I was called to play a solo on a record by my friend Wolfgang Loos, who produced two solo records of mine,Air Sculpture' and my new solo CD, 'Weaving through Motion'. I knew the music would be interesting and challenging so I decided to bring the Omega vibraphone to the studio for it's maiden voyage outside of the Jazz Institute and maybe the first time for an Omega vibe in a studio situation. I was a bit nervous. My son Jeremy had just adjusted the dampening mechanism exactly to my taste and I was quite taken with the results. But then the studio was another thing.

Finishing up this long series using 6 note scales with an intervallic idea.

I like playing this tune because the melody sits at the upper end of the vibes, which gives you lots of room down below to put your accompaniment. The syncopated rhythms provide a nice momentum too, and the familiar chord changes are a lot of fun to improvise on,

I'm using this picture for our 2014 summer workshop!

Ostinato Pattern

This is an article recently written for PAS' magazine Percussive Notes by Gustavo Agatiello. Gustavo did a great job transcribing and analyzing Joe's solo on the standard "It Could Happen To You". As always, Joe is playing brilliantly on this track.

The playing took place during a long weekend that Joe, Gustavo and I spent together at my house in December 2009. We had a great time picking each other's brains, sharing improvisational concepts as well doing some serious cooking. Joe makes a great chicken cutlet dish.