My Musical Influences

[Sally]

Just about everybody here knows that I am a trumpet player and love Jazz.

Some of my unfortuanate friends have recieved E-mails with recordings of my band attached,, a few of them accidentily openned them and heard me play, sorry about that.

I thought that I could best explain my ecclestic style by showing you the influences.

A few are standard like Doc Severinsen and Louis Armsrtong and Maynard Ferguson, I have to mention one of my earliest influences for Lizzy - Al Hirt!

I will try to get you to places where you can hear some of my favorite but departed trumpet artists.

Here's is one of my favorites, Don Ellis, a great trumpet player, composer, arranger, band leader and a real snappy dresser (note the strange trumpet he played the fourth valve was added to allow playing the note part way between the chromatics of Western Music - 12 tones per Octave and allowed the Eastern 24 tone octave!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrsysBwmlss

It is an acquired taste.

I'll be back with other examples when I can find them.

Love ya,

Sally

[Sally]

This is my tribute to the greatest teacher that I ever had, Don 'Jake' Jacoby was a great gentleman and his lovely wife, Dory treated all of his students as 'her boys' we were just the same to her as her three sons.

Jake gave lessons in life as well, I think that almost as much of my compassion for others came from him as it did from my parents, with three great influences like that, I can't turn my back on anyone in need.

Jake had a true teacher's philosophy, he taught out of his home and sat in a easy chair, my lessons were before noon so he wore his old brown bathrobe and slippers and drank either coffee or diet Dr. Pepper depending on his mood.

If you weren't prepared, he preffered for you to call and cancell, no point in wasting your money for him to listen to you practice - if yoou didn't practice or listen to him,he would fire you as a student. If you couldn't pay one week, he would put an 'ugly mark' by your name - there ws no limit to the number of ugly marks that you could have, only not listening and practicing could get you fired.

One time a student with a collection of ugly marks got a job and was moving away, I was in the studio when he came by to tell 'Yoda' (a nickname that some of his students gave him - there was a physical resemblence, but Jake never spoke backwards - out but never backwards) good bye, thanked him and promised to repay him as he shook Jake's hand. Jake held on to his hand and pointed at the young man with the index finger of his left hand, "You do not pay me back, keep your money and when you have a student that can't pay you, remember those ugly marks and give one of them to him, that's how you pay me back!"

I will never forget Jake, I wish that I could find a link to him playing but this tribute is pretty good, listen and try to realize that the man they speak of embodied all that is good in life, compassion, passion, joy and sharing, I am proud to have known him, to study with him an honor and to have him call me his friend was one of my greatest joys in life.

I love you, Jake and I will alway treasure the times that we had, you were the greatest teacher that I have ever known and a true friend.

A tribute to Don Jacoby/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrsysBwmlss

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest OneOutOfnOne]

I'm intrigued by this Don Ellis. I'd never heard his music before, but this song you've posted is fascinating, Sally! From the sound of it, I'd guess he was an inspiration to Frank Zappa, who has been one of my favourite musician-composers for a long time.

As a composer myself, I suppose I could indulge a handful of my influences. However, as I write in completely different styles for completely different groups, I should make a few distinctions.

First of all, I'm adding this paragraph retroactively, having already finished writing the rest of this post. It's like a message from the future! Ahem... anyhow, I've decided to add a link to a song of my own first up here, because if I want you to hear but one song which I am linking to in this post, it's mine. It's called Pending Machines, and I wrote and recorded all the parts myself in August. I haven't ever written anything else quite like it, though it's not for lack of trying. And yes, that page contains a picture of Lydia as a boy, which I thought about taking down before providing you all with the link, but hey, I'm not one to hide from the past, so there it is. www.purevolume.com/tesserategra

So... influences, you ask?

-When I write 'classical' music (I'd call it post-Romantic pan-tonality, actually... now imagine me sticking my nose up at you) my influences include Gustav Mahler, Sergei Prokofiev, Claude Debussy, and Alban Berg.

Recommended listening:

Mahler's Symphony 7, 1st movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyc2fPGYzrc (this is only part one of three, Mahler is notoriously long)

Prokofiev's Toccata in D minor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UuFBOXrg1I

-When I write music for rock-derivative ensembles, my influences include Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Grüvis Malt, and Oceansize.

Recommended listening:

Gentle Giant's 'Proclamation':

Oceansize's 'New Pin':

-For writing songs to sing and accompany myself on the piano, my influences include The Most Serene Republic, Crash Test Dummies, and Ken Stringfellow.

If you're actually following these links:

The Most Serene Republic's 'The Men Who Live Upstairs':

Ken Stringfellow's 'Reveal Love':

I hope that at least some of you found at least some of this music at least somewhat enjoyable. I'll go sit in a corner now.

[Sally]

Quite a few of the same classical influences, but I, being a brass player add in Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Richard Strauss for their use of such full brass sections and extended orchestras. Most people would include Moussorsky but his orchestrations were done by Maurice Ravel.

If you liked that one by Don Ellis, I'll give you one of my favorites, unfortunately this is not with Don or his band, but they are pretty good and use the same instrumentation - notice the two drummers, sometimes they had a third set and Don would trade solos too.

This is short, his live version is just over 17 minutes.

