Making a Comeback

This last year of playing with the Prankster’s Big Band is really helping me recover my lost reading chops. I’ve played so many gigs over the years where there was either no chart for the drummer, or I memorized the arrangement during rehearsals, that the sight-reading chops I had in my 20s had really gotten weak. Hearing this video below after the gig a…

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Brush T(r)aps

Recorded live December 22, 2017 with the Pranksters Big Band

I think this may have only been the third time I had performed this chart. It is deceptively easy when listening to it, and much harder to perform. There is a lot of unison figures to catch while improvising. At some point in the future, I hope to do a better…

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The Well Rehearsed Big Band

Some of the most challenging fun I’ve had over the years is when I get to actually rehearse big band jazz arrangements (vs. sight read them). When I get to spend a few weeks with the arrangement I can crawl inside the tune and actually work out my own voice within the greater context of the jazz orchestra. Here’s a couple of old…

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