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Christmas 2008

Jonathan Allen — 2009-01-04T11:28:02-06:00

I am sitting behind the vendors’ tables at the Cedar Rapids 2009 Bridal Show at the US Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids. I am here helping Kate set up and tear down since the store was only alloted one person to run the show this time around. Now I am just killing time until the show is over in order to tear down. We were able to spend a week with the Allen family at a cabin in Woodland Park, Colorado. ... There is never enough time to spend with family; we look forward to the next time we can all get together, hopefully this time without any viruses. After Allen family we planned on just spending one day with Kate’s parents, but then the flu hit me pretty hard. I ended up spending an extra day in bed. yay? I was feeling much better so we left the following day, but about half way there the flu bug returned with a vengeance. ...UIowa still has two more weeks of vacation, so I am using that time to get back in shape chopwise and just enjoying not having to transcribe medieval manuscripts.

End of Semester Round-Up

Jonathan Allen — 2008-12-19T07:54:35-06:00

At the beginning of the semester it was said that, due to the June 08 flood, we were in nineteen separate buildings. Plans are now coming to fruition that would put most of the school of music in a centralized location. ...My family has rented a cabin in Woodland Park, CO for a week, so we will be enjoying time together with everyone there for the first time in two years! ... I haven’t had much experience playing “uncle” yet on my side of the family, but I sure do look forward to it! ...On this day he was playing in trombone seminar (at Zion Lutheran Church where all brass lesson were relocated to this semester due to Voxman School of Music flooding), so he had to use a tv dinner stand with a Wenger music stand stacked on top. ...This remarkably blurry picture was taken at “Taste on Melrose”, a local eatery that Kate and I ate at for our anniversary on November 20. ...The Quad City Symphony Orchestra “Winter Pops” concert is held annually at the iWireless (a mediocre localish/midwest mobile carrier) Center. ...Now that I am done melting my brain with my Medieval Notations class, I will try to post more often. That being said, I know that each blog entry usually begins or ends with “I need to do this more often”.

Juries/Finals/Projects

Jonathan Allen — 2008-12-14T20:32:33-06:00

Been very busy with gigs, final projects, rehearsing, practicing, etc. This Saturday we are going to Colorado to be with the Allen clan. More updates to come!

Four Years

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-20T23:42:02-06:00

Today marks four years since Kate and I were married. Time goes by so fast! Happy Anniversary Kate!

Wordle.net

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-19T09:34:41-06:00

My sister-in-law, posted about a website called Wordle. You enter your website or blog address at it creates a little....well..... Wordle. Here’s mine:

Found Footage: Glass Trombone!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-05T05:45:27-06:00

FIN

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-05T05:21:19-06:00

The elections are finally over. Back to our normally scheduled lives.

Finally Going to Be Over!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-04T10:29:08-06:00

Today is November 4, Election Day; the culmination of two years worth of ridiculous commercials on television and radio by both Republicans and Democrats. Here in Iowa we have the first caucus. When we moved here in May of 2007, political ads were already being run. Kate and I are so excited to not see any of these ads for the next 24 months. I wish it were longer, but it doesn’t look like any future election will be more subdued than this one.

Well Balanced vs. Being a Musical Jock

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-01T17:28:46-05:00

Perhaps the most balanced time in my music education was the first three years of my undergraduate degree at the University of Northern Colorado. I spent equal time playing etudes, excerpts, solos, band and orchestra music, and jazz. I was taking musicology, theory, acoustics, and other music classes. I remember feeling at the time that I was getting a good, well-rounded education. I am at the point in my collegiate career where I spend the most time playing solos and excerpts, no time playing jazz, and almost no time playing etudes (except to demonstrate in lessons). I take one or two classes per semester (as is appropriate in graduate school), but I don’t particularly enjoy them as I once did. I feel that I would be pretty happy in a conservatory setting. I have effectively transformed into a trombone jock. D’oh.

Beautiful Tragedy

Jonathan Allen — 2008-11-01T17:19:12-05:00

Today I drove down close to the river. I had Kate’s camera with me and I was just checking out how the restoration was going. I came across a piano that had been utterly decimated in the flood back in June. It is heart wrenching and beautiful at the same time. I am not a great photographer, but I did my best. Here are a couple that I thought turned out pretty well.

Mormon Handcart Park

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-30T20:44:30-05:00

On the University of Iowa campus is a little gem: Mormon Handcart Park. Many people do not know that this spot even exists, not to mention its’ history. When members of the Church of Latter Day Saints were immigrating to modern-day Utah, many did not have the money to purchase a team of oxen and a covered wagon. Many crossed pulling handcarts, which look like large wheelbarrows. At that time, there was no trans-continental railroad; the trains stopped right here in Iowa City, Iowa. The LDS people stopped here, close to married student housing. Here are some pics of my walk from the other day: Walking through downtown Iowa City I saw this in a store window. Only $14!

Found: Copyright Infringement

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-30T20:01:39-05:00

Props to Kate. Kate found an Obama copyright infringement. If this area wasn’t in love with Obama, they might consider suing. Just saying.....

Found: Weasley's

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-24T20:58:27-05:00

The kid on the right watched me the entire time I took the phone out, pointed it, and took the picture. You can thank me later, Weasley #3. ...One last thing: I ran into a cool little app called Poladroid. It does what it looks like it does: make pictures look like a Polaroid! Here are my best attempts: Give the app a try! What do you come up with? Post a link in the comments!

Found Footage: Will Kimball

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-24T08:25:12-05:00

I came across this video of Dr. WIll Kimball, Assistant Professor of Trombone at Brigham Young University discussing Rochut, legato tongue, and other little tidbits. As always, Will does a great job instructing and displaying. I have had the opportunity to play with and interact with Will on a few occasions; stand up guy.

Traveling - Big City Style

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-22T21:30:27-05:00

On lesson days, I take three separate buses to get to Zion Lutheran Church, located about 8 blocks northeast of the main UI campus. I walk about a mile to the UI Cambus stop at the Oakdale campus, take that to the UI medical center, grab a bus heading to downtown, and then I take a Iowa City downtown shuttle over to Zion. ...It has taken a while to get used to how dry the rooms are, but ultimately I feel that it has revealed some things about my sound and articulations that needed to be addressed. ...Our apartment has been renovated since the flood, but many of the buildings did not make it. ... All the other buildings that were part of this complex are gone. Panorama taken on my iPhone from the stage of a Cedar Rapids Symphony concert at Coe College in Cedar Rapids: I shouldn’t be taking pictures with my phone while driving, but sometimes you just have to. This was taken on I-80 between Davenport and Iowa City, Iowa. A few weeks ago one of Kate’s friends from work got married, also at Zion Lutheran Church where the brass department is temporarily housed.

Wenger Practice Rooms

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-12T20:34:43-05:00

Due to the UI flooding, we are currently in temporary locations. In one of our locations, around twenty-five Wenger practice rooms were installed recently. There are three large rooms with the electronics and lots of the smaller rooms without the electronics. UNC had several Wenger rooms, but this design is much improved to what we had there. I am very happy with these new rooms, but not so happy that the three large rooms with the electronics are now piano rooms. I wonder how much pianists will use the electronics, if at all. Soon the brass department will move into the old UI Art Museum which will house even more Wenger rooms, this time just for the brass! When have the brass ever had a dedicated area? ... We are excited for the progress that is being made, and even more excited to not have to travel so far off campus for lessons and rehearsals.

