A beautiful bossa composed by Luiz Bonfá, featuring my newly designed leather mallets.
Thanks Tristan, for the tips. I played around with them today. I play the head and then twice through the tune with quarters.
My goals for this practice:
*Simplify the accompaniment.
*Easy on the pedal.
*Stick to ONLY quarter notes on the solo section.
I slowed this down a bit more because I wanted to try and make some changes without feeling like the time was going by faster than my brain was working.
1. dig up some lessons from the past.
2. You sign up here and tell me what 4 lessons you will do. A Friedman etude counts, btw. So you post here that you're in and then you post the 4 lessons you will do, posting each lesson each week (not earlier or all in 1 shot). You can't miss a week :-). (I'm pretty tough huh?)
3. They need to be somewhat challenging for you. Don't phone it in as us veteran jazz musicians say. I need to know you worked on the lessons and they helped you. The goal being you become a better mallet player :-).
Getting acquainted with this beautiful vibraphone (Dave's vibraphone which we think is from around '67) and playing a song that I composed in honor of Dave. This is instrument is a gem and will be well looked after for sure. It's a gift and an honor to be able to play this instrument. I was thinking of Dave when writing and playing this piece. Gustavo and I had many great times with Dave when he would come into Boston to teach at Berklee. Many great lunches and many stories and laughs. He is sorely missed but his legacy as a great musician and educator will not be forgotten.
Figured I'd post one more tune I have been working on the last few days...where I am using or hoping to use, the same basic approach I did with the last tune i posted earlier (There'll never be another you) - trying to play the tune in TIME, staying true to the chord structure, and then using primarily quarter notes and (basic) comping to work my way through it after playing the melody.
The key for me is staying in time and not losing my place! :)
And playing the right notes. Ha.
Accountability: There Will Never Be Another You
Hi! So, I've got so many things to learn and work on it's almost overwhelming. Yet when I drill it down, the skills I need the MOST are simply learning tunes, playing tunes (in time), and starting to develop lines and ideas. I certainly have enough technical skill right now to get by and I can read all day long, yet as an improviser....and as someone who can learn and remember tunes, I'm a complete beginner.
It's interesting going on Youtube and listening to vibe players around the world.
I'll hear a player that is the top player in this country or that country.
For me though sometimes those players don't shine. I like the guys who know the language and can quote. So after listening to a bunch of players from different parts of the world this came on. Dave Pike is a great player in my book. He really has a vocabulary and history of the music.
I have a version of this piece and love it.
Great to hear MJQ playing it. I didn't know they played it!
I always was a fan of Teddy Charles. You guys know him? Check him out!
