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Who could resist sharing “best practices”? To an egotist or a narcissist “best practices” make perfect sense. “Let me tell you how great I am, and how I do it!”
To the manipulative administrator “best practices” are nearly perfect! After all, if one can get employees to give best practices, then must they not receive them as well? Receive them indeed, and once received who now is able to say that the “best practices” can be denied?
Hey, maybe we can evaluate YOU on whether or not you are using the “best practices”!
SEZ WHO?
“Says Who”, Donny McCaslin
I like tips. A “tip” is more humble. You can take or leave a “tip”. We have all received good ones and bad ones. No one could be blamed for not trying a tip, or not using it more than once if they did not like it.
But “best practices”? Who is to say they truly are best? And best for whom? How can they be best for those in completely different fields? How can they be best for those with completely different situations and resources?
Humans who are sensitive, creative, perceptive, reflective, knowledgeable, pioneering or expert often create new paths, new ways and (gasp), even new knowledge…
These original thinkers often publish their best ideas and new ways of doing things through journals, websites, magazines and the like. Many of these ideas are then subject to the scrutiny and feedback of peers, experts, editors and publishers. Original thinkers publish; they perform; they present.
These original thinkers generate many of their own ideas. They may even sign them. Often times, they might copyright them. They can even OWN them.
Who owns a “best practice”? Who wrote it? Who reviewed it now that it has been gleaned from another?
COMPARED TO WHAT?
“Compared to what?”, Ray Charles & Leela James
Someone needs to take credit for eliciting “best practices”, listing them, assigning them, holding people accountable. Sounds like “best practices” could be a great way for non-creative people to leach and glean ideas from others and take credit for them.
Could adherence to”best practices” lead to conformity, group-think, and getting everyone to do it the same way? How can you ignore a “best practice”? Is your new idea a “best practice”? Does everyone have to use it now? Does your conscience coincide with the established “best practices”?
One cannot imagine asking these questions about a tip, or even a guideline. A tip is informal, and efficient. It can easily be exchanged. Guidelines, by contrast, seem almost polite and encouraging compared to “best practices”. Guidelines are more akin to an invitation for creative development and customization. “Start here, cover this, but you can go your own way”, the guideline seems to confide.
A “best practice” is starting to seem like a pushy tip!
“Best practices” seems to stifle thinking. Why think? THIS IS the BEST way. TRUST US. Just follow these. DON’T get used to THINKing FOR YOURSELF. Just do it.
Without stretching too far, one can imagine a kind-hearted young teacher, creatively assessing and addressing the needs of her beloved students. Later, we find her sobbing in a meeting with the nurse-Ratched-type lead-teacher of the ten teachers in her grade level, insisting the young teacher do it the “Ratched” way!
Can a best practice be targeted? Perhaps a thought for another day, but then again, maybe thinking for yourself is no longer a “best practice”.
PS
Whatever happened to suggestions?
c. 2022 David William Brubeck
All Rights Reserved.
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As a young man, I was blessed to have been offered a tenure track job teaching music in higher education before I even graduated from the University of Miami. Opportunities that came after the tenure track, just could not be automatically accepted. I remember when my friend Ray, a trumpet player with the band, called about an opening in the Ray Charles, and that I was under strong consideration. Since I had taken a job, I had to decline, but was honored. Ray Charles is one of the most inventive singers, band leaders, showmen, and entrepreneurs in the history of Jazz, and a vital force on keyboard and saxophone. Many of the musicians and singers that performed with Ray Charles are legends in their own right!
Sometimes, God gives second (and third and fourth…), chances. He has promised those who seek him to guide their footsteps and provide the desires of their heart. I always wished that I could have joined Ray’s Band and when Frank Sinatra’s contractor, Morty Bullman, retired to Miami, I got my chance.
With years of expertise hearing the best musicians New York City had to offer in addition to those attracted to Frank Sinatra during his recording years in LA, Morty had a way of assembling the grooviest band possible from the elite South Florida Musicians available-a considerable pool of expertise in its own right.
This is my favorite of the FIFTEEN tracks we performed live, video recorded and audio recorded with the man who brought the feel and vocal stylings of the sacred music of Black American Gospel to the rest of the World! “America the Beautiful”, was the finale, and my favorite. Barring any objections, I would have to say that Ray Charles may just be the finest musician with whom I have had the privilege of having been associated.
