Improvisations on Reality

I’m finalizing some details, and by next week, I should know for sure if I’m going to be in attendance on the Capital Jazz Supercruise. The lineup is astounding. The ship is a Carnival line, and while I will admit that I got royally spoiled on the Celebrity Century last year, I will never, ever, ever decline a chance to be on the water with music for a week. What am I, nuts?

:)

And in two weeks, I am to see the amazing Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour. *fans self a little* A chance to see Ritenour in NY is once in a blue moon. I think I have a soft spot for the Blue Note now.

K.G.

If you go back a couple of months, you may remember my struggle to finish Book 4, even though my release track record was only up to Book 2.

The thing is, it’s all in the arc. Which you may have also heard me mention.

Now, I will make a small confession: this is the first time I’ve done something that this large-scale. Writing a stretched arc is interesting indeed, and is an intricate deal. Every detail, however small, could be the one detail that cracks everything wide open at the end of the arc. Or sometimes it’s just what’s not readily obvious.

That’s the thing to keep in mind and the old proverb that hindsight is 20/20 has never held more true.

At the time that the characters entered my head, I really didn’t know what they were going to do, or what was really behind the scenes. All I knew were specific scenes, misadventures, sometimes the very humorous kind, that would make a good show, but the end had to rely on the greater plot. Where Book 1 investigates the mystery of the High Mage and introduces the concept of the Mages as a sort of a police force – proof I watched entirely too much CSI – there had to be a counterforce.Therein was the arc, and at the time I was writing the bare bones – that is, Books 1 and 2 – I focused mostly on my characters and developing their conflicts. It wasn’t until Book 3 that I realized that I needed a Natalie Davis, so to speak (CSI fans, I’m sure I’ll catch heat from you, but it works. :P ). And Natalie’s arc lasted the entire Season 7, with a particular segue into Season 8. And no one knew what was going on until the last couple of episodes. But looking back…it all made sense.

That sort of a “keep the very subtle clues in there and have them make sense nonetheless” – that is the mark of a good arc and I had my own take on the concept when I took it upon myself to write Book 4 before I could edit anything else after the second book – and even in Book 2 editing, I had to be mindful of the 4th one. There are very subtle details that come into play even in Book 1 that point towards the greater arc. If you have read Book 1 of my series, ask yourself what details you noticed and what about them stands out. There’s a reason behind some very subtle shifts in the characters; Arriella, for instance, is a giveaway to the greater plot, although I made sure, painstakingly made sure that the reader will never realize it until later in the arc.

But keeping it all in mind is bloody damn difficult. I once had Post-Its literally all over the edges of my screen, just trying to keep the plotline straight. After a while, it became a question of not so much of what the hell I was thinking, but how in the blazes did I expect to keep all of those ideas straight?

The answer? Write it all down. If it’s in front of you, even on Post-Its or index cards, you can certainly put it in order.

I say that as I’m touching up Chapter 5 of Book 3 – and I’m also going to have to touch up the series of events in that chapter, because the scene I’m working on now is just a little bit more involved than I thought. It once again got to the stage that the characters are writing this story instead.

K.G.

And, of course: purchase Book 1 here and Book 2 here.

This was a bit of an interesting twist on my musical misadventures, and that is because never have I heard this particular group play live before.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve heard PoaD before. I hear them every time I turn my Pandora playlists to shuffle and shut my eyes; the undertone of sleek urban funk topped with a helping of soul is difficult to miss. And last year, they were the ones that rounded out the series, and I didn’t have a chance to go – until today.

(yes, Ken, this is your doing!)

This time, I went on just the late sailing, and between Curtis and James, there was plenty of funk to be had. Strong melodies, a great flavor and a lot of new blood. Tony Watson, Jr. on the three saxes (though he didn’t pick up the tenor once) was incendiary, to say the least, and doesn’t look a day past 25. He lit into an alto-sax solo mid-show with gusto that I’ve heard in the past from Michael Lington and Andrew Neu with phenomenal effect. David Dyson on bass, another youngin, took the funk and turned it up – way up.

The audience was on their feet, and so was I. However, this time I took a few moments to slip away and go above, on the top deck for some outside air and was treated to something that, well, is only possible here on the Spirit Cruises: a New York City Contact High.

You’ve seen the postcards. You’ve seen the pictures, the paintings, you’ve heard the testimonials. And you may’ve heard people saying that there’s nothing that quite matches seeing it in person, and I may well be one of them. But seeing the Lower Manhattan skyline with both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges lit up, on a clear night with nothing but a breeze in the sky – no oppressive humidity or overwhelming heat – with Pieces of a Dream as a soundtrack… now that’s a dream indeed. Standing on that top deck last night was a firm reminder to me of why I’m in love with this city. The energy of that view, that music and that setting is something that defies description.

