10,000 hours

According to Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "Outliers", it takes an investment of about 10,000 hours to become truly expert in a domain, like a sport or a musical instrument. Research that suggests the key to developing expertise is thousands of hours of practice in which challenges are systematically tackled (see e.g., Ross, July 24, 2006, Sci Am). I find the arguments and examples pretty compelling, and I certainly feel that there is evidence for this hypothesis in my own life. The only specific skills I have invested 10,000 hours in are LISP programming and rock guitar, and I think that I have reached expert levels in both of those pursuits. The evidence is that have made a good living as an AI professional for the last 30 years, and I almost never play in a guitar store without someone asking me if I give lessons. (I don't code any more, but I still play guitar every day I'm at home.)

On the downside, this means my piano playing has 9,000 hours to go, and my bass playing has about 7,500 hours to go. I turn 60 years old today, so I don't expect to be truly proficient on these instruments for another 10 years, although if I retire at 65 I may be able to hurry things along. Meanwhile, my jazz guitar playing is only at about 5,000 hours, and my classical guitar playing languishes at about 2,500 hours. I get some transfer among these instruments and styles, but not enough to make up for lack of practice on the specifics. Meanwhile, my hands are not what they were, so I feel like I'm in a race against time. But I find learning and playing music so rewarding that I have never given a second thought to whether or not it is worthwhile. For some reason, just listening has never been enough for me, so I hope to continue studying for a good while yet.

Peace on Earth, World Voices concert

Last night, Sandy and I attended the POE concert by choral group World Voices at the Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. This annual event partners a first-class choir with other local ensembles, mostly drawn from local schools. This year featured the Ascension School Choir, the FAIR School Choir, the Minnesota Boychoir, Partners in Priase, Con Brio Choir, and the Robbinsdale All-District Elementary Choir.

Karle Erickson, artistic director of World Voices, led the evening's music from the podium, which included participation from the audience. The programme featured the very best Christmas music from around the world, including "Joy to the World", "Gloria", "Kling, Glockchen", "Hatikva", "Betelehemu", "Cantico di Frate Sole" and "This is my Father's World". The evening ended with all the choirs and the audience singing together on "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands".

I'm proud to be on the Board of Directors of World Voices, and I think of this event as being the highlight of our year. Great credit is due to our artistic partners in this event, including the Saint Anthony Sacred Dancers, the University of Minnesota Steel Drum Ensemble, and various accompanists on organ, brass and percussion. The children did a fabulous job and their presence made the evening both a musical success and a cause for hope that peace on earth might one day become a reality.

Piano lessons

My left hand still feels bad, but I am now studying jazz piano with Bryan Nichols at the MacPhail Center for Music. This is less stressful on my operated-on finger than guitar or bass, though more stressful otherwise, because my piano playing needs much more work. Luckily, Bryan is an awesome teacher, and we are digging into some great standards from the Real Book.

Ravel, Delage, Bach & Schneider concert

Scott Yoo conducted the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in a varied program on Friday night, the highlights of which were Four Hindu Poems by Delage and Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories by Minnesota composer Maria Schneider (conducted by the composer), both featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw. The Delage songs were delicate and luminous, while the Stories were darkly humorous. Other pieces performed were Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte, Bach's Ricercare (orchestrated by Webern), and Beethoven's Ghost Trio.

Jazzkickers concerts in Eagan

The Jazzkickers gave their annual Employee Giving Campaign concerts at the West Publishing facility in Eagan, MN this week. We played two one-hour sets, including four original compositions ("Snowy Samba" and "Kelly and Tucker" by Tim Wick, and "Beach Fatigue" and "Phrygian Around" by myself). Other songs were "Sea Journey", "Bags Groove", "How High the Moon", "Blue Bossa", "Summer Samba", "Moanin'", "Chitlins Con Carne", and "Autumn Leaves".

The Jazzkickers are: Carmin Pluntz (tenor sax), Gregory Bannister (tenor & suprano saxes, clarinet), Peter Jackson (elec gtr), Gary Berosik (dr), Steve Proper (bs gtr) and Tim Wick (keys). I played a Gibson Les Paul Robot guitar through a custom-built Savage Rohr amp. Many thanks to all who stopped by to listen, and you can find photos here. The Employee Giving Campaign raised over $1.3M in contributions prior to the company match, which is a record.

