Hi guys! Here's a transcription of Pat Martino that I've been working on off of the live album Young Guns. It is interesting to see how he can weave through changes and connect all of his lines in different ways. Playing this over and over is helping me to start hearing longer phrases. I've also been trying to challenge myself and work on playing uptempo with 4 mallets. I tend to feel a little bogged down when I am holding all four, so having something like this to work up to speed little by little has been very helpful! Let me know what you all think.

I've only found one example of Milt playing without accompaniment on record and it's on a record by MJQ. Just recently, I found this on YouTube of the same song performed live by Milt. The video is called "Milt Jackson, Ray Brown Quartet" and I'll invite you to forward to 47:31 in this video and enjoy the only example I've ever found of Milt playing solo. The song is "Nature Boy."

Check this out !

Unfortunately, I didn't find the time to work on a Christmas tune this year, so this is a repost of an arrangement I did two years ago of the Christmas Carol "In the Bleak Midwinter." Even though it's not a jazz thing, I'm really proud of this one. I love the sound of chorale-style voices on the vibes.

Merry Christmas!

This is an arrangement of "Someone to Watch Over Me" that I have been working on for the last few weeks. It's inspired by the Keith Jarrett solo version from "The Melody at Night, With You."

I always find my arranging ability outpaces my technical ability on the instrument, so it's always a struggle to play these things well, especially when the tape is on.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) - A spontaneous version of this classic which is always a favorite this time of year. Happy Holidays to everyone!

"Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans" - one of my favorites played and sung by the great Louis Armstrong. I love this style of old time jazz. Used to listen a lot to Louis, Eddie Condon, Bobby Hackett, Dave McKenna, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Sidney Bechet,...So many great players from that era.

How did I miss this CD. I like it. I LOVE Matchbook. I never heard this one!

I love good guitar and vibe duos. Anyone know of any more?