Next up – RnR one week from now! Rick Braun & Richard Elliot once got together for a project, and it became an absolute hit. Tiger-striped tenor sax and a classic trumpet is a smile in the making.

K.G.

Jenna’s interpretation of the opening scene from Book 1

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a written piece to music. And while I don’t listen to lyrical music very much, this one was pulling at the back of my head in that unique, very particular way that says, “There’s something to relate to here.”

While I doubt Lizzy intended for this song to be interpreted this way, it nonetheless captures exactly how I feel about living in NY.

——

Living at All

originally sung & written by Lizzy Loeb

Drawing Lines

“It’s crowded here, the people make a whooshing sound.

It’s crazy here, I’m always getting pushed around…”

There’s nothing quite like rush hour. It’s a byproduct of the 9-5 workday, and an ingrained part of the city psyche. It’s just what it is: you rush, rush, and in your rush, you become mechanical. The attention span of the average city dweller disappears with enough dwelling time.

I’ve become that. Sixteen years in New York City, and that’s what it makes a person. Every day, I’m buffeted along with hundreds of everyone else who works in Midtown Manhattan; a multicolored, multi-leveled stream of people that pours out of every subway exit, pausing only to open an umbrella on a rainy day. A river of its own kind in a concrete jungle.

And heaven forfend you’re feeling out of place. There’s no mercy in a town like this, but no matter. The ebb will carry you along.

“It’s lonely here, the bookshelves are my company

It’s cold out here, and oh, I want you with me…”

And few people stop to think what goes on in the head of someone who is just carried along.

I spend a lot of time inside my own mind. It’s what happens when you just go with the general flow and rhythm of this town; once it takes hold, you learn to let your mind wander. And I let it wander often.

I’m a solitary person. I’m the girl that sits alone at a restaurant with a book in her hand. I’m the girl that holes up with a writing pad.  I’m the girl that you either never notice, or notice immediately. And few people realize that my great love is all around me: it’s this city of mine. I pull people into the small hidden corners of this city all the time. The bakery no one knows about, but where the cheesecake is something that puts Junior’s to shame. The little bar away from the beaten path, where one can always count on a friendly face, warm company, great drinks. The park that no one ever thinks about because it’s next to a highway, but that smells like seasalt and horticulture at night. I often call someone, and pull that person right along the adventure with me. Friend. Crush. Dinner company. Visitor. Someone who needs to see the city as I see it.

It’s like this now. I grab a friend with me, and we’re hitting a local burger joint. And then we walk. And as we walk, we find a street right off the beaten path, but the view of the Chrysler Building is something you’d see in postcards only.

Neither of us saw it quite like that.

She snaps a picture.

So do I. But I know I’ll promptly forget about the image. The memory of it will not go away so easily.

My out-of-town friends will get overwhelmed. “How can you live here?” they ask.

“But I won’t go, I won’t go, I won’t go at all

I won’t live where you can’t live, or I won’t live at all

‘Cause that’s not living at all, no,

That’s not living at all…”

I just live it. I live it exactly as it is. I love it exactly as it is.

———-

Check out the CD on iTunes, and the song here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/LizzyLoeb

K.G.

My oh my oh my – did the season get hot or what?

I don’t mean the weather.

Whenever the Spirit Cruises start up in NY, I have to remind myself – often! – that there are other places to be and that was proved correct in abundance. Since Wednesday, I’ve been running all over the city, seeing this, that and then some and the adventure proved to me that, nevermind the naysayers, jazz is alive and well in NYC. And it’s making a comeback, if I’m suddenly finding myself running around like a maniac.

Marion Meadows & the Spirit Cruises.

My liking for Marion’s shows started with the All Star Cruise 2009 (damn, do I miss Haven Entertainment…) and he proved that yes, it is possible to kick up a groove on the soprano sax and keep the audience engaged. As I put it before, Southwestern flair. The CDs are great, but they don’t do his showmanship justice.

Now, what you may not know about Marion is that he’s also a gifted graphic designer. His website is his own handiwork.  As a graphic designer in my own right, I was impressed with some of his other work, and had the chance to use one in the making of a liner-note booklet for a mutual friend of ours. The booklet came out phenomenal, and I am sure that M. has plenty of other things that would look phenomenal in print.

However, I don’t write about graphic design (often!) – this is about the man with the soprano sax, who more than delivered on that Southwestern flair. He kept the energy going solid, even though his guitarist missed the boat (ahem!), and showed off many of the audience favorites, including Dressed to Chill from the album of the same name. The only pity is that the time run of the show was not as long as normal, on the account that it was a double header.

I, erm, neglected to mention Alex Bugnon as the second part of that show, didn’t I.

