Ray Vega

Rich Willey is a dear friend (18 years)whom I highly respect as a working musician, composer, arranger, educator and publisher.
There is NOTHING BS or half-ass about him.
He is the real deal.
His arrival is a major plus for TM.


Rich,
Welcome my brother!!!!!

Peace!
RV

RichWilley

RAY!!! How you doooin'??? Man, I'm gonna have to put your testimonial on my website. Where do I send the checks?

Great to hear from you, my brother! Last time I saw you (way too long ago) was when you and Claudio played Birdland together. Bob Bernotas and I came out to hear you two, and we had a ball!

Ray, didn't we do the Mel Tormé big band together? We might even be on that CD together, right, or were you subbing for John Walsh?

Anyway, I don't "blow my own horn" all that well in the PR department, but there are many people out there who know how dedicated and serious about music I am, and Ray is just one of them. Hopefully some of you will trust that and give this new book a try.

So many guys will spend a veritable fortune looking for that "perfect" horn, or that miracle mouthpiece . . . it's mind-boggling. But they won't spend less than the cost of taking their wife or girlfriend out for dinner on a book, and then devote the necessary time in the practice room methodically practicing and putting in the hours necessary to really develop their chops.

Ray and I both know that it ain't the horn, it ain't the mouthpiece . . . it's how you practice and what you practice and how much you practice.

Stomvi, Ray? I'll never get an endorsement deal playing my 1940 Olds Super. Can you hook me up with Stomvi??? (Just kidding, I love my Olds.)

I love the picture, Ray!

teacherchops

I have never met Mr. Willey, but I use his Jazz Improv Materials book. This is a very comprehensive book with all scales and patterns designed to facilitate the acquiring of jazz improvisation skills. As I said in a review of his book:

"This is not just a book for jazz studies, but a great book for any musician who wants to get their chops and ears together!"

I suggest you check out Rich's stuff ...we are very fortunate to have him as a member of Trumpetmaster! I look forward to future posts...
Mark

Ljazztrm

I don't use method books much anymore. I just do a simple exercise for chops strength based off of Reinhardt's pencil exercise and I practice music I need to for gigs. I also do Reinhardt's spiderweb warmup routine, which is in Focal Point, starting on G3 as my hub. If I go back to a method book at some point, Focal Point will be the one. I ordered it last week, got extremely quick shipping, and found the materials to be outstanding. Highly recommended. Also, i got the CD Boptism, which is dynamite! All the best, Lex.

RichWilley

Thanks, Lex, and thanks Mark Teacherchops!

The sale is about to end, but the FREE shipping in the USA will stay for another week (discounted shipping outside the USA, also).

Thank you to those of you who've taken a chance by getting this book. Don't forget about the product support that comes with this book.

Happy chop-building!

wilcox96

If this book is even a fraction as well thought out and put together as his previous material, it would be a welcome addition to anyone's practice schedule.

Rich does terrific work. The material I've previously received is of the highest quality. His musical ethics are well evident in the material he produces (both on paper ...and through his instrument!!).

Best of success, Rich...

tedh1951

Rich, I've ordered your book today, and taken an educated chance. Anything to advance the noble art, eh? I await the post while drooling down my shirt in anticipation.

Regards

RichWilley

Your book ought to get there tomorrow or any minute thereafter.

There's a great review of this book by a great trumpet player at this site and you can click on his name and listen to his clips; this guy (Chris) is the epitome of a total product of the teaching of Doc Reinhardt.

The FREE shipping in the USA (discounted shipping outside the USA) ends tonight at midnight New York time.

I think Reinhardt would be proud of me for coming up with this interpretation/adaptation of his teaching. He would also like the fact that my range, accuracy, and endurance has improved since I started practicing this stuff a couple months before it came out in book form.

But don't listen to me . . . I'm biased.

Tim McGinley

Hey folks,
I have had the pleasure of knowing Rich for some time now and I am always pleased when I receive new materials from him. As stated in an earlier post, Rich is the real deal. Taking things a step further, I truly believe that his efforts are put forth with the intention of making brass playing more understandable.

There are no gimmicks to his approach and he will be the first to tell you....there is no magic involved. You have to dedicate and work hard. On the other hand, you must also take your time and allow yourself to progress, there is no instant gratification in our business!

If you are serious about learning and developing (healthy habits) as a player, Rich is an outstanding resource!!! (He is also a fantastic player and all around swell guy).

I hope many of you experience the same benefits that I have in working with him, he is a class act!

T-

RichWilley

So, does that mean you're practicing out of this new book and are getting results?

Ray Vega and I exchanged some emails after he got this new book, and he sent me a quote to use on my website. You can see it right here.

I did a recording session on Tuesday and Thursday (yesterday) where I was the arranger and entire horn section. I played trumpet 1, trumpet 2, trumpet 3, and trombone 1 & 2. I never got tired, I got about 90% of the tracks right in one take (had to "fix" a few chipped notes) and even blew a few improvised solos on trumpet and on bass trumpet.

Needless to say (and Tim knows this better than most), I could have never even dreamed about doing that without all I learned from Doc Reinhardt. The book that this thread is all about is my attempt to share what I've learned with the brass world. It does my heart good to know that others are benefiting from it.