Kvetch
There are times when I wish my life was simpler.
I recently got some grief from someone on the vancouverjazz forum, basically suggesting I was selling out for playing some straight-ahead jazz in the upcoming Vancouver Jazz Festival. I am pretty sure that he was trying to get a rise out of me and I wasn't going to go for it.
I've always believed that playing a wider number of musical styles enhances my development as musician, regardless of what my basic musical preference may be. Any reader of this blog for the last year would know that I've done a fairly broad range of things in that time.
There are moments, though, when I wonder if I would make more progress if I simply focussed on one instrument, one style. I would probably benefit by doing that, but I'm not sure I'd be happy. I certainly don't want to limit myself, but maybe I should be saying no more frequently to various offers to play on projects.
Maybe it's just everything going on right now. I have a gig tonight at 1067, the first set with Primord, lots of bass sax skronk, then the next set on clarinets. Monday at The Cellar, I'm really excited to be back with ion Zoo with at least 3 saxes, bass clarinet and percussion. Then next week I have a percussion duet set at 1067 (there's going to be a pile of gongs and bells and cymbals!). And a Helsinki 8 gig at SFU. And all the while, I'm finishing off the cd project with Wanda, at least three more studio sessions. Not to mention all of the artwork and paperwork required to move ahead that project and the ion Zoo release.
On reading this over, this is not really so bad. Sure, I have the rest of my life and all those other responsibilities to deal with, but there are many, many people juggling a lot more balls, particulary full-time musicians. People with serious health or personal problems. Accountants.
OK, I'll stop whining. Come to think of it, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing. Hey, things are looking pretty good!
About Me
- Steve Bagnell
- A native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Steve has lived in Vancouver, BC for the last 25 years. In recent years he has become more active in the Vancouver jazz scene, performing frequently with the Wanda Nowicki Group and the Footprints Jazz Trio. He is very active in Vancouver's vibrant new music community, performing with ion Zoo (with Carol Sawyer - voice, Lisa Miller - piano and Clyde Reed - bass) and in numerous other contexts. He is a member of the 1067 collective, assistant administrator for the renowned NOW Orchestra and chair of the Vancouver Kiwanis Jazz Festival. Steve is a member of Seattle's acclaimed Paul Rucker Large Ensemble. He plays the whole family of saxophones from soprano to bass, bass clarinet, exotic percussion, and under duress, flute and clarinet. As a composer, his influences run the gamut from George Crumb to Maria Schneider to Barry Guy. He is partial to creating graphic scores for large ensembles. He is an alumnus of the inaugural 2005 Vancouver Creative Music Institute and has attended the Hugh Fraser Jazz Orchestra Workshop at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
1 comment:
I'd consider the source of that criticism very carefully if I were you.
My favorite tenor player in Vancouver is Dave Say. One of the main reasons I spent 4 years playing in the Douglas College rehearsal band (aside, of course, from your witty asides and peerless musicianship) was so I could sit next to Dave and listen to him play.
As you know, Dave plays a wide variety of gigs in all kinds of styles, and I'm convinced that's what gives his playing such depth.
You're exactly the kind of player you need to be.
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