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Blues from Lionel Hampton

I've pulled this 1988 CD out of the stacks in honor of this month's TOTM. It's a mix of standards and blues. Very nice listening! It has Hamp's version of "Someday My Prince Will Come", the TOTM we worked on in July. And best of all, there are about 33 copies available on Amazon, many being sold for as low as 35 cents plus postage. That's a deal and a steal!

Forum Topic: Vibes Album Covers

Hi Vibes Lovers!

Sometimes when I'm looking for vibes albums I find that, altough the instrument is not very popular, or perhaps because of it, the vibraphone has especial atractive for the cover image. Bars, mallets, ressonators, frame, etc. are often protagonists of the picture, or ilustration. Sometimes is very artistic point of view, sometimes funny and sometimes just freak, but, even tough the important is the music wich is inside, I find amazing some covers!

Forum Topic: Vibes Player Wanted, Wisconsin USA

Hope this is the appropriate place to post. I'm looking for a vibes player to add to a small jazz ensemble in northern Wisconsin. Probably from Stevens Point or north of there. I'm based in Vilas county but most gigs are from Wausau and north. Please contact me with any leads through my e-mail address pjsdrum@gmail.com . Thanks very much.

Saturn's child by Joe Locke

Here a beautiful ballad played with a marvellous group behind him. If you go on YouTube with that video there is the whole concert (all the tunes are of an incredible level). Quality sound and video, the guitar player is a blast too, and we can see and hear wery well how Joe is comping. A lot of inspiration and emotion. The video shows very well how they deal with a modern jazz sound, with effects, good PA etc...
Enjoy !

Aftermath music

sooo... like many folks on the east coast of the US, I spent the night awake wrestling with water that was determined to enter my house. Good news. I won. Through the night, people with dark senses of humor kept playing this song, so it was in my head. I have now put my music room back together and had to plug everything in to make sure it was working, so I made this silly recording. ...oh yeah, for those who know me, this is the first time I have played my vibes since I had the surgery, so it was cool that way too. I am fine. yay. :)

Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams - Locke/Saindon

A clip of Joe and I playing the standard (1931) Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams. A fun tune to play stride and 4 beats to bar time feel as in Freddie Green w/Basie, Dave McKenna, Errol Garner, George Shearing, etc. These changes are what McKenna plays. Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans play something a bit different on the A section. Here's a copy of the lead sheet: http://www.scribd.com/doc/63417220/Wrap-Your-Troubles-in-Dreams-Lead-Sh…

MalletKat KS upgrade is awesome

My MalletKat came back on Wednesday with the KS v7 upgrade.

I am now officially a super MalletKat Fan.
Having the internal sounds really helps very much.
Especially these PC3 sounds.

A few things I want to mention.
1. I still have to get used to the rubber pad feel.
2. The pads are much wider than the bars on my M44 making playing in general much easier.
3. The vibe and marimba sounds are really very good. Keep in mind I'm not a purest by any means.
4. The head phone output volume needs to be louder so you don't hear yourself hitting pads.

Forum Topic: Touring with Vibes: assembled or broken down?

Hello all,
I'm trying to find out if it is better for vibraphones to travel assembled or to be broken down every night for transportation?
For the past 3 1/2 years my vibes have been traveling fully assembled in a custom case, in the back of an 18 wheeler. Well, now my frame is bent and I'm having huge issues with the rails and the dampener as well as the motor and other things.
The vibes fit snug in the case which is totally foam lined. I'm not really sure what caused the frame to bend along with many of the posts. Is it because the vibes were traveling fully assembled?

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