Dr. B's Blog

Some Latin American Music to Check Out

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 23:49:00 +0000

DHS Band Members, if you enjoyed your Latin American music unit in Concert Band, I've found some new favorites for you, all from Colombia and Argentina. I heard about most of them from various podcasts or stories on NPR, and now you can dig them along with me:

Monsieur Periné
As Billboard magazine describes them, "a Colombian group whose music is a quirky blend of swing, alt, pop and Colombian rhythms; something like a Colombian Postmodern Jukebox." This is totally fun and infectious music, sung in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and their videos are just as engaging. Their latest album is Caja de Música.

La Yegros
AllMusic.com calls her "The First Lady of Electro Cumbia" with music that "crisscrosses Latin American and North African folk traditions, tropical pop, reggae, hip-hop, dancehall, and chamamé to create its own frenetic dance genre." She's from Argentina, and her latest album is Magnetismo.

La Yegros on PRI's The World.

Bloque
This isn't a current group like the previous two, but it is a great example of rock en español. AllMusic.com describes them: "This eight-piece Colombian collective combines classic-rock guitar crunch and Afro-pop rhythms with hip-hop flavor and traditional Latin beats." My favorite song by them is "Daño en el Baño" from their self-titled 1999 release.

And one last one goes way back to the beginning of the Cumbia craze. If you like playing "Bailame" in marching band or pep band, here are the roots of that song:

Here's a Spotify playlist with more to explore (including a few class favorites):

Composing in Band Class

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 19:52:00 +0000

Today being the last day before spring break, I wanted to do something a bit different with the non-orchestra Wind Ensemble members. We had 2 flutes, clarinet, bass clarinet, 4 saxes, 2 trumpets, 2 euphoniums, xylophone, marimba, and piano in rehearsal, and we started off by learning three different pentatonic scales:

Major pentatonic (Bb C D F G)
Japanese "In" pentatonic (D Eb G A Bb)
Lydian pentatonic (C D E F# A)

Then I asked each student to noodle around on their favorite scale and come up with a 2-bar ostinato. After a few minutes, everyone shared what they composed. It was clear that Amy's was our favorite, so we all learned it. Then I played that ostinato over and over and had everyone improvising along to find a complementary pattern. Ben wrote one that was essentially an inversion of the original, so we all learned that as well. Ellis filled in some of the rests and created a 1-bar rhythmic motive for the keyboard percussion, and I modified it for the flutes.

Once we had all of our material, it was time to play our piece. We began by repeating the first note of the main ostinato over and over, adding a couple more notes every few iterations. This was inspired by Steve Reich's minimalist percussion work, Drumming. The countermelody came in next, followed by the rhythmic parts. Then Ethan played a soaring improvised theme on top of everything. The piece ended as an arch form, with the layers exiting in the opposite order that they entered.

Here is a fairly unrehearsed version of our piece. Enjoy!

The Passing of the Generations...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

As so often happens here at the Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria, I found myself in the wrong part of the Civic Center as I wandered around looking for the MYA Big Band concert. This resulted in a happy coincidence, as I ran into a DHS Band alum and former drum major, who is now a band director in Naperville. She invited me to her clinic session where she presented her master’s thesis research on how young band directors from the suburbs often feel “praxis shock” when they take their first job in a rural, downstate community. She spoke of her own experience as a North Shore kid who became the grade 6-12 band director in a small town in Central Illinois. I remember talking with her on the phone several times as she navigated the first two years of her career, and I really enjoyed sharing in her triumphs and challenges. I was so proud listening to her thoughtful and important research.

This got me thinking about how in education we are continually passing the torch on to the next generation of teachers. My former student took all of her experience at DHS and two college degrees and is now sharing her passion for music with a group of eager middle schoolers, some of whom might go on to be yet another generation of music educators. They are my musical “grandchildren,” just like all of those kids being taught by other alumni who are now music educators like Sam, Michael, Aaron, Susan, and Alexis, and all my past student teachers.

