Ho ho ho (ha ha he he). It's that time of the year. A complex and curious time; Christmas, that is. Quite apart from any substantive spiritual significance, Christmas has become it's own cultural category. The separation of the "sacred" and the "secular", and it's sustainability aside, "Christmas" in our society offers a unique respite from the cultural chasm which is prevalent most everywhere else. I deal with this on a daily basis, as a musician working (among other places) with senior citizens and in the church. To touch on it briefly here ( more may come later), as I see it, when rock and roll came into it's own, everything changed. What occurred in the later 1950's and thereafter was not an evolution of styles or tastes, but a cultural shift. This shift is/was dramatic enough as to leave those on either side of the "divide" feeling unable (or at least challenged) to connect with that which seems far removed from their own understanding ("it's all repetitive..I can't understand the words...It's so lame...It's too loud...Clarinets are @!#$%*...I don't get it.....). This creates all sorts of issues with competing cultures and the inability (it seems) to effectively bring them together. This is a "hot button topic" with many in the church, and will be a growing issue in senior communities in years to come. I am right in the middle of this in both worlds (certainly not the only places this impacts), and in the church, am working to promote an effective solution (someday the book will get published). Back to my original point; the respite of Christmas. This is, curiously, the one place where people lower their barriers. "Young" people learn and enjoy songs which pre-date the automobile (like Jingle Bells), "old" people are amused when "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer". You may say, "yes, but these, and other, examples are removed from the cultural trappings". Yes, and that may be part of the answer, but I believe it's bigger than that, although (at this point) I don't claim to fully comprehend it (I'm not a sociologist). This is, I believe, an (in part) willful unity, that we all could profit from better understanding. Maybe it, by the unique circumstances in which it is found, can't translate beyond where it is, maybe it can. Interesting (for me, anyway) to think about.

The idea of the "piano arrangement" is a funny subject to me. Of course, I understand what it is, it's what happens every time I play. I don't think about it with that vocabulary, however, until someone says something like: "That was a nice arrangement you just played" "Well, that's good", I think, "I wonder how it went?". It all ends there unless the one who initiated this continues: "Where did you get it?". "Huh?", I think. At that point my mouth may start moving: "Where did you come up with that sentence? Did you read it? Who wrote it first?". If I'm smart (this often eludes me), I wrap it up quickly, talking about musical improvisation as conversation, or dialog, or pontification (solo pianists can be pontificators - gee, sounds sinful).
Of course, what people are referring to are the sheet music arrangements you can buy, of most any thing ever written, if you look hard enough. I don't use them. Why would I? We (of whatever particular group I'm referring, I'm not exactly sure) improvise an "arrangement" every time we play a tune. No point having someone do for me what I'm already doing (kind of like having a "conversation coach", I guess). On top of that, I like that I can express myself. It is uniquely my communication. I guess you can say that jazz (at least with me) "eliminates the middleman".

I am getting sleepy...I am getting sleepy... No, I'm already sleepy. I wouldn't have been saying this (as often) twenty five years ago. It may not have been as much because I was younger, but because I wasn't burning the ends of both candles, or whatever that is. Late gigs are harder when keeping a full day schedule. I generally work nursing homes and senior communities throughout the day, or do office or church work (of which there is always more to do than time), and get up early (for a former night owl, who can't stay awake anymore), especially so when the kids are in school (today, my alarm went off at 5:40am). Long gone are the days where my work was simply to play a gig (most) every night, and teach students when it was convenient (never in the morning!). There was a good stretch, when in my early twenties, where I would often gig six nights a week, between two bands. Keeping the musician's schedule (going to bed around 5am and getting up at the crack of noon) came naturally. Oh, to be young(er) with fewer responsibilities! When I landed the food court gig (see the photos page on my website for a newspaper article which describes the gig), in the mid '80s, I had a difficult time dealing with starting at noon, I had to be out of bed by 10:30! I would fly (meaning, drive frantically) to the gig, and drink my "morning" cup of coffee on the break. That was a long time ago. I (try to) take more naps these days.