Danish Songs

Danish Songs, Solo Guitar

My 86 year old mother lives alone in an apartment in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC and just around the corner from my brother. I call her from my home in San Francisco every week or so and ask about what she is doing. Many times she has told me that she is reading, singing, and/or listening to Danish songs. They are “just so lovely,” she tells me. And they are.

My mother and her siblings, and all Danish children before and since then, have grown up singing these songs at school and at social gatherings. Some of the songs date back to the Middle Ages, more modern ones have become integrated in the repertoire over time. Much of the lyrics describe the Danish nature – the countryside, the trees, the beaches, the birds, the sunrise and the night time. “Dronning Dagmar” describes the death of a beloved queen. “Man Binder Os På Mund og Hånd” was a protest song written during the German occupation of the Second World War. “Jeg Er Havren” is a song told from the point of view of an oat stalk: “I am the oat, I wear bells – more than twenty on each stalk. I am sown while happy larks are singing on green hills . . . if you listen closely you will hear the lark singing inside of my stalk.”

The melodies are as interesting and beautiful as the lyrics. As an instrumental musician myself I have often bemoaned increasing loss of melodies from our society as drum loops and “hooks” have seemingly taken over popular music. These Danish melodies serve as a refreshing antidote. So much beauty, so much mood, so much music – mostly all within one octave and 8 bars. Whenever I am stressed, whenever I miss Denmark (much of the time) I pick up my guitar and play these songs and feel my blood pressure drop instantly.

In the Fall 2009 I was thinking about giving my mother a present.  What to give her? Of course! Her songs, played by me. I picked out some of my favorites, worked out arrangements for them, recorded them onto my laptop computer and presented her with a CD. Sure enough, she just loved them. And when my brother Andy came to visit her a few weeks later, he loved them too. “You should record these in a real studio,” they told me. And so this project was born.

“Danish Songs” Karen Segal, Solo Guitar is due to be released on 1/1/11 (how’s that for a cool due date?!) Recording started at OTR studios in March 2010 when I recorded 20 songs in 2 days (phew! – not recommended). I quickly became consumed with other band related projects and Danish Songs was put on hold. This gave me plenty of time to listen to the recordings, which convinced me to spend an extra 4 hours adjusting a couple of songs. Some very interesting correspondence with Jennifer Brinch, a woman I met at the Århus Jazz Festival, also convinced me to do a little more “exploration” than I had on my previous recordings, as well as to include two of my own Danish-related original compositions.

Who will listen to these songs? Danes? Americans? My jazz listeners? World music listeners? Folk music listeners? Guitar buffs? Who knows? These are not jazz songs as such and I do not play them with a jazz feel. They are Danish folk songs. My mother wants to be able to sing along with them. They are played with love for my mother, for Denmark, with longing and care. They are slow and dreamy. They are for anyone who enjoys beautiful melodies played soft and dreamy on solo guitar.

Hear “Den Danske Sang” – available now as free download if you are on my mailing list

http://www.reverbnation.com/karensegal#!/artist/artist_songs/415363
You will find unmastered Danish songs if you scroll down to the very bottom of the song list.

Karen Segal Quartet @ Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Arrival at Copenhagen Airport, July 8 2010

Left to right: Cousin Thomas, Karen S, Maya, Karen M, Ricky front: Camille.

Where are Perry & Cathi?  They arrived early and had already booked themselves a room at Hotel D’Angleterre (!) (they got a good deal) before Thomas came up with the van idea.  photo by Lilah Rose

The Batida Bus

The first Big Problem to solve when planning our trip was how to get my cousin’s bass from Copenhagen to Århus for Perry to play. After much consideration, Thomas figured out how not only to get his bass there but also the rest of us. He arranged to borrow the 9 seater van from Batida, the theater group that he works with.  (Among other things, he composes and plays bass and violin in a clown outfit). They are on break at the moment so the van was available, even though they will soon be rehearsing daily for their October trip to Shanghai where they will be performing at the World Fair.  When Thomas told us he had a van, none of us imagined that it was a big beautiful Mercedes.  Woah!  Check out Batida – they are super creative and brilliant http://www.batida.dk/

Kontrabass.com

Don’t all tourists to Denmark make their first stop at an inconspicuous bass repair shop in the countryside?  This guy keeps a low profile I guess so nobody bothers him and his umpteen basses.  The sign outside is only for a boxing club.  Thomas’s bass had gotten some work done so we had to pick it up.