To bring this around full circle, I went into the exhibit hall to find my high school band director, who has since retired and works as a tour escort for high school band trips out west. We had a great chat about what we were both up to, and I could tell he was pleased with having started me on my career that led me to Deerfield. So now all of my current and past students have Mr. Pete Pappas to thank, because you are his musical grandchildren. Thanks, Pete, for all you taught me, and thanks to all my teachers from Mr. Meyer who first gave me saxophone lessons in 4^th grade all the way through my profs at NU, DPU, and BU. And so the circle continues…

Binge Listening

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 01:34:00 +0000

It seems that everybody today talks about binge watching their favorite TV shows. With so many ways to view them and with so many episodes available all at once, there is a great temptation to hunker down and spend hours with a single show, especially now in the middle of winter. It's a much different experience from traditional viewing, one episode a week. The immersive nature of binge watching allows you to really connect with story lines and characters as they develop and change. That (and simple inertia) is probably why it's become such a popular activity.

Something I've come to enjoy is what I call binge listening. With streaming services like Spotify, you can listen to an artist's entire recorded output from debut album to their latest offering. It's very interesting to hear how some artists stick to a tried and true style or genre while others change greatly over the years.

For me, binge listening works best with an artist with a somewhat limited output. The Beatles put out 13 albums, all of which predate the CD era, so they all clock in around 40 minutes or so (not counting the double White Album). That's about 10 hours to hear the progression from a brilliant cover band through Beatlemania, folk rock, psychedelia, sonic experiments, and back to their skiffle roots. Well worth your time!

Other artists I've done this with: Steely Dan, R.E.M., and The White Stripes (still in progress). I also recommend taking a specific portion of an artist's output, like Miles Davis' second quintet albums (E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, Filles de Kilimanjaro) or David Bowie's Berlin trilogy (Low, Heroes, Lodger) if their discography is too large to go through all at once.

On the classical side, I am currently listening to Ralph Vaughan Williams nine symphonies in order. I had previously only known a couple of them, so to sit down seriously with all nine is fascinating. Quite a departure from the English Folk Song Suite.

Anybody have recommendations for their own binge listening playlist?

(Yes, I know that this is the first blog post in a year and a half. It might be the last for another long time. Or maybe not. We shall see...)

Live Music in the Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 01:15:00 +0000

At the end of the school year, I usually remind the students to check out some of the many live music offerings around Chicagoland in the summer. This year, I've taken my own advice to heart and have already been to four events.

I started off with a trip to Ravinia to hear the Steans Music Institute jazz showcase. This concert capped off a week of intensive jazz study for 15 up-and-coming undergraduate and graduate students from the finest college music programs in the country. They were put into three quintets, and each group played five tunes, all of which were composed by the band members. They were led by some of our most esteemed jazz educators, including Dr. David Baker, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and bassist Rufus Reid. It was a great evening of music with a lot of fine soloing and unique compositional voices. I will definitely put this concert on my must-see list for June 2015.

Next I checked out DHS alum Greg Spero with his trio playing a homecoming gig in Highland Park at Vibe at 1935. Greg played piano in our jazz band and trumpet in the concert bands and marching band. He has since carved out quite a nice career for himself as a jazz pianist and keyboardist. This gig featured a lot of tunes from his most recent album, Electric. I especially dug his Bollywood meets Herbie Hancock number called "Raga."

I was very proud to see my former student with his killer bandmates Junius Paul on bass and Makaya McCraven on drums. Check them out if you get a chance!

My next event was a trip into the city to see Sting's new musical The Last Ship at the Bank One Theatre. Despite the fact that it took over two hours to drive there from the north suburbs, it was a very enjoyable show. The story is about the relationship between fathers and sons set against the backdrop of a dying shipyard in the north of England. The performances were strong, and I enjoyed the music. The tunes are varied with lots of traditional fiddle sounds, but there are little hints of Sting's individual style - a chord here or a bit of melody there. It sounds at times like one of his early solo albums, The Soul Cages, but it is definitely a musical theatre score, as opposed to a bunch of pop tunes strung together to make a "jukebox musical."

