And here is still another happening in Branson. This morning one of the stage managers at our theater got this shot of a bass player going to his job with his bass stuck out the window of the car. What you might not have known is that the bass player is actually the bass player in “our show”. On the way to the theater this morning, his car broke down and one of the sax players took off to give him a ride into town. The show was postponed about five minutes so our players could make it to the…

Interviewer: “What do you expect is in store for the future of jazz guitar?” Yogi: “I’m thinkin’ there’ll be a group of guys who’ve never met talkin’ about it all the time..” Interviewer: Can you explain jazz? Yogi: “I can’t, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, it’s right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you…

This is a question many musicians ask when they have nothing else to talk about. I was recently asked this question and after careful thought, I came up with a name most of you may not even recognize. Favorite trumpet player’s names such as Maynard Ferguson, Bobby Shew, Miles Davis, Al Hirt, Adolph Herseth, Wynton Marsalis, “Doc” Severinsen, Armando Ghitalla, Robert Nagle, and equally gifted players first came to mind. But for me at this time in my life, the person who I would rate as my favorite trumpet player would be Doyle Miller. Most of you are now wondering…

Take the time to hear some of the best improvisation of this decade… Lew Soloff on trumpet! School is in session……..