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8/8/08 Hi
again peeps Last weekend, the Los Angeles Jazz Collective hosted our second event at the Pasadena Jazz Institute and
JoE-LeSs ShOe was one of four bands to rock the house. These LAJC events are always so much fun...great music, great hang,
great people. What more could you ask for?! For more info on the event or the LAJC, please visit www.lajazzcollective.com/blog/?p=60
Also, last weekend my quartet, "ShOe WITH JOe" featuring Matt Otto, Jamie Rosenn AND Sir Joe Bagg III esq., performed
at the Baked Potato to a nearly sold out crowd. Viva la Spud! Other interesting gigs of late include hits with
alto saxophonist Aaron Wolf (JimDangles) up in San Luis Obispo, Gigs/Clinic with piano-ist and keyboarder extrodinaire, Adam
Benjamin (Kneebody), and a LIVE radio broadcast with Opton 3ish (Bagg, Rosenn) on KPFK 90.3FM. Here's the link if
you'd like to hear it: feed://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/xml/gv_sergio.xml We're about 2/3 of the way into
the broadcast. Option 3ish will be performing again at the Angel City Jazz Festival hosted by one of the L.A. jazz scene's
most valuable assets, Rocco Somazzi on Sept. 1, 2008. For all the info on the killer festival line-up check out
www.angelcityjazzfestival.com/Angel_City_Jazz_Festival/home.html . Last night, The Matt Otto/Jason Harnell Duo Project
performed at Rocco's downtown venue , Cafe Metropol. I played a "drum
kit" of my own design comprised of "items I found around the house" and Matt played sax, sounds, and vocals.
It was our first gig and let me just say, it was a blast! I've posted a couple of short video clips at http://www.youtube.com/user/jharnell
and here are some photos...Enjoy!
6/3/08
Greetings once again web-folk. Let's see...where to begin? I'm really digging a couple of books I'd
like to recommend to any of you interested in the joys of reading. The first is a book by Daniel J. Levitin entitled
"This is Your Brain on Music". It's a fascinating read and you don't have to play an insturment to
appreciate it. The other is "The Basic Kafka" which is a collection of stories by the brilliant European writer
Franz Kafka. Amazing stuff! I've also really been enjoying a series of lectures (given to me by my friend
Matt Otto) by the great philosopher Alan Watts . If you've never checked him out, I highly recommend it. Musically,
I've really been digging Nate Wood's most recent solo effort, "Fall" (where he plays ALL of the insturments,
wrote all the songs and lyrics, and sings!) Bill Stewart's newest release entitled Incandescance has also been a
source of great inspiration lately. On the gig front, recent fun stuff has included a gig at the Catalina bar and grill
with the talented vocalist Sara Lieb, a recording session for film composer Robert Litton and weekly trio sessions with Adam
Benjamin and Hamilton Price. Feel free to check out my "gigs" page for more on where I'll be playing in June.
Take care and happy summer...
4/25/08 Gotta love the springtime in Southern Cal. Last weekend I was up in Northern
California and Reno, NV doing some dates with the Paul Roth Quartet (formerly known as "the JimDangles") and it
was cold, windy as hell, and even snowed (hard!) one night. Weather aside, we had an absolute ball. It was Paul
on alto saxophone, Peter Slocumbe on tenor saxophone, and my travel buddy, Ryan McGillicuddy on bass. We played Moody's
in Truckee, CA Friday and Saturday nights, did three gigs (and a jam session!) on Sunday, and gave a masterclass at UNR on
Monday. UNR faculty members Peter Epstein
and David Ake sat in with us on a couple of tunes and sounded fantastic.
McGillicuddy and I stayed at a beautiful artist retreat just outside of Reno called the Franktown Ranch. (Thanks again Richard
and Ursala.) We also played a concert at the Ranch on Sunday afternoon that was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Later that night, we even had a chance to go into downtown Reno and do some gambling where I won thirty-five bucks on the
Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Viva la Reno!
3/17/08 The trip to Dubai was amazing!
(Feel free to visit the photo page to see some pics!) We (Vocalist Antonia Bennett, Joe Bagg, Ryan McGillicuddy and
myself) were there to perform at the Skyward International Jazz Festival on Friday 2/26/08. The Festival itself was
very well attended (a few thousand people) and we were there for a total of four days which left us plenty of time to explore
and chillax. We stayed at a beautiful resort right on the beach (Joe, Ryan and I even rented bodyboards and went surfing
in the Persian Gulf.) We even had a chance to go indoor skiing and ride a camel (in the same day!) It was an
absolute blast. In other news, I'm off from school for a couple of weeks and really looking forward to having some time
to catch up reading (lately I'm really digging The Art of Practicing by M. Brusser and Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted
World), practicing, transcribing, etc. The Los Angeles Jazz Collective is gaining steam with the inaugural concerts
coming up on April 4 and 5 (for more info check out http://www.myspace.com/lajazzcollective)
Enjoy the day.
