A variety list of the methods developed and used by Cliff in producing new bands, music, song orchestration, performance production,and creating income cash flow from music projects
Heidi Taylor Fleischbein on April 1, 2012 played at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion before a large crowd of guests including Dr. Carol Williams and San Diego City District 6 Councilmember, Lorie Zapf.
April 1, 2012
It was an exciting opportunity for Heidi to perform on the Spreckels Organ, the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ donated to the City of San Diego in 1914 for the Panama-California Exposition by John D. and Adolph Spreckels. This unique organ contains 4,530 pipes ranging in length from the size of a pencil to 32 feet and is housed in an ornate vaulted structure with highly embellished gables. Since 1917, San Diego has had a civic organist, who performs free weekly Sunday concerts.
Heidi was invited to perform by Dr. Carol Williams, the current San Diego Civic Organist and Artistic Director of the Spreckels Organ Society in San Diego, California since 2001.
Dr. Carol Williams has been impressed by the many instruments that Heidi plays, and at the request of Dr. Williams was asked to also demonstrate her ability to play the violin.
Heidi performs: “Prelude in C Major” and “Prelude in A Minor” by J.S. Bach.
Jacqueline Marie “Jackie” Evancho was born April 9, 2000 and is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. In 2010, at the age of 10, she gained wide popularity with her performances in the fifth season of the America’s Got Talent (AGT) competition, finishing in second place. Evancho impressed composer David Foster who included her in his concerts beginning in 2009. Foster later produced Evancho’s album, Dream With Me, and subsequent PBS special for the television series, Great Performances. Evancho also performed in front of U.S. President Barack Obama at the 2010 National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C.
TO BELIEVE
Before I lay me down to rest
I ask the Lord one small request
I know I have all I could need
But this prayer is not for me
Too many people on this day
Don’t have a peaceful place to stay
Let all fighting cease that your children may see peace
Wipe their tears of sorrow away
(chorus)
To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each prayer
Let me try always to believe
That we can hear the hearts that grieve
Please help us not ignore
The anguished cries of the poor
Or their pain will never leave
(chorus )
To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each prayer
(spoken prayer)
Father, as you see, I’m just a child
And there’s so much to understand
But if Your Grace should surround me
Then I’ll do the best I can
I promise, I’ll do the very best I can
(chorus plus)
To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each Prayer
{Hear each cry and listen to each prayer}
Help us do Your will oh Father
In the name of all that’s true
And we’ll see in one another
The loving image of You
Chet Baker, a recommended trumpet horn player for Cliff to learn from. Here is one of Charlie Walker’s favorite tunes done by Chet Baker, “So What” by Mile Davis:
Until recently, Cliff has been playing the “So What” song on guitar with the Bass part being done by the lead guitar to a funk rock Bass back beat.
Here is a message for active, professional musicians who know the importance of frequently promoting themselves and their gigs. Consider for a moment, www.SoundCloud.com … it is interesting. But, I’m beginning to think that more musicians should try promoting their song samples using Traffic Geyser www.trafficgeyser.com because the musician can have one central marketing distribution point like www.Reverbnation.com which provides a great assortment of marketing tools, and use the Traffic Geyser to post samples of song clips to many audio / video / ipod / text distribution channels while having all those channel posts point with back-links to the central promotion site. This is a very good way to get high page rank and have one central promotional marketing site from which you can convert interested music consumers into buying customers. Think about it… check it out… give me call and chat it up!
Thank you, Robert Michael, for sharing this with me.
About the Song
While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, “where’s the line to see Jesus”
My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus. My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios.
It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus…with goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville …still no response.
Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD’s, iTunes, anything…we had nothing. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring…this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs… the real deal…. and here we are today.
Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together… remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer’s observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you.
Some of the finest music comes from performers who have developed their technique using a soft touch. Developing the soft touch musical technique in your daily music practice should help produce a broad range of dynamics in your song. Here is a good and astonishing example:
Since 2004, Chris Botti (pronounced boat-tee) has become the largest selling American jazz instrumental artist. His trumpet playing has crossed over successfully to audiences usually reserved for pop music and his continued association with PBS has produced four #1 Jazz Albums, as well as multiple Gold, Platinum & Grammy Awards.
Violin
Joshua Bell has enchanted audiences worldwide for better than two decades with his breathtaking virtuosity and beautify rare tone. At the age of 14 years, he came to national attention in high acclaim by an orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Now, Joshua is comfortable playing violin as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader. His restless curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting new directions that have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” “Bell,” Gramophone stated simply, “is dazzling.”