October Update

Jonathan Allen — 2008-10-02T07:19:36-05:00

With the lack of music building on campus plus Kate and I having just one car, this semester has been a logistical nightmare. Each day we have to figure out the intricate details of how each of us will get to where we need to be. ... It is a strange thing trying to learn another instrument from scratch when you have already attained a high level of performance on your primary instrument. I know most of the musical things and reading is not a problem, but have the dexterity for valves and hitting the partials (since the tuba sounds an octave lower than the tuba) is sometimes a problem. ...That being said, I have never left an audition feeling that I played as well as I could and that I would not have done anything differently. I am also slightly relieved to not have to make the long, long drive to Dubuque on a regular basis. ...Symphony hall was flooded and it will be a long time before it will be fully repaired, so the orchestra has shifted focus to traveling to towns within Iowa. This shift allowed them to qualify for a large endowment that also required the name change to “Orchestra Iowa”. ... At any rate, this is my first time playing with the organization; it should be fun.

Quad City Symphony Orchestra Pops

Jonathan Allen — 2008-09-07T15:38:24-05:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to play with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra for the annual Riverfront Pops concert. It was an all John WIlliams show at Davenport, Iowa’s Modern Woodmen Park. This is my first orchestral gig post-surgery. It was great getting back in the saddle and seeing what I can do chops wise. My chops were definitely beat up after nearly two hours of John Williams, but I had a great time!

Found: Stalker Letter to Kate!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-20T22:05:58-05:00

The transcriber of this important historical document did everything physically possible to copy the document accurately, even when this was ridiculously challenging. ...This is hard for me to say, but if I don’t I won’t be able to live with myself, I have a crush on you. ... I hope that If your already have a boyfriend or if you don’t want me, then maybe we can still be friends. ... I feel something different about you, like we should both go out when we are 16 (double dates of course), but this will probibly never happen. ...I doubt that it will be us, but it just so happens that you are the most gorgeous woman. ... I know we aren’t dating age but I still love you and nothing or anyone can change my mind. ... I would have told you this at the dance, buy you kept avoiding me when I got the courage to tell you. ...Maybe when we are both 16 we can go on a group date and go dancing. ... I don’t know how you’re taking this so PLEASE write back and tell me.

Employed! Kind of.......

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-19T05:37:39-05:00

I can now formally announce that I have been appointed Adjunct Instructor of Low Brass at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. Currently there are trombone. euphonium, and tuba students. I am excited to work with these students and help them develop the skills necessary to be competitive in the field of music.

Shaden and the Rockies

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-13T18:20:28-05:00

Earlier this week Kate and I got to meet our newest nephew, Shaden. Christopher and Ixchelle came over to Holly and Kevin’s house; we had dinner and just chatted for a long time. Here is a picture I took of Shaden with a stuffed panda from Build a Bear. Last night we all went to Denver to watch a Rockies game. Unfortunately the Rockies lost, but we had a great time and enjoyed some Rockie Dogs!

Road Trip to Colorado

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-13T17:41:15-05:00

I only remembered to take pictures of the drive from Iowa to Colorado a few times. Here they are: Why So Serious? You Know You Are in Colorado When...... The authorities list hackey sack on the list of things not to do indoors. We are having a good time. More pics to come.

Wedding Gig: Trombone Quartet Style

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-09T08:44:01-05:00

A stape of the freelance musician diet is the wedding gig. Usually these are pretty lame - we are asked to play music that any 8th grader could get through (not as well, I hope!) , and then we usually only play for five to ten minutes out of the two hours we are there. Today is a completely different situation! A fellow trombonist is getting married today and he has asked us to play trombone quartets! We are playing some great literature and I even get to play alto trombone on a couple pieces. Best wedding gig ever!

Super Mario Bros. on Theramin!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-09T07:01:22-05:00

This is so full of win that I’m bursting at the seams to share this video! It’s two of my favorite things: original NES Super Mario Bros. and weird crap. I have actually always really liked the theramin since I first heard about it in my Intro to Music History class more than a decade ago. To read about the theramin, check out the wikipedia article here.

Cuil: Take 4

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-03T01:13:28-05:00

Awesome thumbnail................... WHAT?

Practicing When It's Not Convenient

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-02T22:58:32-05:00

Perhaps it was that studying with Buddy Baker at UNC set in motion my practice habits for years afterwards. ... Baker was very big on the Daily Routine: a series of excersizes one practices each day, stretching his abilities daily and covering all the bases, ranges, and techniques of the trombone. I did this religiously at seven A.M. for my entire undergraduate degree. ... Kate certainly didn’t care for me playing at seven A.M.; we moved to a new place without access to a school of music or practice rooms; and we had apartment neighbors so I could only practice at more courteous hours. With Voxman Hall under post-flood renovation I find myself in the same situation. It is always sticky moving to a new place. ... (just kidding, I really do try to be concious of our apartment neighbors). I look forward to the time that we can own a home so that I can practice at seven A.M. (on the other side of the house or in my sound proof room) or I can practice at midnight if I want. ... For now, it’s 10 A.M to 5 P.M.

No SIM Found.....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-02T22:57:09-05:00

Today my iPhone told me “No SIM Card Found”. D’oh!! It was at a really inconvenient time; it always is. Luckily, the SIM card just needed to be replaced. No need for additional support or waiting to have it fixed or replaced by Apple. Dodged a bullet there!

Busy vs. Productivity

Jonathan Allen — 2008-08-02T22:52:17-05:00

Many people hate having lots of things on thier plate; I, on the other hand, hate not having tons of things to do. When I am not running a million miles an hour I feel like I’m not doing all that I can be doing. This week has been particularly busy with moving and all the things that go along with that. ... Sometimes we all get busy, but with things are not the most productive. At certain times in my life I have been more effective of a planner than I am at this stage of my life. I can recently acquired a few different iPhone applications that promise increased productivity (all of these apps are free downloads from the iTunes App Store). In the coming weeks I am going to play with each of them, test them, and hopefully find a winner. When I decide to do something I usually go full-steam (at least for a while....). At any rate, I hope to enjoy long periods of productivity in the coming weeks, months, and years!

Moved!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-31T23:45:46-05:00

Moved! FIN! Pictures to come soon. Thanks to all those who helped when we had to get out of our apartment and this time from storage to our new place. Also, thanks to Art and Allyss for letting us stay at their place, John and Katty for letting us take up thier garage for six weeks, Matt and Ginny for letting us store stuff in thier basement even though poor Sadie just had surgery and Ginny is about to pop, and thanks to Casey for letting us invade his apartment with stacks of boxes. You are all amazing; thank you!

On Moving

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-30T21:55:00-05:00

There is the deposit, first months rent (sometimes last month too), setting up all the new utilities and some of those include deposits as well. Then there are the moving costs: truck rental, boxes, cleaning supplies, etc. There is always something needed at the new place that you thought you had before; it always happens. ...It is so excited to move though, even to a new place in the same town. ... We get to take time to put things away properly (that were just thrown somewhere before) and we get to make the new place ours. We are moving tomorrow for the last time within Iowa. We plan on staying here for the next two years until I am done with school. We weren’t planning on moving from our previous location, but Mother Nature had a little something to say about that! We will post pictures of the new digs when we get settled!

