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Mike still playing great!

Dear all,
I'm very happy to present the " Odysseys " trailer with the amazing Alexandra Soumm on violin!
We've been playing together for over 5 years, a lot through our NGO Esperanz'Arts, and now we're so happy to show this work to all of you :-)
All the music in the trailer is live and original pieces but Odysseys includes Bartok, Sarasate, De Falla...

so, here is my second post about what I've been up to the last couple of years.

Please join vibraphonist Tom Beckham and guitarist Brad Shepik for a special evening of vibraphone and guitar music as they both debut at Mezzrow.
Beckham and Shepik dig in and explore original compositions and jazz classics with six strings and four mallets–something to like here for all music lovers, especially those who appreciate the duo format.

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Doors open at 7 PM
Sets at 8 PM & 9:30 PM
There is a $20 music charge for this show.

Hi Everyone,
Here's the lowdown on February's Good Vibes. I'll be playing tracks by Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo, Milt Jackson and Terry Gibbs in this edition to salute these early adapters. We, players and listeners, are indebted to them for giving the instrument its jazz voice, or in this case, voices since each one has a style all his own.

This is one of my typical morning improvs. I decided beforehand it would be a linear improvisation IN TEMPO. That means that of utmost importance was the time.
The second important element was SMOOTH PHRASING and TONAL FREEDOM. The latter was achieved by moving through diverse tonalities, starting with, for example, an F minor scale and switching arbitrarily to , for instance, F# major.
The last "rule" I made for myself: Beginning with an idea and ending with the same idea or something else. The important thing being A BEGINNING and an END:

I just want to share a couple of projects with you, that I'm working with in Berlin right now and during the time I wasn't activ here.
this first band - CHAT NOIR - is the band Giovanni Perin used to play in! When he left Berlin to go back to Italy they asked me to play with them and its been pure joy for me. I love these guys.

Milt is using Albrights right? Malletech is resurrecting them BTW!

Very sad news. Mike Balter sold his company to Zildjian. I saw it in an article in a newspaper online. I kind of wish I would have known in advance, as it was a bit of a shock.

I love Mike Balter. Like Steve Weiss he is an icon in this business. Mike is also a really good percussionist and drummer. It was great to endorse a company like his, as it felt like being part of a family business. We will see what the future holds. Mike said to me "Everything will be the same!". I laughed and said back "Nothing will be the same!". Mike is one of a kind.

@gabrielslamnobles is working with the best tools in the business.
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