Jazz and Freedom Festival

 

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Website: http://jazzandfreedom.com, http://capitalbop.com 

News: Jazz and Freedom Festival

Produced by: CapitalBop and JTTB Records

  • Cost: $20 suggested donation, portion of the proceeds benefit EmpowerDC
  • 411 New York Ave NE
  • Where: Union Arts
  • 4 pm – 12 am
  • When: Sunday, January 18th, 2015
  • Groups: Guest Panel of Speakers including Rusty Hassan and Fred Foss
  • Bullettes Octet,
  • Trio OOO,
  • Reginald Cyntje and Herman Burney duo
  • Alison Crockett,
  • Nasar Abadey and Jamal Moore duo
  • Jazz and Freedom Octet

Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, January 18th, 2015, there will be a Jazz and Freedom Festival at Union Arts Warehouse from 4 pm to 12 am in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. The festival will feature a guest panel of speakers and six bands followed by a jam session at the end. The festival is produced in conjunction with CapitalBop (http://capitalbop.com) and JTTB Records (http://jazztothebone.com). Union Arts is an underground warehouse for artists and it will be a warm atmosphere with food and donations accepted. A portion of the proceeds will go to Empower DC, a non-profit dedicated to helping the DC community (http://empowerdc.org).

At 4 pm on January 18th at Union Arts, there will be a panel discussion on jazz and its role in social activism featuring Fred Foss and Rusty Hassan. Fred Foss played saxophone and woodwinds with Hugh Masekela and Lionel Hampton, among others. Rusty Hasssan runs a jazz radio show at WPFW-FM and is very knowledgable about the history of jazz and its ties with freedom and justice. Then, at 5 pm, “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” all female octet will perform a tribute to Mingus. Following that will be free jazz ensemble “Trio OOO” at 6 pm. Then, Reginald Cyntje (jazz trombone) and Herman Burney (bass) will perform a jazz duo at 7 pm. At 8 pm, local songstress and outspoken hero Alison Crockett will perform selections from her one woman show, “Is this it? My American Dream.” Following her performance will be a duo with Nasar Abadey (percussion) and Jamal Moore (saxophone) at 9 pm. At 10 pm will be the Jazz and Freedom Octet, an ensemble created to promote peace and social justice by performing music that inspires freedom. The Jazz and Freedom Octet comprises of Jessica Boykin-Settles on vocals, Grant Langford on tenor sax, Donvonte McCoy on trumpet, Elijah Easton on tenor sax, Shannon Gunn on trombone, Sam Prather on piano, Karine Chapdelaine-Walker on bass, and Savannah G. Harris on drum set and will be joined by Tony Martucci on congas for this performance.  

The idea for this festival was was the brain-child of Shannon Gunn, local jazz trombonist and high school music technology teacher who runs a non-profit record label called JTTB Records (http://jazztothebone.com). She was inspired by a similar performance where her professors at Michigan State University performed as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend celebration in 2003. She approached Gio Russonello and Luke Stewart of CapitalBop (http://capitalbop.com), a blog that keeps tabs on the local jazz scene, to see if they might be interested in co-producing the festival at the Union Arts location. The two entities united their forces in pulling in artists and speakers together and turned the event into a fundraiser for EmpowerDC, a local community activist group whose mission is to enhance, improve and promote the self-advocacy of low and moderate income DC residents in order to bring about sustained improvements in their quality of life. (http://empowerdc.org) Half of the door donations will be donated to EmpowerDC.          

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Jazz and Freedom Octet to Perform for the Jazz and Freedom Festival 2015

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The Jazz and Freedom Octet is an ensemble created to promote peace and social justice by performing music that inspires freedom. The Jazz and Freedom Octet comprises of Jessica Boykin-Settles on vocals, Grant Langford on tenor sax, Donvonte McCoy on trumpet, Shannon Gunn on trombone, Sam Prather on piano, Karine Chapdelaine-Walker on bass, and Savannah G. Harris on drum set.

The Jazz and Freedom Octet will perform two shows for the Jazz and Freedom Festival 2015. They will start on Saturday, January 17th at a house show in Falls Church, Va. Then, on Sunday, January 18th, they will be last show at 10 pm for the Jazz and Freedom Festival at Union Arts located at 411 New York Ave NE in Washington, D.C. Please contact Shannon Gunn if you’d like more information or to book a reservation for the house show. $20 donation suggested for each show.

