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Think as a Mortal by Frank Valente

vale5431 4 June 2016

Hey Vibesworkshop,
Wanted to share a recording (unfortunately unmixed) of a tune I wrote called "Think as a Mortal". I recorded this with my jazz fusion group "MELA", who will be releasing their first album on July 1st.

The name of the tune comes from a saying from the Delphic Maxims, a collection of aphorisms written by ancient greek orcales, and was written to features MELA's Bass player Shea Glasheen.

Think as a Mortal - MELA
Frank Valente - Vibraphone
Paul Sottnik - Piano
Shea Glasheen - Bass
Allen - Guitar
Jake Payne - Drums

Incorporating Brubeck Ideas into your Solo Vibe Practice and Performance

vale5431 3 June 2016

Hey Vibeworkshop,
Im currently getting ready for my recital and one of the pieces that I am playing on my recital is a reduction, I'm currently working on, of the ever popular Strange Meadow Lark by Dave Brubeck. As I study the piece and boil down the transcription to an honest reduction I really started to see the genius of Brubeck's solo playing. So today I would like to break down all the techniques and ideas he used while playing the melody of the tune and how we can incorporate those ideas to other standards and ballads.

Improvising on the B Minor Double from Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo

ed saindon 2 June 2016

Improvising on the B Minor Double (Sonata II) from Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo. One of my favorite books of music from Bach which is perfect for vibists. Fun and great practice improvising over the changes to classical pieces like this. Sometimes I'll do this with my students at Berklee. We'll select a piece of music, analyze the progression, write in the chord progression and begin to improvise.

Excerpt from clinic in Milan - Body & Soul - Harmony and Voicings

ed saindon 1 June 2016

Here's an excerpt from a clinic where I talked about voicings and harmony. All the great players have a solid grasp of voicings and harmony. I remember Gary telling me in lessons way back that every voicing should have something interesting about it whether it be an unusual tension, shape, interval,...In a lot of solo vibe performances I hear the changes but the harmony is too bland. It's especially important to sound a tension on a Dom 7 chord. You wouldn't hear a solo pianist or guitarist sound the changes without any color.

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