What I'm Working On - February/March 2017
After the whirlwind that was January, I thought that February would be more relaxing (I guess it was, by comparison), but it whooshed right by, too! Here’s what I’ve been up to since finishing and performing my last arranging project in early February:
- Rehearsing for MacPhail Hour concerts at senior/assisted living facilities around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area with Modern Spark Trio, featuring the history of the piano trio from classical to jazz to Brazilian music. We did one yesterday and have 6 more in the month of March.
- Rehearsing with Batucada do Norte for Carnaval Brasileiro - this Saturday night (Mar. 4) at the Cedar! This is a new venue for Carnaval, but one of my favorites. I'm excited to see what it's like this year.
- Started to teach one night of private lessons at MacPhail (with 2 Steinway grands in my studio...what?!)
- Challenging myself to do 40 days of daily improv, with these parameters:
- 10 minutes free improv - record every day
- Any style - no expectations
- Turn off my inner critic/judge
- No immediate analysis - I’ll listen and assess later
- Working on setting up a new email list for this blog - right now my email list is just gig updates.
- Cooking up another new project which is still in the research phases - I’ll share more when it gets off the ground.
- And, of course, my normal teaching load (30 private students + 3 group classes), and updating this blog. No wonder I’m still tired!
- Relaxing as much as possible.
What’s next:
- Finishing my choro - I’m part of the way done with the last section. Here are the first two sections:
- Booking some recording time for the above choro and some of the arrangements I’ve written.
- Looking forward to spring break in early April - I’m going to San Francisco for a few days to see Hermeto Pascoal perform at SF Jazz, and to visit family.
Stay tuned for more updates on the improv project soon!
