The following post originally appeared in the Charles Neuzil Music / Weekly Update - March 18, 2022 - Issue #39 

By Charles Neuzil

We are moving into March, and April is just around the corner.  I appreciate your checking in on me this week.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reply and I will get back to you as soon as I am able to do so. 

This week at Charles Neuzil Music 

This week has been just a little different for my music. The local high school music director has asked me to play in the pit orchestra for their spring musical and cover the trombone part. I played in these regularly before the pandemic canceled the spring 2020 show. This is the first production since the spring of 2019. 

This year, the musical is “Little Women,” and was a Broadway show. The Broadway production opened at the Virginia Theater on January 23, 2005, and closed on May 22, 2005, after 137 performances. Maureen McGovern, who some of you may be familiar with, was in the Broadway cast, and she also went on a thirty (30) city tour after the Broadway show closed. 

In any event, it is a bit busy with two to three evening rehearsals each week, and with nightly performances the week of April 11, 2022. However, these are always enjoyable to play, gives me a chance to play in a context that I don’t often have the opportunity to do, and helps the community as well. 

I have continued this week to work on my electronic music, particularly my composition inspired by the Franz Kafka short story “A Country Doctor.” I’ve been working on the mix, adding a few fx, and fine tuning the different tracks with compression, distortion, and/or EQ. It is sounding good, and I think I am ready to move on to the final stages. I will be posting a copy on YouTube and uploading it to SoundCloud as well. I’ll alert everyone in this newsletter when I do so. 

For my Art of Jazz, I continue to review a few tunes, and am always searching for more. I’m continuing to work on the one I mentioned last week, “I Fall in Love Too Easily.” As I mentioned last week, it is a cool tune in F minor, and quite enjoyable to solo over. 

Oh, and good news, my working in one of my synthesizers with the Art of Jazz last Saturday at TASA espresso bar was a success! I played it on my version of John Coltrane’s tune “Lonnie’s Lament.” I improvised with the synth, and also programmed a sequence that I was able to play over with my trombone. It was pretty cool. And the folks there seemed to enjoy it. I’ll do this again on Saturday at TASA espresso bar and am working on using the synth on a few other pieces as well. Oh, and the stand worked great! 

Music I've Been Listening to . . . . . . 

This week my music listening has been many and varied.  Not really focusing on one thing, but bouncing around quite a bit.  Pretty much one of those weeks that I have been all over the place. But all with a purpose in mind. 

For instance, I have spent time listening to ambient drone music (I have a project involving drones), ambient space music (several of those going in various stages), hip hop (for some sounds and rhythms), and finally, I spent some time exploring the music of Pierre Boulez. 

Pierre Boulez was a 20th Century modern composer, conductor, and writer, having been born in 1925, he died in 2016. I was looking closely this week at his work with serialism and his use of “sets” in music composition. 

Upcoming Events/Releases 

I will be at TASA espresso + smoothie bar with my Art of Jazz this Saturday, March 19, 2022. 

Here’s my upcoming dates over the next several weeks for the Art of Jazz at TASA espresso + smoothie bar. 

TASA - Saturday, March 12, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
TASA - Saturday, March 19, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
TASA - Saturday, March 26, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
TASA - Saturday, April 2, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
TASA - Saturday, April 9, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
TASA - Saturday, April 16, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Stop in at TASA if you happen to be local, although I have had a few people come in from a fair distance, including California, Las Vegas, and Flagstaff. If you are local, stop in on a Saturday, and if you have not yet visited TASA, definitely do so, you will enjoy their menu. 

If you make it between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday you can catch one of my sets. I try to create some nice, relaxing ambience with my jazz standards and ballads. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Charles Neuzil Music YouTube Channel, and hit the notification bell so that you are alerted as to future videos as I get them uploaded, such as my latest track, “This Too Shall Pass” inspired by the Kafka short story “A Hunger Artist.” I am expecting that my musical interpretation of Kafka’s short story “A Country Doctor” will be up soon. 

Keep track of me on Instagram, and keep checking back here in this Newsletter as I keep you up to date with Charles Neuzil Music and the Art of Jazz/Inner Dimensions of Sound. Remember to check in and visit the Charles Neuzil Music/Inner Dimensions of Sound website, charlesneuzilmusic.com. I have links to my Instagram, Facebook Page, Twitter, and YouTube Channel on the landing page. I also have some of my music available for you to listen to on the website, some photos, and some blog posts. 

Lend Your Support to Charles Neuzil Music 

Many of you have generously supported my work in various ways over the years, and continue to do so, and I send a big Thank You!  If you are so inclined, you can always send some “love and generosity” at one of the following: 

buymeacoffee.com/CharlesNeuzil 

or 

paypal.me/ArtofJazz (if you have a Paypal account) 

Thanks so much! 

Charles