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I’ve added a link to the RSS feed and Google reader right hand column.
I’ve also added email subscriptions for those who don’t use an RSS Reader.
Now you don’t have any excuse – go sign up!
I was looking for inspiration this weekend. I have an old article improv and software testing that I’ve been wanting to dust off.
While looking for “inspiration” I noticed I was applying exploratory testing skills. I wanted to share with you how I was applying this to my writing process using Jon Bach’s exploratory testing mnemonic MR Q COMP GRAB C R&R (pg 20)
Jazz music at the Diesel Playhouse? That’s an odd venue. I didn’t expect to see jazz there. When I first saw the advertisement in the Globe and Mail I thought it sounded interesting but I didn’t have high hopes. I was worried that Happy Fingers – A Tribute to the Piano would be $20 wasted. I was so pleasantly surprised by what I saw and heard that we went back for the 3rd show of the 4 part series. You definitely don’t want to miss the 4th and final show on Sunday April 13 at 2:00 p.m..
Happy Fingers is hosted by Jamyz Bee from Jazz.FM91 and sponsored by Remenyi house of music who provided the pianos as well as Wild Horse Canyon who supplied the wines. It’s great to see a new generation of jazz lovers taking in such a wonderful line up of musicians. At the first show the under 30 crowd was non-existent but at the third show there were definitely a lot more young faces in the crowd.
The show begins with 4 or 5 performers doing 10 minute sets of their own music or their interpretations of other people’s songs. During the sets I found a few of the songs hard to follow. There didn’t see to be a rhythm I could tap my finger to. It must be my immature jazz palette. The interpretations of the songs can bring on really strong – Happy, Sad, Excited. Joe Sealy played a song that he had written for his mother. My fiance was so touched by the story he told and the song that tears started to stream down her cheeks. Robert Scott was another performer who told a few great stories before starting to play. It made me feel like I was getting to the know the artist a little bit better.
Diesel playhouse provides a great way to get up close and personal with the musicians. During intermission patrons and musicians congregate in the hall, near the bar of course. By watching the musicians interact with the guests I got the sense that there was a “jazz crowd”. A group of people that know everyone in the jazz scene. I overheard stories of people who had travelled from the coasts of Canada to come see the show. It was really great to see and hear. Have the musicians around made it feel like a intimate and private event. After the intermission improvisation starts. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Improv and piano? I thought improv was only for second city.
I’m not a jazz pro but I do know a thing or two about improv. The duets are an amazing display of improvisation applied to jazz piano. At the first Happy Fingers show John Sherwood and Thompson Egbo Egbo were the first to take the stage. What energy! What passion! They were definitely in tune with each other. They made strong eye contact through the whole set. A piece of wisdom I learned at the Second City about making successful improv scenes. They were definitely in the zone to the point that they switched pianos in the middle. The song never missed a beat. It was fun to watch their intensity and how they would watch each other all the while figuring out where to go next just by listening and watching. It was a great showing of giving and taking focus.
At The Second City you practice giving and taking focus through specifically designed exercises. Another improv key is to Yes And offers. This essentially means don’t block your partner. When they say “you have big tooth brush” you go with the tooth brush and don’t change it to “Well it’s actually a toothpick” I could see Yes And happening between the piano players. Even more interesting I could hear it when an offer was strong and someone applied the “Yes And” theory and then took the sound to a whole new level. At the end of the show all the musicians went out to sign autographs and talk more with patrons. I had a chance to talk with John Sherwood about his duet. “Listening is key – you have to pay attention to what your partner is doing. If you stop listening they you both look bad”. That’s another lesson you learn in second city improv; you exist to make your partner look good. John also commented that “The scaffolding is already there – you know the chords – C minor, G, A -. All the work has been done for us before. We are just putting up new dry wall.”
Getting to talk to the musician after the show really showed their uniqueness. Everything about them is unique. The way they enter the stage, what they say before they start performing, how they bow after their set. Even the way they let you know song is done. Some put their hands down, some look to the crowd. The variety of movements, gestures and facial expressions made me wonder what they are thinking about when they are playing. Sometimes their faces looked as if they were in pain with every key they played. Other times it looked like they were on top of the world.
