Future Song for group - THIS LIST IS LONG!

Hey Everyone,

Now that we have a few performances under our belt, which have gone over very well by the way,  the next step is to increase the library so to speak.  I have volume 1 of the Real Book and earmarked tunes I thought would be fun/challenging for us to do.  One other thing I would like to introduce is the solo feature.  Basically, I want everyone to have a tune where they are the star.  While this is a group, each member deserves a few minutes to be appreciated for their contributions to the group, and I think this can be done with the solo features.  Also, it will give us variety during performances so it's not always the same routine of play the melody, solo, then play the melody to end it.

Here's the list so far:

1. I Got Rhythm
2. Angel Eyes (this might be a good trumpet solo feature)
3. Anthropology
4. Autumn Leaves
5. Four
6. In Walked Bud
7. Jersey Bounce
8. Lady Bird
9. Line for Lyons
10. Oleo
11. One for My Baby (this might be a good sax solo feature)
12. Satin Doll (piano solo feature)
13. Tenderly
14. The Way you Look Tonight
15. Do Nothing 'Til You Hear from Me
16. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
17. Misty

Now, that's a lot of tunes, I know, and I think what I'm going to do is instead of tailoring every part, I'm going to provide copies of certain tunes.  If you want a different solo feature or have your own suggestions for tunes, post a comment.

Townsend Coffehouse is a Smash

Hey,

I just wanted to take a second and congratulate everyone on a wonderful official first performance of the Opus 111 Students Jazz Combo.  I have to first publibly apologize to Diane for dropping the ball concerning the start time.  I should have made sure I spoke to everyone personally to make sure they knew about the time change.  Rest assured I will make sure to do so in the future.

Overall, the performance was very good.  The only tune that had anything close to resembling a breakdown was Moonlight in Vermont.  Again, I need to take the blame for that as we really only practiced that one completely once.  So, it was unfair of me to throw you under the bus with that particular tune.

The feedback from the crowd was very positive.  The only comment that got made was that we were a little loud at times.  Now, with that room shaped the way it was and not having played live in that room before, it's real hard to guage the appropriate volume level until you have played there more than once.  I have a good feeling they may ask us to play again, so we may want to take the volume issue into consideration the next time we play, whether I bring it up to them or if they approach me first.

In closing, I just want to re-iterate how proud I am of all of you.  You each have become good improvisers and there is nowhere to go but forward and improve.  That is not necessarily a reflection of my teaching abilities but more in your individual talent and work ethic.  I consider it an honor and privilege to organize and work with you, and look forward to what we will accomplish in the future.

"Set List" for Townsend Dec. 12

Hey Everyone,

Here's the order of songs we'll be doing for the Townsend Coffehouse on December 12. Remember, we are playing from 11:00-12:00, so please be there by about 11:30 so we can sound check. I'll be there early to set up the sound system. Here's the song list/order:

1. Take the 'A' Train
2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
3. All of Me
4. Moonlight in Vermont
5. St. Thomas
6. Tenor Madness

I don't think we originally planned on 'Moonlight', but I threw it in there to be on the safe side. I will be working on getting us all the sound equipment we need as well as working on setup within the coffeehouse. If you can each bring your own music stand and music, that will definitely help me. If you have questions, please let me know. I'll see you on Saturday.

Patrick

Listening/Watching Homework

Ok guys, try this one on for size. This is a video of a very famous contemporary saxhophonist named Michael Brecker, who unfortunately is no longer with us. This is a an arrangement of his entitled Delta City Blues. As you watch/listen, here are some things I would like you to note:

1. Lisa, whenever the piano player is shown, examine where he has hands on the keyboard. When he's not on screen, listen to the rhythm and judge how well his rhythms add to Brecker's playing.


2. Diane, don't try to imitate everything about Brecker. Determine whether you like his sound and decide whether or not you would like to emulate it. Also, find 1 or 2 licks or melodic ideas you would like to incorporate. Don't do more than that, though, you'll freeze yourself out trying to determine what to practice.

ENJOY!!

Appogiatura and Escape Tone Video

Well, here's the promised video demonstrating/explaining appogiaturas and escape tones. It's pretty self-explanatory, but if you have questions, leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.

Quoting Songs in Your Improv

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to make a real quick post concerning quotes. We've all heard a phenomenal solo from a top-notch player who, in the middle of making sense of musical chaos, finds a way to insert a popular melody into their solo without breaking any kind of sweat. I always used to wonder, "How do they do that and make it look so easy?" Well, some people have different methods for incorporating this technique, but the one I've found that works best for me is the number system.

In my opinion, the number system is the most efficient way to work quotes or any other type of pre-determined lick into an improv solo. The reason I say that is because numbers are not constrained by key signatures. Let me demonstrate:

Let's say for instance, we're in the key of C, so our C scale looks like:
C D E F G A B C

Now if we want to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in the key of C, we need to start on E to make to melody sound right. It would look like this:
E-D-C-D-E-E-E
D-D-D E-G-G
E-D-C-D-E-E-E D-D-E-D-C

But what if we take Mary and turn her into numbers? If we think in numbers, we have to keep in mind the scale/key we're working in. In other words, in the key of C, 3=E. So Mary would look like:

3-2-1-2-3-3-3
2-2-2 3-5-5
3-2-1-2-3-3-3 2-2-3-2-1

Now if you know all 12 scales and key signatures, you can take Mary and put her in any key as long as you can quickly figure out which letter is #3 in the scale.

As you progress, you'll be able to learn more sophisticated and/or obscure melodies and incorporate them into a solo.

I've listed below some popular folk tunes as well as a jazz standard. See if you can figure out which melodies they are. Post a comment with your guess and I might have a prize for the person who gets more correct.

1)1-1-5-5-6-6-5 4-4-3-3-2-2-1
5-5-4-4-3-3-2 5-5-4-4-3-3-2
1-1-5-5-6-6-5 4-4-3-3-2-2-1

2)1-1-5-5-6-6-5 3-3-2-2-1

3)5-1 8-6-5-1 5-4-3-3-4-5-1-2-3

4)5-1-7-6-5-6-3-4-5-1-7-1 (jazz standard)

Review of John Armstrong's Visit

Hey there,


Sorry I didn't get this up earlier, but now is better than never. Firstly, John said that what we're doing is the right thing. I take that more as a testament to your progress and work ethic than anything else. If we don't take the concepts and ideas home and try to improve them in our own personal playing, then there will be no progress. With this group, though, that is not the case. Both John and I are very impressed with your musical display. I'm very proud of the progress and John was pleased with your creativity.


That being said, there were a few things that John suggested that I think are good for everyone (myself especially) to keep in mind:

1. experiment in practice, so your experiments become conservative during performance


2. if you find yourself playing the same thing 3 times, stop immediately


3. good style goes a long way


4. improvise from ear sometimes and not always sight

That last item about playing from ear is something I plan to take to heart in our improv classes. So be prepared to enagage in more playing exercises where you won't know what the changes are. We will still do some exercises where we study and analyze chords and changes. Like John said, having theory knowledge is never a bad thing, but now we must temper that with stretching our ears. I take that as my own personal charge. Practicing at home by playing with recordings will help you during the rest of the week.


One thing that John mentioned to me after you had left was the importance of listening to quality recording. previously, I posted a list of suggested listening by instrument, but I might start to make "listening" assignments from time to time.


If you run into John, please thank him for coming and sharing his insight. He got up early in the morning when he didn't have to just to help us out. Please let him know how much you appreciate his efforts. And know that I appreciate your effort and work to make this successful.