Busy Weekend Coming Up
To start with, a bit of quality time with each of my boys next Saturday, April 12th.
First, Marcus and I are going to the Spring Game at Memorial Stadium. You know – where the Nebraska Huskers split their team into two teams and play for the fans. It’s practice, right? But we all get to eat hot dogs and sit in the sun (hopefully) and cheer on our team. Marcus and I and about 45,000 other friends will be there.
Each year I have to explain it all to Quinn. Again.
But this time, after the game, I will rush home and prepare for a date. A concert date. Then it will be Quinn’s turn to explain to me how things work. Because we’re going to see Jazz.
The Family Business
Being from a family with a family business, I’m sometimes jealous of what other folks were born into. The Henson’s for example, that looks fun. Or the Marsalis family, who’s business is making music. Actually, the Marsalis family more specifically makes Jazz Music and Jazz History as well.
There’s Wynton, who is consistently seen around the intellectual speak-ama-speak spots about all things Jazz. Also he plays the trumpet. Branford Marsalis, who was called by his father, “A Random Abstract,” plays the saxophone. There’s Jason Marsalis, the drummer, every family should have one. And then there’s…
Delfeayo Marsalis on Trombone
Delfeayo Marsalis is coming to the (awesome) 1200 CLUB at the Holland Center in Omaha and I have to tell you – and this will shock you – I. am. Going. With my husband. Oh, Yeah.
If it were Wynton? Nah. Branford? Quinn yes, me -no. Jason? well, possibly. But Delfeayo in the 1200? Hell Yes. Not to diss any of these great artists, but when it comes to Jazz that I like… Delfeayo is the only one that fits the bill. Why?Melodic New Orleans Jazz.
It really is fascinating how each member of this Jazz family has chosen to take their music. (As another side note: Yes, today Jazz is capitalized.) All of the Marsalis boys are classically trained and admired professionals in their field. Delfeayo Marsalis was not to be outdone by any other so, after producing his first recording at age 17, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and majored in both performance and audio production. He’s produced several Grammy winning recordings, which likely explains why his form of Jazz is melodic and thoughtful or fun. Not pretentious or confusing – like some – but if it does get confusing, I’ll just ask my date to explain. 🙂
I am in need of that date and Jazz is one way to get my husband into a public place. The 1200 CLUB is an awesome public place. If you live anywhere near the Omaha area, let me take a moment and “plug” this venue:
The 1200 CLUB transforms the Holland Performing Arts Center’s most intimate venue, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Recital Hall, into a relaxed nightclub setting where patrons can experience performances by nationally and internationally known artists in jazz, blues and comedy. While enjoying the evening’s entertainment, audience members may enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails served right to their candle-lit table.
Does that say date or what?
*If you follow-like-join-spy on us via Facebook, I expect there will be photos*
Omaha Performing Arts just released their 14-15 line-up and I have to say, Quinn and I are working to make it a point to see more 1200 CLUB shows. Absolutely delightful. *For the record, tickets for the Delfeayo Marsalis show on Saturday, April 12, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. are still available and general admission is only $30 via TicketOmaha.com, 402.345.0606 or at the Ticket Omaha Office inside the Holland Center*
Then…Marcus and I will follow up with War Horse at the Orpheum theatre on Sunday.
So it’ll round up the perfect Omaha weekend: a little football, a date night, and finish up with Broadway. Sweeeet.
Sounds like fun! (Hey wait – are you allowed to have that?)
Ohhhh yeah.
A lot of jazz is based, harmonically speaking, on the blues, and much is centered around consecutive series of ii-V-I progressions (in fact, you may often see such sequences within the blues structure itself, given the predilection of many jazz musicians to spice up the harmony by way of chord substitutions).
Melodically, solos are improvised, but one must ask: how much of improvisation is truly spontaneous? Does the musician simply “make it up on the spot,” or does he (or, increasingly, she) have a vocabulary of stock “licks” that he (or, equally for this sentence, at least, she) simply string together to form a cohesive solo? Or is it somewhere in between (for him or her is implied)?
These and many more are the questions Mardra and I will discuss before and after the concert.
I expect her next blog will be quite full of interesting information about the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and yes, even timbral aspects of jazz!
Ummm…what were we talking about? I nodded off for a second there.
Your follow-up blog better not have any of that stuff Quinn just said. Way to take a nice night and ruin it!
Have fun!
(Enjoyed the blog, even if it did have the word “Jazz” in it, so that’s an accomplishment!)
Hehehehe, we’ll see 🙂