I dont understand how English speakers derived the word Florence our of the native name Firenze. It was destined to be yet another day of walking-- although I dont think any of us really expected to be walking around for 8 hours-- I wore questionably comfortable flip-flops.
There is the most amazing artwork in Florence, most notably, David-- I opted out of seeing the actual David, mainly because there are about 5 copies of him scattered about the city, the cost was 13 Euro, and the que was an hour long. Instead we braved the 2.5 hour line at the largest of the Medici' museums. This was most definitely worth it-- the museum is MASSIVE and contains hundreds of ancient sculptures aw well as painting from every Italian artist you could imagine. Near the end of the museum there is even a room full of books of neumatic notation (old music) from the 14th century. Pretty amazing. I am disappointed htat I was unable to see more that I did in Florence. It would have been beneficial if I had re read my book from 12th grade humanities class (so I would be able to concisely describe the artwork).
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
July 20th: Day trip to Florence
I dont understand how English speakers derived the word Florence our of the native name Firenze. It was destined to be yet another day of walking-- although I dont think any of us really expected to be walking around for 8 hours-- I wore questionably comfortable flip-flops.
There is the most amazing artwork in Florence, most notably, David-- I opted out of seeing the actual David, mainly because there are about 5 copies of him scattered about the city, the cost was 13 Euro, and the que was an hour long. Instead we braved the 2.5 hour line at the largest of the Medici' museums. This was most definitely worth it-- the museum is MASSIVE and contains hundreds of ancient sculptures aw well as painting from every Italian artist you could imagine. Near the end of the museum there is even a room full of books of neumatic notation (old music) from the 14th century. Pretty amazing. I am disappointed htat I was unable to see more that I did in Florence. It would have been beneficial if I had re read my book from 12th grade humanities class (so I would be able to concisely describe the artwork).
There is the most amazing artwork in Florence, most notably, David-- I opted out of seeing the actual David, mainly because there are about 5 copies of him scattered about the city, the cost was 13 Euro, and the que was an hour long. Instead we braved the 2.5 hour line at the largest of the Medici' museums. This was most definitely worth it-- the museum is MASSIVE and contains hundreds of ancient sculptures aw well as painting from every Italian artist you could imagine. Near the end of the museum there is even a room full of books of neumatic notation (old music) from the 14th century. Pretty amazing. I am disappointed htat I was unable to see more that I did in Florence. It would have been beneficial if I had re read my book from 12th grade humanities class (so I would be able to concisely describe the artwork).
July 19th: "That"'s it, the final concert
Today marks the final day of an era. It started out as an typical Italian day: Jason Hausbak and I walked to the nearest pizzeria for our 60th/61th pizzas. Im starting to get the hang of this language: "Prego, un pizza cotto e aqua natural"-- Ive successfully mastered the art of bastardizing Italian.
On to the good stuff: the performance. For the 3rd night in a row, we played in an open square in Perugia. Being that it was a Saturday, the square was even more packed than normal. We started slightly early, in an effort to lengthen our total playing time. The set was very ambitious-- it was made up of tunes that we, in general, play very well: Heat of the Day, The Other (a brand new Neil Slater original), Havona, Ordinary Deviation (comp, S. Jacovino), If you could see me now (arr. N. Slater), Beautiful Friendship, Until I met you , Side Effects (Slater), Song for Gabe (E. Weiss), and Got a Match (as fast as possible). Craig Marshall (with the help of our guide, Bobby) explained to the audience that it was the final performance of Neil Slater. He received a very long ovation from the crowd. We received such a long applause after Got A Match, that we played an encore of Machito-- after what I thought was the final note of my One O'Clock career, we proceeded off the stage to pack our horns. The audience wanted no part of this, they kept clapping-- so we had to play another encore: Night Visions-- then we ran off of the stage.
The band presented Neil with a signed poster of the Umbria Festival, a signed picture of Neil (in one of his typical open mouthed/pointing poses), and a bottle of nice champagne.
This show is the last for:
Saxophone: John Leadbetter, Isaac Lamar, Chris Bullock
Trombone: Sara Jacovino, Ben Polk
Trumpet: Sean Foley, Justin Stanton, Evan Weiss
Rhythm: Jiri Levicek, Tim Goynes, Ross Pederson
After the show, our bus driver drove us to the hotel and then back to the square for some celebration. Bobby led Hil, Ross, Tim and myself to a great restaurant (after traversing half of the city and finding every other one full). We enjoyed a huge 3 course meal-- 2 hours later, we returned to the square to find our friends (in general meals take forever over here) Back in the square, we were met by shoulder to shoulder crowds of thousands and hanging out and having a great time.
