Ever hear of HER???!!!

So, after my David Bowie post recently, I came across another amazing musician that I'm mortified to learn I had never heard of, nor heard... My wife and son brought home a book from our public library today called "Little Melba and Her Big Trombone".  What an amazing story.  I actually thought, when we began the book, "this must be fiction..."  Once again, truth is stranger than fiction... That an African-American woman could do what she did in the 1950s and 60s, is amazing.  She went on the road with Dizzy, Duke, Quincy, and many others. There's a great NPR profile called "Women in Jazz", as well as another NPR Music piece called Melba Liston: Bones of an Arranger.  Check them out!  

Here's Melba Liston, 1960, Lausanne, with Quincy Jones...

David Bowie and brass quintets...

No not really, sorry!  But I am embarrassed to say that it took David Bowie's death for me to discover his music.  And wow, have I been missing out!  His new album, Blackstar, is amazing, and due to my wife's amazing Christmas gift to me of a new turntable, I did order it on vinyl!  

Tonight, I watched a great video produced by the BBC, with producer Tony Visconti, about the recording of another seminal Bowie album, Heroes.  The video was posted by one of my favorite writers, Austin Kleon, and it's well worth the 20 minutes you'll spend watching...

http://bbc.in/1QqfRTZ

I think one of the most interesting things about insights like this is the debunking of the myth that great creations spring from some fully formed vision of the artist, and that it all comes out in one clear and finished product.  Just like one of my favorite podcasts of late, Song Exploder, you see that that is most often not the case...

So, what does David Bowie have to do with brass quintets?  Well, nothing yet... maybe we can get our good friend Tom Holtz, who has arranged so many great tunes for Valor Brass to arrange something cool...???  Tonight, we had the chance to perform on a recital of the Composers' Society of Montgomery County in Bethesda, Maryland.  We played a new piece by composer Jeffrey H. Bauer, titled Danse Macabre.  Jeff is a conservatory trained (Peabody Institute) pianist and trombonist, and he contacted Valor Brass a few months ago about working together.  We really enjoyed his new work, and it just reinforced the fact that relationships between creators (composers) and musicians (performers) are such a rewarding experience.  Check out Jeff's scores at Balquhhider Music.

Here's a rehearsal recording from a few days ago of Danse Macabre...

Great new documentary that musicians should check out

The Wrecking Crew Click link, watch preview.

Thanks to Austin Kleon for posting this on his Tumblr page.

Ladies, note the bass player was a lady as well, Carol Kaye.  Here's a cool documentary about her.  That was in the mid-1970s!

Cool stuff!