Where Marion turns up the funk and keeps it steady, Alex can mellow like a master. I have a special spot in my heart for piano-driven jazz, and Going Home – his latest album release – has already wormed its way into my head as a clear favorite. 107 in the Shade sounds even better live than it does on the album. The only complaint I have about that entire night is the timing: 45-minute segments are nowhere near enough to showcase these two talents and do them justice.

Jeff Lorber Fusion at Iridium

Recharged by no more than 4 hours of sleep from last night’s show, I was joined by The Lovely Nikki at the Iridium for Jeff Lorber Fusion.

The one thing I have to say about Jeff Lorber is that his style really is quintessential fusion, and infectious at that. I listen to him and I definitely detect the elements of what’s now known as straight-ahead, and he has a real gift for flow and intricacy. Now Is The Time is his latest and is good on the ear: well-composed, well-put together. I’ve seen him once before at SOB’s, with Randy Brecker and Eric Marienthal, an amazing show if there ever was one. So I knew what to expect going in.

The Iridium is an excellent venue, much better managed in space than the Blue Note, though the two are of roughly the same square footage.

Unfortunately, I have to say that while Jeff is a great talent, and The Lovely Nikki enjoyed his show by quite a bit, this show was not quite as good as it could’ve been. Perhaps it was the fact that I saw Marion play the night before, but the sax player sitting in with Jeff that night did not leave me with a good impression at all (you will have to forgive me, for I do not at all recall his name). The soprano sax handling was less than stellar, but it was when he picked up the tenor sax that I noticed it the most. He faltered on keeping the tone steady; I heard several distinct, and unplanned, drops in the octave. Jeff himself, however, was in top form, and so were his bassist and drummer, which made up for any shortfalls elsewhere.

Bobby Caldwell, the Blue Note, and the Tornado.

If you stuck with this blog for some time, then you know what complaint I have with the Blue Note aside from the price: the space management. Cramped, highly. Extremely. But it’s a great venue because the lineup is top of the line.

Aaahhh, Bobby Caldwell. In the event you wondered who wrote some of those old-time classic songs, then your answer is probably a weedy, redheaded blue-eyed gentleman with the mic in his hand. If you heard What You Won’t Do For Love – thank Bobby, for he wrote it. And while I’m no R&B fan, old-school 70s-era music is still a soft spot.

So of course, I had stageside seats at the Note, which meant that when Bobby’s hand was raised mid-song, I had to tilt back a little, else he may’ve thwacked me on the forehead.

Considering that it was humid as all unloving hell, Bobby too had a few things to say on it, such as the fact that he may’ve been developing some new growth because of the moisture! The audience cracked up, with some of us calling out in the classic words of Matthew Perry… “That’s too much information!”

It was also a reunion with someone I know and enjoy from Berks Jazz Fest: Andrew Neu, who showed off his alto & tenor sax skills, as well as assist Bobby on both keys and vocals.

Now, the tornado part of this segment? Apparently, for the first time in a long time, NYC was subject to a tornado watch. I had no less than 4 people, all from across the country, text me to ask what the hell was up in my corner of the world, because on their TV stations, they heard nothing but “NYC has a tornado warning.” And that was right as Bobby launched into Janet. Aaahhh, 70s classics and a storm!

Bob Baldwin & Bossa Nova

Literally, as the case may be.

I met Bob Baldwin twice. The first time was with my friend Linda at a show in Trumpets Jazz Club. The second time was aboard Marion’s ship, where he came aboard for the second sailing and did some talking/networking with both Alex Bugnon and M. I chatted him up on the ship, and then came to Joe’s Pub on Saturday night for his show with Ragan Whiteside, Gabriela Anders and Chieli Minucci.

I will say this about Joe’s Pub: for a small venue, it does a good job, and the acoustics are beautiful. The fire alarm going off mid-show – not so much.

Of all the shows of the week, this one easily gets the crown for Best Show. It was an eclectic mix of cover songs courtesy of Bob’s collection, some Special EFX classics courtesy of Chieli, and some amazing bossa nova from Gabriela. It certainly reaffirmed my love for the classics; hearing The Girl from Ipanema like this was certainly an experience. Ragan Whiteside on the flute was a perfect addition; she knows how to keep energy and pace with the instrument’s unique accent. It’s not something you hear in jazz often, a good flute, but Ms. Whiteside is worth hearing indeed.

Next, it will be Pieces of a Dream…and planning to see Boney James in PA in August with Rosa and other PA friends.

K.G.

Owing to concerns for our safety, Warren has decided to cancel the Jammin’ in Jamaica 2010 event.

I won’t lie; I’m disappointed a little, but I understand completely why this was done. I can always try and get credit for the airlines, or take a different trip this year… This was for our safety, which I appreciate 100%.

