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I did a recording session yesterday and something awful happened. We were playing the tune Move by Denzel Best. I couldn't play one part of the tune. I had to practice it for 20 minutes. I realized that I got into a bad habit or something over the summer and my right hand changed. I actually had to work the problem out in the studio (all friends, luckily) and come home and think about the problem. I can't really explain what it was but my right hand was moving a little differently from my left. I could feel it changing back as I practiced during the day and night. It was weird.

No gig today (I'm glad in a way). After doing a bunch of BS I got on the instrument. I'm learning the Parker Tune Quasimodo. I love the head and it's a challenge to really get the phrasing! I have 3 recordings, Paul Motian, Parker and Ralph Moore and each one is a little different.

BTW - Quasimodo is based on the chords to Embraceable You.

I'm so into Parker tunes and learning them as a tune and as an etude. In other words it's a real opportunity to study phrasing.

Check out Bobby comping with 4 mallets. I love his work with Jackie Mclean.

One year ago today Marie got her vibraphone. As you guys might know, Marie has been in love with the vibes for a long time. She finally bought her own set and is practicing on them! She's my right hand girl on the site as most of you know. I don't think the site would be as good without her giving us all encouragement.

Anyway I wanted to wish Marie's vibes a happy birthday in their new home!

Hello guys, Tony graciously posted Joe and I playing Stella By Starlight (which was the last tune of the concert). If anyone is interested in checking out more of the concert, all of the clips are now up on my YouTube channel. Gustavo shot and edited the video footage. He numbered each track and left in the talking so that the concert can be viewed as we played it.

Here's the link to my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/edsaindon

This is the power of us all working together. I'm checking out all these videos on the blues. I'm listening to the blues in the car and the blues is coming out all over the place for me!

You guys are influencing me big time. This is the way I hoped it would be!

Well, I'm all over the blues these days! Right now listen to Ray Charles and Milt Jackson. Those cats can play the blues.

Says panting and out of breath:

Drummers dad dies last night.
Got him on a bus to NY at 2:40. He's got to get to Cleveland.

What about the gig today?? We need someone. Well got Arturo Stable, so that's COOL!!

No time to practice anything today and only slept a few hours!!!

Gigs all through the weekend. Man I have not had an august this busy in a long time!!

Ok, what are you guys up to this weekend? Any cool gigs? You gonna practice?

BTW - More blues lessons coming!! I asked Behn to do one also!

It has been a frustrating ten days of working on chords to use as a left hand accompaniment to a melody line in the right hand. Six weeks till the sing-a-long at the Rehab Hospital. Working with a FAKE book "Ragtime and Early Jazz", I have a few songs memorized. But my pace is too slow. Tried sight-reading from the book today, and that seems to be coming along a little, but pace there is even slower. The new eyeglasses do help a lot.

I thought I'd share a pretty funny story from a gig last night:

Yo, european cats,

There has been some talk about getting vibes in Europe lately.

We talk a lot about American manufacturers. For European cats it's expensive to get those instruments over.

But there are some great instruments over there for you guys as well.

I dig Premiere, although I can't believe they stopped making their portable instrument. WTF!!
I don't know a lot about adams but I'm sure they have good stuff. Do they make instruments for pros? The ones I've played on were tanks for a marching band. But if they had a good portable model that's cool?