Last Thursday I went to listen a good session of Latin jazz in The Hague at the Pater. The group was composed of people from different countries, Cuba, Netherlands and Spain.
Latin jazz is very interesting for its rhythmic richness. So many people go to dance and have fun. In contrast, jazz sessions most of the audience are musicians, so that the audience goes to hear the music, instead of dancing. Well, it’s another way to enjoy music, but will be nice to see also audience like in the jazz sessions.
Find a Guitar
I decided to buy a new guitar better than I have and for this I started trying many different.
I find it quite difficult to choose which to buy. My opinion is that the guitars setting has much to do with the guitar sound. For example the alignment of the frets I think is fundamental for the guitar to get sound more in tune and balanced. And…. the truth is that many of the guitars I’ve tried are not with a well setting . I keep looking for …
I find it quite difficult to choose which to buy. My opinion is that the guitars setting has much to do with the guitar sound. For example the alignment of the frets I think is fundamental for the guitar to get sound more in tune and balanced. And…. the truth is that many of the guitars I’ve tried are not with a well setting . I keep looking for …
Jesse van Ruller Trio
Today I attended a concert that left me almost speechless. One of my favorite Dutch guitarists in trio format (bass, drums and guitar).
Seeing a guitarist like Jesse always “my mouth drop agape”. Clearly it is a very virtuoso guitarist and very musical musician. In his trio played with Clemens van der Feen on bass and Joost van Schaik on drums. They were also amazing.
They played music of Joe Henderson, Herb Ellis, among others, and original music by Jesse.
Playing at the Patronaat
Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to play at an event for Patronaat of Tilburg. The organizers wanted to hear music for solo guitar, while the conference did.
I was able to play my guitar repertoire and I had a great time. I played repertoire of pop, blues and jazz. I find it hard to play music solo than duo and trio, but every time I feel more relaxed playing.
For this event I played with a guitar that a colleague left me; a nylon string Godin. It’s like a classical guitar, but with an electronic system that allows you to play with a guitar amp.
Bill Frisell 858 Quartet Concert
Last Sunday I went to see an interesting show. Bill Frisell 858 String Quartet. It was a quartet formed by cello, violin, viola and electric guitar with various effects.
The guitarist and leader of the group is one of my favorites and is very famous for its sound effects using his guitars.
This project was born because Gerhard Richter, a painter from San Francisco, ask him to write music inspiring by several of his paintings. So Bill was withdrawn for one month at a quiet environment, with nature, to compose the pieces.
The result is fabulous to my ears. Very beautiful and melodic music, with influences from the country music, improvisation and even contemporary music. Just as interesting was the result, Bill Frisell decided to continue the project and make a tour in several countries after the presentation in the museum of modern art in San Francisco.
In addition to the compositions for paintings, also played versions of other composers such as 26 / 2, a composition of John Coltrane, one of Thelonious Monk , and one of the Beatles with a modern harmonization.
I’m always glad to hear live concerts, because I get ideas and inspiration for my personal work. My plan is to go as much as I can.
You can watch the video about this Project here;
Van Gogh Museum
Visiting a museum is always inspiring, but visit the “Van Gogh museum” in Amsterdam even more.
The museum is located next to the ‘Rijksmuseum’, the Rembrandt museum, near the concert hall “Concertgebouw” and Amsterdam’s largest park, the “Vondelpark”
It’s a very nice and spacious museum on three floors where you can find many of the works of Van Gogh and works by other contemporary authors.
Of the three plants, the first is entirely dedicated to Van Gogh, and others to Van Gogh and his contemporaries, which is very interesting to see what was going on artistically in his day.
There you can even find a replica of Van Gogh’s room as he saw himself, and later painted in one of his famous paintings. I made a photo for the blog.
When I left the museum I asked a museum worker how many visits the museum has every year, and she said to me that this year has already two million of visits. Incredible!. If Van Gogh could see …
It is a pity that many artists starve in life and be rich and famous when they die. Do not you think? …
Rehearsal for MEMO
Since last year, I work for “Memorable Moments Foundation”, a foundation that bring music and culture to children in their schools. You can visit the site at; www.memorabelemomenten.nl
It basically consists of a project where children aged from 0 to 6 years old are visited weekly by different artists.
During the visit, about twenty minutes, children can hear different repertoires and listen how each instrument sounds. This “performance” is given the opportunity to have fun, learn and even try to play.
For me it is very enriching because the kids are always honest and with their expressions and feelings always I get positive feedback.
Here we live and now
Last Saturday I went to see a very interesting dance performance.
You can visit at; www.korzo.nl/en/productions/here-we-live-and-now-2011-0
I think most musicians tend to be in contact with other musicians and concerts, but not always with other arts such as dance, theater, painting and fine arts.
At first it might seem that we can not get musical ideas if we go to a dance preformance, but I think anything can bring interesting creativity in our work. In fact, dance and theater can also have music.
The work I went to see was called ¨ Here we live and now ¨. Had a total of four choreographies. All very interesting and diverse. The only one I did not like so much was the first one, because it did not has too much flow, but the rest I loved it. All choreography consisted of up to three dancers. One of them was particularly interesting to me because it was based on improvisation, using the lighting and music.
The last one was very nice and was based on a mythological story.
My conclusion is that I think artists should meet more often other arts to enable creativity and motivation.
Relaxing at the beach
Leaving the routine and the practice room to relax is always good to be more inspired. Especially if the weather permits.
This past weekend I found some time to get out and take a tasty coffee. 
Walking on the beach and hear the sound of the sea … Perhaps it is one of the most relaxing sounds you can find in nature.
There I made this picture that looks beautiful, I think. Here you can see some beautiful shades and colors in the sky and the reflection in the sand.
When I see all these natural colors I understand the many European artists who came and come to the Netherlands for inspiration in his paintings.
Fred Hersch Trio in Bimhuis
Today I went to see Fred Hersch, an American pianist and teacher of some of the most influential pianists like Brad Mehldau.
He played in trio and left me speechless. I loved his musical concept and counterpoint concept.
Here I add a video that Fred explains himself his concept.
I leave also a video in which you can see him playing a Thelonius Monk composition for solo piano.
