Review of “Lost in New York”
Lost in Thought and Beauty: Review #2 for The New Face of Jazz
by: Cicily Janus
In the realm of the jazz world, it seems that artists are categorized into two different streams: Those who can and those who can’t. But I think there’s a third category that often gets buried. There are those who know how to turn their sheer will and hard work into success. In his debut album as a jazz artist, Suresh Singaratnam, who has been known as a hot young talent in the classical trumpet world, has now succeeded on all counts. His charming personality and melodic style stands out on his freshman release titled, Lost in New York. This album is truly one graced with beauty and much thought. Many artists in the jazz community, especially for their first releases, often put together albums that are compiled of single standards instead of creating a whole experience. What Suresh created with original content and panache was a body of work that tells a story of transition into modern cutting edge jazz….
Getting through the “bad trumpet days”…
A fellow trumpeter asked me the following question earlier today:
Those days when you can never seem to get a clean note out, and your lips just feel like they have no strength at all. They happen every once in a while. Any advice on stopping them fast?
Here was my answer:
Like I said, I used to hate those weeks, but they’re caused by a combination of physical and psychological factors and I’ve learned a few tricks to help myself get back on track. The short answer is, take a break from all exercises, just play songs and pieces you love to play because you know you sound good when you’re playing them. If you can, do this in a room with a lot of reverb. Another possibility is a problem with your breathing, so you might try to pay special attention to that and make sure you’re taking deep, yet comfortable and relaxed breaths. (As the saying goes: “inhale to expand, don’t expand to inhale”) You could also take a day or two away from the horn. There’s a chance you’re over-practicing and just need a rest. (I remember you had that audition recently). The long answer is…..
In one of my first lessons with him, my last teacher (Vincent Penzarella) told me that playing the trumpet is 90% mental focus on the music, 9% breath control, and 1% embouchure control. When I started studying with him, my embouchure was a mess, I didn’t know how to breath properly, but most importantly, I wasn’t really thinking about music when I was playing the trumpet. I knew he studied with Arnold Jacobs, so I was expecting him to get into the breathing stuff early on. It took him a few months. In our first lessons, he had me doing a lot of basic things like major/minor scales & long tones. I was a senior at MSM, so it was a bit of a blow to the ego, but I was pretty open to his ideas since I’d heard so many good things from his other students. The important component he added to these seemingly simple exercise was his insistence that I mentally sing whatever I play while playing. Actually, he went a step further and always told me to “sing on the trumpet, don’t play.” If I was working on major scales, I would have to sing every single note in my mind while playing them. The feeling on my lips and what came out of the bell of the trumpet weren’t important, what I heard in my mind was. For long tones, he told me to subdivide the notes in my mind, but also hear myself playing each note in the context of a full orchestral brass section playing that note in surrounding octaves. Long tones quickly became something that wouldn’t be practical to work on while watching TV.
After a few months of this, we started working on breathing exercises. Penzarella always stressed the importance of hearing the music in my mind while working on breathing, so those feelings of effortlessness would transfer to the trumpet. The breathing exercises would be useless for trumpet playing if they were learned outside of a musical context. A few months later, we tried to fix my embouchure, but I was having trouble making the adjustment because I was too attached to how the mouthpiece felt on my lips after years of playing and the new embouchure felt uncomfortable.
I didn’t correct my embouchure until after I completed my Masters degree at MSM. Actually, the correction didn’t happen until about a year after I graduated. It was also a sort of accidental process that I didn’t understand till a few months had passed. I was a little disorientated and unmotivated after graduation. Practicing occasionally, I once went about 10 days without even touching my trumpet. When I picked it up again, I thought I would try the corrected embouchure Mr. Penzarella showed me. Because I had enough time away from the horn, I had “forgotten” the old embouchure enough to feel more comfortable with the new setup. I knew I would have to build up strength again, so I gradually increased my playing time everyday, but I started by only playing pieces I enjoyed, pieces I knew well, and new music that was easy to read through. After a few months, the new embouchure felt completely natural and now I can’t even imagine going back to the way I used to play. There’s no way I could’ve played the intervals in that Bach Violin partita movement with the old embouchure and I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the Hindemith at the tempo I recorded at. These days, the room I do all my practicing in is small, but it doesn’t really matter, because I’m more concerned with the clarity of the music in my mind when I’m practicing.