Shawn Colvin concert

On Wednesday night, Sandy and I saw Shawn Colvin at the Dakota Jazz Club, a very intimate venue. She played without a back up band, and did a good job of covering a wide range of songs from her 15 years or so of releasing albums. Her attractive voice and signature guitar style were in good shape, despite the fact that she looked tired and seemed to be coming down with a cold. Among the numbers she sang were "Fill Me Up", "Shotgun Down The Avalanche", "Cinnamon Road", "Polaroids", "Tuff Kid", "These Four Walls" and "Sunny Came Home". Her consistent song-writing and fresh approach to the studio, working with the likes of Larry Klein and John Leventhal, has earned her a well-deserved place in the pantheon of great popular musicians.

Vienna Mozart Orchestra

Last week in Vienna, I attended a concert of the Wiener Mozart Orchester in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. This is a chamber ensemble of about 30 musicians who play selections from Mozart works while wearing period costume. Siegfried Andraschek was conducting, and the soloists were Isabell Bringmann (soprano), Sebastian Holocek (baritone), and Ines Miklin (violin).

Highlights included arias from Don Giovanni, the Marriage of Figaro, and the Magic Flute, where the singing was really outstanding. Other crowd-pleasers were Eine Kleine Nachmusik and Rondo alla Turca, as well as movements from Symphonies No. 25 and 40. The acoustics of the Musikverein are just awesome, and the audience were very informal and relaxed: a mix of locals and tourists.

Keyboard Repairs

I finally got three dead keyboards repaired by the Good Guys in Saint Paul. My RD600 had a broken key, I'd fried my Fender Rhodes piano bass by plugging in the wrong power cord, and I'd spilled gin and tonic over my Roland ep760, taking out some bass keys. All are now working again, and the Jazzkickers are back in the studio to rehearse for our fall gigs and record some music. My hand isn't completely recovered yet after surgery, but I can play guitar after a fashion and I'm still hoping for a full recovery. Some physical therapy may be needed. Meanwhile, I'm playing keys again, and writing some new material.

Hand Surgery

I had surgery on my left index finger in June to remove a ganglion cyst that was affecting my guitar playing. This left a one inch scar and some temporary loss of movement. Three weeks into recovery, I'm still not playing yet. Meanwhile, I'm playing a Roland AX7 keytar. The Jazzkickers start rehearsing again soon, so I'm hoping to get full movement back in another three weeks.

Memorial Weekend Music

Sandy and I kicked off the weekend with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra at the Ordway Theater: a program of Haydn and Beethoven. Pierre-Laurent Aimard was indisposed, so he had to be replaced by a conductor and a pianist. I am not normally a fan of Haydn, but I really enjoyed the "Clock" Symphony (No. 101 in D) as it was played on Friday night. This is one of his London symphonies, dating from his visit in the waning years of the 18th century, and it's quite charming. I had a harder time warming to the Beethoven Triple Concerto (Op. 56), despite inspired playing by the soloists. I find Beethoven pompous at the best of times, and only seem to like the very late piano works (> Op. 100).

Then we caught a jazz session by Laura Caviani (pno), Gordy Johnson (bs) and Phil Hey (dr), where they played a mix of awesome standards (Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way, Miles Davis's Solar) and some really nice originals (Laura's Going There, and her arrangement of This Is My Song). This local trio is a powerhouse of good music, with three A-list players and a fresh take on everything they do. We also caught the R-Factor with Aimee Fischer at Arizona's, who were playing to a full house down in the southern suburbs where we live. Sandy and I dropped in for a couple of drinks and danced to a few of their funkier offerings, before heading home to watch Apocalypse Now on cable, featuring the music of the Doors.

SPCO at Carnegie Hall

Last night, I attended the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's sell-out concert in the Zankel Hall at Carnegie. The program began with Dvorak's Serenade in D Minor for Winds with cello and bass, which proved to be a robust and muscular opening to the evening. Then came Dawn Upshaw's performance of 5 short but exquisite vocal pieces, by Stravinsky (Two Poems of Konstantin Bal'mont) and Ravel (Three Japanese Lyrics). Then more Ravel songs, in the form of "Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé", with ensemble accompaniments that managed to be both lush and spare. This was my favorite moment of the concert, and I thought that Dawn Upshaw's voice really sounded much warmer and more live than a previous performance of this work I had heard at the Ordway. This may have had something to do with the extremely clear and focused sound of the Zankel Hall, which is a relatively recent space, opened in 2003. Then followed the ambitiously arranged (by Osvaldo Golijov) Schubert song cycle "She Was Here", which required very skillful handling on the part of the full orchestra and the conductor, Dougie Boyd, who did a masterly job. The concert ended with the orchestra playing Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, in which musical play combines with pastiche to create much animation and many amusing moments.