Chris Botti and Joshua Bell.. they blend perfectly together! Peaceful with grace.
“The Song is a gift to the composer inspired by God the Creator.
The song performance and show is a gift to the artist.
The finished show is a gift to the listener.
The listener’s response is her or his truth-about-God!”
Clifford Taylor Fleischbein, composer and band leader.
www.gocliff.com
www.facebook.gocliff.com
Stevie Wonder is renown for his writing a plethora of great tunes. And Jeff Beck is a master as taking ownership of other people’s songs by shaping and sculpturing the musical notes into a sound piece that causes the listener to want more.
Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkenfeld playing "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"
Wonder’s songs are renowned for being quite difficult to sing. He has a very developed sense of harmony and uses many extended chords utilizing extensions such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, b5s, etc. in his compositions. Many of his melodies make abrupt, unpredictable changes. Many of his vocal melodies are also melismatic, meaning that a syllable is sung over several notes. Some of his best known and most frequently covered songs are played in keys which are more often found in jazz than in pop and rock. For example, “Superstition”, “Higher Ground” and “I Wish” are in the key of E flat minor, and feature distinctive riffs in the E flat minor pentatonic scale (i.e. largely on the black notes of the keyboard).
Jeff Beck began working with Stevie Wonder and created the original drum beat for “Superstition” while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of his own manager Wonder himself recorded it first.Beck was instead offered “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975. Jeff Beck would later record his own version of “Superstition” as a part of the album Beck, Bogert & Appice.
But here, you will hear and see Jeff Beck play the song given him by Stevie Wonder “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” and observe the incredible musical talent of Tal Wilkenfeld as she plays a solo on her bass.
Tal Wilkenfeld
She also has her own band where she demonstrates her musicality using a fusion of writing styles as heard in this song: “The River
Tal Wilkenfeld - if a young woman is going to play bass like this.. couldn't she be fat, or ugly, or smelly, or something ? L.O.L. Tal is an awesome bass player!
of Life” from her first album “Transformation.” Like many songs of this type, the chord arrangement is not complex, the elements of the song have lots of drama played with dynamic expression. The melody is estab
lished early with Tal on her bass, and then the song grows with inclusion of a saxophone solo that is laced with complex drum and bass playing dynamics. The piano lays down nice jazz chords to give the soloist space to play through. What starts as a calm song turns into a rambunctious, energetic tune.
Tal Wilkenfeld – bass
Wayne Krantz – guitar
Seamus Blake – tenor sax
Geoff Keezer .- piano
Keith Carlock – drums
Guest appearances by percussionist Samuel Torres and Bassist Oteil Burbridge
This is a very popular song because of its catchy chord combination:
Pretty good, unique arrangement, and a big sound.
But, then I desired to remember what really attracted me to the song when it came out on August 16, 1972 – also played IN JAPAN by Deep Purple. So, I went looking for the song and found STEVE MORRIS is now playing this song with Deep Purple.
Roger Glover and Steve Morse of Deep Purple jamming
Smoke on the Water tells the true story about December 4, 1971 when the Deep Purple band was set up in Montreux, Switzerland preparing to record an album. The Montreux Casino (referred to as “the gambling house” in the song) was hosting Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention (another favorite group of mine) with a concert held in the casino’s theater. During the show, in the middle of Don Preston’s synthesizer solo on “King Kong”, the casino caught fire when someone in the audience fired a flare gun into the rattan covered ceiling, which is mentioned in the song as “some stupid with a flare gun.” The fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers’ equipment. The “smoke on the water” that became the title of the song (credited to bass guitarist Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he suddenly woke from a dream a few days later) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel across the lake.
Now you know the rest of the story!
Steve Morris is a hard-rock guitar player’s envy! Watch what this young man can do with left-handed hammer-ons (no picking).
So, what say you? Do you like Deep Purple and this song? How about that story in the song?
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That has been a major theme in my adventure finding happiness being a journey, not a destination.
Along the way, in 1969 I discovered the Sons of Champlin (the Sons) a seven piece band with drums, guitars, keyboards, trumpet, alto sax, and vibraphone. They had been together since 1967, and by 1969 the San Francisco music scene included the Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms for music performance, and as the Sons joined that music venue, they earned a reputation as a group of R&B and jazz musicians far above the caliber of the electrified folk-rockers who made up most of that scene.
The horn section puts fire into songs and brings them to life. Celebrate Life!
