Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Jam Stuff

Spring can really hang you up the most
https://www.box.com/s/5d074b42866b0a8e7c21
This was a neat tune. It had the most complex effing leadsheet and we couldn't understand the form. Anyway, one of the guys acted as the conductor and we did it a second time. Still wobbly much improved. It's really a challenge to be thrown these tunes. First it was presented to me in the key of A and I said NO WAY. Half step up or down! So we played it in Bb (whew!).

Giant Steps
https://www.box.com/s/7ea6674428eaa22fbc53
There was a dare to do Giant Steps and we stepped up to the plate and did it. Though it is easy enough to play this at home, for whatever reason, I just stiffened up in the middle of it. I guess because I'm trying to hear myself over the guitar comping. The tempo was reasonable.

Some other stuff.

Black Coffee
https://www.box.com/s/43325a52175d51a7da8c
Blue Bossa
https://www.box.com/s/c9ec884c1dcd42574cac

Body and Soul
https://www.box.com/s/c7f2bd5d746ecd2cd899


2 comments:

  1. Since you were new to jazz, how did you find other musicians to jam with?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just took a risk. Went to a local jam session and screwed up for 6 months. Got better each time. Now I jam a couple of times a month. But I also built up a network of players. At first I was always the least skilled one (always good to play with those better than you).

    After a couple of years of this, I'm no longer at the bottom of the pile.

    Sometimes the most important thing is to (a) be able to keep the form, (b) if you're lost, lay out, (c) listen and look around and be aware.

    The least important thing at the beginning is how good your solo is. You can play the simplest thing possible and as long as you don't mess anyone else up, you're fine.

    As it turns out, you're comping most of the time so comping is an ignored skill at the beginning.

    ReplyDelete