MusicBasics4Keyboard

When a family member dies or a relationship ends, it may feel like the worst day of your life. It's time to let go and let God. Thank you for listening.

The remix of the Nature theme by Alex Lasarenko makes me swoon. How do you feel? The question for self-taught drummers at home, in the garage or the football field, what music were they listening to with earphones on their head? Are drums just about keeping time or is there much more going on? This episode is about the passing of Alex Lasarenko by Fritz Doddy. 

As music professionals, the whole of our career is the sum of our experiences in life along with our interactions with family, friends, and other music professionals. Alex Lasarenko was my creative director for over 10 years during our shared time at Elias Arts, now Elias Music. Elias earned the reputation as the “gold standard” because of its commitment to consistent quality and innovation when it came to writing and producing music. That reputation was earned, in no small part, due to Alex’s passion and drive to be the best.

Alex was a tough boss. He demanded quality, innovation, and a commitment to craftsmanship and artistry. His criticism could cut like a knife. Once, he famously blew up one of my potential tracks by just hearing one chord. One chord! I hadn’t even written anything yet! But, he had an instinct for good writing and championed us all. He never wavered in his support for his composers.

At the time, Alex couldn’t be bothered with the fine print of learning the burgeoning digital music technology. He had something better, sublime talent! While the rest of us wrestled with music, Alex danced with it. As a writer, he could go from pompous and extravagant, to simple and pastoral, instantly and effortlessly, as if Bach himself was whispering instructions in his ear. As a player, he coaxed myriad emotions out of the piano - peace, anger, joy, despair. If it was part of the human condition, he felt it and could play it.

We laughed a lot, and often. We annoyed our employers on occasion with our antics and shenanigans. If Alex wasn’t in the middle of it, he nodded quietly in approval. Elias wasn’t a stuffy, polite, or conventional company. The shit was crazy, and there are plenty of stories…

After Alex left Elias to start his own company, he remained a prolific composer and recording artist, releasing numerous albums and scoring many films and TV shows. We talked and emailed on occasion and had dinner a few times. But life and work have a way of separating folks.

My wife has a lovely saying, “In every relationship there is a flower and a gardener.” It’s true. Looking back, one could say that Alex was the flower in the relationship with his staff due to his need for control and perfection. But I believe the opposite is true. He pulled the weeds from our musical gardens, trimmed the dead parts of our sonic vocabulary, and forced us to bloom into the composers we are today. We were the flowers.

Dear Alex, we are forever in your debt - RIP 1963-2020.

Aren't you happy you tuned in? Today, I also created a Spotify poll for listeners and musicians. Would love to know more about you. Thank you for listening to Alex Lasarenko's remix of the Nature theme for PBS heard in this episode.

The next episode will feature a remix of the theme song by Alex Lasarenko for the PBS Nature series. It is available to download for personal use only, i.e. not for commercial use. Thank you for listening.

Drums, wood flutes, violins and French horns. The music says it all. The backyard is all about outdoor living, nature, and wild life. Financial support for PBS can be as little as $5.00  per month for regular viewers like  me.   Now you can take two expanded remixes of the NATURE theme music with you thanks to this exclusive free download. Percussive and powerful, and featuring the talents of several members of the New York Philharmonic, these new remixes created by the original composer Alex Lasarenko (of New York-based music company Tonal [Web site]), takes his powerful score to a whole new level while maintaining the grandeur of the original.

  **The theme song for Nature is a copyrighted work owned by THIRTEEN and is offered to users for personal use only. Any promotional, commercial or other use of the theme song without THIRTEEN’s express written permission is prohibited.  New York, NY (September 23, 2009)–Composer Alex Lasarenko has created two new remixes based on his original theme music to the venerable PBS show Nature.   “PBS wanted something with a sense of panorama to it, something with movement and energy, not some stilted, majestic score,” said Lasarenko, founder/creative director of music and sound design house Tonal.

“The melody is cinematic, but when paired with a powerful percussion groove, it takes it to a whole other level.”  Soaring and memorable, the original :40 theme effortlessly blended an orchestral feel with a distinctly African rhythm section, but it was clearly scored to picture. For the remixes, Lasarenko gave himself license to further explore the rhythm and the groove, bringing in an array of different percussion instruments, all the while still maintaining the melodic hook that viewers over the years have responded to.  To create the remixes, Lasarenko and the Tonal creative team not only revisited the original recordings, using some elements and discarding others, but also bringing in some guest musicians, including Phil Meyers, a first chair French horn player in the New York Philharmonic orchestra, and noted percussionist Todd Schietroma.

“Even though we have an array of digital samplers, software and synths at our disposal, there is something about a real musician and the nuance and phrasing they bring to a performance that you can’t recreate digitally,” Lasarenko says. However, Lasarenko notes, expanding a small piece of music can be a tricky affair. The longer version had to maintain what people love about the original piece but also take it to a new place that offers listeners a deeper musical experience.  The remixes are available as free downloads at the PBS website:   SOURCE: prosoundnetwork.com. 