Jesper Carlsen became an unofficial guardian angel of our trip.  An Aarhus -based bassist and friend of my cousin Thomas, he had offered to let us borrow his bass instead of shlepping Thomas’s all the way from Copenhagen.  But he would be playing too and we’d have to keep trading the bass back and forth and I didn’t know the guy and it made me too nervous so I declined his offer and went for the shlep instead.  Then I asked Jesper if he knew of a place where we could rehearse in Århus the day before the first concert and he said sure, we could practice at his place.  Turns out that Jesper Carlsen is Super Cool and so is his rehearsal space.  I should have taken more pictures of it.  The walls are a collage of posters, photos, newspaper clippings and other interesting things.  Unfortunately we were not at the beach because it was an unseasonably hot day and we were shvitzing in there which is partly why we look glazed & baked.  After a half hour or so what we thought was a mirage turned out to be Jesper popping in with a tray of water, juice, beer & coffee.

After another hour or so Jesper came back and asked us if we’d like to stay for dinner after the rehearsal. Well, we’d all like to but Perry had plans to be with his wife, Ricky to be with a friend, Maya to be with her cousin and her ex and me to be with my wife and daughter.  “No problem,” said Jesper, “you can bring them all.”  So after our rehearsal we found ourselves sitting in his beautiful backyard eating bøf med løg og kartoffelsalat: beef with onions and potato salad plus all sorts of other delicious things including fresh food from his garden.  Jesper told us that he had received this “ecological beef” from a student in exchange for bass lessons.

Jesper Carlsen

This is Jesper holding a treble clef woodcutting that his wife gave him in one hand and, if you look closely, you will see “The Mystery Of Life” in his other hand.  One of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.  I heard him play too and he can swing!

Muziki - Ruhija School Of Music

MUZIKI is a danish private initiative to support Ruhija School of Music in the Bukoba area of Tanzania by collecting and supplying the school with musical instruments and gear.  Jesper supports them, has visited there and donated a bass that he fixed for them.  Check them out at http://muziki.dk/english.htm

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Finally!  The show at Klostertorvet!  Maya Kronfeld, piano; Perry Thoorsell, bass (you can sort of see him); Karen Segal, guitar; Ricky Carter, drums

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Karen Segal Quartet Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

The paparazzi would stop bothering us.  Only joking!  Thats Martin Madsen, my cousin’s son taking video footage.  Thanks Martin!  You can see some of his footage at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0IF8o1jryg&feature=channel (What Goes Around) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYDddo2HcMU&feature=channel (Come With Me) Another guy, Lars Hansen from ArtTalentsCom, shot some video too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRYpDNTdWN0 (Lilah Rose)

Karen Segal at Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

check out the guitar reflection on the piano!

Karen Segal at Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Karen Segal at Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Ricky Carter at Aarhus Jazz Festival, 2010

Ladies and gentlemen, Ricky Carter

Karen & Ricky at the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Maya Kronfeld, piano @ Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Maya is a huge Bay Area talent and we were fortunate to have her join us on this trip.

Lilah & Aslan selling the merchandise

Karen Segal/Marilyn Mazur interview Danish Radio 7.13.10

left to right: myself, Carsten Ortmann from Danish Radio, Marilyn Mazur at Klostertorvet, two days after our show and a couple hours before Marilyn’s.

This was a really interesting interview that included the question “why are there so few women instrumentalists at jazz festivals.”  I have been pondering the question ever since.  It was a tremendous experience, my first radio show as such, and in the company of none other than my beloved mentor Marilyn Mazur.

