What better way to decide that I’ll blog about my art some more than to just do it? Some insane things have happened in my music lately and it makes me wide-eyed with excitement to think of all of the possibilities that 2012 will bring.

Last year, I accomplished a lot of goals that I had written down when I moved to Minnesota. I’ve always wanted to play with the Pete Whitman X-Tet and finally got my chance last October. I have since played with those guys four times, and I hope they continue to ask me back.

I also started subbing a lot more in the Twin Cities. Becoming someone who could step in and sight-read any book for anyone has been a goal of mine and this year it really started to happen. The first big call was the Artie Shaw Orchestra. I had a blast playing that music, and it was great experience for me.

One of the gigs that came out of the Artie Shaw gig was the Pete Whitman X-Tet. Before that, during the Summer, I was called to play with La Gran Charanga, a traditional Cuban/Salsa band lead by saxophonist Doug Little, and have been back to sub with them on occasion. I played different gigs with different bands at the State Fair in 2011 as well, a new venue for me. I started playing here and there with The Good, The Bad, The Funky, a great funk/soul band here in the Twin Cities, and I was asked to be the guest artist over at Jazz Central in NE Minneapolis a couple of times.

Graydon Peterson started his quartet and asked me to be a member. I am honored to play with Vinne, Adrian and Graydon. They are such amazing musicians and I am so excited for what that band can accomplish. Lulu’s Playground finally revived and are now joined by Steven Hobert on Accordion. We rehearsed a ton in 2011 to prepare for the studio in Jan ‘12.

I toured all over the world in 2011 with Todd Clouser’s A Love Electric. We hit the road from Madison, WI all the way out to Denver, CO by van. We had a couple drives through the night. We toured all over Mexico for two weeks, and spent nearly that long in Europe touring from Prague to Berlin, and Hamburg to Brno. Good times, and amazing people. It’s been a blessing to play music with such amazing musicians like Chris Bates, Greg Schutte, Todd Clouser, Mark Anderud, Hernan Hecht, Aaron Cruz, Bryan Nichols and more.

I also had a nice long tour with the Jana Nyberg Group after we released our second full length album, Fever. I am proud of the music we made for that record, and I am excited for the stuff that is coming. The music is changing and our vibe as a band is getting tighter and tighter.

I also made the National Trumpet Competition Jazz Division as a semi-finalist. I was ultimately disqualified when they found out I would be taking the semester off in order to tour with Todd Clouser.

I made the right choice.

I graduated from the U of MN with my Masters in Trumpet performance in December. Which I have learned means absolutely nothing.

I now have a trumpet studio of over 10 students and it is growing. I started teaching as adjunct faculty over at Bethel University in St Paul, MN. I am honored that that sought me out to be on their faculty list, and can’t wait to see what that turns in to.

I started the Adam Meckler Orchestra with the help of 17 amazing Twin Cities musicians. I still have a long way to go with this project, with many more charts to write, but we’re booked for two more shows in 2012. I’ll be slowly putting together a CD to feature the band and my compositions. I’ve gotten a great response from other Twin Cities musicians, and this seemed like the natural progression for me as a composer.

I took lessons with Doug Richards, Richard Sussman, and Dean Sorenson in composition. They each had different things to say about my writing, and made me think about composing for Big Band much differently. I am thankful for the expertise of of my musical elders, and their willingness to pass their knowledge on to a guy like me.

Speaking of mentors, trumpeter Rex Richardson has become a wonderful friend of mine over the past two years. He’s a fantastic player and a great human being. Because of Rex, I had the opportunity to work with my hero, Dave Douglas for a few days out in Virgina while staying at Rex’s place. I arranged a piece of Rex’s for big band, The Tao of Heavy D. Rex tours more than anyone I know and brings my chart along with him. he was actually the subject for my first publication in International Trumpet Guild Journal when I interviewed him on his life in music.

2011 also brought me my first professional theater gig. I had the pleasure of playing with the band Klezmerica in The Soul of Gershwin, The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer. It ran through the whole month of December. 18 shows at the Park Square Theater. Playing with guys like Chris Bates, Jay Epstein, Dale Mendenhall and Gary Shulte is other-worldly. I learned so much from them every single day. Shout out to bandleader Joe Vass for taking a chance on a guy he didn’t know at all.

The same month, I subbed for Adam Rossmiller in the great Twin Cities modern jazz group SnowBlind. Those guys are so killing and their music is so hard. We had a blast playing at the Artists Quarter.

Speaking of “So Killing,” I, along my with my friends Cory Grossman and Ben Doherty, started a new site dedicated to transcription and analysis of “Killing” jazz solos called SoKillingMan.com. We’ve had great success with the site and are planning a series of books to be sold through the website. We’re loving the ride and I am learning so much transcribing such amazing solos.

2012 holds endless possibilities. A Love Electric is releasing three new records this year all on a new record label, Royal Potato Family Records. We’ve got a bunch of touring happening this year and the potential for greatness is near. The Jana Nyberg Group is hitting the studio again to record a Winter Songs album, all mostly original music written by Jana and I that is Winter themed/related. The Graydon Peterson Quartet is really starting to progress and the Adam Meckler Orchestra has so much potential for a great year. There is a Jana Nyberg Group tour in April, and more touring in the Summer.

What I mean to say is: Onward and upward, or as my trumpet teacher over at Lawrence University once said, “The Upward Spiral Groove.”