Video Summer School 2020: Camper Glenn Broadhead

Veteran Bjorklunden camper Glenn Broadhead plays mean reeds, and he’s also a closet composer/arranger, happiest when he’s arranging the compositions of guitar master Gene Bertoncini. He has gifted us for years with beautiful arrangements for both big band and vocalists. Here are Glenn’s own words about the video below — part of his “What I Did on My Summer Vacation from Tritone” project.

 This is my arrangement of Bertoncini’s haunting song, “For Chet.”  It is performed (through overdubbing) by Ted Hogarth, who leads the Ted Hogarth Mulligan Mosaics Band and also records with Joe Policastro’s Jeru Quartet.  He toured for several years with the national production of JERSEY BOYS, and has just been recognized by DOWNBEAT magazine among musicians nominated for Rising Star on Clarinet.

The graphics … include album covers from 31 albums that Gene recorded under his own name and an additional 59 recorded as a sideman or vocal accompanist.  For the “For Chet” graphics, however, I included a number of photographs from Tritone camps, where I first got the opportunity to meet the maestro.  Many of these photographs are by Don Jackson, and I really, really hope he’s okay with that.

This piece will not be everyone’s cup of tea, and God knows it has many flaws, but I hope you enjoy it if you can, and if you can’t, I know you’ll join me in good feelings about the Tritone camp, mentors, and campers.

UPDATE: Glenn has now put all seven parts online. Here’s the whole shebang.