Jan gave me warmups and Comfort and Joy (arr. Rick Hirsch) with her jazz band for today. I wrote out the changes for the solos (three transpositions, for all instruments… I wonder if I was supposed to include drum kit…?), but I’m still feeling a little unsure.

Thank goodness I took that arranging class with Fred.  I may have run on sleep dep for three days finishing it, but it sure has been a boon ever since!  That I can confidently say, yes, I can write those changes for you makes me So. Happy.  I’m still memorizing transpositions, but is easier to learn on my own than writing jazz music!

I’m going to be working on soloing with them. But I haven’t soloed in jazz before. My vocal jazz is strong: I can swing and groove and move with the group, but I was never given an opportunity to solo. There was always someone that little bit better, or simply more senior, than me. At the same time, I’ve been making things up for as long as I can remember. I can lift lines and ideas from a variety of contexts — which, at this stage, is really what we’re encouraging them to do, anyway.

I wonder if my working with the jazz band today means she’ll give me a few days during the long practicum?

I was finally able to upload my Theory Review video to Dropbox. It took 3h and an armload, or three, of patience, but it’s accessible outside my phone’s memory. I’ll finally be able to post it not just here, but also CLAS.

That acronym is rather confusing. It’s cute, but when used in conversation, it’s easy to misinterpret.