Seriously

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-29T21:51:57-05:00

I am not planning on making this a daily thing, but this is just weird.

Hmmm.....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-28T22:37:56-05:00

So between this morning and now Cuil it is now finding:

Don't Even Try.....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-28T08:51:08-05:00

Sometimes you lose before you begin. Anna Patterson, a former Google employee, has launched her own search engine: Cuil. It seems to me that the search engine battle is over and has been for a long time. To “Google” something is iconic. No one says “I’m going to go Yahoo Search that” or “I am going to Microsoft Live Search my name”; it just doesn’t happen. Throw another search engine into the mix and you have more of the same. Patterson’s angle is that is supposedley indexes three times more websites that Google does. I did the only logical thing: search myself. ...The Google search yielded me the top three hits - two for this site and my Twitter page.

RAGBRAI

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-24T21:44:01-05:00

Oxford, Iowa has to be the strangest little town I have ever been to, let alone stayed in for any amount of time. Today RAGBRAI came through town. What does that mean for little ‘ol Oxford? ... I think RAGBRAI is a great event, I just didn’t appreciate staying so close to a bar. In just one week from tomorrow we will be moving into our new apartment. We are so excited to have our own space and our own things again! It has been six weeks exatly since the flood. What a crazy six weeks it has been. Yesterday I posted about normalcy.

Practicing vs. Running Through

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-24T09:49:23-05:00

As a freshman trombone major, I really had no idea what I was doing; I was taking lessons for the very first time. I was very fortunate to have such a quality trombone teacher in Buddy Baker and UNC had a very developed trombone studio so there were quality trombonists all around me. ... I was obedient and played my Buddy Baker routine every morning at 7:00 AM, but my actual practice time was fairly inefficient. ... I did not take the time to really perfect a certain measure or lick; I did, however, inadvertantly develop another skill: performance. I ran through things so much that I never really had the problem of stopping or not being able to get through a piece like so many students have. ...If you are working up just one piece for a solo, jury, or concerto competition, play that piece through two or more times depending on time and chops. The next step would be to play in front of as many people as possible: play for your family, freinds, teachers, and even do a mock-recital if possible. ... This was good practice for him, I am sure, and great for me since I got to hear such a quality trombonist play at a very high level. Developing a culture of performance in your repertoire is a necessary skill that many do not take the time to develop.

Blogging vs. the Microblog Trend

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-24T09:27:03-05:00

A few months ago a friend turned me on to Twitter, a micro-blogging tool. Micro blogging is more of a “play by play” of your life as opposed to a full-blown blog. I have started using Twitter a lot, sometimes more than a dozen times a day. So, this begs the question: if you Twitter or update your Facebook profile all the time, do you still need a blog? ... As I mentioned above, the micro-blogs are more of a play by play while the full length blog gives you the freedom to explore topics more in depth without the 140 character limitation of Twitter (each micro-blog has a different character limitation). That being said, I will try to use this blog for more in depth topics rather than the play by play. I have occasionally delved into conversations on music and practicing and I hope to do that on a more regular basis. I will not completely leave journal type topics out. I am sure the two or three readers of this blog would be utterly devastated if I did not upload mediocre quality photos from my phone and a description of said photo. /sarcasm.

Graduation Day!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-24T07:41:19-05:00

Do I even need the DMA? I mean, this make three degrees already. Why do a fourth? Get yours free here!

Things Have Moved

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-23T22:09:15-05:00

As you may or may not have noticed, things have moved a little. The “Crossing Over” blog was an assignment for the Advanced Brass Ensemble Literature class. I have since moved the posts into my normal blog; the original post dates have been retained.

First Post! Michael Davis

Jonathan Allen — 2008-01-23T21:58:39-06:00

This blog will contain information and links to jazz/pop/crossover brass ensembles for the Advanced Brass Ensemble Literature course (hence, the ABEL Blog). ...His first three albums were a fairly standard small jazz ensemble, but in 1997 the cd Absolute Trombone was released. This was a major recording effort that has many of the then current jazz trombonists performing quartets, quintets, sextets, and octets. Some of the musicians on the recording are Conrad Herwig, Urbie Green, Steve Turre, Bill Watrous, David Taylor, John Fedchock, Robin Eubanks, Birh Johnson, George Flynn, and Jim Pugh. This album was so successful that Michael Davis has pursued this large brass jazz group on subsequent recordings. On Davis' Brass Nation, fifty five of the world's top brass musicians are featuring including Phil Smith, Randy Brecker, Jerry Hey, Dale Clevenger, Chuck Findley, Bill Reichenbach, Malcolm McNab, Gene Pokorny, Joe Alessi, Jim Hynes, Tommy Johnson, Tim Hagans, Gary Grant, Charles Vernon, Ralph Sauer, Vince DeRosa, Sam Pilafian, Lew Soloff, Phil Myers, Dick Nash and Charlie Loper. Davis' ability to have so many of the world's most influential brass musicians of our time on the same recording is phenomenal. From his website Hip Bone Music, Michael Davis sales not only his compositions and recordings, but he has been quite successful with a series of pedagogical materials for all of the brass instruments. ...

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Jonathan Allen — 2008-01-26T21:58:22-06:00

Hypnotic Brass is a jazz/rock/hip-hop group, originally from Chicago, currently based out of New York. This family band (seven of the eight members are brothers) consists of four trumpets, two trombones, one sousaphone, and drummer. ... It has been somewhat difficult to find detailed information on this group since they do not have a formal website. They do, however, have a myspace page and a Blogger page. Additional information can be read at this WIkipedia article. Two of their albums are now on

Bonerama

Jonathan Allen — 2008-01-26T21:58:04-06:00

Trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein were long time member of Harry Connick Jr.'s band and were looking for a creative outlet that was less structured that the straight-forward big band setting. They saw what the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was doing and thought that they could take the concept even further. Bonerama is an out-growth of the New Orleans style brass band, but here the group is fronted by four trombones with a sousaphone acting as string bass. The ensemble also employes electric guitar and drum set. Bonerama plays anything from dixieland to swing to funk to Jimi Hendricks to Led Zeppelin. ...Bonerama Website This is Bonerama's version of "Big Fine Woman". ... Note: If you have a cell phone that can record video and you think it's a good idea to record a concert on said phone and put it on youtube, you are wrong. It doesn't look good, it doesn't sound good.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Jonathan Allen — 2008-01-29T21:57:38-06:00

"Over a 27-year career, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band have boldly forged the traditions of New Orleans jazz with the modern influences of bebop, funk, R&B and pop, creating a new standard by which all other New Orleans groups, brass band or otherwise, are measured. The Dirty Dozen are tireless travelers, maintaining a continuous touring schedule that has taken them to over 65 countries on 5 continents serving as a bridge between the past and present of New Orleans' rich musical history." ...The ten member group has recorded fourteen albums and they have recorded with Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse, and the Manhattan Transfer to name a few. Reception of the band has been spotty in the United States (with major pockets in the south and California), but the DDBB has enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout Europe and in Japan. The DDBB website has quite a bit of information about the group, but not much on the individual members. Their Press Kit is available online in a PDF format here from Ropeadope Records. ... Download it here ... Dirty Dozen Brass Band Website

Brass Act Brass Quintet

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-28T21:57:16-06:00

Sometimes you just need to get gigs. Although I don't fully classify this group as an full-on jazz/pop/funk or whatever crossover group, here is the Brass Act Brass Quintet. If you're getting married in the Bay Area, give these guys a call. Check out their list of Jazz/Popular Music - including such roof-raising tunes as "Beer Barrel Polka". Bring in on, Brass Act!

