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| June 2006 | The Visual Jazz Newsletter | visual-jazz.com |
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Welcome to the June 2006 issue of jazzView - the Visual Jazz Newsletter! When you subscribe to this free newsletter, you'll get the latest in interviews, articles and tips on important topics in jazz, such as improvisation, combos, performance, sight-reading, and more.
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Editor's Note: This second article in the two-part interview focuses on Bob's well-known publishing company, Sierra Music, whose catalog currently includes over 450 titles.
(read Bob's bio here ...)jazzView: Tell us the Sierra Music story - how did your company get started?
Bob: I started the company after I left Kenton's record company and returned to teaching. I don't have to tell you about teaching salaries, and I wanted to generate more income. I also wanted to take advantage of all the business experience I accumulated while working for Stan. I started the company with two original pieces - "Promise of Dreams" and "Writer's Cramp." I put $500 into the preparation/printing of the music and the simple marketing flyer.
I worked on the company part-time for a number of years, always being conservative with expenses. There were a couple of years, when I was very busy with the McDonald's band, that I did very little with the company. I started to work full-time after we moved to the Northwest (1987) and, instead of doing 2 or 3 new pieces each year, I began to publish 8 or 10, then 10-15, until now we normally release over 30 new issues every year.
jazzView: What have been the milestones along the way?
Bob: Milestones would have to include obtaining the exclusive rights to publish the music from the Stan Kenton Library. I believe that was in 1989 or so. The original intent was to only service people who had missing parts to previously published charts (through Creative World Music Publications), and it grew from there. I think we have well over 150 Kenton charts in print at this time.
Of course, adding other composers and artists over the years was a big bonus for us. Maynard Ferguson, Bill Holman, Pat Metheny, Les Hooper and many others have been very generous to me. Our website at www.sierramusic.com will give you a more clear idea of what we've done in the past 30 years.
Another milestone was the development of our demonstration CDs, which include audio excerpts each year of our new issues. We're currently working on our thirteenth CD for release in late summer, 2006.
jazzView: Where do you get ideas or inspiration to write new compositions?
Bob: I'm not sure I've ever been "inspired" to write music in the sense that most people might think. I usually write on commission, when people ask me to write something for their particular band. I've been doing that for many years. It helps me to be "inspired" when I have specific people to write for, or a specifically requested tune or style. It also helps to be inspired when people are willing to pay you to write for them.
Often times the music just comes from "imaging" or visualizing that particular band or occasion for which you are writing. At the moment, I have a wonderful big band in my area, and I have been writing a lot for different individuals in my band. They always have a unique talent and a special voice to be heard. That's when writing is the most fun.
jazzView: Who are the composers you admire most? What draws you to their music?
Bob: Without a doubt, Bill Holman has been a huge influence on me - also Johnny Richards - for very different reasons. Holman's way of creating for a big band is what I call "small group" thinking, writing lots of unison and contrapuntal lines for the wind players. Except for the more massive "shout" choruses in his tunes, much of Holman's music is light, airy, fluid and lots of fun to play, because his line writing is so "hip." Richards' music was much more orchestrated, with heavier textures, gorgeous melodies, a wider dynamic range and so on.
Certainly I also love the writing of Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, Gerry Mulligan and many others who made their mark when I was just growing up.
jazzView: You've done arrangements of the music of several high-profile jazz groups and artists - tell us about that.
Bob: Sometimes when I hear the music of others, I am so moved by it that I need to know exactly what is going on - from a technical point of view. That is how I got started arranging the music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. The music was so beautiful and sometimes so complex that I had to transcribe it, just so I could learn from that experience. One thing led to another, and I've arranged well over 20 of their compositions for big band - and I'm currently working on a few more things.
The Yellowjackets' chart on "Nimbus" came about the same way. Sometimes I hear in the music of a small group the real potential for a big band chart ... most times I don't. I don't really listen with that in mind, but it does pop up once in a while. When it does, I go with it.
jazzView: What advice would you give to composers and arrangers who are getting started in the publishing business?
Bob: Here are a few ideas:
1. Start slowly.
2. Keep things simple - don't over-reach.
3. Do your homework regarding the copyright laws, licensing, royalties, marketing and music preparation (your product).
4. Be particularly careful with money (in and out) ... that IS the business ... not the music.
5. Be good to your customers. They may not always be right, but never tell them that.
6. Be patient, especially in the print business. It takes a LONG time to develop enough product to be taken seriously. It takes a LONG time for your music to "get around," to get played. Nothing sells music better than having it be performed and heard. It takes a LONG time to develop a customer base that will sustain you through the rough times.