The point of all of that was to share my little epiphany about just how much our state of mind can effect our playing. Have you noticed how endurance seems almost unlimited when playing in a church or large hall with a lot of reverb, but playing in a small stuffy room seems to bring fatigue quickly? Creating a beautiful sound on the trumpet does require practice on the instrument, but it also requires a lot of imagination and focus. That comes naturally to a few fortunate ones, but a lot of us need to consciously stayed engaged with the task at hand, or things don’t sound too great.
Finally, I suggested the possibility of taking some time off and just listening to some good music because frustration can be a distraction from the music, and catalyst for tension in the body, which restricts your airflow, which makes playing more taxing for the embouchure, which will frustrate you, which can distract you from the music…..well, you get the idea 
Hope that helps =)
Another interview
Toronto Music Scene’s Tanya Bailey had a chance to chat with trumpeter Suresh Singaratnam who has won numerous awards and scholarships for his playing. Here’s what he had to say…read more at TorontoMusicScene.ca
My first radio interview…
Who is Suresh? That’s what I was wondering when a West Virginia Public Radio listener suggested I listen to his album Two Hundred Sixty-One, Vol. 1… read more at WVPubcast - Blogs .
“The O’Reilly Procedure” from Roger Ebert’s Journal: Archives
Bill O’Reilly has been
brought low by the same process that afflicted Jerry Springer. Once respected journalists, they sold their souls for higher ratings, and follow their siren song. Springer is honest about it: “I’m going to Hell for what I do, and I know it,” he’s likes to say. O’Reilly insists he is dealing only with the truth. When his guests disagree with him, he shouts at them, calls them liars, talks over them, and behaves like a schoolyard bully.…read more at Roger Ebert’s Journal: Archives.
Another review of Two Hundred Sixty-One: Vol. 1
Suresh Singaratnam is still in his earliest years as a recording musician, yet his talents are already radiant. Suresh has been trained as both a classical and a jazz musician, and he has recordings to highlight both styles, yet he is able to maintain the important aspects of each music without his music becoming a fusion of two styles- his music stays true and authentic to both classical and jazz. On this album, entitled Two Hundred Sixty One, Vol. 1, Suresh Sinaratnam shows that as a trumpet player…read more at MicControlBlog.com.
First Review for Lost in New York
Yesterday I had posted an album review of Suresh Singaratnam’s album, a collection of classical pieces entitled Two Hundred Sixty One, Vol. 1. Today I have another Suresh Singaratnam album for review, but this one is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum (style wise that is, because this album similar to his other is of the highest quality). This album, entitled Lost In New York, is a full fledged jazz album. It is truly rare to come across such a talented musician who has so clearly mastered a craft and style so early on in his career, but it takes the skills of a prodigy to be able to apply himself in a way where he can express himself to the highest degree through multiple musical disciplines…read more at MicControlBlog.com
When to Applaud « Emanuel Ax’s Official Blog
by Emanuel Ax
All of us love applause, and so we should – it means that the listener LIKES us! So we should welcome applause whenever it comes. And yet, we seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud….read more on Emanuel Ax’s Official Blog.
FraserHollins.com
My bassist Fraser Hollins…(ok, he isn’t just MY bass player, haha, but he’s the bassist on Lost in New York and he sounds amazing) just launched his new website, MySpace page and Blog. Check it out!
Why do Indy 500 winners drink milk?
After crossing the bricked finish line on Sunday, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 will drive into the winner’s circle, be presented with a celebratory wreath and take a swig from a cold bottle of milk. The latter is one of the grandest traditions in sports, but also one of the most confusing. Why milk? Why is it in a bottle? And (this one was actually asked by a girl I knew in college) has it been sitting in the sun all day?…continue reading on Yahoo! Sports.
Eight smart uses for vinegar | Yahoo Green
By Brian Clark Howard
Now that you know ketchup can be used for shining copper and repairing hair, or that vodka can be used to repel insects and freshen laundry, you may have been wondering what tasks you can get done for cheap with other household items.
Since May is National Vinegar Month (did you forget?), we thought we’d take a closer look at this inexpensive, versatile good....continue reading on Yahoo Green.
TrumpetMaster.com
A couple days ago I received a message on Twitter from trumpeter Dan Gosling. Besides being a trumpet player and teacher for over 20 years, Dan is also the creator of ChopSaver®, a special lip balm he created specifically for brass players. Dan was writing to inform me that he had posted a link to the YouTube video for the 261 Days campaign on a few trumpet enthusiast sites to help spread the word. I thanked him because I know that what we’re trying to do gains more momentum whenever someone new believes in the idea enough to spread the word for us. I noticed that my website had a few visitors who were referred from one of those trumpet sites, so I was curious to see what the referring page looked like. After the reading through the three pages of comments about the video, it was apparent that some people on the site had some very important questions. So….
