Silent Night Blues/Gospel Christmas Eve, 2023 Vin Cognito 2023-12-25 | Our interpretation of Silent Night had it been a bluesy Gospel song.
Christmastime Is Here Vin Cognito 2023-12-12 | Even if it's not possible to have a white Christmas in Los Angeles, all our Christmases are bright. Enjoy this Vince Guaraldi classic from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Feels So Good Vin Cognito 2023-10-21 | Chuck Mangione's (literally) feel-good song from the Seventies. It's a lot of fun to play but it's new on the list and I'm still getting my sea legs for the improv section.
Moon River Cliplet Vin Cognito 2023-10-09 | The introduction to Moon River. [Thanks for the video, Matty D]
The Beatles Singles: I Feel Fine Vin Cognito 2023-10-03 | The song with the iconic guitar feedback intro. Enjoy James and me talking about the remarkable John Lennon creation, I Feel Fine. Bobby Parker: Watch Your Stepyoutu.be/nC9UlURkGLIRay Charles: What'd I Sayyoutu.be/EPLZL4s_jtIBeatles: I Feel Fine (Remastered 2015)youtube.com/watch?v=xLBVgnZyuicBeatles: I Feel Fine "live" at the BBC. youtu.be/o3RWBg45V68Beatles: I Feel Fine Promotional Video:youtu.be/WrAV5EVI4tUMike Pacelli: I Feel Fine Guitar Lessonyoutu.be/o4i4YE3OhkkMy 'Parallel/Relative Switch' Theory with the 'Decatonic Model:'youtube.com/playlist?list=PLII9LiUkpnv7Cb3oJWK5_8jWVHbaWP80wGaleazzo Frudua: I Feel Fine Vocal Harmony Lesson & Demonstrationyoutu.be/yKgjgHMBkogBeatles Bible: I Feel Fine historybeatlesbible.com/songs/i-feel-fineJames Corbett's 'The Corbett Report'corbettreport.comJames Corbett's Odysee Channel: odysee.com/@corbettreport:0James Corbett: How Black Rock Conquered The Worldcorbettreport.com/blackrockBroc West's Odysee Channel (Hire this guy for video editing. He's the best!)odysee.com/@brocwest:d
An American In Venice Vin Cognito 2023-08-19 | Messin' with some Gershwin. Me and Matt are still getting our sea legs on this one but it's slowly coming together.
The Beatles Singles: Hard Days Night Vin Cognito 2023-07-04 | This is where the fun really begins for me. While I will always say that the Beatles were just as creatively sophisticated in their early days as they were in their later days, here is where they truly begin to stretch themselves and explore new and unusual sounds. The Beatles had a knack for creating iconic moments in their intros, the body of their music or their outros (aka codas.) Sometimes all three. James and I had a great time talking about this pivotal song in the Beatles repertoire. For Paul Ostrander's Quora article which I cited, regarding the opening chord of this song, go to this page and scroll down until you find his name: quora.com/What-guitar-chord-opens-Hard-Days-Night-It-is-so-distinctive?no_redirect=1(Sorry for the scathing critique, Paul. If you'd like, you can email me regarding this subject.) To watch the Randy Bachman's entire breakdown of the first chord with audio demonstration based on their source tapes, go here:youtu.be/ENpvMdda8fAThen there's the always awesome Mike Pachelli guitar lesson on how to play the various parts exactly like the Beatles did: youtube.com/watch?v=M4AHtwnA_moAnother go-to for Beatles lessons regarding how they sang the harmonies, look to, Galeazzo Frudua's Hard Day's Night vocal deconstruction: youtu.be/1ZcDaKyfvKgJames Corbett's website: corbettreport.comAlso, James Corbett's (Goodbye-YouTube) Odysee Channel:odysee.com/@corbettreport:0And always a big shout out to James Corbett's video editor, Broc West. Here's his Odysee Channel: odysee.com/@brocwest:d
Dreamcatcher Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | When I first heard the idea that the Native American Dreamcatcher is a sort of talisman to hang over one's bed whose purpose is to snare bad dreams in it so they don't disturb the sleeper, I was intrigued. I wanted to do a musical version of this. The Dreamcatcher looks like a web but with a pattern woven in. I wanted to create a musical web to catch nightmares and make them go away and so I came up with this song.