James Marshall Hendrix (born: 11-27-1942) was a black man who became a rock and roll hero, a flashy super-star who seemed to be the essence of the spaced-out, druggy sixities, Hendrix was, in reality, quiet, withdrawn, and somewhat inarticulate, except when he had a guitar in his hands.
George F. Handel premiered this music in Dublin, Ireland on 13 April 1742
On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” at Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ – the world’s largest pipe organ – the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers.
This event is one of 1,000 “Random Acts of Culture” to be funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation over the next three years. The initiative transports the classical arts out of the concert halls and opera houses and into our communities to enrich our everyday lives.
The Opera Company thanks Macy’s and the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ (http://www.wanamakerorgan.com) for their partnership, as well as Organ Music Director Peter Conte and Fred Haas, accompanists; OCP Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden, conductor; and Sound Engineer James R. Stemke.
This event was planned to coincide with the first day of National Opera Week.
For my jazz class friends and jazz performance buds, here is another Random Act of Culture doing: “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills. This is a nice combination of Trombone and Sax working the melody between each other.
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A song for Keil: Denny's Chocolate Malt (Oct 2003)
The year is 2003:
My son, Keil (born 9-5-95), and I now share nearly every Thursday night together alone as Father and Son to discover what it means to be a modern-day knight (this is a method I’m creating to teach Keil how to be a Godly man). One of the rituals that has become our favorite is going to Denny’s to buy and share a Chocolate Malt. Well out of that experience I got this music idea that I’ve named: Denny’s Chocolate Malt.
While you listen to the song, here are some of the thoughts that Keil and I shared. Interestingly, Keil memorized much of this:
Knights are renown for chivalry. But chivalry exacts a heavy toll upon its followers; it demands submission, obedience, and courage. Knighthood is one of the major achievements of the human spirit.
Raising a modern day knight considers vision, direction and solid answers to questions such as:
What is a man?
What are a man’s responsibilities?
What does a man believe?
How does a man behave?
What should a man try to achieve?
Raising a modern day knight is an attempt in social and spiritual competence in three phases:
Raising a modern day knight is based on a clear, distinct vision of manhood. By training boys from an early age, imparting a code of conduct, and marking their progress with ceremony and celebration, adolescents become men.
A modern day knight believes a real man is one who:
Rejects passivity
Accepts responsibility
Leads courageously
Expects the greater reward… God’s reward.
Thank you for listening and having a read.
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P.S.
I welcome some musicians who like this and smooth jazz in general to consider helping me make a new recording of this song.
Annual meeting November 19 and 20th to demonstrate “Old Big Iron” and in our case session recording equipment. Here is how it came down.
It is three weeks before November 19th and my next door neighbor, John, discovers I am a performing musician and band director. He has an assignment, to produce recording examples on “Big Iron” tube equipment built in the 50’s and 60’s. He has been testing the equipment in his garage with the help of a surf style guitar player, a bass player, and a tenor sax player. So, I accepted the invitation to help in the project. We had a total of three sessions, each a bit more than two hours long and added the drummer sight unseen at the last session for the recordings.
This song has a contagious beat on four that hooks most listeners. A small background riff was added by Cliff the second guitarist. The shuffle rhythm for the soloist section adds energy and a dramatic contrast dynamic when the band returns to the melody of the song.
Bass: Greg Gross
Drummer: Carmine Gegnose
Sax: Jim Neely
1st guitar: Randy Giles
2nd guitar: Clifford Taylor
The musicians were quick to learn and amazing in their delivery of impromptu song arrangements. The drummer is especially impressive. And this project helps me remember why I like the warm, clear production of music made from the “old big iron” recording equipment.
I welcome your comments and invite you to meet John. He would be pleased to meet my musician friends and the opportunity to capture your musical sounds on “old big iron.”
You can find the remainder of these songs on Facebook. Just click on the button in the left margin.
Many of you know that after following the Creator with reckless abandonment, my next great passion is music performance and teaching other musicians the same. In 1993, I was taught by a musician, producer, manager Peter C. Knickles his business methods developed while assisting engineering greats like Jack Douglas (Aerosmith), Roy Thomas Baker (The Cars, Queen), and Todd Rundgren (Meatloaf). Peter’s good reputation as an independent A&R representative was cemented.
Now, more than seventeen years later, I discover that Peter’s core teaching is still useful and applicable for musicians desiring to grow a music business. Only the technologies and other promotional resources have expanded and improved. Being very familiar about these business resources from practical experience, I have the unction to renew and update Peter’s teaching. After so many years, there is much to share because we now have a legacy of business development and technology improvement to glean from.
