Thanks Marty, today I'm going to read a fantasy story that I wrote. With a musical background that I wrote.
One of the best things about being a music composition student is getting other music students to help with composition recitals. When you write a piece with six parts, many of them on expensive instruments, it's not easy to arrange to have the piece read. Unless you're in a music department filled with excellent musicians who love to play and help each other out on recitals as a matter of course.
On "Elphonium" you will hear Caitlyn Lyerly - flute, Al Clevenger - vibes, Josh Huffstutler - marimbas, Gabe Waters - bass, Chris Isom - drums, and Hairy Larry reading spoken word. These students are all from Northeast Arkansas or Southeast Missouri and they were all in the ASU jazz program. So here's a big shout out to these students and all the other students who helped with my recitals over the years. And years and years. Yes, I was in the music department for almost 20 years.
Now about that story.
I originally published "Elphonium" on my website, SFF Short Stories and then as a minizine. I was inspired by a piece of art by indrikoff at Deviant Art. I will post links to the story, the minizine and the art at the Something Blue website, sbblues.com.
The story is about a king who went riding with his jester and his groom into a magic forest where they were ensorcelled by music played by elves on the Elphonium.
After I wrote the music for Elphonium I wanted to be sure that the spoken word part was short enough to fit in the space provided for it in the score. So Vivian and I went over every sentence deleting every unecessary word and random thought that wasn't required by the story. They say that 90% of writing is rewriting. Most rewriting is taking out the stuff you don't really need.
On the day of the recital I had prepared a slideshow of public domain artwork by Arthur Rackham, a famous fantasy artist who worked in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
So the artwork is public domain except for Elphonium which was used with permission. The story and the music were written by me and I have licensed them Creative Commons Attribution so others can use and build on this work just like I used the art of Arthur Rachham. And thanks to Indrikoff for giving me permission to use his fantastic drawing of a magic horn.
The entire recital was released as an album.
So now, recorded at the ASU Bandroom on November 30, 2018, here's my piece, the title track of my album "Elphonium"
And that was "Elphonium", a piece I wrote played by ASU students in the band room on November 30, 2018. Don't miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00, to hear more great jazz by Bob Reynolds, Christian Peterman, The Sextet, and Steve Lawson all licensed Creative Commons.
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DJ Hairy Larry With Bob Reynolds Playing Where Did You Come From
Something Blue - Star - 29 second spot
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Bob Reynolds, Christian Peterman, The Sextet, and Steve Lawson. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at https://sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at http://kasu.org.
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Mr Blotto and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Live at The Sylvee on 2023-11-30
archive.org/details/jrad2023-11-30.webrip.sbd.flac16/
Mr. Blotto Live at Reggies on 2024-11-19
archive.org/details/mrblotto2024-11-19/
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DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2021-12-01
Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Big Creek Band play some real country music at Blues Fest.
I always say we play all kinds of music at Blues Fest because when you get right down to it, it’s all blues.
Dennis Mathes was the bandleader of Big Creek Band with Sonny Ackerman on guitar and George Hinds on bass. They all played at Blues Fest every year and Dennis and Sonny were out at the park every week helping me build the bandshell.
Also playing on September 16, 2001, were David Pearce, vocals and guitar; Dave Pearson, vocals and guitar; and Mark Hill, drums.
The song we’re playing today features Dave Pearson singing a Merle Haggard song. And it don’t get more country than that.
Now for the interesting part of the story. I was rummaging around in the archives also known as a box of old CDs when I found a DVD labeled Big Creek Band. I looked at that and I thought, this is gold.
The video looks like it was shot on a VHS camcorder and it’s kind of rough with some skips and stops here and there. Fortunately the music was with us and one of the best songs recorded start to finish with no audio issues.
I copied the DVD to my hard drive digitizing it with Handbrake. And I uploaded it to the Something Blue Archives, one of my collections on the Internet Archive.
I used VLC to convert the video to an audio file and then I got the song I wanted from that. There is also a Dennis Mathes original on the video and I’m hoping to find an audio version of that song without the skips and stops. I recorded every show at every Blues Fest so I should have it around here somewhere.
Ok, that was all very exciting but not quite as exciting as this moment, right now, when I get to share this music with you.
Recorded at Blues Fest, on September 16, 2001, Here’s Big Creek Band with Dave Pearson singing the Merle Haggard song “Sing Me Back Home”.
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
Something Blue Archives
archive.org/details/from-the-archives-of-something-blue-2021-12-01
Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Moore’s Code, Joe Henderson, and Mike Stern. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
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Something Blue – Conversations – November 23, 2024
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Bruce H. Mccosar, Jesse Spillane, NJHB, Tom La Meche, and Jazoo. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
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Thanks Marty. Today we’re going to hear jazz from NJHB recorded at the very beginning.
