Went to a Stefon Harris Masterclass at Temple University tonight. Stefon is a very inspiring cat! I love his playing and his vibe. He has a lot of soul. I admire guys who might think with their head but they play with their heart, and that's Stefon.

He talked about Melodic and Harmonic Tonics. Who knows what they are?

I never used these words but have done things along these lines. However Stefon gave me a lot more ideas and a new to think about this.

Before I go into it, what do you guys know about it?

I am working on You Stepped Out of a Dream. Listening to Nat King Cole, and Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 versions. I don't have the lead sheet so I figured most of it out. Still working on the B section.

Here is a duet with one of Tony's play-alongs (See Check this out).

Still work-in-progress.

Barry

French piece, duet. Vibes/Vocals

I'm big on getting my time together. I have very little of it now and I must use it wisely. I need to practice 2 hours a day minimum, or I'd rather donate my body to science and spare a few bunnies what they have to go through. I can't stand when I don't practice.

I'm always checking out productivity business cats and learning from them. I also frequent the site Life Hacker. There are MANY great tips on there. This latest is a good one I think.

I know everyone is going to say play it slower and I do when practicing.
But this is about where I'd like it to be. It may be a few clicks to fast ....hmmm.... not sure yet. This is 158 BPM.

Figuring out solo vibes stuff is really challenging and fun!!!!

Anyway I had to post because we are moving on to Blue Bossa.

Be kind :)

I gave myself the Coffee Shop Test tonight. That is I'm playing solo in a coffee shop what would I play. Here's what I did.

I like coffee shops because if you play in them they're very low key. No one is walking expecting anything heavy. I always tell my students to go get a gig in a coffee shop. So when I do my imaginary gig at a coffee shop I feel pretty relaxed, as opposed to my pretend gig at Carnegie Hall.

Then I tried to get a little Mainieri sound happening with the EQ and modulation.

Yes Tony you're right, good question: who is Joe Porter? Huh?

Melody 12 Keys. Should be simple if you know your modes and know the tune.

Angelo, J, Vaglio

With Tony Miceli's help, I am trying to get my first blog video into this edition. The song is: "A Touchof Your Lips", that I used to play frequently, years ago when someone requested it. Please let me know if it came through okay.

Thanks, angelo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0LDQzxYLvU