today has been a lot better than sucky yesterday. i had theory II, which was a breeze, then i played a little more ping pong against franklin (won both 21 point games and lost an 11 point game) and ted (lost two 11 point games, but not by a lot).
then i went to Saunders's Trumpet Masterclass, which i enjoy. we've been working on how to play different trumpet parts in a Basie-swing style. as far as section parts go, i do really well. that's mostly because i've been playing 3rd part on all the different basie/nestico charts we've played in the 9 o'clock. i have a little trouble on lead, but it was chiefly because lead players need to have a harder attack. that's how they cut through the rest of the band without being too loud. the range is a different factor. most charts at UNT go a 3rd or 4th higher than i can play. if i just work on getting one half step at a time at the top of my range, i should be golden.
after masterclass i went to the library for about an hour to listen to some stuff by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band. i needed to hear "Mean What You Say" a couple times to get an idea of what it's really supposed to sound like. the arrangement on the recording was different than the one we're playing, but they shared lots of stuff.
rhonda, ben, shannon and i went to Chipotle to eat and pick up our "BurritoEZ" tax forms, which will be valid for a free burrito this weekend. i shall use that on saturday when i believe i'll be seeing Kill Bill Vol. 2.
tonight is special guest Jay Saunders directing our lab band rehearsal, OH MY. after that, i'm performing in one of the steel drum bands (educate yourself, stop the violence) in the Global Rhythms concert.
tomorrow is friday, huzzah!
Posted by john guari at April 15, 2004 05:16 PM