Marvin Stamm
Like most of us, it seems like I have heard the name Marvin Stamm for as long as I've played trumpet. I'd heard about the Kenton years and the fantastic recording years and had seen his name advertised at ITG conferences for years. So, at the Columbus, GA ITG conference, I saw that he had a recital with a trio and decided to go. That particular conference I had a bunch of my students with me…
Site Update News
For those of you that frequent this site, you are obviously aware it has recently undergone a complete makeover. My web designer does a fantastic job and if anyone is interested in hiring him, please contact me and I'll put you in touch.
Aside from the look and format, I have merged DavidCooperMusic with AllThingsTrumpet and since deleted DavidCooperMusic. Basically the only thing that other…
Scrapple From The Apple
Scrapple From The Apple was written by the great Charlie "Bird" Parker in either 1946 or 47. It is considered one of the classic tunes in the BeBop repertoire. It is a 32 bar form that is AABA. Like many BeBop compositions, the chord structure is "borrowed" from other standard compositions. The "A" sections are basically Jelly Roll Morton's "Honey Suckle Rose" and the "B" section (bridge) is…
Maiden Voyage
Maiden Voyage
Recorded in 1965, Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” was a revolutionary tune because it consisted almost entirely of sus chords. Studying “Maiden Voyage” is basically learning what options one can play on suspended chords. Sus chords fall in the family of dominant function but Sus chords are dominant 7th chords voiced with the notes 1,4,5,7 rather than 1,3,5,7. For…
Tune-Up
Miles Davis' Tune-Up is considered a jazz standard and is a great vehicle for working on a very important and common chord progression found in many jazz compositions.
This progression is known as the ii-V-I (two-five-one). There have been many, many jazz books written about this progression and Jamey Aebersold has dedicated more than a few play-a-long volumes to this topic. I highly suggest…
Madison Jazz Jam 2
I am thrilled to host the Madison jazz Jam again this coming Sunday. This week the featured tune is the standard, "There Will Never Be Another You" by Warren and Gordon.
From an improvisation standpoint the tune has many opportunities to work our ii V I progression concepts. It is a 32 bar song form, meaning that the tune is divided in half - 16 measures each with many similarities in both…
Madison Jazz Jam
Hi everyone that attended last Sunday’s jam session. I had a great time and am thrilled to be asked to be a part of it. What a great space, too! The Fountain certainly seems to be the new place to hear and play jazz in Madison. Finally!!
Next jam, on October 21, we focus on “A Night in Tunisia”. This tune presents a couple of interesting things to deal with.
First, no matter how many…
Doc DeHaven
Doster (Doc) DeHaven
Doc was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1931 and is still living in Madison today, although, sadly he is no longer playing trumpet. As a musician in the Madison area, I have rarely – if ever – run into another musician who has not heard of him or worked with him. Doc is truly a Wisconsin Legend. His heyday was during the 60s and 70s when he led a band that had a steady gig…
Odd-Meter Improv
A recent trend in jazz improvisation seems to be playing in odd meters. I.e. 5/4 - Brubeck's Take Five, 9/8 - Brubeck's Blue Rondo ala Turk, 7/4 - Woody Shaw's Seventh Avenue, 10/8 - Pat Metheny's First Circle to name a few. Perhaps, we have Dave Brubeck to thank for this movement dating back to his groundbreaking album, Take Five. Two of my favorite player/composers using the idea of layering…
Harrell – Interview #2
A fellow Tom Harrell fan, great trumpet player and friend Jamie Beiwick shared this interview clip on his facebook page. Tom is not only one of the greatest jazz trumpet players of all time (imho) but also a very deep thinking, spiritually sensitive person. This is a great interview clip mixing commentary with playing. I am especially blown away by Tom’s solo on Green Dolphin Street. (about…