The program was broadcast later that evening as a one hour show featuring . . . me!  The broadcast includes some of my recordings as well tracks “that inspired me,” where I give a little introduction about what about them inspired me, including Emily Remler’s “Dahoud” (the first other woman jazz guitarist I ever heard, ten years after I had been playing jazz.)  Also included was Carla Bley, the only other woman jazz composer I’d ever heard of.  And Joshua Redman, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin & Melissa Ethridge.

Karen Segal/Marilyn Mazur interview Danish Radio 7.13.10

“Can you tell the difference between women and men musicians when you hear them?,” asked Carsten Ortmann from Danish Radio.  “Absolutely not,” answered Marilyn.  “Music goes beyond all boundaries.  Some women played strong and fast because that’s how they hear it or how they think they have play in order to have opportunities in the jazz world.  For some men playing jazz is a chance for them to show their more sensitive side.”

Karen Segal interview with Danish Radio

My cousin’s radio

This is the radio at my cousin Hans Henrik’s house where I was staying.  At 10 PM (kl. 22) on July 13, I turned it on to hear my very own “In The Moment.”  What followed was a one hour program of my thoughts, experiences, inspirations, some more of my recordings and a number of recordings that inspired me.  I intend to transcribe and translate this interview (I did it in Danish) and make it available on my website.

Makiko Hirabayashi Trio at Aarhus Jazz Festival July 13 2010

Makiko Hirabayashi, piano;  Klavs Hovman, bass; Marilyn Mazur, drums
They played Klostertorvet two days after we did.  Awesome show!

Marilyn Mazur, drums

Meeting and playing with Marilyn as a teenager in Denmark has remained one of my most memorable and inspiring music experience throughout my life.  This summer’s encounter with her was the first time I saw her again since then and it quickly all came back to me.  Marilyn and her music is magic and it is impossible to not fall under her spell.

Bassist Klavs Hovman (Marilyn's husband), myself, & Marilyn

KSQ @ Fairbar, Aarhus Jazz Festival July 14, 2010

Fairbar is a super cool coffeeshop that runs totally by volunteers to promote art, music & debate.  All profits go to worldwide humantitarian aid projects.  “Welcome to a creative and committed cafe which offers concerts, art exhibitions, debate, and where we focus on social and existential issues.”  http://www.fairbar.dk/

Perry Thoorsell, bass; Aardvark, wall; Maya Kronfeld, piano

I can see its hard to get good pictures of pianists – very hard to get their hands and face at the same time.  Finally got a decent shot of Perry.

Karen Madison, photographer & Ricky's girl friend

Cathi Thoorsell, Perry's wife

Cathi and Perry for mayor! These guys know how to make the most of a trip.   They made friends everywhere they went.

Daniella, Maya's Danish cousin

Camille Angel, wife, photographer, chauffeur, rabbi

Lilah Rose presents the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Lilah Rose, official mascot of the Aarhus Jazz Festival 2010

Lilah Rose

Earplugs for $2 @ Fairbar

Don’t ya wish they sold at all the clubs?  And movie theaters?  Or maybe if people just turned down a bit?

Yeah!

Three cheers for music, inspiration, travel, collaboration, family & friends

And for the Aarhus Jazz Festival ~ truly a jazz festival by & for the people of the city. http://www.jazzfest.dk/?a=reviews&lang=da&s=bands&kryds_id=674 Thanks to Mads Pinholt,  Festival Organizer,  for inviting us.

This tour is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Andreas Skotting, who was born and died in Aarhus.

Special thanks to the American Embassy in Copenhagen & Fulbright Grant for funding assistance.

Tusind tak til alle de Bredsdorfer, Skottinger, og Fabriciuserne for at vœre med og for alle de mange måde i har hjœlpet til!

The Magician / Musician’s Apprentice

When people ask me where I got the inspiration from to become a musician I often find myself transported to my grandmother’s 75th birthday in the barn at my aunt Eva’s farmhouse in Denmark, I was seven or eight years old and my cousins Thomas, Helle and Nina were singing and playing music. Everybody was dancing, transformed under a magical spell of excitement and connection. Right in that moment I knew that I too wanted to become an agent of that magical transformation – I wanted to be a musician.

