Playing Jazz

[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.

[Paul Warburton]

I've come up with a new version of "teaching". Particularly in terms of "jazz".
I've taken the concepts of Victor Wooten as "shown" in his little book "The Music Lesson" and kind of custom fit them into a "program" that works wonders for all instrumentalists (even.....singers )
If you haven't checked it out, please do yourself and/or your "students" a large favor and do that.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

I've come up with a new version of "teaching". Particularly in terms of "jazz".
I've taken the concepts of Victor Wooten as "shown" in his little book "The Music Lesson" and kind of custom fit them into a "program" that works wonders for all instrumentalists (even.....singers )
If you haven't checked it out, please do yourself and/or your "students" a large favor and do that.

Where do we check it out?

[Richard Prowse]

I'm practising with a really bad band that is playing a set next Sunday at an outdoors concert. It has been quite depressing because these chaps never seem to pick up the can and practise what they need to do to improve, and make the band work better. I've shown the guitarist how to play the chords he didn't know and I've told the sax player that he plays sharp all the time and that, when he is adding little backing bits, it's a good idea to not play just root notes all the time.

In everything there is a lesson. I've been thinking about these guys lately and it has made me think about my shortcomings and what I need to do to improve. In everything there is a lesson. Life is a lesson.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

I'm practising with a really bad band that is playing a set next Sunday at an outdoors concert. It has been quite depressing because these chaps never seem to pick up the can and practise what they need to do to improve, and make the band work better. I've shown the guitarist how to play the chords he didn't know and I've told the sax player that he plays sharp all the time and that, when he is adding little backing bits, it's a good idea to not play just root notes all the time.

In everything there is a lesson. I've been thinking about these guys lately and it has made me think about my shortcomings and what I need to do to improve. In everything there is a lesson. Life is a lesson.

Hey, what do the say about you directly or behind your back? Any idea?..

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Hey, what do the say about you directly or behind your back? Any idea?..

I took my double bass to the last practice. They prefer the electric, I think - they're not a jazz band, I was just using them here because they're a perfect example of not fixing problems in your playing.
I'm fairly intuitive and, when the sax player visited me on the weekend, I knew they'd been talking about me and that somehow they were seeing me as the problem - or, more specifically, my double bass.
I don't want to sound like Mr Know it all, but these guys are not good players. I agreed to play because one of them is a friend. They're all nice people but they obviously don't know how to get their playing together. Consequently, I think they're looking for a scape goat. I've seen this in bands before. The best action one can take is to leave the band. I'll leave as soon as I can, but I don't like letting people down - even when they're not showing much common sense.
Ah well, like I said, the experience has made me examine my own playing.

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

Where do we check it out?

Any good book store, Library, Amazon......
As far as the rest of your words, I am confused why you would play with what you call "A really bad band".
I guess I'm pretty confused about many of your statements, Richard. How can you sense that they're using you as a "scapecoat" and be worried about "letting them down" at the same time?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Any good book store, Library, Amazon......
As far as the rest of your words, I am confused why you would play with what you call "A really bad band".
I guess I'm pretty confused about many of your statements, Richard. How can you sense that they're using you as a "scapecoat" and be worried about "letting them down" at the same time?

Look who just walked in.. Long time no see!

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Look who just walked in.. Long time no see!

Don't start.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Any good book store, Library, Amazon......
As far as the rest of your words, I am confused why you would play with what you call "A really bad band".
I guess I'm pretty confused about many of your statements, Richard. How can you sense that they're using you as a "scapecoat" and be worried about "letting them down" at the same time?

Yes, you're right, I wasn't really making myself clear. I'm ashamed to admit that I was writing from work and I had quite a few distractions.
Really the story wasn't such a good one to start with. It was about trying to help a group of inexperienced players get through a couple of small time gigs. I identified what was going wrong in the band and suggested ways that these problems could be fixed. I think the guys in the band saw me as a bit of a threat and didn't seem keen to fix some obvious gliches in their playing - maybe they didn't want to face up to the problems. It's not always the best solution just to leave. I feel obliged to do the gigs. Anyway, as I said, it's not really much of a story, I was more interested in the lesson it had reminded me of about always looking into how one might improve one's own playing.
Gotta go... still at work. Naughty me!
Sorry for this muddled up little story. I'm so embarrased that I'm going to use a face!
Please world, forgive this little slip up.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

I guess I'm pretty confused about many of your statements, Richard. How can you sense that they're using you as a "scapecoat" and be worried about "letting them down" at the same time?

Well, we have a practice tonight. I'll tell them if the intonation and groove are not happening. Remember that these are not evil people, but they are looking elsewhere to place the blame for why the band isn't working. I'll do the gig on Sunday (and maybe the next one), but I'll tell them that I'm not carrying the can if they can't see the real picture and I'm not wasting time turning up to practices where problems aren't addressed.
Call me Mr Hard if you will!

[Paul Warburton]

Richard, call me "hard" if you will, but personally I wouldn't involve myself in a situation that appears to be as negative as this seems to be. To me music is an intimate personal exchange of communication....being positive in terms of the music and the personalites involved is, IMO, huge.
Your situation sounds just plain negative to me.
I'd try to find another group of players.