Tuesday
Day two was full of intensity. I logged about 2 1/2 hours of individual practice after rehearsals. This was the day that I realized that the average age in the room of advanced band musicians was probably about 23. I'm 43. Yep, I feel old, old, old.
After lunch, we had four electives to choose from. I went with the one on improvisation, with Don Prorak. It was hands-on and pretty good, but it would have been nice to have a handout to take away, and help remember some of the lesson.
Wednesday
I suppose I hit the proverbial "Wednesday Wall". Although I kept up with much of the tunes we played in the morning session and early afternoon, I just got frustrated with Ray's chart. It's just chaos! Why bother learning your part when it is so likely to be changed? As usual, Ray kept modifying all the parts and jumped around the chart. Half the time, I didn't know where we were - Ray's chart has no rehearsal letters. I really respect Ray for the caliber of musician that he is, but his style of leading a rehearsal is such a departure from everything I've come to expect. I don't think I will play on Ray's tune.
After lunch, Ray gave a Q&A for us. Anonymously submitted questions. Ray talked about a variety of topics, including his early childhood in Trinidad. It's pretty amazing the turns that Ray's life has taken.
Don was happy with his tune, so we spent a little time reading through his arrangement of Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. I have audio, posted below:
Crazy Train (sound cloud)
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