Twisty, Curvy Roads

 Back in April I foresaw the beginning of the designer facemask industry. It has turned out that I was right on the money with my prophecy!

  Frederick M. Lehman wrote this tune in 1919 before the telephone was common in rural America. The song became popular at church camp meetings. It also makes a great jazz tune that can swing its rear end off! I have tried this tune several different ways, including having a male chorus sing the melody.  But I finally decided that this version was the better and also a bit more straight forward.

At times I wonder why I dream what I do. Are my dreams expressions of deep-rooted psychological issues, or did I simply eat the wrong food for my evening meal? Non-the-less, now and then I wake from a dream that is strange enough that I want to journal it here. This morning's dream was one of those I deem worth jotting down. In my dream, I was a much younger man. I cannot remember all of the particulars, and perhaps my dream, as dreams often are, was not a consistent timeline. But in the part that I do remember, I was managing a large hotel/boarding house for a criminal organization, a.k.a. the mafia! In real life, although I was once offered a job by a "connected" fellow, I have never worked for the mafia or any other overtly criminal organization. I was a public school teacher for some years but I do not think that back in those days, the government was considered an official criminal organization. Anyway, to resume the story, I was sitting ...

  Knowing how to do something and actually doing it are two completely different skill sets! That life lesson was driven home in a convincing manner today. The rock guards on my FJ Cruiser have been bothering me for quite a while now. They are badly rusted with quite a few holes where the rust has eaten through completely. They look horrible on my not so shiny silver FJ and if I were driving across a scree field I am certain they would do nothing to protect my rocker panels! I have been wanting to replace them for quite a while, but each time I have checked prices, I have decided to hold off until some rich uncle leaves me a considerable estate. Of course, I do not have any rich uncles, and if I did I am certain that their estate would pass to some of my numerous cousins scattered around the country. So when I saw an online advertisement for a set of rock guards that were within my price range I ordered them right away. They arrived yesterday and I decided to instal...

"Lives there a man, bereft of imagination and of stunted soul, who has never dreamt of writing a country song?" - Shakespeare (That's Marvin Shakespeare. He lives down on 34th Street)   Of course not! So here is my country song:     Well, now I want to write a country song 'bout life the way it is, 'Bout all them women what done me wrong, and what it's like to be in show biz. I've been looking for the words to use and a melody that'll fit the blues But so far, friends, I'm telling you true, I ain't figured out just what to do. ...Maybe something like Refrain: Do-whack-a-doo whack-a-do whack-a-doo whack-a-doo, whack-a-do whack-a-doo whack-a-doo Do-whack-a-doo whack-a-doo-doo-doo, whack-a-doo whack-a-doo, whack-a-doo. Do-whack-a-do whack-a-doo doo doo, whack-a-doo whack-a-doo, whack-a-doo. Do-Whack-a-doo whack-a-doo-doo-doo whack-a-doo whack-a-doo, whack-a-doo.   Well, as you can see that I had a case of lyrical constipation, combined with a ...

  Sitting around reminiscing and thinking about the important things in life. Like a good dog!

Here is Louis Armstrong's classic, "Someday You'll Be Sorry" arranged for a piano trio consisting of violin, viola, and piano.    This arrangement is available from Sheet Music Plus .

 ... or at least it will be soon!   I composed this little Christmas song a couple of years ago. Here is an arrangement for two flutes and piano. This might make a perfect gift for that flutist in your life! It is not very difficult and can be performed with or without the second flute (of course it is more fun with two flutes). You can purchase it here at Sheet Music Plus . Jim

  From 1929, "Am I Blue" composed by Harry Akst with lyrics by Grant Clarke. This song has appeared in 42 different movies! Jim Ivy - vocal/Clarinet; Bill Thompson - Keyboard; Bailey Smith - Bass; Todd Smotherson - Drums.  

Here is a new arrangement for choir, strings, or both! I am looking for a choir that is interested in performing this arrangement.

Here's a tune from 1920: W.C. Handy's 'Aunt Hagar's Blues'. I don't get to play tenor sax much any more. The guys from the Fault Line Blues Band were kind enough to back me up on this one. W.C. Handy was born in Florence, Alabama, and taught music in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. I did not know that when I was growing up. 

