Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Skeleton keyed up

Nathan Hubbard's new big band, the Skeleton Key Orchestra, releases Furiously Dreaming

“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard. - Image by Karen Hubbard
“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard.

“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard, the winner of the 2014 San Diego Music Award for Best Jazz Recording. Hubbard is back in the news with a new double-disc effort on Orenda Records titled Furiously Dreaming. For the recording, Hubbard assembled a 49-member ensemble he calls the Skeleton Key Orchestra. “I mean, we couldn’t even find a space. I spent six months going to every black box and theater in town trying to get somebody to sign on and let me use their nonprofit, and I couldn’t find a space that I could afford to rehearse in.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"Sleep:Dream:Silence"

...from Nathan Hubbard and the Skeleton Key Orchestra's <em>Furiously Dreaming</em>

...from Nathan Hubbard and the Skeleton Key Orchestra's Furiously Dreaming

After considerable deliberation, Hubbard found a solution, although he had to race to complete the basic recording. “Most of it was tracked in two days at San Diego State — there were a lot of overdubs that were done piece-by-piece in other studios, because the full band was only available for those two days.”

Even within those limitations, Hubbard had big ideas for this project. “I wanted to push the production level, in terms of using loops and a drum machine and different ways to manipulate the band; at one point in ‘They All Fall Down,’ the entire band gets played back through a crappy little speaker from really far off — so you’re hearing it like an old 78 playing in another room.”

Hubbard likes to tailor his compositions to showcase the strengths of particular players. “I try to write really strong melodies, and I write sections for specific people like [saxophonists] Ellen Weller, David Borgo, Jason Robinson, and [trombonist] Michael Dessen. There is a Jeff Kaiser trumpet solo at the end of ‘Other Ideas’ that is just hilarious. That was totally set up to just let Kaiser go batshit crazy, which we all know he loves to do.”

Past Event

Nathan Hubbard/Skeleton Key Orchestra

  • Saturday, May 21, 2016, 8 p.m.
  • Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego
  • $10

The process for this recording took some patience. “We started in ’07 and it took a few years to record and six years to release. It was purely a matter of funds or the lack of funds. But with my 40th birthday coming up, I wanted to get it on a label and release it as a CD to have as many people as possible hear it.”

Hubbard’s record-release/birthday party takes place on May 21 at Bread & Salt in Logan Heights with a 22-piece version of the band featured on Furiously Dreaming.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard. - Image by Karen Hubbard
“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard.

“Writing for a large ensemble in San Diego is just ridiculous,” says drummer/composer Nathan Hubbard, the winner of the 2014 San Diego Music Award for Best Jazz Recording. Hubbard is back in the news with a new double-disc effort on Orenda Records titled Furiously Dreaming. For the recording, Hubbard assembled a 49-member ensemble he calls the Skeleton Key Orchestra. “I mean, we couldn’t even find a space. I spent six months going to every black box and theater in town trying to get somebody to sign on and let me use their nonprofit, and I couldn’t find a space that I could afford to rehearse in.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"Sleep:Dream:Silence"

...from Nathan Hubbard and the Skeleton Key Orchestra's <em>Furiously Dreaming</em>

...from Nathan Hubbard and the Skeleton Key Orchestra's Furiously Dreaming

After considerable deliberation, Hubbard found a solution, although he had to race to complete the basic recording. “Most of it was tracked in two days at San Diego State — there were a lot of overdubs that were done piece-by-piece in other studios, because the full band was only available for those two days.”

Even within those limitations, Hubbard had big ideas for this project. “I wanted to push the production level, in terms of using loops and a drum machine and different ways to manipulate the band; at one point in ‘They All Fall Down,’ the entire band gets played back through a crappy little speaker from really far off — so you’re hearing it like an old 78 playing in another room.”

Hubbard likes to tailor his compositions to showcase the strengths of particular players. “I try to write really strong melodies, and I write sections for specific people like [saxophonists] Ellen Weller, David Borgo, Jason Robinson, and [trombonist] Michael Dessen. There is a Jeff Kaiser trumpet solo at the end of ‘Other Ideas’ that is just hilarious. That was totally set up to just let Kaiser go batshit crazy, which we all know he loves to do.”

Past Event

Nathan Hubbard/Skeleton Key Orchestra

  • Saturday, May 21, 2016, 8 p.m.
  • Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego
  • $10

The process for this recording took some patience. “We started in ’07 and it took a few years to record and six years to release. It was purely a matter of funds or the lack of funds. But with my 40th birthday coming up, I wanted to get it on a label and release it as a CD to have as many people as possible hear it.”

Hubbard’s record-release/birthday party takes place on May 21 at Bread & Salt in Logan Heights with a 22-piece version of the band featured on Furiously Dreaming.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader