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Since we've had quite a few players coming by, please let Greg or Chuck (one of us is usually playing bass) know you want to play. There may be a sign-up sheet too. We can then more easily attempt to give everyone a chance to play their fair share.
- For those of you who might not be familiar with the standard jazz tune format, here's how it works: the horns, violins or whatever instruments are present will play the melody (the head). After once (or sometimes twice) through, the rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, drums) continues to repeat the form of the tune and each player takes a solo. The usual order for solos is horns, piano/guitar, bass. Greg or Chuck may vary this order to introduce a little more variety into the music.
- When there are a lot of soloists (which has been the case so far) it's polite to take just a chorus (or two at most). A chorus is one time through the tune. On shorter tunes, such as 12-bar blues a few choruses are OK. When there are just a few soloists, more choruses are appropriate. When there are 5 more horn players waiting, we don't want every tune to last a half an hour. It's important to understand the concept of taking turns.
- Please don't play during someone else's solo, unless Greg, Chuck or someone has cued some background parts. It can be effective, especially on blues tunes, to improvise some repetitive riffs behind the soloist. Remember to keep backgrounds down in volume. We don't want to cover whoever is soloing.
- An obligato accompaniment behind a singer or instrumentalist playing the head is traditional, but only one person should do this (trading the obligato around is fine). Obligato improvising in this jazz context is one of the more difficult skills to master and play effectively. One must always listen to the main melody and try to compliment it, not overpower it.
- On ballads (slow tunes), we may shorten the solos or just let one or two people play, otherwise the tune could go on forever.
- We may "trade fours" with the drummer. Here's how that works: the first soloist plays four bars of the tune (with the rhythm section), then the drums play a four bar solo (no other instruments), the second soloist plays four bars, drums four, etc. The form of the tune continues to be followed (if we're lucky) even through the drum solos. After this the head is played again.
- Some of these procedures can, should, and will be modified on the spot. Pay attention, LISTEN, and we'll all have more fun.
- We have some tunes in lead sheet form (melody and chord changes) for a number of tunes. We'll bring two concert books, one Bb book and one Eb book. We're trying to incorporate as many players as possible, so we need some tunes in common. You may know all the changes to Girl from Ipanema, but if nobody else does it won't fly. It's OK to call tunes and see if everyone knows them, but if not, we need to do something everyone knows or has music for. There are other formats for jazz improvisation, but almost all jazz players are comfortable in this context. Remember that one of the primary purposes of this event is to provide a forum for those interested in learning jazz improvisation. Staying with this standard format will aid the less experienced in learning the ropes.
- If you have tunes you want to play, bring in concert, Bb and Eb lead sheets or ask if we have or can get the tune. This is a tune-based session, so, "Lets just play some blues in F," is OK once or twice, but not every tune. In the jazz world you need to learn the tunes, that's how people learn to play (about 99% of them anyway).
- Please support and encourage all soloists (applause is always nice) regardless of their level of experience.
- If you're not sure what's happening, where you are (everyone playing should know where in the tune we are), or how to finger Bb, ask Greg or Chuck. We're all here to have fun, learn, and play music.
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