You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Crossing Over to Other Genres

Episode Date: November 25, 2019

Today, Peter and Adam answer a SpeakPipe on how to combine influences from different genres for your own compositions.Hear the influence for this episode yourself - listen to The 442s (including Adam Maness himself) right here: https://the442s.bandcamp.comThis episode of You'll Hear It is sponsored by Anytune. If you want to improve your jazz playing and transcription skills, Anytune is the #1 tool you need. Just load any track you want into the app, and Anytune allows you to change the speed, loop sections, change the pitch to a different key, and so much more. For more information, go to https://anytune.us/youllhearit/Want every Open Studio course for free? That's right - over 300 hours and 1200 lessons can be yours with free lifetime access! All you have to do is enter Open Studio's 2019 Holiday Giveaway. Go to https://learn.openstudiojazz.com/giveaway/, or watch this video of Peter for more info: https://youtu.be/KsdhVXE5ovILike those You'll Hear It shirts Peter shows off on the podcast? Want some YHI swag of your own? Take a visit to our store! Just go to https://teespring.com/stores/open-studioLet us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Interested in more jazz advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram at:https://www.facebook.com/heyopenstudiohttps://twitter.com/heyopenstudiohttps://www.instagram.com/heyopenstudio See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey Pete. Hey, man. How's your crossover? Well, I see your ankles are broken, so that should answer it for you. Dang. I'm Adam Manus. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear Podcast.

Daily Jazz Advice coming at you. Coming at you today is the first day of our new sponsor. We have an amazing new sponsor. Bam! It is an incredible app. It's a music practice app that I have actually used for the last few months. Like, when we got the sponsorship, I was like, oh, I know this. I use this. You were already sold. I was already sold because I literally bought it. It's called

AnyTune. It's an incredible tool for transcription, for playing along with recordings. It has so many great features. AnyTune is a professional tool to help serious musicians learn and transcribe music by ear, faster and easier, a serious app for serious musicians that helps bring more joy to the grind of becoming a great jazz musician. Yeah, and I mean, you know, this, there's a number of apps out here that, well, I don't think any of them do everything that any tune does. And we're going to talk over the next few days. We don't want to give it all away. But you were showing me something that's game changing. I don't even totally understand it, but I love it. It's incredible. Are we doing that? Let's do that tomorrow. We can do that tomorrow. Just an overview

of it. This is an app where you basically load in any track you like and you can do things like slow it down without losing pitch. Or you can change the pitch. You can loop. It has this feature called, I forget what it's called, but it's like a way to loop to practice with the loop where it starts off at half speed and it loops it like 10 times and each time it gets just a little bit faster. So if you're practicing a section of say like the melody of Donnelly, you're practicing four bars of that. Like it starts off, you know, doodoo do. And then by the end you're it's like a programmable guided practice session. It's pretty awesome, man. I have to say. I know. The Berkeley School of Music has been providing any tune to their students for over five.

years. It's loaded with features. You can use any tune as your music player and occasionally slow down a couple of measures or you can use it to create set lists containing custom arrangements with trimmed annotations, timed annotations, and perform live with the AID of a remote control foot pedal. There's so many applications for this app. And I kind of our plan is to let you know in the coming days about some of the features because one thing is it's so powerful what I've found that it can be a little overwhelming, but this is the thing. It's such a well-designed app and it's so

elegant that you can kind of start out. And what I would recommend people to do is just, you know, you can download the free version and then you can go, you're going to want to go pro later on. Like you did. For sure. The pro version is incredible. But that'll give you sort of a taste of it. But you can start out with just this feature of slowing things down for transcription. I mean, how many episodes have we talked about transcribing the importance of it?

I mean, we just did one on deep listening on Friday. And, you know, I can't, I mean, that's why I bought any tune a few months ago was to help with my deep listening to be able to get into the recording. I was trying to transcribe to slow them down, to loop them. You can set markers as you're transcribing. That is huge. I actually think that feature, I mean, yeah, the slowdown is great, but I love trying to learn it in real time, but then you can slow down just when you need it.

