Guitar and keyboard players can easily make music on their own. Of course, we horn players can also use backing tracks but they are static. Once you know them, there is no surprise any longer. Having a practice buddy is more fun, let alone a whole ensemble. That is where it gets heavy. You need a rehearsal room, you have to go to the place, carry your gear, your music and so on. Maybe you play already in an ensemble but you look forward to discovering other people, in other cities, other countries and make music with them as if you were together in the same room. People did that during the pandemic. Everybody has seen these tiled videos where individual tracks were recorded asynchronously and then edited together. Better than nothing but not much fun. You can do this in real-time, a bit like Zoom but with latencies so short that you really play together. You can watch while it happens on Wednesday 24 June 2026 at 20.00 Paris time (2:00 pm EST) https://www.jacktrip.com/@5QVSfiEohpqJO6mdu3wJ5 You can expect a real-time online Jazz jam session, just work in progress, we do our best knowing people are watching us, but we are not concerned with perfection. What matters more is to overcome nerves and play. We perform a set of 12 tune in one and a half ours. Most of us have left our adolescence some years behind but that does not matter. When I was 15, I was playing with guys 4 or 5 times my age.

Living in a quiet rural place is something I do enjoy very much but when it comes to playing together with other musicians it is getting complicated. I have to drive more than an hour to join a big band and even playing with another person takes more time than I can afford. Nevertheless, I have 3 or more jam session plus 101 sessions every week, without leaving home. Thanks to optical fiber internet this has become a reality. In real-time, with low latency, people connect from both sides of the Atlantic. Many still think this is impossible. They are wrong.

I’ve noticed in talking to some students, that some people have watched some of the course videos (on both trombone/brass and jazz improv) and felt a bit lost. I want to encourage everyone to please comment here (or reach out to me directly) if there’s anything from the course videos that was confusing, or you felt you didn’t quite know what I was trying to get at. I think it would be kind of impossible to present courses in subjects as subtle as these that are fully stand-alone, especially since everyone is starting from their own place and level of experience, so the video are, in part, meant to inspire conversation and further explanation. So please don’t give up on the videos if you feel lost. Let me know if you don’t fully get something so I can make it clear! -D

BTW I wonder if anyone makes or wants to make a sort-of "jury" sesh where ppls play something and others comment? I did in colly and as I gets better it would be cool to play bits now and then. Jaust asking

Brock is a young man I met online who sold me a cornet. Listen to the joint recital - it's good! Student Recital- Brock Griffin & Mason McMorris https://www.youtube.com/live/uPjr1Ns6avQ