Lynn, first off thank you so much for taking the time out to answer the various questions that have been asked on this forum. One of the main pitfalls in my playing is and has always been my phrasing. More often than not my solos resort to eighth note patterns based on some scale or arpeggio exercise and rarely do I feel as if I am making music. Can you please give me some guidance on how to develop my phrasing so I don't play every single note in every scale every time I take a solo : P Thanks!!!

You are welcome. It is a joy to host this forum. Now for your question. One of the things that some of the older players told me to do when I was coming up was to sing phrases. This is important to help play what is in your head and in your heart as opposed to what your fingers want to play. Record yourself singing a solo along with a recording of a tune you know or a blues. Yes, that means soloing over the melody and/ or another solo on the recording. It may be helpful to sing while imagining how one of your favorite players would be soloing. Concentrate at first on rhythm and articulation. If you can sing good pitches, that is great, but when you start doing this, focus more on the phrasing. Now transcribe the rhythm and the CONTOUR of your phrases. Maybe a lot of the pitches you sang are good. Change the pitches when necessary so it fits the chords. Don't forget the importance of chromaticism. When you change the notes, go for clear harmonic resolutions. Ideally, this is what happens instantaniously when one takes a solo, but this excersise gives you time to figure out what is in your head. Now play along with your original singing recording. Do this in reverse too. Improvise a phrase on your instrument and then sing it back. Now sing while you play like Slam Stewart, Major Holly, George Benson, etc. Many great players hum when they solo like Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, Louis Bellson, etc. You also can just sing in your head without sound coming out of your mouth. Doing the singing should help your phrasing. Over time, it will become automatic.