My go to podcasts. I listen in the car on my way to classes. One reason I bounce through the door on arrival. 

• Drummers Resource by Nick Ruffini 500+ podcasts, I've listened to them all. Many more than once. My favs? Michael Carvin #55 and #159 How to practice. Benny Greb #52 How to practice: funny and informative. His description of his one hour practice technique is priceless. Kenny Washington #204 Explores his deep knowledge of jazz history. And finally the irrepressible John Ramsay #254 "approaching music as a lifelong endeavour".  Find it all here:               http://www.drummersresource.com/podcasts/
• You'll hear it by Open studio "Jazz musicians Peter Martin & Adam Maness give you daily tips on how to develop as a jazz player. Listen for a combo of actionable advice and occasional humor"  I met Peter a couple of years while attending the Roma Summer Jazz Workshop, he was teaching piano. Great guy, knows what he is doing. Some of my favorite episodes are the episodes on how to learn, how to practice, how to improve your ears. Searchable here: https://www.openstudionetwork.com/podcast/ 
• "Crushing Classical podcast is an ongoing series of provocative interviews with musicians who are pioneering a new path in the classical music genre." Fireside chat #40 explores the relationship between behaviour and goal attainment. Helpful advice and stories for us all. 

Best, 

David Story

A list of tunes I've played at public jam sessions in Toronto over the last 2 years that I've been attending as a drummer. 

All of me
Summertime
Now's the time
Au privave
Scrapple from the apple
It don't mean a thing
Satin doll
Blue bossa
C jam blues
Another cool one
Cherokee
Tenor madness
Autumn leaves
Billie's bounce
Black Orpheus
Blue monk
Oleo
Straight, no chaser
All the things you are
East of the sun
If I were a bell
My romance
There will never be another you
What is this thing called love?
Footprints
Four
Have you met miss jones?
Just friends
Mr PC
Recordame
Solar
Song for my father
So what
St. Thomas
Take the A train
All the things you are
Scrapple from the apple
There is no greater love
Watermelon man
Alone together
Girl from Ipanema
Days of wine and roses
Doxy
Softly as in a morning sunrise
Star eyes
All blues
Freddy freeloader
Ornithology
Impressions
Lester leaps in
Fly me to the moon

Less common
Blues for Alice
Donna Lee
Beautiful love
Wave
Work song
Georgia
My little suede shoes
A night in Tunisia
Tune up
How high the moon
Stella by starlight
Body and soul both fast and slow
Confirmation
I hear a rhapsody
Up jumped spring
There will never be another you
I love you
Out of nowhere
Night and day

The link below offers some good advice to read before you attend your first jam, including a short list of essential tunes for beginners. You don't need to learn the entire list before attending. A blues in Bb and F, a common standard or two, one bossa and you are ready to go.

http://music.unl.edu/jazzstudies/HaarJamSessions.pdf 

Cheers,

​David Story

1. Having an identifiable sound in the tonal quality of your playing.
   
2. The speed, evenness, and clarity of execution in your technique.
   
3. The ability to play with consistently accurate time and feeling of pulse.
   
4. Your choice of tonal material in improvisation.
   
5. The spirit and drive of your playing. The emotional feeling and vitality comes from your conviction of rhythm and pulse.
   
6. The melodiousness of your lyricism.
   
7. The depth and variety of your repertoire.
   
8. Your ability to navigate,with integrity, a wide range of repertoire (vehicles) without losing effectiveness.
   
9. The quality of your inventiveness, creativity, originality which demonstrates your innovation.
   

Found on pages 77 & 78

I highly recommend this book to all my Jazz students. 

Cheers,

David

"The Musician's Way a guide to practice, performance, and wellness" by Gerald Klickstein

I'm engrossed in this book. It is packed with ideas, which I will share over the next few weeks. There is a link for additional material at www.musiciansway.com

Overview

1.      The five practice zones

• New Material: absorbing the artistic and technical content through precise practice, slow tempo
  
• Developing material: refining interpretation, increasing tempo, memorizing
  
• Performance material: reviewing the interpretive and technical particulars, maintaining tempo and practicing as performance
  
• Technique: honing your skills so you don't make a fool of yourself
  
• Musicianship: sight-reading, ear training, improvisation

2.      Planning your practice 

• Have a plan, work the plan
  

3.      Staying healthy and sane

• Musicians are notoriously out of shape which combined with anxiety from their ambition and crazy deadlines leads to all sorts of health problems, including injury
  

Cheers,

David Story