NY Pics and more

IMG_3618Last Tuesday, I got to run up to New York for a bit to take a professional development course on teaching economics. I’m always at a loss of how to make econ easier, so it was a great way to get some new ideas that are actually fun and informative. I hate lecture! Looking forward to teaching the new year as a result. It will be fun! After the PD, I visited with my good friend Miki for a bit. Walked through Times Square and just loved it. The evening started out with a Barry Harris masterclass. The most amazing thing about the whole experience was watching how hungry the other students were. I was surprised at the diversity of ages – I thought it would mostly be younger cats, but it was all ages, to include seniors just learning to play.IMG_3629 Mr. Harris teaches a piano class first, where he plays something and then everyone (like 25 people) get up to the piano and try their hand at it. Takes forever but is informative and everyone was videotaping. Then came the singing lesson. He calls it ear training, but it’s more like karaoke, but with the same song over and over and over again. At first I was enjoying it because the song was difficult, and we all sang along, but when everyone got up to the mic individually it went a little long. As a result the instrumental lesson was only 22 minutes. However, there IMG_3622was more packed in that 22 minutes than all my college years combined, in some ways. He taught the way jazz should be taught, with the master singing and everyone imitating on their instruments. He started us off with scales (which, by the way, I wasn’t used to playing so fast, he does sixteenth notes at 240), to progress to patterns which he then strung together for sentences. Why isn’t everyone teaching this way? There should be a Barry Harris class at every college and university. IIMG_3655 recorded it on my phone and am slowing making my way through each night. I had difficulty understanding him sometimes, especially the difference between E and D and B, so it’s helpful to have the recording to go back to. That’s not all, though, I found myself at Zinc Bar to see Tivon Pennicott, and then Smalls which was alive and industrious. Met many new jazzers and was elated to see Laurence Leathers again! He was a freshman at MSU while I was a grad student. So many years ago. And now he’s famous, plays with everyone. Then, on Wednesday morning, I got to hang with Lynn Gruenewald, alto sax and flute player from MSU. I got to meet her beautiful dog Remo and catch up on life and happiness. She was actually looking after Ingred Jensen’s daughter (there was a Darcy James Argue rehearsal) so I got to see Ingred and family as well. Her daughter is so smart! I couldn’t believe how well she listened and how interactive andIMG_3641 verbal she was. And so there it is! I’m back again in NY this week as well to get some more Professional Development, and to see more jazz. I’ll also be conducting interviews for my podcast, yay! I’m writing this post as a test for this website, but it’s also fun to review the 24 hours of craziness that was New York last week. Looking forward to more jazz!

Apps for Jazzers Presentation at NJW 2014

Screen Shot 2014-07-09 at 2.28.14 AMHi everyone! Here is my presentation on “Apps for Jazzers” at the National Jazz Workshop in Winchester, Virginia. This presentation is interactive, so feel free to double click on the sandy part and add your ideas!!! You can access the presentation in many ways:

1. PDF – click here

2. Image – click here

3. Website – click here – http://padlet.com/jazztothebone/jazzapps

 

[padlet key=’1nufbwd6u1f2′ width=’100%’ height=’480′]

   

Apps for Jazzers

Jazz Apps

iReal Pro app – if you don’t have it, you need it, now. 7.99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ireal-pro-musicbook-playalong/id298206806?mt=8 

Mimicopy – best transcribing app. You can add music via WIFI, slow down, speed up, change keys, and it’s easy to use.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mimicopy-slow-down-pitch-shift/id405894824?mt=8 

iImprov Suite of Apps: http://jazzappsmobile.com -android and iphone 

Fundamentals app – learn scales,
chords, jams, ear training
Jazz Theory Quiz app – quizzes on jazz theory, 2.99
The Minor II V app – explanations, jam along 3.99
Modal app – Scales, audio, jams 3.99 Chord/Scale Compendium app – hear
and see any scale/chord .99
Bebop app – 9 lessons in how to apply
the descending half step, 8 jam alongs
3.99
Search “iImprov” and you will see all of them
Good Ear Intervals – Free https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodear-intervals-ear-training/id588122114?mt=8 

Jazz Scale App – learn jazz scales, seenotation .99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jazz-scale/id463194964?mt=8 

Jazz Box App – shows you the root chord position for any jazz chord, .99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jazz-box/id532325909?mt=8  

The History of Jazz App – 45 hours of video, iPad only, timeline, 9.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/history-jazz-interactive-timeline/id411521458?mt=8 

Bebop Walking Bass App – 3.99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bebop-walking-bass/id733300556?mt=8 

