Singing the Blues with Judi Donaghy
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.
…
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]…
Thanks, Judi, for the musical conversations and the continuing education!
In an attempt to document my work as an improvisational vocalist (and to work with a great bassist!), I approached my mentor friend Anthony Cox last summer about getting into the studio together to play. We finally aligned our schedules earlier this month.