Now my cousins and I are grown up they are still my musical inspirations. Thomas can groove the @#$% out of any instrument that he picks up. He can fly all over a piano and keep it sounding fresh indefinitely. He plays violin, guitar and flute professionally. He sings beautiful bass and choral harmonies. He studied contrabass at the Danish Royal Conservatory, in Prague, and with from Niels Henning Ørsted Petersen. He is also a trained and experienced music educator with a speciality in making music creation accessible to all people, young and old with little or no prior musical training. One of the many jobs he performs is accompanying a Danish theatre group which will be travelling to perform in China in 2011. Walking inspiration. It would be amiss to neglect mentioning that he is a great guy who is fun and interesting to hang out with.  And I love him.

Late last year I was thrilled to be invited to bring my quartet to perform at the Århus Jazz Festival 2010. I also knew that as the band leader I would be facing a number of logistical and practical challenges. At the top of the list was that pesky problem of how to transport an upright bass from San Francisco to Århus. I turned to Cousin Thomas who immediately and generously offered the use of his bass and amplifier. Great! . . . now how would I transport the bass from his house on the Danish island of Sjœlland to the peninsula town of Århus? After running a number of possibilities back and forth, Thomas came up with this plan. He will borrow the 9 seater van belonging to his theatre company and load in his bass and amp. He will drive out to the Copenhagen airport and meet me, the band, and my wife and daughter. He will drive us all 3-4 hours to Århus. That is how we will get there. Wow – sounds like a plan, huh?!

Just so happens that Aunt Lasse, Thomas’ mother, will be celebrating her 85 birthday the next day in a little town just outside of Århus and Thomas was planning to be there anyway. He will pick up his daughter there and the two of them will come and stay at our cousin Hans Henrik’s house in Århus with my family and I. It is available to us these days because Hans Henrik and his wide are currently visiting San Francisco and staying in our house.

Can you follow all this? Its stranger than fiction, right? There are many players in the magical mystery (of life) tour bringing my San Francisco Quartet to Århus. Topping the list is my band, Ricky, Perry, & Maya, my wife Camille and my daughter Lilah.  Cousin Helle,  her daughter Julie, son Martin, and our cousin Kirsten for making sure that we all have working cellphones & SIM cards. Cousin Ingrid is lending her Arhus apartment to Ricky and his girlfriend Karen.  Peter Anderson is waking up at the crack of dawn to get us to the airport on time.  Then there are The Fairies who I haven’t met yet: Mads Pinholt from Århus Jazz Festival who invited us; Deb MacLean from the US Embassy who funded our airfare with a Fulbright Grant; Århus bassist Jesper Carlsen who has invited us to rehearse at his house the day before our first show. Somehow I have a feeling that there may be more Fairies to come as the trip unfolds. Today’s blog pays tribute to my dear cousin Thomas, who I adore, admire, enjoy and am deeply grateful to. His inspiration has fuelled my musicianship from an early age. Next week that inspiration takes a very practical turn.

Stay tuned to future blogs to learn more about the many wild & wonderful talents of his sisters Helle & Nina . . .

Cousin Thomas is very talented. He learned how to do this in Africa. That is real milk and cheese on his head.

