Arranging the Old Into the New

Last night I met with David Pinto who is arranging two songs for my Sephardic Music Experience project. David is Susana Baca's bass player as well as musical director. He is an incredibly talented man who is very soft-spoken yet strong in his ideals of the music and how it should be performed. We met at my apartment where he brought his portable studio. He wanted me to record the vocals over the arrangements he had created in GarageBand. He has quite a nice little set-up and it was fun to see how detailed you can get with that program. I definitely need to learn how to use GarageBand to help me compose and arrange ideas I have for new songs.

Anyway!! The arrangements he has created are exquisite!! I am so excited about how this whole project is coming together. Each arranger--and I've engaged four different people--brings something completely unique to the table. My dream of creating a "world" sound for this music is being realized right before my eyes. I was worried that I might not like tackling all of this music, but I am infused with a new energy of pure unadulterated excitement! :) Now I can't wait to get all of the arrangements to the musicians and hear how it will all sound with live instruments. I feel like we are beginning to create something very special here and I look forward to presenting these pieces to the world. All that remains is making sure we get enough rehearsals in so we can present the music how it is meant to be played.

Labor Day Weekend. I can't believe it is already fast approaching. Next week I will take on a substitute teaching gig at the JCC in San Francisco, teaching preschoolers music for a little over two weeks. I think it's going to be a blast working with such little guys, playing music and just generally having fun for a few hours each day. But first I have my first gig at Anna's Jazz Island in Berkeley this coming Sunday evening where I'll get to play with the quintet and SiNG!! I love performing with these guys so much because there is always some kind of magic that happens on stage. They are not afraid to take chances and explore the depths of the music. They constantly and continually inspire me to rise to higher levels within my own self and for that I am grateful.