My last live music event was an old-fashioned "house concert." We had a guest musician, Matthew Clark, singing in our Sunday morning service at church, and one of the families hosted him in their living room that evening for an intimate performance. It was great to hear a singer/songwriter who knows more than four chords and can really get around on an acoustic guitar. Matthew sang and told stories about his life, and about 30 of us had a great time listening and chatting with him. There's actually a long history of house concerts in Western society--before recorded sound, if you wanted to hear music it had to be live. Think about all of the great Classical Era music that was performed for dinner parties, including many serenades by people like Mozart. What a wonderful tradition to bring back.

Later this week, we'll be off to Ravinia for our first Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert of the season. Looking forward to hearing one of the finest orchestras in the world!

Goodbye to the Hard Bop Grandpop

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 21:01:00 +0000

You may have heard by now that legendary jazz pianist and composer Horace Silver died last week at the age of 85. He is best known for his funky, earthy playing and his wonderful compositions that defined the style known as "soul jazz." Combining blues, jazz, and gospel sounds, his tunes have a classic feel-good attitude that has made many of them standards. I went through my old repertoire lists and found the following tunes that the DHS Jazz Band and after-school combos have played over the years:

Nica's Dream
Strollin'
Nutville
Tokyo Blues
Summer in Central Park
The Preacher
Song for My Father
Filthy McNasty
The Jody Grind
Senor Blues
Silver's Serenade
Sister Sadie

That last one has really been a staple of our repertoire, with 6 performances over the last 26 years. It's currently in our book, so you can expect to hear it in the fall. We've played "Song for My Father" almost as many times, including this past spring with Tuesday Afternoon Jazz. There are very few composers whose music we've played as much--John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Charles Mingus. That's impressive company.

If you'd like to find out why Horace Silver is so highly esteemed in jazz circles, check out this greatest hits album:

Photo: Horace Silver by Dmitri Savitski 1989, CC BY-SA 3.0

Happy New Year 2014!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 21:34:00 +0000

Yes, I know, it's been many months since my last post. I guess I've been lazy and putting up quick Facebook posts instead of more thought out blog entries. Well, I'm going to make it up to you today, on this first day of 2014. Here are 10 reasons to look forward to this new year in band:

January 15 is Klezmer Day! We will have three musicians visiting from the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band visiting DHS to work with SB and WE on pieces for our upcoming concert.
The orchestra winds and percussion will join our strings in the second performance of A Heartland Symphony at the Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria on January 24. I'll be making the trip with you all.
There are still lots more Pep Band at basketball games!
On January 30, we'll put on the second annual Jazz Combo night featuring the 2014 MAJ and TAJ debuts. This year, we'll be in the studio theater, which will be a fun new venue for us.
The Winter Band Concert will take place on February 5 with all three concert bands--we'll perform our klezmer music along with other wonderful selections.
The Jazz Band heads to Evanston Township High School on February 8 for the Evanston Jazz Festival, where we'll play a 3-tune set, get professional critiques, and hear a concert featuring John Fedchock, an internationally-known trombonist.
A number of our students will join musicians from 9 other local schools at the North Shore Honor Band Festival on January 11. A special highlight will be a world premiere piece by guest conductor James Curnow based on themes from Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
Concert Band will start their annual music on Latin American music. Get ready to become a giant mariachi ensemble, salsa band, and samba group!
The Solo and Ensemble fest in March will feature a number of SB/WE chamber groups as well as soloists.
Sometime this spring, I'll announce the proposed destination for the 2015 band trip. I've got some pretty cool ideas, but for now, my lips are sealed!

So there's just ten reasons why it's going to be a great 2014 with the DHS bands, and I haven't even gotten up to spring break. So now's the time to warm up those chops and wrists--time's a-wasting!

A Musical Saturday Evening

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 18:29:00 +0000

This past Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of leading a group of 12 Warrior Marching Band members in the briefest of performances for the DHS Class of 1963 at their 50th reunion. This is the first graduating class from DHS; they started as freshmen at HPHS, opened DHS as sophomores in 1960, and began many traditions that continue today. They chose our school mascot and colors, and they named the yearbook and school paper.