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| The beach at Dubai Jumeirah |
2/11/08 Things
are cooking! The JoE-LeSs ShOe CD release party at the Baked Potato last month was a huge success. Thanks to all
of you who came out and shared in the festivities with us. The ShOe also performed a concert out in Palm Springs in
late January and got a really nice write up in the local paper. You can check it out at: Let's see...what else...the UC Irvine Faculty Jazz Ensemble (Kei Akagi ,Darek Oles, Jerry Pinter,
Bobby Rodriguez, and yours truly) had a concert in late January that was a blast and very well attended. It's always
fun to play with Kei and Darek. (We've known each other over fifteen years now. Wow, how time flies!) Matt
Otto, Ryan McGillicuddy and I went into the studio a few weeks back and recorded an entire album in one day of all original
material that really turned out nice. Be on the lookout for that one in the coming months. At the end of February,
I'll be traveling to Dubai (!) to play at the Dubai International Jazz Festival with vocalist Antonia Bennett and my pals
Joe Bagg and Ryan McGillicuddy. I'm really excited about this trip as I've never been to that part of the world
before and I get to travel with my freinds! I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post upon our return! Until
then.... keep smilin'.
12/11/07 Thanks to those of you who have been among the first to purchase the new JoE-LeSs ShoE endeavor. We
sure appreciate your support and hope the music brings you hours of enjoyment and glee. The CD is available on CD baby
or, for those of you that prefer MP3's, it's available on itunes as well. (If you click on the "Music"
link to your left, you will be magically transported to the appropriate links!) We'll be having a CD release party
at the Baked Potato (North Hollywood,CA) on Sunday, Jan.13th, 2008 and you're all invited! Come on by! Recent fun
gigs include a trio gig at Spazio with the Joe Bagg Trio (with Hamilton Price III on bass), the Matt Otto Trio hits in Laguna,
and a recording session for vocalist Roger Carrins with Gary Fukashima, Matt Otto, Ryan McGillicuddy, and Michael Shapiro
(on percussion). Until next time...Happy Holidays one and all.
11/9/07 That's right folks, the JoE-LeSs ShOe CD will be available for purchase (on this very website!) by the end of this month. (It'll also
be available on CD baby, itunes and a host of other locations. More details on that to come.) Yes, It's finally
finished and all of us here at JoE-LeSs enterprises hope you cherish and love it as much as we do. OK, enough shameless self
promotion. In other news, Halloween came and went with a fury I'm not sure I've recovered from yet. (I'll
post pictures soon!) It was hella-fun. On the gig front, I recently did a couple of concerts and workshops with
Prof. Akagi and Prof. Oles (the UCI faculty rhythm section) that were a lot of fun. Also, did an interesting gig
last month with vocalist Antonia Bennett and my pals Joe Bagg and Darek Oles at the Italian Festival in San Diego. Other than
that, just been busy rehearsing and doing gigs with the Matt Otto Trio and teaching a lot. I wrote another tune recently
(this being my third) and we (Matt Otto and Ryan McGillicuddy) played it on the gig last night and I think it's gonna
work. Well, I guess that's it for now. Check back soon and purchase your very own copy of JoE-LeSs ShOe
today!!!
9/27/07
Well, summer's finally coming to a close and besides
school starting back up, that can only mean one thing...Halloween is lurking silently in the shadows ready to scare the socks
right off you..MOOOAHHAHAHHAHA!!! But seriously, it's been a very fun and eventful summer and I hope yours was as
well. Just this past weekend I did a couple of gigs with my good friend Larry Koonse and NY vocalist Tessa Souter at
the Jazz Bakery. We had a really nice turnout both nights and had a lot of fun playing as always. I'm also
really looking forward to a gig that's happening at Spazio this weekend with my pals Joe Bagg and Ryan McGillicuddy.
(Should be super duper swingin'.) I still have a couple more weeks before school kicks in full force and lately,
I've really been enjoying having plenty of time to practice, read, and exercise. Some books I'm reading of late that
I recommend highly are "The Way of the Superior Man" by Deida, "End of Faith" by Harris, and Flow by Csikszentmihalyi
(wow, that's a last name.). They're all fantastic and well worth your time. Oh, by the way, the joE-LeSs ShOe
CD project is almost completed and should be available for purchase by mid-November! (Can you beleive it? I know,
neither can I.) Well, I guess that's about it for now. For my October gig schedule, please visit the "Gigs"
page on this site and hopefully I'll see you out there. Take care and have a great Fall.