Hurricane Brass Band

Jonathan Allen — 2008-01-30T21:56:50-06:00

Guiltlessly plaigirized from a wikipedia entry: The Hurricane Brass Band was a brass band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Established by Leroy Jones in 1974 when the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band was disbanded, the group included Jones and Gregory Davis on trumpet, Darryl Adams on alto saxophone, and Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen on sousaphone. When Jones left the band to pursue a solo career, Adams took over as leader and renamed the group the Tornado Brass Band. Members of the Tornado band went on to form the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in 1977. This makes it look like the Hurricane Brass Band has been disbanded, but a little Googling has yielded this site. So, it looks like Leroy Jones is still at it. There is also a brass band of the same name in the Netherlands that you can read about here

Mnozil Brass

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-01T21:56:33-06:00

If you are not aware of Mnozil Brass, you need to get out from under that rock! Mnozil Brass takes a less serious approach to the brass ensemble. Take a quick look at their website and you will know what I mean. These guys have been together since 1993; they have recorded five albums and two dvd's in that time. On their online shop they also have sheet music and shirts for sale - a nice touch that is missing for a lot of classical musician's web sites. For a good time check out this video of Mnozil Brass singing/playing Bohemian Rhapsody.

Trombone Shout Bands

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-02T21:55:58-06:00

Trying to find information on shout bands is like pulling Google's teeth; these bands simply haven't jumped on the interwebs bandwagon. The most famous of the trombone shout bands is Kenny Carr and the Tigers. They have performed throughout the United States and Europe and have albums readily available for purchase, yet one can not find much in the way of information on the group. I was, however, able to find this brief bio on the International Trombone Festival website as they performed at the 2005 convention in New Orleans. Also check out this brief article over at the Berlioz Historical Brass site for more information on these bands. One more gem I came across was a special by NPR on trombone bands. Check it out here Since I couldn't find a lot about these bands, enjoy these goofy pics I came across in the process:

Music for 25 Trombones and Sires

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-13T21:55:36-06:00

My hero worship of the New Trombone Collective continues! I found this video on YouTube today featuring the New Trombone Collective and fifteen member os the Rotterdam Conservatory. This is Terschelling Act 2 from Andrew Peggie's work for 25 trombones and sirens. If I find the other movements, I will certainly put them up!

Vibrass: Music for your Lips

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-16T21:54:49-06:00

I'm getting a little off topic here, but I couldn't resist posting this! From Vibrass comes the most needed brass player accessory of all time! Vibrass is a vibrator for the lips (keep it clean!). There is a special note on their website thanking the first 3,000 customers. There are seriously 3,000 of these things wandering around? Wow.

Website: MovieBrass.com

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-27T21:54:16-06:00

I am sure that many of us have picked up a soundtrack for a favorite movie, heard some rocking brass and opened up the liner notes only to discover that the musicians are not listed. Today I stumbled across MovieBrass.com which allows you to search by film name or by a musician's name. I went through and checked a few movies I was familiar with and I was happy to learn that I was pretty close on my guessing from listening alone. Check it out! Cheers.

World Brass

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-27T21:53:57-06:00

The World Brass is not a cross-over group, but I have never heard of them until today, so I am posting about them. The World Brass is a ten piece plus percussion group. Why the name "World Brass"? "The members and musicians who perform with World Brass originate from many countries including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, the Ukraine, the United States of America and Wales." It is an amazing thing that this kind of group can exist, let alone be productive. Their website states that the group is able to assemble a few times a year to rehearse and put on a few concerts. With the members living all over the world, it would be impossible to gather more frequently, I am sure. Founded in 1995, the group has recorded three albums to date. Cheers.

Websites, Lessons, and International Fraud, Oh My!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-27T21:53:20-06:00

I have maintained by own website for about three years in some form or another (check my website in a month, I am sure I will have rebuilt it). One of the things I have always had on the site is that I teach lessons and there is a contact button. ... While still in Salt Lake, I received an email from a gentleman from Belgium stating that he was divorced that his son was going to live with his mother who now resides in Salt Lake. His son apparently studied trombone and he wanted a teacher in Salt Lake to continue lessons. ... The next email stated that his son would live there for nine months, so he wanted to pay for nine months of lessons, two lessons a week, upfront. ... I emailed him to ask what his deal was for sending a check that was so large. ... I then told him that I knew all along that this was a scam and that the FBI in the U.S. and Interpol in Europe have been contact and were monitoring our conversations. ... (I did have the bank run a check on the cheque and it was fraudulent) His email address was almost immediately no longer working, as emails would bounce back. ... Don't trust Belgiumites who want to pay for nine months of lessons up front.

Pank!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-02-27T21:52:00-06:00

One of the most popular rock bands in the past twenty years with a horn section is Chicago. While not a "brass ensemble" per se, the horn section as an interesting dynamic. James Pankow, trombone, is one of the original band members. That, in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy, but here is what it: James Pankow has written many of the Chicago tunes over the years and has done nearly all of the brass arranging, so he is responsible for the "Chicago Sound" we are all familiar with. In addition to coining such an iconic sound, Pankow is made a brilliant business move that I hope we can all learn from: he somehow was able to maintain rights to all of the songs and arrangements. Early on, Pankow became the main producer for the band. He has had quite the career and quite the income! Chicago has sold millions of albums worldwide and James Pankow has had his producers cut of each one! ...James Pankow's brother, John Pankow is an actor, best known for his role on "Mad About You"!

Rebirth Brass Band

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-01T21:51:42-06:00

Formed in 1983, the band has long since graduated from the streets of New Orleans to theaters and festivals all over the world. ReBirth is committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands while at the same time incorporating modern music into their show. Their signature brand of heavy funk has placed them among the world’s top brass bands and they are the hands-down favorite among the younger generation. In reference to the sometimes stringent competition amongst brass bands, Offbeat magazine remarked, "…it’s clear that ReBirth, which boasts 10 albums and has traveled the world, is the band to beat (July 2001)." ...

Over 20 tours of Europe, 4 tours of Japan, and a 6 week tour in Africa

Has shared the stage with The Grateful Dead, the Meters, George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars, Maceo Parker, Dr. ...

Performances at virtually every major festival in the U.S. and Europe including New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Roskilde, Glastonbury Festival, Montreaux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and the Nice (France) Jazz Festival

Selling out multiple nights at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco; The Knitting Factory in New York City; The Fox Theater in Boulder, CO; Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta; The House of Blues in Boston; Park West in Chicago; and virtually every venue in New Orleans.

...

Brassed Off: If You Haven't Seen It

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T21:51:11-06:00

To finish that statement, you must! ...The film is set in "Grimley" in the mid-1990s — a thinly disguised version of the real South Yorkshire village of Grimethorpe, which had been named as the poorest village in Britain two years earlier by the European Union. The nearby areas of the Dearne Valley and the Hemsworth area were also identified as in need of serious aid. Indeed, the soundtrack for the film was recorded by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the story roughly reflects Grimethorpe Colliery Band's history. The miners in the film put up little resistance to the coal board's harsh redundancy policy. This can be understood in the context of the 1984 UK miners' strike, which effectively destroyed trade union power in British coal mining industry. The film depicts the spirit of hopelessness 10 years after the strike, and the miners' attempts to find redemption. An ongoing piece of symbolism in the first half of the film is the lack of conversation between one miner and his wife, until she finally criticises him harshly for not making a show of resistance against the closure, when he had been so full of fight in 1984.

