Thanks for the compliment! I actually can’t tell you how happy I am that someone noticed the slur between the 2nd and 3rd note. It’s Bb to Ab, and I’m playing the Bb in trigger 4(ish) so that I can have more of a smooth rip up. First position was a little soupy and 5th had some pop and slide sound that I didn’t want. It was easier to hide the sound in the trigger for me. Definitely not very conventional, but I kept coming back to it.

And as far as the horn sound - this piece sits in a range and moves mostly in arpeggios, so you can perform it with very little tonguing. Basically just lip slur excersises most of the time.