos. We call to you
We are still waiting. We call to you
We are still Suffering. We call to you

We will wait for your forgiveness like a watchman waits for dawn

We sin. You forgive
we sin. You forgive
we sin. You forgive.
We sin....

This was probably one of the most complex pieces I've written so far, due to accounting for two vocalists, as well as the instrumentation. It's interesting that I can hear it in my head - but getting it down on paper is difficult. Perhaps it's because a lot of what I hear is the general picture - but the essence is in the details.

If you'd like to perform this, let me know. I have charts for vocals, piano, Eb, Bb and Bass. It assumes that you're going to do some improvisation, so don't plan to play it exactly as written.

I've been hosting an ensemble training session at my house since June of 2007. Once a month, we get a group of five to fifteen amateur Jazz musicians and spend about five hours with David Friesen, learning how to play Jazz in an Ensemble.

It's difficult - there are songs assigned, and you're expected to know the form, chords and be able to solo. But David does a great job of instructing, and can work with a lot of different levels.

I play bass with a group from Westminster Presbyterian Church. We play a Jazz Sunday about twice a year, as well as other scattered events. I won a recording session at an auction, so on February 25th the four of us gathered in the Klickitat Band Camp recording studio for five hours of recording

It's the first recording session I've been through - terrifying because you know that every muffed note is preserved for posterity - which makes it all the harder to find the right note. Errp...

We had our moments of brilliance, and overall, its probably a reasonable effort. Let me know if you want a link to the mp3's.

Well - isn't this fun. I just got finished writing a quick jazz chart. The assignment was to write a 14 bar blues using only Dominant 7ths. I wrote it in 3/4 time - those of you who are math-types will understand the title.

It's a creative commons license - feel free to download and do whatever - let me know what that is...

Charts in Eb, Bb, C and Bass

Simple mp3 for practice

The State of Oregon Employment Department - Tax Section wants to make musical venues pay unemployment taxes on every musician that performs at the venue.

Seriously. This means that if you perform music in Oregon (or any other type of performance, I assume) then the venue has to consider you an employee, and pay unemployment tax. Which means that you'll need to fill out a w4 and the venue will need to generate a w2 at years end. Which implies that the venue maintains all the book-keeping to keep this straight.

Oh - you can fill out a written contract that assures the venue manager that you, the musician, are responsible for any and all taxes. Make sure to have all of your band members sign the contract as well, or you'll be the employer, and have to collect unemployment taxes for all your buddies. Don't forget the w2 and w4's you'll need to collect.

Seem silly? Not from the viewpoint of the Oregon Employment Tax Division. As long as the law is on the books, they are obliged to enforce it - or at least their interpretation of it.

From my viewpoint, This is going to squelch most of the amateur performances in town. Coffeehouses and small bars aren't going to mess around with this, and amateurs have better things to do than to file a bunch of paperwork so they can play for the typical $100 or less a night.

What you can do?

Write!

The Oregon Legistlature is probably going to have to get involved because of the tax law. There is a convenient form located here that routes your message to your representatives (thanks Oregon State Legislature!)

and... Here's two addresses you can send letters to...

Oregon Employment Department – Tax Section

Attn: Dennis Seibel

875 Union Street NE, Room 107

Salem, OR 97311-0030

...and...

Oregon Department of Justice

Hardy Myers

1162 Court St. NE

Salem, OR 97301

For these two folks, email isn't going to work. The email addresses they list on their website are probably deluged with spam. Besides, government folks gauge issues by the size of the stack of letters they generate.

Further Reading:

Pampelmoose: Oregon employment dept vs Mississippi Studios | Oregonian: A Public Service Announcement | Oregonian: Who pays the piper when the musicians visit | Willamette Week: Mississippi Studios: Sent Down The River? | Mississippi Studios

I was curious about "Fables of Faubus" - which I originally thought was about Faustus - my mistake. The recording above was performed by the NHS jazz band. It's a fun tune - turns out there is a dark side.

Fables of Faubus was first recorded on May 5, 1959 for Columbia Records, on Mingus Ah-Um. Orval E. Faubus was a governor of Arkansas who, in 1957, sent out the National Guard to prevent a few black children from entering Little Rock's Central High School. Mingus' condemnation of this action was apparently too strong for those in charge at Columbia Records, who prohibited Mingus and his drummer Dannie Richmond from singing the following lyrics which, on this recording, are slightly audible in the background:

Oh, Lord, don't let 'em shoot us! Oh, Lord, don't let 'em stab us! Oh, Lord, don't let 'em tar and feather us! Oh, Lord, no more swastikas! Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan! Name me someone who's ridiculous, Dannie. Governor Faubus! Why is he so sick and ridiculous? He won't permit integrated schools. Then he's a fool! Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists! Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan) Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond. -Faubus-Rockefeller-Eisenhower Why are they so sick and ridiculous? Two, four, six, eight: They brainwash and teach you hate. H-E-L-L-O--Hello.

(From Charles Mingus: More Than a Fake Book.) Later retitlings of "Fables of Faubus" included "Nix on Nixon" and "Oh, Lord, Help Mr. Ford." Although Orville Faubus died in the fall of 1994, "Fables of Faubus" lives on.

I've listened to my recording from Mingus Ah Um, and can't hear the lyrics. I'll have to try the later recording.

Wikipedia entry | Mingus Web site

Here's a youTube clip of the Charles Mingus Sextet in Norway, 1964. Curse that slippery stage!



Here's the wikipedia entry

This is interesting. Both Ron Carter and Mingus studied cello before they took up bass.

Today's assignment - Learn about Ron Carter!

Ron Carter's site has a nifty jukebox.

His gallery also has a bunch of videos - better than anything on youtube.

While I was in London, I attended an evening of Jazz at the 606 club. I'd highly recommend checking this out - they are a bit hard to find, but well worth it. The web site provides a view of the club, as well as a map to get there. Don't walk by it - the club is located in the basement. You'll walk by what looks like a locked service door. Ring the bell, and someone will answer and let you in.

The food was good, the atmosphere (non-smoking) was appropriate, and the crowd appreciative. Arrive early for a table, the club filled up on the night we were there.

Still learning about Neils Henning Orsted Pederson. Here's a clip with Neils, Ray Brown, and Oscar Peterson playing Sweet Georgia Brown. It's amazing to watch these guys move around the keyboard - they know exactly where they are, and where they want to go.

Interesting to watch them trade verses. During Ray Brown's second solo, Oscar nearly stops, just sparking the chords. Maybe one of the amazing things about NHOP is his three finger right hand moves.

Does Oscar Peterson have a rough time keeping a solid time?

My homework is to learn more about Niels - aka NHOP.

Watch NHOP fly in this duet with Joe Pass...


more On Youtube

Part of learning to play bass is listening to other folks. This week, I'm listening to "So What" by Miles Davis. Here's Paul Chambers with the Miles Davis Sextet, filmed in 1958.


Here's Ron Carter with Herbie Hancock.