I would highly recommend taking in the last show coming up on April 13. It is an awesome way to spend a cold winter sunday afternoon. My fiance and I left feeling relaxed, mellow and energized all at the same time. It’s a great first date spot or just something fun and different to do. The price is right at $20 a ticket.
“Official” Advertisement
April 13 2pm
Diesel Playhouse / 56 Blue Jays Way 416.971.5656
HAPPY FINGERS: A TRIBUTE TO THE PIANO ($20)
It’s the birthday of Happy Fingers host/creator Jaymz Bee, this piano tribute will also feature special guest vocalists such as Lyne Tremblay, Sonya Cote and Sophia Perlman. Six piano greats are featured: Adam Makowicz, Adrean Farrugia, David Restivo, Waylen Miki, Elizabeth Shepherd and Robert Scott will perform on a Steinway grand piano (courtesy of Remenyi House of Music).
Tickets are $20 at the door or in advance, but why risk it? GET YOUR TICKETS NOW: dieselplayhouse.com or toll free 1.877.971.5656
Links
www.egbo.ca
www.johnsherwood.ca
www.dieselplayhouse.com
www.jazz.fm
www.remenyi.com
www.wildhorsewinery.com
www.timelymanor.ca
I decided to register the domain http://adamkwhite.com and set my blog up there.
Hope you like it!!!
I found this while surfing the net the other day. Are the two sentences below the same or different? Explain
- Everybody is innocent until proven guilty
- Nobody is guilty until proven to be not innocent.
I’m going to write an experience report for this post - a sort of blow-blow regarding an event I have been looking forward to for about two weeks.
Today, I had the opportunity to have lunch with one of the authors of one of the most influential books I have read. The name of the book is McLuhan for Managers. It was written by two people – Mark Federman and Derrick de Kerckhove. I had lunch with Mark Federman.
The events leading up to today were quite simple. It started by reading McLuhan for Managers on advice of one of the testers whom I highly respect – Michael B. After completing the book I was telling Michael how much the book changed my thinking and how much I enjoyed the book. Michael suggested I get in touch with Mark and ask him to meet for a coffee since Mark is in Toronto – so I did. I didn’t expect the author of a book to give me the time of day. Much to my surprise Mark responded favorably to my request. I wasn’t sure what the overall experience of meeting Mark would be like but I was pretty sure that Mark was going to challenge me in some way. I did not leave disappointed.
During the course of our conversation we covered all the main topics in the book, formally and informally
- Figure and Ground
- Hot and Cool Media
- The tetrad
- Living in the rear view.
We discussed the impact the book has had on me and its potential to impact on others. McLuhan for Managers is one of those books that make you feel like your university has charged you too much in return for a fancy piece of paper. I mentioned that I don’t understand why I wasn’t taught this information before – which was greeted by a hearty laugh from Mark. Following that line we talked about what I could do to further my learning with respect to the McLuhan style of thinking. I was disappointed to hear that Mark’s course at U of T will no longer be offered but I did come away with a great list of books and material to research.
During lunch it was interesting to observe Mark’s style and tone. In my opinion he is very good at helping one look at all sides of the problem without making one feeling personally attacked. He pulled a McLuhan reversal on me, somewhat out of the blue, during our conversation. A McLuhan reversal is a bit like playing devils advocate but in a much more constructive way – at least in the way he did it. It was during this that I had a few "ah-hah" moments, which is exactly what a McLuhan Reversal is supposed to bring about. In order to fully grasp this concept and do it the proper justice you really should read the book
We also chatted about his latest work which is related to figuring out people’s intrinsic motivations. This is an area that interests me very much, personally and professionally, and I am eager to find out more about it. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to talk about this in depth.
My take away from the meeting was threefold. I learned that "If you don’t ask – you don’t get". If I hadn’t asked I would have never had this experience. The second was a great list of reference material to further my learning. The third is that while I’ve learned much in a short time using the techniques in the book I still have a long way to go with regards to applying the methods in the most effective way.
I would encourage you to go out a limb and do something you wouldn’t normally do or see what you haven’t noticed lately. I can assure you one thing – If you don’t ask you won’t get and iff you don’t look you won’t see.