The Celtic culture is rich, somewhat mysterious and at times gives the perception of infinite wisdom. Many of the images of the Celtic Knots inspire the mind to enter as if a maze. Their braided beauty, imspires, tempts and challenges…perhaps to find a minotaur maongst the stirre thoughts they evoke. Enjoy this piece for solo guitar in their honor. Remember to de-tune the 6th string to ‘D’, and to fully enjoy absorbing the extra low frequencies…BOTH ‘Ds’ are to be played as the drone.
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We hope to premiere the first of many selections from my new work, “Multiplication Ballet”. The piece in 5-4 is entitled “One Seven, Seven”. Inspired by two of my great musical heroes, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck, this new ballet introduces not only multiplication but Jazz Grooves and a message of hope and purpose for young people. Conceived as a counterweight to the economic success provided by the popularity of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”, this ballet hopes to provide a popular summer season attraction for ballet companies. My first UN-DEDICATION ever is to the Miami City Ballet. Hope you are on hand to hear us soar as we bring this new 5-4 piece to life!
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Who could use fertilizer more efficiently than a DUTCH FARMER? REALLY? If you aren’t going to have them farm it, then who will farm it? And are they any more efficient? FAT CHANCE? Is it true that the DUTCH are the world’s SECOND LARGEST agricultural exporter? This seems to be a miracle for a nation so small! Is it true that they help to feed much of Europe?
What a beautiful and EPIC piece for the bass trombone and wind ensemble! The dramatic vistas are compelling, the harmonic language refreshing yet appealing, and above all it SOARS with beautiful melodies and DANCES with provocative themes. This recording has been recently unearthed and I thought you might like to share its premier on davidbrubeck.com
For a bass trombonist, I have been privileged to play several Concertos in front of a large ensemble. This is something that many gifted instrumentalists, of any instrument, have not done even once! It is both an honor and an experience unique unto itself! Distinct from playing with piano accompaniment or even in the context of a soloist within a chamber music group, in the concerto the conductor is the accompanist-or not! While I have been extremely fortunate to have a good relationship with all my conductors and they have accompanied me sensitively, for some concerto performers this is not always the case.
Writing for the bass trombone is a challenge in the concerto setting, due to the mellow nature of the sound at many dynamic levels. where it is difficult to project over trumpets and flutes while displaying even a modicum of sensitivity. Just below the staff, the bass trombone may be the most intense instrument, but weaving this intensity into phrases that embrace several ranges of the horn can be problematic. de Meij is brilliant in setting the primary utterances of the bass trombone against thinner or even non-existent orchestration. His command of mood and place as depicted by musical elements is astonishingly perceptive. As a daring move, he selects the upper baritone and baritone ranges for the bass trombone to soar and dance, even flirting with notes more often associated with the tenor trombone. One is reminded, however, how most instruments in the concerto setting resort to higher tessituras in order to break through the impressive wall of sound that the orchestra often produces.
Another “Concerto-like” memory I have is playing along side Brian Neal on trumpet as we were he two featured soloists in Hershey Kaye’s “Western Symphony” as performed by the Miami City Ballet and her Orchestra. What a delight!
This recording is at MDC Kendall in McCarthy Theatre, an environment somewhat unfriendly to lower vibrations, conducted the able Brian Neal as he leads the Miami Dade College Wind Ensemble in Concert.
If you are interested in more music by this brilliant composer, who is also a gifted trombonist, please visit his website at:
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Is music healing? Can the bass vibrations and loving melodies of Jamerson’s innovative bass lines warm the soul, ease the mind and calm the nerves? It is certainly worth a try as an alternative to some more damaging forms of treatment. Paul McCartney claims Jamerson as HIS inspiration for bass playing. Jamerson is a rare musician who has inspired other bass players from all types of music.
“What’s Going On?” is a Motown classic from Marvin Gaye questioning the effects of environmental degradation and inequality and trying to bring back the love-“only love can conquer hate”. The talent and beauty of Marvin Gaye is simply staggering. “Brother, Brother, Brother…”
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