Update

Got my dental implants put in yesterday, so no trombone for a couple months. Makes me a sad panda. Gotta look on the brightside though, after I'm done with all this my braces come off. Getting them off the first time did great things for my playing, so I can't wait for it to happen again.
Still trying to locate a cheap bass/guitar/keyboard to learn in the meantime, since right now I only have about $70 worth of spending money and I'm struggling to find a job. Went to 2 different interviews last Monday, and so far the results have been bad.

To end off my video, here is Mr. Eduard Khil singing I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home, aka "trolololo" song. RIP Mr. Khil.

Vehicle

Guess it's been a month, sorry. There just wasn't a lot to talk about relating to music.

Last day of high school was Friday, graduation is Thursday night, so I guess that ends that chapter of my life. Had to finally relinquish my command of the school's bass trombone, so godspeed to those who may come after me in playing it.

Surgery will be in about 3 weeks, after which Trombone playing goes on hold for a lonngggg time. Right now I'm still trying to find a cheap Bass/Keyboard/Guitar on craigslist to learn to play for the 3-months my face will be out of commission. Can find cheap guitars aplenty, which is unfortunate as I would really prefer to learn keyboard/bass, but it is what it is.

Song for this post: One that the school's other jazz band played, and I really dig it.

Fell in Love With a Girl

Been neglecting the blog. It's strange for me, as I feel like with no readers I don't have an obligation to post, but then I won't get any readers if I don't post. My bad.

Personal life tidbit: Tribute concert to middle school director happened Wednesday. Was alright, but seeing as I never had him as a director I felt kind of out of place being there. Songs went over alright, and now we start pops music. Hoping we get some real 'pops' pieces and not just songs the director thinks sound neat.

Been listening to some White Stripes recently. I guess you could say taking a break from the busy hornlines of the Ska-punk/Jazz with some simple drumset and sick guitar parts. Not much to say really, that's just what I've been listening to.

Bottom End Shuffle

Heard this song at Northern Arizona University's Jazz Festival in February, but for some reason I can't find many recordings on YouTube, which really depresses me. There's a grand total of about 3, all by Japanese bands which don't really compare to NAU's Big Band's rendition.

About the song: a really cool Bass Bone/Bari Sax feature, and being in the 3rd row from the stage when they played this my jaw just hit the floor. Such a cool thing to hear the low end featured as opposed to the continuous stream of (at least for our band) 1st Tenor solos. The composer, who also directed the band I saw, is Professor Ryan Haines, who teaches Jazz Trombone at ASU, so hopefully I'll have the chance to take his class in the future.

Stole this off of the publisher's website (shhhhhh), but take a listen.

The Mission Theme

Been a while since my last post, sorry about that, although I don't think anyone is actually checking this blog everyday :P This post will also diverge from Jazz a little, so sorry about those jazz viewers. At least this one is band related and not some pop song...
-Personal Life Rant-
I'm having a bitter-sweet surgery in 2 months, getting my dental implants which means no more braces! Yay, I can play to my full ability again! The bitter part? The surgery will put me out of commission for 3 months, meaning my chances of making ASU's jazz just got a lot slimmer. I am planning on learning either Piano or Bass Guitar over the summer though, so I won't be completely out of music.
-Personal life rant over-
In concert band we're playing a couple John Williams pieces for our next concert. When we got these pieces I got so giddy because guess what: THERE'S REAL 4TH TROMBONE PARTS!!! Pedal As? Yes please. Really like John Williams, and having a 4th Trombone part just feels so right.

P.S. For John Williams Fans. I love The Whitest Kids U Know.

Boogie Stop Shuffle

Oh boy is this a fun song to play. The 3rd trombone part (no 4th bone on Mingus pieces) might just be eighth note runs with the occasional pedal b-flat, but when it's quarter note = 250 hot damn do those notes move. I really can't explain what is so fun about the piece, (my first time having to diddle tounge maybe?), but it's just so exhilarating to play, and always leaves me sweating.

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

I'll admit I'm not big fan of ballads. I just don't get the same energy from them as I would from a nice funk tune or an up-tempo swing. If I had to diagnose my reasoning for this, it's due to the fact that in a lot of them there is a constant soloist, taking away from the big-band feel.
There are definitely some I do enjoy, however. A ballad in particular I loved listening to was played by one of my school's bands last year, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Really enjoyed that, but most of the time when we get a ballad handed to us in jazz I go from excitement about getting a new song to apathy about it being a ballad.