Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
The Answer Was Obvious ***Soundtrack Of My Life Write-off **Update 2-18Feb 18, 2002 (Updated Mar 1, 2002) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Bottom Line: This CD is where I am, RIGHT NOW!
When I was invited by Cletta1201 to this write-off, I immediately agreed because I thought it would be interesting and a cause for reflection, as was the over-40 write-off I just participated in. Upon reflection, the starting point is my newly-released CD, “The Power Of Two” by John Temmerman’s Jazz Obsession Quartet. This truly is the soundtrack of my life, as it took much, much reflection to get to this point. I put my heart and soul into recording, producing and issuing the CD. Samples and ordering nformation is available on my site, www.jazzobsession.com. I've been told what is necessary to get it added to the Epinions database, and that should be happening soon. I am a CPA/MBA by education and trade. I support my family comfortably as Controller (head of Accounting) for a non-for-profit organization in Chicago. I like the job and the challenge of managing. However, accounting is something I do - music is something I AM. I took me a while to get to that realization. While I have the soul of a performer, my hearing and dexterity are average among musicians. In going through high school and college, I was always an adequate to good player, but never among the top on my instrument - the people with the blinding talent. I quit my horns when I went to grad school and embarked on my career. Business professionals don’t deal with such frivolous things. Maybe I was playing a script from my parents, maybe not. Ten years later, I discovered something was missing, something inside of me. I took up my horns again, discovered that tenor was my natural saxophone (I had played alto before) and found a mentor, Mark Colby at DePaul U. I decided that I wasn’t going to deny the music in me any more. Once I stopped focusing on others and started focusing on self-expression, music became not only a great need but also a source of great fulfillment. I started chasing after gigs and managed to get a few. Since the mid 90's, I have been performing occasionally, but steadily. I’ve also been teaching a group of eager and talented students. Music is what makes my heart sing and I’m glad I have come to realize that. I had recorded a modestly successful trio cassette in 1995 and, come 2000, I had composed a number of songs and felt ready to record in 2001. The schedule worked out real well, as the band and I had several gigs lined up immediately before the session. I wish I could say that the sessions were magical. I am pleased with the music that resulted, but I made my share of mistakes on the takes that did not make the CD. Still, I loosened up and delivered a performance that I felt represented my capabilities. So here are notes on some of the songs. Half of the tunes on the CD are my compositions; the other half are cover tunes - and those are part of my soundtrack. I’ll just comment on the more meaningful songs on the CD, and then on a few other albums that have been meaningful. Songs on the CD Costa del Sol This was on the soundtrack to the Playstation game, Final Fantasy VII. I was walking past my son’s room one day and heard the most beautiful bossa nova music. Naturally, once I said I liked it, he decided he didn’t. But he played it often enough at my request so I could figure out the chords and wite up some lead sheets for the band. This song represents family to me. Whispering Pines This was from a 1974 Crusaders album, Southern Comfort. I first got into this when at college. Hearing this music “in my head” literally helped me get through the ordeal of the CPA Exam. So, even though this qualifies as contemporary jazz, it takes me back to my college years - a time of great fun and accomplishment. Nice and Easy A tune made famous by Frank Sinatra, I like performing this when my wife is in the audience, along with Someday My Prince Will Come. During our courtship, there was a radio station playing “Saturday With Sinatra” during the early evening hours. We joke about how Frank put us together. This song represents love. T. C. B. in E This song, by Max Bennett, performed by Tom Scott and the LA Express was the theme song to the movie The Nine Lives Of Fritz The Cat. The movie was a total flop and so the album never got issued. I remembered the tune though. It was the most noteworthy part of the movie. I saw it in Boston in 1974 when I was in the summer program at Berklee School of Music. That was a very pleasant time for me. Fast forward to 1995. Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune had a very boring late night show. However, Tom Scott was his musical director, so I would tune in sometimes. One night, I heard The Song. I ended up getting a mailing address for him and requested the lead sheets which he graciously sent. Tom ended up delivering a scorching performance of this piece on his latest CD, Smokin’ Section. Doing this piece on the CD was a dream come true. Plan B This was modal piece that had gone though a number of incarnations. I’d first developed the melody while in college, but didn’t develop a “B” section until the mid-90s. This, like Secondary Ignorance, below, represents my development as a musician. Secondary Ignorance Another modal piece, this one is even more meaningful to me. I had heard this melody floating through my head for years, but realized that I did not have the capability to play it at the time. In developing myself as a musician, I became able to transcribe and play this music. Like Plan B, I had to fiddle around with several B sections before I found one I liked. Secondary Ignorance refers to being clueless. A colleague in a former job coined it. He observed that people are not aware of what they don’t know and it makes them doubly dangerous in a work setting. When The Lights Go Out, a stunning ballad by Mike Lawrence, was first heard on Mark Colby’s Mango Tango CD. He gave me the lead sheet. When I play it, I think of him. Come To The Table represents spirituality. What I did on this was to take the chord changes to the Christian hymn, One Bread, One Body and turn it into jazz. I couldn’t have done this CD without Rusty Jones, one of the top drummers anywhere and a very nice man. Steven Hashimoto, who plays his bass here, there and nearly anywhere with skill, taste and humor. Neal Alger, a major talent on guitar, just waiting to be discovered. and John Larson, a top independent recording engineer. Thanks, fellas! Other recordings with major impact on my life: Keep The Customer Satisfied by Buddy Rich was my first jazz album and one I listen to on CD to ths day. Bird and Diz featuring Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie was my introduction to small group jazz. The first Three Dog Night album was special because they were my first rock concert. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and many John Coltrane albums were listened to with wonder and pleasure. Go by Dexter Gordon was special as it struck a chord in me and has influenced me, as has Zoot Sims “Pennies From Heaven” soprano sax solo on his On The Korner CD. Chicago V was the pop soundtrack for me in high school and I still get chills when I hear their a cappella ending on Dialogue “WE can make it happen....” This is the Soundtrack Of My Life write-off, sponsored by Cletta1201 and Matta75. Please join me in reading the submisisons of these other fine writers: paulyoungotti madtheory Freak369 Aerocat lambchops kris-kochanski tigger500 Monnie1976 DavidK93 Arazim DVON jeff_wilder78 Lyrikal_BJ NFP BigC55555 EZ013182 kcfoxy Stairway2drew xiphoid lattechick kuuleimomi elsa70 Thanks for reading. God bless!  |
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