We entered their party room at the Embassy Suites to drum clicks--we were the special surprise they had been told about. We then played the Fight Song (about 40 seconds), I shared greetings from the current students and staff of DHS (about 15 seconds), and we finished with "Go Big Red" (about 20 seconds). Shortest. Gig. Ever.

We were well received, and some of the women did an impromptu cheer from the early 60s. It was a lot of fun, and I think we were an exciting addition to their festivities.

Then, I headed off to a friend's house for his annual backyard music fest. Sounds quaint, but it was really quite impressive. Here is the line-up:

a singer-songwriter performing a solo set accompanying himself on guitar and piano (not simultaneously!)
a vibraphone/violin jazz duo that sounded like it was straight out of the ECM studios in the 1970s
three tenors singing folk and pop music with guitars and basses
a world-renowned opera singer who has debuted several important operas over the past several decades
a country-rock band performing originals and covers
a band with the three tenors, 5 female backup singers, piano, mandolin, piccolo, guitar, dobro, bass, drums, and a horn line of sax/trumpet/trombone

I was in the last group on alto sax. We played R&B type tunes and some classic Americana. The highlight was a cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." We began with two percussionists, one on Afro-Peruvian cajon (a wooden box you sit on and play with your hands), and one on Indian tabla drums (the look a little like bongos but can play different pitches--you may have heard them on Beatles tunes). They are both master drummers, and their rhythmic interplay was incredible. After they traded improvised licks back and forth, the band snuck in and played the song up to its climax before fading out to the cajon and tabla again. When they finished perfectly together on the same beat (without really having planned it out ahead of time), it was one of the most musical moments I've experienced in a long time.

So you see, kids, this is why you need to keep playing your instruments into adulthood! Maybe you'll have a friend who is ambitious enough to stage his own mini-Ravinia. Then you can take part and have that transcendent experience of sharing music with good friends. That's why we do what we do, isn't it?

A Pop Music Playlist for September

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Happy September! Here's a Spotify playlist of songs with September in the title. Quite a variety--enjoy!

New repertoire lists have been posted...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Want to know what you'll be playing in SB, WE, or JB? The rep lists have been updated, and you can access them here:

Their are links to the recordings, but be sure to check out the Spotify playlist as well. The interface is easier to deal with, and you can follow the playlist as it changes throughout the year.

First rehearsals on August 22--that's two weeks!

Percussion Safety Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:20:00 +0000

Today I was putting together a new set of marching multi-toms, or quads, if you prefer, and I came across the following safety warnings:

Be Careful Using Sticks and Wire Brushes
Sticks and wire brushes are intended for playing the drums and should never be used to hit or to be thrown at people. Doing so can be extremely dangerous.
Broken Sticks
Fragments and splinters from broken drumsticks can fly into the air and cause injury to the player and/or to those nearby.

So kids, now we know to be careful with those sticks. My favorite warning, however, is the following:

Earthquake Preventions
A strong vibration such as an earthquake can cause your drums and hardware to shift and tip over. Stay well clear of falling objects to avoid injury.

Consider yourselves warned...

"Meteorology is an Inexact Science," or "How I Heard Four Minutes of a Concert at Ravinia"

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 16:37:00 +0000

It sounded like a great idea. The Ravinia Festival was presenting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a concert of a number of shorter works, including two with a violin soloist and three opera overtures. Two of the pieces, Bernstein's Overture to Candide and Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'une faune, are personal favorites. Since college and high school students get free admission to the lawn with their student IDs, it was going to be a cheap night of culture for our family. My wife typed "Ravinia" into weather.com and saw "0% chance of rain." I listened to the audio forecast on the Ravinia website, and the meteorologist mentioned "possible scattered showers." So, we picked up some sub sandwiches and headed off to Ravinia.

