"New Orleans Jazz"

Back in May, I posted about recording with Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band. I was terrifically excited because the other band members are all excellent musicians—some are among the best in the genre. I don't often get to perform with so high-powered a group, and the thought of actually getting a CD of the occasion felt almost overwhelming. Since doing the recording I've been on tenterhooks, waiting for the arrival of the finished CD. Yesterday it arrived!

I'm very happy with the album. The sound quality seems excellent, with good definition and stereo separation, and the voices are well-balanced. I can hear the two cornets as a blend, but I can also "focus down" and hear my own performance, even in the full ensemble parts. The individual performances of the other musicians are wonderful. For my own part I think I managed not to embarrass myself too badly.

Here's an excerpt, the final out chorus from "Ostrich Walk". (Sorry about the cheesy Ken Burns video, but this blog site won't let me post pure audio clips! The artwork is the cover of the CD.)

Purchasing the CD

A few folks have asked, so here's how to get it. (Rest assured, I will not be offended by anyone who doesn't rush to buy a copy. This is a niche music; not everybody loves it like I do!)

The CD is currently available only by mail order. There are a couple of Web sites that offer some of the band's other albums, and I'm hoping they'll have this new one soon. If so, I'll post a link to them. In the meantime, if you want a copy you'll have to do the following:

Make out a check for $16.00 to "Merry Makers Record Company". Send it to the following address, and specify that you want "Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band: New Orleans Jazz -- 50th Anniversary". Be sure to specify this product code: MMRC-CD-38, and of course, don't forget to include your postal address. The $16.00 includes shipping within the continental U.S. If you are not in the U.S., the price is 19.00 USD and includes overseas shipping. Here's the address:

Merry Makers Record Company

926 Beechwood Circle

Suisun City, CA 94585

About the music

This is a two-cornet band in the style of Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (KOCJB), which played in Chicago in the early 1920's. I like to think of the KOCJB as the band that was so hot, they had Louis Armstrong playing second cornet. The Jelly Roll Jazz Band is also influenced by Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band, which was the first revival (post-1920's) traditional jazz band, and which established the West Coast style of trad jazz.

My cornet partner in this band is Leon Oakley, possibly the finest living trad jazz cornetist. It is tempting to remain silent in order to claim, by implication, more of the credit than I deserve for the cornet work. But the vast majority of the lead cornet parts and cornet solos are Leon's. (And with good reason!) I mostly play the second (harmony) cornet parts. I do get some solo choruses and breaks, and occasionally an arrangement would call for us to switch parts so that I play lead for a while.

Once you're used to Leon's powerful and assured playing, it's pretty easy to recognize my own lesser efforts. However I will mention that on one number, "Chimes Blues", I do play lead throughout and also play the cornet solo. I was happy with the way that one came out. Also on "King of the Zulus" the first 16-bar cornet solo is Leon's, and the one immediately following is mine; and I play lead on the first chorus following those solos. Leon returns to lead the final out chorus.

Personnel: Leon Oakley and Rick Holzgrafe, cornets; Glenn Calkins, trombone; Pete Main, reeds; Ray Skjelbred, piano; Tom Downs and Howard Miyata, tuba; Bert Thompsen, drums; Ken Keeler and Ted Shafer, banjos. (This band has two cornets and two banjos, but not two tubas! Tom Downs played tuba for one of the two recording sessions, and Howard Miyata played the other. The liner notes specify which tunes each of them played.)

Tune list:

1. Ostrich Walk
2. Aunt Hagar's Blues
3. Alligator Hop
4. Terrible Blues
5. Tiger Moan
6. Snag It
7. Grandpa's Spells
8. King of the Zulus
9. I'm Going Away to Wear You Off My Mind
10. Chimes Blues
11. Buddy's Habit
12. Of All the Wrongs
13. Krooked Blues
14. New Orleans Stomp
15. Jazzin' Babies Blues
16. Tears
17. Room Rent Blues
18. Midnight Mama
19. Sorry
20. Bay City
21. Here Come the Hot Tamale Man

Recording Artist

In my previous post I mentioned that I was gearing up to record a CD with Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band. After a week of home practice, three-hour rehearsals, and four-hour recording sessions, we "recording artists" are done with our part. I was tempted to say "finally done" because it feels to me as if it was a long haul, but really it was just that one tiring and overwhelming week.

