There is a secret built into Bach’s Little Fugue in G minor.
I issued a friendly challenge to listeners to spot the famous Jazz standard nestled among the busy polyphonic dialog in this Bach piece.
Even an offering of 2000 internet cool points has not unearthed the answer, so I’ll give it to you now:
Listen at 1:52
…now listen to the video below at 2:25.
Nerdy but cool.
Happy Holidays!
Is it really holiday season already? With each passing year, the time warp factor kicks up a notch.
New Videos, New Album, New Store
I made a new jazz guitar Christmas EP “Rob Michael’s Christmas by the Fire.” Because I believe an album should more than some audio files and a pretty picture, I’m inviting you to listen and watch via this Youtube playlist.
This features the actual performances heard for the entire album, yours to experience for free.
Let me know what you think!!
We have two new stores on the Android Market
One for Atmos Trio and anothr for Rob Michael projects.
Put “Rob Michael’s Christmas by the Fire” in your Google Music library.
Day 2 of experiments w/ my (Feux) Baritone Guitar tuning. Low to high it’s Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, F, Bb.
Here I’m playing some chords to a melody that meandered by. You likely know someone for whom this tune is perfect.
..and if it’s your birthday, this should set the mood for some reflection/ self-evaluation.
Enjoy.
Since late last year, some local jazz lovers (including myself) got together to brainstorm on the topics of Jazz Awareness, Education and proliferation and created the Vallejo Jazz Society (VJS).
Using our friend Janice King’s, The SonomaValley Jazz Society as a model, we’ve filed for non-profit status and organized a some great concert events.
One such event was this past Sunday. The entire community came ‘to bat’ including the venue (Vallejo’s Havana Sol) all of the musicians that volunteered their time and talent, and the board members of the VJS who gave of their time, talents and areas of expertise.
I’m excited to report that the event was a huge success! A capacity crowd proved super-appreciative/ receptive to our cause and was very generous in offering us their contact information as well as some wonderful donations!
This validates a theory that I have held for some time: There a MANY Jazz lovers/ supporter among us, but each one seems to be an island, partially isolated from like-minded listeners and patrons. Provide a happening scene/ community around which these individuals can rally and you’ve got yourself an real-life audience.
Grass roots…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–my favorite use of the internet is collaborating with people you otherwise would probably not have even met.
Case-in-point is a new 4-song Electronic/Funk/ Jazz EP called “Guard the Point” organized by Allen Wentz. Allen masterminded this project and invited me and two other top-shelf musicians, Neil Alexander on keys and Trip Wamsley on bass to play. He even invited my favorite graphic artist Linda Palmer into the fray who always over-delivers: she produced different artwork for each song.
Trip and I have recorded together before and Neil has been on my short list of guys I wanted to do some playing with for some time.
It was great fun to get a new audio file from Allen every couple of weeks and see where I might fit into the musical landscape. It was pretty easy as all these players are super sharp, tasteful and generous.
So, here is the debut release from the LegoLand Empire “Guard the Point.” Please let us know what you think, share it on your favorite social network and buy it you’re so inclined–the whole EP is just $1.00.
I guess it’s the seasonal nature of Holiday songs that hold their appeal for me. You play them for a couple of months and forget about them until the following year.
I’ve started making short videos of Christmas tunes that I’ve been re-harmonizing lately. Here’s my latest.