When we arrived, we staked out our place on the lawn and settled down to hear Candide, which is a wonderful, rollicking work full of fanfares, soaring melodies, and cross rhythms. Then the Debussy work began with a very quiet unaccompanied flute solo, and the rain started. Our umbrellas were at home, but we did have a blanket and a plastic ground cover. My sons and I took refuge under the plastic, which of course amplified the sound of the rain and drowned out all of the delicate harmonies and orchestral nuances of the work. The thunder didn't help much, either. I don't really remember anything about the two violin pieces because the rain wouldn't abate, and occasionally large pools of accumulated drops would rush off the edge of our plastic shelter and end up on us.

At intermission, I gave up. The rain became torrential as we packed up our chairs and table, leaving us looking like drowned rats. We walked back to the Park'n'Ride bus and headed home. By the time we got to our car in the Metra lot, the rain had mostly let up (of course). Later we found out that they let everyone into the pavilion for the second half (of course). If we had done that though, it would have been hard to enjoy the music while soaking wet, so oh well.

When we got home, I made my family sit down in the living room and listen to the Debussy. Seeing as how I use this piece in music theory class and have a wonderful handout with my insightful analysis of the work, I made them read it while listening to the music and watching the score on my son's iPad. Yes, we are an entire family of music geeks. But in the end, we had our Debussy!

I'm hoping to hear the concert on July 31 when wind soloists from the CSO perform two works by Mozart in the Martin Theater: his Serenade in C Minor, K. 388 (an arrangement of which was performed by the WE sax quintet this past spring), and the monumental "Gran Partita" serenade (a movement of which the non-orchestra WE members will play this coming year). Again, I'll be on the lawn, and again, I'll be at the mercy of the elements. Hopefully, it will be a beautiful star-lit night!

3 Minutes of Awesome! Best rock song ever...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 12:00:00 +0000

For a rock song to be considered the best rock song ever, at least in my book, it requires the following items:

It must be guitar-driven. Synth rock and EDM need not apply.
It has to have a memorable hook, something catchy and engaging without being trite.
It must have a sense of chaos and danger. Rock was never about safe music.
There must be a bit of snarl to it, in both attitude and voice.
It cannot be pretentious (and there's a whole lot of pretentious rock out there).

Now there are plenty of great songs that don't satisfy these requirements. That doesn't mean they aren't exemplary in their own rights; they just can't qualify for my list of "Greatest Rock Songs of All Time." And that's okay--Steely Dan will never make the list, but I still love their music. Ditto Paul Simon.

So what's on my list? Well, for years it was just one song. I've since added a couple of runners-up, but I should probably lengthen that list. These include "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, and "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles. But the song I believe to be the Greatest Rock Song of All Time is "My Generation" by the Who. Here's why:

Guitar-driven? Check! Pete Townshend's windmilling guitar propels the track.
Memorable hook? Check! The background vocals "talkin' 'bout my generation" and Roger Daltrey's stuttered leads.
Chaos and danger? Check! Keith Moon's on-the-verge-of-falling-apart drumming that sounds sloppy as all get out but never loses a beat.
Snarl? Check! It's the classic "us vs. them" mentality, with Roger singing Pete's famous and now ironic line "hope I die before I get old."
Pretentious? Not in the least!

Add to that a wicked bass solo by John Entwistle, a surprising modulation, and a live show that typically wound up with total destruction. Greatest. Rock. Song. Ever.

3 Minutes of Awesome! Morning run playist...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 16:36:00 +0000

Today, instead of one track, I'm sharing 16! This was the random playlist my iPod generated for me on my morning run. I've excerpted it to be under three minutes, so you can enjoy it without spending the hour plus that I was out on this beautiful day. Here are the artists:

The Beatles
War
Prince
The Sugarcubes
Dave Matthews Band
R.E.M.
The Rolling Stones
Esperanza Spalding
Paul Simon
Steely Dan
R.E.M. (again)
Los Lobos
Led Zeppelin
Yes
Parliament
Sting

Check it out:

Link

3 Minutes of Awesome! Gustav Holst and one of the greatest works ever written for band...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 12:00:00 +0000

In the early years of 20th century, very few important composers wrote music for bands. Fortunately for us, Gustav Holst was one of them. His two landmark works, First Suite in E-flat and Second Suite in F, have become cornerstones of wind repertoire. This coming year, we will be studying his life and music, and I'm sure that both Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will spend some time with these wonderful pieces. There may even be time to dip into his orchestral suite The Planets, which explores the mythological beings of Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

As an ironic aside, noted Holst scholar Colin Matthews composed an eighth movement, Pluto, in 2000. As Holst wrote his original work over a decade before Pluto was discovered, it always felt "incomplete" to later audiences. I wonder how Dr. Matthews felt when, six years later, Pluto was demoted!

