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Crystal Silience, performed by Thomas Mackay and Ed Dunsavage

At the beginning of the month i posted a live stream of a gig i did here in southern oregon, Not sure who tuned in to the broadcast so i thought i would post one of the tunes from the stream. gosh with gary burton on this site and so many great vibist here im a bit hestitant about posting it.... well here it is ..

I'm Just Saying.....

I was just sitting here listening to some practice tracks I recorded. You know I say all the time that I might be a teacher on this site, but I'm also a student. And I've listened to many of you and learned something.

I just realized while listening to these practice tracks that I learned a lot about solo playing during our TOTM. And it was from listening to little things some of you did. Even if you didn't do it perfect, I saw what you were going after and got it and learned from it.

Sticking it to the Line

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.

Victor Mendoza & friends - Alegria!!

This is what woke me up this morning: beautiful!! My vibist friend Norbert Lucarain used to play in a band like this with flamenco rhythm section, vibes/marimba and a dancer. Victor is obviously having a great time and showing all his talent there!! I love the part with the dancer, the way she mixes flamenco with a bit of ballet, and the way they 'play' together: a lot of fun!!! Enjoy! – M

Dream Dance - take 5 by MetroWest Jazz Project -- original compositions swap meet

Here's another composition of mine, "Dream Dance", and a rough mix recording. When I was writing this I thought it'd be easy to perform, but it turned out to be quite difficult. My original idea for the solos was to play once through the mode cycle, spending as long as the soloist wished on each mode. We decided that'd be too many cues to make reliably, so I switched it to this chorus form, 8 bars on each mode.