Many exciting things have happened over the past year in the world of Danjam, so I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some of the highlights as I have been too busy to write regular blog updates.
The most noteworthy endeavour of all was my Coltrane Ballads Project. For those of you who haven’t heard about it yet, I arranged all the music from John Coltrane’s Ballads CD for big band + orchestra. It took me about a year to prepare all the music and it was performed for the first time by the Metropole Orchestra in Amsterdam this past May. I conducted the concert – my first time conducting the Metropole – and it featured the endlessly musical Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone. What a great orchestra – I cannot say enough good things about that band! John Riley traveled from New York to play drums for the week. I love working with John because not only does he play his parts ‘correctly’ so to speak, but each take is equally different, creative and fresh. We had 2 days to rehearse, followed by a day of recording, and on the final evening we performed to a sold-out concert hall in downtown Amsterdam. It was a real treat to be able to perform the music acoustically – no microphones in the orchestra! Here are some photos from that week:
I am very proud of the work we did that week. It was such a great feeling hearing my music come to life, especially after working on it for so long.
As soon as I got back to New York, I moved to a new apartment (and built myself a new bed – yippee!), and quickly started work on 13 new arrangements for Jeremy Davis’ Equinox Orchestra & the Savannah Philharmonic. I spent most of the summer and fall writing these charts but had a few memorable breaks. Julie Castor (a colleague of mine from Manhattan School of Music) was able to answer a bunch of questions I had about the violin and writing for strings. She even gave me my very first lesson (pictured below)! In July, the Coltrane Ballads Project got a repeat performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival under the music direction of my mentor, Vince Mendoza. Luckily, Joe Lovano was available to return as the featured soloist. Then I flew to Toronto in August to perform for 2 nights at the Rex with the Danjam Orchestra – always a fun time.
Once again I visited Toronto in September, but this time, it was to perform the Coltrane Ballads Project with the Danjam Orchestra, the Sneak Peak Orchestra, and special guests. Mike Ruby played the role of John Coltrane. We were also joined by Arlia de Ruiter on violin (concertmaster of the Metropole), John Riley on drums, Victor Cheng on piano, and Alex Dean, who served as our master of ceremonies for another sold-out concert. It was meaningful for me to have the opportunity to perform this music surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues both in the orchestra and in the audience. The musicians took the notes off the page and gave them a life of their own – you could feel it in the air. Also, Mike Ruby was at his finest. Mike and I have known each other since we were children and are familiar with each others’ musical strengths. Because of this, the music came together very quickly in rehearsal. The concert was videotaped and I am hoping to have it posted for the public soon. Here are some photos from that week:
I spent the month of October finishing up the arrangements for Savannah and preparing to conduct the Edison Jazz and World Music Awards (kind of like the Dutch version of the Grammy Awards). Somewhere in all the craziness I did manage to find a spare moment to have a delicious Indian meal with some friends in New York (pictured below)! The Edison performance featured a variety of talented artists, including Reinier Baas & Marcus Miller. Reinier is a fantastic guitarist based out of Amsterdam, and I had the pleasure of arranging 2 of his compositions for the Metropole Orchestra. We premiered them at the Edison Awards last week. The great bassist Marcus Miller needs no introduction. Not only is he a fabulous musician, he is also an honorable guy. I had a blast grooving out to his music over the course of the week, and the concert took it to a whole other level. I look forward to working with him again. The same night I conducted the Edison Awards, my music was being performed on the other side of the world by the Equinox and Savannah Orchestras in Savannah, Georgia. I hope to post some clips soon. In addition to conducting the awards ceremony, the Metropole and I shot an episode of “Klokhuis,” a Dutch TV show for kids. This episode will introduce children to the orchestra. We were also asked at the last minute to participate in a fundraiser for the Philippines on live television. So it was a very full week, but I cannot complain as I was doing what I love most! Here are some photos from that week:
This finally brings us to this week. For the first time in years, I took the week off – caught up on lots of movies and TV shows! Trying to enjoy the break while it lasts, as today I must get back to it. I am flying to Toronto to conduct the Socialist Night School’s (Chelsea McBride’s big band) recording session.
2014 is going to start with a bang as I will be flying to Amsterdam to conduct a New Years’ celebration concert with the Metropole Orchestra. I am very excited to see what challenges and opportunities the new year brings. I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!
Sincerely,
Daniel Jamieson