D.D.'s blog

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on Chicago City Limits and other mini-successes of the day…

7/7/2007 - A few little “mini-successes” today. Finished my article on Bosendorfer’s Ceuss piano for the Sept./07 Downbeat coming out mid-August (more on this in my latest Living Jazz Podcast #21), and just got back from a particularly successful night of Chicago City Limits. For those not aware, CCL is New York’s longest running comedy revue, but it goes well beyond that into the very daring world of theatrical improv. I’ve written about this before in my Downbeat magazine Living Jazz columns, but suffice to say that what has always appealed to me about this world are the remarkable parallels between what they do on the stage as improvising actors and what I try to do as a pianist. I remember back as a student at Indiana University watching an ad-hoc improv group playing a game called “Freeze”, where they would unfurl endless scenes made up on the spot; someone would yell “freeze”, enter the scene and take over from a now-frozen peer, and then the scene would continue, often in outlandishly different directions, a thorough exploration of the mind and of imagination. I remember being fascinated, and wishing that I could participate – who would have thought I could be involved in a profession, ultimately, that actually helps make people laugh? (on purpose, that is :-)…)

I first began doing CCL when my BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop writing partner Carl Kissin. (a longtime CCL veteran, now “retired” from active duty there but still going strong in the world of improv, having recently won the Monologue Slam this week here in NY) recommended me. At first I was a shy sub, but I eventually assumed the mantle of “Music Director” for the mainstage company here in town and now perform quite regularly (Thurs-Sat. at 8 pm, a 2nd show Sat. at 10 pm) when I’m not on the road.

The main stage cast has gone through changes these past few months but now consists of Annie Figenshu, Rob Schiffman, Stefan Schick, and Joe DeGise II. One of CCL founders, Paul Zuckerman, once said that the beauty of the show to an audience can often be that by everyone in the company bringing their own, individual talents to the table, the illusion is created for the audience that we know a little bit about every conceivable subject the audience might yell out over the course of a show, and this idea, I think, was no more evident that today’s show, as we went through our various improv forms that form the backbone of a CCL performance (a storytelling form called Byrone, improvised Jeapardy, a fully improvised musical based around the events of someone in the audience’s day, etc., etc.)…

In the end, it’s really hard to explain what makes a great show. Certainly, it was in front a smallest, but highly enthused, uninhibited and warm audience, and this fact can help, as the show is very much about feeding off of the wavelengths shooting back at us from the crowd. I think, ultimately, it’s something about chemistry – something about the fact that the cast truly likes and respects each other, and each really DOES have something to contribute, from Annie’s penchant towards musical hooks and characters always so grounded in reality, to Rob’s incredible musical chops mixed with a brilliant and quick mind, to Stefan’s ability to play “manic” with such controlled, gradually unfurling chaos, to Joe’s seasoned mastery of his characters (today assuming, in one scene, a particularly exaggeratedly-accented Scot), and often assuming the “straight man” to the mania that surrounds him. I don’t know what, exactly it is, but somehow today everything just clicked, and one leaves feeling that what we are doing really is enjoyable – and special.

My final “mini-success story” of the day was a copy of a recital program my brother Shaw just sent me of a former student of his named Vincent. In the program’s bio, it describes how hearing me play for Shaw’s class back when he was 7 years old inspired him to become a pianist, and he’s since gone on to win all sorts of awards and enter many competitions (some quite familiar to me as I also did such “rounds” when I was his age). It’s an amazing feeling to know that you can inspire someone so much.

I couldn’t resist..and bought an Iphone!

I couldn’t resist – after my first night’s gig with Ahmed Abdullah Friday June 29th, still on a high from the performances, I took the subway up to Apple’s self-described “flagship store” on 58th street and 5th avenue, to witness first hand the whole Iphone phenomenon. As a self-professed tech-addict (not only for music-related applications but beyond), I must say that when I first watched Steve Jobs presentation of this device last January, I was immediately hooked, though lamented it’s understandably high price for a first generation product. As my birthday was nearing, however, my family stepped in and offered to buy me one 6 months later when the product finally arrived. In between, there was the usual critiques by macheads about what the machine lacked, but what nobody could 100% report in the end was just how fantastic the machine actually worked, and how it felt, in one’s hands. I had to see for myself.

Despite the incredible anticipation, I was amazed that a few days earlier, on Tues. of this past week, people had already started lining up outside the 5th Avenue Apple Store here in New York. At things turned out, when I finally arrived at 2 am Friday on the so-called “iDay”, the initial, frantic exuberant lines surrounding the 6 pm opening had long since thinned out, and the only lines I now encountered inside the store weren’t for buying the device but for simply trying it out, with crowds several bodies deep clamoring around display tables to get a glimpse of what until then had only existed through other’s words and on t.v. and the internet.

Finally, my turn “up” arrived and I had one. Again, I was still trying to convince myself that I was merely there to “witness” the cultural occasion rather than to actually “purchase” – surely I would be inclined to wait for the iPhone version 2.0 with it’s (no doubt) soon-to-come built in GPS, 3G, and on and on…But when I actually held the damn thing in my hands and tried a simply scrolling motion with my fingers, I was instantly, almost primitively “hooked” in a way I had never experienced before with any previous consumer product. It was the most intuitively designed piece of machinery I have ever encountered, so simple and poetic as to truly be a work of art. And I had to buy one.

When I got it home, I (again) was already completely enthralled just with the finger navigation functionality, so much so that I literally forgot for a moment then it was also a fantastic web browser. Once I’d finished exploring this feature, it dawned on me that – I forgot! - it was also a widescreen video Ipod. And most amusingly, it was over an hour later and I was about to finally turn it off that I suddenly remembered that – oh ya – it’s a PHONE as well J…

It’s a genre-changing product and yes, it lacks certain things which I’m sure will be added later (most notably, a plan allowing for cheaper calls when traveling in Canada!), and will only get cheaper and more feature-laden..But considering this is iPhone 1.0, Apple is off to a breathtaking start…

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