all-levels

For years ive been using jamey abersold's play records as an aide. His catalog of recordings hit on every aspect of improvising from basic scales to complex harmony. These have been a staple of my dialy routine since i started this journey and continue everyday.

I thought i would share one approach i have taken in recent years that has helped my ability to play in any situation.

Hello everyone.
Nicos Skalkotas was one of the greatest Greek composer who actually took the Greek traditional music and out it into the symphonic orchestra. This is a very good example of how 2 different words can combine and create something new. Nikos skalkotas has also studied with Arnold Schonberg. For more information click below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikos_Skalkottas

Dimitris

Neighbor tones!

Check out the PDF. As you can see, there are many ways to use NT's. They can easily become a vehicle for interesting lines both smooth and angular in your playing.

When looking at the PDF, remember that I left many out.

When you pick a NT pattern, learn it in all 24 keys, then start asking "if I like this, how can I change this slightly to be something else that I like?"
That's when you can apply devices such as...
-starting in a different rhythmic spot
-changing the direction of the line (up vs.down)
-changing the rhythm of the line

solo vibes of the tune emily by carmine fusaro

Over the past month I've been preparing for a John Coltrane tribute in Eugene Oregon. When we chose the music for the gig we selected two tunes, 26 2 and Freight Trane. Both of these tunes have definately seen the woodshed, which in turn, I've been reminded of past articles in PASIC notes by Ed Saindon and David Friedman.

On to sticking .. 26 2 is one of those tunes that if you play throught the tune alternating, it's a game of Twister by the end. So, with that in mind, I use variations of LRLLR and also LLRR in order to get more of a melodic horn articulation.

thomas Mackay on vibes, John Zalabak on bass and kelvin underwood on drums, this is a tiny wine cellar that we play at twice a month. the place is so tiny the one nighter vibraphone barely fits in the place .. this is a tune by tmackay called herky jerky, improvisation over a D and Db tonality ..the melody is stated at the end of video

prepare 3 tunes and then turn on your recorder and do a concert. record the 3 tunes.

this is much better even than doing one tune. i'm doing it all the time now.

i think we should have a little online concert series. maybe some of you prepare a mini concert and we pick a weekend and post them!

i can't believe i didn't think of it before. think of all the things you work on!! going from tune to tune. the concentration.

ok for beginners you just do this. you play 3 heads in and record that. or one of the tunes you prepare a solo.

Here's a clip for a recent gig here with some old friends. I hadn't played with Charlie and Les for at least 10 years. We had a fun night listening and interacting with each other. Some guys go out for a night of bowling. I look at this as "our night of bowling". We all went out (joined by my wife Pam) for a drink and conversation at the Exeter Inn in Exeter, NH. An overall great night. I'm thinking that we are pretty lucky to be able to do this stuff. Play good music, hang with friends and get paid for it.

Just came across this article on practicing jazz by violinist Christian Howes: http://christianhowes.com/2009/10/29/perfect-practice/

Part of what he talks about is practicing what you struggle with rather than what you sound good playing. Of course we all know this is what we SHOULD be doing, but I at least find myself avoiding the hard stuff constantly, just like he describes his students doing. I try to fight myself and practice things I'm not as comfortable with, like harmonies rather than melodies, but it is a long, hard battle!

got the new axe home. still gettin use to the switch over from 4 months playing the one nighter vibes .. lol that ya can see in the back. this yamaha dampens soo much better and evenly then the one nighter and the sustain is just wonderful. just a quick improv on angel eyes..