Jazz Smugglers Master Workshop

Jazz Smugglers Master Workshop
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Sunday 31 March 2013

CHET BAKER PLAYING AT RONNIE SCOTT'S 1986







I can't find any live films of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan.

This is 1986 at Ronnie Scot's. The recording lasts an hour, and the playing is beautiful. When I hear just a single note on the trumpet, I know if it is Chet Baker. His tone is that distinct. His playing is sparse, no showing off, no look at me being clever, lots of space.

The film consists of Chet playing with a trio, singing, and being interviewed. Throughout you can see the strain of the addiction problem. There are a couple of nondescript singers in the film including Elvis Costello. The interviews are disappointing in that they do not cover the glory of Baker's career, his time with the Mulligan Quartet and nothing about playing jazz. It didn't even cover the time he got his teeth smashed in by thugs.

At 4.58 there begins an interview about Chet's early start.  At 5.45 he sings Just Friends with its bittersweet lyrics.
At 10.30 the interview continues and he bemoans the decline of the jazz clubs in the USA now. Just after 1900 a very unusual beautiful song for jazz, Send in the Clowns Chet just backs the vocal.
At 2100 he tells of how he got into Charlie Parker's sets in LA when he was 22.
At 38 there is a lovely, hypnotic bass riff being played. Lovely final interaction between the bass and the piano.
At 4500 he talks about drug problems. He stayed out of prison, he says, because the judge was a trumpet player.

Pity, a wasted opportunity. Rubbish interviewer.

John


The Jazz Smugglers band

The Jazz Smugglers workshop

How to promote your gigs


In this blog we produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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Friday 29 March 2013

HOW TO SING VIBRATO. TRULY GREAT TEACHER






This lady is wonderful. Very clever teacher, she gives you a good link to her website and an appraisal of your voice. This is how to teach music for a living.

If I was a wannabe singer I'd devour every one of her tutorials.
John


The Jazz Smugglers band

The Jazz Smugglers workshop

Start your own jazz band

How to promote your gigs



In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
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Tuesday 26 March 2013

ALL RHYTHM SECTIONS MUST SEE THIS WORKSHOP VIDEO



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Everyone has to lock-in and keep what they do simple. This leader, and the kids, are brilliant.
Steve, in our own Jazz Smugglers workshop group has likened a good rhythm section to wearing a comfortable pair of shoes. They give you the freedom to expand what you do, take chances and know that they will bring you back on track if you slip. Yup, smack on.
John

In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.

Friday 22 March 2013

ONE OF MY PERSONAL ALL TIME FAVOURITE SOLOS





Last Sunday we ran a Smugglers workshop session where we asked soloists to play in a certain way. We asked them to use dynamics, loud and soft. We asked for some long notes. We asked for spaces to be left in the solos. We asked for repeated notes. We asked for fast and slow pacing. They all did it. Everything we asked.

Now just listen to this BRILLIANT solo by alto star Lee Konitz. He starts by embellishing the song. Then in his solo he is doing all of these things. Hear the long spaces he puts in, and the tension that creates. Hear the loud and soft notes. Hear the little repeated and displaced phrases.He also has Gerry Mulligan on baritone very softly in the background adding his classic spare harmonies. What warmth that adds. The whole piece is a complete story, and it respects the tune. It is not the easiest thing to play. "All the Chords you've got" is the jazz musicians name for this song. (Listen to the way he plays so smoothly over all of the many changes)

I'm going to circulate this to the workshop folks for them to hear.. Pity there is no live video.
Our workshop people are playing so well these days. Never had a better or more enthusiastic group.
They are putting in so much work.
John

The Jazz Smugglers band

The Jazz Smugglers workshop

How to promote your gigs

In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
If you have a Facebook account would you open it please then click on the tiny Facebook icon at the foot of this post, then "Like" it.
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Tuesday 12 March 2013

PAUL DESMOND THE GREATEST ALTO PLAYER OF ALL TIME


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Beautiful, lyrical, Paul Desmond. John Lewis is on piano, understated as always. Desmond always looks so smart. Little known song.
For me, he uses sweet melodies, using many 3rds and 7ths, he uses lovely little rhythmic phrases which he displaces around, and he uses loud and soft tones. Lovely, all of it.
John Lewis does not get much of a look in here, but he also is a advocatre of the Less is More school. Very sparing, very open solos. I must get one of him with his MJQ on this site.
John


The Jazz Smugglers band

The Jazz Smugglers workshop




We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.

Monday 11 March 2013

Rhythms for guitar comping


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Pick one rhythm at a time. Play that one rhythm to the whole "Fly me to the moon" form. Repeat with each individual 10 rhythms... then, if you're courageous, start mixing and matching 2-3 rhythms at a time!

In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.







Thursday 7 March 2013

CLAP HANDS. MORE POLYRHYTHMS





This chap is very good indeed. A real tutor. 3/4 and 7/4 and 5/4 timings

Visit his Website Matt Otto to view a lesson description. Using odd rhythmic groupings when improvising can be challenging. How many times have you tried to play a seemingly innocent group of 3, 5 or 7 while improvising over a song in 4/4 only to find that you've gotten turned around and are subsequently lost for a short duration. This exercise which I learned from drummer Jason Harnell and which was also part Warne Marsh's practice, has really helped me learn to keep the form better while improving with an odd grouping across the bar line.

The exercise is simple, but challenging, here it is in a nutshell:

1. With a metronome count out loud in whatever meter you choose. i.e. 4/4 = "one, two, three, four".

2. Clap an odd grouping in your hands at the same time. i.e. dotted quarter notes (3 over 4).

That's all there is to it. Although simple conceptually, it really helps and is somewhat difficult at first.

A variation which Jason recommends is to sing a simple song in whatever meter you choose instead of counting out loud, which is more difficult but also more musical and beneficial
JOHN




The Jazz smugglers band


The Jazz Smugglers workshop


Start your own jazz band


How to promote your gigs


In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
If you have a Facebook account would you open it please then click on the tiny Facebook icon at the foot of this post, then "Like" it.
IF YOU SIGN UP AS A "FOLLOWER" YOU'LL GET ALL THE POSTS. Go bottom right of the blog and you'll find it there.
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Monday 4 March 2013

USING GUIDE TONES. THANKS ANDREW




Andrew Batchelar took the workshop last night with a top class session on building solos around guide tones. 3rds and 7ths of each chord.
Our workshop group is really good, everyone is so enthusiastic from the well-established top players we have, to the newcomers to jazz. It is a joy to be with them. There are no rock stars there either, no show-offs, big-heads, critics, and I can't tell you what a joy that is.

Andrew offered something for everyone, and it was very clearly explained.
There is a real art in teaching - it is reducing the subject to simple terms which anyone can understand. Andrew did just that.

Here is a video on the subject. Ok but not as good.



The Jazz Smugglers band

The Jazz Smugglers workshop

Start your own jazz band

How to promote your gigs



In this blog We will produce tips for jazz piano, and jazz guitar together with jazz saxophone. We will cover jazz chords, jazz guitar chords, and we will deal with jazz scales. We will cover jazz songs. This site is all about jazz improvisation.
If you have a Facebook account would you open it please then click on the tiny Facebook icon at the foot of this post, then "Like" it.
IF YOU SIGN UP AS A "FOLLOWER" YOU'LL GET ALL THE POSTS. Go bottom right of the blog and you'll find it there.
Would you SHARE this with your musician friends please?