Another George Hamilton Green rag arranged by the amazing Jonathan Bisesi!

Hi friends,

Whew!!! Summer is in full swing, and you know what that means?!?!?!?!  THE KIDS ARE OUT OF SCHOOL!!!  Seriously, what it means around the Clark household is a lot of fun pool and beach time, and a lot of bike rides as well.  The boys are getting older and able to ride longer and/or on their own, so we are having super fun just biking everywhere we have the chance.  Combine that with some recent bike commuting for me, beach rides, and even recharging some bike mechanic skills, and the summer is just ROLLING.  Love it.

One other thing I've done is to complete a few projects that were begun in the spring.  One of my favorites of this year was the brass quintet and xylophone arrangements my good friend and Marine Band colleague, Jon Bisesi.  We recorded four of his arrangements in the spring, and you can hear Jovial Jasper over on Youtube.  I'm going to introduce another one here below, Chromatic Fox Trot.  

For my audio folks out there, if you haven't ever recorded solo xylophone, I highly recommend it! It is a challenge, due to the nature of the instrument (think snare-like transients, but pitched and moving in the stereo field like marimba, or even piano.   Separating that from the brass players, and allowing them to both see and hear each other enough to play as one ensemble, is quite challenging.  I had some help from my good friend, Will Samson, and I think the final recording turned out great.  

Jon is a master of the xylophone, and his improvisations over these rags in this particular style are so natural and fun to listen to.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for listening!