Youngblood Brass Band

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T21:50:52-06:00

The Youngblood Brass Band is based in Madison, Wisconsin, but they have traveled all the United States and Europe, hitting many major music festivals. The group was formed in 1992 and they have released five albums during this time. YBB has collaborated with DJ's, rappers, and others to produce their unique style. Check out their website and their myspace page. Especially check out the "Multimedia" part of their website as they currently have nine MP3's available as a free download! I have found their music very listenable and danceable, well....if I could dance it would be. I have reviewed several bands in this similar genre, but the Youngblood Brass Band I have found to be the most commercial without losing their musical authenticity.

New Michael Davis CD

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T21:50:29-06:00

My very first post for ABEL was on trombonist Michael Davis. He has a new album Absolute Trombone II: New York, Los Angeles, London, featuring nearly thirty of the greatest jazz trombonists from the listed cities. The album includes all new compositions for solo trombone, trombone duet, quartet, sextet, octet, and tentet. Order it here. This is Michael Davis' ninth cd under his Hip-Bone Music label. If you haven't checked out his website, he has a great set up. The look and feel is of a very high quality and his online store is very effective. His warm-up and etude books for learning jazz style and improvisation are top-notch. ... Check out his site here.

Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Brass

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T21:50:01-06:00

The other day, Pat presented on orchestral brass sections. I recently found a recording on iTunes of the Concertgebouw Brass. For several years the Concertgebouw has been one of my favorite orchestras, especially their collection of Mahler symphonies with Ricardo Chailly (iTunes link). The Concertgebouw Brass, under the direction of Ivan Meylamans (former Co-Principal Trombone of the Concertgebouw) perform works for brass by Derek Bourgeois, Giovanni Gabrieli, Hans Werner Henze, Willem Van Otterloo, William Schmidt, and Nick Woud. This is a very high quality recording; the solos in Henze's Ragtimes and Habaneras are especially outstanding. ...Pick it up on Amazon as a SACD for $24.98 or on iTunes for a mind-blowing $7.99!!

The Brazz Brothers

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T21:49:39-06:00

From their website: The music of The Brazz Brothers represent a unique mix of traditional jazz, modern jazz and folk music from different parts of the world. ... The musicians are continuosly striving towards an open minded way of playing where both improvisation and musical intuition play major parts. ...iTunes US has seven albums from the Brazz Brothers (

CSO Low Brass Unoffical MySpace Page?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-03T21:49:06-06:00

This seems to me like the most pointless thing I have found: a CSO Low Brass MySpace page. Who knows who actually created and maintains this page? It was nice to see that the CSO Low Brass with Richard Wagner and Dvorak. myspace

Article: Romance Helps Brass Band Harmony?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-03T21:48:30-06:00

I came across this article on the BBC about the Cory Brass Band from Ton Pente, Rhondda. Apparently, ten of the 28 members of the band are married. BBC link.

Majestic Hair in Brass Music

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-03T21:47:37-06:00

I have already posted about James Pankow, but to refresh your memory, here he is again, in all of his 70's porn glory: Leonhard Paul of Mnozil Brass: Eric Ruske, horn soloist, former member of Empire Brass, and Professor of Horn at Boston University: ...Jon Hurrell of the Synergy Brass Quintet: ...If you know any more brass musicians with ridiculous hair, especially mullets, let me know! Art decided that James Pankow is the patron saint of brass mullets. ...Just minutes after publishing this post, I was reading news on reddit.com and I came across this: My life is now complete! If I am ever on tour with a brass ensemble in India, I will take the whole group here so that we can all get McGuyver hair!

Concertgebouw Brass Update

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-03T21:46:42-06:00

Previously, I mentioned the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Brass album I downloaded from iTunes. I didn't think to check to see if they had a website. Well, they do! And they even have an English version! Check it out here.

Tuba and Drums

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-04T21:46:18-06:00

I received an email from a "Scott" suggesting I check out Drums and Tuba. ... I don't know if Scott is a member of the group, a listener, or what his association is, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt and give the shameless plug for the group. They have self-published eight albums (that is an incredible amount of tuba and drum music). If you are familiar at all with Cuong Vu, a very hip Vietnamese jazz trumpeter and former Pat Metheny Group band member, Drums and Tuba has a similar sound. ...Check out Drums and Tuba over at

Hora Decima Brass Ensemble

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-04T21:45:47-06:00

The Hora Decima Brass Ensemble, founded in 1994 by trombonist David Chamberlain, began as a workshop experience for professional musicians to enjoy brass literature. I initially discovered the HDBE through Joseph Alessi's website. On the HDBE's only album, Alessi and James Markey perform Janko Nilovic's Double Concerto pour Trombones. The performance in amazing not only on the solos, but on the entire album. Pick it up at iTunes for $9.99 or Amazon MP3 for $8.99. You can also get a hard copy in your hands for $15.00 from the Hora Decima Brass Ensemble website. ...Joseph Alessi and James Markey

Ready to Toss that Mini-Disk Recorder?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-08T21:44:14-06:00

Today Logitec announced this iPod mic adapter. It comes with built-in stereo mic, mic in-put and a mini USB port (admittedly, I don't know what the USB port is for, unless this works with USB mics like the ones used for Skype and voice chat. Logitec claims that this adapter will "work will all generations of iPod" although, admittedly, this seems unlikely since there was a major operating system change from generations 1-5 (that ran on UNIX) and the 6th generation (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and video nano runs a miniature version of Mac OS X). In any case, for you iPod touting people out there (and those of you wanting to carry one less thing around), this might be a good solution for recording practice sessions and rehearsals.

Mnozil Brass Plays at Wedding - Awesome

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-08T21:43:33-06:00

Update: From what I can tell from comments and things, it looks like one of the members of Mnozil Brass, or one of their friends was getting married, so Mnozil rocked the wedding gig. Update x2: It was Thomas Gansch's wedding.

Bonerama Live in Iowa City

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-22T21:41:38-05:00

I previously posted about Bonerama here. As it turns out, Bonerama is going to be in town this Wednesday the 26th at the Yacht Club at 9pm. See you there!

Brass Bunnies/Belle Air Brass

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-07T21:40:50-05:00

I ran into this video this morning and I was just.....wow.....just......wow..... This is from the "Gong Show" back in the day. This is an LA based group which later expanded to a quintet called the Belle Air Brass (you see what they did there?). One of my friends from Northern Colorado, Jessie Irving, is now one of the trumpeters in this group. Well...here it is:

German Brass Goes Bach DVD Review

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-08T21:40:27-05:00

Joshua Thompson presented a while back on the German Brass. He brought in the DVD "The German Brass Goes Bach". It's an incredible live performance of all Bach arrangements, mostly transcribed by Enrique Crespo. I have been a fan of Crespo's arrangements for a while now, but this video makes me fall in love with his stuff all over again. The arrangements are obviously phenomenally challenging, but the German Brass carries everything with a high level of precision and musicianship. Especially impressive in Matthias Höfs on trumpet. Is there anything the man can't do? Well done, German Brass, well done.

