I wrote this one in 2019 and then developed it further this past year with Michael's help. It was always meant to have a lyric, and I've started on that just recently. I'll adjust and develop the melody further around the lyric.
written as a quick exercise for Frank Martin's jazz
composition class in '20 and then, based
on Michael's feedback and suggestions,
extended it and evolved the melody, form, and
arrangement. The bird sounds at the beginning
and end are recordings of Arctic Terns.
about Michael . . . Fascination with his parents' player piano led to early piano lessons and lifelong passions for both music and technology. As a teen, he built his own music synthesizer and computer. He studied jazz, electronic music, and computer science at UNT. He has played piano and keyboards in various groups, composed and played on a number of albums, scored films and multimedia productions, musically directed live performances, fabricated multimedia installations, performed on live radio and TV, taught music privately, and developed and taught music classes. His teachers have included: Michael Smolens & Frank Martin (piano/composition); Bonnie Hayes, Steve Seskin & Stephanie Bruce (songwriting); Mark Levine, Marcos Silva & Dick Hindman (piano).
about Vivian . . .
Vivian studied theory, arranging, and composition with Michael from 1989-1994. She produced a subsequent CD in 2000 called "California Celtic", melding her love of jazz and Celtic musics. Unlike her first recording, she is heard here on piano and the personnel includes revered players Matt Eakle (flute), Jeremy Cohen (violin),
Mark Summer (cello), Davis Ramey (guitar), and Maureen Brennan (Irish harp).
was conceived of after investigating many "rhythm changes"
songs written by well-known jazz artists; i.e. a 32-bar form
that borrows the harmony from the George Gershwin classic,
"I Got Rhythm". The primary focus of the coaching
was developing a more fully chromatic melody
that is consistent with the be-bop language typically used.
The piece was also written on the sax vs. the piano,
which explains the many challenges that it presents
to a keyboardist.
about Michael . . . is a professional saxophonist and band leader who has performed jazz and funk styles in live and recording settings. He studied both piano and improvisation on his main instrument with Michael for five years privately. He also attended numerous workshopsand 12-week jazz ensemble classes that he co-structured with Michael.
is a ripening of an inner struggle and finding what was inside oneself all along. It has the qualities of love, hope and inspiration. The piece began as an assignment that focused on building a simple melody on top of improvising harmony that uses bass motion in thirds (including parallel major
and minor keys). After I created a melody, I built an accompaniment to support and expand the context of it. Michael has helped me open up to the intuitive side of music writing and playing, by listening to and following where the music wants to go compositionally and finding ways to match the sound to the emotion of the moment. We spent the most significant amount of time deciding where and how to sustain the harmony — balancing rhythmic figures, meticulously picking notes for the left hand, and creating longer phrases to create variety in sound, texture, and momentum.
about Kim Mi . . .
was born in Vietnam and was raised in the Bay Area since
the age of 8. She grew up in a musical family; her father was a well-known Vietnamese composer/arranger/band leader during the 1950s-70s, and he named his children after the music notes
Do, Mi, Fa, La, and Ut. She learned classical piano through the generous cultivation of her teacher, Nora Ayzman and continued
with music studies at UC Davis. 15 years later, with gratitude for her spiritual teacher, Claudio Naranjo, and her many friends and teachers along the way, Kim Mi has found new inspirations for the music-lover inside herself.
"For over eight years Michael has helped me expand
my 'palette' of composition tools to a dramatic extent,
suggesting creative ideas I wouldn't have come up with
on my own. With his coaching I now have a much broader
understanding of vital concepts such as creating contrast,
melodic development, and several others.
I receive many compliments on my composing,
and I attribute a significant degree of that to the instruction
I have received from Michael."
about Bobby . . .
Bobby privately studied piano, improvisation, and composition
with Michael from 1999-2006. Besides his solo piano playing,
he also played keyboard in numerous bands.
This song grew out of a banjo vamp I came up with
a long time ago. I didn't have much of an idea
what I wanted the song to sound like at first.
Michael and I talked about songs that were built around
vamps and he gave me some listening suggestions.
Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" inspired my bass line —
starting as a 2-bar vamp, then expanding to 4 bars.
When the bass line gelled the song really clicked,
and transformed the banjo vamp from a bluesy,
grungy tone to a lighter, more optimistic feeling.
Michael suggested using a flute for the melody,
which really underscored the mood suggested by the
bass line. To add contrast, I added a B section in the
middle of the song, ditching the busy banjo and bass vamps
in favor of long strummed chords and simpler bass figures.
Michael was a huge help in refining the harmony
of the B section (as well as the entire melody),
finding chords that supported the melody while
quickening the harmonic rhythm.
The banjo part was recorded live while everything else
was sampled and put together on the computer.
This is my first full-fledged song I've created.
about Nick . . .
Nick grew up playing the clarinet in school and singing in church; he also has been playing the 5-string banjo since 2010. He started studying with Michael in 2017 which has included private work, workshops, jazz ensemble classes, composing, and arranging classical works by Bela Bartok.
"Sateen"’s namesake is Erik Satie, whose work influenced
the piece’s melody and harmonic language, which arose
from a simple left hand vamp. Michael wrote the vamp
quickly during a lesson in response to my request
to improve coordination and spur new compositional ideas,
specifically in my left hand.
I was stuck in a pattern of octaves and fifths in the bass
on other pieces and wanted to branch out, but didn’t know
how to begin. The vamp was a novel style and rhythm
for me, and as I developed familiarity and control,
a right hand melody started to naturally take shape
in my ear. I played it one night at a lesson
and Michael encouraged me to expand on it.
I added chromaticism and new motives to reach the final
result that now evokes its namesake. Though it veers
from Satie into other styles later in the piece,
I kept the name in part because of the connotations
with sateen fabric — a metaphor for the mostly relaxing
sounds that might accompany a satisfying afternoon nap.
With the foundation of the original vamp and the opening
in place, Michael’s later coaching focused on developing
balance, earned contrast, and a dramatic arc.
This included: increasing harmonic density/rhythm,
using chordal melody, chromaticism, and building dynamics
to achieve earned contrast. His suggestion of imagining
an unaccompanied clarinet to develop the B section melody,
as well as his insistence on stylistic consistency,
were two of the more memorable
and effective coaching points.
about Adam . . .
grew up in a musical household with older siblings and parents who played the piano. His family attended the Des Moines Symphony regularly and one of his earliest music memories was of the opera singer Simon Estes. “Steal Away” was Adam’s first ever record, a gift from his Mom when he was five years old, after Estes performed with the symphony. Church was important for his musical development, singing in choirs from age four until high school. He started classical piano lessons at age eight and continued until 15, when he took guitar lessons briefly and joined a band, Euterpe, playing mostly original jazz-tinged rock/pop songs. He’s continued to play the guitar and piano, but not seriously until 2018 when he started piano and composition lessons with Michael. His tastes and influences have always been eclectic, with classic rock, indie rock, rap, blue grass, soul, classical, jazz, electronic and other genres all in his “best of” lists. His favorite composers and artists for piano specifically are Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Satie, Glass, and especially the jazz pianist, Bill Evans.
"Michael provided me with training for both
the writing of scripts for very complex software tutorials
and recording the accompanying
voiceovers
for Bio-Rad Labaratories, Inc.
His experienced direction
during the recording
brought us toa highly-polished final product.
The recording was well-received by the Marketing Department
and was the forerunner to subsequent projects. I look forward to many years of future collaborations between us."
"This has been such a fun process,
and drawing on all the musical skills I’ve got!
From soloing on the keyboard, to comping various rhythms
with the B3, to arranging three voices in harmony,
to jotting down rhythmic ideas in rhythm notation,
I owe a lot to your guidance. Not to mention
all the ‘other’ stuff of a musician’s life,
like posting Craigslist ads, maintaining an email list
with concert announcements, keeping the plants
in my studio healthy... ;)
So... Thanks! Really appreciate your sharing
all that knowledge and experience..
And enjoying putting it to use now."