Karen Segal Trio with Special Guest Jef Labes

I needed a piano player for an upcoming show and out of the middle of nowhere Jef Labes walked in. Who? Good question. He told me he could read and play standards and his vibe told me yeah, so I got his number. When he left I googled him and turns out he toured and recorded with Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison. Kay . . . . think he can handle my gig (!) . . . Turns out he was all I could’ve hoped for and more: inside, outside and all around with joy, passion, exuberance and taste. Read my crazy charts like they were Harold and the Purple Crayon. Turns out he’s the guy on the original recording of “Moondance” so of course we had to play that. I felt like Wes Montgomery playing “Think I’m Goin Out Of My Head.” But the real test came when a listener requested Sophisticated Lady. Man – haven’t played that in years – really glad I brought my Real Book! Jef took it in no problem, except when it turned out he was in a different key . . . turned out that was no problem either because he (check this out) modulated the melody chromatically while he was playing until he matched my key. When I told this to a friend she suggested that he availed himself of the chromatic melodic descension, but that’s not what he did! He ascended chromatically til it matched the bass and I, all the while maintaining the melody. He’s got the magic. Plus he is super good people. I’m looking forward to working with him this summer at the JCC Macabbi ArtsFest up in his home town of San Raphael. And many more gigs in the time to come!

His steady gig is his one man dinner show with drum machine, vocals, swangin bass line in his left hand and groovin fills in his right. Check it out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ELmSIZrgrT0&feature=related and his home page: http://jeflabes.com

For A Price

I’m old and cynical and well-traveled enough that I don’t often get caught out or taken for a ride.  I’ve seen it all.  So what was I thinking???  I thought I’d make a cool new CD, send it around, make some phone calls and watch and listen to it spread on its own merit.  That’s how it works, right?  WRONG!  Duh!  How gullible was I?  It hadn’t even occurred to me that there approximately $3000 was missing from the equation.  And that is a lowball promotion.  There are plenty of promoters, writers, magazines, distributors, and internet sites that would be more than happy to get the word out about me and my music – with “dissolving image ads,” inclusion in a sampler CD, and more – for a price.  Of many digits.

It has taken me several weeks to digest this information.  Bit by bit I am coming to accept and understand and realise that this is the way it is and maybe the way it has to be.  I am here on vacation with my family in the backwaters of Maine.  Everywhere is “Lobster this” and “lobsta that” and it turns out that the lobster sellers pay $20,000 a year to have a license to sell lobster.  That’s a lot of lobster dinners.  When in the summer do they start getting a return?  What about now that the red tide scare is on?  My sister-in-law, an attorney from Chicago, is visiting with us these days.  She pays several hundred dollars a year to keep her license renewed.  It seems that everybody throughout society has to “pay to play.”  Back in the Middle Ages they had trade guilds.  Now they have unions.  Everybody has to pay club dues.
Everyday hundreds of people create their own CDs.  Each person who makes one thinks that theirs is the best.  You gotta hear it!  But who on earth has the time to listen to a hundred CDs a day?  No one, that’s who.  Somehow these piles of CDs need to get whittled down so that these stressed out underpaid gatekeepers can manage their jobs AND pay their overhead, their rent, and buy some groceries.  So I understand guys, we’re all just trying to get by.

The trouble is that I shot my wad making the CD.  What was I thinking?  I have no money left to promote it.  I booked a couple of extra days in the studio while I was making the CD just so I could take the time to get it right and make it how I wanted it to be.  I got a percussionist in for a couple of tracks.  A guest bassist . . . all the while oblivious to the impending delivery.  It reminds me of when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and one day it dawned on me that this enormous mass inside of me was going to have to come out somehow.  Yikes!  Time to start a savings fund for my club membership dues.  Turns out “gotta pay your dues to play the blues” is a twist on a twist on a twist!

It would be amiss here to to fail to mention the awesome souls who have opened gates for me and promoted me for FREE.  My Street Team, especially the Lieutenant Governor Tracy Artson and all the mailing list people who have clicked and called around on my behalf; Bryan Rodgers who wrote an extensive CD review on his blog http://woundedmessenger.wordpress.com; and “Chuy” Varela, Music Director for KCSM San Mateo.  My deep gratitude goes out to you! XOXOXOX

The Continuing Saga of “The Mystery Of Life”

My new CD “The Mystery Of Life” is being dispersed around the globe (well, USA, Canada, Denmark & UK) as we speak.  It is traveling in its many post modern ways – uploading and downloading through various cyberspace sites, USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, in people’s luggage, on the phone, through my prayers of heart and soul and most importantly good ole fashioned word of mouth. I am sending them in the direction of anyone who who stands a chance of listening.  Like blowing dandelion seeds, I send them with the wish that they may take root and sprout, resonating in the ears of listeners.  Like dandelion seeds I don’t really know where they go and there is a magical quality to the wonder . . .