Thanks to Warren, Jan E. and everyone who worked to put this event together. I’m sure there will be another event like this, and I will wait patiently until such will be the case.

This post is inspired by a friend of mine asking me why I don’t go to movie theaters much and rarely, if at all, turn on the television.

Truthfully, the shows that attract me to the television are very few in number, and movies with me are a huge hit-and-miss. Not to say that I don’t want to see Inception, but I’m still rather hard-pressed to go out for that one.

There have been some trends in movies lately that I am not quite a fan of.

The latest trend, and one that I’ve been observing steadily, is that of what I call the brainless comedy. Comedies have gone from slightly intellectual/heartwarming, to just plain stupid. Perhaps it’s just me, but I see precious little appeal in a movie like Stepbrothers or anything that even remotely features Will Ferrell. Now, I’m seeing the subways plastered with Dinner for Schmucks, and a little research tells me that it’s a remake of The Dinner Game, wherein the prize goes to the person who brings the biggest idiot for dinner.

Considering the Will Ferrell trend, this cannot bode well. I think that a witty – truly witty – comedy is a forgotten art.

OK, I will admit, I shouldn’t find CSI funny and normally I do not, but the episode You Kill Me – wherein a lab tech devises a CSI-themed board game – was hilarious. It was well-plotted, well-engineered, kept in tune with the series and nonetheless, was a moment of amusement, which takes away from the general somber tone of the show. Really, what’s wrong with that as an approach to film, rather than what boils down to overgrown bathroom humor?

The other trend is compressing events in history and overdramatizing them. The Other Boleyn Girl is a good book. Key word, book. Philippa Gregory knows how to write and did a good job of fictionizing the details of what was already reported by historians. I want to know what the hell Hollywood was thinking by compressing a near-500-page novel into a two-hour film. None of the historic attitudes of the people were remotely portrayed in the film. None of the private Anne/Mary discussions that were very well-done in the book were shown. Nothing about the sisters’ spat when Mary married without permission for the second time. Instead, it’s been reduced to a plotless costume drama, wherein the events of history are glued together only by the actors and by the fact that this did take place and Anne Boleyn was the first English queen executed.

I mean, hell, The Tudors TV series is also badly flawed historically, but at the very least it attempted to show the interpersonal details. Maria Doyle Kennedy’s Catherine of Aragon was wonderfully portrayed, steady in contrast to Henry VIII’s outtakes. And as an aside, I should mention offhand that each and every film/TV portrayal of Catherine of Aragon is flawed: in reality, Catherine was a short redhead, seeing as she’s a descendant of the Gaunt family of England.

However, I digress.

So far, I’ve seen very few movies that attracted me to the theaters, not just because of the aforementioned. It seems as though the top-grossing movies are either building on concepts that have been done before, taking the “untold story” approach, or are the adaptations of novels. The last I actually enjoy more than most; I’ve seen every Harry Potter film. The fact that Twilight seems to be one of the higher-grossing films shows that novel adaptation works as an idea – my opinion of the series is aside here. But it seems that, with every release date, the originalities of movies are dwindling rapidly. That is dismaying, especially considering that there are many independent writers – novel and screen alike – that would work phenomenally well if adapted to the silver screen.

This goes right along with what I said about independent authors: try them out. Just because they don’t have Penguin Books, or Simon & Schuster, or Little, Brown & Company behind them does not at all mean that they’re not good. Some of the best works I read were by people whose bylines never saw official print.

Personally, I’m developing quite a fondness for foreign films – and yes, novel adaptations are top of the list. I rented the subtitled The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on iTunes (Swedish film), and loved it. Noomi Rapace’s portrayal of Lisbeth Salander is a career-maker, and if you didn’t read the book, do. I will say, it is NOT an easy read, especially if you had traumatic experiences in the past, but one of the best plotlines I’ve seen in a long time.

Until next time…and I’ll see if I can see Inception on Sunday, provided I’m not completely shattered from all the music I’m seeing this week…

K.G.

Okay, technologically, my luck is a bit low.

Who’s got a spare charging adapter for a Powerbook G4?

You know, I forgot why I love Book 3 of all my series.

It’s madcap in its hilarity.

I’m reading over some later chapters, after the character named Jason turns up as not missing. Man oh man. Does it get hilarious… Most of the scenes need to be edited up and have the order changed, but I love that I’m reading it and snickering. I also love that I’m seeing Jason’s misadventures a la Music Montage (anyone still remember America’s Funniest Home Videos?)…set to swing music.

Why yes, random brain is very random. :P

I can’t wait to turn this over for Professional Edit to Gayle. It’ll be awesome.

K.G.