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South Pole Bound

Sitting here in the fire house - McMurdo Station, Antarctica with fingers crossed that our plane (LC 130) gets fixed in time to leave for the south pole tonight at 23:00 (in about 3 hours from now). Just amazing. Anxious, excited, very tired from an earlier call today. Working all day and now it looks like we just might be leaving for the very bottom of the Earth. My first trip to the Pole. What will it be like? My Antarctic Vibraphone is already there, waiting for me.

Good Vibes November 2019

Time

Putting a radio show together turns out not to be so simple. There’s the tempo of each tune to consider, like the fast paced “Yardbird Suite” (Gibbs) and “Alice’s Journey,” (Gillece) and the slow pace of “Stargazer” (Fisher) and “Dusk,” (Rossy). Mid-tempo tunes like “My One and Only,” (Redd) and “Frankie and Johnny” (Wolf) help weave everything together. There should be variety among the composers. Jazz icons like Ellington and Charlie Parker share a spotlight with the newer kids in the flock, (Mancini).

Some Information For Electronic Percussionists

Hello Everyone!

I’m happy to announce that a project that I’ve been working on for years is finally a reality! I’ve recently launched the website: www.percussionandelectronics.com

PURPOSE
The website was created to facilitate the ability to discover and listen to music scores for percussion utilizing electronics as accompaniment. On the website you will find a large searchable database of works that aims to connect the percussionists with the composers and publishers. (Currently 240 pieces and growing)

Misty Lesson on Solo Vibraphone - Special Characteristics

Here's a lesson I wrote years ago on Misty. I had permission from the owner who was Erroll Garner's wife. Then it turned out that she sold it to Warner Brothers. I contacted Warner Bros. and I paid them and they issued me a license for the licensing giving me permission for this lesson and then I got a letter from Hal Leonard stating that they owned the rights to it so I just gave up. But I think it's okay to share with y'all.

BLUES article

Here is a blues article I wrote many years ago. It's a different approach than what I learned at Berklee which I believe caused me to overthink the blues. I taught it quite successfully to many students so if you're starting out or struggling to express in the blues form and style, give this method a go. Once this basic idea of the blues is in your ears and hands, it's much easier to add more sophisticated things on top of it.

Happy International Jazz Day

National Science Foundation contacted me at the fire house in McMurdo Station and asked if I would put something together for International Jazz Day from Antarctica. This was at the end of my shift on 4/25. They said they needed two-and-a-half minutes of recorded music by the afternoon of 4/26. I got off work the morning of 4/26, went straight to the Chapel Of The Snows (where I keep my vibraphone and practice), got four volunteers from the firehouse to hold camera phones while I played.