Playing Jazz

[Richard Prowse]

I know she's a bass guitarist, but here's some advice from a master.
Check out what she says about 'note scales'. When I was young(er) in the 70s and trying to figure out the bass guitar, there weren't many instruction books available Down here (NZ). Fortunately Carol Kaye's were and I learnt heaps from them. She's like the best bass teacher I've had.

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

I know she's a bass guitarist, but here's some advice from a master.
Check out what she says about 'note scales'. When I was young(er) in the 70s and trying to figure out the bass guitar, there weren't many instruction books available Down here (NZ). Fortunately Carol Kaye's were and I learnt heaps from them. She's like the best bass teacher I've had.

And she's a really interesting person!

[Richard Prowse]

I've been working on her 'chord scales' - I've put in quite a few hours on them already. I'm doing them on the DB and the EB.
Are you a jazz player Dave?

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

I've been working on her 'chord scales' - I've put in quite a few hours on them already. I'm doing them on the DB and the EB.
Are you a jazz player Dave?

That's an interesting question, Richard...

Yes, I've played more than my share of jazz gigs, but in the last couple of years I've done a lot more swing-era stuff than I have bebop, post-bop or contemporary jazz. As to whether a jazz snob would consider what I do with my western swing band to be 'jazz', probably not. But since it swings and it's improvisational solos based around a consistent form, I don't think it's unrelated.

See for yourself; here's a link to my wife's last record (the new one won't be available until the middle of January). I'm playing double bass on that one.

[Richard Prowse]

Dave,
I just had a quick listen - I love it! I've always been a huge fan of Texas Swing. You're wife has a great voice and I love that fiddle playing.
I'll listen more once Christmas lunch/day is done.
Thanks for sharing that. I'll look forward to checking out the bass playing too. Hey, this is definitely jazz in my opinion!
Great stuff Dave!

[Richard Prowse]

I've just watched the Ken Burns jazz series. I haven't watched the last half hour yet, but I watched the first eleven and a half hours in three days. What sticks in my mind is the huge aray of styles - Louis Armstrong, Count Bassie, Bird, , Trane, Miles - all quite different, but getting to the same thing. It was also interesting how most of these guys often struggled to get work many times throughout their careers. I thought it was just a New Zealand thing. Jazz has a small audience Down here (NZ). Thanks to visits by Yankee jazz musicians over the wears we now have some very good players and young people are studying jazz at at least three different universities. Wellington is awash with jazz students.
There's a great story in the series where Andre Segovia supposedly asks Django if he has a transcription of a solo he just played. Django replies,
"No, I just made it up."
The series talks a lot about the risk taking in jazz and the strain it puts players under to live up to expectations - theirs and others. I think improvisation suits a certain type of personality - as does the accuracy required of classical music. I don't think the risk taking really bothers a jazz musician.
Jazz is indeed, as Bobby Shew once said, a noble calling. Well, I don't remember his exact words, but he said something like that.

[Richard Prowse]

I've just been browsing through a book aof transcriptions by Todd Coolman. He put the book together in 1985 and I found it in one of my music cupboards a few weeks ago. I looked him up on the internet and see that he's still going strong. He visited New Zealand twice in the early 80s.