M7's Musical Journey

I almost got fired. Almost canned because I told the truth, was too transparent, and apparently, in describing my department, I made another department look bad (though I said nothing bad about that other department). If I simply describe my department and how we help people, and students can deduce things for themselves, I get in trouble.
This came after 7 years of fighting for my program, my people. All my efforts have been received as "poor professional judgment," though what magic tablets they are working from are a mystery to me. I've been told to do immoral, wrong, unethical things, but since they are not illegal, I have no choice. It's "do it or get canned."
Throughout all of this and the most challenging time in my career and my life (with idiopathic anaphylaxis), I have sought solace in music. I listen to my favorite musicians, emulate them as best I can, and practice as often as possible, focusing mostly on bari sax and bass guitar. I even started tinkering with how to write and record music tracks to combine into an actual original song!
More recently, I have worked on scales, with 3 major scales firmly under my fingers: C, D, and Bb. In addition to scales, I have practiced a lot on embouchure, long tones, articulation, tempo, and speed. When I get tired of these things, I pick a solo by Dana Colley of Morphine fame and I try to transcribe it for myself. I've got the sax parts of 3 songs down pretty good: "The Night," "Dawna," and "I'm Free Now."
Since I started practicing/learning/playing saxophone, I've learned some other tunes as well: the opening to "Creole Love Call," by Duke Ellington, "I'm Shakin'," by Little Willie John, "I'll be Over You," by Toto, "La Valse," by Les Negresses Vertes, "In a Sentimental Mood," by Joe Temperley, and the saddest bit of sax sound every recorded: "Fine and Mellow," the piece played by Lester Young on the 1957 program, "The Sound of Jazz."
I keep returning to the tone thing, trying to modify my tone, perfect it, make it more consistent, while also playing as softly as I can, as in Cecil Payne's "Diamonds for your Furs," from his "Bright Moments" album. I've eaten up as much jazz and jazz history as I can, learning a bunch about my favorites: Harry Carney, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Temperley, Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Cecil Payne, Jason Marshall, Leo Parker, Leo Pelligrino, and Rolland Rhassan Kirk. Dana Colley is also a major influence on me, and I've even befriended him on Instagram! Wow! He asked me to share information on an etude book I am practicing from. I was like, "YOU? YOU want to study some etudes? You could write a whole book on what you do and you want to study!?" Turns out, everyone is always studying, working to improve and change.
Music theory is also an interest, and I am taking baby steps towards understanding. I bought a keyboard to help me study. I want to learn all about how music works, how I can write and arrange, and how I can get the structure of things down pat. Just like with essay writing, there are "best practices" in different genres, and I am working to learn those in areas like jazz, the blues, and rock.
I've even evolved into wanting to record original music! I have a bunch of pedals, looping, fuzz, echo, etc. I have an amp, a mic, and a DAW. Turns out, the thing I should have been doing was in my pocket the whole time: Garage Band! I can do everything on there!!! And it all sounds way better than anything I have made with all my equipment. As a new student to this, I really got a bad case of gear acquisition syndrome. If I ever get to play in front of an audience in real time, I will have a lot of toys to play with, but to record, I don't need much at all right now as I learn and (hopefully) grow.
2024 has started, my job woes have settled down, my health has settled down, and I'm still on the weight-loss journey. Music is still a major part of my life, going on 4 years, and my poor motorcycle languishes in the garage. I think I went as far as I could in "mastering" motorcycling. To go further would involve physical danger or possible death or imprisonment. I feel guilty to put motorcycling on the back burner, but I have to just accept how my life is evolving. If my interest is just no longer there, I need to accept it and move on.

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