Corrinne May- "The Gift"

Corrinne May's new Christmas album, "The Gift" is out in the stores now. Marcus says that I'm like his Corrinne May update/newsletter. I should receive commisssion for this service eh? haha! Are you listening Warner Music/Pink Armchair Records? :)

Anyway, for a preview of 2 tracks, "The Answer" and "Silent Night"...you can go to my multiply website.
http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/music
It's not a super-impressive album.....but well, we love her and will buy her cds all the same. She looks really pretty on this album. I love the hair. :)

I hope her next album featuring original songs will come out soon...that's the gem I'm waiting for.

OH MY!!!!!

Some Chris Botti fan in Canada read my review of his concert here, and posted it on the official Chris Botti website's forum!!!!!! It's the same forum that Chris Botti's tour manager, Jeremy, posts on. OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And people liked my review too!!! Teeheee!
Amazing how they found it man. Yes, I'm quite chuffed with myself now. haha!

http://www.bottionline.com/bulletin/showthread.php?s=2c572b0102e49e06a05312ba270ee6d9&threadid=3022

The fan found the review on my Multiply website:
http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/reviews/item/1

"A Thousand Kisses Deep"

Tonight was one of the best musical moments in my life.....watching Chris Botti live@Victoria Theatre. It was simply magical, everything a live concert should be- absolutely dazzling in terms of musical virtuosity and finesse (In Singlish, it means 'Fierce ah!' I've not seen such an incredible jazz band live, with the likes of Billy Childs and Billy Kilson. We were indeed a privileged lot. ), but most importantly, it was moving and inspiring because of the deep, special connection with the audience. *Sigh* That's what music is all about...that's why I love to sing.

Chris Botti and his musicians, are truly gifted.....they gave such stirring, sensitive and expressive performances. Andrea and I were reduced to mush, and moved to tears. Chris Botti's unique, silky tones were amazing to experience live. And like the Leonard Cohen song he regularly performs, it felt like "A thousand kisses deep"....to the soul. I'm just soooo glad I got to go.....would have really kicked myself if I gave it a miss. It was really worth every dollar! THANK YOU GOD, for letting me go!!!

It's really so rare to see an audience this engaged......it was like we were all cast under a spell. Nobody spoke a word while Chris was playing/speaking! And I must say, this guy is so refreshing in the way he bantered comfortably and freely with the crowd. Most famous musicians can't be bothered during their concerts. But Chris was telling stories about the songs he played, about his experiences (like playing with Sinatra!!), cracking jokes and really just establishing that awesome connection with the audience. I know I must sound like I'm just absolutely smitten haha! But if you were there you'd understand why. This guy is just incredibly personable, warm, good-natured and charming!

What a memorable night! :)

John Mayer Volkswagen Commercial.

*Dang* I've never wanted a car more!

BUTTON MOON

The opening sequence to that retro Brit children's show. Doesn't it bring bk warm, fuzzy memories? I love the Thames bit at the start too.

Go on, sing along with it. You know you want to! haha!"We're off to buttonmooooon..." :)

The Soul Cages

You hide behind a mask of cool demeanour,
A glossy, artful veneer you have designed.
Peel it all off and what will we find my friend?

A child.....held captive?

I see the turmoil your heart is in,
A torrent of emotions, that will not be denied
You're not as impenetrable as you think you are,
You're not that person they make you out to be.
The soul....was never meant to be caged.

Chris Botti Live@Victoria Theatre

I'M OVER THE MOON!!!! I'm going to watch Chris Botti LIVE@Victoria Theatre on the 25 Oct, Weds!!!!!!

Andrea and I have secured tix for the show ($100 each, and that was just for the cheapest seats in the house), and I managed to get my boss to grant me approval to reschedule my class for that night. I'm soooooooooooooo happy!! *jumps up and down in excitement* (breathes) *YIPEEEEEEEEE!!!*
Michelle never gets leave lor. heee!

We kinda decided to go in like 10 mins over msn. haha! Both of us were contemplating going alone before we even had our discussion. That's how badly I wanna see him lor. haha! If you watch the dvd you'll understand lah. His band is superb....and well, I dunno when I'll ever catch Chris Botti again. What if the stupid haze gives him such a bad impression of S'pore that he never returns? heh! I'm so glad that Billy Kilson, the brilliant drummer is coming along with Chris too!!

Oh yes, I've also secured my Corrinne May concert tix today. Ticket sales opened at 9am today. By 12noon, me and Berno only managed to get the 3rd row from the stage (stall). Warrau....Singaporeans super kiasu or what?? It's only Corrinne May leh! She comes back for concerts twice a yr lor people!