International Trombone Week

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-09T21:40:02-05:00

If you think like me, the first week of April has become synonymous with the International Trombone Week. The International Trombone Week is an initiative to bring an increased awareness to the trombone and it's music. Trombonists are encouraged to give solo recitals and trombone ensemble performances. Brad Edwards, Professor of Trombone at the University of South Carolina, has written a "BoneWeek Fanfare" for five out of the six years that the International Trombone Association has organized the event. All five BoneWeek Fanfares can be downloaded for free here. A list of official events is listed on the ITA website. Not listed is LeAnn Dahn's recital Friday at 6:00, but it certainly falls on this week. Please come to support LeAnn and Josh Hoffman this Friday at 6:00 in Dixon Hall.

Article: Brass Ensemble: Art or Joke?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-15T21:39:19-05:00

Check out this article over at the Brass Bulletin by Jean-Pierre Mathez.

Presentation Roundup

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-16T21:38:55-05:00

New Trombone Collective: CD's: ...Trombone ...(Clever...backwards order) DVD's 2005 Dutch Trombone Festival 2007 Dutch Trombone Festival/International Trombone Festival - Europe All of these can be purchased from the New Trombone Collective's online store except for the 2005 DVD for some reason. If you're going to pick up the CD's, I would recommend getting the 3 CD boxed set; it's a rocking deal.

What is Normal?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-23T10:01:41-05:00

As the spring semester was coming to a close, I had many plans for this summer: eat well, excersise daily, lose weight, practice a ton, have a recital ready to go the first week of school, and many others. After the great trip to Salt Lake for the International Trombone Festival, those plans simply fell apart. This flood really affected the city we live in and us individually. We were living in a hotel for a week, moving inventory in and out of Kate’s work, and now we are staying about twenty minutes outside of town, so travel is very inconvienient. The music building was flooded, so I do not have access to practice rooms or the music library. ...Isn’t that exactly what we are always trying to get away from; to do something new and exciting? This summer certainly has been both new and exciting, just not in the most positive ways! I have discovered that when praciticing is not convienient that I struggle making all the time that I need to progress at a certain level. In nine days we will be moving into our new apartment.

Flood 2008

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-19T07:38:29-05:00

For some reason, something weird happend with RapidWeaver (the app I use for web stuff). I lost all the posts I did on the flood. Basicially, the month of June dissappeared. That’s probably for the best though as I wish it would disappear from my mind! I didn’t get a picture of the flood at its highest, but here is a picture when the water is about a foot and a half deep.

The Masons Own Oxford

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-17T22:05:28-05:00

We are staying at a friend’s house in Oxford, Iowa. It’s a very, very, small town. We are right in “downtown” Oxford. Many of the buildings were owned and used by the Masons either currently or at one point, including the building we are staying in. I don’t know much about it, but I understand that Masons have had an important role in the midwest. Coming from the mountain west, I haven’t really seen a lot of this. It’s kind of neat.

Jazz Festival 2008

Jonathan Allen — 2008-07-17T22:00:19-05:00

There has been so much tumult as of late that I stopped updating this blog. I felt that due to the flood and all that I only had negative things to say. ... Here are some pictures from the Iowa City Jazz Festival from the first weekend of July. ...Old Capital Building looking all majestic from where we were sitting: ...I have dug him for a long, long time. I got to meet him a little at the IAJE (now defunct) in New Orleans - 2000. ...This was our view for most of the festival. The tree were sitting under had limited shade and it was very hot. Lucky for us, Brian and Laura are friends so it wasn’t a bid deal.

Found Footage: Hang Drum

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-18T21:17:10-05:00

One of my favorite parts about this blog is sharing crazy musical things I come across. This is something I have never heard of before: Hang Drums. It sounds like a softer, more mellow steel drum, but it looks like it is made of the top of a BBQ, and played with hands. I think it's beautiful!

2008 Commencement

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-17T23:08:41-05:00

I was offered a spot to play with the Old Capital Brass Quintet for two commencement gigs today. We actually were able to play some pretty good literature. Good stuff. Here is a picture to remember it by: From left to right: Jonathan Allen, Phillip Runkel, Zachary Morton, Melissa Brobston, Joshua Thompson.

30th Annual BBC Young Musicians Competition Winner

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-15T07:42:20-05:00

This is just wrong...... Twelve-year-old Peter Moore has won the 30th annual BBC Young Musicians Award with this performance of the Henri Tomasi Concerto. On the one hand I want to shout out with joy, on the other hand I want to sink into a month long depression...just kidding. This kid is amazing; I look forward to hearing things from him in the future!

Streamlining

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-09T20:44:30-05:00

In an effort to streamline the blog, I have added it to a FeedBurner service. This will increase the speed an efficiency for the three of you that might be reading this blog! At any rate, I am learning about new services. Check out the new feed at FeedBurner.

End of Spring 2008 Semester

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-09T13:53:30-05:00

Today was the last day of classes for the spring semester. Things went down in a pretty crazy way for the past month. Many assignments, projects, and papers came and went. ...The International Trombone Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah hosted by Dr. Donn Schaefer and the University of Utah. ... I am most excited to hear Jim Markey and here. Unfortunately, there is no English version of the site.

Spring is Finally Here!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-07T21:04:54-05:00

This was taken on the path just east of the Voxman Music Building on the University of Iowa campus. It is wonderful to have so many colors surrounding us!

The Case of the Missing Sackbutt.....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-03T23:33:32-05:00

Jörgen van Rijen's website states that his new album, Sackbutt, was to be released last week. I am very excited for it because he plays some of the Classic period concerti, such as the Albrechtsberger and Wagenseil, on baroque trombone with a small chamber ensemble. It's going to be awesome. I just wish it were available now! Update: The CD is now available from Channel Classics, but with the USD to Euro exchange rate, it is about $40. That is not in my budget right now. I would certainly take donations to get this in my collection though!!! Just kidding. I am going to see if the University will order it.

Copycat!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-03T10:27:17-05:00

Check out the Editions BIM website right next to the Apple Store online. See a similarity?

New Jörgen van Rijen Recordings!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-05-01T06:41:57-05:00

Jörgen van Rijen is releasing two albums this year! One is entitled Sackbutt and the other is called I Was Like Wow (title taken from the name of the new Jacob ter Veldhuis composition). I am very, very excited for these recording projects! Catch a preview of I Was Like Wow:

New Logo

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-27T22:04:29-05:00

I just added a logo to the top left of the site. Let me know if you think it works or not. Thanks!

La Bella Brass

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-27T20:45:54-05:00

Today I ran into the website for some old friends from UNC, La Bella Brass. I am happy to see that they are still playing together (with some new trumpets) and that they recently made the finals at the very prestigious Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Well done, ladies!! (Also, their site looks VERY nice. I am considering a re-design.....)