The First Emperor at the Met

Last night I went to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York to see "The First Emperor", a two-act opera conducted by the composer, Tan Dun. Placido Domingo sang the role of the Emperor Qin, and Sarah Coburn the role of his daughter, the Princess Yueyang. This is the Emperor who set about unifying the country (by conquest) and building the Great Wall; he also left behind an army of terra-cotta soldiers to guard his tomb.

The opening of traditional chants by Wu-Hsing Kuo in the role of the Yin-Yang Master (the court geomancer) was perhaps the most striking musical moment, coupled as it was with dance, some of which involved wearing a mask on the back of his head while moving as if he were facing the audience. The sets were splendid, especially the third scene, where snow appears to fall as the Princess seduces her father's captive nemesis, the musician Gao Jianli.

The cast played to a full audience, and the building is magnificent, of course. However, the house was hot and stuffy and the seating was a bit cramped, so it was also pleasureable to leave the theater for the New York night and stroll past Central Park back to my hotel, the Parker Meridian. Here I was too cold, since they had turned off the heating for the summer, so the only place I was truly comfortable during this trip was out in the street.

James Galway and Tiempo Libre

On Monday night, Sandy and I saw James Galway with Tiempo Libre at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis. This performance was something of a rehearsal for their forthcoming album, called "O'Reilly Street." Sir James played his golden soprano and alto flutes, while the band romped through the set, showing great energy and virtuosity.

Steve Kaufmann workshop

I recently attended a two-day guitar workshop by three-time flat-picking champion, Steve Kaufmann. I took both the beginner's class and the intermediate/advanced one, and they were both good value. Steve is both a fabulous teacher and a very pleasant person. His down-up picking style enables him to get great speed while maintaining volume and fluidity. I was turned on to Steve's music by Marc Light, who lent me a DVD of Steve playing with Doc Watson. The workshop was arranged by a local music store, the Homestead Pickin Parlor.

Prairie Home Companion Talent Show

On Saturday night, Sandy and I went to the Fitzgerald Theater to see the PHC Talent Show, as guests of friend Tony Axtell, who runs their sound board. Six contestants in their 20s from around the country competed for a rather strange trophy (a model of a water tower). The winners were the Honey Dewdrops, a two guitar duo from Virginia, who sang some great folk songs, albeit in a somewhat dark vein. They also performed at the after-show party and singalong in the Saint Paul Hotel, along with PHC favorites Rich Dworsky and Pat Donahue, as well as Garrison Keillor himself, of course. It was a good evening, and no doubt a memorable event for those who got to play on national public radio, probably for the first time.

SPCO plays Kurt Weill

On Friday night, SPCO concertmaster Steven Copes did a mssterly job of the Violin Concerto by Kurt Weill, with Doug Boyd conducting. I don't think I've ever seen and heard him play better, combining both fire and ice in this rather intellectual work, laced with the influences of Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Also on the program was Schumann's Symphony No.4 in the original version, which was interesting to hear even though I'm not a fan, and a Piano Trio by Ravel that failed to capture my imagination and seemed to involve intonation problems.

SPCO Quartet performs Different Trains

Last week I attended the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's "engine408" series for new music. First was the Quartet No. 2 by Philip Glass for 2 violins, viola and cello, a four-movement piece featuring the trademark repetitive arpeggios of that composer, woven into a 7-minute sound collage that is typical of minimalist music.

Then a John Adams piece, Road Movies, for violin and piano, that evoked the experience of three car journeys with different feels: Relaxed Groove, Meditative Swing, and 40% Swing. In the first movement, you saw the poles flashing by and felt the seams in the road, while the middle movement was evocative of a long, desert drive. Scott Yoo did a great job with the timing and phrasing on the violin, which is probably the key to playing this piece.

Finally, Steve Reich's masterpiece, Different Trains, which has three movements: America - Before the War, Europe - During the War, and After the War. This piece apparently grew from Reich's experience as a boy of riding the railways between New York and Los Angeles, following his parents' separation. A relative would travel with him, and tell him stories of how trains were used in Europe during the war to ship Jews to the camps. The contrast between these two train stories is the basis of the composition, and is obviously reflected in the music, which features three string quartets, train sounds, and spoken narration.