If you book your tix tmrw, I'll bet you that can only get circle seats, which suck. Some funny lady booked 20 tix at one go at the counter...so the guy at Sistic urged us to hurry up and buy our tix. Don't forget internet bookings as well. Madness!!

EVA CASSIDY- SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

She is my favourite singer in the whole wide world. No one compares to the late Eva Cassidy in terms of authenticity and emotive power in vocal delivery. Her phrasing was so exquisite, her story-telling so compelling! Truly, she was one of a kind.

Solitary

"I think I tend to be creative in a private sphere"-Sting

Me too!! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't even dare to compare myself to STING...but i totally identify with that. Why ah? Is it a Lit student syndrome? (Sting studied and taught English Literature.) Writing and reading are mostly solitary activities.

I find myself totally lost, and rather annoyed during group brain-storming sessions. To me, it's a waste of time. I'd be more productive if you left me alone to think for a bit....and I probably wouldn't like your ideas in the first place. (sorry if i sound grouchy, bad group work experiences in Uni)

Embraceable You

Had a bad day....but I have Chris Botti.
Chris Botti is the sweet balm to my soul, at the end of a weary day.
*Sigh* I just lose myself in the lush, silken sounds of his music.

What would I do without music?? I asked Jon, my singer-songwriter friend, this qn just now..."On a scale of 1 to 10, how impt is music to you in life?"
He replied "11/10".
haha! My own answer was 15/10. I didn't tell him that of course, until he gave me his answer.
Looks like we're both hardcore, we think alike.
Other pple would think and answer within the scale, our answers were both off the charts.
So what is it for you? :)

"Music is like air to me"- Chris Botti

In Repair

(by John Mayer)

Too many shadows in my room
Too many hours in this midnight
Too many corners in my mind
So much to do to set my heart right
Oh it's taking so long i could be wrong, i could be ready
Oh but if i take my heart's advice
I should assume it's still unsteady
I am in repair, i am in repair

Stood on the corner for a while
To wait for the wind to blow down on me
Hoping it takes with it my old ways
And brings a brand new life upon me

And now i'm walking in a park
All of the birds they dance below me
Maybe when things turn green again
It will be good to say you know me

Oh it's taking so long i could be wrong, i could be ready
Oh but if i take my heart's advice
I should assume it's still unsteady
Oh i'm never really ready, i'm never really ready
I'm in repair, i'm not together but i'm getting there
I'm in repair, i'm not together but i'm getting there

Chris Botti- LIVE

Conversation on msn a few hours ago:
==============================
Mich: G, I wanna cry!!!!
G: Why?? What happened?
Mich: Chris Botti dvd....it's sooooo gd!!! These musicians lahh. *swoon*
G: Blardy hell! I thot what happen....mosquito bite you or what!
Mich: (thinks) *why wld i cry over mosquite bite?*

In conclusion: we think this cd + dvd is just fantastic....the drummer Billy Kilson in particular is truly 'the baddest, most kick-ass drummer in the world' as Chris quoted. And yes G, I agree with you...he's really hot. haha! His playing on 'Why Not' was insane.

Those who are dismissing my recommendation because you associate Chris Botti with sleepy, smooth jazz should listen again. Chris is a whole new different animal LIVE!! This cd + dvd is just packed to the brim with fiery, high energy, dazzling, intense, fast, exciting jazz! I couldn't stop dropping my jaw during the amazing solos/improvisations. And it's filled with stellar performances by guest vocalists like Paula Cole, Sting, Renee Olstead, Burt Bacharach, Gladys Knight and more. The musical partnership between Sting and Botti, was particularly graceful and mesmerising. I've got this dvd on repeat mode!

I've learnt a valuable lesson from watching these great musicians on John Mayer's, Chris Botti's, Sting's albums.... playing/singing more or louder isn't always better...but it's about making every note, every vocal run/slide/ inflection/ lilt count. It's also about partnering with each other....not trying to out-do each other, but backing each other up. Now, that is great musicianship! Perhaps this is why I dislike showy divas like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson etc.

I've uploaded a few tracks from Chris Botti's new album on my Multiply site:
http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/music

Christmas with Corrinne May@Esplanade

Don't say I never inform you guys hor! :) Bet nobody else knows about this precious info. Heh!
(Don't bother spending time to THINK about if you should go for her concert...from past experience her tix sell out like hot cakes within a few days.)

