Smooth Jazz Classics will arrive this next Friday and I will have CDs available for pre-release at the BASH May 25th.

The CD is in manufacturing as I type and we are less than a week away from the culmination of 18 months of hard work.

If you have noticed, posts have been few and the reason is I am sooooo busy. The reason I started this blog was to explain what sax players have to do in 2008 (of course I started a few years ago) to function as a musician. So I'll let you in on whats been happening.

Today I got up and started writing the parts out for the horn section off the CD on The In Crowd. I will be performing that track live as my feature at the BASH this year. When I wrote the arrangement, I did not write it for other people to be able to play. I wrote it to be able to play the parts myself. I am not a Finale guy (a program for writing clean printed charts). I do things old school and by hand. I am not a very neat person, so they are really messy and not easy to read.

I started today by pulling up the original session and writing out each part by hand for the instrument that was played. Since I have a few options of players for this up coming performance, I came up with options for different instrumentation too. I Have never played any of this music live and had to rework the arrangements to add solos by other band members, adding more music so other musicians could take solos too.

So, arranging and horn parts have been the call for today. I still have one more part to knock out before delivering them to Tony Guerrero tomorrow. Tony will drop them into Finale and I will have pro looking charts for the show next weekend.

I have to do all the same work to 1 more song which will take into next week, but has to be done by Saturday for the Sunday show.

On the business side - meeting meeting meetings!

I have been working with the Business guy to finish my first Business plan. It was part of the requirement to get the CD finished with the money guy. The time has been pretty overwhelming with other deadlines staring me in the face, yet I had to do this to get the rest the money for manufacturing. We are talking a 2 1/2 hour meeting just this last Thursday and again Friday.

SO, at this point, I should have the rest the funds as needed and CDs in hand next week. It has just been crazy trying to get there.

Then there is the new promo stuff to think thru. I have been pricing printers for all the needed print goods. I will need a 1 sheet announcing the CD, a new brochure for the CD catalog, new pictures (8X10 and post card), Post Card announcements, CD singles made for radio and a sharp looking package to be sent out in August. That's a lot of stuff to design and get ready.

All the websites will need to be updated announcing or advertising the new CD and a specific Smooth Jazz Classics CD site is going to be designed and go live ASAP.

I have already started pumping the new photos and CD images thru the social networks and have tried to upload as much audio and video as possible. The newest Social Network pages are Band Mix and Face Book Fan Page.

Band Mix is more for musician networking but has pics, video and audio up.

Face Book Fan Page seems a bit cooler for people just wanting to see and hear everything. They don't seem to have limitations as far as how much you post, and unlike other Face Book pages, the Fan Pages are open to the public to view and enjoy. I still need to get the audio set up but did upload a bunch of images and video so far.

Check them out!!  Please give me your thoughts on making them better pages by posting on the network page or here on my BLOG. I so appreciate the thoughts of another set of eyes and a different brain than mine. I know I can't see everything or think of everything. Thats why I read, research online and chat to hook up with people that are also out there and learning.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!!!!!!

I could post for another hour but really have to get to this last chart for the In Crowd.

For audio on the new CD - My Space has 3 full songs and a sample clip of all the tracks to hear in the music player at the top of the page. Thanks for visiting and stay cool - it is 80 degrees outside and it is 11 PM right now in So Cal!

Greg Vail  ---  SAXBOY

Some rough CD art to see - I gave the disc to the printer, but will have the real art next week.