Greg Spero - The official Website

shed...write...shed...write...shed

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:35:54 -0500

That’s what I’ve been doing over the past months.

Some think I’m crazy, putting all my efforts into a couple specific shows, like the weekend at Close Up 2 on July 30 and 31st.

But I call it a “long term plan”.

“What, you turned down four paying gigs this week, just so you could practice for the gig that you’re not going to get paid for??”

Yes, for the past year I’ve been turning down most of the non-creative gigs (which would usually pay well), so I could stay in the shed and practice and write for the gigs that I’m actually SPENDING money on.

Not very economically intelligent in the short term, but we can both judge its effectiveness in 10 years.

In the mean time, want to see/hear what i’ve been working on??!??

Here’s the full setlist, with charts and recordings, that we’re going to be doing on July 30 and 31 at Close Up 2.

If you’ve read this far into the blog entry, I think you deserve the privilege of checking this out :).

www.gregspero.com/set-sextet.zip

This is the actual set that I’m giving to my band members...if you’re really excited about it, print out a chart and read along at the show ;)

New York, New Album, and New Tunes

Sat, 3 Apr 2010 08:50:03 -0500

I’m currently sitting in O’Hare airport, writing this as I’m waiting to fly to New York city to play the FatCat with the Makaya McCraven quartet. I have a moment of downtime, so I wanted to take this time to update you on a few things:

Radio Over Miles CD Release Party

This was the most musically intense show I’ve played yet. Preceded by months of intense meditation and practice, we experienced 6 sets over two nights of deeply musical energy, shared with a very appreciative audience. Lots of friends, fans, and music lovers came out to share the experience, making it a truly spiritual weekend. It helped deepen my confidence that music is a true uniting force in this universe, and that it will one day help facilitate peace throughout the world.

You can view photos from the evening on my photos page. Here are a couple tracks from the show for you to download if you’d like to share the moments.

Blue In Green
- This is a Miles Davis tunes, arranged by Makaya McCraven (with some additions to the arrangement by myself). The tune is in a fast 7 which can sound like a slow swing if it’s played with the right nuance. The form is cut in half 3 times, and then cycled back in continuous improvisational development. This track features solos from every member of the band.

Flow
- This track is another abstract 7/8 meter tune, but this time the concept involves a deeper abstraction of the time. The meter eventually turns into a flow, rather than a strict meter. Check it out and you’ll hear what I mean.

On these tracks, you’ll find Corey Wilkes, De’Sean Jones, Makaya McCraven, Tim Seisser and myself. The chemistry between the five of us is an experience has been unmatched by any other group I’ve played in yet. This is the iteration of the quintet that I hope to keep for future shows.

Our next weekend is booked for July at Close Up 2, so check the Upcoming Shows section for details and save the date.

New Album

The new album has received great reviews by fans. You can purchase the album on my online store or at CD Baby.

New York

I’m very excited to be on my way to New York to play with Makaya’s quartet. We are also going into the Pushkin Studios this week in Greenfield, MA to record Mak’s new album, which should be a trip.

In the mean time, you can stay in the conversation with other music lovers on my facebook fanpage. Thank you for your support and for you love of the music. Without you, I’d just be playing piano to myself in a closet somewhere.

Peace, Greg

Studying McCoy

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:02:41 -0500

I’ve been studying McCoy Tyner like crazy lately, and a few musicians have asked me what I’ve learned. I’m working on an in-depth analysis of McCoy’s language, and I’ll publish that here when I’m finished. But in the mean time, here are a couple McCoy solos that I’ve transcribed:

McCoy’s solo on Chain Reaction

McCoy’s solo on Vision

If you’re interested, please check back for my in-depth analysis. I’m breaking apart his different ideas, exploring how they connect, and trying to get to the bottom of what makes McCoy one of the best musicians of the 20th century.

A Spiritual Experience

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:34:55 -0600

I’m still coming down from the place we went to this past weekend at Close Up 2. There’s so much to tell, and so much to give (live footage, video, etc), that I can’t begin to talk about it in this post. But I wanted to let you know two things that will be coming to this site soon:

1) Radio over Miles - the new CD I released this past weekend.

2) A recap, description, and live footage from the CD release party this past weekend.

Until then, stay warm in this crazy cold whether (at least for those readers in the midwest).

Peace,
Greg

PS: Thank you so much to Caleb Willitz (www.rattlesnakestudio.net) for multi-track recording the audio of the show, Tim Jahn (www.beyondthepedway.com) for doing a multi-camera HD video shoot, and Vlatko Primorac (http://public.fotki.com/vlatkoFotki/) for shooting the show. It’s people like these guys that make up a real artist community. You’ll all be able to see their material soon.

Beginning to Hit the Charts

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:23:01 -0600

I uploaded a pre-release of my CD on some online music networks, and 3 of my songs have already hit the top 10 on the jazz charts on UVUMI.com, with my interpretation of “Yesterdays” hitting #1 today. Two tunes have been featured on the home page of TheSixtyOne.com.

1000 copies of my new CD arrive at my doorstep on Monday, fresh and ready for my release party on the 5th and 6th!! They’ll be for sale on my site soon, but your first chance to get it will be at my release party on Friday and Saturday Feb 5 and 6.

Here are some comments I’ve been getting on the new disk:

By “Mitch808” on Uvumi, commenting on “Sly” from my album:
“Take me back to the 70s. Funk and jazz were mixing it up in ways that no one thought about before. The Headhunters, Kool & the Gang (think Summer Madness, not Celebration, dummy...), Tower of Power. Sly takes us back to that magical intersection of two beautiful genres of African American music. Spero adds in a healthy dose of electronica to take it a step in a new (and exciting) direction. Get on this train!”

Superjay on TheSixtyOne:
“Damn man, this is unbelievable.”

hirundine608 on TheSixtyOne:
“funkalicious!!”

That’s just a few of them. To see the hundreds of comments left by fans, visit my pages on the various online social networks:

www.thesixtyone.com/gregspero
www.uvumi.com/gregspero
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greg-Spero/382424005520

Thank you for spreading my music! I really hope you enjoy the new album :)

Peace and love,
Greg