The first annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival was held September 28 thru October 2nd. Unlike the Capitol Jazzfest which features smooth jazz and r&b stars – this festival included more straight ahead or “pure” jazz artists. My biggest beef with it was a lack of promotion. I didn’t see enough press about it on television or in the papers. All that aside – I really enjoyed it. I didn’t see everything but I was able to see a few artists on Saturday including Wallace Roney. Wayne Shorter stole the show. At 72 years of age he is still playing wonderfully. His rhythm section was top notch and included some of the best musicians in the business: Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Everything was so tight and the players were totally on the same page – especially Patitucci and Blade. It was jaw dropping and good enough to make me purchase Shorter’s Footprints Live CD immediately. I’ve included a few pictures from the show.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on fundamentals in the practice room. I felt like I was struggling to do simple things on the horn. My range, articulation and control feels terrible. The bottom line is if you are having issues on the trumpet — everything else will be difficult. Playing scales, patterns, transcribing solos and other jazz related studies felt like pulling teeth. As a result, I’ve backed off the jazz a bit and I’ve focused on exercises in Arbans, Clarke, Schlossberg and etudes in the Sigmund Hering book (40 Progressive Etudes for Trumpet). I’ve also been playing the modes of all my major scales (something I’ve never really focused on before).

A popular quote among trumpet players is “You are your best teacher.” I often wonder about self taught players. Charles Tolliver is a monster player and I read that he was self taught. I sometimes wish that I was as well. At least with regards of recognizing my problems and knowing exactly what to do in order to improve on it. I think I’m somewhat better in that regard but I’ve got a long way to go.

For my performance at church I played a the hymn called “I Must Tell Jesus.” The high wood ceilings allowed my sound to soar and it was really easy to get lost in the moment. I focused on the words of the song and the tone of my flugelhorn. I played it without music and added a few embellishments here and there. I fought a bit of a lip quiver due to nervousness but it wasn’t too bad. That would probably be my biggest complaint. I’ve got a jazz gig on the 29th to prepare for and I’m looking forward to it.