The feedback so far is heartening.  Latest updates include that AbstractLogix will be selling and promoting them.  They are John McLaughlin’s exclusive sellers and they also do Pat Metheny and Mike Stern and Chick Corea and Jeff Beck and Fareed Haque and all the cool cats whose company I am honored to be with.  My mom received her copy a couple of days ago and left me a message that she had already listened to it “several times” and “it is beautiful.”  Well, yeah, that’s my mom.  But I had actually been quite nervous about her response.  What if she didn’t like it??  I would do my best to ignore it but ooooh, that would sting.  Because yeah, she’s my mom.  JAZZIZ magazine just contacted me and said they want to do a feature.  Thats way cool because they are very cool and I am short on press.

Some of my favorite feedback has come from two teenage boys in my life.  They are super cool kids and really good musicians in their own right.  Both of them said independently “I HATE jazz, but I like Karen’s music.”   I am at once flattered that I have made my way through their  jazz block, yet at the same time taken aback by such vehement disdain for the jazz art form.  Yikes!  How is it that these bright young musicians HATE jazz so much?  Have they suffered from lack of exposure?  Or were they exposed to something in the name of jazz that offended them?  Did someone  play a million notes at the speed of light and leave them feeling cold and left behind?   I know this feeling from other places in my life, as a Jew, as a Lesbian.  “I don’t like Jews, but you, you’re okay,” or, “I don’t like Lesbians, but you’re okay.”  Gee, ah, thanks . . . that’s great, I think . . .

Whatever the reason is that these boys have forsaken jazz, I am pleased that somehow they are able to connect with my playing and compositions.  It gives me hope that I have “crossover appeal.”  Because at the end of the day, if music speaks to you, touches you, brings you somewhere that you need to be, maybe even opens your heart and mind to new possibilities, then it doesn’t really matter what genre it is called.  Sign up on my mailing list at www.karensegal.com for a free download of “Moonrise”, a Pat Metheny-type composition that builds, well, rises!

The mYsteRy oF LiFe is boRn!

They finally arrived each their shiny shrink wrap in seven boxes – my new baby: The mYsteRy oF LiFe, my first full length CD of original music. My dear friend the amazing dancer and choreographer Anne Bluethenthal asked my daughter how it felt to have a new little sister, the CD. She looked a little perplexed but I knew what she meant. After a 47 year gestational period, they are born and already ready to go off into the world. I have been to the post office at least once a day for the past two weeks sending them all over the world in their yellow padded envelopes. I am handing them out to anyone who promises to listen to them and to call up jazz radio stations to request their favorite tune.

Basically I’ve been an administrator since the boxes arrived and I have barely played the guitar. Oooh how I miss it, yet I am driven by a fear of my CD boxes getting dusty and turning into makeshift garage shelving if I don’t get it out there and get the ball rolling. Plus I’m going on vacation for a few weeks (I’m a teacher!!!) and won’t be tending much to business then.

Report backs so far have all been positive. The local jazz radio guy says he going to put it in the rotation and I should let him when I have a release party date so he can plug me with an interview. Some online sites have accepted tracks – “What Goes Around” will be a featured download at “All About Jazz” and “Lilah Rose” will be played on “Women Of Substance Online Radio.” (check em out and give em lots of clicks, kay?) People who haven’t heard me before are lighting up and letting me know they like it. This includes fellow musicians as well as civilian listeners, kids teenagers and grown ups and old folks. My seasoned fans like it too. I could get used to this!

I have created a product and in doing so have become a business person. Yes, you guessed it. Blogging is all part of it. My music will only get out into the world as much as I do. So here I am, world. My very first blog. I have hereby lost my blogging virginity. Please come visit my website and check out my new CD. Its really good!

www.karensegal.com