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Life in the pit I spend many, many hours in pits performing shows.  While what you see in the seats of a show is quite different and exciting, most musicians get barely a glimpse of what's happening on stage, if at all.  Here is a video of me in cramped quarters playing a demanding show, Newsies, which is a terrific show to play with temps that are not ideal.  You barely take the horn off your face, as you can see in the video, going from loud, rhythmic playing to soft delicate entrances.  The quality of the recording isn't great as it's from my phone, as you can see, but it gives you an idea of what goes on in a pit.  Enjoy!
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Review of the New Bach C Trumpets and Eb

Just had a chance to try the new line of Bach Artisan C trumpets as well as the "Philly" and "Chicago" C trumpets. For me, the "Philly" C was great. I loved the response, flexibility, intonation, and sound of all the C's I tried. The "Chicago" model was quite good as well, but was a bit more zippy for me. Both instruments were close in feel and response. I preferred the "Philly" model. Very nice horn! I was quite surprised to find I didn't like the Artisan Model. It was a good horn with nice color, but I felt the flexibility was a bit stiff, and the sound was good, but different enough for me to prefer the "Philly" sound. I felt there were some standard intonation issues that didn't work so well for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try a silver plated one as someone bought it before the day began. Jury is still out for me on this. But, I can't imagine the flexibility issues (for me) will change on the s...
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In the Heights

Just finished a 4 week run with 8-9 shows a week of In the Heights at Westport Country Playhouse.  This show was a blow, especially since I had to jump into the fray at the last minute with one rehearsal before the 1st show started.  This is what freelancing is all about and why it is more challenging and less stable than a full time teaching or orchestral job.  Freelancers are on the frontlines being challenged with every job they play, new people to perform at their best with for each job. This show was a great run with a stellar cast and top notch musicians.  I had not played the show before and being more a classical and commercial player than jazz this was a challenge.  Feet to the flames! In the Heights Westport Country Playhouse Video Promo Clip
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