Enjoy,

Sally

[Guest OneOutOfnOne]

I do believe I'm growing rather fond of this Don Ellis fellow.

Richard Strauss! I love Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben, but that's all I know of his.

Also, I'm playing Brahms' Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 3 for auditions in a month. It's so beautiful!

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Sally just a quick observation - you are really blessed to have your music. Your love for it is amazing - and very obviously you are meant to be that way. Thanks for sharing with one of your semi-non musical friends.

Lizzy

[Sally]

I do believe I'm growing rather fond of this Don Ellis fellow.

He was a bit ahead of his time, those pieces were written in the early 70s. He died much too young.

Lizzy, I am so glad that you are enjoying the music.

Live is enriched by the arts, music, dance, theater, literature all means of trying to express our inner-selves - to observe is to participate.

With out the ears of an audience what good is the most beautiful song?

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Jackson]

That Don Ellis clip was quite the interesting work. You weren't kidding that he was a snappy dresser.

I had a wonderful patient who ended up becoming a second grandfather to me. What I didn't know at the beginning was that he was a retired music teacher. He could play the greatest Dixieland jazz. I visited him at the hospital in which I worked one night after work and had brought my trumpet. He player in his room for me. Can you imagine? He was the one that hooked me up with the polka band I ended up playing with for years. I took his place.

I never got to play with him and would have loved to. I'll never forget it.

[Guest mia 1]

Thanks for all the great memories and all the reasons "me and my buddies" were listening to Jazz in H.S. and smoking those funny cigarettes.

Coleman Hawkins, Maynard Ferguson, Chet Baker, T. Monk Charlie Mingus et al.

Where have all the great ones gone and who took their place.

Devolution of great music.

[Guest Kelly Ann]

No Herb Alpert and the TJB? Okie Dokie...I know about Dizzie Gillispie, Chuck Mangione? Miles Davis? Kelly Ann? LOL...I took trumpet for 1 year in 6th grade...I can still do taps and reville on a bugle...remember this ladies when we camp out...LOL It's all in the upper lip. Hmmmm...dogs howling from my singing, shoes from playing bugle, the Police from electric guitar playing. I never thought of it this way...I ALWAYS draw a crowd when I play that IS a good thing I suppose, Kelly Ann...pssst we have a younster named Eric Darrius here in St Pete that may be up and coming...he's excellent*****stars

[Guest Evan_J]

Aw Sally, now ya got Kelly Ann all riled up lol.

[Sally]

I'm sorry that I left so many off of the list, I have actually met and spoken to; Al Hirt, Doc Severinsen (Carl is his first name), Dizzy Gillespie, Chuck Mangione, Maynard Ferguson, Ornette Coleman, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich (he was working for me that night and lived up to his 'jerk' reputation), Wynton and Branford Marcellis (terrible to not be able to spell a friend's name - but those N.O. names - I need Lizzy's help), Les Elgart, Lyle Mays before he left North Texas and started recording), Joey DiFrancisco ( very young jazz organist who started his recording career playing on a Miles davis album - we spent an evening just talking about Miles teaching him to play trumpet) then to some lesser known (by the General public) studio musicians Uan Racey and Manny Cline (listed togehter becasue they were best friends recorded over 250 movie soundtracks together and Manny helped Uan because of his childhood polio and later after Manny's mild stroke Uan got to help him too), Marv Stam (you heard him in "Uncle Albert" by Paul MacCartney and on Chuck Mangione's album "Friends and Love") and Dalton Smith (from Jack Webb's studio - Dragnet and Adam 12 and Hanna Barbara studios - Land of the Dinosaurs had a very distinctive Dalton ending) and of course my wonderful friend, teacher, mentor and guide - Jake!

Those were the jazz ones, ther were country and rock - having dinner with the Pirates of the Missisippi when they were promoting thier first album, sitting in on a sound check for Mary Chapin Carpenter, wondering around backstage photographing Thirty-Eight Special, meeting the Texas Tornadoes, after the showw Freddie Fender split to go to the hotel immediately , but I did get to talk to Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez.

Does planing a practical joke on one of my employees with Donny Osmond count?

I know I've left out quite a few, it's late and some were so log ago, like Lakeside another group form the past - soul group doing an album with a bit of an Aladdin type tie in so they were wearing arabian costumes and I was not impressed with either Ratt or Poison, but I do have to admit that my time spent with the Ramones was very pleasant - Joey was actually a very sweet and gentle man who was quiet but very interesting - I remember when the band had come to my record store for an instore that lasted almost all day, I was 'in charge' of the band during breaks and luch, that was fun - I was there for my tendency to not be star struck. As they were leaving we were giving them each a couple of cassettes (above the deal that the office had made) to take on the road - pre-dated the discman - Joey was a Michael Jackson fan and wanted his latest album, "Off the Wall" if I remember correctly, the others made fun of his choice so he picked out another 'more acceptable' tape and as he handed it to me he leaned over - he was taller than me - and asked if I could slip the Jackson tape into a seperate bag and offered to pay, I gave it to him and paid for it myself - this nice man had restored my faith in musicians that had been so shaken by Ratt and Poison.

In case there are any transsexuals that I met and forgot to list on this site, I'm sorry but "I am old so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!"

That's enough for now,

Sally