Friday and Saturday at Long Beach were just as great as I could have hoped for. We heard still much more great jazz, from groups like Gordon Goodwin, Gerald Wilson, Geri Allen, Joey DeFrancesco, The Bad Plus, The Yellowjackets, Kim Richmond, Bill Holman, and more. It was nuts!
I tried out several trumpets in the exhibit hall. I liked the Kanstul 1600 "Wayne Bergeron" model. It was light, bright, and easy to play. But after I heard Wayne Bergeron play "Horn of Puente" with the Gordon Goodwin band I decided I was not worthy of that horn. I also liked the 1500. It had a copper bell and a beautiful sound. By friend Darrin has a 1504, but they didn't have that model there for me to try. In the end I decided to stay with my horn for a while longer. I have a Yamaha YTR6335HSMV "Mike Vax" horn. It is actually a pretty good trumpet. Besides, they fixed it up at the shop and now the valves are better than ever. I promise to keep away from my trumpet with my dremel tools.
I spoke to Bob Reeves for a while about valve alignments. He is a noted mouthpiece maker. He says a valve alignment makes a big difference. Hmmm. Maybe.
I got home last night. All in all it was a most excellent trip. I would like to go again next year. It will be in New York. And practice a lot this year.
I believe that to be able to play good jazz you have to hear a lot of good jazz. I definitely heard a lot of good stuff. I also brought some home with me. Hope some of it rubs off.
Now back to work. Oh boy.