7. Above all, be extremely particular with how your music looks and how correct it is. Take nothing for granted. Proof the music very carefully. Someone once told me that printed music should be able to "travel." In other words, write and present the music with the fact in mind that you will not BE THERE to explain or rehearse it. It all should be on the page - tempo, style, and all of the other "obvious" information.
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Article 13: Teaching Students to Swing, Part 2
In the Part 1 Article, we looked at some of the basic challenges involved in learning the swing style. In this article, we'll take a more in-depth look at the specific problems that students face as they start reading and playing swing music.
These problems can also be described as bad habits. And because good habits can be developed as easily as bad ones, it's important to establish the good ones now, so your band can reap the benefits as you go. Besides, bad habits over time can become very difficult to "unlearn."
(READ MORE >>>)
Article 14: Expanding Your Color Palette
I remember the days of … dare I say it … black-and-white television. As a kid, I would watch hours of The Lucy Show, Andy Griffith, Ed Sullivan and more, all in their glorious shades of gray. (Fortunately they've been preserved for history in TVLand syndication ...)
So what's the connection of color to improvisation? In this article we'll take a look at "audible colors" ...
(READ MORE >>>)
Article 15: Keeping It Simple: An Approach to Chord Progressions
In my earlier article "MR ED CPA" I talked about how so many players try to dig into complex chord progressions before they have a solid grasp of melodic and rhythmic creation. In this article I'll explore a simple approach to chords that works - and keeps the focus on the improvisation melody, not just the chords behind it.
(READ MORE >>>)
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Version 4 of The Art of Improvisation is now available!
INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE OFFER ...
As a subscriber to jazzView, you can order Version 4 of The Art of Improvisation CD-ROM for FREE (plus $5 shipping and handling). The normal retail price is $30. This offer is good ONLY if you are already a subscriber to jazzView as of June 24, 2006 - and the offer expires July 7, 2006.
Here's how to take advantage of this great deal:
1. Go to http://www.visual-jazz.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=58
2. Add the "Version 4 Shipping" item to your shopping cart. (Don't add the Version 4 CD-ROM on that page, unless you want an extra CD_ROM for $25 ...)
3. Fill out your customer info if you are a new customer with Visual Jazz.
4. IMPORTANT - When you enter your customer e-mail address, it must be the SAME e-mail address as the one you subscribed to jazzView with!
5. Enter your ordering info, and we'll send you the full Version 4 CD-ROM of The Art of Improvisation for a total cost of just $5 shipping and handling.
Remember - this offer expires July 7 and is only for current jazzView subscribers! Limit ONE free CD-ROM per subscriber.
Samples
Here are pictures of 7 sample screens from the The Art of Improvisation product (a fully linked Acrobat PDF system). In these pictures the links are disabled, but they are fully functional in the actual product.
1. First is the "Getting Started" screen from The Art of Improvisation CD-ROM. Notice the Bookmark pane at the left of the window - there are over 1500 fully linked bookmarks in the product, taking you easily to Books, Play-alongs, Reference Material, and more. You'll notice at the bottom of the window that the total page count for The Art of Improvisation is 840!
2. This is the "Main Book" screen. There are 5 Skills Levels, from Starting to Advanced. Here you see the bookmark topics for Level 1 and part of Level 2.
3. Here is a sample book page from Level 3. In the product you can click the red "Example" word below a printed music example to hear it, and you can try the exercises with a play-along background of your choice.
4. This is the "Play" screen. Notice that for Concert Key, Bb, and Eb there are Practice Page Tunes, 300 Standard Tunes, and Solo Break Tunes. Each tune has its written chord progression and one or more play-along recordings in assorted styles and tempos. All are bookmarked for easy access.
5. Here's a sample Practice Page for Concert Key. In the product, you simply click a red letter to launch the play-along recording for that practice tune. (F=Fusion, L=Latin, S=Swing)
6. This is a sample page from the 300 Standard Tunes for Bb Instruments. (Similar pages are included for Concert Key and Eb instruments as well). In the product, just click the red arrows to launch the play-along recording for that tune.
7. And this is the main screen for the Companion book, which includes Arpeggio Studies, Art of the Artists, Improvisation Articles, Piano Studies, Vocal Studies, and more.
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Here's the solo I played on the title track of the BRIJJ CD "Crossover". The audio clip also contains the drum solo by Jay Lawrence that follows right after the trumpet solo, plus a bit of the return theme of the tune.
To play the sound clip, click here. It will launch your media player in a separate window, which you can move to the side so it won't hide the transcribed solo.
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