But the setting the markers, like, you can have a goal to be like, okay, this is where I want to, and you're not always starting at the beginning. I want to start here, and I want to go to here. It makes it so much more convenient for transcribing. So we do have a landing page. What is it? It's Anytune. dot us slash you'll hear it go there and check it out for yourself you can also just go to your app store

and your phone and search for any tune any tune a music player built for musicians music practice perfected learn transcribe but no but you know what don't don't go searching on the on the thing oh it's oh it's android or iOS that's right go to the uh even if you're on your phone go to anytune us slash you'll hear it and then it's very easy to link from there will take you right to it's awesome yeah awesome so uh more on that coming soon actually we'll just tease out we're going to talk about that. It's the play along with the band, but we're going to get into that later. Okay. Okay, cool. So, what are we

talking about today? Today, we have a speak pipe from our good friend, Mr. Spaceband. Let's check it out. Oh, Spaceman, it's back. Hey, Adam. Hey, Peter. This is Mr. Spaceman again. I guess I'm taking a cue after both of you and recording two in a row. So

my second speak pipe is geared towards Adam specifically. I finally checked out the 4-4-2s, and I'm pretty floored. They're pretty amazing. At first, I thought, oh, this sounds like the Punch Brothers or something of that elk. And then I listened to them more and I was like, this sounds completely different. And yet, totally awesome. I was wondering if Adam could talk about the whole cross-pollination thing that's going on since he's fusing folk elements and bluegrass and classical.

I was wondering how that influences his jazz playing and how his jazz playing influences what he's doing in the 4-4-2s. I love to hear what he has to say about this because I think we got to give Adam. is due on the show too. All right. Take care. Be well. Bye. Bye. All right. So since this was specifically for you, Adam, I think I'll start out talking. No, I can see why you picked this question. Oh, man. I couldn't agree more with this question. Why didn't you do this while I was gone from? Peace and I'm out. Well, first of all, Mr. Taysman, it's flattery will get you everywhere. Yeah. Now, see, yesterday you were talking about how much I love self-adulation. Look at you now. You're like a cherub. You know, your cheeks are all rosy. Look how happy is. You know, I love it. Your hair is a little more.

I love it. I love it. Yeah. No, thank you so much. That's an amazing compliment. But no, I thought we could talk about, you know, because this is so important to me, obviously. This is kind of how I've always felt about music in general. But, you know, this idea of crossing over, I think, is almost the wrong way to talk about this, right? Because the way I think about this is that I make the music that I like to make. And so jazz. is part of that, but lots of other things are a part of that. You know, and I think a lot of musicians are like that. You're like that as well. You know, you're primarily known as a jazz pianist, but you do a lot of different things. Think about someone like Brian Blade and the Brian Blade Fellowship. What is that? Is that jazz?

That's definitely... Folk. Right, but it's jazz musicians with sensibilities that aren't straight down the middle. Yeah. And there's a long tradition of this of jazz musicians who play other kinds of music. Well, I think that it's really integral to actually being a jazz musician because a lot of times when we look you have to you know it's so fun to go back and study the historical you know bent and an aspect of certain musicians and artists that have

come along in jazz and any any other kind of music but you always have to take them in their period so it's easy to be like oh charlie parker was tunnel vision all he did was bebop but that bebop was barely a thing wasn't even a thing yeah it was like and i mean think about the blues and and you know r and b early a kind of R&B or whatever that was influencing that classical. Whatever it was, I mean, I think jazz musicians have always been typified by this openness to different styles and across pollinization, co-mendling or whatever. Just an open, like kind of almost quality being the filter. Yeah.

And actually, I talked with Rick Biazzo a little bit on the interview last week about this in that he's, you know, he's so well known for these, you know, the 20 greatest rock fields of all time. And 21, it's going to blow your mind. Yeah, yeah. But if you check those out, like, he's very much focused around the things in music that connect all kinds of music and that are not genre specific. And I think jazz musicians, the greatest jazz musicians have always done that when you look at them in their time. Who's our, I mean, our greatest hero is Herbie Hancock.

