Monday, April 28, 2008

Real Easy Vol. 3 transposed versions available

Just a note to let you know that "The Real Easy Book - Vol. 3: A Short History Of Jazz" is now available in Bb, Eb and Bass Clef, as well as the original C version. We have had nothing but positive feedback about this book since it came out in January and look forward to many schools adopting it starting in September of this year.

Also, it was my great pleasure to help bring David Berkman and his trio out to the West Coast for their first tour here. I caught them three nights in a row and have rarely enjoyed listening to music as much as I did those nights. David himself (the author of our book, "The Jazz Musician's Guide To Creative Practicing") has gotten several times better than he was even a year ago, and in my mind now stands up there with the very best of modern jazz pianists. His bassist, Joe Martin, is also a very accomplished player, a wonderful soloist and a complete professional, handing everything thrown at him without breaking a sweat. 25-year-old drummer Ted Poor is, to my ears, one of the most creative drummers on the planet, able to take the music to any rhythmic zone imaginable at the drop of the hat. Hopefully they will be recording this trio soon, and if a CD is released, don't miss it! Check David's website www.davidberkman.com for future gigs.

Speaking of great piano players, don't miss Enrico Pieranunzi's new duo CD with Marc Johnson, "Yellow And Blue Suites". Enrico at his best, and that's saying something. Not to mention the fabulous Marc Johnson, co-author of our book, "Concepts For Bass Soloing." So far, this CD is only available at www.rhapsody.com, the hippest music site on the internet that I know of, where for a low monthly fee you can listen to the entire track of songs on hundreds of thousands of CDs.

And to mention one more genius pianist, I was fortunate enough to catch the Keith Jarrett Trio performing at the SF Jazz Festival recently and all I have to say is, catch them while you can. Keith is at the height of his powers, as you can tell from his last CD, "My Foolish Heart."

Finally, do yourself a favor and check out Clare Fischer's CD "After The Rain". Not jazz in any sense, this is, IMHO, one of the most beautiful contemporary classical CDs ever recorded. Like Bartok, but without the angst. Just exquisite, and congratulations to Clare for writing such amazing music!

Keep your ears, and your mind, and your heart open and many beautiful things will come your way, even on this bizarre planet. Peace - Chuck

No comments: