This Friday, my son will be auditioning for a youth theatre play, "Schoolhouse Rock"-- based on the '70's series of Saturday morning ABC TV 3 min. animated music video shorts.   I vaguely remember this series-- not because I watched them, because I didn't--I think Saturday morning was sleep-in time instead of TV time, for me-- but because we got the VHS tapes from a garage sale and I've seen some of them with my own kids, and my kids also used to play some computer games that had songs and activities from Schoolhouse Rock.  However,  I do remember learning the preamble to the constitution by memory as a teen totally because of their preamble song; a high school friend taught it to me.  I was grateful and ecstatic.  I thought this was a far superior way of memorizing than to just recite the words, during our class's study of American Government.

 Well, recently, when browsing music by some folk artists on MySpace, I came across an absolutely wonderful piece of music by Rachel Garlin-- called "Three is a Magic Number."  I loved it, but didn't know it was a cover of a Schoolhouse Rock song, until looking up more info about it.   I learned that this song was the very first episode of Schoolhouse Rock, and it was written by jazz musician and singer Bob Dorough, who also wrote songs for other episodes.  Bob sang and recorded the songs, and they have helped numerous children learn their multiplication facts (because they go through the multiples of each number, using skip-counting).

Bob's original version is very well-sung, and has catchy musical accompaniment.  You can see the original animated video above.    This song's lyrics's are especially meaningful-- with phrases like "the past and the present and the future," " faith and hope and charity," "the heart and the brain and the body,"  . . .  with these lyrics, it is more than just skip-counting -- and it is this "more" that has made it a beloved favorite out of all the number songs on Schoolhouse Rock.

Back to Rachel Garlin -- she is a folk singer-songwriter who has recorded four albums of original music-- this cover song is one exception; it is on her Big Blue Sky album (2004), and is available on CD Baby and iTunes.  Rachel has a mellow, pleasant voice-- her singing reminds me of Carly Simon and Carole King.  She teaches music to kids, and this kids' song seems a natural fit for her.  But I like the way she has audience participation from grown-ups for singing the multiples of three during the song.  Here is a link to hear Rachel's version of the song on MySpace -- this is where I first learned of her, and of this magical song: https://myspace.com/rachelgarlin/music/song/three-is-a-magic-number-77358219-85255929

I'm not sure which of the Schoolhouse Rock selections will be in the youth theater play . . . but I hope they include this one; I know whatever they use will be great learning for the audience as well as the youth actors-- and will also be entertaining and FUN :)

Do you have some favorite songs from Schoolhouse Rock?

Get on your dancing shoes!  It's time for Benny Goodman and the era of early swing!

I had the opportunity to start learning ballroom dancing a few years ago, and began with the waltz.  Once my husband and I learned how to avoid stepping on each other's toes for that, it was really very fun; but I think I liked doing swing dancing even better.  We had to stop our lessons, and didn't get very proficient, but I can see why going out to swing dances was so popular.  Some of the young people today are learning swing, too, because it's a social dance that is exhilarating and yet somewhat "organized" -- instead of just "moving to the beat" however you want, there are certain steps to know.


Benny Goodman is famous for his outstanding clarinet playing and for his role as a bandleader during the beginning of swing; he was known as the "King of Swing."  He grew up in Chicago, a city that was a hotspot for jazz in the early 20th century.  His immigrant parents were very poor, but they encouraged Benny and his siblings to be diligent in their studies,  and also to pursue playing a musical instrument-- in his case, the clarinet. 

Besides taking lessons at his local synagogue and through a settlement house that helped immigrant families, Benny listened to clarinet music on records, and practiced copying it back.  He was quite proficient in playing by age 9, and at 12 years old he played an act at a local Vaudeville theater house.  By 13 years old he was playing with a teen jazz band, then at 14 he quit school so he could pursue a full-time music career as a jazz clarinetist.  At 19 (1928), after several years in jazz bands, he made his first solo record.   By 24 he was signed to Columbia Records, to play jazz music, and the next year he started his own band. He called his band an "orchestra" when it was a "big band" with lots of instrumentalists.  At various times he also had bands of 4 (quartet), 5 (quintet) or 6 (sextet).

Benny is known for his attitude of inclusion towards African Americans; he worked with and hired many black musicians at a time when segregation was still common.  He also learned jazz arrangements from them.  He and his band members had the honor of being the first jazz musicians to play at Carnegie Hall (1938).

Here is a musical piece from 1939, "Shivers."  It is played by Benny Goodman's Sextet-- which at that time included Charlie Christian, known for introducing the music world to electric guitar solos.    Please note:  the photo doesn't change on this video; there is nothing to watch-- so just be prepared to get up and dance to this swing music, even if you don't know any swing steps.

After swing's heyday was over (in the late 1940's), Benny expanded his music performances to include playing classical music with orchestras.  He also did some tours playing swing music in foreign countries-- Asia (1967-57), Western Europe (1958-59), and even the Soviet Union (1962) .  He lived most of his life in New York City, and died at 77, in 1986.

In Christmas carols, much attention is given to an angel choir, the appearance of a star bringing acclaimed foreigners with rich gifts, and a general proclamation of excitement, as in "Joy to the World."

But this Christmas song by Audrey Assad, "Winter Snow," shows a different aspect of the traditional nativity story.

The birth of Jesus as a Jewish infant happened in relative obscurity-- at the time, the Roman Empire was a major force in the world, Palestine being just one of many small provinces ruled by the might of Rome.  Although a few shepherds told their story of an angelic message to the townspeople in Bethlehem, for the most part the birth of this jewish peasant was quiet and mostly unknown.

Audrey's song uses the simile of being "like a winter snow" to describe the coming of Jesus "falling from the sky in the night to the earth below."  The arrival of Christ is celebrated in the song, but she points out something that is easy to forget in the clamor and fanfare of our Christmas holiday-- that his coming was "quiet and soft and slow."

Here is the song, in a video created by Jóel Rósinkrans Kristjánsson with some nice images AND the lyrics:

Audrey is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, having had her first album by Sparrow Records named as Christian album of 2010 on Amazon.com, and as Christian Breakthrough Album of the Year on iTunes.  Her style is a folk-jazz mix, at least to my ears . . . and it perfectly complements the lyrics of this song.

Audrey has created two new albums since the first.  Her three albums are The House You're Building (2010),
Heart (2012), and Fortunate Fall (2013).    "Winter Snow" is a part of Chris Tomlin's 2009 album, Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship.

When I was in first grade, I heard black soul music every Sunday morning at the church my family attended . . . complete with hand clapping and a little bit of dancing in the aisles (it was a Pentecostal church).

This was a far cry from the Lutheran church we had previously attended, that had a quiet liturgical service.  My parents were adventurous, and they were excited about this new worship style.  Me?  Well, it was a bit confusing and unsettling to have such a radical change . . . but I carry in my heart some wonderful memories from this Pentecostal church with lots of African Americans and lots of hippies (it was the 60's after all . . .)  My favorite thing about this church, when I look back, is "the music."  That's also my favorite thing about the liturgical Lutheran service -- lol!

So in the 70's when Stevie Wonder hit the music scene full force with his own blend of blues and jazz, there was a familiar ring to his sound, to me.  I bought his album, Songs in the Key of Life, in the early '80's and sometimes would turn it on in my cassette player.  My very favorite song from this album is one that was also a favorite for LOTS of people-- it was #1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for 14 (nonconsecutive) weeks in 1977. That song was a tribute to some influential giants of jazz-- Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and one he called "the king"-- Duke Ellington.

Wonder is not Stevie's real name;  Stevie isn't, either-- his name is "Stevland Morris."  His first stage name was "Little Stevie Wonder"-- and he was truly a wonder;  an amazing harmonica player and singer, he was signed as an artist with Motown Records at age 11.  Little Stevie Wonder was the youngest artist in history to take first place in the Billboard Hot 100-- at age 13, with his song "Fingertips" (1963).  If you'd like to see and hear a short video of this incredible song, see this YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ubgVjp3CY

The song I'd like to feature here was recorded 14 years and 22 albums later . . . "Sir Duke."

A few months ago, I had the privilege of helping with refreshments at a jazz concert at my daughter's college, and got to hear an instrumental version of this song.  You could see people all over the room moving to the music and toe-tapping (including me).  After they finished the piece, the director said, "If that song doesn't make you happy, you need to check your pulse."  And he was right.  So, for your listening happiness, here is a video with
"Sir Duke."  This one has no images-- just the words to the song (the video was created by Kieran Heatley-- thanks, Kieran!)  I found it interesting to follow along while listening; when I've heard it before I haven't understood all the words.  Also, since Stevie Wonder has been blind since just after birth, maybe this is more how he would experience the song (just a dark background-- he wouldn't read the words, but he already knows them ) . . .

I knew about Claude Bolling's Toot Suite recording when it first came out, back in the early 80's . . . because it was one of the only albums I owned.  

In my early married life, with a young baby daughter, my husband Michael and I had left our Cannon Beach, OR home for a job in the big city (Portland)-- only to find the job didn't exist when we got there.  

Michael was very resourceful, and found a variety of other jobs.  One of these, for a short while, was to be a bicycling ice-cream man.  He rode a 3-wheel motorized bike with a freezer unit attached, and sold ice cream in a public park.

On setting out to the park one day, he was looking for some music to bring along.  I thought of Toot Suite right away, and knew people would like to hear it.  "Take this one," I said, and handed him the cassette tape.  They did like it, and he had an enjoyable afternoon.  It isn't exactly caliope music, but is wonderful to listen to-- very pleasant and energetic.

Claude Bolling is a jazz pianist and a composer, and starting in the 1970's he wrote a series of "crossover" pieces, mixing both jazz and classical music styles, and featuring different main instruments.  This particular suite was written for trumpet and piano, with bass and drums accompanying.  The trumpet player in the recording was Maurice Andre.

Although the original Toote Suite recording, with Claude and Maurice, was fantastic to hear, The only videos online only show the album cover.  So I looked around, and found one piece from the suite played by the excellent trumpeter Armado Cedillo.  He and his band are playing the "Alegre" movement.  

If you're short on time, and can't stay to watch all the video, just turn it on and listen . . . and make a sandwich, sort laundry, or do other needed tasks . . . it is a wonderful sound to have in the background anytime (You could even imagine that you're in a park, eating ice cream; what flavor would you like?)

She's a Grammy-winner and she has lots of prestige. But I can't help thinking of her as the jazz singer with the big hair. Her large afro looks
awesome!

Esperanza Spalding, a Pacific NW native who studied at Berklee College of Music, launched her career by working as a bass player and vocalist. 
Next came a couple of solo albums; the third was a hit! It was called
Chamber Music Society (2010). She received a Grammy-- the first time a
jazz artist has won in the Best New Artist category.

Here is a song (written by Tom Jobin) from that winning album (in English and Portuguese); it is a duet, and Esperanza sings and plays bass while Gretchen Parlato sings and does hand percussion.   I like this video-- the b&w film has great visual appeal, and this is the actual recording that was used in the album-- taken in one try (now that's either a gift or a miracle!).  https://vimeo.com/19834336

If you'd like to learn more about how this album was made, here's another video link-- this one tells about all the musicians who took part, as well as Esperanza's inspiration for creating a "chamber music" jazz album.  https://vimeo.com/12205114

I don't usually put in links for three different videos in one post, but I just couldn't leave out one more-- it is my very favorite! It shows an impromptu performance with Bobby Ferrin-- It's amazing to me that they didn't have this composed and worked out ahead of time.
http://www.grammy.com/videos/53rd-annual-grammy-awards-pre-telecast-bobby-mcferrin-and-esperanza-spalding-impromptu-perfor

One more thing-- "Esperanza" means "hope" in Spanish.  And indeed, her story is one of hope realized, and after many years of artistic training and diligent work she is living her personal dream of a musical life.