This page contains my jazz improvisation recordings from 2009. As you'll hear below, these jazz recordings feature such highlights as cracked notes, poor note choice, unsteady rhythm, and meandering phrases! And that's why recording myself is so important. It's the best way to evaluate my playing and to chart my progress over time. I don't expect that I'll ever become a great jazz trumpet player, but I am anxious to hear how much better I can get with practice. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

All of my jazz improvisation recordings: 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010

NOVEMBER 14, 2009

Aebersold #15, Cherokee

Eleven months ago, I posted the first recording of me improvising over Cherokee (). Since that time, I've continued to practice Cherokee once or twice a week, just to keep it in my ears and under my fingers. Regardless of how much I practice, though, it's still a very challenging tune for me at this tempo. I always feel like a runaway train speeding downhill when I attempt these Cherokee solos. It only takes a few tiny pebbles, or in this case a few bad notes, and I jump off the track. This year, at least, it was much harder for me to pick which audio clip to put online since I had about 5 choruses that were probably good enough. That's not to say this clip is actually good (for instance, I don't like the first 8 bars); it's just the most good enough...

By the way, this is my first recording with my new GR 65M mouthpiece. Can you hear any difference? It's probably hard to tell one way or another since the mix between trumpet and backing track varies so much with each of my clips.

AUGUST 18, 2009

Aebersold #34, Just Friends

When I decided to record "Just Friends" tonight, I thought this would by my second recording with this track. As it turns out, it's actually my third (Here's the first -on flugelhorn- and here's the second ). My second recording might sound better to most of you, but I prefer this new clip. Unlike the second clip and most of my other recordings, this one was pretty much effortless. No nerves, no tension, no chop problems. Now that's a refreshing change of pace!

It's hard to believe this is only my third recording this year. I guess I could count the bassline clips, but still... I need to get back in the habit of recording myself more often.

MARCH 21, 2009

Aebersold #11, Watermelon Man - Take 1

Like most of my jazz improvisation recording sessions, I improvised over a few choruses of this track and selected what I thought was my best chorus to share on this site. I liked this recording well enough, but after listening to it a couple of times I felt inspired to try some new ideas. So, about 15 minutes after the above clip was recorded, I picked up my horn and recorded the following:

Aebersold #11, Watermelon Man - Take 2

The "Take 2" clip actually features two choruses of improvisation, since I couldn't decide which was better. As I think you'll agree, there's more energy in the "Take 2" choruses, both in rhythm and phrasing. This is a direct reaction to my playing in "Take 1" which I thought could have used a little more "oomph"...

You might prefer "Take 1" over "Take 2". Regardless, I think this is a good example of how listening to jazz, even to recordings of our own playing, can help spark new ideas and directions that we can use in future solos.