Turk Murphy composed & recorded the tune, " Brother Lowdown " in 1947 during the Traditional Jazz revival years in San Francisco. Murphy was influential in the revival of traditional jazz that began in the 1930s and lasted into the '60s and '70s. You can learn more about Turk Murphy and his music here. Turk Murphy's music had a strong influence on Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band. You can hear that influence in this performance of Murphy's " Brother Lowdown ". This performance was recording from circa 2010 in Hutto, Texas, and features: Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Robert Black - guitar/banjo; Bob Alexius - bass; Matt Prause - drums. If you enjoy hearing this please use the Subscribe button at the top of the page to get notifications of new posts. Also please click the Share icon to share this page with your friends. Jim Ivy - The Grumpy Old Man

The song " You Took Advantage Of Me " was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written specifically for the 1928 musical production, "Present Arms". This particular recording is another that I recovered from the drive of one of my older computers. It was recorded at a Hutto, Texas studio for the only Old Waterloo Jazz Band CD that was ever produced. Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band was a staple of the traditional jazz scene in Austin, Texas for many years. The personnel on this recording include Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Robert Black - banjo/guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Matt Prause - drums. If you enjoy this recording, click the "Subscribe" button at the top of the page and we will notify you as future recordings and articles are released. Also, feel free to share with your friends by email or social media by clicking the share icon!

This is another recording that I found on an old computer drive. The Old Waterloo Jazz Band recorded this in Hutto, Texas sometime around 2010. At least that is the date on the file I found! Jelly Roll Morton composed "Wolverine Blues" and recorded it at Richmond, Virginia in July of 1923. Morton was a talented musician and a prolific composer. You can read more about Jelly Roll Morton here. Tom Griffith's "Old Waterloo Jazz Band" was for many years the only traditional jazz band in Austin, Texas. They performed quite often at different venues around Austin, notably playing for many cruises up and down Lake Austin on the Riverboat Commodore. The personnel on this recording consists of: Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bob Black - guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Jeff Prause - drums.

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. The Flint River rises in a valley of the Cumberland Plateau just north of Alabama-Tennesee State Line. It runs for about 65 miles until it flows into the Tennesee River below the Guntersville Dam. The Flint is not a "wild" river, but to a young boy in the late '50s, it was certainly wild enough to produce some vivid memories! This is one of those memories. - Jim  It must have been 1957. Our parents hauled eight barely teenage boys, and four canoes to where Hwy. 72 crosses the Flint River near Brownsboro, Alabama. My paddling partner was Owen Bennett. Owen lived on Ward Avenue, in Huntsville, Alabama, and I lived a block away on Pratt Avenue. We had ordered plans for "canoe-yak" from Boy's Life Magazine. The plans showed how to build a boat that was kind of a cross between a canoe and a kayak. Owen was taking shop classes at Hunts...

'Bury Me On Basin Street' was composed by Steve Allen. Allen is perhaps better known as a TV personality. He was the original host on The Tonight Show and many other television programs. Allen was also a jazz pianist and a prolific composer who wrote over 8500 songs! You can learn more about Steve Allen here . This performance by Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band was recorded sometime around 2010. Personnel on this recording: Tom Griffith - leader, piano, vocal; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bobby Black - guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Jeff Prause - drums.

  Joseph Lacall wrote this wonderful song in 1920. As a clarinetist, Lacall played in John Phillip Sousa's band. Amapola has been performed by everyone from operatic tenors to Spike Jones. It is often played with a latin rhythm but I love it as a slow ballad. After all it is a love song!           Amapola, My pretty little poppy You're like that lovely flower So sweet and heavenly Since I found you My heart is wrapped around you And loving you it seems to beat a rhapsody Amapola The pretty little poppy Must copy its endearing charm from you Amapola, Amapola, How I long to hear you say, "I love you."

  Barry Irwin Here is another treasure that I discovered while cleaning an old computer hard drive! The file was labeled simply 'tmp167_Track01.wav and dated 03/01/2010. When I listened I recognized a recording of the Old Waterloo Jazz Band from our one and only CD. We recorded the CD at a studio in Hutto, Texas. I do not remember the exact date, but it would have been at least a couple of weeks before the date on the file. The band consisted of Tom Griffith - leader and piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; me, Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bobby Black - guitar/banjo; and Jeff Prause - drums. While the CD was not exactly a commercial hit, I believe that it is still a fine example of the music that we played back in those days. I hope you will listen and leave a comment below to let me know if you like what you hear.

