Sunny Odea 1941 --!<>!--
.
GLEN ROSE is an amazing performer, if you've been reading for a while you will know that I took a brief class before a Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz meeting and then saw him perform up in Roseville with my mother Solveig. (Sool-vay in Swedish, Sol-vay here.) He has been staying in the Santa Cruz area for a couple of months and a couple of weeks ago I saw him at Rhan's house/garden/music party. I had to leave before the real fun began but I heard that night was a musical dream. Glen is a jazz master on the piano. There was music until 2:30am the next morning!
GLEN ROSE is an amazing performer, if you've been reading for a while you will know that I took a brief class before a Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz meeting and then saw him perform up in Roseville with my mother Solveig. (Sool-vay in Swedish, Sol-vay here.) He has been staying in the Santa Cruz area for a couple of months and a couple of weeks ago I saw him at Rhan's house/garden/music party. I had to leave before the real fun began but I heard that night was a musical dream. Glen is a jazz master on the piano. There was music until 2:30am the next morning!
--
Glen is doing some jazz arrangements for the ukulele. He asked me to review it and tell you what I thought. I just received his booklet of 10 CLASSIC JAZZ STANDARDS for UKULELE. It follows along in the same manner that his book for his classes do, very clear, and lightly color coded in 2- or 3-chord jazz patterns. He sells his book for $12 + $2 for shipping and I'll post a link on how to get ahold of him if you're inclined.
--
Glen is truly a MASTER of music and he's putting together beautiful arrangements with chords that will expand 90% of the ukulele players chord repetoires. Yes, they are frequently uncommon but jazzy 9ths and 13ths and MAJ7ths and m7b5ths which sound so incredibly distant to many beginners but are NOT difficult for an intermediate player. I know I write and post a lot but don't assume that I'm am anything but a very humble Humble Uker rambling words along.
--
This booklet is an excellent way to begin playing Jazzier tunes. I have found that there is a sweetness to Glen's arrangements. By this I mean, the chords have a very nice flow and the finger movements become very natural as their patterns repeat. I see inside the front cover that Glen also offers a Classic Bossa Nova Standards - for ukulele booklet, and I need to get it too since I am a sucker for Brazilian tunes. My brother Steven Lindroos' wife, Luciana, is from Goiania, Brazil, near the capitol, Brazilia. And I've studied a bit of Brazilian Portuguese.
--
http://www.jazzyukulele.com/ <<== LINK NOT WORKING, CHECK BACK LATER
{Glen says it is not yet active.}
--
As I typed this, it reminded me of http://www.jazzukes.com/, and Mark Occionero. I have a link to his page in the Ukulinkies. Marko has very genorously posted several chord-melody jazz standards there. Mark's arrangements are quite eloquent also. Glen's are NOT chord melodies which perhaps makes his work a bit more attainable for the newer intermediate player since the chord changes are not with every strum. I love to play Marko's chord melody arrangements, but I cannot play them up to speed -- my brain and fingers don't seem ready to communicate that fast yet. I go through phases where I work on them and move on and then come back - each time perhaps getting a bit better as it sinks in to my unconscienceness and oozes out.
--
In the Berkeley Ukulele Club we have a musical genious, Steven Strauss, he writes great song arrangements too. I love his masterful way of getting so much and doing it as effortlessly as possible. I have been encouraging him to do a book for ukulele too. Try playing his Moonglow and Sweet & Slow arrangements from the Berkulele Ukulele Songs, see Ukulinkies at Right. Hey, BERKULELE, that might be a good club logo, qui?
One nice place to visit to work up to playing jazzier chords is Dr. Uke's site. His arrangements of jazzy tunes using these chords can be quite challenging, but you can tell they're done by someone who knows & loves the instrument,& are uke(r)-friendly in the way chord follows chord in a natural,logical manner.
ReplyDeleteGlen Rose's arrangements are entirely different than Dr.Uke's arrangements. Glen Rose is a professional Jazz musician and uses specific jazz chords and patterns differently. I'll see if we can get Glen to share a sample page with us.
ReplyDelete