VOA标准英语2013--Trumpeter Gabriel Johnson Releases Debut Album

 

Trumpeter Gabriel Johnson Releases Debut¹ Album

While Miles Davis was one of Johnson’s most important musical influences, it was another iconic entertainer who helped jumpstart his solo career: filmmaker and jazz enthusiast² Clint Eastwood. Johnson recalls making a good first impression at Eastwood’s home in Northern California.

“He was real cool and complimentary³ and he said, ‘You’ve got a great sound. Do you want to come back tomorrow, I’m working on this movie and I think you could be right for it.’ And I said, ‘Ok, sure.’ So he played me the theme to what ended up being the end titles to ‘Changeling,’" he said. "I cut it by myself in that house, and he said, ‘Ok, that’s great.’ So, I ended up going back there for about a month every day. But that thing we did that first day ended up being the end titles.”

Johnson discovered jazz while growing up in Salinas, California. His grandmother encouraged him to listen to horn greats Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard, and she supported his decision to become a musician. After graduating from the New England Conservatory⁴ of Music, he returned to California to work on recordings⁵ by a variety of jazz and R&B artists, among them trumpeter Chris Botti.

“I owe all of my knowledge -- as far as the way that I approach having a career, my vision, and thinking outside of the box -- I owe 110 percent of that to the advice that he’s given me and just his friendship,” Johnson said.

Johnson's debut album consists primarily of original songs and interludes. But, he also put his own spin on tunes⁷ by Robert Flack and Radiohead, as well as a melancholy⁸ take on the time-honored standard, “Summertime.”

"That tune⁶ in that particular key just had something of a moody⁹ quality," he said. "Many people have done it many ways. A lot of people have done it in a really up way or a really happy way, and I always just thought that my horn fits best in like a moodier¹⁰ context.”

“From the moment I wake up until the time I go to bed I’m sort of consumed with music and obsessed¹¹ with it, but it never feels like work to me at all," Johnson said. "I really like doing it. I sort of enjoy the monotony of playing long tones on the horn every day and all that that kind of stuff. It’s great! If this is hard work, bring me all the hard work I can get.” 

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

3 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

4 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

5 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

9 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

10 moodier   

adj.喜怒无常的( moody的比较级 )；忧悒的；（无缘无故）不高兴的；脾气坏的

参考例句：

11 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。