16 Dec, Sat, Esplanade Concert Hall
Tix at $48 and $68.
Sales through Sistic will start on 19 Oct, Thurs
More info at: http://www.esplanade.com/SOPApp/espsop/portal_proxy?uri=rDS5J7I4v,M!bI8Q_h1XBHTJ.rMJKCSgmC9X.HZ49ihagg,Zs36nmN0_sJFM

Corrinne is working on her new album right now, and word has it that she should be releasing it around Christmas. :)

Random

1) My grandma makes me laugh lah. She left me a note last night on the kitchen table that said this: "POTATOE salad on the stove" heee!

2) Jon, I just wanna say I'm soooo proud of you. :) I'm glad that things are working out so divinely for your music. Am keeping ya in prayer! As for the promise to arrange for me a private audience cum poetry reading session with Sting, when you get famous....I'm very touched by that, and I will hold you to your word. HA! :p

Chubby Bunnies and other nonsense

The silly things we do at BMI to amuse ourselves!! :) Everytime Thurs comes, most of the coaches will be in a very chirpy mood, and we will be yelling 'HORRIDAY!!!' (holiday) randomly every other second. Friday is our off-day you see. Today, Berno and I took the madness to new levels as we decided to toast marshmallows at the pantry. Hmm....not an easy task as you can see....cos we had to use chopsticks instead of satay sticks (caused huge holes in the marshmallows)....and we had to tip-toe as the toaster was quite high up. The marshmallows took quite long to melt too....and they refused to brown. bleahh! Oh well, still fun all the same. hehe! Pammy my love, if only you were here...we could coat the marshmallows with nutella!!

Danny was the one who bought the huge packet of camp-fire marshmallows....for no particular reason. It caused quite a bit of excitement in the afternoon. (I truly think we're just a bunch of kids) He taught us this game...where you are supposed to put one marshmallow in your mouth, keep it there, and say 'CHUBBY BUNNY'. If you can say it rather coherently, then you're supposed to put another marshmallow in your mouth. This goes on until you're just totally incoherent, your mouth has no more room...and well...until you literally look like a CHUBBY BUNNY. hahaha! I think it's such great fun. We had a good laugh over it. Steph, you should try this one out. haha!

Tues was also the birthdays of one of the keyboard coaches, Jasmine. And we pulled off a series of pranks on her the whole week leading up to her birthday. (Well, to be honest...Berno and I were just bored, and decided that it was time for another massive prank to entertain ourselves. Jasmine's birthday was just a convenient excuse. And we figured that taping up Jasmine's locker was just to0 predictable.) The whole idea was basically to take turns going up to her, to do really random and nonsensical things. Here's what happened over the week.

1) Danny went up to her, speaking french for a whole min. Even when she appeared perplexed and replied back, he would continue speaking to her in french, as if she understood. It's like watching your fav TV show dubbed in the wrong language. haha!

2) Wilson took a giant torchlight, and demanded to search her mouth for something he had lost. All the while, shouting out instructions in Hokkien.

3) Dorcas sternly asked Jasmine "why did you eat my cookie?". Jasmine protested of course, but Dorcas would insist "I know you ate it! Why?? It was the only one I had." After many rounds of 'interrogation', Jasmine truly started to believe she ate the cookie unknowingly and felt quite apologetic. We couldn't believe it ourselves! That was quite good acting on Dorcas' part

4) When Jasmine asked for a new work polo-tee, Isabel our counterstaff made her sign for upon collection which is the usual practice. BUT Isabel made her sign for it 5 times!! Jasmine asked Dorcas "how many times did you have to sign for your t-shirt?" Dorcas played dumb and said "err...Bel ask me to sign how many times, then i just sign lor." Jasmine then commented "I don't understand how come my signature just evaporates after each time I sign leh!"

5) This is the best one. Berno and I typed out this official looking letter (with BMI "Take it higher" logo and all) saying this:
"Dear Coach,

We are currently upgrading our security system to include voice recognition scans. We will need your assistance in recording the following sounds. Please hold each word for 5 secs, and speak it with a smile for the best results. Thank you for your cooperation.

Ah Eh Ee Oar Ooh

M b p k t"

Jaime, our secretary went up to her for this assignment, and to do the recording. I taught her how to pronounce the sounds (they came from my vocal manuals), and timed her for it. Jasmine suspected nothing, and did it soooo earnestly and seriously that we felt bad. We were laughing so hard. Danny nearly choked on his water while hiding behind the pantry wall.

