I have a party coming up and was asked if I can add some Quanza songs into the mix...... I started learning with this website link..... does anyone perform or have any Quanza song suggestions?

Quanza

Please dont ALL jump in at once....

I've never done any Quanza songs, never had anyone ask for any.

Gary

That makes two of us Gary, at least ...

Donny - I would be interested to hear a demo of what you come up with ...

Isn't that one of those huts that soldiers used to live it?

Ha Ha! Close.

probaby mp3 at this point.

Maybe you'd get more hits if you spelled it correctly. How someone can both title a post AND put up a 'name' link with such a gross misspelling is beyond me.....but what do I know, being 'stupid' and with 'low intellect'.

Oh, and Don, whatever you may think of it as a holiday, it's still a part of African-American culture and probably should not be the object of one of your jokes. I have absolutely NO Doubt that Donny only posted this to get a reaction anyhow. Pretty easy to do on THIS board.

chas

PS: For the record, it's KWANZAA.

Dnj's 2010 Thread asking the 'same' question:

http://www.synthzone.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/300652/

A couple of song suggestions were made there.

New songs are coming out all the time .....this was my current concern from previous years. Thanks for all the help I knew my SZ friends would come to the rescue.

I was joking about the spelling. No harm intended.
Merry Christmas!

Ok, Don. My bad. Merry Christmas to you too.

chas

Chas I guess you are directly aiming that at me ... even though I didn't call you either of those, you are obviously indicating I did. If so you misread my posting just as postings of yours have been misread from time to time.

In my opinion you had made a statement that I considered to be stupid considering that this is a forum where the majority of members are vocalists. I did not say YOU were stupid. All intelligent people can occasionally can say things that may be perceived as being stupid. Those that think they never do are fooling themselves. They should be intelligent enough to understand that or else they are over estimating their own intelligence.
Seeing as no-one seems to be able to provide an explanation of what Kwanzaa is ... see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa

Nigel, what would be 'stupid' would be for me to engage in a war of words with the owner and administrator of this forum, particularly if I wanted to continue to participate. But here is the thing; is it possible that YOU might have read more into my post than was actually there? The question was, "Is a singer a musician?"; my response (that you found 'stupid' and 'lacking in intelligence') was, "some are, some aren't". I still believe that and (with the examples I gave) consider that to be an altogether acceptable response (that didn't insult anyone, on this forum or off). Gary agreed and gave a thumbs up. Boo agreed and gave a colorful essay to support his position. Ian (hardly an admirer of mine) defended the post and even opined that it was not only 'not stupid' but actually "well worded". Another of our European members questioned whether this was fair treatment and why it was alright for one member to hurl an obvious insult at another member without consequence while this seemingly innocent post gets such a 'strong' rebuff from the Administrator.

Anyone who knows anything at all about me knows that, above all, I am all about fairness and equal treatment for all. That, along with trying to help people that need my help (like Veterans, and the homeless), is my MISSION at this stage of my life. This is more important to me than music, possessions, or practically anything else you can name. It's one of the reasons I have such a strong affinity with Capt. Russ; because I know first hand that he shares the same values and has the courage to speak up to defend them.

I have ABSOLUTELY no problem admitting when I'm wrong (and there have been plenty of times when I have been - even here on this board), but I don't feel that this (that post) was one of them or that I was deserving of that lambasting.

I graduated cum laude and magna cum laude from two of the best schools in the country; I was a Naval officer (LtCmdr) at a time when you could count the number of Black Naval officers on one hand (I distinctly remember not being able to go ashore in Australia because Blacks were prohibited from going on shore leave there and having to dress in civilian clothes in certain other European ports because, as an officer, I couldn't go to the designated Black enlisted men's clubs and as a Black, couldn't go to the designated all-White Officer's clubs).

Donny tries to paint me as the prototypical "angry Black man" (I won't speculate as to his motives); I'm not (Russ will attest to that), but I will concede that my life experiences over the last 70 odd years probably has made me a tad hypersensitive.

I don't think this forum is the proper venue for this discussion but since you brought it up, I thought it only fair that I be able to tell my side of it. I have no illusions about the attitudes on this board (that became pretty clear in the 'Mandela' post that Russ posted here), but having been a member here for over ten years, I still enjoy SOME of the music and equipment (and sometimes philosophical) discussions here on SZ. It is quite a microcosm of middle-aged American society (and the attitudes and values that they cling to).

Hope this clears the air about me and that I didn't offend anyone, as this was not my intent.

chas

The party went well, ......the guests that requested the Quanza songs were very appreciative, I was able to pepper the evening with them MP3 of course. Thanx everyone for the suggestions....

Hi Donny, Could you tell us some of the songs you did at the Kwanza event? Thanks!

Sorry for the miss spelling Of Kwanza.

KWANZAA....... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr dam cell phone texting

Chas, I always enjoy your posts, and have the greatest respect for you as a fellow musician and a fair minded person.

I'm not that insecure about my own talent (and sometimes too obvious limitations), to feel at odds with any of your posts, and I always found them well worded, and most of the time I had a good chuckle at some of the responses, some overly defensive, and some very well chosen and interesting replies.

