Songs of Autumn

Ah, autumn, the fall. I like all of the seasons. There is joy enough to go around. But I confess it is the autumn which most touches me.

In my teaching life, in the early years, there was Hopkins "Spring and Fall" and Keats’s "Ode to Autumn." Later, I taught a course in American Nature Writers. I was profound in the classroom, of course, but it was really the woods that provoked reverie in members of the class.

When I was a kid, it was still legal to burn leaves–and roast marshmallows. There is no better smell than that fire, no better taste than those marshmallows.

But there is still a glory in the season.

 

In my present life, though, it is especially the songs which reach me. There are great songs you can play any time at all. Some you can play only at certain times–Winter Wonderland, for example, and many Christmas songs.

But Autumn has some of the greatest. Eddie sings Henry Nemo’s "‘Tis Autumn," first recorded by Nat "King" Cole. And we play the song made famous by Woody Herman and his sax section–"Early Autumn." Beautiful.

Last week-end Scott Barnum couldn't be with the band so Eddie asked Craig Dove to play bass.  We had a good crowd and a great night.

And the band played a tune I have loved all of my life--"September Song."  Only one week-end left for that one.

Visitors from Far Away

Speaking of friends stopping by, there are old friends and new ones.

Blanca and Javier Alejandro Flores have been married for two weeks.  I'm not sure how they happened to be in Cedar Rapids or how they discovered us, but it was great having them in the room.  People who like the music always add to the flavor of what is going on.


And in this case Javier added something more.  He joined us to sing "New York, New York" with Eddie.

Blanca and Javier are from Mexico!  I was going to give them our "Came a Long Way to Hear You" Award--until I remembered the couple who came from Copenhagen.

Near or Far--friends are always welcome. 

When Friends Stop By

It’s probably a reflection of my old life, but among the the fringe treats I love in this new life are all of the pr stuff and having special friends show up for a gig. Students generally come to see professors only when things aren’t going well. Deans want to see professors only when the Dean is perturbed about something (which Deans usually are). People don’t drop into the office just for fun.

So I really enjoy things that call attention to good times. I like seeing the signs on the Longbranch and on First Avenue advertising the Eddie Piccard Quartet, and I loved seeing the article which appeared in Hoopla (Cedar Rapids Gazette).  I like the poster in the lobby at the Longbranch which lets hotel guests know about the band and which brought in a couple of new listeners recently.

A couple of weeks ago I got a special surprise.  My niece Lara drove from Bloomington, Illinois, just to catch the band and brought along her friend Kent as a bonus.

We had a great time. And we always play better when friends are present. I hope they come back and that others will drop in--soon.

Generations and Jazz

Yes, it’s been awhile since I last posted. I got distracted.
　

Yes, that is our house.  And yes, that was our tree.

A tree hitting the house at 11:30 at night is a little like a Max Roach bomb. It’s quick, then it’s over. My wife and I said "that was a close one"--and went back to sleep. 

Now a policeman shouting at you from about fifteen feet outside your bedroom door is more like a Dizzy Gillespie entrance. It gets your attention and holds it, insists on it.

And house repair time is like–well, I don’t know because it is still going on.

Back before the tree asserted itself, I was talking about the sense of community jazz carries with it and offers to all. I just got another taste of that.

A couple of weeks ago Dick Guider sat in with us at the Longbranch. He is a trumpet player from Las Vegas Eddie has known for many years.

It was a treat to have Dick join us because, first, the guy is really good. I especially enjoyed it when we played "St Louis Blues." We have never played that before, but Eddie sang the opening chorus, then Dick took over and the rhythm section locked on. Sometimes something sounds and feels so good that one feels levitated. By the time I got to solo I was already about two feet off the ground.

But my enjoyment didn’t end there. Zach Gignac is a good young friend of the band; he drops in to hear us whenever he gets the chance. He belongs to a group called The Pocket Tones.

I have never heard them, but Eddie has and he has sat in with them.

At the break I saw Zach in conversation with Dick Guider. There are maybe three generations calendar-wise between them. The sight made me remember my own experience, many many years ago, with a trumpet player named Stompey Whitlock.

These moments of contact keep the music rolling.

Sights and Sounds

Some nice shots taken at a private party.  Sounds included.  Come to Longbranch tonight to catch the real thing.

Jazz and the Sense of Community

Yeah, I know, I said that I was going to talk about listening. I will. But something else struck me the other night.

Jazz establishes, in many ways, a rich and powerful sense of community. First, the music carries its own connections. To play "Satin Doll" is to think of Duke Ellington. And the music raises a shared wave of feeling in musicians and audience. The blues makes us all happier. Ballads hit our emotional side. And swinging is–swinging.

I get a vague feeling of kinship with people I will never know through intermediaries. I have been in sessions with Conti Milano and Ira Sullivan, both of whom played with Charlie Parker. Earlier, I mentioned the couple from Copenhagen who listen to our CD. One of my brothers and one of my students heard my name mentioned on a Chicago radio station (by Eddie–I wasn’t on what they were playing). I was on the song played on an Arkansas station (thanks to another brother).

And the music brings in friends and renews old ties. At the Mount Vernon Chocolate Stroll we played recently, Dallis Piccard talked with Pat Korzendorfer, a woman she worked with several years ago. Wes and Riella Rich showed up at the Coralville Marriott last week. They used to run the Fireside Grill in Kalona and had Eddie’s trio appear regularly. It is always a joy to see them.

Also at the Marriott, two of the women who worked for Eddie and Dallis in Club Jazz.  Eddie played for Heather's and Jeff's wedding.  Sarah sings with the Diplomats of Solid Sound and has gigs on her own around eastern Iowa.

Heather and Jeff Messer

Sarah Cram

And sometimes the music makes a strange and wonderful connection over time. Some years ago, I was in a jam session at the Piccard house where I met Jack (guitar) and Lisa Frost (bass). Jack asked if I knew the song "Marie."

Yes, I did. It was my mother’s theme song.

Dancers

Ah, the wonders of the Internet. This blog has brought me back into contact with some high school friends of many years ago. And among other readers are Jon and Janet Reed from right across the street. Jon recently suggested several things I might write about–among them, what makes a good audience.

The first and most essential point about a good audience is that it is an audience. People are there. As I said before, live music really needs support. That is especially important for bands playing some place regularly. Bands making one appearance have to publicize that single event and people see that it is a one-time, one-chance thing. Bands playing every week–well, it’s too easy for people to say we’re going to come and catch you one of these days. The people who run clubs and lounges are generally very supportive but they do need a good business to sustain live music.

Enough editorial comment. I think of audiences as either dancers or listeners (not different people necessarily, just different activities).

"It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing"–so said Duke Ellington. Dancers help put the beat in motion. They give it a physical, dramatic presence in the room. They not only feel the beat themselves; they help others feel it. In subtle ways, I find that it makes a difference in the way I am playing when the dancing begins.

And the range in dancers, the variety, is wonderful.

Visitors from Denmark

This woman told me that they have a copy of our CD in their home in Copenhagen and they play it almost every day. One nice comment like that sets me up for the night.

Sometimes dancing is a very spontaneous thing. It just has to happen. One young blond leapt to her feet and started the famous Duke Ellington at Newport eruption in 1956. And here is what happened when we played at Mount Vernon’s Chocolate Stroll.

I love seeing people go into motion. And I have something in common with them. I’m not much of a dancer, but I can’t hold still when the music starts to roll.

Next time: listeners.

Upcoming appearances: the Longbranch on Friday (6/15) 7:00-11:00; the Marriott in Coralville on Saturday (6/16) 7:00-10:00.