Emptying the Mental Spit-Valve: July 29

Before my old compadre Arun headed out of town after the gig Tuesday, we were able to sit around and chew the musical fat for a while over some chicken tikka masala. It was good to be able to talk jazz nerd-ese again; I guess I usually assume my current musical associates have better things to discuss than flat-6th pentatonic scales and practice techniques, but Arun and I have been talking about this stuff since 1994, so it comes naturally. And it's always helpful to bounce ideas off someone and see if what I'm thinking makes sense outside the confines of my own brain.

Additionally, it was good to be reminded of the days when I was new to New York City and Arun and I spent many hours practicing running Charlie Parker tunes through all twelve keys on his Upper Broadway rooftop, surrounded by steaming chimneys and screaming neighbors. Those were some quintessential New York moments for me.

Meanwhile, the Quintet has set a tentative date for our first recording session as a group, which is long overdue, since we've been playing together pretty consistently for over a year. The idea, of course, is that I can use this recording to get us some more diverse work, and have a chance to hear the group outside the friendly but geometrically challenging confines of the House of Shields. Since this will be a demo recording, it will most likely be available for download on this site. I'm also working on getting some live MP3s ready to post, which I'd eventually like to make a regular part of this website--a sort of "Best of Last Tuesday" feature. Stay tuned.