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So, we the red-headed stepchildren of the rhythm section have our battles- how to get your gear to the jam session without a car, how to be heard over Oaf the Viking Drummer without pickups and a Marshall 4x12, and how to take the compliment "boy, you can sure play that xylophone" for the 10,000th time with grace. My question is:

How do you comp for a soloist in a large group when you're not the only chordal instruement? Taking your marbles and going home is an option, but isn't there a more community way of doing it?

Sorry but I thought the foreigners would love this!

Check out the next Mallet Kat hang this Wednesday night!

www.alternatemode.tv

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!)

Joe Locke is Crazy!
Joe's birthday is this Wed. March 18th.

Let's all wish him a happy birthday!

Great Gary Video here!

Hello everyone,

I have a clinic/concert coming up in April that I wanted to let you know about. It will take place on Monday, April 20th at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois.

The clinic will be held at 4 and will cover mallet and improv related topics.

The concert will be at 6:30. I’ll be playing along with several members of the faculty including drummer Rodrigo Villanueva who teaches in the percussion department.

Here’s the contact information:

Northern Illinois University
1425 W. Lincoln Highway
Dekalb, Illinois 60115-2825

Hope we get some people!!! Comment here if you are. Come on people! It's easy to do. Just need a web cam or video cam. I can help you set it up.

When someone posts a 'Who Is' they're asking about someone on the site. Inviting them to tell their story. When you get a 'Who Is', it's optional but would be nice to share a little about yourself with us.