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“The Job Song,” version no. 2

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secretary

Another one from the archives: The Job Song (version no. 2)

This one strikes out in a completely different direction from the original (version no. 1). It flirts pretty shamelessly with melodrama — an approach I would later abandon.

Recorded in the late nineties (I don’t remember exactly when) at a USC coffeehouse (I don’t remember exactly where), this may have been my first public performance of my own material since the demise of the Evelyn Situation (in 1995). And it shows. The performance is not the best (it was a one-off thing, not a regular version of the band). But a valiant effort was made by all: Jessica Klerks (vocals), Joe Tepperman (bass), and me (piano). If nothing else, this is an interesting document of a tune in transition (there would be one more version between this one and the Industrial Jazz Group version, which is my favorite, and which you can hear via the little ReverbNation widget in the upper right-hand corner of this page.)

[Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives.]

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Another side of the Industrial Jazz Group, part three

trampolineAnother one from the same show as before.

The idea of the tune was to have everyone gradually shift from the written chart to free improv and back. Sorta like this:

1. Everyone plays the chart as written, loud.

2. Damon (soprano sax) plays free while everyone else plays the chart as written, a little softer.

3. Damon and Cory (alto sax) play free while everyone else plays the chart as written, a little softer still.

4. Damon, Cory, and Mike (trombone) play free while everyone else plays the chart as written, yet even softer than that.

5. Damon, Cory, Mike, and Oliver (bass) play free while Dan (drums) plays the chart as written, super-duper soft.

6. Everyone plays the chart as written, really loud.

The tune is called “Bounce.” (I dunno, it sounded trampoline-esque to me.) Click to hear it, you know the drill.

[Photo credit: Andy Hay]

Durkin mumbles, mp3s, Uncategorized

Another side of the Industrial Jazz Group

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DSC02609

Cleaning up some computer files yesterday, I came across a recording of an Industrial Jazz Group show from a few years back. I believe it was at Cafe Metropol, in LA, sometime in 2006. I honestly don’t remember who recorded it — it was some internet radio thing, and though I got a nice mixed (and processed) copy of the show many months later, I don’t know if any of it ever actually made it onto the web.

Until now! Here’s a thing of mine called “Rover,” which I believe was the opener.

Personnel: Cory Wright (alto sax), Damon Zick (soprano sax), Mike Richardson (trombone), Oliver Newell (bass), Dan Schnelle (drums).

Those of you who have come to the group recently may not realize that we began life as a much smaller ensemble — a quintet, to be exact. Our first album, Hardcore (only available digitally now), is a quintet album. This Metropol show also featured a quintet — not exactly the same configuration as the Hardcore band, as I had removed piano from the equation altogether by this point. Still, it’s a pretty good (live) souvenir of how we once sounded. Note that during the period when this was recorded, I was basically trying to keep the quintet and the big band working simultaneously.

I had almost forgotten that I used to write music that actually sounds like jazz! Anyway, enjoy if you can. I’ll probably be posting the rest of this concert soon.