In any event, here is the Intermezzo movement from the First Suite in E-flat, as performed by the United States Marine Band.

3 Minutes of Awesome! Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to "3 Minutes of Awesome," my summer series on incredible music that you can enjoy in only three minutes or so, bite-sized bits of wonderful sounds from classical, jazz, pop, and world music.

Today, I'm highlighting the first true giant of jazz, Louis Armstrong. Before he became a movie star and a retro-performer, he was on the cutting edge. Here some of the reasons he is considered a groundbreaking musician:

He was one of the first soloists to improvise in a manner that went beyond mere embellishment of a pre-existing melody.
He popularized the trumpet when his peers were all playing the mellower and quieter cornet.
He may have invented (but definitely popularized) scat singing.
His sense of the swing rhythmic style was much freer and smoother than the "ricky-tick" beat of other musicians.
He played with a bigger sound and a higher range than other trumpeters.

If you want to hear the true Louis Armstrong, check out his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, which were recorded in the late 1920s. These are much more interesting, in my opinion, than his later work. One of my favorite recordings, however, is this duet with pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, on "Weather Bird." Check out this insightful commentary while you listen.

Why marching band has meant a lot to me over the years...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 22:15:00 +0000

Last weekend, my family and I went to a reunion with some of our closest friends from the Northwestern University Marching Band. It's been almost 30 years since any of us marched in "NUMB," but our friendships, which were forged on the practice field and in the rehearsal hall, have lasted over the years. Among us, we had four piccolo players, three sax players, and a euphonium player. Two were drum majors, and a bunch of us were on the band staff. All told, with our kids and non-marching spouses, we had 17 people in a rented log-cabin house near Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.

Today, we work in law, pharmaceuticals, music education, and parenting, with kids from 12 to 23. Most of our children have continued the musical tradition by playing in bands and orchestras from middle school into college. They enjoyed (I think), listening to us rehash old tales and swapping "what's he doing now?" stories.

There's something about the time spent together in marching band that truly binds people together socially. It's a lot like being on a team, except it's coed. Right now, I'm making plans for the 2013 season of the Warrior Marching Band, and it's possible we are going to break last year's record numbers. I'm starting to get excited about watching another wonderful group of students come together to form a family of musicians--one that just might create friendships that last for decades.

3 Minutes of Awesome! Little Richard is the man...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

This may be one of my all-time favorite recordings ever. I'm not sure when it was done, but it's not the original single released by Little Richard. It sounds like something from the 60s, but I'm not an expert on his discography. I love the drummer and the horns on this one.

In any event, Little Richard rocks the piano as well as anybody, and he outdoes the Beatles on his "woo" effects. His outrageous stage persona and unbridled raw energy make him one of my five "Founding Fathers of Rock" (along with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis).

Ask one of my music theory students about my patented Little Richard impersonation...

I'll be on hiatus for the holiday week ahead. See you with more "3 Minutes of Awesome" on July 8. Happy Birthday, USA!

3 Minutes of Awesome! Back to Brazil...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 21:18:00 +0000

Every year in Concert Band, we study the music of Latin America. We begin with mariachi and norteno from Mexico, move on to son and samba from Cuba/Puerto Rico, and finish with samba music from Brazil. This year, the band was particularly taken with the Brazilian band Timbalada, and many of the students were downloading their music to listen to on their own. I was very excited to see that I had turned them on to one of my favorite musical cultures, right up there with Mali and India.

