3/2/2008 - Steve Wilson wuz here

It has been a very fun and inspiring week. I did two performances (Wed and Thurs) with the Colorado Jazz Orchestra featuring Steve Wilson. It was wonderful to hear Steve play and get to hang out a little bit. He premeired my new piece Spiralarium which was composed for these performances. He sounded great and I'll have sound clips up soon. If you're "in the market" Spiralairum is for sale on my Scores page. It turned out to be a really fun, exciting piece and it was a joy to have it performed by someone of Steve's stature and by the CJO which sounded great all week. We also just finished a studio session in which we recorded a few tunes including Spiralarium.

On other fronts, my Elevenet has booked a performance at the Longmont Jazz Festival this summer. Look for more info on time and date here at my website. We will also return to Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge on June 1. In the near future, check us out at the D Note in Arvada on Thurs March 20 as well as out concert performance at Colorado State University on April 1. It's great to have all these different places to play. I've got such a great band here, I love showing it off!

"What am I working on right now?" you ask . . . A new Elevenet piece to be premiered at CSU on April 1 called the Equestrian Pedestrian. You will love it and it might even make you giggle a little in spite of yourself.

2/9/2008 - Fabulous Facebook

I've been spending a lot of time playing Scrabulous with my friends on Facebook lately. If any of you readers out there are on Facebook, please send me a friend request and we can keep in touch!

The Elevenet continues to burn barns across the nation (exclusively figuratively as of yet). We played to a small but enthusiastic crowd at Dazzle on Thursday night. Sometimes it is hard to get the word out about your artsy-fartsy stuff, but I promise my artsy-fartsy stuff also has a fairly broad aesthetic quality to it! Even people who don't like jazz (or "music without words") seem to identify with my music. So, please tell a friend and tell them to tell a friend to tell a news outlet about us. Visit us at jazz11.com for more info. We play Beatles tunes for cryin' out loud!!

Anyway, I'd love to see you all at our next show on March 20 at the D Note. And, for my Facebook Denver Network friends, watch for all my Elevenet shows in the Denver Events section. Keep on keepin' on, ya dig?

2/2/2008 - Sentence Structure in Politics

Happy Goundhog Day!

But seriously, I try not to get political on my website, but here, today, I have failed. I've been watching campaign coverage on CNN all day as I've been working on some new lighting fixtures in my house (tre adult, sir), and I've noticed something. I've had this idea in my head for sometime (beginning approximately after the 2000 election) but it crystalized today in a way that I feel warrants a blog entry. A person's use of the English language in terms of correct grammar and sentence structure is a reflection of their intellegence. You may consider this to be judgemental, but I believe that it is a true indicator of other aptitudes. If your mind is sharp and you have respect for things like language, you will educate yourself on how to speak properly. It not only shows an ability to process this kind of information but also a certain respect for aesthetics and the beauty of language as a communicative device.

If you go by this doctrine, obviously George Bush (the lil one) is a stark raving idiot. I think that this is a widely-accepted fact at this point in his presidency, and if you still hang on to the idea that he is not, you should probably examine your own grammar and intelligence.

However, I'm not here to continue to criticize our sitting President's lack of "thunk-ability" but rather to apply it to our new crop of presidential hopefuls. After hearing several speeches, interviews, debates, sound bites, and other political-show-fodder, here is the report card for our remaining candidates:

Obama - A
Clinton - A
Romney - B+
Huckabee - C-
McCain - F

Hillary and Barack both speak very well. They are articulate in making their points, are clearly informed on the topics they discuss, and even properly use the dative case (whom rather than who when dealing with a prepositional phrase, etc). You definitely think, "these guys are smart" when they speak. Romney, is, by far, the best Republican when it coems to speaking. He uses the language correctly and makes points without useless repetition or other syntactical fluff.

Huckabee screws up a lot but nothing huge or obvious. He ocassionally trips over his ideas but in general is "OK" at best. In a phrase, he's sounds smart to dumb people.

McCain is another story. Among his most glaring misuses are:

- Mismatching verb with subject ("There is a lot of muslims")
- Redundancies galore ("This is a hard and difficult problem")
- Making up words by confusing two other words (example forgotten - sorry - things like "unfeasible")

I used to think McCain was "OK for a Republican" mostly because he tends to side with Democrats more than your average right-side guy, but now I'm not so sure. His situation, in a phrase, is that he sounds normal to dumb people.

Bottom line: If a candidate doesn't speak well, it is very revealing about their level of intelligence. Respect for things like language comes along with respect for other important things like history and complex concepts such as the social contract and what our western philosophy of govermenet entails. Let's all be reasonable and give the Dems a shot for a term . . . it can only get better.

