July 19

Today

Couple of hours of trumpet in the morning (SLOW-SLOW-SLOW)
Singing tunes..Strayhorn, Monk, Ellington..and some standards

Long walk

Movie
Dark Knight-Batman
Started watching the dvd (about half). Friend of mine told me that the propaganda and "predictive programming" is so up in your face. Try to finish it tonight (7/20).

July 18

Long gig today (12 hours) at one of THE most famous luxury item stores in the world.
I say that only because as I was playing, it was AMAZING watching people. That's all I can say....just AMAZING.

Had a lot of "breaks" during this gig today so I got to do some reading. Read a lot of interviews from the Jazz Weekly website.

Fireside Chat With Dave Holland
Fireside Chat With Tom Harrell
Fireside Chat With Lester Bowie
Fireside Chat With George Coleman
Fireside Chat With Anthony Braxton
Fireside Chat With Billy Harper

July 17

Reading

Vein of Gold
Notes:
Mind Map

dreamtime
imagic-nation
causal plane
walking
"cross the bridge" into a "space"where our imagination and thoughts
start to take a physical form
vibration 6 rhythm
(desire + energy) + imagination (thoughts)= manifestation (solid form)
dreams (thoughts) become reality

"As we walk, we "cross the bridge" into the realm of desire and imagination."

Julia Cameron - Vein of Gold pg. 32

DeBono Creativity Work-out
Exercise #9 Value
Pick 5 random words
Which word creates the most value (Expensive, Safest, etc)

Exercise #10
Multiple Connections
Pick 2 random words
Create multiple connects for these words
(Go beyond the obvious)
_____________________________________________________________


If You Want To Write - Ueland
Chapter 3

"But the moment I read Van Gogh's letter I knew what art was, and the creative impulse. It is a feeling of love and enthusiasm for something and in a direct, simple, passionate and true way, you try to show this beauty in things to others, by drawing it."

Ueland - If You Want To Write pg 19

___________________________________________________________
I've read in multiple locations in the past 2 weeks, the value of walking in the creative process. Taking a simple walk. Who would've guessed? Once again, it's the simple things. I can attest to the importance of walking, not only for the obvious health values, but also the way in which taking a 30 minute walk can free up the mind.
I started intentionally taking daily walks about 5 years ago. I can't imagine the number of miles I've covered in those 5 years. There really does seem to be some connection between the rhythm that you get into on a longer walk, coupled with the breathing that causes me to be able to go deeper with my imagination. Sometimes there is a flood of new ideas, things to do, new insights on projects, new melodies, old melodies, etc. Julia Cameron speaks of the importance of walking in the Vein of Gold. She explains how valued walking was to creative/spiritual groups all through history. Walking is an improvisation. I've asked students if they take the same route to school everyday or to their train station. Invariable, the answer is yes. Trying a new route is fun. It can be really surprising (even in your own neighborhood) what new things you will encounter just trying a different route. That's the same kind of idea as playing tunes in the same old keys. Try a tune in a new key. It's surprising what new ideas pop-out unexpectedly because the fingers aren't able to run through the same old patterns. Suddenly the subconscious is released!
___________________________________________________________

If You Want To Write-Chapter 5
Action
(Walking-everyday)

"I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long 5 or 6 mile walk helps. And one must go alone and everyday.

My explanation of it is that when I walk in a carefree way, without straining to get to my destination, then I am living in the present. And it is only then that the creative power flourishes"

Ueland - If You Want To Write pg 43

Today
taking care of "odds and ends."
drivers License renewal
phone office-new battery
teaching at Senzoku
dentist
internet work
cafe-Couple of hours of reading
trumpet-late night long-tones

Taught final ensemble class of the semester today. Gave the students a copy of my latest CD. I gave them the CD because I wanted to stress to the students the idea of doing a complete creative project from beginning to end.
Create a concept/idea
Composition/arranging
Forming a band
Rehearse the band
Perform
Record
Post Production
Design/Photo/Art
Sales/Marketing
Follow-up gigs/tour

We talked about being involved in every step of the process rather than doing a

"corporately controlled"

project. Talked about how the culture is being created from the top down. (PR-propaganda-brain washing)
Documentary:
Century of the Self
Edward Bernays - "Father" of PR (Propaganda)
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6




It's funny..serendipity I guess. This morning as I was packing to leave for the day, I put together the CD's for the students (to talk about "concept/idea oriented projects") and put an old issue of LENSWORK magazine in my bag. At the cafe, I started reading Brooks Jensen's editor's notes and he was talking about "portfolio-oriented projects" for photographers. It's really a great article and applies perfectly to musicians as well as photographers.

