Turnaround lines are very important in jazz because we see progressions all the time like 2-5-3-6, 1-6-2-5 etc. The more vocabulary you learn over turnarounds, the better! Turnarounds aren't just at the ends of forms, but can be anywhere within a tune. Start off this week with this simple line I came up with. It's very diatonic, and it's supposed to be a lesson in how you can still make the changes without too much altering of chord tones.

Hello Everyone,
"See you next year," may be kind of trite as the new year is coming up close, but the next time you'll HEAR me will be next year. Good Vibes airs on New Year's Day at 8p and replay is the following Wednesday at 4p. Most of you will listen online (www.jazzon2.org) or through an app like NPR News (free) as our four NPR stations are local to New Jersey and parts of PA. I'd be glad to list them for anyone in the area who wants to know and has an HD radio.

Day 5; In this final lesson, we're sticking with closed voicings. The top note changes with each chord. I particularly like the 2nd F7 voicing which is A,D,Eb,F from bottom up. It's very crunchy and fun to groove on.

In day 4, we're reverting back to the original rhythm. The difference here is closed voicings. Notice the nice crunch in the closed voicings. As with the other lessons, keep the articulation nice and short on the eighth note.

In day 3, the rhythm changes slightly. Make the articulation of the two quartet notes fat, but keep the eighth note short.

Taken from a concert Laura Klein and I did a couple of years ago in Calif.

Day 2: The same rhythm is being used here, but the top note is being moved around. While moving the top around changes the harmony, it also gives the illusion of something different happening rhythmically.

An updated recording with faster tempo.

In this week's set of lessons, we're examining some different rhythmic comping exercises. Most of these are based around a simple dotted quarter and eighth note rhythm. In this first day, work on exaggerating the shortness of the eighth note. Keep it short and crisp to make the exercise groove.

Hello everyone!
It's been awhile since I've posted anything on the site, but I'm finding time to be a vibraphonist at least a little while school consumes my life...

Last weekend I attended the first Vibes Bootcamp at Tony's house in Philadelphia. He wants to make it a recurring event, so I figured I'd give a little recap:

The boot camp was an intensive two days of studying vibes in an intimate yet relaxed setting; there were only five of us, plus Tony and Anthony Smith as our instructors. Randy Sutin also stopped by to hang and offer playing tips.