Bebop Scales on Guitar HD – 9.99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bebop-scales-on-guitar-hd/id595790378?mt=8 

Band-in-a-Box – FREE https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/band-in-a-box/id397173717?mt=8 

Barry’s Scale Reminder – .99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/barrys-scale-reminder/id469793643?mt=8 

Music Listening Apps

http://spotify.com  – listen to any song from computer, pay to listen on mobile

http://listen.to  – just like spotify, but available for mobile, and has lyrics

Naxos music library – many schools
subscribe to this library which allows
you to hear millions of classical songs
online http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/home.asp?rurl=%2Fdefault%2Easp 

Recording Apps

Soundcloud – Free

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/soundcloud-music-audio-discover/id336353151?mt=8   

TinyVox Pro – easy to share, email, tweet, etc – free or paid version

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinyvox-social-telephone-voicemail/id408118405?mt=8  

Garage Band – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785?mt=8 

Metronome/Tuner/Marching Band

Tempo app by Frozen Ape – create playlists, emphasize beats, light flashes https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tempo-metronome-setlists/id304731501?mt=8  

Tonal Energy Tuner app – best for pedal
tones https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tonalenergy-chromatic-tuner/id497716362?mt=8 

A.P.S. Music Master – Tuner, metronome, pdf viewer, markup, audio https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a.p.s.-musicmaster/id487715143?mt=8 

A.P.S. Tuning Trainer – plays pitches, determine sharp/flat https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a.p.s.-tuning-trainer/id552848024?mt=8  

Cleartune app – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cleartune-chromatic-tuner/id286799607?mt=8 

Audio Engineering Tools

If you’re still using Audacity orGarageband, switch to StudioOne immediately. http://www.presonus.com/products/studio-one/ 

APPS:

Audio Tool – dB meter, tempo, mic, oscilloscope, tone generator, bit calculator, audio glossary https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audio-tool/id379146462?mt=8   

Audio Tool for Android – spectrum analyzer, heat maps

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.julian.apps.AudioTool&hl=en 

Decibel 10th – decibel meter and oscillator (free)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/decibel-10th/id448155923?mt=8 

Music PDF Apps

http://imslp.org  – this site allows you to see any score before 1923

Unrealbook app – add pdfs to your iPad, create playlists, sync playlists across devices, turn pages with the air turn pedals, write on pdfs 2.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/unrealbook/id370135173?mt=8 

iClassical Scores – search the IMSLP (Internet Music Library) for any score written before 1923 in the publicdomain. Also take pictures and add your own pdfs. 1.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iclassicalscores/id495843728?mt=8 

Teaching Resources

http://padlet.com  – this bulletin board is interactive!

http://recordit.co  – quickly and easily create gifs from your computer

http://flubaroo.com  – automatically “grades” quizzes done through Google forms

http://prezi.com  – create presentations online, beautiful, great for non-linear topics

http://morguefile.com  – free stock photos

http://pdfonline.com  – convert PDF documents to word documents

http://quizlet.com  – create vocabulary sets, play games, print flash cards, print vocab sheet, AUTO GENERATE TESTS!!!!

http://animoto.com  – create animations!

YouTube playlists – I use YouTube playlists to keep all my video resourcesin one place for a topic

http://teacherspayteachers.com  – post your own materials or buy materials from others. Awesome resource for worksheets, bulletin boards, word walls, units, etc.

Video

http://velloapp.com  – like vine, but you can collaborate with multiple people to create a short video

http://wipster.io  – take a video with your phone. Upload it to wipster. send it to someone. they (and you) can put little sticky notes on it.

http://www.coachseye.com/  – coache’s eye app, review video and make annotations

Pocket tuber app – listen to youtube videos in the background

Music Teaching Apps (secondary)

Rhythm Sight Reading Trainer app – play along and it tells you if you played it correctly. Throw it up on a smart boardand let the band use it to warm up for articulations. 2.99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rhythm-sight-reading-trainer/id396302174?mt=8    

Scales Lexicon – learn 100+ scales 4.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scales-lexicon/id418528535?mt=8 

Tenuto app – this is the app that accompanies the website 3.99

http://musictheory.net 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tenuto/id459313476?mt=8    

Do Re Mi Voice Training App – sing into this app and it will tell you about pitch 9.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/do-re-mi-voice-training/id456486477?mt=8   

Notation Apps

http://noteflight.com  – free online notation program. export as MIDI. share and embed.

