Clean valves, play MUSIC, phrase, develop!

I am recording tomorrow, and things have been hectic, but I think it is all in order and calming down. On the session we have:

Scott Flannigan (www.zcott.com) - Piano

Dan MgEown - Double Bass

James Anderson - Kit

Taking care of the audio is John King who is really keen to get this recording under way.

Ok, so the tracks, finally, are:

Footprints

Softly, As In a Morning's Sunrise

I Remember You

Killer Joe

Anyway, the title refers to my check list which has these reminders on the bottom; Clean valves! Play MUSIC! Phrase! Develop! These are things which are tantamount to success!

Clean valves:

My flugelhorn's 1st valve is somewhat unpredictable, even after 2 trips to the repair shop. It seems to be behaving itself right now. My trumpet is quite new and needs its valves cleaned regularly, hence that part of the title.

Play MUSIC:

Reminding myself not to forget what I am playing or trying to create; music, not a dirge of thoughtless notes. Lets hope this one pulls through! I have been practising and recording these tunes a'cappella if you will to try and improve my weaknesses, and while it is very humbling to hear your mistakes so clearly, it is a very useful tool! I realise an interesting thing; I was annoyed by an excess of air in my sound on a bunch of recordings and the answer was two-fold. 1) Microphone placement - right in front of the bell up close isn't ideal, I found placing the microphone at an angle beside the horn and in front gave the best results so far. 2) The more tired I got, the more air sound was present, and I was usually recording myself after 2 hours of hard work. That seems almost too common sense now that I write it!

Phrase:

Phrasing in the solo is one of the biggest things that I have been told to remember, and one of the best things that I appreciate in a solo; obviously a great solo will have it all going on, but this is elemental!

Develop:

Another thing of importance is development in solos. Again part of playing music, and phrasing! I'll leave that one there!

Not too much more to say. I only have 3 hours in the hall which is tight, but I reckon that will give us 2 hours of actual recording time which should be enough to get about 3 takes of each tune done if needs be, and maybe a little more; it depends on how long the solos end up being etc... I am just trying to be realistic. It will also look a little like a Nikon show room on account of 3 of us being keen photographers! Hopefully I will have a few shots of the process to include online at some stage!

Wish me luck!

Mike