Thursday, June 10, 2010

Now's the Time: Mindi Abair


Thorough scrutiny of the embedded Mindy Abair video has caused me to realize that Kansas City's saxophonists really need to step up their game. The lovely lady's video contains many valuable lessons. In alphabetical order, here are specific Abair-inspired tips for a few of Kansas City's saxophonists.

*Alaadeen- Improve your lyrical chops. (See 2:51-2:58 of Abair's video.)
*Matt Chalk- Set up fans near the stage to seductively tousle your hair. (2:00)
*Gerald Dunn of The Jazz Disciples- Learn to type. (3:06)
*James Isaac of AfterGroove- Work on makeup application. (0:20).
*Hunter Long of the Black House Improvisors Collective- Pick up tips on leading a large ensemble. (1:53)
*Jim Mair- Learn to make Abair's "duck face." (4:21)
*Matt Otto- Try copying Abair's hair flip move. Oh, wait... never mind. (3:16)
*Bobby Watson- You're obviously going to have to start from scratch. (entire video)

All kidding aside, Abair excels in her chosen field. I intend to catch her Saturday at the Jazz In the Woods festival. What's more, I expect to thoroughly enjoy her headlining performance.
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 10, 2010 at 7:52 PM

    I'll be the first to admit that I need to up my game.

    We all could do a lot worse as far as duck face is concerned. Unfortunately I find it unattractive when women play saxophones.

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  2. Happy In BagJune 10, 2010 at 11:38 PM

    I don't want anyone to get the impression that I'm poking fun at Abair because she's a woman. It's the goofy video that makes her fair game.

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  3. BenJune 11, 2010 at 4:15 AM

    My favorite thing about this post is the Label at the bottom "Ill-advised stab at humor" hahaha, classic. But seriously, she is awesome!

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  4. AnonymousJune 12, 2010 at 10:29 AM

    For the record, I'm sure she is very nice, but I don't "miss her."

    This is very funny . . . thanks. I, as a drummer, should work on my bottom-lip-biting skills.

    And, you shouldn't apologize at all for poking fun at her. What makes her fair game is not only the "goofy" video - she deserves to be made fun of for using her women-ness in such a grotesque and exploitative fashion. I am convinced that smooth jazz artists like Mindi have all that extra bedazzlement and movement when they play to distract the audience from the fact that they aren't really doing much. It is their right to do it, but it is also our right to poke fun at it. Preach on Plasticsax.

    I'm going to go listen to some Ingrid Jensen now. -Sam

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  5. Happy In BagJune 12, 2010 at 12:06 PM

    All too awesome, Ben.

    Thanks for checking in, Sam.

    I have a sudden urge to buy the www.grotesqueandexploitive.com domain.

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