Meet Mike Blake. He's a subscriber on the site, and great percussionist, drummer and vibe player who teaches out at University of North Dakota.
He's really well respected and loved in the vibe world. I know that from just mentioning his name to Ed and Joe.
Here he talks about himself and the vibraphone a little.
Hey all,
I saw that Caramoor Music Festival is doing a VIBE SUMMIT with Bobby and Stefon Harris this summer (SAT AUG 7th- www.caramoor.org). The following day will be Elio Villafranca with Pat Martino (Tony, you on this gig with the Philly crew?).
Hi All,
In the near future I'll probably be working on developing a commercial channel for Roku Players -- as a learning experience, I figured I could get started by developing a vibes channel.
So what's a Roku Player? It's a box that connects on one side to your TV, on the other to your home network, and allows you to play streaming videos from the Internet on your TV. It's main claim-to-fame is that it allows you to play Netflix instant movies on your TV. If you have a Netflix account and don't have a Roku or something similar (like Xbox), you should really get one.
Tony asked me to post the lead sheet of my composition "Jazz Waltz Nr.1".
So I thought I post it for the subscribers. I'd like to hear some other versions of it. Maybe someone who wants to check it out could post his or her own version?
Let's face it, not every gig allows us to play the difficult and hip jazz tunes we all spend hours shedding. Even many of the best known standards are completely foreign (and possibly boring) to a large section of general audiences today.
So what to play for all those restaurant and casual gigs that might hire a solo vibes player as an alternative to a pianist or guitarist? It's surprising how well many tunes from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even the 90s will translate to solo vibes. Tunes people will generally recognize and appreciate are great choices to sprinkle into your sets.
Here's a great version of How Deep Is The Ocean played by Bill Evans!
Enjoy!
TJ
I thought this was pretty funny! The guy actually plays some good stuff here. Watch the cigarette go to his hand and back to his mouth... hilarious... at least that's what I thought...
Anyway, this is what you end up with if you go out and check lots of versions of a tune on youtube. I'll post some great Bill Evans next...
T
Tarik is a 'lifer' on the site. He's been around a while, and he's come REALLY really far in his playing. He's a cat I'm sure will be out there gigging and doing on vibes soon enough. i know he works as a drummer. and i think his group has done some gigs already. go man!!!
Check him out backing up Marie Noelle.
I just found this video and thought I should post it on here. The quality is great. We're playing this tune in our ensemble at Uarts that Tony directs. Does anyone know who's playing vibes in it? Thanks!
Kenny was one of the greatest piano players ever! Died of a drug overdoes. He is the most swinging cats ever!