To the grave

CentreTerm has definitely been a great learning experience for me. I've actually entered "The World of Duke Ellington." From the first day of class I knew I was going to enjoy his great music. I remember sitting in awe as I heard the original jazz music of the 1920's. As I soon as I received my two CDs, I had them playing in my CD player. I didn't think I'd ever learn the titles of the songs, but as I began to listen to them more, I began to know the titles as well as the musicians of the songs.

I really like Duke because he plays the piano, which is one of my favorite things to do. I also enjoy Lawrence Brown's great trombone solos. These songs have a connection with me because the music I make all started with those people back in the early 1900's. Nearly all hip-hop music got its roots from that mix of ragtime and blues. It's great to understand my biblical as well as my musical roots. It's amazing to me that music could travel into the future for so long.

Since I've been in the class I've wanted to go back in time and see what it was like to be at a Duke Ellington concert. Every time I watch a video, I can imagine myself watching Cootie Williams using his plunger to make human vocalizations. I can just see Baby Cox singing "The Mooche" or Cootie Williams singing "It Don't Mean A Thing."

Vince DiMartino, my professor, just happens to be a famous musician himself, and plays trumpet solos for us almost daily. He can play almost any solo he hears. If you're interested you can even catch him on YouTube.

This has been a great class, and I'm definitely glad that I was able to take something like this. It's been a great learning experience, and I'll take a lot of what I learned to the grave because I use it in my music.