  No. This is not a post about eating an extra large donut! Although I imagine that eating one of these Texas size donuts in one sitting would soon bring at least gastronomical regret! "Someday You'll Be Sorry, Dear" is a tune written by Louis Armstrong in 1947. I was only 4 years old in 1947, so I don't expect that I actually heard the tune until many years later. But is is a great tune and I am glad that I eventually discovered it. I recently arranged the tune for violin, viola, and piano. While doing that, I remembered what a wonderful song it is and decided to make a recording of the tune.  I played my soprano sax and pianist, Billy Martin, furnished the piano part. Here it is. I hope you enjoy listening!

This is one of my most popular jazz combo arrangements. I think of it as "Bach Meets Swing".  It is scored for trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, and rhythm section. You can get your own copy at Sheet Music Plus !   "Just You, Just Me" is a well-known jazz standard. Written in 1929 by Jesse Greer, the lyricist was Raymond Klages. There have been instrumental recordings (no vocal) by Red Norvo, Stan Tracey, Oscar Peterson and Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Les Paul, Benny Carter, Buddy Bregman, Tex Beneke, Coleman Hawkins, Harry James, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Joe Pass, Buddy Tate and Abdullah Ibrahim, Les Brown, Bill Coleman and Duke Ellington, and, of course, Dave Brubeck. In 1999, Lester Young's recording of "Just You, Just Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Most jazz arrangements do not have vocals and, in fact, many of the songs do not have lyrics. The lyrics to this particular song are not great by any means. In fact...

 The pandemic has cut down on opportunities to perform in front of a live audience. So many of us are looking at ways to do virtual performances. This began when Dusty Dickerson sent me a piano track that he had recorded. I added a clarinet part and to fill it out, sang a scat chorus, and a couple of vocal choruses. For images, I did a search for "Sweet Georgia Brown" and used album covers from the many, many musicians who have recorded this great old song.

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Without question, the coronavirus epidemic is a formational event. Long after this epidemic has passed, the changes that it is forcing in our foundation institutions will remain. Businesses, government policies and procedures, churches, and schools will be may never again be the same as they were before this epidemic. That is not always a bad thing! One change from the pandemic is that the schools are being brought (kicking and screaming perhaps) into the digital age. Although some schools are well along the way, many educators fall back on the same techniques and skills that they learned when they were the student many years ago. Today's students are often savvier than their teachers when it comes to computers and media. They have been brought up on well-prepared TV and video since they were toddlers.  Preparing a lesson has always been time-intensive ...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element.   My dog, Max, is an accommodating companion, but he does have a few personality quirks. He loves to go for rides with me and has staked his claim on "shotgun".  He likes my truck so much that sometimes he will not get out after we get back to the house. He will sit in his seat and refuse to move. If I go to the other side and open his door, he will hop right out. Another of Max's quirks involve doors. If I go through a door, Max waits until I close the door and then reopen it before he will follow me into the room. The only exception is when I leave the house through the front door. In that case, Max rushes through the door as soon as it is open enough for him to squeeze through. He only does this at the front door. If I leave through the back door he follows his routine and waits for me to close the door and then reopen it before he will fol...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. My sock drawer is filled to overflowing. Each morning I stand before the open drawer vainly searching for a pair of matching socks. Clearly, some malevolent magician is sneaking into my room nightly and using my socks to practice making things disappear. What else could possibly explain a full sock drawer without a single matching sock? Of course, with the faith of a true believer, I never discard a sock simply because it has no mate. "Waste Not, Want Not" was firmly impressed into my thought patterns by parents and grandparents who survived the Great Depression of 1929. I simply know that the missing socks will return to my sock drawer some day, and I dutifully retain the singles in anticipation of the day that the errant mates will return, reuniting in the true love that matching socks must surely bear for their mates! In the meantime, I will we...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element.   I like Trump a lot! When he first won the GOP nomination I was not certain that he was the best choice. After seeing how things have played since, I am convinced that Donald Trump is absolutely the best person alive today for the job. His practical experience and positive attitude more than compensate for any personality quirk that some may find annoying. My concept of government is simple: individuals come together and form a government so they can combine resources and accomplish things together that they could not accomplish as separate individuals. A proper "government" is a synergism that multiplies the resources and efforts of individuals.  However, when the government steps into issues that can be handled perfectly well by the individual, then the government has gone too far. In other words, the best government is the smallest and least i...

Every presidential campaign needs a good song and for Biden/Harris this song is the perfect fit! Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho It's off to vote we go! Vote once or twice Or even thrice, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho! We're sure to win, 'Cause you can mail 'em in. No ID check We'll stack the deck, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho! Be sure to Wear your mask, Or we'll take you to task. We'll burn your town And all around, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho It's off to vote we go! Vote once or twice Or even thrice, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho!  

