Anonymous

This is the 'style' of playing you are into right?

I love it and don't play like this. A lot of notes as well but doesn't matter to me!!! I like listening to all the mallets and how they are intertwined. the rhythms between the hands etc.

This gets pretty busy. I bet David Friedman doesn't like it. (Do you?) I dig it! I don't think they are stepping on each other toes. I just think it's busy!

Check this out. Listen to Lem's solos. This is great stuff to transcribe if you are learning the language. Also as transcribing goes it's not too difficult.

Have you figured out what that means?

Head 1 chorus Head.

I do that a lot when i practice. just to make sure I play the head in and out. It feels a bit like a tune. This is not like doing a mini concert. It's the opposite, however at least you're still in the form of a tune. I really like doing it.

Who can figure out what H1CH mean?

I did a few of these. My chord melodies are sometimes 'thin'. I don't like adding a lot of stuff and I like playing in time mostly.

Here's It Could Happen To You

I'll be in Italy for A Percussion Festival next September. We are also setting up some gigs for after the festival! There is a vibe competition at this festival. Check out the post here.

Some great stuff!

Here's why Mike Mainieri is playing solo here. It was right after 9/11. All flights were cancelled. Mike left 2 days before 9/11. So the band could not make it! Very sad.

It's Mike Manieri giving a solo concert. It's pretty incredible.

I always wonder how someone fills an hour by themselves on stage. Friedman does it and would love if he talked about it. He cheats and plays the wood. I know that. So does Mike do it here.

I've been working on this tune with different time feels since I've been preparing for a tour and CD with the wonderful Czech singer, Martina Bartova. I'm posting a very slow, kind of dreamy version with lots of space. I've recorded several versions so maybe in a couple of days I'll post a version containing fast arpeggio-like figures over the harmonies of the tune.

So, in this chapter of mic wars, there is a clear winner and it is not the mics or the signal path. It is the Omega vibraphone. Tony brought his over to my place and we recorded a couple of short passes so I could work out some kinks in some of my new recording hardware without playing at the same time. The nearly complete lack of noise, the beautiful pure tone of the instrument, and Tony's playing together gave a perfect backdrop to test the mics, because all the tests sounded good.

Here's the gear involved...

Since we're talking about chord melodies I thought I'd play a tune that I love to play. Since it's a ballad I can do a rubato kind of thing and take my time!

Are you working on a tune? Post it here and let me see a chord melody/solo tune from you.