To “Rowuk” on TrumpetMaster.com,
I’m sorry you lost your mother to cancer. I’ve never lost anyone close to me, so I’m always at a loss for words when speaking with people who have, but I can definitely understand why reading the words “publicity stunt” and “donation to cancer research” on the same page would be nothing less than infuriating to you. In my efforts to attract the attention of the masses, I lacked the foresight and sensitivity to realize the effect my words could have on those who had suffered because of cancer. For that error in judgement, I offer my deepest apologies. Your donation to the bone marrow bank is beyond commendable. It’s a beautiful thing to know that there’s a girl somewhere in Canada who has fully recovered from leukemia since someone living thousands of miles away was inspired to improve the lives of others because of a loss he suffered. You turned the tragedy of your mom’s passing into the gift of health and longer life for someone you’ve never even met 
To everyone else:
First of all, Rowuk is right, please donate blood or register with a bone marrow bank if you can. It’s definitely a more immediate solution than what I’m doing. As for the discussion about my fundraising efforts, here are my thoughts on that matter.
I’ve noticed the excerpts from my “publicity stunt” paragraph are the most quoted on the thread that started with Dan Gosling’s posting of my YouTube video. I wrote most of the text on www.261days.com a couple days after Ashton Kutcher was on the news for donating 10,000 mosquito nets to the fight against malaria after he beat CNN to 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. If any of you are annoyed by what I’m doing, think about how annoyed you could be by a multimillionaire being praised for donating $100,000. That’s what lead to the arrogant language in my original statement. At the time, I also wanted to be clear that this was a marketing ploy to contrast Ashton’s basking in the country’s admiration of his “philanthropy” after he donated a relatively small percentage of his wealth.
The YouTube video is meant to generate excitement for the campaign. It’s short, and fast moving because most people don’t seem have the time or patience to read all the text on www.261days.com . The video something that people can easily send to their friends and family. It also demonstrates how 1,000,000 sales are possible in 261 days, even for an unknown artist. Susan Boyle’s YouTube video was viewed over 100,000,000 times in about a week. If she had a single for sale on iTunes and just 1% of the people who watched that video bought that track, she’d have sold 1,000,000 tracks in a week. For many people, the combination of an animated explanation of exponential growth set to the soundtrack of a familiar but challenging piece of music is enough to convince them to buy the album. For anyone who is curious to hear clips of all the selections on the album, samples are available on iTunes, my Facebook music page, MySpace profile and website. For those who need more detailed information about my fundraising plans, there’s the text on www.261days.com . I’ve come to understand that there are still a few issues to address, so I hope to address them here.
My original plan was to donate $1,000,000 dollars if I sold 1,000,000 albums, but then I realised $1,000,000 wasn’t enough. The problem with increasing the donation was accounting for the variable pricing of the album. The 7 track album costs as low as $6.93 CAD on iTunes Canada. After Apple and my distributor take their percentage of that amount, I’m left with $4.37. The physical CD sells for as high $10.00 USD. At the current exchange rate, that’s $11.19. After subtracting the money I lose on packaging and the cost of manufacturing each CD, I’m left with a around $5 per CD sold. My reason for choosing the lowest possible profit amount is tied to taxation, Since I don’t believe in claiming charitable donations on my tax return, I have to account for paying income tax on the album sales. The federal income tax rate for Canadians earning more than $126,264 is 29%. After that and Ontario’s provincial tax of 11%, about $2.75 million would remain. At the time, $2,000,000 seemed like the easiest number for people to remember, but after reading my own breakdown of the numbers here, I’ll admit $2,500,000 would have worked just as well. I’m also encouraging people to buy the album on iTunes because we get the benefit of a third party accounting department without spending an extra cent on administrative costs. By posting the video on YouTube and the announcement on a page that is cached by search engines, there’s a public record of my statements. That combined with the sales reports from Apple, PayPal, HMV, Amazon and Indiepool hold me accountable to fulfill my promise when 1,000,000 albums are sold.