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| "The ShOe" LIVE in the wild... |
7/31/07 Gotta love the summertime. My lovely wife and I just returned from an amazing
five day vacation up in Cambria, CA. We stayed right on the ocean, hiked, ate great food and soaked in the jacuzzi.
It reminded me of just how nice it is to get away and soak for a while...you dig? In music news, we are currently finishing
up the artwork and layout concept for the upcoming JoE-LeSs ShOe CD. It will be available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon,
etc in the coming months. I'll keep you posted. Exciting gigs coming up this month include a hit with the
Joe Bagg Trio (with Joe on B3 and Leonard Thompson on piano!) at Vibrato, a couple of gigs with the JimDangles (from Reno,
NV) and assorted dates with the always inventive Matt Otto. For more specific info on these and other upcoming shows,
you can check out the "gigs" page on my site. Enjoy the day...
6/19/07 Wow, it's
been a crazy few weeks! The gigs with Kate McGarry went great and were super fun. The gig at the Vic was an all
NY band with some of my very favorite musicians: Gary Versace (p), Rueben Rogers (b), and Keith Ganz (g). The gig at Steamers
was with Keith Ganz, fellow UCI professor Darek Oles on bass and,of course, Kate. It was truly an inspiring weekend.
The following weekend, JoE-LeSs ShOe played the Aroma Spring Jazz Festival in beautiful Idyllwild, CA. People seemed to really dig the band
and we had an absolute ball hanging in the wilderness. Sara and I even rented a cabin for the weekend (complete with
fireplace and jacuzzi) and had everybody over for a hang after the gig. Good times!
This past weekend I was in St. Joseph, Missouri
playing at the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival with Vocalist Kimberly Ford and my good pals Leonard Thompson and Ryan McGillicuddy.
We opened up for Bobby Watson in the 90 degree heat, 90% humidity and it was burin'...literally.
As for now, I'm done with school for a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to some time off. See you at
the beach!
Enjoy the summer...
5/7/07 My class at P.I.T.
(Bebop and Beyond: Developing Musical Creativity on the Drumset) is in it's fifth week and it's been going great. I've
got some really good students in the class and It's been a great learning experience for me as well. Let's see what
else...I had some fun gigs last week including a JoE-LesS ShOe gig at LAND on 2nd Street (thanks to all of you who came out!)
and a gig with the Matt Otto Quartet at Cafe Metropol featuring the one and only Larry Koonse. Man, what a blast that
was! I'm also really looking forward to a couple of gigs I have at the end of the month with vocalist extraordonaire,
Kate McGarry. That's gonna be swingin'! By the way...for those of you who have inquired, the JoE-LesS ShOe recording
is slated to be mixed in the coming weeks and will hopefully be available for purchase on-line by June. We should have
the CD completed in July...we hope. Until next time...
3/26/07 Wow, it's almost April? The time she does-a-fly. Recent gigs of interest
include a two day recording session for the Houston Chronicle (as in newspaper). I know, I thought they stopped making
newspapers in the 80's too! Anyway, they didn't, and we recorded a total of fourteen spots, mostly for T.V but we did
a few radio jingles as well. It is was a very different experience in that it was just upright bass (Randy Landas) and
me and we played live to picture, composing on the spot. If you're in Houston check it out. Let's see...what else.
I'm looking forward to a gig a have this Sunday (4/1/07) with Michael Bluestein and John Crooks at Charlie O's. That
should be a lot of fun. On the educational front, schools out for spring break (where's my beer bong?) When it
starts back up, I'll be teaching my new class at P.I.T., "BEBOP AND BEYOND: DEVELOPING MUSICAL CREATIVITY ON THE DRUMSET".
I'm really looking forward to it. Until next time...
2/23/07 Greetings web folk. It's been
a productive and enjoyable month thus far. Last week, the faculty rhythm section at UC Irvine (Kei Akagi, Darek Oles,
and myself) teamed up with Kei Akagi's Trio in from Tokyo (Tomokaza Sugimoto on bass and Tamaya Honda on drums) to perform
some master classes at UCI. Also, I've completed the ten week syllabus for the course I'll be teaching at P.I.T. next
quarter entitled BeBop and Beyond: Developing Musical Creativity on the Drumset. I'm really excited about it.
Recent fun gigs include a Steamers hit with the Matt Otto Quartet (with special guest Hamilton Price on bass) and a JoE-LeSS
shOe gig at Mario's Place in Riverside (a venue I've been playing for over ten years now!) Speaking of JoE-leSs ShOe,
we go back in the studio next week to finish the recording. If you go to my myspace page you can hear three of the tunes
from the upcoming album. On a different note, I'm currently reading two books that I highly recommend: A New Earth
by Eckart Tolle and Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. They're both fantastic. Happy reading!