And who else has, I mean, he made a disco record for credit. What, Chick-A-Ria, man? Oh, I'm sorry. No, Chick-Corea, too, with an electric, the electric band. Like, these are musicians that have done so many different kinds of music, but always, themselves. They're themselves. And for me, that's the goal. It's like, I want my music to, to be me expressing what I feel like expressing, no matter the colors that I'm using. You know, the 442s is I'm using strings, violin, viola, cello, you know, bass, and then whatever I can do

to supplement that. Right. And write it all out. That's another thing about that as well. But that's still, I think if you heard the 442s and then heard like me playing trio, you would hear the same sensibilities. Yes. And I'll just, you know, I know this question is for you today is all about you. It's not all about me. No, no, but I want to give Mr. Spaceman and other folks that would be interested. First of all, we're going to link below to some

442's music, so some of you that may not have heard it and are sleeping like Mr. Spaceman all these months. Come on, Space Man, you know what's up? You're a listener. No, that's funny. But you can check out some of this what we're talking about. But I'll give you a little bit of a behind the curtain behind the veil,

you know, having work with the 442s of Munch and, of course, been around Adam a lot. And, you know, I've never heard Adam or anybody else in the band talk about, you know, either when you're rehearsing or when you're performing or even talking about the music, you've never like, you never say

like, oh, I've got this cool bluegrassy thing or we're going to get more jazzy on this. Like, it's all everything that you present is, first of all, is really within the music, which is as it should be. Sure. And that's, but I mean, even when you talk about the band and the music, I mean, you know, others might talk about

oh, it's a classical, because they see people that play in a symphony, orchestra normally they see you who's you know primarily viewed as a jazz musician but the realities of the music and how you guys play and how the not only the genesis but the actual manifestation of the band and the sound and stuff is really almost totally from what I've seen devoid of stylistic planning you know of course these influences are in there and it's easy for someone to be like wow there's a bluegrass or there's a folk thing right but it's it's way less calculating that I think people might think yeah we don't

We don't say like, all right, it's time for a mamba or something like that. You know, it's really... Mama got the mongo. The key to this, though, Spaceman, is to really just take off the filter of this is what I can do and this is what I can't do. Do what you want to do. Yeah, do what you want to. But, I mean, quick aside, the filter, Gifilter, gifilter fish. Have you ever had that?

It's horrible. Gifilta fish. It's a horrible... I have had that, actually. Horrible food. Hashtag Nac Quito. Hashtag not plant. based. But the thing about this is, is, you know, take off the filter, not only that, but not even

something's fishy about this podcast. Something's fishy about, something very fishy about this podcast. Well, you got to travel in a school to learn jazz. Oh my goodness, dude. Hello. Captain Nemo. There was dad titling before. Now there's dad jokes happening left and right. I'm pulling in some more. My goodness. Okay. So, no, but yeah, take off the filter, but don't even I think when you hit a certain level of musicianship that I've seen, it's very much, yeah, it's not, let's play a Mambo. But it's like, how do you play a Mambo if you're hearing that

and there's organic flow in the music? Like, how does that come into the music in a way that is not shtick or just a novelty, that kind of thing? Because you do bring in some great styles sometimes in a very, you know, dramatic way. that are integral to kind of your overall sound and vision. But the thing is, is that it's all music that I love and that I know about

and that I want to be a part of my sound, that just are a part of me. Yes. And so I let it happen. I mean, you've played with musicians like Joshua Redmond, who have let that side of themselves come out in every aspect of their music. I'm thinking about, what's that? Don't, don't, don't, that they're from freedom in the groove.

Oh, my goodness. Yeah, like that happens so naturally. It's jazz for sure because it's a bunch of jazz musicians, but it's not like straight down the middle. It's definitely having his personality come out. Some of your music, like on your last trio record, like I think about Cuban New Orleans, you know, that's just because you have this affinity

for those styles and those places. And it's not really Cuban music or New Orleans music. Exactly. It's actually new. That's where I change the name. It's just your personality encapsulated in this little, in this tune. And I think that is the key of it. It's got to be you and you have to,

be, you have to have the courage to just say, okay, well, I'm not, like, I don't care if it's not this or not that. I'm just going to do what I want to do. I know. That's, that's so spot on. And I think even extending that, I think there's an element of not even caring if you bring some influence in that you're maybe not an expert on. You know what I mean? Like, I think about Hurley and Riley, we've talked to him in the great drummer from New Orleans. Obviously, like, you know, everyone sees him as this master of New Orleans grooves, which he is. I mean, he's probably the foremost modern drum master him and Shannon Powell and Johnny Vodakovich

I mean they own that sound in a way that's very precious and beautiful but you know I play with Hurling a lot and like you know when he goes to play a Brazilian groove it's just as good now is it at the level of authenticity as Adu Rivera okay maybe some could say

not but he's brain like he bridges the gap not bridges the gap he bridges these two styles that are like he's able to hear something to connect and that really what I was trying to do with Cuba in New Orleans, but it doesn't matter if he's losing a little bit of the authenticity on something else. He's creating something else that's even better. Yeah, because it's got the influences.

