Playing Jazz

[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.