Quarantined but Still Jammin'!
by Community Band at Art in the Park
April 2021: "Portrait of Mahalia Jackson": a piece from the "New Orleans Suite" composed by Duke Ellington and recorded in 1970. It is a celebratory, double-blues tribute to the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who had sung with the Ellington band on a few occasions. After a brief fanfare piano intro, the horn section sings thick half-note chords as a backing choir to a soaring flute melody and other blues-filled improvisations, while the rhythm section rides on a spirited 12/8 gospel groove.
During the pandemic lockdown, the Community Band which had regularly jammed at Art in the Park, the arts building at Hermon Park in Los Angeles, experimented with online music making. Directed by Logan Hone, an all-ages, all-skill levels group of musicians, including some that had been playing with the band at the park beforehand and some new-comers (mostly from Los Angeles and Utah, with a few from around the country) participated in monthly Remote Recording Projects and weekly Zoom Jams for the first half of 2021. This two-part album documents the music from those experiments.
released July 14, 2022
Remote Recording Projects (side A)
1. Small Town Story (March, 2021) composed by Weng Ching-Hsi
2. Portrait of Mahalia Jackson (April, 2021) composed by Duke Ellington
3. A Joyful Parade (May, 2021) composed by Community Band
4. Black and Tan Fantasy (June, 2021) composed by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley
5. Minor Bells (May, 2020) composed by Logan Hone
About the Remote Recording Projects:
During the quarantine, the Community Band learned and recorded a handful of songs remotely. Participants were provided with sheet music and a foundation track to practice and record along to. The musicians used whatever recording devices they had available to remotely record their part and the recordings were edited together by Logan into the arrangements you hear on this album.