1/15/2008 - Wil Swindler's Elevenet at IAJE

We are back from Toronto!! I have a new page all about IAJE and our show including an mp3 of the performance and a huge photo gallery. Check over there for all the cool info.

I spent most of my time involved with my own stuff while in Toronto, but I did enjoy several clinics/workshops on jazz radio and promotion of our art form. I also got a chance to see many of my old professors from UNT such as Jim Riggs, Neil Slater, Paris Rutherford, Mike Steinel, and David Joyner. I got to meet some of the Kendor publishing guys which was cool and I spent a good amount of time play-testing new tenors. I checked out all the current Selmer models and several of Yamaha's Custom Z horns. It was great! I also ran into several old friends from school. It's good to know that so many of us are still fighting the good fight!

The Elevenet plays next at Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge on Feb 7 with sets at 7pm and 9pm. We will conduct the Denver premiere of Glass and, if time allows, a new surprise piece. Keep in touch, world!

1/7/2008 - Happy New Year and I'm off to IAJE!

With only a few days left before the premiere of my Gil Evans Fellowhip piece, Glass, we've been rehearsing here in Colorado and making final preparations for the trip. I'm very happy with how the piece turned out and I think the crowd up at IAJE will enjoy it as well. Are you going to IAJE? . . . Email me and we can try to hook up. We (the Elevenet) will be playing at the Conference Opening General Session in Constitution Hall during the 2pm hour. Here is a link with the schedule for the whole conference. The info on my portion of the concert is down the page a little bit. I really hope to run into some old friends and musicians that I've lost touch with while I'm up there so if you know me (or don't know me) don't be shy to come say hi!

The Elevenet has also booked our next date at Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge here in Denver on Feb 7. Look for more exciting Elevenet shows coming up this spring and Colorado performances of Glass. Hope to see you all at IAJE!


12/23/2007 - Gil Evans Commission: [ Glass ]

I'm happy to announce that I have finished my Gil Evans Fellowship Commission, Glass. It will be premiered on January 10, 2008 in Toronto, ON at IAJE. I'll save details on what kind of piece it is until I have some recordings . . . I'd rather show you than tell you! I'm very excited to perform it and I'm glad to have it completed. I spent more time on this one than I have on any piece I've ever written . . . let's hope it doesn't sound like I did. :) The Elevenet is playing on the 27th of Dec at the D Note and the most of us will be in Toronto for the IAJE performance.

In other news, the 9th+Lincoln CD is finally out. We recorded it back in June and it went on sale on Dec 16. You can purchase it from several places including 9thandLincoln.com and CD Baby. It turned out good and I think you'll all enjoy it. GO BUY IT!

11/13/2007 - Elevenet on the brain

I won't even get into baseball things. It was sad, but very cool that the Rockies did so well (until the end). I'm already looking forward to being at opening day 2008 and hearing them announe the "2007 National League Champion Colorado Rockies!" There really is always next year.

My recent Elevenet shows at the D Note and Dazzle went well and were fairly well attended. I'm really enjopying having the band going again and with some wonderful players! We'll be back at the D Note on Dec 27 and at Dazzle sometime in Jan/Feb - stay tuned for more on that.

I have been working hard (but not hard enough) on my Gil EVans Commission. We've been busy moving into our new house here in Longmont and trying to keep working at the same time. We're settled enough now that I can get back to composing. The piece is coming along pretty well and I have created all the motivic material. I just have to come up with how it all fits together before mid December. It's fun as always!

Cool stuff coming up in the next few months include: the Elevenet at IAJE in January :), The Colorado Jazz Orchestra with Steve Wilson (yes, the Steve Wilson) in Feb, and the Elevenet at Denver Univ and Colorado State Univ in the spring. I'm getting bundled for the winter onslaught - look for new music from me at all of these performances!


10/8/2007 - I think I love October

As a baseball fan who doesn't always live in places with professional baseball teams (i.e. Austin, TX where I grew up) I am very loyal to my local teams when I live somewhere that does have a major league team. As a kid the Cubs were my team as back then WGN Cubs games were the only games you could see every day. When I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area I was a loyal Rangers fan (even after they got A-Rod and couldn't win a game). When I lived in New York City I became a loyal Mets fan (even though they were a sorry bunch lead by Mo Vaughn , Roberto Alomar, and the hilarious Armando Benitez). When I moved to Denver, I must admit, I lamented that I must "figure out how to be a Rockies fan". Well, I've figured it out. I've had a great time watching the team this year and after all the good, young talent they brought up for the 2007 season, I complained a lot that they didn't get more national press. I kept exclaiming, "This is a really good team! Why doesn't anybody notice?" Unfortunatley, their record didn't reflect how good they are until the end of the season. I watched almost every one of the last 15 games where they won 14 and then won the play-in game against the Padres. The bottom line is that I am super-stoked to have my home team invlolved in the play-offs. I had a ticket for game 4 of the division series here in Denver, but the sweep kept me from going. I now have tickets for game 4 of the NL Championship series which will be played no matter what. It has been very fun and I hope we get to do it again next year! GO ROCKIES!!

