Category
Orchestration

Upcoming appearances: Jazz Education Network Conference in Dallas, TX. January 10 and 11. I am giving a lecture on the 11th at 10am entitled "Notation Plain and Simple -- The Jazz Default." At 6pm I will be premiering a new commission with the Lone Peak High School Big Band from Utah. The rest of the time I will be at the MakeMusic booth in the exhibitors hall. Drop by and say hi. Frozen recently came out and was a huge success. It took me a while, but…
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I survived another trip to Australia. I had a great time working with the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra. As soon as I landed back in LA I started work orchestrating cues for Chris Beck's score for Frozen, a new Disney animated movie. I also conducted the score and some of the songs. I am currently working on some arrangements for a cool project featuring Nas and the National Symphony. Big Band Gig Monday September 30, 8pm @ Typhoon, $10, FREE parking. Typhoon 3221 Donald…
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Australia Trip I will be leading the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra for several concerts in August. Dates here. On Monday August 26 I will be sitting in with the Daryl Mckenzie Jazz Orchestra at the Apartment in Melbourne. Recent Projects Hangover III (Cond), The Internship (Cond), White House Down (Cond), R.I.P.D. (orch, cond), Smurfs 2 (lead orch), Kick Ass 2 (orch) and The Last of Us (SSD). Plus a lot of string charts for various artists with producer Salaam Remi. Latest blog posts It's Staggering  …
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Over the last few years I have been doing the occasional arrangement for Vince Mendoza and the Metropole Orchestra. Up to now it has only been for live concerts but this time I got to work on an album for Sabrina Starke. Album is out today. Here is a clip of one of my charts live.
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In Part III of my chat with Endre Granat, we discuss how the bow can be used to change the color of the sound. Sul Tasto and Sul Ponticello are demonstrated as well as how bow speed and pressure effect the sound. Make sure you check out Part I and Part II of Endre's interview and Guide to a Good Bow Job and It's the Pizz.
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In Part II of my chat with Endre Granat, we discuss some of the mechanics of playing a stringed instrument and Endre demonstrates standard bowing techniques. He breaks them down into three categories. Legato Staccato 'Bouncing' Legato is the default bow stroke; no additional notation is needed apart from slurs if you want more than one note per bow. Staccato is a short, fast stroke where the bow starts and ends on the string. 'Bouncing' is a stroke where the bow starts and ends above,…
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In part 2 of my interview with horn player Jim Thatcher, we dive in and talk about the range of techniques available to the horn and the wide variety of tonal colors it can produce and more importantly, how they are produced. In addition, Jim explains just what those horn players are doing with their hands up inside their bells. In Part 3 we talk about stopping and mutes. These videos are a great companion to my post about the horn, where you…
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Jim Thatcher is the most-recorded horn player working in Hollywood today. He has been the principal horn on virtually every session I've conducted in Los Angeles. In part one of our interview, we'll talk about how Jim first became a serious horn player and what led him to the studios of Los Angeles. We'll also talk about some of his experiences as a session player over the years. Check back soon, as I'll be posting more of our conversation where we talk about how…
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After many months of work my orchestration blog "deBreved" is ready to launch. It is actually much more than a blog, more like a book, I guess I should call it a blook. Check it out, subscribe, like it, share it, comment on it and enjoy it. This whole site has also been redone is now iPad friendly. There is a lot more music to listen to and the gallery is totally new. I have been in the studio again with Chris Beck, this time it…
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Over the years I have noticed that people have developed a habit of saying the same thing twice, often combining an articulation with a text description of said articulation. Some of these are standard conventions that I just think are a little silly, others are things I have seen people do without thinking. A lot of my approach has to do with thinking like a player and trusting them. A wavy line up to a note means to rip into the note, that is all…
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