I went looking for some similar bands and found Monobloco. This is how they describe themselves:

Monobloco's eclectic repertoire goes from traditional carnival marchinhas by João Roberto Kelly to sambas by Cartola and Clara Nunes; from xotes by Alceu Valença to forrós by Luiz Gonzaga; from the Brazilian funk of MC Leonardo to pop songs by Paralamas do Sucesso, Raul Seixas and Tim Maia. Among the hits performed during the shows are Taj Mahal, Fio Maravilha, País Tropical and Santa Clara Clareou (all by Jorge Benjor), Rap do Real (by Pedro Luís and Rodrigo Maranhão) and São Gonça (by Farofa Carioca). This unexpected mixture is also seen in the array of instruments - electric and bass guitars are added to traditional samba school instruments such as cavaco, repique, tamborim, shaker, surdo and agogô.

When you check out the video, watch for some of these instruments, like the tiny tamborim (frame drum), the caixa (snare drum), the large surdo (bass drum), and various agogo bells. You'll even hear the apinto, which is the whistle used to signal a new section of the tune for a large percussion bateria marching in a samba parade.

Enjoy!

Here's the whole album on Spotify:

3 Minutes of Awesome! Neoclassic Stravinsky

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 15:37:00 +0000

Igor Stravinsky is best known for his epic ballet, The Rite of Spring, which was so revolutionary that it caused a riot at its premiere, 100 years ago this spring. And while I love his ballets and his large orchestra music, I'm most fond of his neoclassic chamber works, like his Octet and the piece I'm featuring today, The Soldier's Tale, or as it's more commonly known, L'Histoire du soldat.

Stravinsky wrote L'Histoire in 1918 for a small chamber ensemble with narrator. It tells the story of a Russian soldier who makes a deal with the devil over his violin. It's pretty complicated, but it involves typical themes of love, loss, and greed. The piece, however, is quite often played without the narration as a separate suite. This is how I first encountered it. Since the work involves a great deal of mixed meter, it makes a challenging test piece for directors. In our advanced conducting course at Northwestern, we had to direct it while our professor, Mr. Paynter, sat in the back and graded us. And as if that wasn't enough to make us nervous, he gave the performers little slips of paper with mistakes they were to play on purpose to see if we could hear the errors.

Here's an Israeli ensemble performing the "Royal March" movement.

Here's the full work, as played by members of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi.

3 Minutes of Awesome! A little ska for your Friday...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Ska is a Jamaican music style that first came to light in the early to mid 1960s. It was based on a number of other styles, including American R&B and jump blues, Jamaican mento, and Caribbean calypso. It is characterized by a skittering, offbeat rhythm in the guitar that gives it an up-tempo, propulsive beat, as well as a sax/trumpet/trombone horn line to provide color. Important performers were Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, The Skatalites, and a young Bob Marley. Eventually, the beat slowed down (due to a particularly hot summer in 1966), and reggae was born.

In the late 70s/early 80s, there was a ska revival in the UK, led by bands like The English Beat and The Specials. I first encountered the style when my brother and I ("The Brame Brothers") were asked to add trumpet and sax to a rock band made up of some of our friends. The leader and guitarist was way into music that became the soundtrack of the 80s for me: Talking Heads, REM, English Beat, etc. It was very cool being in a rock band--we played a battle of the bands and a street fair in Glenview. I have some very embarrassing pictures that will not see the light of day...

Here is a great tune by the English Beat that will give you a good idea of the ska revival sound, "Twist and Crawl."

If you want to delve further, check out this Spotify playlist:

3 Minutes of Awesome! Dr. John and his New Orleans Voodoo Funk...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:54:00 +0000

Here's a tune that I loved when it came out in 1973--I would have heard it on AM radio here in Chicago: "The Big 89, Music Radio WLS." Dr. John, aka Mac Rebennack, is a New Orleans native and musical legend, combining the rhythm and blues piano styles of artists like Professor Longhair with late 60s psychedelic rock. Mix in some good ol' New Orleans voodoo culture and you have one spicy musical gumbo.