Notes:
why do folios?
project-oriented photography
material included (quantity) varies from artist to artist & project to project
consistency throughout the project
there is a "big picture" idea that encompasses the project
portfolios are about ideas-another level above just photos
tells a story
creates emotion

July 16

Reading/Newsletters

Catching up on newsletter reading today. First thing I ran into was this story about a biomass-eating robot being created for the Pentagon and D.A.R.P.A. by Robot Technology Inc. After seeing my first "Terminator" film last week and also Transformers, I'm not surprised. Couldn't believe how "out in the open" they were in those movies about the "predictive programming."
New Military Robots Could Feed On Corpes
Gizmodo
Killer Military Robots
Robot Technology, Inc Official Website
Robot Technology, Inc Official Website EATR Project
Intelligent/Manless Vehicle Project
United Nations TV
Cell Magazine
NASA-Wide Awake in the Sea of Tranquillity
Lenswork Podcast #544
When There Is Nothing Left To Prove
MixLine
RAND News letter
Ray Kurweil Newsletter
Open Culture
Strangeness In The Skies
Japan Inc
Towards a Solution to the Debt Crisis in California
The State could walk away & create its own credit machine
creative prose
NAPP Newsletter
Iconoculture

Some ask me why I would want to read about all of these different subjects. I ask, "Why not?" I'm curious. It's the same as walking into a magazine shop and picking out 5-10 magazines of seemingly unrelated topics. Actually, for me part of the fun is seeing how connected many of these subjects really are. Plus, I'm led down roads and streams of thought that I could have never imagined.

July 15

Exercise
Yoga/chikung/weights/walk

Practice
Morning/afternoon/evening sessions
Slow-slow-slow practice
A lot of interval practice today.
Learned the Monk tune: We See

Food

Spent some time reading at Mister Doughnut today. Had to try a new mango/peach/orange frozen drink and green tea doughnut. Have to keep tryin' new things!!!

After Mister Doughnut, went across the street to SATY department store/cinema complex. Stopped in the entrance and donned a pair of 3D glasses with some kids to catch a preview of a new Disney movie.

Movie
KNOWING - Nicolas Cage

Reading

Picked these things out randomly this afternoon to take to the cafe and read. Kind of surprising later when I got into the reading. Julia Cameron was referring to Ueland and her book in Vein of Gold. And then I started reading a great interview/article in Scientific American on the Creative Mind and found that Cameroon was one of the writers being interviewed.

If You Want To Write - Ueland
In chapter 4, Ueland speaks about the necessity for idle time in the creative process. Constant "busy work" can block the flow of new ideas. She says to not feel guilty about having periods of inactivity.

Vein of Gold - Cameron
Your Mode of Transportation: Walking
Cameron speaks of the importance of walking as a creative tool. She cites examples throughout history of creative/spiritual people making daliy walks a part of their creative process. This also goes hand in hand with Ueland's comments about being willing to have periods of idleness (which could include taking long walks each day).

Scientific American Mind
"The Creative Mind"
A valuable article with tons of info given in a very straight forward manner. In a nutshell:
Capturing Surrounding Challenging Broadening

"But if it is the dreamy idleness that children have, an idleness when you walk alone for a long time, or take a long, dreamy time at dressing, or lie in bed at night and thoughts come and go, or dig in a garden, or drive a car for many hours alone, or play the piano, or sew, or paint alone; or an idleness-and this is what I want you to do-where you sit with pencil and paper or before a typewriter quietly putting down what you happen to be thinking, that is creative idleness. With all my heart I tell you and reassure you: at such times you are being slowly filled and re-charged with warm imagination, with wonderful, living thoughts."

If You want to Write - Brenda Ueland
pg 33

"Walking is the most powerful creative tool that i know. Although it has fallen into disuse in our hurried times, it may be the most powerful spiritual practice known to man.

A creative life is a process, and that process is digestion. We speak of "food for thought" but seldom realize that as artists we need thought for food."

