[Dixielandjazz] Jonathan's tuning

[Janie McCue Lynch]

Hi, Steve--I did leave part of your post below.

You are right on with all of your comments...This clip did not sound nearly
as good as Jonathan did
in person.  I saw him during three different sets,  all with different
"flavors," and his tonality, harmonies and ability to
improvise on the spot, even with tunes he had never heard before, were the
equal or better of a lot of adult musicians I've seen.

I saw him with Night Blooming Jazzmen, Mike Vax Sextet (which was
exceptional) and Chicago Six.  My friend saw him during his first set with
Igor, and said that J literally played the entire time....and was great.

I did wonder about the advisability of this young man playing that many sets
in such a concentrated period.

Indeed, he DOES "swing his little ass off."   I hope that others on the list
are able to see him play in person....I believe they would become converts
very quickly to the talents of this exceptional boy.

(And yes, Cocuzzi WAS brilliant...I had not seen him before this festival,
but sure hope to see more of him when his home base is out here on the left
coast!)

Janie
janie39 at socal.rr.com <mailto:janie39 at socal.rr.com>


Jonathan's Dad does the tuning. "J" and his Dad are aware of the intonation
problems that sometime occur with this young man in the middle of a set.

In his defense, "J" gets tired like any 12 year old would with this kind of
performance pressure. He did 13 sets in 3 days, most with bands he had never
played with beforehand. And he played songs that he had never played before
That's grueling for anyone, let alone a young boy. And if he was tired, that
could have caused part of it, as could have jet lag. And the sound recording
was no where near as good as it could have been.

Be that as it may, the kid always swings his little ass off. Something full
grown jazz musicians do not always accomplish. And his inventive mind is
well ahead of many fully grown jazz musicians.

Did anyone else notice that the music swung, that Cocuzzi was brilliant, as
were all of the band members?
And the bassist? Man, I'm sorry the clip cut her off.