University of Alaska!
Posted on April 18, 2012 with 0 comments
WOW! Fairbanks is pretty gorgeous. Not to mention - the Thai food was surprisingly good. Go figure!
3 airplanes which seemed to take forever - NYC to Fairbanks - landed me at about 2am in a gorgeous place. I expected freezing weather. Packed a down jacket, my city Uggs (not the squishy ones - those make me look fat, I swear!) a wool scarf and an amazing hat I borrowed from my daughter - and I didn't need any of them. I did wear my boots because the snow was melting like crazy and my Chuck Taylor's just wouldn't cut it. But wow, what a gorgeous place!
After a well deserved rest, I had a workout and then met with the directors and some musicians for a lovely Thai lunch. For real - that place was better than any joint in NYC I've been to. I believe it was called Lemongrass - if you happen to be out there riding reindeer, shearing muskox, or simply climbing gorgeous mountains, go find it!
Anyway, I tried to go to Santa's house in North Pole, AK, but it was closed. I guess Santa was in Hawaii. Can't blame a guy for wanting some sun - though Alaska had plenty. It barely went down!
3 days of giving master classes and teaching, adjudicating high school and middle school bands, it was total chaos with an amazing vibe! I was SO tired every evening, bought some green tea and iced it every morning to cart throughout the day in addition to bottles of kombucha (not as good as my homebrew, but it kept me going!) This was my first experience at what was essentially a Jazz Festival for middle school through college students. What an experience! Would I do it again? Yes! For more than 3 days? Um, let me think about it.
Got to play a rehearsal with the community jazz band. Maybe they have extra practice time up there, especially during the winter. The level of musicianship was really inspiring. People who do this "for fun" were pretty stellar.
Played my tune "Tag Play" with the University big band - actually it's a tune that my daughter wrote with me (yes, she has 50% publishing). Dynamics, lush sounds (thanks in part to David Gibson for the gorgeous arrangement, but notes on paper need to be brought to life - the band did great on a gorgeous arrangement, everybody wins!)
The final concert was a blast with all of the guest artists. I was thrilled to play my favorite original of mine - "The Messenger". Funny how all of my favorites are sappy tear jerkers. The guys did a beautiful job interpreting the page with me! Our last tune was a riot, New Orleans style, horns ended up walking through the audience and out the door... and down the stairs, and outside, and back through, and down the stairs, and back on the stage finally! Glad it wasn't too cold!
A wonderful experience overall. Thank you to everybody involved. It's nice to know that our work as artists is more than just show, more than just a groove. It's life, it's influential, and it helps people, including ourselves.
Tomorrow I'm off to Geneseo NY to work with the jazz students at SUNY. Bring the vibe, people!!!
xo,
NP
3 airplanes which seemed to take forever - NYC to Fairbanks - landed me at about 2am in a gorgeous place. I expected freezing weather. Packed a down jacket, my city Uggs (not the squishy ones - those make me look fat, I swear!) a wool scarf and an amazing hat I borrowed from my daughter - and I didn't need any of them. I did wear my boots because the snow was melting like crazy and my Chuck Taylor's just wouldn't cut it. But wow, what a gorgeous place!
After a well deserved rest, I had a workout and then met with the directors and some musicians for a lovely Thai lunch. For real - that place was better than any joint in NYC I've been to. I believe it was called Lemongrass - if you happen to be out there riding reindeer, shearing muskox, or simply climbing gorgeous mountains, go find it!
Anyway, I tried to go to Santa's house in North Pole, AK, but it was closed. I guess Santa was in Hawaii. Can't blame a guy for wanting some sun - though Alaska had plenty. It barely went down!
3 days of giving master classes and teaching, adjudicating high school and middle school bands, it was total chaos with an amazing vibe! I was SO tired every evening, bought some green tea and iced it every morning to cart throughout the day in addition to bottles of kombucha (not as good as my homebrew, but it kept me going!) This was my first experience at what was essentially a Jazz Festival for middle school through college students. What an experience! Would I do it again? Yes! For more than 3 days? Um, let me think about it.
Got to play a rehearsal with the community jazz band. Maybe they have extra practice time up there, especially during the winter. The level of musicianship was really inspiring. People who do this "for fun" were pretty stellar.
Played my tune "Tag Play" with the University big band - actually it's a tune that my daughter wrote with me (yes, she has 50% publishing). Dynamics, lush sounds (thanks in part to David Gibson for the gorgeous arrangement, but notes on paper need to be brought to life - the band did great on a gorgeous arrangement, everybody wins!)
The final concert was a blast with all of the guest artists. I was thrilled to play my favorite original of mine - "The Messenger". Funny how all of my favorites are sappy tear jerkers. The guys did a beautiful job interpreting the page with me! Our last tune was a riot, New Orleans style, horns ended up walking through the audience and out the door... and down the stairs, and outside, and back through, and down the stairs, and back on the stage finally! Glad it wasn't too cold!
A wonderful experience overall. Thank you to everybody involved. It's nice to know that our work as artists is more than just show, more than just a groove. It's life, it's influential, and it helps people, including ourselves.
Tomorrow I'm off to Geneseo NY to work with the jazz students at SUNY. Bring the vibe, people!!!
xo,
NP