The Vein of Gold - Julia Cameron
pg 25

July 14

Listening

Did some practicing today but, mostly listened to music all day/evening. I'm listening to a lot of things that I studied in the past with Marc Copland. Started listening to a T. Monk tune called We See. Repeated listening and singing the melody. I'll "put it on the horn" tomorrow.

Sample of my listening today:
Tom Harrell - Look to The Sky Cd
Studied most of these solos before so I'm
just starting to sing them again. Love
Kenny BArron's playing on this album.

Tom Harrell/Bill Evans
We'll Be Together Again CD
(Again, reviewing a lot of solos)

Bartok for Children

Clark Terry
Havin' Fun CD

Tribute to Strayhorn CD
Singing melodies and bass lines
A number of these tunes I want to start doing on gigs.

Keith Jarrett
Poinciana
Just In Time
All of You

Miles Davis
Round Midnight CD
reviewing a lot of solos (singing)

Miles Davis
Someday My Prince Will Come CD
reviewing solos especially Hank Mobley's on
Old Folks (one of my very favorite solos ever!)

Gary Bartz
My Shining Hour
(Love his vocabulary)

Booker Ervin
The In Between
The first "jazz" lp I ever owned. I love Booker's playing as
much as ever.....reviewing/singing his solos. Also, Richard Williams is
playing great trumpet on this album. One of my favorite players. I remember hearing
him live with Clark Terry when I was in junior high school.

Chet Baker
Once Upon A Summertime CD
Maybe my favorite Chet recording. His solo on A Song Is You is a classic.
Also, I've been a huge fan of Greg Herbert (tenor sax) since first hearing this
recording. Sadly, Herbert died young. It was obvious that he listened to a lot of Trane and Dexter but unlike most of the young cats out of that school, he didn't over play. He really exercised some restraint. Beautiful player....

The Best Thing For You
Some great playing by Chet, Kenny Barron and Paul Desmond

Dexter Gordon
Doin Alright CD
Reviewed/Sang a lot of Dexter's solos and Freddie Hubbard's solos

1955 CD
Singing solos

Coltrane
Stardust Sessions
Love Trane and Wilbur Harden's solos on this album. I mention Wilbur Harden when people ask me my favorite players. Everybody says, "Who?"

Freddie Hubbard
Byrdlike
One of my favorite Freddie recordings.

Kenny Dorham
Quiet Kenny
reviewing/singing solos

Lee Morgan
Memorial Album
This album "rocked my world" around 1978-79

Was really a great day of listening. When I was studying with Copland, I was always learning new solos. Had to walk into the lessons and sing the solos with the recordings. It was a great way to absorb the jazz language. Since living in Japan, I've gotten away from doing some of those things. As a result of doing this blog everyday, I'm feeling the urge to get back to those things that I used to do daily to help creativity.

July 13

Trumpet
Doing a lot of extremely slow practice. Trying to mentally hear everything and then sing before playing. Used to do this kind of thing when I studied with Marc Copeland back in the 1980's. What a great teacher he is/was!!! I'm finding now that a lot of his ideas are similar to Ran Blake's. The past few days, I started thinking about my experience with Ran Blake. It was really an intense few days in his workshop as it was an equally intense couple of years studying with Marc Copeland. I really know now that for various reasons (most of them silly) I've gotten away for doing a lot of things that I was working on daily during and after my time with those guys. Time to get "deep in the shed" again!!!

Marc Copeland: An Aesthetic Manifesto
Interview With Marc
Official Website

"Music is an aural art. Let me repeat, music is an AURAL ART."

Ran Blake - The Primacy of the Ear

"It is the ear’s strengths (and limitations) which are the most important elements in the creation of an individual style, not the ability to reproduce memorized, virtuosic licks at roller-coaster tempos. When musicians have this skill, along with imagination and perseverance as well as the ability to communicate, they are blessed. In our school curriculum it is the ear which is ignored in favor of analysis, reading of scores, and especially technique (although sometimes these pursuits are not mutually exclusive)."

Ran Blake - Third Stream and the Importance of the Ear
from the College Music Symposium, Journal of the College Music Society
Volume Twenty-One, Number Two
Fall 1981

Primacy of the Ear (pdf)
Third Stream and the Importance of the Ear