A few hours later, 4 of us decided it was time to return to the hotel-- This meant getting down the hill. None of us wanted to spend the extra money to take a cab: the most obvious route: run down the hill. It was a refreshing 20 minute jog down a steep hill-- I managed to avoid falling on my face. We were quire overheated and had to go for a late night swim (quite fitting considering that the trip started in a similar manner)
On to the good stuff: the performance. For the 3rd night in a row, we played in an open square in Perugia. Being that it was a Saturday, the square was even more packed than normal. We started slightly early, in an effort to lengthen our total playing time. The set was very ambitious-- it was made up of tunes that we, in general, play very well: Heat of the Day, The Other (a brand new Neil Slater original), Havona, Ordinary Deviation (comp, S. Jacovino), If you could see me now (arr. N. Slater), Beautiful Friendship, Until I met you , Side Effects (Slater), Song for Gabe (E. Weiss), and Got a Match (as fast as possible). Craig Marshall (with the help of our guide, Bobby) explained to the audience that it was the final performance of Neil Slater. He received a very long ovation from the crowd. We received such a long applause after Got A Match, that we played an encore of Machito-- after what I thought was the final note of my One O'Clock career, we proceeded off the stage to pack our horns. The audience wanted no part of this, they kept clapping-- so we had to play another encore: Night Visions-- then we ran off of the stage.
The band presented Neil with a signed poster of the Umbria Festival, a signed picture of Neil (in one of his typical open mouthed/pointing poses), and a bottle of nice champagne.
This show is the last for:
Saxophone: John Leadbetter, Isaac Lamar, Chris Bullock
Trombone: Sara Jacovino, Ben Polk
Trumpet: Sean Foley, Justin Stanton, Evan Weiss
Rhythm: Jiri Levicek, Tim Goynes, Ross Pederson
After the show, our bus driver drove us to the hotel and then back to the square for some celebration. Bobby led Hil, Ross, Tim and myself to a great restaurant (after traversing half of the city and finding every other one full). We enjoyed a huge 3 course meal-- 2 hours later, we returned to the square to find our friends (in general meals take forever over here) Back in the square, we were met by shoulder to shoulder crowds of thousands and hanging out and having a great time.
A few hours later, 4 of us decided it was time to return to the hotel-- This meant getting down the hill. None of us wanted to spend the extra money to take a cab: the most obvious route: run down the hill. It was a refreshing 20 minute jog down a steep hill-- I managed to avoid falling on my face. We were quire overheated and had to go for a late night swim (quite fitting considering that the trip started in a similar manner)
July 18th: Day 2 in Perugia
The festival is still going strong-- brought to you by Hag coffee and its "Pleasure Moments" campaign. Speaking of coffee, the coffee in Italy is amazing- and for only one Euro (for an espresso or latte), I can drink a ton.
That being said, I used today to catch up on some much deserved sleep (most likely spurred on by the over consumption of coffee, i'm certain).
Highlights of the day include:
1. consuming my 15th Italian pizza in 4 days: I am surprised at the quantity of pizza that is served in this country; I expected it to be a false stereotype. Like there were bikes in Amsterdam, there is pizza and pasta here (even in nice restaurants).
2. Playing another great set at the Umbria festival. We performed during the 9.30 time slot-- which, unfortunately, made it impossible to go watch Chaka Khan at 8.45. I took my last solo as a member of the One O'Clock (I didnt play one on the next show) over my arrangement of 3 Blind Mice. The audience was once again, humongous.
Tomorrow is Neil Slater's last performance as leader of the One O'Clock Lab Band. It will mark the end of a 27 year career- This also marks the last performances of at least half of the members of the band.
That being said, I used today to catch up on some much deserved sleep (most likely spurred on by the over consumption of coffee, i'm certain).
Highlights of the day include:
1. consuming my 15th Italian pizza in 4 days: I am surprised at the quantity of pizza that is served in this country; I expected it to be a false stereotype. Like there were bikes in Amsterdam, there is pizza and pasta here (even in nice restaurants).