Clear Green Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | This is the most avant garde piece on this record. It wasn't meant to be on this album but found its way there because it would've otherwise been discarded. There's a bit of an oddball tale behind this work: My producer, George Madaraz, was commissioned with a task to come up with some music for an exercise video. This wasn't just any exercise video, however. The exercises were sourced in Carlos Castaneda's infamous teachings. Because of this, the project had an air of mysticism to it. This system of movement is known as Tensegrity. Sort of a Mexican Shaman's version of Hatha Yoga. I must say, it was a bit cultish. But that aside... After using different musicians to come up music for the project--including George's wife, Debbie (RIP)--all had been rejected by the people who commissioned the project. Probably quite frustrated by all of this rejection, George turned to me in a last ditch attempt to come up with something they wouldn't reject. One of the executives of the Tensegrity project showed up to kind of head off the project. Let me tell you, it's hell to deal with non-musicians who know nothing about music, trying to tell a musician what they want and how to proceed. The first notion I got from her, the executive of the production, was, "I want you to create music that isn't music." Hmm...right? I tried a few ideas and all got rejected. Too musical, apparently. But I was determined. I said to her, "You and I need to do a Vulcan Mind Meld. I want you to start throwing words at me that describe the feeling behind these exercises and I'll try and come up with a sound that I think will express that." On completion, she appeared to be entirely happy with my work. That was pleasing considering the mental bureaucracy I had to deal with that day. Weeks, months went by. I finally called George to ask him what happened with the video project and whether they used my music. He told me that they sampled 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 from the track I created. They used that one single note dispersed around the video. Since they didn't use my track save for one note, I put it here on this CD.
A Wing & A Prayer Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | As a composer, I have a bad habit of writing pieces that stand at the precipice of my technical skill. This one has always been very difficult for me to play. That's why I call it 'A Wing & A Prayer,' because that's exactly how it feels when I attempt playing this one. This was absolutely pre-composed when I was living in Austin, TX in the mid Nineties. I'm proud of this piece as a real work of art.
Mode 5 Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | Being a guitar and music theory teacher, my producer was intrigued by the Greek Modes and how they're used in popular music. The most Bluesy Greek mode would be the Mixolydian mode: the fifth in a series of seven modes, ergo, Mode 5. This particular track was an interesting experiment in looping. The entirety of it is purely improvised. But in this case, we used multitracking. The only other songs that utilize multitracking on this CD were Clear Green and Dreamcatcher. Yet the approach to this one was very very different. It was experimental: I on each of four tracks, my looper was set to fade out the loop I created over time. As the loop faded, I brought in another loop to boost the faded track. There are four tracks here: One represents a quasi bass guitar track, another a rhythm guitar track, another a lead guitar track, and another an effects and quasi percussion track. All were set to fade out, so I had to keep creating new loops on each track as I recorded. This isn't the most popular piece on this record, yet it remains one of my favorites!
Hannahs Lullaby Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | Hannah is my sweet daughter. At the time of composing this piece, based on playing off of the echo sound (digital delay), I was a few thousand miles away from her. A deep sadness set in, being so far apart from her. But the song isn't meant to be solely melancholy. The lead guitar section is meant to express also, the joy I felt at her being in the world, being my daughter, and how proud I have always been of her. But the entirety of the song is meant to express my love for her.
Blues In The Air Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | This song was not pre-composed. I just sort of did it in the moment. I'm trying here to give the impression of a spaced out sort of Blues feeling: a Space Blues, if you will. So I gave it the name, Blues In The Air.
Coffeeslinger Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | This song was sort-of precomposed. I actually 'wrote it' spontaneously when I was performing at the Novel Cafe, Santa Monica. I had a deep crush on the barista there. She was the Coffeeslinger the song refers to. Did it happen between us? Alas, no.
Brazilianaire Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | An impression of the sounds of Brazil. This song wasn't pre-composed. My producer started recording and I simply started playing this two chord progression.
Noel Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | aka 'Kimmie's Christmas Song,' written for a girlfriend at the time. She didn't like being called Kimmie so I changed the name to 'Noel.' The song intentionally has a Christmasy vibe. The opening strains of the song are meant to emulated the sound of church bells. It's also meant to capture that hopeful, cheerful and humane feeling that some people feel around the holiday season. So, Merry Christmas!
Papa Sweat Says Vin Cognito 2023-04-29 | This song is dedicated to a sort of genius friend of mine who was a poet, a beat philosopher, psychedelic pioneer and chess master amongst other things. He had a great sense of humor. He used two pseudonyms as a poet. One was 'Papa Sweat' and the other was 'Pixie Storm.' Cracked me up! Guy was also great with a pun. I have no idea if he's still alive. Last seen in Portland, OR. The inimitable Steve Schneider.
The Beatles Singles: Ill Get You Vin Cognito 2023-04-12 | A splendid time was had as James and I take a close look at the early Beatles single, I'll Get You. ______________________________________Please contribute! Link to Vinnie's Venmo QR Code:http://www.vincognito.com/QR/QR.jpgVinnie's PayPal:paypal.com/paypalme/vincognito______________________________________Galleazo Frudua's vocal deconstruction of I'll Get You:youtu.be/m8KBNrMZTWYPaul McCartney as solo artist covering I'll Get You:youtu.be/UOp-FCGSwJEI'll Get You, Isolated Tracks:youtu.be/MlG1PYjeXIMJames Corbett's website:corbettreport.comJames Corbett's Odysee Channel:odysee.com/@corbettreport:0Video Editor, Broc West's Odysee Channel:odysee.com/@brocwest:d
Summertime Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | An much less tweaked version of Summertime than the others me and Spring did. Still, it's pretty good, I think.
Santa Baby Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | It was Christmas and what better song for the alluring Mimi than Santa Baby?
