Here's a simple chord melody on All The Things You Are. I tried to incorporate many of the things we talked about in the Beginner's Course. Sorry about the pedal sound, didn't have time to mess with it today :)
Milt Jackson along with Cedar Walton, Ray Brown and Mickey Roker from 1984 performance at JazzFest Hamburg. The excellent rhythm section provides solid support for Milt on both tunes. This is one of my favorite versions of It Don't Mean…
“Here’s that Rainy Day” by James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke written in 1953. Still on a semester break and keeping busy with two vibe book projects along with some shedding. Working here in this clip with a few improv concepts including…
In this short improvisation from a CD called “The Turning,” I use Burton mallets, predating my switch to leather-headed mallets that have shaped my current style.
"Forevermore" - a new composition for solo vibraphone with a focus on various dampening techniques. The lead sheet can be viewed and downloaded here via googledocs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lEszbF7igVuCHd6TMqaOalnldIvBqB9j/view?…
So, two mallets. I think what is interesting is how low his hands are. A good lesson for us all. You can’t play soft with high hands and you have no dynamics if you can’t play soft. I see that as the biggest problem with 4 mallets.…
One of the best swinging 4tet where Milt is pushed to his limits and offers some of his sharpest solos. Same thing applies to Joe Pass. All due to the incredibly good rythm section. There's a lot of this team's work on YouTube. Enjoy !
Aldebaran is a massive Red Giant star in the Milky Way. I thought it would be fun to tell the story of birth and death of Aldebaran, which naturally begins with the Big Bang (tam-tam). After a textural opening of gongs and bells, the vibes…
“In Your Quiet Place” by Keith Jarrett – one of my favorite songs from Keith and one of the first songs I learned way back when I was studying with Gary Burton. I can still vividly remember the lessons and Gary’s 5th floor corner office at…
Three swing tunes to ring in the new year -- cheers to all!
• Out of Nowhere (Johnny Green)
• How High the Moon (Morgan Lewis)
• Waltz for Debby (Bill Evans)
A quick & dirty video of a tune I haven't played for a long time. A couple friends were killing on this last night at the local jazz club so I wanted to relearn it!
I think the vibes sound really great in a church, and after playing a couple things at my friend's wedding this summer I decided I'd like to develop some wedding repertoire. So...for my mini concert I recorded arrangements I'm making for…
Martina is a young Czech singer who I will be producing an album with on Malletmuse Records next year. She´s amazing and when she sings ballads there isn't a dry eye in the house.
“Solo Reflection” – A new song for solo vibraphone that I just finished composing (with a nod to the great Italian composer Ennio Morricone). One of my favorite melodies from Maestro Morricone is his theme from the movie “Cinema Paradiso…