2. Playing another great set at the Umbria festival. We performed during the 9.30 time slot-- which, unfortunately, made it impossible to go watch Chaka Khan at 8.45. I took my last solo as a member of the One O'Clock (I didnt play one on the next show) over my arrangement of 3 Blind Mice. The audience was once again, humongous.
Tomorrow is Neil Slater's last performance as leader of the One O'Clock Lab Band. It will mark the end of a 27 year career- This also marks the last performances of at least half of the members of the band.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
July 17th: Perugia/ Umbria festival
We arrived at the Plaza hotel early in the early afternoon. Our tour guide Bobby briefed the band on how to walk up the hill and reach the festival. The city of Perugia is build on and around a big hill-- there is an elaborate network of escalators, of all things, to help you reach the top. I found his explanation very confusing-- as did much of the band, and opted to stay in my room and get some work done. This is the first time the entire trip that I sat down and wrote something (quite an aberration- considering I practically live in the computer lab at school). I chose to miss a great concert by Bill Frisell--like North Sea, we have artist passes that allow us free access to all of the shows! I chose wisely: one band member got very very lost in the city, for a good 2 hours (and missed the bus to the gig), when he tried to make his way back down the hill. Luckily, he righted himself, and ran into us at the Gary Burton show.
Around 9, we were able to take in a bit of a concert of Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez, and Steve Swallow. I recognized the stage: this was the exact place that Keith Jarrett made so famous a few years ago! I wish I could have seen the entire set-- the programming was a little strange-- the first two tunes were both in A minor and were both the same feel-- this being said, they are great musicians and I am grateful that I was able to attend the show.
Now for our concert: I think I played for more people than I ever have in my entire life. We played the 11:30 PM slot (last act) on a stage in an outdoor square. There are several streets that converge at this location: the street and square were packed--If we had to escape quickly, we might as well go down with the ship. I'm not certain as to what 10,000 people packed into a space looks like, so I can't give an exact number-- maybe over 7,000?-- maybe I'll post a picture from the stage at a later time. What energy! The One O'Clock displayed the musicianship it has become famous for-- highlights include a great rendition of Neil Slater's composition "That" (the most difficult chart in the book). Neil was so pleased that he even told the band that they sounded pretty great (which if you know, Neil, is quite an accomplishment-- much preferable to hearing "you are starting to believe your own liner notes"). As the bells range ONE (in the morning) we concluded our set with blazing versions of "Do you have an incendiary device (Got a Match?) and Machito. The crowd applauded vigorously (and was almost all under 30 years old!). In Italy people stay up very late-- the scene was prepped for a huge all-night extravaganza as the square was mobbed with people. The band had its own celebration to undertake: the 17th is Isaac Lamar's birthday, and the 18th is Ryan Hagler's birthday. They received rousing renditions of happy birthday on the way back to the hotel. The band made certain that they partook in an authentically Italian celebration.
Around 9, we were able to take in a bit of a concert of Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez, and Steve Swallow. I recognized the stage: this was the exact place that Keith Jarrett made so famous a few years ago! I wish I could have seen the entire set-- the programming was a little strange-- the first two tunes were both in A minor and were both the same feel-- this being said, they are great musicians and I am grateful that I was able to attend the show.
Now for our concert: I think I played for more people than I ever have in my entire life. We played the 11:30 PM slot (last act) on a stage in an outdoor square. There are several streets that converge at this location: the street and square were packed--If we had to escape quickly, we might as well go down with the ship. I'm not certain as to what 10,000 people packed into a space looks like, so I can't give an exact number-- maybe over 7,000?-- maybe I'll post a picture from the stage at a later time. What energy! The One O'Clock displayed the musicianship it has become famous for-- highlights include a great rendition of Neil Slater's composition "That" (the most difficult chart in the book). Neil was so pleased that he even told the band that they sounded pretty great (which if you know, Neil, is quite an accomplishment-- much preferable to hearing "you are starting to believe your own liner notes"). As the bells range ONE (in the morning) we concluded our set with blazing versions of "Do you have an incendiary device (Got a Match?) and Machito. The crowd applauded vigorously (and was almost all under 30 years old!). In Italy people stay up very late-- the scene was prepped for a huge all-night extravaganza as the square was mobbed with people. The band had its own celebration to undertake: the 17th is Isaac Lamar's birthday, and the 18th is Ryan Hagler's birthday. They received rousing renditions of happy birthday on the way back to the hotel. The band made certain that they partook in an authentically Italian celebration.
