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I don't know if this is such a big topic, but it's one I always find interesting when the situation occurs. I think no matter how long you have been performing, there are still moments when you can get psyched out by seeing someone you know sitting in the front row. Tonight Jonathan and I are going to Miami to see Chick and John McLaughlin and their current touring group. It promises to be a great night of music and we have tickets right up front. This is one of the few times I will be in the audience to hear Chick play.

Tifoo posted a YouTube of pianist Makoto Ozone playing Rhapsody In Blue, and I was delighted to see it. Makoto has bcome quite active as a classical pianist in the past decade, and I have never seen him playing with an orchestra till now. Coming from a jazz background, it's natural that two of his primary performance works are Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F major. Both feature piano cadenzas written out by Gershwin, and of course played by thousands of pianists through the years.

Dear all!

Like always I have been closely following what is going on on the site and I enjoyed many many things! Tony and all of you are doing an excellent job!

But one thing that kind of bothers me is that there is not so much material for beginners/hobbyists like me.

I am aware that I belong to a probably very small group of people who is 35, started vibes about 2 years ago, has a fulltime day job and has an average practice time of 10 minutes per day.

Hi everyone,

I am interested in getting a wide-ranging discussion about practicing going here on the VW. There is more than one way to approach practicing, and it is a very personal thing for each musician. Some musicians are very methodical about it while others are highly flexible. And things like schedules, traveling, and access to practice space can all contribute to shaping one’s practice habits.

We hopped around the country today.

At my house was 5 vibe players. Me, Randy Sutin, Michael Caine, Sy Platt and Barry K.
Also Mark P on bass and Charlie Paterno on drums.

Was went up to Boston and listened to Mario Diciuttis play some amazing things on the Mallet Kat, out to Oregon and listened to Tmacoid then to Brooklyn to listen to James Shipp and Jo Lawry. I think everybody had a lot of fun!

Hey all. I'm on my way to New Orleans for the week-end to help out with auditions at the Thelonious Monk Institute, so most likely I won't be hanging out much here at the VW. I'll leave you with a Red Norvo story.

AFter reading the amazing life stories, here is a highlight gig story of mine

I've already written about some of those times when things just don't go like you expect. And, believe me, everyone in this business has the occasional weird situation they have to get through. Without a doubt, my strangest gig was the one time I played with Ahmad Jamal and his trio. I have been a long-time fan of Ahmad's music, and I had met him informally a couple of times through the years. So, when the chance came to play a few tunes with him at a concert in France, I was delighted. The occasion was a music industry convention in Nice called MIDEM.

Here's the scoop on my two most disappointing jam experiences. As many people know, I was a big Bill Evans fan. So much so, that I sounded a lot like him when I soloed, played a lot of his tunes using his arrangements, and pretty much knew all his records backwards and forwards during my formative years as a player. I got to know Bill soon after I moved to New York in 1962. By coincidence, I ended up staying with a musician friend while looking for my own place, and my friend happened to live in the same building as Bill. My first encounters with him were pretty scary.

Now that I've had the chance to sift through a lot of the commentary on the site, I think it's time to fill in some details. I enjoyed reading the comments posted following the review of my ALONE AT LAST record, both the praise and the criticisms. Believe me, I'm my worst critic, so it doesn't bother me at all if someone doesn't like something I've done. In fact, I doubt there is any one person who would like ALL the records I've made. Even I don't like them all! (But don't even think of asking me which ones I don't like!)