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. A friend's Facebook post about Salisbury Steak got me to thinking about my old friend, Vic Williams. Vic was several years older than me. He was a very talented musician, arranger, and junior high band director. Vic was also a lover of the New Mexico and Colorado mountains. We made many backpacking trips together into the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe and the Weminuche Wilderness at the very top of the Rio Grande. It was always a treat to travel with Vic. He knew so much of the history of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado and he was also a consummate storyteller. Vic's tales made the long West Texas highway through the most desolate stretches of the "Staked Plains" come alive with Indians, conquistadores, and old-time Texas Rangers! The formal photograph of Vic that you see here is not the way that I remember him. When I think of Vic, he ha...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. When I was a child, I was taught that my mother's best friend was my "Aunt" Kate.  There was no blood relationship, it was just a polite way for a child to address an adult who, although not a family member, had a close relationship to the child. "Aunt" and "Uncle" were words used to express an honorary or affectionate relationship. In antebellum times, "house servants" often cared for the children. It would only be natural that there would be an affectionate bond between the child and the caregiver. It was polite and acceptable to use "Aunt" and "Uncle" when referring to these servants. The words were meant as an honor, but that does not change the fact that the "Aunt" or "Uncle" were often slaves! To me, the words "aunt" and "uncle" are words that conno...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Although voter fraud has, for the most part, been a minuscule concern in the recent past, that can change quickly. "Who gets to vote?" is a basic question that is at the heart of our system of government. Do we limit suffrage to only "property owners"? How about only men? Should we allow only "educated" voters? What about "only people who think the same as I do should be allowed to vote!"? In any case, I seriously doubt that anyone can show a positive correlation between more open suffrage and a better quality of elected officials. Regardless, we have continually moved toward more open suffrage standards. That has created some problems, but on the whole, we have adjusted and most localities have a fair voting system. that, although not bullet-proof, is relatively secure. My belief is that the current push for "ma...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Here is a poem about a girl I once met. It is a short poem, ... but she was a short girl!   She had rings on her fingers And rings on her toes There was one through her navel And two through her nose From her ears they dangled And as you can suppose There were rings other places That I cannot disclose - Jim Ivy,  May 2020   

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. "Science can be dirty. Science is wonderful. Science is what we have." - Unknown "Science" is the magic de jure. "Science" is a religion who's priests dress in white laboratory garb instead of black frocks. "Science" is the calming balm dispensed to the pseudo-sophisticated so they can confirm their self-sanctity. "Science" is a logical misstep that equivocates the scientific method with "science". It is a misstep that leads backward into superstition and paucity of conception that is the very antithesis of that what the worshipers of "science" desire. "Science" professes to offer certainty, and in so doing it circumscribes reality. "Science" locks truth into narrow, ordained channels. "Science" snickers at the Hegelian ungrund, the  abyss of ete...

Listen to this poem read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Even after all of these years She will s ometimes visit my dreams And I awake with a sad longing That I would deny if I could.

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Wednesday, May 13, 2020 In the near distance, San Saba Peak dominates the landscape. The far distance fades away in rolling plains until it disappears into the lowering grey clouds. I slept like a log last night breathing the fresh smell of Texas. We are far enough from the miasma of Austin that the air still retains the same freshness that it must have possessed in 1732 when Don Juan Antonio Bustillo Y Cevallos gave the peak its name. It was a bit after 4 pm when we pulled off the road yesterday and decided that we would spend the night here. This place is one of those fast-disappearing roadside spots that the Texas Highway Department used to place along the highways so that travelers could stop and rest before resuming their journey. Evidently, someone in the department had an eye for beauty! When we arrived there was an older man sitting and readin...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Saturday Morning, May 16, 2020 If there is a cloud in the sky this morning, I cannot see it. Yesterday afternoon we left camp around 4 pm and drove down into a deep canyon. A small trout stream runs through the canyon. Max and I had spent a couple of nights in this place when we explored the area last fall. Taken all together, the sparkling water of the Rio de las Pinos, the way that the verticle rock walls of the canyon channel the sunlight through the cottonwood and aspen trees, make this an amazing spot. After leaving the canyon, we drove 17 miles or so to Antonita, Colorado where we restocked some supplies. By this time it was dark. Driving in the darkness on the rough forest roads that lead back to our camp was not pleasant but we made it back to camp safely, slept well, and woke rested and hungry! Andy Blake is a superb camp cook! This morning a...