Aebersold Concert

Found a great shot online of the final concert at the week-long Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshop. I have a horrible time with names, but here goes (L to R): myself, Hannah (bass), Brian (tenor), Cole (drums), Matt (tenor), Greg (trumpet), Melvin (alto), John (pianist).


It was really awesome to work with all of these guys the first week of July. Everyone was very inspiring, especially seeing Hannah and Cole at such young ages digging into jazz so heavily. I started listening to Bill Frisell at 17 and these kids are already onto George Coleman. They will go great places and if I am ever in Iowa or Pennsylvania, I will track them down to listen.

There is a video of our performance, but it is hard to hear everyone (i.e. piano, guitar, sometimes alto.) So I won't bother posting it here, but rest assured it is on youtube. If you search around for Eric Alexander's combo a little, you'll find it.

We played George Coleman's "Amsterdam after Dark," and I plan to play it again at my recital. There will be a recording of my recital in a somewhat decent quality; although the room makes it difficult to record guitar (don't they all?) It will feature a smaller group than this and hopefully come out just as well.

I am still motivated to work hard since Aebersold. Trying to revise my playing from the ground up and focus on picking diligently. Corey Christiansen gave everyone in my masterclass a ton of tips of things to work on. In addition, check out Corey's Killer Technique video from Mel Bay. It's well worth the little it costs. Also, check out his website.


I have auditions the week of August 19th and then a recital to schedule somewhere close to the end of this year. I'll also hit the 25 year milestone in August. I hope it brings a lot of new experiences and ideas to the table. I want to spend time recording and putting some content together for graduate school auditions. I'm not worried about where or when just yet, but I want to get some recordings together that highlight what I have worked on the past three years. 


Thanks for tuning in!

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