procrastination explanation

I've been putting off writing back to Michael Hovnanian, and writing the last installment of the Calgary audition story. This time I'm not on a Facebook bender or any similarly obsessive behavior - well, okay, I have been hooked on Sex and the Beach lately - but mostly, I've been sorting through my music library (shown above).

It's been taking up most of my floor all week, I just consolidated it into this big stack. I was inspired by Jason Heath's most recent conversation with bassist Ira Gold, who talked about the materials he studied and still uses in his teaching and practice. I realized I have a ton of music, some of which I've barely looked over - and much I had forgotten I owned!

I've been cataloging my collection on my computer, and it's been a surprisingly fun project. I've pulled out several things I want to study and perform soon, like Peter Askim's Edge and Hans Werner Henze's Serenade, both for solo bass. I'm going to try and put together a recital in July, somewhere in Las Vegas. Also I've been looking through the Rabbath method books, which my colleague Jory Herman kindly loaned me.
I think it's a fantastic method - and maybe I can discover the secret of why Jory sounds so good, since he obviously worked the covers off of them!

My other recent addiction has been the new album by Pink Martini, "Hey Eugene!" Yes, that's a woman with a beehive hairdo crouching in a bathroom - they're just that stylish, that they can pull that off, and then do songs in French, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian. All the languages would be a gimmick, except they do those songs so well, with sparkling arrangements, tight grooves, and a fabulous singer named China Forbes. Check out any of their albums, you won't be disappointed!