Trombone Dictionary

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-27T19:07:33-05:00

The one in the section who couldn't develop any high range whatsoever as a young player and is now getting even by drowning everyone else out whenever he gets a chance. ...A place where people pay a lot of money not to listen to jazz, most of which does not go to the musicians to whom they are not listening. ...A place where people pay a lot of money not to listen to music that is not jazz in the first place. jazz trombone - n. (also called peashooter, slipstick, small bore horn, and primitive blow stick) Any trombone that sounds bad below middle Bb and shrill above middle C. lead trombonist - n. (also referred to as principal trombonist) The one in the section w/the worst middle and low range. ...low range - n.1 - The ugly part.2 - The clumsy part.3 - The range below where you can comfortably play. ...3 - Also contemporarily, any trombone that is too large on which to comfortably play the trombone solo in Ravel's "Bolero". ...2 - A brass instrument that is most often used as camouflage and support for bad trumpet and french horn players. ...2 - A trombone for people with short arms, a weak tongue, bad pitch and/or little or no hand/eye/ear coordination.

Sick Wife

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-27T18:23:45-05:00

Kate has strep throat this week, so that hasn't been fun for her. Poor Kate!

Time Machine

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-25T13:06:09-05:00

In Apple's most recent operating system, 10.5 (Leopard), a very useful application/utility was added: Time Machine. The point of Time Machine is that it automatically backs up your computer on a regular basis. With a laptop this is less easy, but we have our Airport Extreme Base Station connected to our external hard drive so that we don't have to manually plug into the hard drive. This works semi-automatically; we have to log-in to the hard drive via password. ... They did a few tests and determined that the hard drive was, in fact, bad and subsequently replaced the drive. While they had the case off, they replaced the "top case", which is the keyboard, trackpad, and the plastic surrounding it, since it some cracking. ... When I got home, I just had to install the OS and restore from my Time Machine backup. ... I lost a couple of assignments from this week, so I have been busy redoing them. It could have been much worse if I did not have a regular backup situation, so thank goodness for that.

Spring is Here!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-25T05:47:20-05:00

This past Saturday was so beautiful we just had to go for a walk! One of our favorite places to walk is over across the Iowa River where there is a dog park. Kate likes to ogle the puppies! It's a nice little walk and it really calming to walk by the river (until all the bugs infest it during the summer). Taken with my iPhone.

Mongolian BBQ

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-20T09:20:26-05:00

Last night Kate and I went to HuHot, Mongolian BBQ. I have always been a fan of Mongolian (even though some freinds from Mongolia couldn't recognize in the least bit what the food is since they eat rodent and things - not kidding). The premise for the restaurant is all you can eat: you pick your meat, noodles, vegetables, and sauces. Then the cooks fry it up on the huge cooking stone (which is not stone at all). Seconds later, your food is done. Eat! (repeat...x2 or x3)

TA Assignment for Next Year:

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-20T09:11:11-05:00

As part of the Iowa Performing Arts Fellowship, I have one year with no TA duties (this past year) and two with. Since the Trombone TA is tied up for one more year, it was necessary to place me in an alternative role. As of Friday, that position is officially with the University Arts Share organization. ...Arts Share continues The University of Iowa's long tradition of sharing creative resources from the Division of Performing Arts (music, dance, theatre), the School of Art and Art History, and the Writers' Workshop. Our goal is to strengthen the arts in underserved areas, reaching out to provide access to life-enriching arts experiences throughout Iowa Almost 100 faculty artists and graduate students from the UI School of Art and Art History, the Division of Performing Arts, and the Writers’ Workshop are available through Arts Share. ... Graduate artists attend one of the prestigious University of Iowa graduate programs in the arts, and have been recommended to us by a faculty member. ...I am excited to learn my role and to learn some of the ins and out of arts administration. It is an important part of a university job, so I am very happy to have this assignment!

I'm Actually Healing!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-16T12:40:48-05:00

This morning I had another follow up visit with the physical therapist. ... As surprised as the doctors were that I wasn't making any progress before the surgery, they are equally surprised at how fast I am healing post-surgery. The whole process certainly hasn't been without its ups and downs. Last weekend, for example, it was really stormy for several days. My shoulder just ached the whole time. Now that it is nice outside again, it's fine. I hope that it's not always going to be related to the humidity though as it gets very humid in the summers here. ...I have a rough draft of my final paper for 17th Century Music History due this week, along with a paper for Trumpet Pedagogy, a Trumpet Ped. presentation, and a Brass Ensemble Lit. presentation that I gave this morning. I keep trying to convince myself to have joy in the journey.....

I just died a little inside....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-16T12:40:04-05:00

This is a REAL internal Microsoft video. Be forewarned: This will make you sick to your stomach.

Best Version of Mario Yet

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-15T14:51:15-05:00

You probably know by now that I am in love with all things Mario. This is the best version of the Mario theme song I have come across! Enjoy!
Mario Theme Played with RC Car and Bottles - Watch more free videos

So, I Was Doing Some Google Image Searching.....

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-12T18:00:26-05:00

Because everyone needs a tiger print trombone: What do you get when you cross Adrian Brody, the Three Stooges, a trombone, and a photo shoot? And finally, another vintage ad: It's Impossible to Overblow this NEW Model! Full Size

Iowa City Flooding

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-11T20:26:10-05:00

The Iowa River runs right through Iowa City and splits the University of Iowa Campus. Just north of the Voxman Music Building is City Park. This spring when the snow was melting and we were still getting some storms, the river flooded quite a bit. To my knowledge, there were no problems with any buildings or homes flooding, but the park was certainly under a lot of water. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea. ...This one give you an idea of where the river should be: to the left of the trees. The sidewalk here is also covered in several inches of water. This path sits close to the river, but several feet above the river. The water has gone down now, but it was a crazy couple of weeks.

Chicago 2.0

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-11T20:20:41-05:00

Two weeks ago, Kate and I went to Chicago to visit Kim and Chris in their new home. We stopped in Dixon, Iowa to get some lunch and we came across Ronald Reagan's boyhood home! We had to stop for a picture!

Back to Gigging

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-08T12:09:23-05:00

After nearly two months of time off the horn post-surgery and several months of barely playing, I am finally "back on the horse". ... Within a week I felt like I could play most things again, but that some finesse things weren't happening the way I wanted them to. A week after playing again I played the Juraj Filas Sonata in trombone studio class. I felt that it went quite well, although the trigger stuff wasn't as effective as I would have wished. ... Last week I played with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band (I mentioned this already) and I played a brass quartet gig at a church in Muscatine, Iowa. This week and next week I will be playing with the Cornell College Band in Mt. ... Next month, I have been asked to substitute in the Old Capital Brass Quintet for two commencement performances. I am quite happy with the way things are going and that I get to be part of the professional world again. I need to figure out a way to increase the number of gigs for this summer.

Also..this one...

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-07T09:03:44-05:00

Church marquis have been known for their catchy sayings, but sometimes they are just dumb. I caught this one in Muscatine, Iowa the other day.

April Already?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-07T08:53:17-05:00

I can't believe that it's already April. ... I haven't posted much since the surgery outside of incidental pictures and videos. ... For the first few weeks I was using the ErgoBone exclusively, but now I am only using that when the muscles are tired, so that is some really good progress! I played my first gig in months Saturday in Red Oak, Iowa with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band, directed by friend and colleague Casey Thomas. As far as Kate and I, we have both been very busy with little time to ourselves. This past weekend we actually had some free time, so we went to a Cedar Rapids Roughriders hockey game. It just worked out that it was the last game of the season. We especially enjoyed "Krazy George" who they advertise as the "World's Greatest Cheerleader". I was planning on writing more, but I have to go to class right now.

