this is a free improvisation I did on the 6th of november 2011

Nico, how do we tighten up loose posts?

Hey guys, I've been seeing lots of great posts lately on comping, voicings, duo/solo playing, playing Brazilian music...(that Gary clip with Stan playing Jobim just knocks me out). Here's a clip from a recent gig sort that ties in some of those topics. I'm a hug fan of Jobim and Brazilian music in general. I was in Sao Paulo for about a week and loved it. The people, food, music were all fantastic.

More questions on comping.

1. What rhythms should you use? There are all of the charleston variations. Stride quarter note feel. Then there is the modern broken rhythms like you hear Chick and Herbie use a lot. But when and where do you play these?

It's funny. I don't even know the Charleston variations! You know I just bought some cd's and listened to a few of the guys play and tried to imitate it. Then since then I just kept listening to things and picking up things. My advice is just listen to a few of the stride players and then try and recreate it on the vibes.

After posting my lesson on comping on bossas, I tried to find some stuff with just the vibes and the absence of the guitar and piano. Here's a video I found of Gary with Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz. They're performing The Girl From Ipanema. Listen to those beautiful voicings in Db! It would be great if Gary could share any thoughts he has about these playing situations. I feel like guitar and piano is such a huge part of the bossa nova sound, and it becomes so much different with vibes. Any specific approaches or concerns? Let's hear from some people!

Behn

Here's a lesson on comping for bossas. Refer to the "Check this out" for some voicing ideas.

Any one in education that knows about certificates? I'm just wondering about making a 2 year course and handing out a certificate upon completion. And what's cool is we could ALL be involved with the process of others getting certificates! Hmm.

Just thinking out loud. I do about 1 out every 10 ideas I post on the site. But I've been thinking about this.

A certificate is only really valid by reputation, right??

We should wrap up the chord and harmony festival, huh???

What about we get into lines. A bebop tune a week for 8 weeks. Play analyze and talk about the tune.

I'm just learning Little Willie Leaps and it's such a cool tune. The thing about bebop heads is you get to FEEL what a great solo feels like, don't you? Basically the bebop heads are refined solos.