I mean, we heard A. Do do some swing stuff in here. And it wasn't like, you know, if you heard Philly Joe swing at all. But it was like a great Brazilian was swinging. And it was like Rio Joe. Yeah. Exactly. But it became this whole, whole other thing that was beautiful. Yeah. Absolutely beautiful. Well, and I think that you with the 442s, and again, Lincoln Blow to some music, because I want you guys to kind of, wait, can we maybe play Maybe we'll play some at the end here. Sure. But then people will link below, too.

We'll play something going out. But, you know, I think primarily with classical and jazz, you do that same thing. Like, you write the music and then you present it to the music. And really, you guys play it and then are improvising. There's enough flexibility. But your framework gives it both things. Is it authentic modern classical music? No, thank God.

No, it's not. Is it like, you know, playing at smalls at 1 a.m.? swinging out with the cats. No, but it has those elements and it actually creates something else that's new and exciting that you can say like, yeah, of course there's classical elements and there's jazz and maybe there's a mongo sometimes and maybe there's Brazilian, but it's actually something kind of its own because you've allowed your, you know, musical aesthetic to kind of, you know, envelop what this music can be. And that's what I actually think is what makes it jazz. Not that is it swinging four, four or is it whatever. It's like that freedom. And

And I love that phrase that I just remember about that freedom in the groove that Josh kind of came up with it. But he titled it is like, you know, like, can you be free? Like to me, that's the most important thing about being a jazz position. How free can you be to create something? That's right. You know, and then to have the confidence to put it out there. That's what jazz is. Totally agree.

And I hate the term jazz. So there you go. Well, thank you, Mr. Spaceman for the speak pipe. Great to hear from you. We do have your other question on deck, by the way, your first question. Yeah. But this one was so... But you're clogging the speak-by, bro, to be honest.

No, I'm just kidding. I like to mess with spaceman. I think when I meet him, he's probably 260 pounds, buff. Oh, he's a good dude, though. He's a good dude, though. He's a good dude, he's like a gentle giant, though. I fear for my life. Go to any...

Go to anytune. Go to anytune.us. Yes. Slash, you'll hear it to check it out. It is a seriously amazing tool for any jazz musician. I use it all the time. It is incredible. I would use it if they weren't a sponsor, and I have.

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, look, we checked out a bunch of different similar apps and other, you know, all the features that you look at that they have are probably covered somewhere else, but any tune does it. I love it when I find a tool that does what I needed to do, and I enjoy doing it. It's like, you know, you get a broom. Nobody wants to sweep up, right? But you get that broom and it feels right.

All of a sudden, you're excited about it. And so that's like with transcribing, although really, come on, we should be loving transcribing. But it's hard. It's hard. It's difficult. So this is going to, look, this is not going to teach you to be a great jazz musician. But if you're disciplined and you use this tool, you will get there quicker, I can guarantee. What were we just talking about?

Like, if we had had this when we were coming up, you know, and I'm asking some of our young employees and interns here, it's just like, you know, how many solos do you know? You should know five times as many as we do because you have these kind of great tools. But you got to get the right tool. That's right. And like any good tool, you got to use it right. But this one just sets you up for success. So great.

Yeah. And it doesn't crash. Oh, some of these other apps. Apps crashing, just saying. This is super reliable. Again, any tune.us slash, you'll hear it to check that out. We're going to go out on, because we were talking about it, the 442. I'm going to dedicate to this tune to my boy, Yo, in Tokyo, who showed me around,

we went to this great yaman, yaman. We went to this great ramen shop in Shibuya. Shabuya! This tune is called Shibuya.