Fruit, running and the House Money There’s fat in sweat. Fat liberated from the cells by aerobic exercise is used as fuel *and* eliminated through the skin as a component of sweat. There’s also fat in feces. Flavonoids in fruit increase the fat content of … [Read more...] about The Metabolism of Fat in Aerobic Exercise
Jon Burr’s Blog
How to Play a Great Jazz Solo
Many jazz musicians believe that playing a great solo is a matter of playing melodies that fit over the chords. They learn chordal scales, standard “licks” that fit over them, pentatonics, arpeggios, patterns, etc–and believe that doing this as virtuosically as possible will lead to a … [Read more...] about How to Play a Great Jazz Solo
Weight Walking for Musicians – Core Strengthening for endurance and improved performance
Nobody ever told me to do this. I wish they had, years ago. As a typical music geek kid, I wasn’t into sports as a youngster, preferring to practice, listen to and play music. Consequently I had poor muscle tone, particularly in my upper body. I had “grampa bod” at the age of 14. A massage therapist … [Read more...] about Weight Walking for Musicians – Core Strengthening for endurance and improved performance
Jon Burr Quintet News | CD release Events
"Very Good Year" is out, and up on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby. We've been getting some good press! Review on axs.com: “Now we’re talking. Hard bop jazz fans need look no further than this new record, Very Good Year, by the Jon Burr Quintet, coming out on Oct. 10, 2015. Led by a monster bass player, … [Read more...] about Jon Burr Quintet News | CD release Events
Why Jazz is Struggling to Survive
Bad Composition Too many jazz guys tend to think that composition is putting together a string of “cool” chords, writing a melody consisting of patterns that fit over the chords over some hip rhythms, and then improvising by playing more patterns over their cool chord progression. … [Read more...] about Why Jazz is Struggling to Survive
Get With The Bass
Attention: Drummers and Bandleaders - Get With The Bass! “Where the bass puts it is where it is.” These are not my words - they’re Milt Hinton’s. If you want your music to feel right, you need a good bass player. He/she has more influence on how your band feels than anyone else on the bandstand. … [Read more...] about Get With The Bass
Jon Burr’s Instagrams
I love taking pictures. Life is beautiful! These are up on my Instagram account. … [Read more...] about Jon Burr’s Instagrams
Reviews of Jon Burr’s Projects
Jon Burr Band:Just Can’t Wait CD/DVD Click here for a feed of all Jon's recent reviews “Burr ... went beyond a Buddy Rich, Tony Bennett or Stan Getz because he was the songwriter and lyricist as well as a performer. Burr simply dared to take that extra step of creating and presenting original, … [Read more...] about Reviews of Jon Burr’s Projects
Playlist of recent videos featuring Jon Burr
I found this playlist of recent videos on YouTube - a lot of footage, most I didn't know about! … [Read more...] about Playlist of recent videos featuring Jon Burr
Play on the pads or tips of the fingers in the left hand?
Play on the pads or tips of the fingers in the left hand? Should string players - or any instrumentalist, for that matter - play on the pads or the tips of the fingers in the left hand? Should trumpeters use the tips on the valves, and reed players use tips on the keys? Teachers teach all kinds of … [Read more...] about Play on the pads or tips of the fingers in the left hand?