arrange • compose • conduct
A recent request from the brilliant composer/conductor David Von Kampen in the Facebook Vocal Jazz Educators group sent me down a rabbit hole, so I’m sharing the request and my answer here. I ended up with two playlists. One from the pros and one from academic groups. Enjoy! (Note: I […]
A brand new arrangement from Gene Puerling dropped today, courtesy of Chanticleer! Gene Puerling is a towering presence in the world of jazz and choral arranging. Having passed away just over 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have expected to hear brand new Puerling arrangements today; but a discovery in the […]
Why explore art broadly? So that you get the references. I remember when I read enough Ernest Hemingway to learn that he had coined the expression “moment of truth.” It made me listen to Tom Lehrer’s “Old Mexico” differently – it was a parody song about bullfighting, which is a […]
We’re celebrating Bobby McFerrin this weekend! As I’ve written before, the best Bobby McFerrin album is whatever one you’re listening to, and his live concerts are always revelatory. I can literally put myself in my seat at every Bobby concert I’ve ever attended and remember the process of trying to […]
Every year I’m excited to do a roundup of the favorite recordings that either came out, or were first heard by me, that year. In addition to audio recordings, I’m including a few other types of recordings – films, shows, and live performances that stuck with me. Recorded Music Is […]
Books remain at the heart of the media I consume – not perhaps the most significant by volume, but certainly by the effect they have on my life. I finished 16 books in 2022. It’s a step forward from my 12 in 2021, but nowhere near the 30-40 I want to […]
It’s poetry time. Let the prose wait for a week. A celebrate quote from former New York governor Mario Cuomo states, “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” I don’t know about the work of politics, but I do think that prose and poetry do have seasons. The week […]
How are you choosing what you listen to this Christmas? I’ve long advocated for ditching the radio when it comes to Christmas. That goes for the popular playlists on streaming services, too. So for this Christmas morning, if you’re looking for some listening that ditches the songs you hear too […]
Playlists in music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are powerful tools for curating the music you listen to. They can also be of great use in creating passive and active learning. Here are three ways to advise students to more effectively use the playlists you create. (For example, […]
Great new vocal harmony recordings are few and far between. We’re lucky to get a handful in any given year. Even rarer for them to come from a brand new group, as opposed to an established leading light such as New York Voices, The Real Group, or Take 6. What […]