Member

“Here’s that Rainy Day” by James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke written in 1953. Still on a semester break and keeping busy with two vibe book projects along with some shedding. Working here in this clip with a few improv concepts including the Symmetrical Diminished scale and the Pentatonic b2 scale. Both concepts are covered in depth in my four volume improv series The Complete Guide to Improvisation. The Table of Contents for all of the books are on the FB page The Complete Guide To Improvisation.

In this short improvisation from a CD called “The Turning,” I use Burton mallets, predating my switch to leather-headed mallets that have shaped my current style.

"Forevermore" - a new composition for solo vibraphone with a focus on various dampening techniques. The lead sheet can be viewed and downloaded here via googledocs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lEszbF7igVuCHd6TMqaOalnldIvBqB9j/view?…

Old (VHS) rehearsal of "More Than You'll Ever Know," sans Sax! Believe me it got better! :)

Composed by Duke Ellington.

One of the best swinging 4tet where Milt is pushed to his limits and offers some of his sharpest solos. Same thing applies to Joe Pass. All due to the incredibly good rythm section. There's a lot of this team's work on YouTube. Enjoy !

Aldebaran is a massive Red Giant star in the Milky Way. I thought it would be fun to tell the story of birth and death of Aldebaran, which naturally begins with the Big Bang (tam-tam). After a textural opening of gongs and bells, the vibes establish the “pulse” of this musical universe. Three Balafon layers (African log xylophone) set the stage for the groove that forms the star. The simple melody is played on Gender Wayang (Indonesian mallet instrument) that brings out an interstellar quality. Glockenspiel adds flavors inside the groove.

"Both Sides Now" - a timeless classic from Joni Mitchell written in 1967. A very special song with great lyrics and a wonderful melody. I heard pianist Fred Hersch play this solo. It was a gorgeous rendition which inspired me to try it on vibes.

“In Your Quiet Place” by Keith Jarrett – one of my favorite songs from Keith and one of the first songs I learned way back when I was studying with Gary Burton. I can still vividly remember the lessons and Gary’s 5th floor corner office at the Berklee 1140 Boylston St. building in Boston. I also fondly remember his vintage set of gold Musser M55 vibe that he used for teaching and gigs. Those bars played "like butter". My lesson time was usually around lunch time and Gary would most often be eating a sandwich while I butchered these songs. Probably gave him indigestion. Ha!Ha!