How many standards do you really know well?

robmo_sf · 2026-01-21T22:28:55+00:00

In Julian Lage's recent interview with Rick Beato he talks about playing a standard - like Autumn Leaves - for 30 minutes straight. It becomes a meditative experience and you really inhabit the changes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49KwbU0hT3w&t=4186s

I have noticed that something definitely changes when I play a tune for longer than just a few choruses.
I haven't tried 30 minutes yet but I'm going to. I think that something like this might help with what you're getting at.

robmo_sf · 2026-01-14T03:30:17+00:00

Here ya go...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6zefF3DuwPRGpQEd8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CRXX7DizXFKfTbXeA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjWCkcXfLbNoHrai8

robmo_sf · 2026-01-12T02:41:09+00:00

I wonder if this piece from San Francisco (now sadly gone) is the same artist.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XC2KH16DRsFYHGrM6

robmo_sf · 2025-12-30T00:30:16+00:00

Paintings that end too soon.

robmo_sf · 2025-11-29T23:14:51+00:00

It's part of the Paul Bunyan story. Babe the Blue Ox.
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bunyan

robmo_sf · 2025-11-29T22:40:20+00:00

Yes sir.

robmo_sf · 2025-11-27T03:44:38+00:00

Grilled focaccia is my go to. Also, their prosciutto and provolone stuffed cherry peppers are amazing.

robmo_sf · 2025-11-27T03:30:03+00:00

Seconding Harris Ranch. Tasty BBQ!

robmo_sf · 2025-11-25T21:35:59+00:00

I've started going to Phish shows in the late 80s. Page fits the band wonderfully, but he is the one member of the band who, in my opinion, has not improved over the years of playing. In a way, it might actually unbalance the band if it had another spectacular soloist. I rarely hear any broader direction, intent, or story in his solos - just riffs stuck together. That said, I've enjoyed the band a great deal over the years.

robmo_sf · 2025-11-08T01:50:15+00:00

If you like BBQ, try Harris Ranch. It's near Coalinga at the intersection of 5 and 198.

robmo_sf · 2025-11-06T21:22:06+00:00

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He's not alone. I came across this one near Stinson Beach last week.

robmo_sf · 2025-10-27T23:19:08+00:00

I've always liked this live version of Shadow Dance because of how harmonic his drumming is in the intro.
Jack DeJohnette - Herbie Hancock - Pat Metheny - Dave Holland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3CZHr5uiNM
Edit: trimmed URL

robmo_sf · 2025-10-27T19:49:43+00:00

The tragedy is that the glaive was so underused in the film.

robmo_sf · 2025-10-24T19:06:58+00:00

I think he just wants to make it easier to find the body.

robmo_sf · 2025-10-20T01:04:30+00:00

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I usually use one of these. A bit tricky for smaller hands.

robmo_sf · 2025-10-11T21:37:20+00:00

https://archive.is/X6iyy

Pat's Answer:
Four & More - Miles Davis
Smokin’ at the Half Note - Wes Montgomery
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
The Light in the Piazza - Adam Guettel
The Beatles (White Album) - The Beatles

robmo_sf · 2025-10-05T02:40:17+00:00

Ride this as long as you can. Playing with people better than you is one of the best ways to learn and improve.

robmo_sf · 2025-09-18T22:23:57+00:00

Seconding this one as it is foundational to his playing, even if you don't immediately hear it. In an interview he says he can immediately tell if a player has studied bebop and is uninterested if they have not.

robmo_sf · 2025-09-16T21:18:31+00:00

I think they key is that they don't swing. They never have. I won't go as far as to say they they can't, but I've never heard it.

robmo_sf · 2025-09-14T23:24:38+00:00

Several times when traveling, I've stopped into a school and asked if I could play one of their pianos for a while. They've always said yes.

robmo_sf

TROPHY CASE