According to my editorial schedule (which is a grandiose way of referrencing a list scratched on a Post-It®), I was supposed to write about how I became a blogger today. But, as you may recall, I sang at the Dakota this weekend as a member of my good friend Jay Young’s Lyric Factory. (That’s him and me in the photo.)

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Let me tell you, I had a blast! Being on stage with all those great players (and good-hearted people) was exhilarating.

(Fellow factory workers included Ian Young (bass and Jay’s son), Thom West (keys), Kevin Washington (percussion), Pete Whitman (brass and woodwinds), Sol Testimony (spoken word artist) and my sisters in song – Judi Donaghy and Michele Denise Michaels.)

It was a swinging, fun and cool night of music. Jay took the Wonder and Jackson tunes we all know and love and reworked them into fresh new treats to savor and enjoy. The new arrangements and integrating the spoken word worked so well it could have seemed easy (or obvious?) – but Jay told me he spent a year thinking about the concept and the tunes. (That’s genius.)

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Looking out and seeing so many friends and colleagues – Spices’ members, Lori Dokken, Ann Kay, Nancy Harms and Debbie Duncan and Anthony Cox (Debbie and Anthony have a show at the Dakota this coming weekend) – in the audience was great fun, too! One of the sweetest moments of the night was the woman washing hands next to me in the restroom who excitedly whispered “Wow, I’m standing next to the singer!” I responded “Wow, I’m standing next to a fan!” (Hey, it’s all about perspective.)

And, of course, I was happy that my dad was able to buzz up and catch the show. *smile*

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Well, all that good, clean fun took it’s toll. Not only did I abandon my posting plans for today, I meant to have more photos** to share with you … (You see I was busy being in the moment, so I didn’t do a great job of recording the moment.)

In other words, the Dakota ate my homework.

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For extra credit, I put together this medley of audio from Saturday night’s show. Enjoy! (No comments on my editing, please. *smile*)

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Thanks to everyone who came and supported me at my Dakota debut. I really appreciate it. (And, if you were at the show and took pics, I would love copies. *wink*)

“Do what you can instead of all or nothing.”

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The nugget of wisdom above comes from my sis.

(It’s the reason you’re getting a teensy blog post today … instead of nothing. *smile*)

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P.S. Here’s a 30-second preview of this weekend’s tribute show.
(Click the triangle.)

Continuing my efforts to document my spontaneous singing (i.e. vocal improv) and to work with a phenomenal vocalist, I invited my friend and former instructor Judi Donaghy to join me in the studio this past July.

I admit I was a teensy bit apprehensive. (She was my teacher! She sings with Bobby McFerrin!). But I needn’t have worried, Judi’s generous and thoughtful (and did I mention a superb vocalist?). She cheerfully held rock-solid grooves and let me explore. Once I got comfortable being front and center, some nice things happened.

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We did a number of things during our brief time together, but I think this blues we created is my favorite. I used my thoughts about how it felt to improvise the piece to make up the text. (Judi brilliantly — and patiently — laid down the bass line for over four minutes!)

“So I’m sitting her with my friend Judi
She’s the one who’s singing those low notes
she’s laying it down
building a floor for me to stand on
so I can riff all over the place
sing the blues
got lots to do’s
while we work out this improv game …”

Listen to the track by clicking the play button (the little orange triangle) below.

Enjoy! (And let me know what you think. *smile*)

[audio:http://songtaneous.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/04-Improv-Blues-1.mp3]

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Thanks, Judi, for the musical conversations and the continuing education!