July 16th: Back to Italy-- this time Florence:
It has come to my attention that I forgot to talk about the heat in Rome and, in general, Italy. It is very hot now that we are in the southern portion of Europe. The hotel rooms, although they are very very nice, have very questionable air conditioning systems-- in other words, there are thermostats that have buttons we can press and knobs we can turn, but they might be more of a placebo than anything. It is very sunny and very hot-- my room thermostat says 30 C-- which i believe is about 86 F! This all being said, I now resemble the fine form that I did when I returned from my sunblockless trip to South Padre a year ago. It was put best by my favorite trumpeter in the band: "can I call you rock lobster?"
Several people have asked whether or not I have tried gelato-- and of course I have. I've had it twice (a couple small scoops each time) and enjoyed it immensely. My two favorite flavors are Coffee and lemon--- I love the texture of the coffee (it contains whole coffee beans), and the flavor of the lemon is great! (plus, it is great for cutting the feeling of heat exhaustion).
Back to the present:
Early in the afternoon, we arrived in the small Tuscan city of Arezzo. I knew that I was oddly familiar with that name-- then Justin Stanton (4th trumpet) pointed out the obvious. Guido de Arezzo was from... tadaa: Arezzo. Over half the band remembered who Guido de Arezzo was (thus exposing our true social dysfunctionality and music-nerdiness)-- the other half remembered when it was reminded that he is responsible for the Guidonian hand, an early tool that was used to explain music theory....Dr. Nordstrom would be proud. Apparently, the residents of Arezzo are also aware that Guido is from here, as there is a large statue and square bearing his name (Piazza Guido Monaco).-- Although, I found the monument slightly anticlimactic-- in the words of Jason Hausbak (4th trombone), "maybe I was just expecting a giant hand."
In the early evening, we drove to a different city to play our evening concert. The venue is a stage in a square just off of a larger square in the center of the city. The area is what I picture when I think "Italian city": cobblestone streets, blocks of solid buildings made of brightly colored stucco (so it appeared), children running through the street playing soccer, and people who resemble my grandfather riding bikes throughout the square (my grandfather was Italian). This city is completely different from Rome; the people you see in the streets are not tourists, they actually reside in the city. Many of the residents do not speak English, and they stop to see what is distracting them from completing their daily tasks.
We soundchecked in the early evening and then sat down to a traditional 3 course Italian meal with wine. In Italy, it is customary to eat around 8:30 in the evening-- we were ready to eat when the food came. The meal was excellent (and on the house)-- and not without excitement (a woman at a table next to us had a seizure-- luckily she was ok). Around 9:30 we played to a full square of eager listeners. The band played an atypical set: it swung really hard. We decided that it would be in our best interest to play a lot of the music of Thad Jones and other people along that vein. It went over very well and the band was well received! Many people were interested in our recordings and were asking when we would be returning--- maybe Weist should plan a trip for next year?!
Not much else worth mentioning happened that evening-- which is very surprising considering out hotel rooms were each outfitted with doorbells. Most people were quite apprehensive when we discovered these "gems" earlier in the day. In a band full of pranksters, this could make for a long night. Luckily the band collectively reached the point of exhaustion-- I didnt hear one single buzzer.
Several people have asked whether or not I have tried gelato-- and of course I have. I've had it twice (a couple small scoops each time) and enjoyed it immensely. My two favorite flavors are Coffee and lemon--- I love the texture of the coffee (it contains whole coffee beans), and the flavor of the lemon is great! (plus, it is great for cutting the feeling of heat exhaustion).
Back to the present:
Early in the afternoon, we arrived in the small Tuscan city of Arezzo. I knew that I was oddly familiar with that name-- then Justin Stanton (4th trumpet) pointed out the obvious. Guido de Arezzo was from... tadaa: Arezzo. Over half the band remembered who Guido de Arezzo was (thus exposing our true social dysfunctionality and music-nerdiness)-- the other half remembered when it was reminded that he is responsible for the Guidonian hand, an early tool that was used to explain music theory....Dr. Nordstrom would be proud. Apparently, the residents of Arezzo are also aware that Guido is from here, as there is a large statue and square bearing his name (Piazza Guido Monaco).-- Although, I found the monument slightly anticlimactic-- in the words of Jason Hausbak (4th trombone), "maybe I was just expecting a giant hand."
In the early evening, we drove to a different city to play our evening concert. The venue is a stage in a square just off of a larger square in the center of the city. The area is what I picture when I think "Italian city": cobblestone streets, blocks of solid buildings made of brightly colored stucco (so it appeared), children running through the street playing soccer, and people who resemble my grandfather riding bikes throughout the square (my grandfather was Italian). This city is completely different from Rome; the people you see in the streets are not tourists, they actually reside in the city. Many of the residents do not speak English, and they stop to see what is distracting them from completing their daily tasks.
We soundchecked in the early evening and then sat down to a traditional 3 course Italian meal with wine. In Italy, it is customary to eat around 8:30 in the evening-- we were ready to eat when the food came. The meal was excellent (and on the house)-- and not without excitement (a woman at a table next to us had a seizure-- luckily she was ok). Around 9:30 we played to a full square of eager listeners. The band played an atypical set: it swung really hard. We decided that it would be in our best interest to play a lot of the music of Thad Jones and other people along that vein. It went over very well and the band was well received! Many people were interested in our recordings and were asking when we would be returning--- maybe Weist should plan a trip for next year?!
Not much else worth mentioning happened that evening-- which is very surprising considering out hotel rooms were each outfitted with doorbells. Most people were quite apprehensive when we discovered these "gems" earlier in the day. In a band full of pranksters, this could make for a long night. Luckily the band collectively reached the point of exhaustion-- I didnt hear one single buzzer.
July 16th:Addendums
I remembered other things about our travels:
Addendum to Rotterdam:
Here is the much promised list of people I was unable to see at North Sea: Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Kenny Wheeler, Bobby McFerrin, The Mars Volta, Alicia Keys, Zappa, Phil Woods, Diana Krall (Phil captured the true face of Diana Krall), and about 30 other acts you would probably recognize--keep in mind that all were free, all were in a small area, and all were occuring at the same time on Sunday.
Another thing I somehow forgot to mention: UNT alumnus and fellow trombonist Jeremy Stones spent the day with the band-- he happens to be in Rotterdam doing graduate work. He did a great job at the cd table, using his pretty face to sell merchandise.
--former UNT trombonists have been showing great enthusiasm and making great efforts to attend shows (maybe we just have the free time!). Another surprise guest at the concert was Jason Hausbak's middle school band director who he hadn't seen in 15 years.
PS. the Band misses stroopwafels.
Addendum to Amsterdam:
I left out two things:
1. There have been these "fast food" meat stands that sell kebab etc. in every country we traveled to. I'm certain that a person could make a killing of of one of those on Fry Street-- although it may not pass the stringent health codes of the Fry Street area.
2. I met Evan Weiss's older brother (the younger one), Adam, in Amsterdam. He has been living and working there for over a year (and of course, they look just alike).
Addendum to Rotterdam:
Here is the much promised list of people I was unable to see at North Sea: Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Kenny Wheeler, Bobby McFerrin, The Mars Volta, Alicia Keys, Zappa, Phil Woods, Diana Krall (Phil captured the true face of Diana Krall), and about 30 other acts you would probably recognize--keep in mind that all were free, all were in a small area, and all were occuring at the same time on Sunday.
Another thing I somehow forgot to mention: UNT alumnus and fellow trombonist Jeremy Stones spent the day with the band-- he happens to be in Rotterdam doing graduate work. He did a great job at the cd table, using his pretty face to sell merchandise.
--former UNT trombonists have been showing great enthusiasm and making great efforts to attend shows (maybe we just have the free time!). Another surprise guest at the concert was Jason Hausbak's middle school band director who he hadn't seen in 15 years.
PS. the Band misses stroopwafels.
Addendum to Amsterdam:
I left out two things:
1. There have been these "fast food" meat stands that sell kebab etc. in every country we traveled to. I'm certain that a person could make a killing of of one of those on Fry Street-- although it may not pass the stringent health codes of the Fry Street area.
2. I met Evan Weiss's older brother (the younger one), Adam, in Amsterdam. He has been living and working there for over a year (and of course, they look just alike).
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