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Essays-Thoughts

Here's the more philosophical stuff.

Competition in music

Randy_Sutin 24 May 2020

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since this afternoon’s discussion. Truth in advertising: I’m definitely in the “competition is destructive “ camp in spite of my long association with jazz and its deep tradition of cutting sessions. I’m a real fan of those when they are old-school and about having a lively conversation with everyone speaking their piece. In recent decades I have felt a shift in the energy that is more like something I hated as a youngster.

Re: Dave Samuels (cont'd), the composer

Stefan Bauer 29 July 2019

As I wrote in my text re Dave Samuels the day I heard about his passing I remembered that I must have a folder with a few tunes of his he had given me many years ago. And a set of Mallets - there is no imprint on them, they may be very early Malletech mallets - that I paid a small fortune for at the time. They came with bent shafts, almost impossible to play with.

Some Quotes & Thoughts from "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise"

allyman 3 September 2018

Hi Everyone,

At the Phila workshop a couple of weeks ago, Tony mentioned being a big fan of the book, "Peak."

I'm in the process of finishing that book up and as he had mentioned, it's loaded with some great information on what some of the world's thought leaders on "expertise" are learning and sharing with us.

Aesthetic Decisions for a Jazz Vibist #1 (2 vs. 4)

Randy_Sutin 14 July 2018

Now that I have reentered the world of being a musician who is uninterrupted by a day gig, I have been thinking about what I could offer this site. In the recent post about 4 vs. 2 mallet playing, something surfaced. It occurred to me that much of what is presented here focuses on technical aspects of playing the vibes such as grips, stickings, or composing for the vibes (such as the lines or harmonies we create while we improvise). I would like to focus on the aesthetic elements.

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