Some people are troubled by the omission of any information about how the money will be spent if I don’t reach my goal of 1,000,000. I agree this is a detail that will make some suspicious. I didn’t want to discuss the possibility of failure in the initial announcement because I wanted people to know I believe this will work. If October 23rd arrives and the final tally is something as low as 100,000, or even 10,000, I’ll still be able to afford to give half the money away, so I promise I will, but like I said, why should we settle for something so low when it really could just take 2 people and 20 days to reach our true goal of 1,000,000?
Just to clarify things, I am NOT affiliated with the Canadian Cancer Society in any way whatsoever. I did contact them before I posted the announcement to let them know what I was doing first hand. I didn’t ask for an endorsement or any promotion from them, I just wanted to let them know my intentions were sincere, so if they heard about my efforts from someone else, they wouldn’t think I was trying to scam anyone by using their name. I posted a link to the Canadian Cancer Society’s website so people could learn about that organization. I chose the Canadian Cancer Society because I didn’t want be ambiguous about WHERE the money was going and they seemed like the most appropriate group to handle a donation to fund cancer research.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I’ve had a change of heart since I posted that initial announcement. While I’ll never deny that this STARTED as something that was ultimately about selling my first album, something changed after the first person bought the album after reading about the $2,000,000 donation. I panicked a little. I realized if this was too much of a challenge, I would have to refund that person’s money immediately and explain to him that I was giving up before I really started. Something about that didn’t seem right. I had a choice between giving into my fear of failure, or summoning the determination and resourcefulness I would need to make this happen because proving it’s possible would really change how people looked at wealth and what it means to be generous. To my harshest critics, I hope I’ve proved the legitimacy and sincerity of my intentions to you. While your voices are strong in opposition, they could be even stronger in support.
Suresh S.
–iii-<
Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion
One of the first tricks in Penn and Teller’s Las Vegas show begins when Teller—the short, quiet one—strolls onstage with a lit cigarette, inhales, drops it to the floor, and stamps it out. Then he takes another cigarette from his suit pocket and lights it.
No magic there, right? But then Teller pivots so the audience can see him from the other side. He goes through the same set of motions, except this time everything is different: Much of what just transpired, the audience now perceives, was a charade, a carefully orchestrated stack of lies. He doesn’t stamp out the first cigarette—he palms it, then puts it in his ear. There is no second cigarette; it’s a pencil stub. The smoke from the first butt is real, but the lighter used on the pencil is actually a flashlight. Yet the illusion is executed so perfectly that every step looks real, even when you’re shown that it is not.…continue reading at Wired.com
Where the Worst Drivers Live- Yahoo Autos Article Page
The worst drivers in America live in New York. Of course, you knew that. You’ve been in the Holland Tunnel. But now, we have proof…continue reading on Yahoo Autos Article Page.
Why Terminator Is So Creepy | LiveScience
By Jeremy Hsu,
Hollywood and robotics researchers have long struggled with the “uncanny valley,” where a movie character or robot falls into the unsettling gap between human and not-quite-human. One psychologist likes to demonstrate this by holding up a plastic baby doll and asking audiences if they think it’s alive. They say no.…continue reading at LiveScience.com
It was fun while it lasted…..[update]
Ok, so anyone in Canada who’s looked at the classical music page on the iTunes store today has probably noticed that Two Hundred Sixty One: Vol 1 isn’t on the top 25 chart anymore. I guess I got bumped with the start of a new week, haha! Oh well, time to sell more copies and get back on there….
Speaking of Progress…..
It’s been less than a week since we began the 261 Days campaign and Two Hundred Sixty-One: Vol. 1 has already broken into the top 25 chart for classical music on iTunes Canada. What’s even more surprising is, in less then 3 months, my recordings of Carnival of Venice and the Hindemith Trumpet Sonata are now the best selling recordings of those pieces on iTunes Canada! To everyone in Canada who’s reading this, please tell EVERYONE you know about what we’re trying to do here. If the album keeps climbing the classical charts, that’s more even exposure to help move things along toward 1,000,000.
Click here to buy the album on iTunes
Click here to learn more about the 261 Days Campaign to raise $2,000,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society
A Top Interrogator Who’s Against Torture - TIME
By BOBBY GHOSH / WASHINGTON D.C.Friday, Apr. 24, 2009
He’s the special agent who came in from the cold — and waded straight into the debate over the use of harsh interrogation techniques. Ali Soufan, a former FBI special agent and perhaps the most successful U.S. interrogator of al-Qaeda operatives, says the use of those techniques was unnecessary and often counterproductive. Detainees, he says, provided vital intelligence under non-violent questioning, before they were put through “walling” and waterboarding… continue reading on TIME.com.
