Last night I made a video recording of myself performing an original jazz bebop tune on the piano. It’s called Ocean Apart and I wrote it last summer while taking a composition class with New York jazz pianist Misha Piatigorsky.
You can view the video on Youtube, Blip.tv, or use the player below.
Benny Reid, 29, is an saxophonist, composer, teacher, and recording artist who studied at Indiana University and now resides in New York. (Find him on Twitter, All About Jazz, Myspace, or Youtube).
He recently released his second album, Escaping Shadows, on the Concord Jazz label.
It features Benny Reid (alto saxophone & keyboards), Richard Padron (acoustic and electric guitars), Pablo Vergara (piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards), Daniel Loomis (bass and electric bass), Kenny Grohowski (drums), Jeff Taylor (vocals), and Ryan Fitch (percussion).
For a sample of the music on the CD, check out the video below (or on Youtube).
One of Benny Reid’s main influences is Pat Metheny, and many of his compositions have parallels in some of Pat Metheny’s earlier works. The title track, Escaping Shadows, reminds me of Metheny’s Minuano Six Eight.
I’m a big fan of Pat Metheny so Benny Reid’s compositions immediately appealed to me. His work is similar in style and interpretation to Bob Curnow’s (who did a recording of Metheny’s earlier works in a big band style). Benny Reid’s arrangements make use of the smaller ensemble well and move between a contemporary, abstract style and an almost smooth-jazz sound for some of the melody lines and musical effects.
I especially enjoy Kenny Grohowski’s sensitive, nuanced, and very active drumming (which tends on the busy side but is very musical).
Benny Reid has a great sound on the alto sax – a very clear, expressive and pure tone. He avoids repeating the often quoted licks of bebop and instead forges his own way, with easily recalled and infectious melodies that seem almost derivative in their simplicity, but taken in the context of the band and compositions are obviously original.
Escaping Shadows is available as a Mp3 download or a physical disk from Concord Music Group.
My talented globetrotting singer-songwriter friend, Angela Molineux, dropped by my place today for a visit, and we wrote and recorded a new song, called All I Want To Do.
We originally started working on this song 3 years ago when we were both living in Vancouver. Since then Angela has performed and lived in Italy, New York, and London, has studied opera at Julliard, and has had many other interesting musical adventures.
All I Want To Do is a seductive pop ballad that is full of emotion and desire. The simple, repetitive harmonic structures envelop the listener in a thick intoxicating cloud that can become almost trance-like. Most of the song is made up of the chord progression Ebm Gb Fm, and the second half of the chorus alternates between Ab and Gb.
The song is now live on iTunes. Click the link below for a preview of the song, and the full version can be purchased through iTunes for 99 cents.
Last weekend I wrote a new song, it’s called I Spy, and it starts off with a “haunting minor” mysterious opening, builds some tension, and then has a cool major-7 bridge section which I really like.
I made a recording of it which you can view in the Youtube video player below or view on Youtube directly by clicking here. At the end of the video I pick up the microphone and give a short musical discussion about the melody and chords.
My friend Gio Escueta wrote an emotional pop song called Lonely Days and we recorded a performance of it in a Youtube video last night. (I’m playing piano in the video and Gio is singing).
I wrote a classical-sounding piano piece, Lament, that is quite moody and reminds me a little bit of Beethoven and Chopin. (Click here to listen.)
Wikipedia says, “A lament is a song or poem expressing grief, regret or mourning.” I sat down and thought I would try to write something jazzy, maybe inspired by some of the great jazz I saw in the Vancouver Jazz Festival, but for some reason I was attracted to the sounds of minor and diminished chords. Some classical piano pieces which have had an influence on my music are the Beethoven piano Sonatas (especially the Appassionata) and the Chopin Ballades.
Please click below to listen to my piece, Lament, and let me know what you think! It’s recorded in stereo for your listening pleasure. 🙂