Drums, wood flutes, violins and French horns. Percussive and powerful, and featuring the talents of several members of the New York Philharmonic, these new remixes created by the original composer Alex Lasarenko (of New York-based music company Tonal [Web site]), takes his powerful score to a whole new level while maintaining the grandeur of the original.  **The theme song for Nature is a copyrighted work owned by THIRTEEN and is offered to users for personal use only. Any promotional, commercial or other use of the theme song without THIRTEEN’s express written permission is prohibited.  New York, NY (September 23, 2009)–Composer Alex Lasarenko has created two new remixes based on his original theme music to the venerable PBS show Nature.   “PBS wanted something with a sense of panorama to it, something with movement and energy, not some stilted, majestic score,” said Lasarenko, founder/creative director of music and sound design house Tonal.

“The melody is cinematic, but when paired with a powerful percussion groove, it takes it to a whole other level.”  Soaring and memorable, the original :40 theme effortlessly blended an orchestral feel with a distinctly African rhythm section, but it was clearly scored to picture. For the remixes, Lasarenko gave himself license to further explore the rhythm and the groove, bringing in an array of different percussion instruments, all the while still maintaining the melodic hook that viewers over the years have responded to.  To create the remixes, Lasarenko and the Tonal creative team not only revisited the original recordings, using some elements and discarding others, but also bringing in some guest musicians, including Phil Meyers, a first chair French horn player in the New York Philharmonic orchestra, and noted percussionist Todd Schietroma.  “Even though we have an array of digital samplers, software and synths at our disposal, there is something about a real musician and the nuance and phrasing they bring to a performance that you can’t recreate digitally,” Lasarenko says. However, Lasarenko notes, expanding a small piece of music can be a tricky affair. The longer version had to maintain what people love about the original piece but also take it to a new place that offers listeners a deeper musical experience.  The remixes are available as free downloads at the PBS website:   SOURCE: prosoundnetwork.com. Thank you for watching.Tonight's music club selection is the theme song from Nature, a weekly documentary series by PBS.

Those words appeared in big letters in front of the hospital for pets. So, I stayed in my car. The flea meds were delivered to me by Annette from inside the building after processing my payment over the phone. Thanks for listening.

In this YouTube tutorial Jake Kim demonstrates fingering on a six-string guitar for Blessed Assurance. Connect with him on YouTube at his channel: Jake Kim Worship. Thank you for listening.

To be (in love) or not to be, that is the question. So, which is it? These are my thoughts about falling in love with people at a distance before actually meeting face to face which could be a real deal breaker. Take a chance on love has been popularized by Judy Garland, Johnny Mercer, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Anita O'Day, jazz legend, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey in 1978 and Ethel Waters in 1943. What's your story? Thank you for listening, friends and lovers.

Jane Monheit (born 1977) is an American jazz vocalist.  Published on YouTube by "Lecknertal - 15 million views with this comment: "I do not own any rights to this video or audio."  Lyrics:  Here I go again, I hear those trumpets blow again. All aglow again, taking a chance on love.  Here I stand again about to beat the band again. Feeling grand again, taking a chance on love.  I saw that cards were a frame up I never would try. But now I'm taking the game up and the ace of hearts is high. Things are mending now. I see a rainbow blending now. We'll have a happy ending now, taking a chance on love.

P.S. The day I hear trumpets blowing or "beating the band" to put it mildly will be very disturbing. Trumpets are my least favorite instruments like most instruments made of brass. I'm a wood winds, stringed and percussion enthusiast since childhood. Any performances built on jazz and improvisation send me heading for the exit. What about world music and rock and roll? I'm witch ya. That's a line from the movie My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin - very funny romantic comedy with merengue dance scenes, gangsters and a witness protection program.

I've also been known to sing opera and play Spanish guitar while singing to small audiences in public places. Read my books: Songbird at the Shopping Mall and From Piano to Puccini. They are available on Amazon and other online book sellers. 

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Blessed Assurance. Jesus is mine. Lyrics by Fanny Crosby. Learn more about this Christian song writer in the episode with her name in the title. Check out her biography online.

FYI: Merengue is a style of Dominican music and dance. Partners hold each other in a closed position. The leader holds the follower's waist with the leader's right hand, while holding the follower's right hand with the leader's left hand at the follower's eye level. Partners bend their knees slightly left and right, thus making the hips move left and right. The hips of the leader and follower move in the same direction throughout the song. Partners may walk sideways or circle each other, in small steps.

Consider investing in a fixer-upper but expect higher maintenance costs over the life of the home. Thanks for listening.

Phil Kidd moved to Cleveland two years ago to work as a city planner. In the midst of the pandemic, he decided to start an ambitious project to better understand his adopted city. Kidd has started a project to run all 3,000 street miles in Cleveland, and he researches, and writes about each run on his blog, "Every Street Cleveland." Special Correspondent Karla Murthy reports from Cleveland. Watch this PBS special report on YouTube. Thanks for listening.