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Over the last few days, Tony and I have exchanged several emails discussing several CD’s we both grew up with, including two of Gary’s that are currently out of print – Easy As Pie and Picture This. And as one might imagine, one idea leads to another and eventually there are a bunch of theories that beg for clarification. Among those are the inner workings of ECM Records.

So it's official with my new phone. I wussed out and got a Palm Pre instead of cancelling Sprint and getting the Iphone. The Pre however so far is really cool. It might not quite hang with the Iphone but it's up there.

It took me a week, but I moved all my data to Google. That means my life lives in the cloud now. The cloud is what geeks call that area where we have all our data and we don't quite know where it is, but it's there. If you use flikr for your photos then your photos are in the cloud.

Watch this and imagine doing this on the vibes. It works right? This is what I talk about when I say to me the vibes are very similar to the guitar. Conceptually this style and approach is in a big way (although not the only way) how we can play solo on the vibes. I learned so much from playing classical guitar which I did for years when I was younger.

So I took my usual daily walk, my meager attempt at exercising and a chance to listen to music. Classical music is the most difficult to listen to on the streets of Philly. Those damn trucks. And then the cab drivers and their horns. I wish it was legal to carry and use a shot gun, if only to blow out tires.

So, we're starting a trumpet site, just like this site featuring Joe Magnarelli and Matt Gallagher. That means I'm hanging out with trumpet players these days. That's cool when you hang out with trumpet or sax players, because you're talking to musicians who ONLY play lines. In other words they have to use lines to make harmony. We can hit a C chord and then play a G and the world knows what's happening! Trumpet players have to hit the G and then fill in. This is a real learning opportunity hanging with trumpet players.

Here's a link to Mike Pinto's workshop:

It will only be up for about 7 days:
https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=MnFneFlZeDM…

I had a great time on Saturday at the 09 vibesworkshop held this past weekend. The instructors were top pros and educators all dedicated to the cause and that came through without a doubt. The technical display and theory information I took in as much as I could; it let me know right were I stand. The hi-lite for me was when Joe Locke critiqed my solo over blues changes. I was quite nervous and felt that emotion was coming through in my playing. However, Joe heard something different and I felt reassured by his comments.