http://musescore.com  – create sheetmusic with the musescore software then share it on their website

http://www.lilypond.org  – music notation software, free

Notate Me – app that allows you to write a music with your finger or stylus then converts it to notation. export as MIDI. Notate Me Now is free and only allows 1 staff. 39.99

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notateme/id699470139?mt=8 

Score Cloud Express – sing it, play it into
your iDevice, and it will write out your
idea in music notation https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scorecloud-express/id566535238?mt=8 

Instrument Apps

OMGuitar – great app to learn tunes,
strum chords, create music https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/omguitar-digital-guitar/id413803615?mt=8 

ProKeys – great app for keyboards, two manuals https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-keys/id364419812?mt=8 

Synthesizer Apps

Impaktor – awesome drum synth. Hit
the desk and create wav files based on
the sounds https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/impaktor-drum-synthesizer/id557824278?mt=8  

Session Band app – create chords for backgrounds, like band in a box http://www.sessionbandapp.com/ 

Harmonic Explorer – this is a free VST instrument provided by http://www.synthschool.com/free-plug-ins/index.html   which allows you to build square, sawtooth, and triangle waves by adding and subtracting the various harmonics Mechanical Licensing

https://songclearance.com  – LimeLight – clearance; better than Harry Fox (will clear almost anything!)

Digital Hacks

Reflector app – put your iPhone on your computer so it can be projected onto the big screen. Download Reflector onto your PC or Mac and it will pick up your iPhone or iPad through AirPlay automatically. http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/ 

https://www.kitestring.io/  – Keep yourself safe as you walk the city at night. You can sign up for this service, and it will send a text to a loved one if you don’t check in when you get home. It’s free and no smart phone required. All text based.

http://onetab.com  – get rid of tab clutter

http://getSignals.com  – track when someone opens your email

http://ifttt.com  – if this, then that. automate anything digitally with “recipes”

http://followup.cc  – automatically sends email reminders

Photon – Flash Browser for your iPad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photon-flash-player-for-ipad/id430200224? 

Remote app – free remote from your
phone to Apple TV https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/remote/id284417350?mt=8 

http://shotpin.com  – create a pin from a screenshot

http://www.stitcher.com  – Stitcher app is the best podcasting app! Coming out in new cars along with Pandora. Make playlists, favorite, low bandwidth

Jazz Radio

Listen to jazz from anywhere! http://jazzradio.com
Jazz Radio app – free
WBGO app – free

JazzBird from Jazz Boston app – free

Picture Editing

http://picmonkey.com  – create collages, add text to images, great for Facebook templates

http://pixlr.com  – like photoshop, but free and online

Grid Lens app – allows you to make collages of photos and post to social media https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grid-lens/id490495120?mt=8 Elementary Music Teaching Apps

Note Squish, app to teach notation for kids .99 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/note-squish/id381536270?mt=8   

Flash Note Derby – musical note flash cardshttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashnote-derby-musical-note/id453126527?mt=8  

Tap and Sing app for toddlers – learn musical concepts for pre-k children https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap-sing-by-storybots-free/id602903380?mt=8 

Cloud Storage

http://dropbox.com  – 3 GB 

http://drive.google.com  – 15 GB 

http://onedrive.com  – 15 GB 

http://box.com  – 50 GB

Motivation apps

http://lift.co  – create goals, social free

https://itunes.apple.com/app/lift/id530911645?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 

Safety

Find My iPhone app – enable this to find an iphone from anywhere

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-my-iphone/id376101648?mt=8 

Prey app – install this on any of your devices, and it will take photos with your built in camera if the computer is stolen (android and iOS)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prey-anti-theft-free-security/id456755037?mt=8  

Just For Fun

http://howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com  – self explanatory

Songsterr Tabs and Chords app – learn
any song (500k to choose from) with
tabs and chords https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/songsterr-tabs-chords/id399211291?mt=8 

Shazam – identify any song on the radio https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shazam/id284993459?mt=8 Background Noise while you Work

http://defonic.com  – pick nature sounds 

http://calm.com  – meditation sounds

http://coffitivity.com  – great starbucks sounds

http://noisli.com  – create combinations of nature sounds

Internet Marketing

http://bufferapp.com  – schedule tweets/facebook posts

http://similarweb.com  – see # visits and traffic for any site on the web

http://vcita.com  – use this to capture leads and interact with people on your site

Google Analytics

CrazyEgg Heat Mapping

Swiftype – know what people are looking for on your website

    

Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes Quintet: A Tribute to Hank Mobley and Curtis Fuller on Blue Note

website_forjttb.jpgAs part of the Blue Note @ 75 celebration, the Bullettes all-female quintet will pay homage to the Blue Note artists Hank Mobley and Curtis Fuller with the photography of Francis Wolff, Blue Note co-founder, in the background on May 28th. We will be so lucky as to have Anita Thomas on tenor, Isabel DeLeon on drums, Karine Chapdelaine on bass, Lianna Gekker on piano, and myself on trombone.  This quintet is a pull-out ensemble from my larger group called Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes. The performance will be from 8:30 – 9:30 PM on May 28th at the Goethe-Institut Washington in the FotoGaleria, 812 Seventh Street, NW, WDC, 20001-3718, $7/$4, (202) 289-1200

This sunday – DC Jazz Loft – Tribute to Carl Fontana/Al Cohn collab

DCJazzLoft2

Hi everyone! I’m really excited to get the opportunity to give a tribute to one of my favorite trombone players, Carl Fontana and to specifically highlight his work with Al Cohn from “The Great Fontana” album. I am super privileged to be joined by Leigh Pilzer this Sunday night at the DC Jazz Loft performance at Union Arts DC (411 NY Ave NE). This is a great hang and always has a jazzm at the end. That’s a jazz jam btw. If you are looking for some underground and artistic music in the District this weekend, come on by, it’s friendly and you can BYOwhatever. There is a donation suggested. I want to thank Gio and Luke of the CapitalBop blog for having me on. I really appreciate it!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0O4Omj_Drg]

New project to launch November 25!

TheJazzCast

Hi everyone! I’m super excited to be working on a new secret project that I will be releasing on November 25th. I hope you all will join me and check out this site on that date. T’will be fun!

Tribute to the collaborations between Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller – Oct 10 at Twins

Hi everyone! I have been busy engraving arrangements for an upcoming show in DC that will be a tribute to the collaboration between Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller. I’m really looking forward to getting to play with some amazing local talent: Elijah Jamal Balbed, Joe Herrera, Dan Roberts, Ele Rubenstein, and Eliot Seppa. This is going to be good, folks, can’t wait! We’ll be doing tunes off the Schizophrenia album as well as tunes written and arranged by Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller. Please join us on October 10th at 8 pm and 10 pm sets at Twins Jazz. $10 cover, and I think there is also a $10 minimum.

W

Bullettes Small Group- Thurs. Sept 5 – Bethesda Jazz and Blues!

Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes Small Group will play on Thursday, September 5th, at 7:30 – 9:30 pm at the Bethesda Jazz and Blues Club! Shannon Gunn and the Bullets Small GroupI’m really looking forward to playing with some really awesome players in a smaller group setting. There will be a $10 cover and $10 minimum. Bethesda Blues and Jazz is located at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda.

We’ll have:
Leigh Pilzer on reeds, Amy Shook on bass, Isabel DeLeon on drums, Lianna Gekker on piano, and we’ll be featuring Jessica Boykin-Settles for the first time on vocals with the Bullettes. We’ll be doing mostly standards with a few originals, arrangements, and one tune to commemorate the late great Marian McPartland. Please come out and join us for a fun time!

Jazz Benefit Concert Feb. 15th

Jazz Concert Feb. 15

Looking for something to do with your sweetie for Valentine’s Day? You might consider coming to a Jazz Benefit Concert this Friday, Feb. 15th, at 7:00 PM at Sudley United Methodist Church in Sudley Springs, VA (just north of the Manassas Battlefield.) We will be playing jazz standards with a little Portuguese and bossa nova mixed in. The concert is free with a free-will offering at the end to benefit a little four year old girl who was in a serious accident. Please consider joining us for this fun event!

 Lineup Includes:

Shannon Gunn, Trombone; Joey Whitney, Saxes; Jeff Johnson, Trumpets; Peter LeBron, Vocals; Eugene Iosilovich, piano; Jerry Bresee, guitar; Clai Richardson, drums; Evan Young, bass; Travis Angerman, bass; Todd, Bongos and Congas; and anyone else who shows up with their axe! 🙂

Intermission Riff @BohemianCaverns ft. Herrera Jazz

I just wanted to say that I’m really looking forward to playing with Joe Herrera and his sextet tomorrow night at Bohemian Caverns during the Intermission in between the two BCJO sets. Can’t wait to play his transcription of Herbie Hancock’s “Speak Like a Child” and some originals. Here’s the song with Peter Phillips on bass trombone. One of the few instances of bass trombone in the jazz listening library! Unfortunately neither he nor Thad Jones takes a solo. At any rate, enjoy, and hope to see you if you’re around tomorrow night!

