This page contains my improvisation recordings from 2007. As you'll hear below, the 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 be 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 daily recordings: 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008

NOVEMBER 6, 2007

- Aebersold #108 - "Isotope" by Joe Henderson

So, what do you think of the cool record groove effect that I added to this track? It really gives a nice vintage quality to the recording, don't you think? Ok, ok, I know it sounds terrible... I wish it was something I had control over, but recently my computer has been adding those popping sounds everytime I try to record. I thought I fixed it last week, but obviously it's still really bad. I hesitated putting this clip online at all, but I figure it's better than nothing.

JULY 7, 2007

- Aebersold #34 - "Just Friends" by John Klenner

This is my second recording of "Just Friends." My first attempt was in 2004 ( here is the 2004 clip). As you'll hear in the new recording, my solo has a similar lead in and rhythmic pattern as my 2004 recording. I guess I've listened to my original recording a few too many times...

I think this new recording is a good indicator of the progress I've made over the years. My range is definitely stronger in this new clip as is my ability to play by ear. Thanks to ear training, I'm now better able to hear my way around the chord changes and I'm hitting more of the interesting notes. If perhaps I didn't mess up that ascending run near the end, it might have been one of my best solos yet.

MAY 18, 2007

- Aebersold #34 - "My Secret Love" by Mitchell Parish & Bobby Sherwood

Tonight was my first time playing along to this Aebersold track. As is often the case with the audio clips I share, this was one of my last recording attempts for the night and my chops were really tired. You can hear the fatigue in the thinness of the higher notes. While those high notes sound pretty weak, I'm at least glad to have hit them at all.

As far as the solo goes, the tempo was a bit fast for me, especially since I was totally unfamiliar with the tune. But, I think I managed to keep up and play an ok jazz trumpet solo.

MAY 3, 2007

- Clip #1 - Aebersold #25 - "A Foggy Day" by George Gershwin

- Clip #2 - Aebersold #25 - "A Foggy Day" by George Gershwin

Above you'll find two clips of me soloing on "A Foggy Day." Each clip illustrates a different approach to the tune. The first clip has a quite a lot of notes (too many, if you ask me) which fill most of the space. The second clip, however, begins with short phrases with some space in between them. It then builds as it moves into quarter notes and finally it ends with a simple eighth-note riff. While it's not the best solo I've ever played, I do think the second clip illustrates a decent approach to playing up-tempo tunes when you're fingers aren't ready/willing/able to play a bunch of eighth notes. A few notes with some rhythmic interest can go a long way...

MARCH 30, 2007

- Aebersold #33 - "Footprints" by Wayne Shorter

Here's my first recording of 2007. It's a short one, but I figure it's better than nothing.

This is my second posted recording of Footprints. The first clip appears in my Learning to Improvise - Motifs article. The first recording is mostly for demonstration purposes, so it's pretty easy for me to say I prefer this newer clip.