David Marriott, Jr. Presents Red Raspus Music

Valentine's Week Special - Download "With All My Love" for Free

David Marriott, Jr. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:20:00 +0000

This week only, as part of a Valentine's Week special promotion, I've decided to make the original ballad, "With All My Love", available as a free download on my music site. Originally recorded and released on the album "The High Country" with John Hansen, Geoff Harper, and Jon Wikan, I have since repackaged all of my original compositions from 1995-2000 in a new collection, "Early Originals". Follow the links above, or just click the download link below -- enjoy!

Mulgrew Miller's Advice for Young Jazz Musicians (Video)

David Marriott, Jr. — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:13:34 +0000

Writer and video journalist Bret Primack posts original video related to jazz with an insane amount of regularity -- four new videos posted just in the last 24 hours! One of this latest batch is from a group of videos featuring veteran pianist Mulgrew Miller, and this most recent entry where Miller gives some advice to budding young jazz musicians is not to be missed:

New Food for the CD Player - Steve Grossman "Perspective"

David Marriott, Jr. — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:39:39 +0000

I try to stop into Silver Platters on Queen Anne whenever I'm in the neighborhood, so I pulled in after a nice dinner at my folks for a quick browse -- just taking a look, I told myself. These are always famous last words, as I somehow ended up at the cash register with this Steve Grossman reissue -- one I have never seen on CD, I might add. Steve Grossman's "Perspective" was released by Atlantic Records in 1979 and presents Grossman in a big budget production for the first time as a leader. He revisits some of the material from the Stone Alliance library, but each is given a fresh sound in the expanded group. Onaje Allan Gumbs also contributes arrangements on what would basically be Grossman's "final" record as a leader for a while, and certainly from this period. My brother found this on vinyl a few years ago -- just when I thought I had already found all the old Steve Grossman -- and when I saw it on CD, I had to snag the only copy on the outside chance that it was the last copy in print. Thanks to Wounded Bird Records for reissuing this monster!

Thankfully, you can pick it up on Amazon, but it doesn't appear to be available digitally -- you're out of luck if you can't play a CD for this one!

Ten Years After It's Original Release, "Septology: In The Beginning" is Now Available on iTunes

David Marriott, Jr. — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:05:30 +0000

My recording titled "Septology: In The Beginning" is now available online via iTunes and a wide variety of other sources! It's taken a long time, but it's finally here, ten years after it's initial release in 1999. This recording, along with the two recordings I did with my brother Thomas, helped to start my career, and gained me a great deal of recognition as a composer. Commissioned by Earshot Jazz through a grant they received -- thank you again! -- and debuted at Jazz Alley, the work and the recording are still, ten years later, one of my proudest moments. My friends all sound so great, and it reminds me of a productive and care-free time in my life. Obviously influenced by the works of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and the Wynton Marsalis Septet, it was my first extended work, and truly helped me find my compositional voice. I've since written two more extended works for the group -- performed, but unrecorded -- and am working on a new work that will be recorded, and very soon. Your support can only make it happen sooner! If you've never checked it out, now's your chance. Try the widget below, or find us in the iTunes and Amazon stores, as well as a variety of others (via Tunecore) -- get it cheap at Amie Street, for example. Thanks again, and spread the word!

Group Photo from Recent Phil Kelly Recording Session

David Marriott, Jr. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:17:42 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the weekend out at Bear Creek Studios recording Phil Kelly's new big band record. Award-winning photographer Daniel Sheehan was on hand to take a group photo, and he's been kind enough to share the image on his blog, Eyeshot Jazz. Enjoy!

The Partial Observer Presents "How To Alienate Your Audience in 10 Easy Steps"

David Marriott, Jr. — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:02:41 +0000

In a recent series of articles for The Partial Observer, Neo Classical columnist Holly Mulcahy writes about the ten most common ways that performers alienate their audiences. While the article is generally written from the context of a classical musician's point of view, nearly every word in this article applies to the vast majority of musicians as a whole. The article is written with humor to demonstrate it's points without coming across heavy-handed. Musicians: pay attention to this article -- it could help you get hired back!

Listen to "Septology: In the Beginning" on Kerchoonz

David Marriott, Jr. — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:43:41 +0000

A new UK social music and networking site, Kerchoonz, is now paying artists when their streams are played online. I'm testing it out with my Septology: In the Beginning recording to see what it's all about. If you'd like to help support me without having to spend a dime, listen to Septology: In the Beginning on Kerchoonz instead of playing your CD or MP3's. If you are a musician and want to upload your music and reap whatever benefits may come down the line, sign up for an artist account.

See All 200 Jazz Photos in LIFE Photo Archive

David Marriott, Jr. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:40:26 +0000

In a joint collaboration with Google, LIFE has placed millions of photos online for the general public to enjoy from their archive. Of those millions of photos, 200 appear when searching for "jazz", and there are some great shots here worth paying attention to that potentially were never published. View all 200 jazz photos in the LIFE archive, or feel free to visit the LIFE archive home page to look for other subjects -- on a side note, Louis Armstrong appears in the "People" list on the home page! I love the Miles one on the right, but I put my two favorites below, both taken by photographer Eliot Elisofon in 1954. Enjoy!

Quote from LA Phil's Irving Bush on Personality of Trumpet Players

David Marriott, Jr. — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:13:53 +0000

Leave it to Jerry Oram to drop all the golden nuggets! Here's another one, this time from noted trumpet player, composer and author Irving Bush:

There are two sides to a trumpeter's personality: there is the one that lives only to lay waste to the woodwinds and strings leaving them lying blue and lifeless along the swath of destruction that is a trumpeter's fury; then there's the dark side...

Quote from Kenton Alumnus Don Smith Regarding Lead Playing

David Marriott, Jr. — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:07:51 +0000

Jerry Oram passed on a great quote from Kenton alumnus Don Smith about being a lead trumpet player:

There are three registers on the trumpet: the low register, the high register, and the cash register, and that's where I play.