Nobody Loves You When Youre Down And Out Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | The entrancing and hypnotizing Mimi Michel doing a subtle but quite lovely version of the old Blues standard. No one has a voice, or a presence, like hers. I miss working with her! Ah, the good ol' days.
Blues On The Half Shell Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | An 8 bar Blues piece. Again, having to make room for 32 seconds of looping time, I had to cut a 16 bar Blues into an 8 bar Blues. It still works this way, I think.
High And Dry Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | This song is easy to loop since it's only got three chords going for it. Back in '05, my looper, a Lexicon JamMan, only had 32 seconds of recording time, so the simpler the song, the easier to loop.
Sultans Of Swing Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | The song that's become somewhat of a signature song for me. There are quite a few renditions of this on my channel. This song has followed me around since 1979. Yeah, I'm that old. The twist with this one is that I actually sang a few verses of the song. This one was lots easier to sing than Georgia On My Mind because it's almost like talking.
My Funny Valentine Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | Talk about tweaking a song, here's a disco/funk version of the old classic, My Funny Valentine.
All Of Me Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | This version of the old standard, All Of Me, has a twist. Well, a few twists, actually. When we worked together we got a kick out of putting a bit of a spin on a song. If you listen to the end, you'll hear the Coda segue into a quick recap of Linda Ronstadt's 'You're No Good.' This one starts as a swing, modulates up a half step, moves into a minor key Latin style thing and finally, the Ronstadt quote. Tons of fun!
Stormy Weather Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | Spring and I worked as a duet for awhile. In fact, we used to perform in a laundromat in Culver City, CA. You heard that right. It was a laundromat, but with a coffee bar and a stage for live performance. I great way to pass the time while your clothes are in the dryer. This here is a Reggae version of the classic Stormy Weather.
God Bless The Child Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | Spring, killing it on this old classic. It was always a great joy to perform with her.
Georgia Vin Cognito 2023-04-02 | Georgia with a rare vocal performance. People ask me why I don't sing. This should clear up the matter. ;)
The Beatles Singles: Thank You, Girl Vin Cognito 2023-03-03 | This podcast is history making for the reason that it's actually under an hour! This is a pretty simple pop song that doesn't have a lot to speak of when it comes to the chord progression. Paul Moody's cover of Thank You, Girl:youtube.com/watch?v=S75Vo8imvJk(I was wrong about Mike Pacelli doing a guitar breakdown of the song. What was I thinking???) James Corbett's Website:corbettreport.comJames Corbett's Odysee Channel: odysee.com/@corbettreport:0Broc West's Odysee Channel: odysee.com/@brocwest:dMany thanks to James Corbett for joining me and to Broc West for his awesome work editing these videos.
Use Me Vin Cognito 2023-01-24 | Hm. Never uploaded this ol' video to my The Blue Kind playlist. Better late than never.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Vin Cognito 2022-12-25 | Wherever you find yourself, and if it's terribly cold outside, here's hoping that the warm rays of Southern California sunshine will come to you through this video. Merry Christmas to one and all!
Revolver: Doctor Robert Vin Cognito 2022-12-14 | In honor of the recent Revolver remix, James and I momentarily strayed from talking about the singles and chose to look at this song from the Revolver album. I had a lot of fun with James on this one! Doctor Robert Lead Sheet:drive.google.com/file/d/1ZXnDer4_hM9s1-HZ2LvZMMnfZ3Avs8QU/view?usp=sharingMike Pachelli's Doctor Robert guitar lesson. This is a great lesson as only Mike can do it. Check it out if you wanna learn the song:youtu.be/cVp2FMYFOjcHiromi's jaw dropping performance of I've Got Rhythm. Hiromi is one of the world's greatest jazz pianists/composers. She deeply understands the chromaticism of Blues (which is all over this performance) and her sense of the Swing rhythm is perfect. If you want to have your mind completely blown, watch this video. You won't be disappointed! youtu.be/PmKQptkI6g0James Corbett's website: corbettreport.comHis Odysee Channel: odysee.com/@TheCorbettReport:6Video editor par excellence, Broc West:odysee.com/@brocwest:d Thanks Broc! ᵃ ˢᵖˡᵉⁿᵈⁱᵈ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ⁱˢ ᵍᵘᵃʳᵃⁿᵗᵉᵉᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵃˡˡ
Killing Me Softly Vin Cognito 2022-11-22 | The 70's Roberta Flack song. According to Rolling Stone Magazine this was on of the Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (Although, I'd add that when Rolling Stone Magazine says, "of all time" they're really saying "from 1950 on up to the present."
Moondance Vin Cognito 2022-11-22 | Another one from the 'Venice Holiday Season Concerts.' The Van Morrison classic. Once again, Matty D. kills it on the solo.
Moon River - Westminster Avenue, November 20th, 2022 Vin Cognito 2022-11-22 | Yeah, I know. I have a gazillions of versions of this up on my channel but this one is a particularly pleasing performance, I think.
Autumn Leaves Vin Cognito 2022-09-23 | The jazz classic performed by me, Matty D on tenor sax and special guest, Vlad Schvartzman on cello.
