Dudley Manlove Quartet : Roaring into 2013
We’re most definitely ready for 2013. Things are moving ahead with bookings for the band and we’re putting together a great schedule of shows in night clubs. This is my 4th year as a member of The Dudley Manlove Quartet and it’s a great experience to work with such fine musicians who also happen to be great friends. It’s rare to have a solid bunch of musicians who are so even-keeled and dedicated, and who get along so well. There are long hours involved with being in a band and we are blessed with an abundance of goofy humor to keep things upbeat. As musicians, we’re a serious bunch and spend a lot of time discussing our music, and are constantly fine-tuning to improve.
Over the past four years we’ve spent a lot of time polishing material that has been in the band’s repertoire and adding new songs with more complex arrangements. I didn’t expect that I’d ever have to learn to play harmonic, or to transcribe mandolin parts. But that’s been part of the fun! New songs almost always require transcription for me; I’m a big proponent of transcribing songs as a musical exercise – especially for guitar solos. It requires careful listening to an entire arrangement, and dissection of minutae that give a song its personality. For some songs I’ve spent significant time listening to the guitar parts trying to figure out exactly how something was performed on the recording. In a few cases I’ve been able to ask questions to the musician directly, to determine whether something was recorded backwards or sped up in post-production, or how they perform the song live. All that helps me develop an authentic arrangement for the song that can then be embellished with the band’s performance style.
For 2013 I have a number of objectives including developing my vocal range. More of our songs feature 3 part harmony and I’m enjoying the challenge of singing outside my usual range. The band has two very strong vocalists already so I have plenty of incentive to improve! As a guitarist, my objective for the year is to develop a stronger command of our jazz standards. I have some training as a jazz guitarist and want to extend my abilities, particularly for soloing over complex arrangements.
The opportunity to perform in an ensemble that has a balance of fun and serious musicianship is very rewarding. It keeps me on my toes and is good incentive to constantly improve. There is no substitute for playing in a live setting with other musicians.