Dark Castle - I am so Happy to Post This!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-04-05T11:30:06-05:00

Slow Mo Slap

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-27T14:49:38-05:00

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Scary Day in Iowa City

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-24T23:22:17-05:00

This morning at 8:01 am, we received the automated phone call from "Hawk Alert" letting the University of Iowa students know that there was a possible shooter in the Iowa City area. An hour later the Hawk Alert was removed, but it was a tense morning. As it turns out, a local man was recently indicted for embezzlement from the company he worked for. Early this morning he killed his wife and four children. ... Late this afternoon, the police learned that there was no gun involved and that the causes of death will be determined in the coming days as autopsies are performed. The killer's van was found off of I-80 burnt to a crisp with the killer inside (at least it is assumed it is the killer). The van VIN number matches the one owned by the killer, but the identity of the man will not be known until after his autopsy since he was burned beyond recognition. ...Don't embezzle from your employer. But we already knew that didn't we?

Spring Break/Healing/School/Trombone

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-22T22:13:46-05:00

Kate was working overtime since some of the girls were out of town. ... I can't really hold up the trombone by myself quite yet, but with the assistance of the ErgoBone, I have been able to get up to around 2 1/2 hours of playing in just a week. ...Each morning it is a little more tight than the night before, but then I do the stretches again and it feels better. My range of motion is probably 70% of normal, but in the next few weeks I hope to get most of that 30% back. ...Then I will only have two years of school left! ... Some headway needs to be done on my 17th Century Music History project. The library was closed this week, so I wasn't able to get to some resources. ...I feel like I can do a lot of core things on the horn, but that finesse things are being difficult. ...I don't have any pictures of this week, but enjoy this picture from Nice, California circa July 2002.

Immersive Media

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-11T12:08:27-05:00

I really need to do a legitimate blog post at some point, perhaps later today, but this site is awesome! Most of us have seen 360 degree photos for realtors or other things, but this company has developed a way to do this with video! Very cool.

Iowa State to Use Corporate GMail

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-10T08:04:14-05:00

According to article, Iowa State is working out a deal to have Google run it's university email system. Dear University of Iowa: please do this, your email system stinks. Thanks, Bye.

My Greatest Blog Post To Date

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-09T22:32:55-05:00

...Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running ...Mario is always full of energy and strong! [Spoken] The only one who can reverse the spell that has captured the Mushroom People is Princess Peach. ... Ah, the days of peace... if we could once more return to those days... to save Princess Peach and bring peace back to the Mushroom Kingdom, that is why Mario is on his journey today. Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running ...Mario is always full of energy and strong! Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running ...Taken from here

I Used to See Thing Guy All The Time!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-09T06:56:42-05:00

A Salt Lake transient was arrested for the 452nd time. Get the story kutv.com

Recital: Jeremy Crawford, Tuba

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-08T08:08:30-06:00

Capriccio (1990) - Rodney Newton

Diverse Elements (1996) - David Gillingham ...II. ...Fanfare/March

Concerto for Tuba (1997) - Anthony Plog ...Slowly, with Freedom ...Allegro - Variations

Two Mood for Tuba (1961) - Donald Swann ...Scherzando

New Segment: Recitals

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-08T08:04:05-06:00

This new "Recitals" segment was is inspired by my own forgetfulness. In each of our Brass Pedagogy segments we have been asked to produce example recitals for the given instrument. I have been to hundreds of recitals, but to program a recital for instruments other than the trombone was not that easy for me. So, when I go to a recital I will reproduce the program here. This may not be helpful to anyone but me, so if you are one of these people, you can skip these segments!

Trombone in MacBook Air Commercial!

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-06T10:35:30-06:00

At this point you probably have seen the new MacBook Air in all it's nano-sized glory. What you may have missed was the use of the trombone in Yael Naîm's song, New Soul used in this commercial. In the commercial we mostly hear the piano intro, but the full-length track has a lengthy use of the trombone.

South Pasedena Bans Cussing

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-06T08:39:05-06:00

Check out this article over at CNN about a 14 year-old that got cussing banned in South Pasadena, California for one week a year.

You Know You're A Redneck If Your Wife Is Quoted In The Local Paper Saying...

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-04T18:41:25-06:00

Taken from Flikr

Social-Networking Websites

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T20:34:02-06:00

I have always been fascinated with the concept of social-networking websites. For those not familiar with the term, they are websites with the ability to add friends and build a network. The most popular of these are MySpace and Facebook. The positives of these sites are being able to communicate with people with ease and to keep in touch with people you normally would not keep in your circle. The downside to these sites are obnoxious ads and layouts like on MySpace (not to mention spam and seemingly promiscuous web-women trying to add you as friends), and unending invitations to add stupid applications on Facebook. ...I had heard of Twitter months ago and created an account, but I forgot about it. A friend of mine, Phil, turned me on to it and now I really dig it. It has the best parts of Facebook, in status updates and direct messaging, without the obnoxious parts like apps and ads. Check it out at Twitter.

Thunderstorms in March?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T20:20:43-06:00

Today we experienced one of the craziest storms we have even seen! Around six o'clock tonight we had thunder and lightening and about an inch of rain. The crazy thing? This storm came with about 18 inches of snow on the ground! We had so much packed ice in the parking lot at our apartment, but it's almost all gone now! Finally! It was dark, but here's the best picture I could get:

"What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years" from 1905

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T19:16:01-06:00

For full size, click here.

Slide vs. Jaw Vibrato

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T15:33:33-06:00

I know that there are different schools of though on this subject, but I wish to only discuss the aural perception of the listener. When one performs "jaw vibrato" by making a chewing motion with the jaw similar chewing, the resulting sound occurs above and below the actual pitch in equal amounts in an ideal situation. In the image below, the black, horizontal line represents the actual pitch while the sin wave represents the motion of the vibrato. In comparison, slide vibrato is performed by moving the slide downward and back up - so the pitch is always BELOW the beginning pitch. ...The point of this post is not to argue the supremacy of one over the other, but to visually show that the two are different and rarely interchangeable. That being said, some individuals do not use slide vibrato at all and that some do not use jaw vibrato. Some trombonists, like Joseph Alessi, will sometimes use slide vibrato is classical music when in the high register because jaw motions are more subtle in this register. I personally prefer jaw vibrato for solos and some rare instances in orchestral music and I use slide vibrato exclusively in jazz. Some might be able to use jaw vibrato more effectively in jazz than I can, but I simply can not produce the desired sound unless I use slide vibrato.

Thank You, Martha Stewart

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-02T15:28:05-06:00

Earlier this week, Kate and I went to Lowe's to look at color swatches for Kate's bridal shop that we are planning to open at some point (hopefully sooner than later!). I decided to look at the swatches with this web site in mind. I ended up looking mostly at Martha Stewart's line since she had swatches with matching colors. Color schemes have been one of my weaknesses for the longest time. I was happy that some one did the leg work in getting stuff that matched. ... I then used Apple's handy color utility that lets you grab the color for anything and add it to your color palette. I then added said colors to the site which is already design, but I obviously just altered the colors. I have had some positive feed back for the new theme, and I like it quite a bit. If you disagree, or have other suggestions, let me know in the comments.

The Best Place to Meet Men?

Jonathan Allen — 2008-03-01T10:36:43-06:00

The Apple Store Seriously! Check out this story from Cosmopolitan Cheers.