6) Finale: Daniel Wilson went up to Jasmine with a very serious face (he is soooo gd) and told her that she had to memorise this password, because Josephine our executive manager would test her on it. He even explained, how we had no choice and all. The ridiculous password was:
"The eagle has landed
The ducks are infected
The chickens are flying
The penguins are laughing"

After much coaxing, she finally bothered to write it all down, and pasted in her locker.
Josephine then went up to her and asked for the password. But Jo insisted that there were 5 lines to it. Of course Jasmine didn't know the last line, so Jo told her to go and find out. It's supposed to be 'The phoenix has exploded".

We had the big 'reveal' on her birthday on Tues, and Jasmine finally pieced everything together. haha! We gave her flowers, pressies, a card to make up for all our mischief of course.
We are a bunch of kids....we are. :)

Nocturnal

Lately, I've had to report to work at 2pm daily due to a new work policy. I must say my body is still getting used to the shock of being dragged to work at this 'unearthly hour'. Despite cups of coffee, showers, blasting of loud music....I still have a hard time waking up, and working productively in the afternoon.

Even up till today, I remain a groggy, grouchy creature until it hits around 7.30pm (when it starts getting dark). After that, it's all systems go....perky smiles and creative ideas galore. When I come home, I'm usually still on an adrenaline rush from my classes earlier, and I find it super difficult to turn in early. (it's 1.30am now, and I'm nowhere near sleepy)

Jaime and Jo (our admin staff) overheard me psyching myself up in the office this afternoon, "Wake up Michelle! WAKE UP!!"
I whined to them about my nocturnal habits, and then to my own shock and horror came to this discovery...."I'm a HAMSTER!!!" (that's right Gerbils are nocturnal. I know, cos I used to keep lotsa them)

Jaime laughed, and was kind enough to refine my statement, "No lah, you're an owl."

Run, Baby, Run

We had a meeting in the office today as part of syllabus planning.
My boss highlighted this 'trend' that he observed in the bible. God often chooses to use those who like to run away, ie. resistant to heed God's divine call, or those who feel that they are highly inadequate. Eg. Moses, Jonah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Amos etc.

That was a major 'UH-OHH!!' moment for me....

Disclaimer: I'm not saying that God doesn't use those who are willing to avail themselves...but sometimes it depends on HOW we avail ourselves too. If we come before Him in surrender, and with humility like Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8), then of course....God can use us. But if we avail ourselves in pride, self-confidence...like the self-righteous Pharisees, then we miss the point.

I guess sometimes we really need God to "scare us to death" with a divine call that is so high, so impossible to fulfil based on our own weaknesses, and inadequacies......just to remind us of how human we are....and how big He is!

Chris Botti Live in Tokyo - Embraceable You

I couldn't resist posting this. Not only does Chris Botti have a gorgeous tone, he also does excellent interpretations of these jazz standards.

Sting & Chris Botti- "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"

This song brings back such bitter-sweet memories from my Uni days. Sigh....and to imagine that I found a version performed by Sting AND Chris Botti!!! Sweet, the ultimate combination lah. Don't you guys think Chris looks like a younger version of Sting?? His playing on the trumpet is just beautiful....awesome velvety tones. He's the only trumpeter I bother to listen to. I hate the fact that I can't go for his concert here on 25 Oct. Arghh!!

p.s: This song was also featured in "Sleepless in Seattle"....in case you find it familiar. :)

Sheryl Crow & Sting - Always On Your Side

This song doesn't exactly show off Sting's musical chops...but man, does he look good here with the gorgeous Sheryl Crow!

"Always On Your Side"

by Sheryl Crow ("Wildflower" Album)

my yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
but every now and then you come to mind
cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
but when your name was called, you found a place to hide
when you knew that i was always on your side

well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent
but your demons and your angels reappeared
leavin' all the traces of the man you thought you'd be
leavin' me with no place left to go from here
leavin' me so many questions all these years

but is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally
this isn't how it's really meant to be
no it isn't how it's really meant to be

well they say that love is in the air, but never is it clear,
how to pull it close and make it stay
butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away
and i'm left to carry on and wonder why
even through it all, i'm always on your side

"You can't control an independent heart"

Don't tell me what to do, or what to think.
Don't presume that you are better than me.
Don't subject me to your narrow-minded beliefs
and your hasty judgements.
Don't you see the veiled face of Nazism?
Don't you see?
You people have got it all wrong.

"You can't control an independent heart
Can't tear the one you love apart "- 'If you love somebody set them free' by Sting