A lot of people have been saying that this camp was the best ever, and it certainly ran more smoothly than any previous year. Thank you for being a part of it!

Not only is it great for me to get together with the other faculty members every year and play some wonderful music, but it's even better to work with everyone in the camp and see the amazing progress that can be made during such a short time. To an educator, the look on someone's face when they "get" a new concept is worth all of the long days and hard work. I hope that, no matter what your situation in school or in the working world, you will be able to keep this music in your heart and mind during the next year and will be able to perform and experience jazz as much as you can.

Remember that, besides practicing, one of the best ways to get better at jazz is to listen, listen, listen. There are lots of ways to do this (live concerts, recordings, and jazz radio such as KNTU-FM 88.1, where I worked in college) and lots of different artists to listen to. It's especially great to see live jazz in the area whenever you can. I have a listing of my upcoming performances on this site, and feel free to invite me to any jazz concerts you might have; I can't guarantee I'll be there, but I'll try my best.

Before too long, to help out in the area of listening, I'll have a list of my own personal favorite jazz CD's on this site (it'll be called "Kev's Picks"), and I'll also have a recording of one of my original compositions, as played by the CCCC Faculty Combo with special guest drummer Peter Erskine, as soon as I go through all the legalities of copyright and so forth.

Again, thanks for being here this summer and thanks for visiting this site. Remember, if you liked it this year, 1) come back again next summer, and 2) bring friends! (The camp dates for 2005 are July 17-22, with a guest artist to be announced.)

Oh yeah, and I hope you enjoy our CD...

Regards,

Kevin

July, 2004

To order Ed Petersen CD's, click here, or you can email Ed to order the newest one, "Finger to the Universe" with Brian Seeger, guitar, and Jason Marsalis, drums.

For more information on Thrascher recordings, performances and merchandise, visit their website.