I have been a fan since I bought the Kronos Quartet's recording fifteen years ago. The SPCO players did a good job of executing this difficult piece; a quartet of players are accompanied by two (I think) recorded quartets and recorded narration. The experience isn't quite as seamless as on the Kronos CD, but you do get to enjoy the energy of the lead quartet, which consisted of Dale Barltrop and Nina Fan (violins), Evalina Chao (viola), and Joshua Koestenbaum (cello). This daring piece is really quite accessible to first time listeners, and well worth trying out on record if you haven't heard it.

Les Paul at the Iridium Club

Last night, some friends and I went to the Iridium Club in NYC to hear Les Paul, father of the electric guitar, play with his trio, Lou Pallo (guitar, vocals), Nicki Parrott (upright bass) and John Colianni (piano). This was a fun show, with the master in fine form, despite some abiding problems with his left hand, and his irascible sense of humor much in evidence.

The band played many great standards, including 'Summertime', 'Sweet Georgia Brown', and 'Sunny', aided and abetted by a number of fine guests. Lou Pallo's playing was exemplary; it's always refreshing to watch a real pro in action on the electric guitar. Nicki Parrott did a great job of holding down the bottom end, and I'm sure Les could turn that into dirty joke faster than I!

Andrew Nemr, who is apparently something of a regular, tap danced with great panache through a couple of numbers, including the ballad 'Round Midnight'. Rebecca Buxton on baritone sax gave a fabulous performance on 'Lester Leaps In', demonstrating terrific agility and tone on this amazing instrument. There was also a great electric violin player and a great guitar player, neither of whose names registered in my bourbon-assisted brain.

Three of my 30 guitars are Les Pauls (one Elegant, one Class 5, and one Robot), and they are my very favorite instruments. These are the axes I use most for playing out, and their tunefulness and versatility is pretty much unmatched. At 92, Les Paul's spirit is undimmed, and if I'm still alive and playing at that age, I'll consider myself to be pretty fortunate, as well as eternally in his debt.

Tierney Sutton and Shelly Berg

I just got back from an awesome cabaret performance by Tierney Sutton and Shelly Berg at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in New York. It was an enchanting experience, even in the somewhat cramped confines of the venue (see below for more on this). I didn't take notes, but I think I have the complete set list in my head.

Tierney began with 'Skylark', really the most beautiful and compelling rendition of this Mercer-Carmichael collaboration I have ever heard. Then came Rodgers and Hart's 'Where or When', and another Carmichael tune, 'The Nearness of You', which was absolutely stunning in its gentleness. On Nearness, Shelly passed on a solo, not wanting to mar the perfect mood created by the vocals. Then followed the Sinatra favorite, 'How About You', in which Tierney did some fine scatting and Shelly went to town in the solo section.

Then followed three more ballads, each of them haunting in its own way: 'Laura', 'Love is Here to Stay' and 'Emily'. Tierney sang the verse of the Gershwin a capella before they both launched into the better-known chorus and totally aced it. Shelly's playing on these numbers was simply out of this world, crafting for each one a sensitive but striking arrangement. Then another Rodgers and Hart, 'It Never Entered My Mind', which Tierney rendered with a calm serenity that made the sadness of the lyric even more intense. Other great songs included 'Cheek to Cheek', 'You're Nearer', and 'You're too Marvellous for Words'.

The venue is a famous one, said to have launched the careers of such notables as Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall. I found the density of the dinner tables to be way overdone in the eagerness of the establishment to pack people in, and both my colleague and I and the couple sitting next to us had to strong-arm the captain into changing our seating arrangements. But nothing could spoil the astonishing spell cast by these two musicians as they casually made their way through the pages of the Great American Songbook with breath-taking style.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Last weekend, Sandy and I went to a very pleasant concert given by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to welcome their new artistic partner, soprano Dawn Upshaw. The program, directed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, included songs by Stravinsky, Mozart and Ravel, as well as a Mozart Piano Concerto (No.23) and a Haydn Symphony (No.60). I find his playing to be quite exceptional: the perfect marriage of masterly technique and artistic expression. Highlights for me were the Mozart concerto and the Ravel songs (Three Poems by Stéphane Mallarmé). After the concert, we attended a reception in the Saint Paul Hotel where we had the pleasure of talking to Pierre at some length about piano music, opera and sundry other topics.