And now all my friends are asking "when can I hear the CD?" and the answer is, "I don't know." The actual recording is finished, but much editing remains to be done before the disks can be printed. The editing is being done by the recording engineer, the bandleader, and at least two other members of the band who want a vote on which bits are used and which are tossed. I asked how long it would take and was unsurprisingly told "as long as it takes." So now I'm twiddling my thumbs and wondering if I'll have to wait a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or a couple of years. I'm guessing that the right answer will include the word "months".

I'm not sure I can honestly say it was "fun". I found it a bit too stressful to be considered "fun". There were some really good musicians in the group, and I was nervous and anxious. I just wanted not to screw up too badly in front of them, and especially not in front of the microphones which were pitilessly waiting to enshrine my every mistake for eternity.

But I think I got away with it. Fortunately my every mistake will not be enshrined, because of course we recorded at least two takes of nearly every tune. Any parts that gave us trouble were recorded multiple times, and part of the editing process is splicing together the good bits. There were a few solos I wish I could have done better, where even my best take was none too good. But that seemed to be true for everyone in the band, so I'm trying not to let my neurotic perfectionism get the better of me.

There were two tunes in particular that I was worried about. One was called "King of the Zulus". I'm very familiar with this piece, but it is a difficult one for the cornets. Playing second cornet, I can usually kind of hide down in the ensemble, and if I fumble a bit, people mostly won't notice. But in King of the Zulus there's no place to hide. Each cornet gets a full solo chorus, and both of them should be played hot and high. And my solo is immediately followed by another hot, high chorus in which the lead and second parts are swapped, so I'm playing melody for that time. It's a chop-grinder, and I wasn't sure I could play it twice in a row, so I was relieved when everyone agreed that the first take was a keeper and we didn't need to do it again!

The other piece didn't worry me at all until we got to it. It was late in the evening, Leon Oakley (the lead cornetist) was justifiably tired, and he asked me to take lead on "Chimes Blues". Fortunately for me it's not a difficult piece and it's one I know very well, but I was startled to suddenly be playing lead. We did two takes, and since I was tired too, I didn't play as well the second time through. But I was pleased with my solo on the first take, and I assume (and hope!) they'll use that one for the CD.

That was the only piece in which I played lead throughout; the rest of the time I played second, with an occasional chorus or half-chorus of lead because (I guess) the arranger wanted to give the lead a break. I just want to take a paragraph to say that this is a good thing, because the lead cornetist was Leon Oakley. I don't know of a better living trad jazz cornetist. Leon's chops are great and his musicianship is outstanding. He plays with a power, an authority, and a presence that are simply overwhelming, especially when heard live. I've been admiring (and trying to imitate) Leon's playing for 40 years, and it was a great privilege being asked to record with him. Stress notwithstanding, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Okay. Back to waiting for the CD!

Fires and Recordings and In-laws

I've felt all this past week as if I should be blogging, but I've been too busy and too distracted. The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara has occupied much of my attention. The fire not only devastated the foothills, but threatened the town itself. The neighborhood where I grew up was within a mile or or of the fire's perimeter and was under mandatory evacuation for a while; some friends of mine were also prepared to evacuate. I am saddened by the damage to the Botanical Garden, which was one of my favorite places; but it wasn't completely destroyed and I hope the damaged areas will be rebuilt and replanted. The fire is still in progress and is less than 50% contained, but the threat now seems to have lessened and the fire has moved north and west rather than south towards the town and suburbs, so things are looking up.

The in-laws paid us a visit on Friday and Saturday. I'm always happy to see them, and this brief visit was in part to deliver a car we bought from them for our son to use at college next year. We had a couple of nice dinners, some good conversation, and some excellent games with Joan. Although I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and wished the visit could have come either last weekend or next, it all worked out. I even found time to practice.

Why practice? Because on Monday and Tuesday, I'll be recording with Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band. For most of the group, this is a "ho-hum, another recording" event, but for me it's a very big deal. I have recorded before, but never in such professional surroundings; and I have only rarely been privileged to play with such a fine group of musicians. I definitely feel like the junior member of the group (my actual age notwithstanding) and am mostly hoping not to embarrass myself. Fortunately for all concerned I'll be playing second cornet, and for good or ill my efforts won't be too prominent. This, along with the fire, has been the main thing on my mind all week. I've been working hard on it, both at rehearsals and at home.

On the game design front there is little news. I now have two designs in the hands of publishers, and I'm back in the "hurry up and wait" mode. I have nearly completed the Spatial Delivery prototype (still have to paint the spaceships) that I'm building just to have handy, and I finally got off the dime and sent Seth his promised copy of Hammer and Spike. I'm looking forward to his group's feedback on that one.

And that's all for now. I gotta go practice!