Fatty, Buster, 5th & B

Here is 5th & B accompanying Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle in the classic, "The Garage." Performed July 2nd, 2011, in a benefit concert for the Majestic Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon.  The octet improvised within a framework developed by Rob Birdwell.

Paparazzi discovers 5th & B

The local Corvallis Gazette Times interviewed Rob Birdwell, Page Hundemer and I about the 5th & B process and the Majestic Theatre benefit: 

http://www.gazettetimes.com/entertainment/article_103f9466-a39e-11e0-9ba9-001cc4c03286.html

5th & B Appears with Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle!

The Majestic Theatre in Corvallis opened in 1913 as a "moving picture, vaudeville, and legitimate drama house," according to the Gazette-Times coverage of the opening.  We'll carry on that tradition on July 2nd when we perform a concert to benefit this Corvallis landmark.  OK, maybe we're not "legitimate drama," but we do have a

bit of vaudeville in our schtick, and we will be showing a moving picture, "The Garage," directed by Roscoe Arbuckle.  The plan is for 5th & B to improvise a soundtrack for the movie within a very open framework composed by Rob Birdwell.

This has gotten me to thinking about my Grandmother on my Father's side.  To help make ends meet for her growing family, Ermine played piano accompaniments to silent movies in a theatre in Madison, Wisconsin.  It could have been The Majestic, which was still in business when I was growing up in Madison.

According to Wikipedia, "The Garage," directed in 1920 by Arbuckle, was the 14th film starring Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.  It also features frequent co-star Luke the Dog.  The film has the distinction of being among the very first to practice product placement; its prominent display of Red Crown Gasoline was criticized by the motion picture trade journal, Harrison's Reports.  What I remember most from my single viewing of "The Garage" is how often somebody falls down.  Falling down must have been just about the funniest thing one could imagine in 1920.  I hope Dave brings a big crash cymbal.

So there's your Saturday evening entertainment!  Live music, a classic film, product placement, lots of falling down, and all for a good cause.

Commissions, Frames, and Duos

When we improvise, we'll often take turns making commissions,  for example, "Let's play funky, with lots of stops and starts," or, "Play the soundtrack for a vampire movie."  Usually a commission will consist of a simple frame, or set of rules governing the improvisation.  A frame is a device for limiting the variables, for pushing an improvisation in a particular direction, at least to begin with.  One frame we like is "Going around three:" one musician starts an idea, and once it is established, he is joined by the two nearest players.  After they've developed the idea to some satisfactory degree, the first player drops out and a new player joins in.  The timbre, melodic and harmonic content, the time feel - everything - shifts slightly (or dramatically) with each change in personnel, but because each trio contains two players from the previous trio, a thread of coherence runs through the entire piece.  It is amazing how one simple frame such as this can result in a spontaneous composition that really feels and sounds composed.

The video was shot May 6th at Portland's TaborSpace.  Dave commissioned a duo with Page.  That was the only frame.  Dave starts off with jungle drums, and Page dives into a simple melodic line.  After a pause, he states a second theme, running his bass through an effects pedal to contrast it with the first theme.  In a third movement Dave drops out and Page plays senza misura, outside of time.  Finally, Page returns to the theme he started with, resulting in a nice, round, satisfying piece.  Throughout, Dave is listening to every note, supporting it, reflecting it, anticipating what comes next.

An audience of one

© 2009 John Bliss

Last week, across the street from the gig we were playing, a young woman lay dying from the side effects of a medical treatment which had saved her life some years before. During our break, Ben, Fred, and I crossed the street, knocked on her door, and were let in by her care giver. She was propped up in a bed placed in the living room where she could enjoy the warmth and cheer of a gas fireplace. She greeted us warmly and thanked us for coming over. We made a queer trio, with clarinet, tenor sax, and mandolin, but we could just as well have been the New York Philharmonic, seeing the way her eyes lit up. And our repertoire was pretty strange, too: an old Norwegian fisherman's hornpipe, "Klaus' Hornpipe" (which I learned from an old Norwegian fisherman, Klaus), the old jazz chestnut "My Romance,"and the only parts we could remember from a traditional klezmer tune, "Skotschne." Having run through our impromptu song list, she asked if we took requests, then made one; "Someone To Watch Over Me," and even now as I type this a week later, tears well up in my eyes.

 Playing to a standing-room-only crowd at Carnegie Hall could not have been any more rewarding.

Kazimierz

Here's another clip from the Broadway House Concert, Dave Leslie's "Kazimierz":

5th & B at Broadway Avenue House Concert, Eugene

Broadway Avenue House is this cool old house in downtown Eugene owned by classical and jazz music lovers.  Once every few weeks they turn their livingroom into a concert hall to hear new and interesting music.  A $7 donation and a desert or beverage to pass gets you in.  The crowd friday night was small, but the listening was intense.  This little ditty is dedicated to the neighbor lady across the street; may it lift her spirits.