1/23/07 Happy New Year! Hope the new year is panning out well thus
far and that the holidays didn't leave you too bloated or regretful. Things here have been busy lately what with gigs,
teaching, and the occasional Karaoke throw down...(good times.) I'm in the process of developing my own elective course
for P.I.T. which will be offered next term. The working title for the course is "Developing Musical Creativity on the
Drum Set." I'm excited about it and will keep you posted on further developments. I was in Santa Fe, New Mexico
over the weekend performing with talented vocalist Lea DeLaria and my good pals Joe Bagg and Ryan McGillicuddy. We played
at the beautiful Lensic Theater in downtown Sante Fe where it was snowing heavily and the high was 25 degrees. The gig
was a blast and so was the hang. Lea's latest record, entitled "Double Standards", has some of my favorite musicians
on the planet on it including Seamus Blake, Christian McBride and Bill Stewart on drums. This weekend, I'm looking forward
to a gig at the world famous Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach with the Ron Stout Quartet (with Jerry Pinter on tenor saxophone,
Joe Bagg on Hammond B3 and of course, Ron on trumpet. Should be a blast! Until next time...keep swinging.
12/15/06 Happy merry
and a jolly who-wa-diddy-dooble to all! Hope the season has been fun so far with only minor outbursts of road rage and
indigestion. I, myself have yet to buy any gifts. I guess instead of typing this I should be at the mall.
Oh well...I.O.U.s for everybody!! The Joe-less Shoe recording went great and we've got seven songs in the can: three
Rosenn's, two Otto's, two Harnell's and a PARRRTRIDGE IN AAAA PEAR TREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! But seriously, the stuff is really
sounding great thanks to wizard engineer and all around good guy, Steve Perkins of Creation Studios in Tustin. Thanks Steve. We'll be going back in the studio in January to finish
the project. As for other news, I had a nice holiday gig last night with some friends. The always engaging Sara
Lieb was present, as well as the "original" three wisemen: Mark Waggoner, Leonard Thompson, and Ryan McGillicuddy...good times!
As for the holidays, I have family coming to visit from Florida
and we're doing the Christmas dinner at our place for the first time. Should be interesting. If I make it out
alive, I'll post pictures. Happy Holidays everybody.
11/14/06 Well, it looks like we survived Halloween (I think?) and we got
Turkey day on the way. I just celebrated a birthday too (wee-hee!).
So it's official, Joe-less
shoe is going into the studio to record on December thirteenth! That means hopefully sometime in the near future, you'll be
able to purchase the CD right here on this website. (Man, we're in the future! ) Check back for more details. :) Anyway, not
much else to report.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and get you're protective eye gear ready...Christmas is right around the corner.
10/13/06 Halloween is in the air!
Can you feel it? If no, perhaps you need to spend some quality time with a pumpkin and/or maybe eat a few hundred pieces
of candy corn while listening to Bartok and watching the Charlie Brown Halloween Special with the sound turned off. Try it!
It worked for me. I've been feeling Halloween in the air since around mid-July. (Below is a photo from last year's Halloween
party. I'm the fat one.) Big times.
I'm back teaching full force at both UC Irvine
and the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and I've got some good students. Interesting gigs of late include a concert with
NY vocalist/educator Jay Clayton, a gig with the Joe Bagg trio, and a recording session where I played an old chair (literally).
It was for a film and they videoed me as I tracked so they could show the actor what I did.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Enjoy October.
It rules.
9/14/06 Howdy folks.
So I'm finally getting around to adding a news page to my site. Something I've been meaning to do for sometime!
I'm off from both of my teaching gigs at MI (Musicians Institute) and UC Irvine until the end of the month. That means
more free time to do things like practice, write, update my website and most importantly bodyboard. In fact, Joe Bagg
and I are heading to the beach in a few minutes! Hope the waves are bitchin'. :) In other news, (wow, I sound
like Peter Jennings) I wrote a new tune last week entitled "Sea". Hopefully, you'll be able to hear it ont he site in
the near future. Last months gigs with Kate McGarry and MOSS (Kate, Theo Bleckman, Lauren Kinhan, and Peter Eldridge)
were super fun. What fantastic vocalists! Plans are in the works for Shoe-less Joe (the bass-less trio featuring
my good friends Matt Otto and Jamie Rosenn) to record (finally!) I'll keep y'all posted. Here's a picture of us
after rehearsal. Imagine what you'll look like after you've been "Shoe-lessed". Take care out ther and remember...in
the words of my father, "really dig".
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