On Tuesday, July 6th, three outstanding trombonists came and played for the students at Summer Music to promote their upcoming recital at the Lafayette Public Library, July 18th, 7PM. Mr. Timothy Higgins (newly appointed principal trombonist of the San Francisco Symphony), Mr. Paul Welcomer (second trombonist of the San Francisco Symphony), and Mr. David Ridge [...]

Interview with drummer, craftsman, and thinker, Glenn Cronkhite. Glenn is a craftsman of the old world, and shares with us his life story, and how he ended up inventing the modern gig bag, and how he founded what became Reunion Blues. Episode 3 Direct Download Link Please subscribe in iTunes

Sigh. In an ongoing effort to fight the mythos of “uh, chicks can’t do that dude” there are two videos below that Mr. Alex Iles shared with the trombone list recently. In his post he referenced an interesting note, Amanda Stewart was recently appointed Associate Principal trombone with the New York Philharmonic. This is a [...]

Episode 2 of Meeting With Masters: Thoughts on Music with people who don’t suck, is up at it’s new home. This episode features Los Angeles great, Mr. Alex Iles- studio trombonist, jazz artist, college professor, orchestral musician, and good human! You may DOWNLOAD IT DIRECTLY, or better yet: Subscribe in iTunes Hope you enjoy – [...]

I’ve taken the liberty of preparing the files in SmartMusic so you can practice the parts ahead of time. By using them in SmartMusic you can practice the parts and have instantaneous feedback regarding your rhythm, pitch accuracy, and can practice your part in the context of an “ensemble”. I HIGHLY urge you to download [...]

Where the heck are the videos you promised? Hi there! Sigh- technology is fun and challenging. I’m running out now to play with the Four Tops, and am having some difficulties with the website. All will b fixed by Monday. Please visit DrJ YouTube Channel to see the videos until I get them, and the [...]

In a never-ending quest to “suck less” I find myself at times drifting, dealing with projects that “aren’t critical or important” but nonetheless have merit–but don’t seek to fulfill my purpose, or bring me closer to my destiny. Without getting mushy & metaphysical, I think we all face an internal battle–doing that which is truly [...]

YouTube is sponsoring a very interesting project- a “collaborative” orchestra comprised of great players from around the world. The submission process includes a new composition the Eroica by composer Tan Dun of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. The YouTube Symphony Orchestra submission includes two videos, thefirst being your particular part in the orchestra, the second [...]

Get READY! – Auditions for the Generations in Jazz Honor Jazz Band are this Saturday! – Here’s a last quick gift to help you get ready for the audition. I’ve recorded the major sections of John Fedchock’s A Drop In The Bucket to help you with your audition preparation. Last minute tips: USE LOTS of [...]

The use of alternate positions is one of the most critical skills a trombonist must develop to have outstanding technique on the instrument. While other instruments depend on valves, we must have great facility with the slide, but also use alternate positions in order to both speed up our playing, and to allow for cleaner [...]