Jed Scott Music

New beginnings are seldom clear cut. We want our new beginnings, new habits, to be like New Year’s: one second, it’s 2017; the next, it’s 2018. Most of the time, new beginnings are much messier. Two steps forward, one step back, four steps sideways, and then a brick wall. New beginnings […]

I wrote yesterday in my year review that I received several “No” responses to big dreams I put into the universe. While I don’t want to dwell on that, I do want to make it the subject of this year’s personal goal. (I’m not actually big on resolutions per se…). Because the “Yes” responses all […]

2017 was a year to remember with much happening on many fronts. If I had to name the year in a few words, I would say it’s been the year of vocal jazz. Here’s an overview of my professional year in a few more words: Writing I published a new […]

I published a post here every day in 2017. Here’s a favorite post from each month. January: The Recipe for Making a Creative Person February: Mistakes, Loudly March: Two Sentences Worth Memorizing April: The Truth is More Complicated May: Some of the Best Days June: The Liability of Streaks July: A […]

My listening habits are fairly diverse, and fairly heavily rooted in revisiting music I love. That said, there are plenty of things I discovered this year – either new or new to me. Here are some that I loved. Elements (The Real Group) The Real Group’s 21st album is a diverse collection of originals, along […]

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 completed 22 books in 2017: short of my 2016 total, but a respectable number. Here are a few books I read this year […]

Our game closet is overflowing and only gets more so every December. What is it about a new game that attracts and drives us? I love familiar games like old friends – you fall into familiar rhythms and strategies, and appreciate the nuances of strategy and how they affect success and failure. […]

Are you ever concerned about approaching odd-meter pieces with your ensembles? As long as they’re treated well, there’s no impediment to us learning them – 4/4 is no more innate to us than any other metric feel. Consider this pattern: A tune of four measures of 4/4. On the second verse, […]

If you believe the true spirit of Christmas is in generous giving, then I’ve got the story for you. When McNally-Smith College of Music abruptly closed ten days ago, my friends Jen and Shon learned about it in an email that said they wouldn’t be receiving that week’s paycheck – […]