I was planning on starting the New Jazz In Jonesboro concerts at TheArts@311 in 2013. It was Christmas break so I scheduled a session on December 29, 2012, with the founding members on NJHB.
I was rolling tape but I wasn’t really expecting to record an album. Turns out we played pretty good and we did. We recorded live in the studio, with just two mics recording the room, and we did it the NJHB way. We improvised the arrangements. We recorded four songs. I think I was the only musician there who had ever played them before. As I usually do with NJHB songs I made a radio mix for Arkansas Roots.
In our favor we had a room full of outstanding musicians.
Mike Lovell – guitar
Garrett Tyler – drums
Matt Jackson – bass
Hairy Larry – Fender Rhodes
Cody Ballard – tenor sax
and
Joseph Curtis – trumpet and flugelhorn
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Eilen Jewell, Melissa Carper, Anna and the Tanks, Angie Owens, Lady Day and The Prez, and Amy Helm. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
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Bebop Beatniks Live At Blues Fest Craighead Forest Bandshell Jonesboro, Arkansas September 24, 2023
Songs
00:00 African Violet 11:24 Thanks Mr. Cloud … 12:14 The Blue Crane 21:20 The dance floor is open … 21:42 Low Earth Orbit 31:08 Honky Tonk Jazz … 31:54 Sail Boats 38:37 In the audience … 39:15 Freddy’s Blues 45:34 Silence … 45:19 Malaysia 55:53 Introducing the band …
All songs by Larry Heyl
Personnel
Tyler Remagen - sax and flute Hairy Larry - piano and vocals Jeremy Jackson - bass Alex Washam - drums Conley Hunt - percussion and vocals
Bebop Beatniks Larry Heyl Composition Recital ASU Band Room September 10, 2023
Songs
00:00 African Violet 14:30 The Blue Crane 23:30 introducing the band … 24:24 Low Earth Orbit 33:32 Sail Boats 42:22 Freddy’s Blues 52:35 Malaysia
All songs by Larry Heyl
Personnel
Rike Robinson - trombone and vocals Tyler Remagen - sax and flute Cody Daugherty - trumpet Sophie Hacker - guitar and vocals Craig Collison - drums Jeremy Jackson - bass Conley Hunt - percussion and vocals Hairy Larry - piano and vocals
Livestreamed to Youtube from my Samsung Galaxy S10
Bebop Beatniks At Beatles Park Walnut Ridge, Arkansas May 27, 2023
Songs
00:00 We are Bebop Beatniks … 00:23 The Blue Crane 08:53 What a wonderful audience … 09:00 Candles 16:43 I’m going to rap … 17:04 African Violet 28:24 When Conley was a percussion student … 28:48 Low Earth Orbit 38:17 OK, here’s a swing song … 38:25 Sailboats 45:11 Crates is the companion piece to Candles … 45:20 Crates 53:36 One more song … 53:46 Malaysia
Personnel
Hairy Larry - piano, vocals Alex Washam - drums Conley Hunt - percussion Rike Robinson - trombone
Bebop Beatniks
On The Twitch Porch
April 2, 2023
Songs
00:00 Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael, public domain
08:27 African Violet
17:05 Sail Boats
24:26 Malaysia
33:37 Low Earth Orbit
42:37 The Blue Crane
Something Blue – Marbles – 2024-12-07 Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Live at The Sylvee on 2023-11-30 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Mr Blotto and Joe Russo’s … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home From The Archives Of Something Blue 2021-12-01 Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Big Creek Band play some real country music at Blues Fest. I always say … Continue reading →
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DJ Hairy Larry Presents Moore’s Code Playing Every Day From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-24 Moore’s Code Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a jazz song written by a former ASU student. Tim Moore would sit in with … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Conversations – November 23, 2024 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Bruce H. Mccosar, Jesse Spillane, NJHB, Tom La Meche, and Jazoo. For more … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing Circular Logic From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-17 Thanks Marty. Today we’re going to hear jazz from NJHB recorded at the very beginning. I was planning on starting the New Jazz In Jonesboro … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Goodbye – November 15, 2024 Amy Helm – Silver City This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Eilen Jewell, Melissa Carper, Anna and the Tanks, … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Anna and the Tanks Playing White Rabbit From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-10 Anna Lowery Thanks Marty, today we’re going to feature a song from the sixties recorded live at Blues Fest in 2024! Jefferson … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Burning – November 9, 2024 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Josh Parks, John Shepherd, and Phil Lesh and Friends. For more about the … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Josh Parks Playing Part Time Love From The Archives Of Something Blue – 2024-11-03 Josh Parks Playing At The King Biscuit Blues Festival Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear an Arkansas Blues Man play a … Continue reading →