They sometimes hit the occasional nerve, but, they were generally thought provoking, and to me, that is a good thing.

The older I get, the more I care less about musical competitiveness, whether it be in playing skills, the number of gigs played per year or month, and how much money being made, and I always had the belief that you felt much the same, and we both shared similar attitudes towards bullshit and phoniness.

So, don't count me as a non-admirer, I have heard enough of your music to admire your substantial playing skills, and read enough of your posts to know that you never mean anyone any harm or disrespect.

Just my 3 cents Canadian (2 cents American)


Ian

Thanks Ian. I appreciate that. Now stop baiting Diki and we'll be fine .

chas

Chas, what you actually said was "Are singers musicians? .... some are, some aren't. Who cares anyway" and it is that part that was omitted was what I thought just seemed a little insulting and inflammatory, I am sure that most singers here would care. But it is no big deal now. It is in the past. I certainly apologize for my comment if your statement wasn't intended to be derogatory ... it just came across that way.

No apology necessary. My concern is/was that you may have had a flawed interpretation of my post. In the future I'll try to be more careful with my wording.

In my musical world, great singers are held in the same high esteem that I hold great musicians. Personal favorites include Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughn, Billy Holiday, Nina Simone, James Brown, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Shirley Horn, Lou Rawls, Bobby Caldwell, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, B.B. King, and lately, Ruthie Foster. Obviously, I'm all about the 'soul' and that comes from within and can be expressed through any instrument, be it piano, organ, sax, trumpet, or the human voice. As with keyboards, I always felt that the feelings and emotions behind it were always way more important than the quality of the voice.

chas

Darn Chas, I really appreciate that. I had no idea you though so highly of my vocals!

Do I make too many jokes?

Actually, I do Don. Also like the authenticity of your guitar emulations (I try to do something similar with jazz guitar (on the T2) but it's just not as effective. Maybe if I'd learned to play guitar? Oh, BTW, one of the names I left off was one of my favorites, Willie Nelson, but then I just love his whole personna. Just no accounting for who we like; some people just strike the right chord (and some don't). And no, you don't make too many jokes. Humor is one of the surest signs of a high intellect.

chas

I really like voice, style and coolness of Michael Franks. Not only writes some great tunes, but does great covers as well.

One of my favorite tunes he has arranged (or rearranged) is the tune I Love Lucy, opening theme from the old TV series of the same name.

Beautifully transformed into a ballad, it works pretty good instrumentally, but the vocal version wins the prize. Great chords, and lovely guitar and piano solos.

Franks used quite a few well known session players, and he says he was heavily influenced by Peggy Lee and Nat King Cole among others.

Another tune written by Franks, "Popsicle Toes", was covered by very nicely by Diana Krall.

Ian

Ian,
One of my favs too! I LOVE his laid back style. I use his tracks for lots of breaks. Niceeeeeeeeeeee.

YESSS ! ... one of my favorites ...

Mmmmmm, yup. Add "Summer in NY"

That is nice Tony, very nice! I find Franks's sound is wispy enough to make the music feel like someone is breathing the words, but the changes never let it get too dreamy.

Perfect combination, and the solos always seem to have been specially made for the tunes.

Peggy Lee was a favorite of mine too...I saw her many years ago performing live with a full orchestra in Halifax at a Seniors Convention/Trade Show where we had a booth with several Clavinova and a few acoustic pianos.

She was awesome, and the folks simply adored her...standing ovations...she had to do at least 4 encores before they let her stop.

I also saw a group called New York Voices which were a take on Manhattan Transfer. They were incredible.

I've always liked laid back music with lots of interesting changes and tone colors, probably why I liked doing the restaurant thing so much with an arranger keyboard.

I used to love (and still do) playing Michael Frank's arrangement of I love Lucy instrumentally, with Soprano Sax and Jazz Guitar as main melody instruments, and it was surprising how people would listen and somehow recognize something very familiar about the melody, but hardly ever guessed what it was...when I told them, there was always, "Oh, Yeah! Yes! THAT's it!"

I found a very close arrangement in one of the old Ultimate Fake Books, and learned from that and added the rest by ear, but I haven't needed the music in years. I may still have it in pdf. I believe it's in "C", my favorite key...ha ha!

Your Korg should do these types of tunes very well, as they excel at smooth jazz styles.

Ian

I have always loved Michael Franks singing. I have most of his albums.

You present a great list of legendary singers Chas. Another I have always enjoyed and is truly a musician is Al Jarreau who always puts an an outstanding performance. Some years ago I was at a restaurant in Los Angeles enjoying good food and even better music from Freddie Ravel and his band. In between songs he announced a friend of his was celebrating his birthday that night in the restaurant and was going to sing a couple of songs with the band. Al Jarreau got up from his table and blew everyone away with his impromptu performance. Later that night I passed him in the hallway and thanked him for the treat. He just laughed and said "Just singing on my birthday".

Yeah, Al is great, definitely a unique talent. Here's another lesser known guy that, IMO, is the real deal. Always wondered why guys like this never got the acclaim of some their lesser talented brethren.



chas