Mandolin Mondays Featuring Josh Pinkham /// "Donna Lee"

Mandolin Mondays #226: Kittel & Co mandolin monster Josh Pinkham blows this Charlie Parker number out of the water with some crazy metronome antics this week on Mandolin Mondays. That is quite the Red Diamond axe to boot!

Josh has been a recognized mandolinist since a very young age. A quick search or youtube will find a young Josh on stage with David Grisman, Mike Marshall, and Chris Thile. Now Josh continues to make a name for himself playing with the amazing fiddler Jeremy Kittel, in his band Kittel & Co. Their recent record entitled Whorls is an amazing combination of Celtic, Classical, Jazz, and progressive elements. Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3e7iux...

Here's a word from Josh about this video, "Since we are all 'social distancing' and 'self quarantined,' I thought one of my favorite practice routines would be a timely addition to the series, considering most every mandolin player out there is most likely just sitting at home practicing, like I am.

I’m playing Charlie Parker’s 'Donna Lee' to a programmed metronome that starts out at 100 BPM 2X through the form (1x melody 1x improvisation), then before each new improvisation through the 16 bar form, the metronome increases by 5 BPM, then I play the head to end it when it hits 125 BPM.

Using a programmed metronome and starting out really slow while hyper-focusing on tone, relaxation and proper technique, with the click increasing by 2 or 3 BPM after every full completion of the form has improved my relationship with mandolin immensely! So I wanted to share while we’re all presumably doing more practicing than ever."

Be sure to connect with Josh at the following links below for more information about his music:

  / joshuapinky  
https://jeremykittel.com/
  / jeremy.kittel  
  / jeremykittel  

And as always, tune in next week for more Mandolin Mondays! Until then...

Happy Picking!
David