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Sunday, August 4, 2024 - La La Land
Sunday, August 4, 2024 was my wife Nadya Tichman's last concert with the San Francisco Symphony. That's after a 44 career playing in the Second Violins, the First Violins, and in the role of Associate Concertmaster. Sunday's concert was a showing of the movie La La Land, conducted by Justin Hurwitz. That score also has guitar, so I was able to play together with Nadya on her last couple of performances. It was a very poignant moment for both of us, but especially for her! The orchestra played terrifically, as always.
Photo Credits to Sylvia Chen and Alan Marwill.
July 16, 2024 - The Sound of Magic concert with the San Francisco Symphony
This is the stage setup for the Walt Disney "The Sound of Magic" concert with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall this past weekend. Disney clips from the last 100 years, with live music - fun for everyone! The orchestrators came up with some great harp / guitar interplay; I think the harp should be a permanent part of the rhythm section! Jieyin Wu was in the harp chair for these concerts; it was a real pleasure working with her. And the rest of the orchestra played wonderfully, as always. Sarah Hicks conducted.
June 9, 2024 - Thanks to all my friends for the birthday wishes! It was a great day....and now I have a Fender clock for the studio wall! My daughter Fanya commented on this very appropriate and special present: "What time is it? Time to practice!" Birthday Presents (T-shirt and Clock) courtesy of Sylvia Chen.
Terrific movie, cast, and music (composed by David Arnold) - and the iconic James Bond theme - known to guitarists and Bond fans worldwide! The James Bond theme itself was composed by Monty Norman; John Barry did the film arrangement. Unlike many previous Bond films, this arrangement happens during the end credits and is played in its entirety. This image, taken by Lisa Zadek from Box A in Davies Hall, illustrates the situation on stage much better than my usual snapshot of the guitar, amp, and music stand. The guitar chair and the electric bass chair are in front of the percussion section, just below the lower left corner of the movie screen. Dan Smith played Fender bass and upright. It's always a pleasure to work with Dan; we really enjoyed ourselves playing this score. Jake Nissley (drums), John Wilson (piano), and the entire San Francisco Symphony - the house was rocking!
The guitar setup for this film was very basic: 1 guitar, 3 different sounds. Distortion-lead for the solo lines and power chords in the opening sequence ("You Know My Name", written by Chris Cornell and David Arnold), and in a few other spots; clean tremolo in a couple of spots, and for the actual James Bond theme: clean sound, treble up all the way, volume full up, played ponticello on the bridge pickup. The music is marked "Dirty twang". I used my brown Frankenstrat (Kinman P-90s).
The original recording of the James Bond theme was recorded on June 21,1962. Vic Flick played the guitar part. Click here for more details.
Casino Royale in concert - San Francisco Symphony, February 8-9.2024
Nicholas Buc: conductor
Photo: Lisa Zadek
January 10, 2024. Ultimate Moose? There are a few folks out there in internet-land for whom this phrase will ring a bell. Let me know if you're one of those people! Hover the cursor over the image for a few hints.
Ultimate Moose Jazz Combo at UC Berkeley in 1976-1977. Hints: Ted Marsh, from Anaheim, CA - played keyboards, Who played drums and bass?!? Man in the Green Shirt, Freedom Jazz Dance with Ted's inspired chromatic bassline!
This isn't limited to Ultimate Moose ("Jazz Moosic!"). How about the 1974-75 Tuesday Band and the 1975-76 Monday Band?
Below is the 1974-75 UC Berkeley Tuesday Band.
Back row, left to right: Carolyn McNabb (keys); Talbot Katz (bass), Gunnar Madsen (keys); Front row, left to right: Jim Fiatarone (sax), Pam Massengill (sax), me, Bob Stone (sax), Margie Lund (sax); Lary Graber (leader, sax).
The Batman (movie), with live orchestra - August 2-3, 2023 SF Symphony.
Michael Giacchino (composer), Joshua Gersen (conductor)
This movie has a very dark and moody score, which supports the film's look: lots of shadows, night scenes, and dim illumination overall. There are frequent bursts of action: chases, fights, gunplay, and mayhem, with the music appropriate to the mood at hand. I found this score quite different from other Michael Giacchino scores (Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Up, Dr. Strange, Mission Impossible III, and many others). Giacchino is known for using humorous titles on his movie score track titles. Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) is featured in The Batman; the music cues for a couple of her scenes are: "Meow and You and Everyone we know" and "Crossing the Feline".
The Batman [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Michael Giacchino
Sitting next to me on Fender P-bass was SF Symphony bassist Dan Smith; behind us was the SF Symphony percussion section - prominently featured throughout the movie. Oftentimes these live-orchestra movies have the musicians listening to a click track, which helps in synchronizing the music to the action on-screen. In this particular case we didn't use the click; conductor Joshua Gerson led the orchestra directly from the podium and everything lined up just fine.
Shoreline Amphitheater: Capathia Jenkins' Aretha Franklin tribute and the San Francisco Symphony - July 4, 2023
Getting set up....
All set up, minus the Taylor 6-string acoustic, Capathia Jenkins, ....and approximately 100+ orchestra and crew members.
Shoreline Amphitheater - July 4, 2023
This was my office this week. Why banjo, you may ask? A new arrangement of Jingle Bell Rock....which started out in Dixieland style with solo banjo for 8 bars. Then orchestra for a bit. Then it turned into a rock version with distorted lead guitar solo licks...not exactly like the Bobby Helms original 1957 country / rockabilly version!
Another interesting day in show business!
That's Scott Pingel's bass right behind the guitar; on the left you can see the neck of his Modulus 6-string electric. Right behind the electric bass is Artie Storch's drum kit. Capathia Jenkins and Paul DeSare were the terrific vocalists; they sang a mix of holiday songs, including arrangements of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra tunes, and many others as well. The SF Symphony Chorus filled the hall with their huge and lovely sound, and the orchestra played wonderfully, as always. It's always a treat to play with musicians of this caliber.
A good time was had by everyone. Happy holidays to all!
Cool Yule: December 22, 2021
San Francisco Symphony, with Capathia Jenkins and Paul DeSare, conducted by Stephen Reineke
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Davies Hall, San Francisco
Left to right in the front: Alexander Barantschik, my wife Nadya Tichman, and me...wearing our concert-black N-95s!
A screening of the Princess Bride, with the San Francisco Symphony playing the music live. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) wrote the score; hence the prominent guitar part. Sarah Hicks conducted the orchestra. It's nice to sit up in the front!
Photo by Sylvia Chen
The Princess Bride in Concert
September 22 and 23, 2021.
Cary Elwes is wearing his mask up a bit too high. The rest of us have N-95s. As you wish….!
Photo by Sylvia Chen