This song is his only top 20 hit in a long line of varied recordings dating back to 1968. Last year he came out with another critically acclaimed album, Locked Down, that is also worth checking out. The video I have posted here is a real trip--someone actually recorded the 45 rpm single spinning on a turntable!

Spotify link:

3 Minutes of Awesome! A great brass fanfare...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:09:00 +0000

We start the new week with one of the truly great brass fanfares, right up there with Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, the Fanfare pour précéder La Péri by French composer Paul Dukas (1865-1935). He's probably best known for his tone poem, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, because it was used in Disney's Fantasia when Mickey Mouse donned the wizard's hat and quickly found himself overrun by sentient broomsticks.

La Peri is a short ballet written in 1912 that was not staged until the 1930s in London. The fanfare is performed much more often; in fact, the DHS Wind Ensemble has played a band transcription of the work from time to time. It is full of Dukas' modern, yet tonal, harmonies that make his music sound so sparkling and appealing. Here is the world-famous University of Illinois Wind Symphony, directed by Robert Rumbelow, performing the work live in 2012:

As always, I'll share a Spotify link as well. The performing ensemble is the Orchestre National de Lille, a French orchestra from the north of the country, near the border with Belgium.

3 Minutes of Awesome! Classic 90s Grunge...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

In 1993 I was just getting out of my serious rock phase. Up until then, I was an avid reader of Rolling Stone, a constant listener to WXRT (back when it was more cutting edge), and a self-proclaimed student of rock history and criticism. I was into a lot of noisy, angry music like Pearl Jam, Living Colour, Jane's Addiction, and Sonic Youth. Then, we had our first kid, and I wasn't finding a lot that spoke to me as I settled comfortably into my Suburban Dad phase. I got back into jazz in a more focused manner as well as teaching my brand new baby all of the important Beatles songs. It just seemed more appropriate than "Been Caught Stealing." Nowadays I only keep up with rock in a tangential manner, listening to NPR's Sound Opinions podcasts to hear what's considered hip today. But back in 1993, I was still an angry young man...

One of the coolest albums from that year was Last Splash, by a band out of Dayton, Ohio called The Breeders. Led by twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, it was a great example of what was considered alternative at the time--quirky, post-punk, grungy music with attitude. Every band had their own sound; there was nothing homogenous about 80s-early 90s alternative. This is before it became a record company/radio station format.

The whole album is a lot of fun. Staying with the "3 Minutes of Awesome!" theme, I chose "I Just Want to Get Along" for its danceable beat, chiming guitars, and thick distortion. The muffled, sarcastic vocals fit perfectly: "If you're so special, why aren't you dead?"

I highly recommend checking out the entire album on Spotify. The highlight is the hit single "Cannonball" - one listen and I'm back in 1993, my fifth year at DHS when we had two bands and a mandatory marching band, all crammed into M106 with a practice room for an office. Good times...

3 Minutes of Awesome! A Frenchman remembers Brazil...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Brame, DMA) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite musicians is Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), a Jewish composer from the Provence region of France. He is best-known for his use of avant garde harmonies, jazz rhythms and melodies, and folk music from his native land as well as other cultures. He spent time traveling in Brazil in the late 1910s, and the popular music of the cafes and dance halls left a strong impression on him, so much so that he wrote Saudades do Brasil, or Memories of Brazil, a suite of dances for piano.

I'm not sure how I first encountered this work, but I know it was in high school. I have always been captivated by the bitonality (left hand in one key and right hand in another), which creates some delightfully "crunchy" harmonies. In Milhaud's music, however, it always seems natural, as if we are in the middle of the street in Rio hearing sounds coming from two different night clubs.

In college, I arranged four of the twelve movements for band, with somewhat mixed results. I was fortunate enough to have them performed by the North Shore Concert Band at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University. Some day I'll dust them off and see if they are worth looking at with a band at DHS.

Here is piano player Michael Kozlovsky's rendition of the first movement, "Sorocaba." You can follow along with the sheet music in the video.

Here is version on Spotify that I like even more:

I highly recommend listening to the entire suite, but that's way more than just three minutes of awesome!