Created as part of a Society for Composers & Lyricists NY SongArts Storytelling Project.
Based on a scene from Chapter 4 of Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland", this music video explores the social order of that magical place, in which The White Rabbit refers to Alice as Mary Anne. Hmmm.
A special thank you to all the illustrators who have helped us visualize that world over the years.
Credits:
Jeff Houndog Schiller: Music, Lyrics, Voice of Rabbit, Video Editing, Soprano and Tenor Saxes
Jonathan Handel: Lyrics, Photo Archivist
Dara Adler: Voice of Alice
Townspeople Voices: Irene Koch, Rose Gasner, Twinkle Burke, Howard Kilik, Jeff Houndog Schiller, Jonathan Handel
Music and lyrics © 2021 Jeff Houndog Schiller & Jonathan Handel
The recording of Houndog's original arrangement of Just Once was filmed in 2002 with an iPhone 4, and a Canon PowerShot, hence the grainy footage...sorry about that! Thanks to all the Covid stay-at-home time, Houndog was finally able to edit it all together.
Featured in this video:
Jeff Houndog Schiller on alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxophones
Skiddles the cat on...catness.
Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Houndog adapted this arrangement for 5 saxophones from the Quincy Jones album "The Dude".
Lyrics:
I did my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough, 'cause here we are back where we were before.
Seems nothin' ever changes, we're back to being strangers.
Wondering if we ought to stay, or head on out the door.
Just once, can we figure out what we keep doin' wrong?
Why we never last for very long. What are we doin' wrong?
Just once, can we find a way to finally make it right?
Make the magic last for more than just one night.
We could just get to it, I know we could break through it.
I gave my all, but I think my all may have been too much, 'cause Lord knows we're not gettin' anywhere.
Seems we're always blowin', whatever we've got goin',
And it seems at times with all we've got, we haven't got a prayer...
Just once, can we figure out what we keep doin' wrong?
Why the good times never last for long. Where are we goin' wrong?
Just once, can we find a way to finally make it right?
Make the magic last for more than just one night.
I know we could break through it, if we could just get to it. Just once,
I want to understand: why it always comes back to goodbye.
Why can't we get ourselves in hand, and admit to one another, we're no good without each other?
Take the best and make it better, find a way to stay together?
Just once, can we find a way to finally make it right?
Make the magic last for more than just one night?
I know we could break through it, if we could just get to it, Just Once...
Jeff Houndog Schiller: tenor sax, arrangement, video editing
Frank Vacin: bari sax
Mike Cohen: alto sax
Keith Bishop: soprano sax
"How long shall they kill black people
While we sit around an wait
Some say it’s just a part of it
But the wait is a bit too great"
- Bob Marley/Bunny Wailer
Purchase the sheet music for this arrangement here.
The Players:
Mike Cohen: Clarinet
Keith Bishop: Oboe, English Horn
Amie Amis: French Horn
Jeff Houndog Schiller: Flute, video editing
Frank Vacin: Bassoon
The music Houndog would have written for the title sequence of Hitchcok's "The Birds" if Hitch had asked him to...featuring Houndog on piccolo, flute and bass clarinet
Houndog's submission to the 2016 Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest. Contestants received the film with the original credits but with all sound removed. Houndog did the sound design, composed the score, played and recorded bass sax, flute, piccolo, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, voices, edited and mastered the audio.
The first of three spontaneously created pieces by:
Clint Bahr (12-String Bass & Chapman Stick)
David Donen (Drums)
Sean Grissom (Electric Cello)
Brian Kollins (Percussion)
Jeff Houndog Schiller (Woodwinds)
Produced by Clint Bahr & Todd Hemleb
Engineer: Todd Hemleb
Assistant Engineer: Ken Helmlinger
Recorded at Pyramid Recording NYC
Videographer: Miriam Rochford
Film Editor: Jeff Schiller
Coordination: Stephanie Feyne
The second of three spontaneously created pieces by:
Clint Bahr (12-String Bass & Chapman Stick)
David Donen (Drums)
Sean Grissom (Electric Cello)
Brian Kollins (Percussion)
Jeff Houndog Schiller (Woodwinds)
Produced by Clint Bahr & Todd Hemleb
Engineer: Todd Hemleb
Assistant Engineer: Ken Helmlinger
Recorded at Pyramid Recording NYC
Videographer: Miriam Rochford
Film Editor: Jeff Schiller
Coordination: Stephanie Feyne
The third of three spontaneously created pieces by:
Clint Bahr (12-String Bass & Chapman Stick)
David Donen (Drums)
Sean Grissom (Electric Cello)
Brian Kollins (Percussion)
Jeff Houndog Schiller (Woodwinds)
Produced by Clint Bahr & Todd Hemleb
Engineer: Todd Hemleb
Assistant Engineer: Ken Helmlinger
Recorded at Pyramid Recording NYC
Videographer: Miriam Rochford
Film Editor: Jeff Schiller
Coordination: Stephanie Feyne