On other fronts . . .

My Elevenet will be playing at the D Note at 7915 Grandview Ave in Arvada on Thursday. That is Oct 11 and we'll be playing form 7:30-9:30pm. Come on out for some great pizza and some outstanding original, modern jazz music.

8/29/2007 - Colorado Summers = Lots of playing!!

It is absolutely appauling that I haven't made any new blog entries here since May. So much has happened! Obviously I've got the new site here and also at Jazz 11.com. Things are cooking and stewing with the Elevenet and we'll be performing around Denver and the front range area very soon. I'm currently hard at work converting Chamber Jazz Ensemble charts for the new group. It might be best to catch you all up month by month so here goes:

June - I found out I won the Gil Evans Fellowship which was very exciting. We recorded the 9th+Lincoln Orchestra Album at the beginning of the month, I played with the Four Tops on the 15th, and there were numerous Onda performances sprinkled in there including an opening slot for Hazel Miller on the 16th St Mall in Denver. On the fun front, April and I went camping at RMNP for a few days and enjoyed some excellent hiking.

July - This month provided and unprecedented gigging/teaching schedule. Onda performend throughout the month, I spent a week in Wyoming teaching at the Yellowstone Jazz Camp and playing at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival, the CJO performed as part of the Univ of Northern Colo Jazz Camp where I was also a theory teacher and combo coach, and most exciting of all I played at Jazz Aspen Snowmass with Arturo Sandoval. I have never held a gig run like that before and it was GREAT!

August - Another crazy gig set as the beginning of the month had 10 performances in the first 11 days of the month. The CJO peformed again in Greeley, Onda was all over the place, and I had a great time digging back into the swing rep with the Solomon Douglas Swingtet on Aug 11. Things have turned back to normal here for now and my students are returning from summer vacations. I'm back to working hard on saxophones for Single Reed Consultants and the gigging has slowed to more like 2 shows per week rather than 5. I also just completed a commission from Art Bouton sponsored by the Denver University Creative Arts Fund. It is a new piece for the Elevenet called Patriot featuring Art on Alto Flute. I think you'll all enjoy it and it will be premiered sometime in Oct/Nov.

All in all, it has been a very productive summer with lots of great experiences. I've never gigged quite this much in my life and although I missed having some nights at home, I love all the chances to play!! Look for more on my Elevenet and updates on how the Gil Evans Commission is coming along. See you all at the gig!

5/18/2007 - The Real Björk Show

Well after several near misses in the last few years, I finally got to see Björk perform live. She came to Red Rocks which is an unbelieveable natural amphitheater just southwest of Denver. The show, although very loud, was extremely cool and I'm glad I went. Thanks to Tyler Gilmore for hooking me up with my great row 26 center seat!! She is 42 (I think) now and still sings as well as ever. With the ammount of strain she puts on her vocal chords, you'd expect a loss of range or timbre or pitch. I was very impressed at how well she did. As most of you probably know, most "pop" artists are terrible live performers because they are not trained in any way and their weaknesses can be covered in the studio. Most choose to either suck, knowing their audience doesn't care, or they lip-sync to a pre-recorded track (MANY more than just Milli-Vanilli do this - they just don't get caught). Björk is, however, actually a good musician who respects pitch and various other musical dimensions often ignored in "pop" music and she delivered an excellent live performance. She has studied and trained her voice since she was very young and it really shows. Bottom line - great venue, great show, great musician. I loved it.

Speaking of Björk, the 9th+Lincoln Orchestra just performed on KUVO 89.3 for their pledge drive. We did 2 of my arrangements of Björk tunes from our show last November. It went really well and I hope all of you screaming fans got to check it out. I will have some sound samples of it up on my [ music ] page soon as well as some other new recordings I've done recently.

On the gig front, I've just joined up with a top 40's band called Soul X. We do the standard wedding/corporate function material and work for Pro Entertainment. We've been playing at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs lately and we have some other parties here in Denver soon. Unfortunately, these are private events so none of you can check out my hard-driving rock saxophone playing, but I assure you it's an experience :) - Between Soul X and Onda, I'm all set for June. It will be a busy month (including the 9th+Lincoln recording session) but lots and lots of playing - just as it should be! Bye for now - see you at the gig!