Bullettes play at the Carlyle Club nov. 20th

For Immediate Release

November 8th, 2012

News: All-Female Jazz Band, “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes,” at the Carlyle Club

Event: Swing Dance

When: Tuesday, November 20th, 2012, 9:00 PM

Where: Carlyle Club
411 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, VA

Cost: $10 Cover Charge

Alexandria, Virginia – On Tuesday, November 20th, 2012, in conjunction with “Gotta Swing,” “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” premiere all female big band will appear in a rare performance at the Carlyle Club in Alexandria, Virginia. The performance begins at 9:00 p.m. and will feature sounds from the 1940s swing era ballroom, including Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, and more.

“Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” began as a dream of Shannon Gunn, trombone player and graduate of the George Mason University Masters in Jazz Studies program. “Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes” is a full all-female jazz band with goals to uplift women in jazz, create networking opportunities for young musicians, and provide a positive role model for aspiring jazz musicians in the D.C. area. Their music can be heard online at http://bullettesjazz.com.

Please contact Shannon Gunn, band leader and manager, at 216-789-5310 or [email protected] for additional information or to schedule an interview. See http://dc.gottaswing.com for information about Tuesday night swing dance classes at the Carlyle Club. Please visit the Bullettes website at http://bullettesjazz.com for updates. We hope to see you there! Please contact Shannon Gunn at jazztothebone [at] gmail [dot] com for any other questions.

“State of Art”

A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear Ben Williams play at Bohemian Caverns for one of his many CD-Release concerts. Fantastic show. The piano player (forgot his name) was amazing, and Mr. Williams grooved his sox off. I actually went to school with Ben at Michigan State for the 2003 school year, but I was out of the jazz picture then because I was doing my student teaching at the time. As my husband said after the concert, “I’ve heard a lot of good bass players, but there’s just something about that guy…” And so I have been immersing myself in this album for the last couple of weeks, listening over and over as I drive around. I really like this album. There’s a lot of crossover, which surprised me, but in a good way. My favorite tracks are the lush arrangements with the string players. God it’s beautiful. He’s got MJ and a rapper on a jazz album. Good stuff, and I’m still hearing new things every time I listen. I will say the mixdown is interesting. There’s a ride cymbal on the right side that feels like it is right next to me, with a beautiful high pitched sound I like. I just wish there was more bass in the mix. I need a better sound system! Fantastic album, one I’ll be enjoying for years to come. Great job Ben Williams, and I look forward to the next one. Actually I should say, I look forward to purchasing the next one. Now everybody go out and do that too!

Post update – this album is now #1 for the jazz radio top 50 list at jazzweek.com! August 3rd 2011
http://www.jazzweek.com/radio/radiojazzradioweek/station171.html

listening to “Nothing to Do”

What a fantastic little treasure I found the other day when I got to hear Amy Shook and Felicia Carter live at the Westminster Presbyterian Jazz Night! Somehow this CD wound up in my CD player, and I was soon groovin’ to their title track, “Nothin’ To Do.”  Love Felicia Carter’s voice, silky smooth with a penchant for Portuguese, and her songs have a bluesy/jazzy/new orleans feel to them. I really like the swamp groove with “Nothing to Do” and “Broken Teeth Blues.” Amy Shook’s bass on the Broken Teeth Blues (an original) is groovin’. I had never heard “St. Vitus Dance” before, but am really hooked after hearing Amy Shook’s trio on that tune. Felicia Carter sings her songs with the attention to detail that I crave in the jazz singer’s performance style – she’s not afraid to lay back the tempo, or even to argue with the rhythm section (in a playful way, mind you), to create color with tone or articulation, and to let her soul shine. I’m really enjoying my own personal copy of  “Nothing to Do.”  You can take a sneak preview on Amy Shook’s website, http://amyshook.com or Felicia Carter’s website, http://feliciacarter.com if you want. Good stuff.

fishy story

Somehow, I am seeing this domain name in my list of domain names and I apparently own.

The green dot next to the name indicates it’s live and active – and I’m assuming owned by myself, if Hostmonster is telling me I can assign it.

I bought this domain name about 7 years ago, but let it expire a few years ago. Somehow it has been renewed in my name until 3/23/13.

The next screen shot is what I see when I click “Unassigned.”

I have never heard of TierraNet Inc.