Along with the Aebersold 1st and 2nd tracks I’ve been working with Blues in
Bb and F. You can hear me playing Bb blues by clicking
here.

My tendency is to ride the blues scale and use it throughout rather than
addressing the individual changes. They come too fast for me!  In my
opinion it makes me sound like a beginner – but that is what I am!! Hopefully
hard work will make it sound more polished. I tried to throw a lick that I
frequently here in my first phrase and it is pretty obvious and mechanical.

As with all my sound files – please offer feedback. The feedback regarding my
first improv sound file was great and I hope to get the same with regards to the
blues. I am trying to become comfortable with this format as it is perfect for
jam sessions…  everyone plays the blues!  I’m hoping to brave that
frontier later this year. I don’t think I’m ready just yet. I need more ideas.

Sometimes when I’m improvising I find that I drift mentally or zone out. So
far I have discovered that there are two kinds of mental "drifts." One
is good and the other bad. The bad is when I play mindlessly over the changes.
I’m not thinking about being creative or playing anything that will cause me to
explore.  When I do this – I might as well play the scale or just the chord
tones.  The good is when I don’t think changes – I just get into the music
and flow. I trust my instincts, abilities and let things take shape. It doesn’t
happen often but it does happen from time to time. Of course once I realize it I
start thinking too much and I usually end up screwing up!!